King of Thieves by Evan Currie

King of Thieves is a science fiction novel set in a future that finds the earth struggling after an alien invasion.  The Drasin invasion forced the countries and cultures of earth to end their own wars  as the survivors of different nations realized the necessity of uniting to defeat the alien threat.

This is an action novel, not a character driven one.  The characters form an ensemble cast--you learn to care about the various individuals involved, but you get little background or character development.  No one character takes the lead, reminiscent of action films with plenty of stars making appearances; you almost find yourself debating who would be cast in the different roles.

The Autolycus is a Rogue class destroyer on a reconnaissance mission.  What Captain Morgan Passer and his crew discover is a previously unimaginable threat.  

An interesting example of military science fiction, the novel begins slowly, but turns into flat-out action as the crew struggles to understand and survive what they've encountered.  

Currie is the author of the Odyssey One series, which I have not read.  While King of Thieves is set in the same universe, it functions fine as a stand-alone.  Although this is evidently a new cast, those who have read the Odyssey One series will probably enjoy the return of Dr. Palin, the annoyingly brilliant linguist.

Not everyone enjoys this kind of military science fiction, but for those who do, I can recommend it.  David Webber remains my favorite author of military scifi/space opera, but I am intrigued enough to want to give Currie's Odyssey One series a try.

(The title King of Thieves is derived from the name of the ship and originates from the tale of Sisyphus and Autolycus, the notorious thief.  Shakespeare also uses the name of Autolycus as the "silly cheat" in A Winter's Tale.)

Read in February.  Blog post scheduled for March 9, 2015.

NetGalley/47North

Science Fiction.  March 31, 2015.  Print length:  352 pages.