Colby Hodge, Shooting Star

Shooting Star

Colby Hodge

Love Spell, Dec 2006, $6.99

ISBN: 050552628X

One of twenty-one sons of the all mighty, all-knowing Emperor Rashad DeMarco Monaco, Rubjikhan Benjamin, son of the ruler's fourth wife, feels honored that his sire is hosting a public birthday party for him. That is until his dad wishes the wrong son a happy birthday leading Ruben to realize his father does not know who he is. He vows to cut all ties with the Emperor as soon as possible.

He becomes an interstellar trader who has nothing to do with empire politics until he learns he is the target of a mass manhunt for apparently committing patricide; the price on his head is 750,000 credits as reported by SNN news. As friends betray him, he suffers strange dreams that his brother Stefan is in trouble, but cannot stop to help him. On the run, Ruben crashes his ship on a primitive orb where Tess the slave and her son Boone save his life. He recognizes her from his weird dream, but fears something is not right as he senses evil, especially with the Circe witches in the middle.

Fans of romantic, science-fiction thrillers will want to read Colby Hodge's faster-than-the-speed-of-light tale, SHOOTING STAR. Ruben is a fascinating lead character who learns a life lesson at his twelfth birthday party. Actually his sire eventually recognized him as the warrior amongst his offspring, but by then, even with a gift of a blade, Ruben severed all ties until he becomes galaxy-wide headline news for allegedly murdering his father. Ruben makes the storyline fun to read as he learns who his friends are as the price on his head is a fortune. Tess is his ideal partner though she has trust issues. The audience will appreciate this entertaining story while afterward stargazing at the skills of this talented author.

Harriet Klausner