Advance

Brooke (the Supreme Constellations series) opens a new series that will leave readers unfulfilled. Admiral Dael Caydoc is in command over a fleet of five ships with an important mission: find a new home world for the Ocondonian people. To do it, she'll have to find a way to work with Aniwyn "Spinner" Seclan, a gutsy pilot known for her luck in gambling and disregard for protocol. The world-building is shallow and the prose is sometimes painfully clunky ("Their initial screens were clear, so if they can manage to not remove them, and you know as well as I do that some people become completely claustrophobic after a while, they should be fine also"). The lack of chemistry between the clich%C3%A9d, uptight admiral and the loose-cannon subordinate is hard to ignore. From a rescue mission sparked by an unlikely catastrophe to the final reveal of the uncompelling impetus to abandon their home world, there's a consistent promise of tension that never delivers. (Dec.)