Games of Command Book

This was the fourth space opera that I have read by Linnea Sinclair. She is known by her fans for following a formula in most, if not all, of her books: alpha male, strong smart heroine and at least part of the setting is held in space. Like in most sci-fi stories there is a familiar jargon unique to the plot that the reader must learn. Tel-Tal, biocybe, U-Cee, Psy-Serv, Novalis, characters with the last name of Kel-_, Galaxus, Definator and so on. And it took me roughly a third of the story to become comfortable with all of this space lingo.

GAMES OF COMMAND was first and foremost an action adventure with a side of suspense and two moderate romances. The primary characters, Admiral Branden Kel-Paten and Captain Tasha Sebastian AKA Lady Sass, are old enemies from the days before the Triad formed a peace agreement. The title refers to the competition and one-upmanship between these two soldiers. Their 'love story' takes a long time to come into play. Poor Kel-Paten.

At the same time Chief Medical Officer and empath Eden Fynn forms an alliance with renegade soldier and captive Jace Serafino. Who was also telepathic and had a dual personality. What a guy!

Oh, and did I mention that Kel-Paten was humanoid but primarily made from cybernetic parts? Referred to as the Tin Soldier, he had pined for Tasha for years without her being aware of his true feelings. His 'innocence' and a damaged past formed his personality. He lacked the social skills that others were taught in childhood. He was expected to perform as an effective machine. Reading about Kel-Paten was the reason I finished this book.

Then there were the kitty-like 'furzels', Tank and Reilly, whom refer to Tasha and Eden as their mothers. Protection was imperative. And lurking in the background was something invisible and nasty.

My problem, as with all of Ms. Sinclair's stories, was the length. GAMES OF COMMAND is 525 pages and honestly, I thought the gist of the plot could be delivered in under 350. It was just way too long. Then I found out that "the characters and some scenes in this novel were originally part of the book COMMAND PERFORMANCE and several short stories that were part of the Alliance Command series". So I am going to put the blame on the editor of her publishing firm. If they did a better job, I would have rated it higher.