The journey of Galen Dwyn continues in the second book of the Starquest 4th Age series.

While Dwyn lies in stasis, recovering from his injuries in his stand against Harmool's fleet, Rhea has assumed the title of Regent of Salacia while leading the search for her missing father, King Iodocus. She is also helping repair the damage done to the Alliance in her Uncle's and Mother's mad quest to launch a new Empire. A shocking assassination attempt is thwarted at the last second by Dwyn, who seems to be a changed man now that he has exited stasis to save his love.

The King's location is ascertained and a rescue mission mounted to retrieve him from the Wilds, a lawless area of space. An ambush splits their forces and Dwyn leads the ambushers away so that Rhea and her father can escape. Before Dwyn can find a way back to Alliance territory, an old enemy returns from the grave, and hold Rhea and the King hostage, while triggering a massive insurrection that overthrows the Alliance and installs a new Emperor.

Dwyn must now mount a second rescue while finding a way to rally a rebellion against this threat to peace in the Hominids' corner of the Andromeda Galaxy.

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From reviewer Stan Johnson:

I was given an Advanced Review Copy of Galen's Blade in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, I very much enjoyed the book. It was a solid follow-on from the previous installation, Galen's Way, and carries on the fast-paced adventure of Galen Dwyn, smuggler-turned hero.

In Galen's Blade, the galactic Alliance is recovering from an attempted overthrow at the hands of Adalwin Harmool, a former Chamberlain of Kind Iodocus of Salacia. The king, himself, is still missing, secreted away by his traitorous brother and treacherous wife.

Meanwhile, Princess Rhiannon guides Salacia as regent, longing for the return of her father and of her hero and lover, Galen Dwyn, who hovers between life and death after nearly giving his life to end Harmool's threat.

Little does Rhiannon know what surprises are in store for her--and the Alliance--in the near future.

Galen'sBlade reunites the crew of the Tempest as they tackle an unexpected rising evil that will tear the Alliance apart, and drive even the best of people into hiding.

Yet, even in the ashes of terror lies an ancient hope waiting to be reborn.

I enjoy Paolinelli's clean prose and easy style. As I said of Galen's Way, this story bears the hallmarks of classic sci-fi, while still moving the story forward at a good clip.

The characters are distinct, and I enjoyed their chemistry, same as I did in the previous novel. Galen's Blade certainly ups the stakes--both for the universe, and for Galen Dwyn personally--but Galen certainly rises to the challenge, now endowed with newfound and inexplicable abilities.

Even better, he gets a little taste of the tougher parts of fatherhood; I won't give any spoilers, but for those who read Galen's Way, let's just say it was bound to happen, given the circumstances and the characters involved.

For anyone looking for a light, fun sci-fi read, I'd recommend Galen'sBlade. I'm looking forward to the next installment, currently due out in 2023.

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