"To Hand (Valley of Fire #2)" by John Van Stry
https://www.amazon.com/Hand-Valley-Fire-John-Stry/dp/B0FSKXQ6QT/

Book number two of a three book illustrated science fiction space opera series. The books were illustrated by the science fiction author Cedar Sanderson. This is continuation of a series of two books set in the
2100s and a series of six books set in the 4000s or 5000s, ending two
years prior to this series. I read the well printed and well bound POD
(print on demand) trade paperback published by Raconteur Press in 2025
that I bought in 2026. And the I have the following book in the series
and am hoping for more books in the series.

I love Space Opera. And I love pulp science fiction. This series is
both and a great example of the merging of the two. In fact, this
series reminds me very much of the Robert Heinlein juvenile books, the
Piers Anthony "Bio of a Space Tyrant" series, the "Mutineer's Moon"
series by David Weber, and the Perry Rhodan series. The dialog is very frequent and the action moves along quickly.

In the far distant future, The Solarian Imperium consists of 38 star
systems including Earth and the Sol system which were made uninhabitable
in the War of Succession. Emperor Chase Morgan is the latest in a long
line of Morgans ruling the Imperium. His family keeps power because
they are genetically modified with machine interfaces in their DNA. So
are all of the Nobles: the Earls, the Dukes, the Counts, and the Barons.
Any machine of any importance, and especially the space ships and the military weapons, requires a human with machine interface to tell the AI
what to do. And the Imperial family machine interface in their DNA is
the best of all the interfaces and has special rights with all of the
machines in the Imperium. And nobody knows or understands how tight the Imperial human machine interfaces are with every AI in the Imperium.

Eric Wolfram and his sister Candi (Candice) were raised by Dar
(Dartanion) in his scrap yard on a frontier planet outside the Solarium Imperium. Dar rescued them at ages 7 and 10 from a drunkard who was not taking care of them. They were refugees from a space ship that was
attacked by pirates where their father, mother, and older brother were
killed. They took a lifeboat to the nearest planet. Both Eric and his
sister have a DNA machine interface of at least the Ducal level. And
Eric is growing up and running with a bad crowd Dar made him move out of
the salvage yard. After a robbery gone bad, Eric joins a Privateer
spaceship operating under a Letter of Marque from the King of Iraklis, a
three star kingdom far away from the Solarium Imperium.

The author has a website at:
https://jvanstry.blogspot.com/

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars (I am tempted for a 6 star, will reread soon) Amazon rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars (953 reviews)

Lynn


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