Reviewed by Dan
TITLE: Heart Scarab
SERIES: Taking Shield #2
AUTHOR: Anna Butler
PUBLISHER: Wilde City Press
LENGTH: 300 Pages
BLURB:
Shield Captain Bennet is on Telnos, a unpleasant little planet inhabited by religious fanatics and unregistered miners running illegal solactinium mines. It’s about to be about to be overrun by the Maess. Bennet’s job is to get out as many civilians as he can, but the enemy arrives before the evacuation is complete. Caught in a vicious fire fight, Bennet is left behind, presumed dead.
His family is grieving. Joss, his long-term partner, grieves with them; lost, unhappy, remorseful. First Lieutenant Flynn has no official ‘rights’ here. He isn’t family. He isn’t partner or lover.
All he is, is broken.
REVIEW:
I’m really happy to report that book two in the series is as good, if not better than, the original. In “Heart Scarab” we continue the story of Shield Captain Bennet and his ship the Hyperion. This time we catch up to them on the planet of Telnos, which as the blurb mentions, is a nasty little planet, where the air reeks and where there are swamps and mud and bugs everywhere. Bennet is there to rescue a group of illegal colonists and illegal miners who have snuck onto the planet, even though it is directly in the path of the alien Maess advance.
When the aliens arrive early and catch the rescue in mid-stream, the Hyperion has to leave without rescuing everyone. One of the casualties of the battle is Bennet, who is shot down by the alien drones who are attacking.
But while the family, and Bennet’s jerk of a partner Joss (who I still despise as you can see) are grieving, we the readers know that Bennet was pulled from below a pile of corpses and is struggling for life.
What will happen to him now? The enemy have overrun the planet, and the Shield ships have withdrawn to human controlled space. Is there any way for Bennet to get off the planet, and somehow rescue the other people left behind? What about Flynn? He is still on the Gyrfalcon serving under Bennet’s father. How will he take the news of Bennet’s “death”?
I really enjoy this author’s writing style. I’m not exaggerating at all when I say this is a mainstream science fiction series that I would expect to see at the city library if I went looking for it. It is that well written. The world building is quite complex, as are the characters.
I highly recommend this book, as well as its predecessor, “Gyrfalcon”, which I reviewed yesterday. If you are as much of a sci-fi fan as I am, you will definitely enjoy this series. And the series isn’t over! The end of this second book gives us a teaser chapter of the third book in the series which I sincerely hope is coming soon!
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
I’ve hesitated about commenting, because the etiquette of authors and reviews is both complex and, well, confusing, but I hope that a heartfelt thank you isn’t going to upset anyone’s applecart. Dan, I am delighted that you’ve enjoyed the Shield books so far, and your enthusiasm for both has made my day. Thank you!
Glad to make your day. A lot of authors interact with us, so no worries. We can talk to authors and still do professional reviews! 😉 Hope there are more books coming!