cover image Devastation Class

Devastation Class

Glen Zipper and Elaine Mongeon. Blink, $18.99 (352p) ISBN 978-0-310-76900-2

Cadets John Douglas Marshall and Vivien Nixon are part of the training complement on the Alliance’s Devastation-class spaceship, the UAS California. When a surprise attack by the alien Kastazi destroys the Gallipoli Station, where the California is docked, all officers but two ensigns are away from the ship. After one is killed and the other has a breakdown, the cadets assume command of the California. Further Kastazi attacks follow, and the crew employs typical science-fiction tech fixes to try to save the day. In this series opener, filmmakers and debut authors Zipper and Mongeon write compelling action sequences, but the book’s first third is slow, the characters are standard, and some plot elements don’t add up—in particular, science-savvy readers may spot an astrophysics fallacy about star movement in descriptions of a device that makes it possible to jump into the future. This will appeal most to action junkies who don’t mind being left hanging, but seasoned genre readers may want to pass. Ages 13–up. [em](Sept.) [/em]