Finn Rucker boards the starship to seek a fresh start as part of a colonizing effort on Joya. The race, sponsored by Governus, yields free land and startup funds for the lucky winners. The number of entrants guarantees someone is going to lose and Finn is determined that she and her bionic horse, Herc, are among the winners.
Racing through uncharted jungle to the settlement of Novus, Finn and her fellow racers soon discover that not everything is as it seems – and Governus withheld information from the contestants. Strange beasts attack the racers, mechanical equipment begins to fail, and the very air seems out to get them.
When all seems lost, a mysterious people arrive and help the racers, revealing the depth of Governus’ deception. Finn will have to keep her pulse pistols close and her new friends closer – but not too close – as they all race to survive the jungle.
You will love this mashup of Hidalgo and James Cameron’s Avatar as Finn navigates the guilt of her past, the promise of a future, and the imminent dangers of her present.
Purchase Links
https://www.amazon.ca/Race-Novus-R-Clarke-ebook/dp/B0CSC5YS3P/
https://www.amazon.com/Race-Novus-R-Clarke-ebook/dp/B0CSC5YS3P/
Publisher’s website: https://www.cloakedpress.com
Author Bio –
spare time is spent plotting fantastical novels and multi-genre short fiction. Her tales have been featured in various publications, and have won international writing contests, such as Red Penguin Books' humour contest, the Writer’s Weekly 24-hour contest, The Writer's Workout: Writer's Games, and the 2023 Write Fighters 3-Day Novella Challenge. She was also a finalist for both the 2021 Futurescapes Award and the 2022 Dark Sire Awards.
R.A. Clarke writes and illustrates a children’s chapter book series for ages 7-10 as Rachael Clarke as well. The first book in that series, The Big Ol’ Bike—a story about a smaller than average kid with a huge heart—was named a Females of Fiction Award finalist by Hindi’s Libraries in 2021. To learn more, please visit: www.rachaelclarkewrites.com.
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As a horse lover, as well as Science Fiction/Fantasy/Western romance lover, and having participated in several long distance horse races myself, I thought I would enjoy this book - I hadn't realised how much.
This is a real page turner with surprises that are as much a suprise to Finn as they are to the reader.
Finn is a sassy and determined main character - and what horse lover would not love a bionic Friesian stallion! Although I am usually annoyed when the main character, however young or inexperienced they are, rides a stallion, (not usually the easiest gender of horse to ride or handle.) In this case, however, Finn is perfectly capable, and her relationship with Herc is very caring and they make a perfect partnership. (The only fault I found was that she seemed to feed him on nothing but oats, which, while certainly being a good source of energy, would not do his digestion a lot of good, unless he was able to graze at night to up his intake of fibre. This is being a bit 'nit-picky' though, and on the whole I found Finn's actions completely plausible, even if, perhaps, she did not always make the wisest decisions, she always tried to keep Herc safe and blamed herself when things went wrong. The romance was lightly handled but one could see it subtly developing as the story progressed.
The scientific details were also absolutely credible, with some intriguing science fiction type vehicles, and I loved the descriptions of the Venanti and their 'city'.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a thrilling adventure story with a little light romance, especially if they also like horses!
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