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{"id":2380,"date":"2021-01-10T10:45:45","date_gmt":"2021-01-10T10:45:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lonestar.a1professionals.net\/?p=2380"},"modified":"2021-01-10T10:58:08","modified_gmt":"2021-01-10T10:58:08","slug":"lone-star-review-persephone-station","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lonestar.a1professionals.net\/?p=2380&lang=ar","title":{"rendered":"Lone Star Review: PERSEPHONE STATION"},"content":{"rendered":"

Review of new science fiction<\/p>\n

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Eager to read something new under the sun . . . of a distant world? How about a \u201cviciously feminist\u201d science-fiction fantasy thriller?<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Central Texas writer <\/span>Stina Leicht<\/span><\/strong><\/a>\u2019s imaginative and entertaining new book, <\/span>Persephone Station<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/a>, is set on a harsh, stormy planet where women are the key leaders and negotiators, as well as the chief warriors. Men are there, too, not only as war fighters, but in lesser roles such as troublemaker, sex partner, husband, and\/or father. Meanwhile, a huge space station orbits the troubled planet named Persephone, and it becomes an important site in the book\u2019s pivotal final chapters.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Male readers delving into Persephone Station<\/em> may experience brief disorientation at first. Many of the book\u2019s key characters have names that appear \u201cmale\u201d at first glance, such as Kirby, Lou, Kennedy, Paulie, and Angel. Yet, they are females who can be fierce and brave in combat, whether on Persephone\u2019s surface, in its poisonous atmosphere, or in space. Some of them also have families to care for, and they share with each other the routine concerns and needs of daily life on their planet.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Science-fiction fantasy often involves creating fanciful worlds and characters that require considerable exposition to introduce and establish. Complex plots also are common but typically echo many of the elements in the storytelling approach known as \u201chero\u2019s journey.\u201d Ms. Leicht handles these challenges deftly, and she keeps her prose flowing smoothly with tight, accessible sentences that remain light on technical jargon. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Her book\u2019s central character, Captain Angel de la Reza, is a \u201cdo the right thing\u201d former Space Marine of Bolivian descent. Now she has her own small spaceship crewed by a disparate band of aging mercenaries and fugitives. In the Space Marines, she had been nicknamed \u201cthe Angel of Death\u201d because of her unit\u2019s frequent suicide missions and high casualty rates.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Angel and her motley group recently have been hired to perform missions for a bi-gender crime boss known as Rosie. Rosie runs a dual-purpose bar in Brynner, Persephone\u2019s only visible city. The front bar serves wannabe crooks and rich tourists from Earth. The back bar caters to experienced criminals and those seeking to hire them.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Angel is unhappy with her life and tasks on Persephone, vowing to herself: \u201cOne day, I\u2019m leaving this dirtball of a planet and going home, even if it\u2019s in a body bag.\u201d <\/em>Yet she is quick to join the fight when big troubles suddenly threaten her world.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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A powerful space corporation, Serrao-Orlov, has decided to take over Persephone and seize its resources, violating all agreements previously signed with both the human population and the planet\u2019s indigenous occupants.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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True to the tenets of \u201cspace opera\u201d fiction, Angel must help save Persephone by leading her small squad and others into combat against a massive, armored, and heavily armed corporate army. The attackers also are led by a woman, Vissia Corsini, who now holds deadly grudges against the world that once was her home.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Ms. Leicht\u2019s new saga spans more than five hundred pages yet keeps surging forward at an enjoyable and engrossing pace. And its exciting battle sequences rival those featured in many other science-fiction novels.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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