The Bookwyrm's review of Eye of the Tiger: Star Justice

 Author: Michael-Scott Earle

Pages/Length:  441 pages/6 hrs, 3 mins. (Audio)

Publisher: Michael-Scott Earle 

Release Date: April 8, 2017/ July 19, 2017

Narrated by: Eric Bryan Moore

Having read several other book by this author, I saw the description of this one and thought is sounded very intriguing. The idea of a crossover of paranormal and sci-fi has always fascinated me, and this author's really strong character creations seemed like a perfect fit for this kind of genre hybrid. I'm happy to say I was right, it is a great fit.

In a far future where mankind has spread across the universe,  Adam is a former prisoner who has been transformed through secret therapy to be able to transform into a tiger man for a certain amount of time, with enhanced, strength, speed, senses and durability. This therapy has been accompanied by heavy duty space marine training, as well as an explosive collar around his neck to keep him under control. He is part of a team of, for lack of a better term, Weretigers, and he has survived longer than any of the others. 

On a mission to retrieve a mysterious article from a corporation on a distant world, The mission goes from smooth to pear shaped quickly. As they get closer to the package, Adam starts hearing a voice in his head as he moves ahead of the rest of the team, telling him to come to where the objective is. As he kills his way to the target, he discovers a shock: the package is a woman named Eve being kept in some kind of stasis. Breaking her out of the machine she is kept in, she removes his control collar without it exploding, and tells him they need to escape. Since he is now free, and being no fan of his employer, he agrees is they can figure out how to get out. He also discovers that Eve is both a psychic and a vampire, and she has been kept weakened by lack of blood.

This starts a wild escape, where they must get passed his teammates to start being able escape a ridiculously secured building, getting past drones, robotic canons, a large security force, as well as a corporate apparatus that will be on their tail if they do escape. They will later meet a smart mouth female hacker named Z who will provide them with documents to help escape, and when that goes pear shaped, she must go on the run with Adam and Eve to try and escape the planet and the hugely powerful conglomerate chasing them. Eve 's psychic ability leads them to an experimental ship they can escape on, although clearing their way past the huge security force and weapons emplacements is a wild fight, and is framed in a great, intensive series of scenes. It is intimated that their escaping the planet would force a dramatic shift in galactic politics, since corporations control so much of the power, although just how much should be interesting to discover as Adam, Eve and Z learn to coordinate their abilities to the fullest.

As with his other books, characters are a great strength in this book. Adam and Eve are both powerful in their own rights, but show surprising vulnerability. Z is a fun foil for them, being the one that's not built for combat, so to speak, and is the one looking for a place to hide while Adam and Eve sort out the rough stuff. She is brilliant in her element though, and surprises you with her ingenuity and secret courage. The villains are a bit generic, since there is no one figure to really get to hate, other than a short scene with the control head for Adams marine team, just corporate minions and security. I do expect that to change in later books, although a monolithic corporate villain may be the direction it takes, which would also work.

The setting has a very far future sci-fi feel to it. Vast interstellar distances, Cities that seem like a cross between Blade Runner and Minority Report, just straight sci fi cities overrun with corporate influence. The ships seem cool, and the other trappings, such as the robotic weapons platforms, the drones, the auto driving cars, the bio-engineered soldiers, they all fit with sense of a far flung galactic civilization. The crossover with the psychic/paranormal and the sci-fi is handled seamlessly, and is very enjoyable. All told, it really helps draw you in to the story.

The narration by Eric Bryan Moore is spot on. He gives each character their own unique voice, and helps make you really get into each of them. His narrative pacing is solid, never lagging or falling into a monotone. He definitely brings solid work to the narration.

Overall, this book should appeal to a wide range of readers/listeners. It has elements of military sci-fi, urban fantasy, vampire and were fantasy and even techno thrillers. It has strong female characters that are strong in their own right, not just because the males are weak. I can highly recommend this book.