Friends In Deed by T.M. Hunter

Friends In Deed by T.M. Hunter is the sequel to Heroes Die Young, from the Aston West series. For those who haven’t read the first part (you really should, it’s a great story), Aston West is a scavenger space pirate who tends to get into a lot of trouble considering his line of work is supposed to be of the humdrum variety.

In this installment, Aston finds himself reunited with his old friend, Elijah, and his twin brother Lars. The chance encounter, however, is not merely a coincidence. Elijah wants Aston to join “The Brotherhood”, a group of space pirates – led by the twins – that go around the galaxies stealing money and killing innocent people. This is too much action for Aston. Too much blood on his hands for comfort. He refuses the offer extended to him by his old friend.

Unfortunately, Elijah blackmails Aston into assisting on one mission. Just one. Then he’s free to leave.

But if you know Aston West, you know his life is never that easy.

Aw, man! What a story! Again, I’m not usually a sci-fi person, but I love Aston West. I love the adventures he goes on. I love that he tries to live a quiet life, yet is constantly thrust into danger. I love that even after years of cynicism, he’s still a good and honorable guy. And of course, I especially love the little romance that T.M. Hunter throws into the mix. Keep doing it, it works!

Friends In Deed by T.M. Hunter. Read it! But read it AFTER you read Heroes Die Young. Why? No reason, just really want you guys to read both of them.

Off to Toris with Aston!

Heroes Die Young by T.M. Hunter

While on a standard cargo run, space pirate Aston West comes upon a derelict freighter, fresh out of a recent battle. He can't fight the urge to pilfer a valuable cache of highly illegal weapons. While on board, however, one last stowaway attempts to kill Aston, thinking him part of an earlier boarding crew. Attack craft return to finish the ship off and Aston has no choice but to save her from certain destruction.

That's when all the trouble begins for Aston. Soon, he finds himself in the middle of a Torian War, a place where he does not want to be. He never gets involved, that's his motto, but with every blind turn, he gets himself more tangled up in this mess. And when he finds out that the cargo he was hired to deliver was used against Torian freedom fighters in the war, all bets are off.

I usually don't read sci-fi/space age type books, but I must admit that this book piqued my interest. Even then, I thought that once I began to read it I would get bored or not understand what T.M. Hunter was talking about. I was completely wrong! This book is awesome. I love Aston West, he's a very realistic hero, I think, because at first he didn't want to get involved. He has this "sucks to be you but it's not my problem and I value my life" attitude but he's still a good guy with a conscience and the more he gets involved, the more personal things become until he feels he needs to help. And isn't that how real heroes are? Nobody walks around looking for people in need of rescuing.

On top of that, the book is pretty damn funny. It's one of those books where you don't see it coming and next thing you know you find yourself laughing your ass off.

Heroes Die Young is a great book. A great story with great characters in a great setting (then again, I'm a sucker for talks of planets, galaxies, and binary stars). I really enjoyed myself and wish I would have read it slower. I'll definitely re-read it at some point when my TBR pile isn't so large.

I gladly give you my stars! 5 for T.M. Hunter and 5 for Aston West.