Heaven's Queen (Paradox #3)

Heaven's Queen by Rachel Bach is the final book in her Paradox trilogy - a military science fiction series.

Devi Morris is an armored mercenary. She took a job working on the Glorious Fool because it was supposed to be a stepping stone to her dream job working in an elite army for the king of her world. Now she is floating in space in an escape pod with no way to get home and being chased not only by humans, but most of the other sentient beings in the known galaxies.

They are after for two reasons: there is an alien species attacking planets and she is one of the few people who can see them and may be able to defeat them, and because the plan she has could destroy human kind if it fails - so others are reluctant to let her try her idea.

The Paradox trilogy is a combination of military science fiction with a few other genre elements thrown in. The story is fast-paced and will keep readers engaged. There are also elements of romance and humor, a strong female lead character and a well-developed universe. Fun read!

Bach, Rachel. (2014). Heaven's Queen. New York: Orbit.

Honor's Knight (Paradox #2)

Honor's Knight by Rachel Bach is the second book in her Paradox series of science fiction about a female mercenary.

Devi Morris is working as security on the spaceship Glorious Fool. But she is missing memories. She knows she was in a fight but she cannot remember with whom or why she would remove the helmet of her armor - which she know she did from the bruise and the memory loss. Luckily, she has retained all of her fighting skills.

Her first order of duty is to hire a new mercenary to replace the one who was killed in battle. Then she will hopefully get her memories back. Oh, she is also seeing little space bugs that seems to exist in a different dimension. She has not mentioned this to the ship doctor or captain.

Even with her memories gone, Devi is sure that the captain is more than he appears. The is no other explanation for how much trouble he seems to find. And she better remember quickly because there are some out there who see her as a threat and she will need all of the information to survive their attention.

Bach has created a genre blend of science fiction with a great lead character. If you are not a usual science fiction reader, this is a good series with which to begin.

Bach, Rachel. (2014). Honor's Knight. New York: Orbit.

Fortune's Pawn (Paradox #1)

Fortune's Pawn by Rachel Bach is the first book in her Paradox science fiction series.


Devi Morris is a soldier. She served her mandatory two years in the Paradoxian army in the Royal Armored Guard. Then she went on the the prestigious Blackbirds. She has reached the highest rank a mercenary can achieve before being moved to a desk. So he just quit. Devi's goal is to become on of the Sacred King's Devastators. But you cannot join or apply to the Devastators. You must be recruited.

A friend steers Devi toward the ship Glorious Fool owned by Captain Caldswell. It is a merchant ship that seems to find all of the trouble in the 'verse. Past security on the ship has become Devastators. So Devi applies and becomes one of two mercenaries responsible for ship safety, joining an eclectic crew of humans and other creates of the known universe.

Bach has created a believable world with colorful creatures that reminds some readers of Firefly with more aliens. A simple transport ship that seems held together with duct tape, a cook who has strange fighting abilities, a giant bird for a navigator, a lizard for a doctor, and a main character who could rival Ripley from Alien. This is a great sci-fi series. I am waiting impatiently for the second book from the library.

Bach, Rachel. (2013). Fortune's Pawn. New York: Orbit.