by Sean Danker
Series: Evagardian #1
Genres: Science Fiction
Source: Publisher
Purchase*: Amazon *affiliate
FIRST IN A NEW MILITARY SCIENCE FICTION SERIES
“I was on a dead ship on an unknown planet with three trainees freshly graduated into the Imperial Service. I tried to look on the bright side.”
He is the last to wake. The label on his sleeper pad identifies him as an admiral of the Evagardian Empire—a surprise as much to him as to the three recent recruits now under his command. He wears no uniform, and he is ignorant of military protocol, but the ship’s records confirm he is their superior officer.
Whether he is an Evagardian admiral or a spy will be of little consequence if the crew members all end up dead. They are marooned on a strange world, their ship’s systems are failing one by one—and they are not alone.
Admiral by Sean Danker is the first in the Evagardian series. The Admiral is a science fiction military series set in deep space and it lured me with its promise of mystery. Danker delivered a first personal tale reminiscent of the Martian with a mysterious narrator and impending doom.
Five reasons to grab a copy of the Admiral
- The Admiral was an enthralling and suspenseful read that draws the reader in from the very first page. The tale begins when three new recruits of the Evagardian Empresses’ new flagship the Julian, find themselves in their sleeper pods on a critically damaged Ganrean freighter. Lt. Deilani, techie Ensign Nils, and negotiator Private Salmagard discover a man in a sleeper pod that identifies him as an Admiral. However something seems off. The man refuses to identify himself, does not know protocol and has no uniform. The Ganrean freighter has crashed on a barren planet covered in black sand with a weird green atmosphere. There is no evidence of a crew.
- Danker delivers the tale in first person from the perspective of the Admiral whose identity is kept a mystery even from the reader. As the four of them try to understand what happened, they begin to learn about each other. They are suspicious, concerned about rescue, and curious about their commander. Salmagard thinks she recognizes him but says nothing. Nils easily follows the Admiral’s orders and Lt. Deilani is suspects he is a fraud. From the beginning, she openly accuses him of being a spy. Danker cleverly has them working together, finding common ground and setting aside hostilities for the greater cause…survival.
- The story that unfolds was nail-biting with moments reminiscent of Mark Watney’s survival on Mars in The Martian. The four worked together to solve one life-threatening situation after another. While there is geek speak the story is one even non-science fiction fans will appreciate it. It flowed wonderfully balancing character development, information, and climatic scenes.
- From the synopsis, we know that they are not alone on this strange planet. Danker slowly built on that suspense as their ship fails and they are forced to leave. Action scenes with MacGyver moments had me holding my breath. Will they survive? What is out there? Peppered with God save us all scenes the Admiral made for an entertaining read.
- Between our mystery man the Admiral and surviving their predicament Danker weaved in humor, fleshed out the world these folks came from and gave us a little history on the war between the Evagardian and the Ganrean. We are rewarded at the end with answers to who the Admiral is, before being left on a cliff awaiting what happens next.
A fantastic science fiction thriller the Admiral left me excited for the next installment in the Evagardian series.
Read an Excerpt
By SEAN DANKER
From Chapter 1
There were voices.
“An admiral? Is this a joke?” one of the voices said.
“It’s the seal. Look at this. I think someone’s done something to it.”
“Is he alive?”
“This isn’t even our ship.”
“He’s breathing. I have him.”
I was distracted from the pain wracking my body by a pair of soft lips on mine, and a rush of welcome, secondhand oxygen. The kindness didn’t last. A powerful fist smashed into my sternum.
The hand drew back for another blow, but I managed to grab the wrist and hold it. I didn’t need to be hit again.
Coughing, I opened my eyes just to shut them again. There were three lights blinding me. I released the wrist, then slowly sat up and groaned. Someone backed away from me. The deck was cold, and the air didn’t taste right.
I opened one eye and squinted up. Three people stood over me. Two young women, one young man. They wore only service-issue undergarments. Like me, they must have just come out of their sleepers.
I had no circulation in my limbs. My mouth was dry. The world was skipping frames, and my mind was stumbling to catch up. Sleepers were good at shutting down brain function; they weren’t as good at bringing it back. I could feel my heart twitching in a way that I didn’t particularly like, though the sleeper wasn’t to blame for that.
I felt like a dead man. I’d had bad wake-ups before, but nothing like this. Apart from a few readouts, the sleeper bay was completely dark. No lights, no emergency lights. Tangled as my head was, I knew that couldn’t be right.
The deck was metal, and not especially clean. I could feel an aggressive nonslip pattern of ridges under my palm. That was unexpected.
“What’s happening?” I asked, rubbing at my eyes and trying to make myself focus. It was as if I had all the negative effects of ethanol poisoning, but none of its perks. Every part of my brain was struggling except my memory. “Where are we?”
The three exchanged looks.
“Undetermined, sir.” That came from the shorter of the two females. The tall one watched me suspiciously, and the young man looked like he was trying to wake up from a bad dream. I knew exactly how he felt.
“Did you pull me?”
“You were showing warning lights. Something’s wrong with this unit,” the young man said, tapping the sleeper’s plastic shield. “The power’s gone, sir.”
“Thank you.” That was why these three had their hand-lights. My thoughts weren’t so jumbled that I didn’t know they’d just saved my life by getting me out of that sleeper.
I didn’t know where we were, but it wasn’t Payne Station. The paralysis was wearing off. I wanted to close my eyes and lie back down.
So I got to my feet, wobbling only a little. I reached up, touching my hair. It was short. I’d already known that; I was just checking.
The taller of the two women was eye to eye with me, and I’m nearly two meters. The look she was giving me wasn’t particularly friendly.
I rubbed my face, finding stubble. I shook my head and considered the three young people, thinking fast.
I eyed the young man. “Are you a tech?”
He nodded. “Ensign Nils. Trainee.”
“Trainee?”
“Graduate, sir.”
I looked them over, trying to understand. “All of you?”
“Yes, sir,” they replied as one.
Evagardian trainees. All graduates. I sort of waved my hand at them.
“And you’re all going to the Julian.”
“Yes, sir.” Nice chorus.
“First assignment?”
“Yes, sir.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose and groaned. They politely just stood there, staring at me. We were all shivering.
I pulled myself together and tried to look as though I was in control of my life. How had these three gotten onto a ship transporting me? I took a deep breath to keep my temper under control.
Fans of the Red Rising/Martian should check out Admiral by Sean Danker #review Share on X
About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram
Linda Romer
Admiral sounds great ♡ I would love to read this exciting book. Thank you
kimbacaffeinate
It was one of those reads that just grabs you Linda 🙂
Dianna
Your review had enough information to let me know that the book was suspenseful, but no spoilers – and I appreciated that!
kimbacaffeinate
Thanks Dianna. I try very hard to never give away more than what the synopsis offers but still let you know how my experience was.
Lorna
Not usually my thing, but it sounds excellent. You have got my interest piqued! Thanks for the opportunity to win!
kimbacaffeinate
It is very readable and hooks you from the start Lorna.
The Bibliophile Babe
It does sound addictive!
kimbacaffeinate
It really was, you just slip in and then you cannot set it down
Sophia Rose
You totally perked up my interest. I haven’t devoured a good sci-fi like this in an age. Love that there’s intrigue from the start.
kimbacaffeinate
I hope you try it, it really does hook the reader from page one!
dianne casey
Sounds like an interesting read. A dead ship on an unknown planet, it will be fun to see where it goes from there.
kimbacaffeinate
It grabs you from the get go Dianne!
Braine Talk Supe
You and Christy strted a book club we don’tknow about? lol I just saw her review this the other day and loved it. The cover doesn’t do the book justice though
kimbacaffeinate
LOL, we do tend to chat about books and notify the other when we see one we like!
Candace
I rarely pick up books like this but I think it would be really interesting. And probably make me think a bit, which is always good.
kimbacaffeinate
This is the perfect book to try in this genre, very engaging and grabs you from the beginning.
Bookworm Brandee
This is the second raving review I’ve read for The Admiral. And I’m definitely going to check it out. It sounds fantastic! The suspense – not knowing if the admiral is really the admiral, wondering if they’ll make it. Just your review has me anxious. *haha*
kimbacaffeinate
LOl, it is that type of read 🙂
Angela Adams
Sounds like a great suspense read. Thanks for the post.
kimbacaffeinate
It really was. Thanks Angela
kindlemom1
I struggle with this genre but darn it if this doesn’t sound like something I should take a chance on!
kimbacaffeinate
Psst..did you see I said fans of Red Rising will like this..you loved that!
Katherine
I’m not a big sci fi reader but I’ve been pushing my boundaries a bit lately and really enjoying reading some new genres. While I haven’t read much sci fi I have really enjoyed the ones I’ve read and the blurb and your review definitely has me intrigued. I’ll have to look for this one
kimbacaffeinate
This is a good book to dip your toes in. It is suspenseful and the kind of story that grabs the reader and holds their attention. It has a nice flow without info dumps.
Greg
Hmm, this looks good. I like the idea of the guy maybe or maybe not being an admiral- has me curious. And I like how it starts with them waking from deep sleep. Nice excerpt.
kimbacaffeinate
I did too Greg, it snags you right away and has you off balance. It is very readable and gripping.
Leona
I’m listening to my first scifi read right now, and there’s something addicting about the stories. Great review, so glad you liked it. Maybe once I finish the one I’m listening to and a few others I’ll look into listening to this one.
kimbacaffeinate
Ooo, what are you listening too. I love this genre and try to weave them in each month.
Leona
Serengeti by J.B. Rockwell. I don’t know what the heck is going on but I can’t seem to stop listening to it when I have the time
Daniela Ark
oh I like how this books sounds! Sci-Fi military, mysterious, nail-biting Marian style.. I hope I win! Thanks for hosting this giveaway Kim, Great review. 🙂
kimbacaffeinate
Yay..good luck if not it is worth the cover price 🙂
Maggie
Kim this book sounds very very interesting. As a fan of The Martian I think anything that can be compared to it deserves a look, I am going to add this to the reading pile. Thanks for sharing!
kimbacaffeinate
Sweet,,yes I think fans of it will love this one!
Ksenia
I’m afraid this book is not for me, Kim. I rarely read Sci-Fi, and those that I actually pick up is usually Sci-Fi Romance.
kimbacaffeinate
Ah I understand and isn’t it lovely there are so many different genres we can all find something to enjoy. Do you like Jayne Castle’s Harmony series? Romantic suspense with science fiction elements?
Ksenia
I haven’t heard about this series before. I checked out your review on GR, and it sounds interesting. Also the audiobook is narrated by Joyce Bean, and I’ve enjoyed her performance in the past. Thanks for the recs, Kim!
Tracy Terry
Having recently really struggled with The Martian alas given the comparison this one really doesn’t appeal to me.
Still, each to their own, I now lots of people like yourself who would really enjoy it.
kimbacaffeinate
I am sorry to hear that. I loved the Martian on audio.
Jenny
YAY! Christy really loved this one too Kim, so I’m glad to see it was a winner for you as well. It sounds outstanding, and I’m in the mood for something that’s not my usual fare. And thank you so much for the chance to win! *fingers crossed*
kimbacaffeinate
Good luck Jenny, this was a fun one!
Tyler H. Jolley
As I was reading this I thought, ‘this sounds a little like The Martian,’ so I’m glad you said that too. I loved The Martian so this has totally piqued my interest.
kimbacaffeinate
I hope you pick it up Tyler!
Kay
I am all about survival books. I also will tell my husband about this one! Thanks for the review!
kimbacaffeinate
Yay..i hope you both love it 🙂
Melliane
I’m not a big sci-fi girl but I heard great things about this one I’m glad it was a good one for you too
kimbacaffeinate
It is a good cross-over book Melliane
Melanie Simmons
This looks very interesting. I checked and it is available on audio. I’m going to have to check it out. Thanks for sharing.
kimbacaffeinate
Yay…with the right narrator this would be stellar on audio
cindy
This book sounds good, I do not usually read this genre but I may start with this one.
kimbacaffeinate
This is a great book to try even if this isn’t a go to genre, it has great readability.
Kathy
Oh, this is SO right up my alley. It’s new to me, too. I’ll definitely be putting this one on my shelf. Thank you!!! I’m really loving my thrillers lately.
kimbacaffeinate
I hope you enjoy it, it is the type of story that catches you from the beginning and holds you until the end
Nick
This sounds definitely one heck of a suspenseful book, Kim. I’m very curious about the Admiral and what he’s up to. I’ll add this to my list!
Fab review!
kimbacaffeinate
I think you would enjoy the heck out of this Nick!
Priscilla
Woah, a first person narrative whose identity is a mystery even from the reader! Talk about being unconventional. It looks good 🙂
kimbacaffeinate
I really enjoyed not knowing and was delighted when we discovered his identity.
blodeuedd
Hmmm, interesting .D
kimbacaffeinate
Yes it was!
Mary Kirkland
That sounds very interesting. Made me very curious.
kimbacaffeinate
Thanks Mary, It was a good one!
Gina
Hmm… very interesting, and that’s coming from a predominantly non-scifi reader! It sounds like it straddles the line between the two genres well to entice readers from both camps. Thanks for the rec ma’am. Enjoyed the review!
kimbacaffeinate
I agree, Gina it is one that even non science fiction fan will enjoy.