What was hinted at in the first book of the series, that the crew of The Prayer may have finally come to accept that they will not make it home to Earth, comes to pass in ‘The Captain’s Encounter’. Many reasons speak for them finding an inhabitable planet: they still don’t know where they are so even if they had the technology, they wouldn’t be able to get back; the ship is beginning to fall apart; they have finally found a habitable planet with no life forms that might threaten them. Or so they think…

The captain is as happy as the members of his crew to be walking under an open sky again, breathing fresh air, and having the prospect of a tryst or two in the protection of trees. But before he can indulge in any of that he is snatched by an alien – one he immediately finds attractive. It made me laugh when the alien reveals his secret, after many questions from the somewhat shocked captain.

The other members of the captain’s lover-quintet, as well as the rest of the crew, are left to their own devices. Rick, the youngest of the crew at twenty-one, is too cute for words, turns out to be a closet romantic, and on the lookout for a boyfriend. He gets varying responses from Thomas and Zachery. Zachery continues to be a selfish a**hole, and Echo remains somewhat aloof and separate. The first officer really comes into his own, and I am looking forward to finding out more about him. Of course, the enigmatic alien will probably be good for a few more surprises as well.

If you like stories about men who decide exploring a new planet is more interesting than being adrift in space, if you’re a fan of polyamorous human and budding human-alien relationships, and if you’re looking for an entertaining read with lots of varied sex, then you will probably like this novella.


NOTE: This book was provided by NineStar Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews. ( )