Jennifer Macaire Horse Passages

Horse Passages

Jennifer Macaire

Medallion, Nov. 2005, $9.99

ISBN: 1932815120

Their parents and their younger sister were abducted by the enigmatic Raiders, but their father managed to save his twins Carl and Meagan Cadet. They miss their family, but both know that no one has ever escaped from Raider captivity. Though dangerous, they continue to herd the horses that somehow open passages between planets.

The Cadets are on Tauii 3 when the wild Jeffries bunch arrives on the scene with their herd. However an accident occurs with the youngest brother dying from a fall. The oldest Luke goes into depression, but the shy Meagan pulls him out of it. Not long afterward, Raiders arrive to capture Meagan and Luke and his herd; Carl, Luke's siblings, and the Cadet herd escape. The Raiders take Meagan and Luke to join other prisoners working the mines on some isolated orb. Escape seems impossible, but each takes a turn encouraging the other to keep up the hope, even as they begin to fall in love, but are too tired to do much more than sleep near each other.

HORSE PASSAGES is an action packed science fiction coming of age thriller, that grips the audience from the moment the Jeffries and their herd land on Tauii 3. The storyline is action-packed, but key cast members are not neglected, as the audience will fully understand why Meagan stutters, what drove the Jeffries to behave like the world will end tomorrow, and slowly over the course of the tale, learn much of what motivates the Raiders. Though why herders would continue to do this type of dangerous work is somewhat explained, the benefits are not. Still Jennifer Macaire provides a creative intriguing outer space tale.

Harriet Klausner