Remnants of Trust

Starred review from September 12, 2016
Continuing the story that began in Bonesteel’s impressive debut, The Cold Between, this character-driven space opera successfully mixes interstellar and psychological conflict. Central Corps starship captain Greg Foster and his loyal aide, Elena Shaw, stumbled on some nasty scheming in the earlier novel. That trouble takes an even more deadly form after a bloody attack by furtive raiders on the Central starship Exeter, when help appears in the form of a ship of the PSI, Central’s rival. The uneasy balance of power among nominal enemies is complicated even more by maneuvering factions within each interstellar organization, which makes the background decidedly murky. The people in the foreground, however, are vividly real, especially Raman Celik, the Exeter’s cynical but emotionally needy captain, who struggles to fight through a thicket of conflicting impulses even though he is smart enough to realize that he may be confusing his hunger for revenge with justice. Surprising, convincing character development makes this series worth following and leaves the reader confident that Bonesteel will successfully untangle the plot threads down the line.

Starred review from October 15, 2016

After leaving her lover behind at the end of The Cold Between, Elena Shaw survived a court-martial and is back on the Galileo, working as chief of engineering and trying to repair her damaged friendship with the ship's captain, Greg Foster. There are still forces within her own Central Corps government aiming to stir up trouble with the PSI, but Greg is striving to build good relations with local PSI ship Orunmila, hoping they will help when Syndicate raiders suddenly attack a Corps ship, kidnapping a prisoner with whom Elena and Greg have history. VERDICT While this second entry in her excellent new military space opera series doesn't have the romance angle of the first book, Bonesteel still delivers compelling interpersonal relationships. Elena and Greg have a complicated dynamic of friendship and thwarted attraction, but they can still trust each other. They rely on this bedrock when it seems they are surrounded by treachery and secret plots.--MM

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2016
This second entry in the Central Corps series is wall-to-wall action. It starts with a bang, opens new vistas of political and corporate intrigue, and pulls readers along to an ending that will leave them wanting more. After the events of The Cold Between (2016), Elena Shaw and Greg Foster were court-martialed for their actions. But instead of punishment, they're put back on board their ship and assigned to patrol the Third Sector. When Syndicate raiders attack and destroy a fellow Corps ship, they must partner with a PSI captain and her crew to pursue the attackers. Elena's former crewmates and commander open old wounds, as the pursuit leads to the site of one of her worst memories. Worse yet, there's a saboteur on board. Bonesteel's characters are what really stand out amid all the actionthe relationships between them ground everything in the story, though this novel ditches the romance that characterized its predecessor in favor of more straightforward military science fiction. Fans of David Drake's Honor Harrington series will find much to enjoy here.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)