Great book.

Story was interesting, with good twists and turns. The performance was also very good and really helped sell things.

And most importantly, this is probably the first magic sci-fi story I've found on audible that I actually enjoyed. I found the world and its setting to be well thought out and consistent. And despite the reader's slow pace of gaining knowledge of the universe, you never feel starved for information and learn the info in a reasonable way through interactions/briefings with the crew. It really made things feel natural.

Very much recommended.

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Clever SciFi/Fantasy Blend

Glynn Stewart crafts an intriguing space setting where magic is combined with futuristic technology. His vision for a Space Opera has the standard mix of political maneuvering, military schemes, rivalries between galactic alliances, and unique stellar cultures.. but he builds it around a truly original mechanistic framework. People with Magical talent are extremely rare in Stewart's reality, but have the ability to manipulate matter, empower the military, and are the only way to conduct FTL hyperspace travel - they are identified as children, drafted into training early, used to power interstellar commerce, and revered on some planets/hated on others. It's an intuitive magic-tech combination that also yields fascinating potential societal matrix plotlines.
In this book, the author introduces a story arc - through an 'Omnibus' of relatively short standalone encounters - that reminded me of 'Firefly' - introducing a gritty freighter crew combating Space Pirates, Syndicate Bounty Hunters, and Protectorate Authorities while exploring various galactic civilizations and operating on the fringe of legality.
The writing is unspectacular (lacking in plot and characterization), but the dialogue is believable, action is fast-paced, descriptions are decent, and character motivations are sensible.

Jeffrey Kafer has a pleasant resonant reading voice and reasonable emotiveness. He wisely avoids accents and over-the-top characterizations.. but delivers in a frustrating monotone, has difficulty with female voices, and has a plodding pace (I sped the recording to 1.25X to good effect - losing no nuance and making up for Kafer's deficiencies nicely). The performance is distinctly average.

In toto, this is an entertaining 7.5/10 first effort that is analagous to the Star Wars universe (with Magic replacing The Force in intent). Your Credit is well-spent if you're looking for something in SciFi that's well-conceived and a little different. On to Book 2..

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