Book #11 - The Fringe Worlds

I saw it rated highly, and on my recommendations list, so I grabbed The Fringe Worlds as a new book to read. The plot caught my eye, the human's as the supermen of the galaxy.

It's an interesting flow, as the beginning is from the perspective of a few freighter pilots that work the Fringe of the known galaxy. They scare off some pirates, hoping to salvage a vessel. Once they do, they fight off and manage to subdue a human, who is much stronger and tougher than they are. Adam Cain is his name, a Navy SEAL, and he was kidnapped from the mountains of Afghanistan. As far as he remembers, there was a light and then he woke up on the ship.

There's a race of larger creatures, the Jureans,  that rules the galaxy, having wiped out the Klin and stolen their technology. "Standard" gravity is about 3/4 Earth's with many lighter worlds. There are all sorts of creatures and races, but most are don't combine the strength, speed, intelligence, and more that humans have. Adam realizes this when he kills two lizard men in a duel, men who are supposed to be some of the toughest species around.

The story is interesting, with the Jurean's pursuing the technology from the salvage, trying to determine if the Klin are still alive (They are) while the pirate leader, himself a kidnapped human, is also looking for the core and the potential coordinates of Earth, which he doesn't have. He's a former Al Quaida terrorist that wants to come back and rule the Earth. There's also Adam, searching for a way home.

It's almost a comedy at times, the situations that the humans find themselves in. Well written, few typos, and definitely full of pride for the human race. I enjoyed this one.