Book #8 - Origins

I picked up book 1, Resurrection, in a discounted package, loved it, and immediately when back to get Origins, which is book 0 of the Spinward Fringe series.

In this world of the future, Earth exists but it’s an almost closed, and highly technically advanced system. Very few people are allowed to visit the Sol system. However much of humankind lives in the systems all throughout the galaxy. There seems to be a mix of government and corporate systems linked together, and one of these is Freeground, an independent space station that’s evolved and grown to hold hundreds of thousands of people.

Jacob Valance is a former military soldier that’s now just working in Freeground. He and some friends manage to hack into the military academy’s simulation system and play sims, challenging cadets. It’s illegal and they’re caught, but they’ve been winning constantly. They have, unknown to them, also bested many instructors and officers. Jacob and his group are offered the chance to actually serve Freeground as independent, un-official traders. They get a refitted ship with the idea that they will procure new technology for Freeground.

The book follows their adventures in their first mission, one they barely survive. However it sets the stage for future books in a very exciting series.