Special Delivery by Rex Burke
I love being introduced to new authors and discovering new books. I wasn’t aware of Rex’s stories until recently, when I came across a sweepstakes on BlueSky organised to celebrate the upcoming release of the third book in the Star Runners series. As a lucky winner, I received the first two books in the series.
The blurb for the first book, Special Delivery, reads:
“A dangerous mission. A second chance.
Actually, scratch that. No chance.
Dix’s career as a trooper in the Federation army is unblemished – until the day he disobeys a direct order and strikes an officer.
Now Dix has a choice. Face a life of hard labour that promises to be brutal and short. Or accept a mysterious invitation to join a black-ops mission in hostile terrain.
The plan sounds simple, if horribly dangerous. Fetch a fearsome weapon from a secret location and deliver it to a distant planet, whose population is under the chilling yoke of the Federation’s rival empire, the Axis. Do it without getting caught, or implicating the Federation, and Dix’s transgressions will be forgiven.
But the weapon turns out to be unlike anything he could have expected, and Dix’s troubles have only just begun.”
The author himself describes the book as "recognisably his style: full of banter, laughs, scrapes, and mysteries, with a healthy dollop of found-family vibes and an upbeat ending".
And boy, does it deliver!
The characters are a ragtag crew worth rooting for and they are delightfully special.
Alard is their eyes on (through?) the ground. There’s something intriguing about him. He shows us a glimpse of who he is, but I suspect he still has plenty of surprises in store for us.
Drake is a smuggler with a heart of gold and a deep love for his ship. I really hope he gets her back.
Vaskez is as tough as they come: deadly, uncompromising, and utterly formidable. And did I catch a glimpse of her warming up to their “special delivery”?
As for Dix, I read him as a mixture of competence and uncertainty. I’m looking forward to seeing him spread his leadership wings.
The character who stayed with me throughout the novel, though, was someone introduced in Chapter 1 and promptly killed off: Sarge. His voice is such a standout that, when we’re introduced to his relatives, it’s immediately obvious who they are. I love that!
Since it's a space action-adventure, I found myself anticipating action in situations where I’d normally expect it. And then… nothing.
For example, one chapter ends with our ragtag crew approaching a planet under lockdown. I was bracing myself for space combat: loads of pew-pew action, evasive manoeuvres, injuries, and all the accompanying space drama.
The next chapter begins on the planet’s surface.
It took me by surprise, and I had to adjust my expectations accordingly. But the result was better than it would have been if the intervening action had been included, I think. These choices make the story move faster, keeping the focus on the characters and their interpersonal relationships rather than on self-serving fight scenes.
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