If you’ve read my blog for any amount of time, you probably know that I love Grace Goodwin and her Interstellar Bride series. So it should come as no surprise that I devoured her newest book, Cyborg Fever.
Cyborg Fever hit some of my total fave buttons in this world. It’s one of the Colony books and it’s an Atlan. More than just being an Atlan, Anghar is one of my favorite Atlans. He’s been a secondary character in more than one book, and was pretty pivotal in the last IBP book. So I was so very, very happy to see that he finally got his own book. I love the Atlans. There’s just something about those big guys and their inner beasts that’s just so very awesome.
The Colony is where the Coalition fighters who have been “tainted” by the Hive. They were taken prisoner and have had Hive implants. They are sent to the Colony instead of going back to their own planet. The Colony is deep in safe Coalition space and where the Hive can’t reach them. At least, theoretically. For a long time, those guys got no respect and no chance at a bride, but with the new Prime on Prillion having Hive implants and a human bride who told him that it was a shame that the guys on the Colony were treated that way because they are vets and deserve respect, the males on the Colony now have chances to get a bride. There still aren’t a lot of brides on the Colony, but that’s slowly changing.
Ok, on to Angh’s story. We’re two years after the last book and he’s been living on the Colony for those two years. He’s tired, bored, and lonely. The people on the Colony are either mining for resources or protecting the miners and those resources. That’s important for the Coalition, but for men who were trained to be fighters and who have a whole bunch of rage because of what the Hive has done to them, it’s just not enough. One way that they deal with it is to fight in the Pit. The guys can take their aggression out on other guys who are in the same place. Angh is one of the regulars in the Pit. He figures that’s the only place he will ever get some peace because he’s never going to get a bride. He tested for the program a couple of years ago, but no match yet. Then, he sees her.
Kira teaches at the Coalition’s academy, but that’s not her only job, she’s also a member of the Intelligence Corps. She goes in and helps extract high-profile prisoners from the Hive before they can crack their minds. Those prisoners generally have info that would be very hurtful to the Coalition if the Hive were to get it. But she does that on the down low. Her public job is being a teacher. Right now she’s supervising some students who are just about to graduate who are doing a course on the Colony. They are using the caves for simulations since it will be similar to a lot of places where they will be fighting the Hive. She has a friend who is a student and together, they decide to go see the fights in the Pit. That’s when she sees Angh and fixates on him. She decides that she can have one glorious night with him, but she can’t give him any more than that, because the IC basically owns her. That turns into a huge problem for Angh, because while they are having their wonderful night, he offers her mating cuffs. Too bad he wakes up in the morning and she’s gone, with the cuffs sitting on the bed.
OK, you know what time it is. I love Kira and Angh’s story. I love it so hard. It isn’t an easy journey for anyone. There are a lot of shitty things that happen. There is a vice-admiral that didn’t get near what she deserved. Not nearly. I really wanted to go smack the absolute shit out of her, because damn. That was just wrong. If you love the Atlans, this is a definite book for you to read. Angh has been a fan favorite, and like I said, is my fave Atlan. I’m pretty sure that I kind of hate Kira for ending up with him. Oh well, at least he’ll be happy, right? Watch out for a guest appearance from Denzel Washington.
OK, that vice-admiral knew what was going to happen when you threaten an Atlan’s mate. Of course, that was in her plans, devious bitch that she was, but I want to know if she was aware just how far that he would go. I’m betting she didn’t expect him to go to the extent he did. And Kira really needed to kick her ass.
I can’t wait to see more of this world. I never can. Of course, I think Grace may be sadistic to make us wait. Of course, I think most authors are more than just a little sadistic. So, go check this out, along with all the other books, and get the mad Atlan love. Happy reading!