BOOK REVIEW: THE STAR THIEF BY JAMIE GRAY

Title: The Star Thief

Author: Jamie Grey

Genre: Science Fiction, romance

Published on: December 29, 2013

Experience the romance and adventure of the best selling futuristic romance.

Stealing another galactic secret will get her arrested, but playing by the rules might just get her killed.

At twenty-three, Renna Carrizal is the most notorious thief in the galaxy. There's just one problem - all she wants is to get out of the business.

But after Renna rescues an injured boy on her final job, she finds herself on the run from the mob instead of enjoying retirement. She unwittingly becomes ensnared by MYTH, the empire's top-secret galactic protection agency, who offer her a choice - either help them on their latest mission, or spend the rest of her life on a prison ship.

Forced to work under the watchful eye of handsome but arrogant Captain Finn, Renna learns the former mercenary-turned-space marine has a few dirty secrets himself. As Renna works to discover the truth about Finn's past and keep the tantalizing man at arm's length, she unearths a plot to create an unstoppable army. The target? The human star fleet.

Now Renna must pull off the biggest job of her career - saving the galaxy. And maybe even herself.

I haven’t read many space opera novels. They’re a fascinating sci-fi subgenre for me, especially when done right like Skyward by Brandon Sanderson. After I came across The Star Thief, I thought it sounded cool. The protagonist is 23-year-old Renna Carrizal, and she’s perhaps the best thief in the galaxy. The novel doesn’t specify how far into the future the story is set, only that it’s several centuries after our time. Renna is introduced while she’s in the middle of an assignment. Someone hired her to steal some tech prototype. Renna is able to find it, of course. When she’s about to leave, Renna gets into a snag. She is forced to outrun the building’s guards with extra cargo that she hadn’t anticipated.

Just when Renna thinks she’s made it away, an unknown group shows up. They’re not the goons Renna just stole from. These newcomers seem to be some sort of paramilitary unit. Renna can’t help but think of them as ninjas, especially as they use swords. She tells the reader that swords went out of fashion eons ago. They’re highly effective in the hands of these guys, though. The squad make short work of the goons and take Renna hostage. Of course, Renna tries to escape and almost manages it...until she sees who sent the ninja soldiers after her.

Renna learns that the guys who captured her are agents from a secret organization. They call themselves MYTH. It’s a CIA-esque unit that charges itself with protecting the galaxy. MYTH agents are the best of the galaxy’s elite. Once in their headquarters, Renna meets with Major Dallas. He’s the head of that planet’s MYTH branch. Renna’s shocked when she recognizes the commander’s right hand. He’s Captain Finn, a guy Renna knew as Hunter. She hadn’t seen him in years, believing him to be dead. Captain Finn is a very different man from the guy Renna knew. The two used to be on good terms, but now that seems to have changed. Renna has no idea why Finn hates her now.

The world of The Star Thief is futuristic, so there’s really advanced tech in play. Renna uses some kind of gadget called a nanospanner. I found it a little hard to picture, as the book doesn’t explain it even a little. It serves as both a tool and a weapon. Renna also has a bionic implant in her head. It allows her to connect to her world’s version of the Internet and do things like get building schematics and scan for people in the vicinity. As cool as the tech is, the setting is fascinating. Renna tells the reader that there are several inhabited planets in her world. And of course, this means there are aliens. Renna’s MYTH unit includes one such non-human, a woman with a Melinda May-esque temperament.

Major Dallas persuades (or practically strong-arms) Renna into assisting a MYTH team on a mission. He claims they need her particular set of skills. Renna cannot refuse, of course. Part of her motivation is the money she’ll get. Renna dreams of retiring from her...uh, trade, and spend the rest of her life on some vacation planet. She doesn’t get much time to plan, though. The MYTH team has to embark on the mission abruptly. It soon becomes apparent that things aren’t the way Dallas or Renna thought.

As the MYTH team travels through the galaxy in the Athena, their state-of-the-art ship, they uncover things they never expected. Along the way, Renna must team with an old ally/enemy. This character, Viktis, gets a much bigger role than I thought he would. Renna must also contend with the fact that her team members don’t completely trust her. Overall, I seriously enjoyed reading The Star Thief. It's one of the most exciting space operas I've read in a while. I highly recommend it.

My rating: ★★★★

4 stars - Definitely enjoyed it!