The romance between the two takes up a significant portion of the narrative energy. If anything, he may be a little too perfect. He is the unconquerable man who doesn’t give into Devi’s charms immediately Rupert is initially something of a stonewall. The character with whom Devi has the closest relationship as the novel progresses is Rupert he is the love interest. Of course, we’d have very little story if the vessel were a simple trader. Amidst this backdrop, the Glorious Fool is a trading vessel, not unlike the Serenity of Joss Whedon’s Firefly. Of course, space is a dangerous place, even for a soldier with the best power armor and weapons money can buy.ĭevi meets and interacts with the motley crew of the Glorious Fool, – Captain Caldswell, who runs the ship with near military precision Rupert who is “just a cook” (not) the bird like aeon pilot Basil who literally navigates from a nest the tall lizard-like xith’cal doctor Hyrek (right, a doctor from a race which enjoys the taste of human flesh) the captain’s daughter Ren who is protected by Rupert Cotter, the other security mercenary who joined the ship with Devi and Mabel, the ship’s engineer who has the longest relationship with Captain Brian Caldswell and Nova, who oversees the ships diagnostics. Hired as security for the captain of the Glorious Fool as one of two Paradoxian soldiers, which she hopes brings her one step closer to becoming part of the elite Kingsguard – the Devestators. She’s headstrong, aggressive, and very good at her job: being a soldier for hire. Devi Morris is the protagonist here, and like some of the most popular and influential Military SF novels, Fortune’s Pawn is told with Devi’s voice as the first person narrator. Space Mercenaries, secret missions, bizarre aliens, romance, intrigue, battles…these things are plentiful in Rachel Aaron’s Fortune’s Pawn, the first installment of her Paradox trilogy.

Fortune's Pawn by Rachel Bach