James Vincett
Science fiction novels and book reviews
The Hominin Union Series
The Anuvi Incident
Released 2015
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A harsh universe. Implacable alien foes. Mysterious and god-like ancient aliens. Humanity's struggle for survival.
The Anuvi Incident is classic science fiction action and adventure.
Lieutenant Joshua McFinn of the Union Imperial Navy stumbles upon a conspiracy at the heart of the Fifth Fleet, a plan that will lead to war with Humanity's most implacable and vicious enemy, the Naati, and shake the very foundations of the Union government.
At the same time, Captain William Osatari Bandele and the crew of the exploration vessel HSS Vitus Bering discover a mysterious and powerful alien artifact, hundreds of thousands of years old, in the Neutral Zone between the Hominin Union and the Naati Hegemony.
As both Humanity and the Naati race to investigate and ultimately claim the ancient alien device, the bitter enemies are driven to the very edge of total conflict.
The secrets uncovered during these events will have a profound and lasting effect on the fate of both Humanity and the Naati in the Milky Way Galaxy.
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The Borrega Test
Released 2017
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The Borrega Test is the long awaited sequel to The Anuvi Incident.
Fifteen years have passed since the incident in the Anuvi system. As the changes unleashed by that event ripple through the culture and society of the Naati, the Hegemony is driven to the brink of civil war. Sensing an opportunity, the Union sends Senator Frances Arrington as ambassador to negotiate with one of the Naati factions on the independent Human world of Borrega, located in the Neutral Zone. McFinn, long exiled to the glaciers and mountains of the planet Turrentine, is selected by a Very Important Person to act as attaché to the Ambassador. Unknown to all, a small religious sect on Borrega, tested by privation and battle, has other plans for the representatives about to arrive on their world. Looming in the background is the Hominin Union, driven by a history of war and death to unite all Human and Hominin worlds into one political entity, no matter what the cost.
With these events in motion, Dr. Hans Beckenbaur, geologist turned adventurer, tracks down Dr. Batista's research while pursued by the shadowy forces of the General Intelligence Directorate. He believes he has discovered the location to another Harbinger artifact, and he sets out with Dr. Ferrel and the motley crew of the Trieste to discover the truth about the ancient alien race and its relationship to Humans, Hominins, and the Naati.
Or to die trying.
The Stardancers is the third novel in the Hominin Union Series. It will be released in 2022.
The Far Frontier Series
Hope's Surprise
Released 2016
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Humanity has laid a tentative claim to a region of space at the very Spinward edge of the Union known as the Far Frontier. In this sparsely settled region, where the bloodthirsty and expansionist Snirr once ruled, there are worlds shattered by ancient conflicts, mysterious and predatory alien races, lost civilizations, and fantastic physical phenomenon. The only Union presence here are random patrols of the Imperial Navy and a few scattered outposts. Charged with exploring this frontier and readying it for exploitation and settlement is the Imperial Exploration Service, but claiming the worlds of the frontier is not for the weak or the timid. Adventure and danger lurk on the undiscovered worlds and in the hidden mysteries scattered across tens of thousands of light years and hundreds of millions of stars.
This is the first voyage of the Imperial Exploration Vessel HSS Solstice. Newly commissioned, the third vessel of the James Cook class is sent by the Ministry for Exploration to follow up on a survey performed more than sixty years ago. Scanned from a distance, the system has a class K orange star and an Earth-like planet. In a change of protocol, the IES has already named the world Hope, before anyone has even set foot on the planet, let alone entered the system. The Ministry hopes that a quick survey of the world will lead the way to rapid settlement and development, and provide a springboard for further exploration and exploitation of the frontier.
The members of the Solstice's crew are some of the best that Humanity and their Hominin brethren have to offer, but, as it always is with the Exploration Service, this same crew is full of the dangerously daring, the oddballs, the spiritually and psychologically wounded, the agitators, and those unfit for life in the Core Worlds.
Captain Caroline Talbot: she helped her father scour the teeming biomes of the planet Grell, looking for the next genetic gold mine to sell to any corporation interested. Fierce, independent, and adventurous, she sought the same adventure as an adult. Through grit, determination and talent, by the age of thirty-five she has earned the rank of captain and the command of one the latest and greatest exploration vessels ever built. But her independent spirit was almost tamed by one man, something which she can never forgive.
Commander Cord Kessler: born into a family with an illustrious history serving in the Imperial Navy, Cord was athletic, intelligent, handsome, and, his family believed, destined for great things. There were a few problems, however: too undisciplined; no respect for authority; rebellious; daring to the point of suicidal. But he found a home in the Imperial Exploration Service, known as a haven for oddballs and the reckless. When he met Caroline Talbot, he found the only woman who could match his talent and daring, but she would not bend to his own aspirations. As fate would have it, he finds himself serving under her on some of the most dangerous missions of his life.
Emerans Van Zant: ruthless, paranoid and sometimes brutal, Van Zant is one of the General Intelligence Directorate agents placed on exploration service vessels by the Crown after the fallout of the Anuvi Incident. The Directorate's mission is to evaluate and counter all alien threats to the Union, and Van Zant is prepared to sacrifice the Solstice and her crew to save Humanity from destruction.
The Dreaming Oceans of San Miguel
Released 2019
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Discovered by the crew of the HSS Lalande less than a year ago, the world of San Miguel is the very expectation of paradise: a warm ocean world with a moderate-sized continent and thousands of island chains with countless islands. The Imperial Exploration Service is eager to survey the world and make it available for settlement. But the Lalande is overdue back at Silmais Orbital, and Vice-Admiral Arinze has ordered the crew of the Solstice to find the Lalande and complete the survey. When the Solstice arrives at San Miguel, the crew find the Lalande, but her entire crew is missing.
In the course of their investigation, Talbot, Kessler and Van Zant experience the most intensive dream-memories of their lives. It was on the Lalande that Talbot and Kessler first fell in love, but Talbot must also relive a memory of her father, and Kessler revisits a disastrous mission from his career. Van Zant experiences memories of his brutal childhood, and the horrors he has seen while serving as an agent of the General Intelligence Directorate. What is the source of these dream-memories, and what do they portend?
The crew of the Solstice discover wondrous and fantastic life forms on land, in the skies, and in the depths of the oceans. When the missing crew of the Lalande reappear, Talbot, Kessler, and Van Zant realize, yet again, the worlds of the Far Frontier are not there just for the taking.
The Independencies
Slalom, Inc.
Released 2021
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Lance Chet thought he was out. He had managed to escape from the criminal organization of the notorious Carleton Boggs and rebuild his life as an independent trader on Komachi Station. But fifteen years later, Chet is setup in a false deal; behind it is an old associate, Grigori the bounty hunter, who attempts to fry him with a blaster rifle. Why does Boggs want to kill him now? What follows is a tale of a mysterious crate, ancient artifacts, relentless bounty hunters, and an invading totalitarian empire. Chet and his partners, Slalom, Inc., just want to make money. They'll be given that opportunity, plus one much more dangerous.
The Independencies are sovereign worlds located in the Veil, a star-packed region of the Perseus Arm in the Milky Way Galaxy. The six sovereign worlds of the Independencies squabble and quarrel, each seeking to increase its power and influence. A myriad of mercenary companies, trading interests, explorers, and pirates ply their trade in the region. Rivalries and feuds between these interests are common and bloody, and law enforcement is almost non-existent outside the six core systems. Thousands of unregulated colonies and settlements cling to life on marginally habitable worlds or on ramshackle space stations. Most mysteriously, hints of a number of ancient civilizations can be found scattered among the stars of the Veil. Overshadowing everything is the Hominin Union, slowly and methodically increasing its influence through trade, subterfuge, and blunt force. Life in the Independencies can be nasty, brutish, and short, but untold rewards await the ruthless, bold, and adventurous.