RAPIER
by R. A. “Doc” Correa
Reviewed by S. S. Bazinet

Description: Kathy Masters never expected to journey to the stars. When she does, she experiences the adventure of a lifetime.

That all changes when she is selected by the prestigious Galactic Geographic Society to photograph and record the flora and fauna of a newly discovered class M planet. Filled with hope and enthusiasm, she boards the S.S. America for the trip to Beta 3 Epsilon to begin her new project. On the way she is abducted and brought aboard the privateer Rapier.

Going from captive, to slave, to induction into the infamous Brotherhood, Kathy finds herself raising the adopted daughter of the crew of the Rapier. Given the responsibility to raise their princess, Cindy, they travel among the stars preying on merchant ships, dodging Chinese warships, fighting pirates, visiting strange worlds, and encountering fantastic creatures, all under the watchful eyes of Commodore James Ulysses Black. Trying to raise a young girl among gunfights, swordfights, ship-to-ship battles, slave trades, deals, and some of the most feared raiders in human space is no small challenge.

The only question is, Is Kathy up to the task?

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Review: The story is compelling and complicated and presents the reader with a lot to think about.

I agree with many of the other reviewers. This is a great space story, full of adventures, amazing and fascinating life forms and characters I really liked. But I want to concentrate on one of the characters, Cindy. She was only five years old when her parents were killed. She’s such an innocent when she comes aboard the Rapier, first as a prisoner and later as a part of the crew. The woman, Kathy Masters, who was captured with Cindy, becomes her new mother. The captain and later commodore of the ship, James Ulysses Black, becomes the person Cindy calls Daddy.

When Cindy becomes a part of the Rapier crew, she’s “adopted” by all. As a crewman, she’s taught to fight on almost a daily basis. She also learns how to operate the guns, just like a child learns how to play a video game. It is all a game for the little girl until at the age of six, things change. Cindy has had a lot of gunnery training, and shortly after her sixth birthday, the Rapier encounters an enemy merchantman ship and an armed sloop. A battle ensues with Cindy sitting on the lap of the man in charge of the weapons. When told to fire, the crewman fires a particle beam. Being the excited child who loves to play, Cindy hits the rail guns and fires four times. The fire power she unleashes is enough to snap the sloop in half. That’s when Cindy sees something she wasn’t supposed to see. Before the captain can change the view screen, Cindy witnesses what she’s actually done. Bodies, some still alive, are dumped into the vacuum of space and the results are gruesome. Cindy is horrified and screams, “I killed them.”

Even though people try to convince Cindy that the enemy was trying to kill them, Cindy is inconsolable. Her life as an innocent is over. It’s only after someone Cindy loves is killed that she totally leaves that innocence behind. Her cries of anguish over her deed become an outraged cry when she sees the body of a young man she adored. She states, “I’m going to kill them all.”

After that pivotal time in her life, Cindy is never the same loving child. Her innocence is gone, and she becomes a tough, battle-ready member of the crew. Even when she returns to Earth and a supposed “normal life, she snaps at Kathy and says, “I’m not normal.” Cindy is expelled from school after school due to her belligerent attitude. She decides who among her classmates should be punished. The author, R. A. “Doc” Correa, does a brilliant job of describing how a child goes through the transformation from innocence to being a no nonsense warrior.

The author also presents a picture of people who are caught up in a war. After suffering extreme losses, they become warriors who don’t feel they have any choice in the matter. The story is compelling and complicated and presents the reader with a lot to think about. Great job, R. A. “Doc” Correa. Extremely well done and highly recommended five star read.

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