The following review has just appeared in December’s edition of the San Francisco Book Review. If you want to see the original it can be found here.
Title: Frontier Resistance
Author: Leonie Rogers
Genre: Science Fiction
Publisher: Hague Publishing,
Format: eBook
Details: $4.66 US, 183 pages
Reviewer: James Rasmussen
The world of Frontier is under siege from the invading, insectoid Garsal. Shanna, her fellow Scouts, and their Starcat companions find themselves in the care of the mysterious Starlyne, beginning to understand the Spark, the set of unusual talents that have been programmed into their genes over humanity’s generations on the planet. Without the technological mastery, lost over time, that brought their ancestors here, the Spark is the one weapon the settlers have that might be able to defeat the Garsal. As Shanna and her companions struggle to master the Spark, the rest of the colonists struggle to trust their alien allies, the Starlyne, even while the Garsal scheme to enslave the planet’s population.
The sequel to Frontier Incursion, Frontier Resistance draws readers further into the world of Frontier. This book can be read without reading the previous one; enough backstory is woven into the opening chapters that even if you haven’t read it yourself, you can smoothly gain an understanding of what is going on. The writing is clear and straightforward, making for an easy read that focuses on the characters and the action. It does a good job of following the development of the characters and their abilities, and carries overall positive themes throughout; it’s a bit lighter than some of the more angst-ridden YA fare on the market. At times it is a little light on detail, and occasional typos and misplaced punctuation might distract the grammatically sensitive, but otherwise the story pushes forward at a good pace through a science-fiction world that calls to mind both David Weber’s Honor Harrington universe, and David Brin’s Uplift books, making for a solid Young Adult read.