Stevie‘s review of Final Protocol by J. C. Daniels
Science Fiction Romance published by Samhain Publishing, Ltd. 07 Jul 15
The reluctant assassin (almost invariably female) who turns on the bad guy that trained her is a common enough trope, particularly in science fiction, but also one I find hard to resist. Usually there’s some sort of mystery involving our heroine’s past: either one she needs to uncover or one she’s reluctant to reveal to her travelling companions. This story is no exception.
Silence has very little memory of her life before being sold into slavery and trained to kill at her owner’s whim, not even what her name was or who her friends were before she became an assassin. She takes pride in her work, even as she hates her owner and fights the holds he has over her both physically and sexually – believe the warnings on this one, some of the sex scenes involve coercion and other abusive behaviours. After her latest mission ends with Silence walking away from her target, as someone she respects too much to kill, she forms a new plan to escape her captivity for good.
However, Silence’s plans are thwarted and her owner makes her a new deal: kill the next target – one who has already got the better of several other assassins – and he’ll free her from his service. Silence is cynical, but decides to go ahead with the plan – even though that means travelling through some extremely hostile areas of space and visiting a planet that will not treat her well if she’s arrested.
Early on, we get the impression that Silence’s target is someone whose death cannot be justified, even within the twisted morality of Silence’s universe. He’s part of a peace delegation and takes time out from diplomatic duties to rescue a group of captives under attack from planetary security. However, he also turns out to be a figure from Silence’s past: the man she believes sold her into slavery.
Things are a lot more complicated than that, of course. Orion is a man who stands by his beliefs and morality, even when his life is threatened, and slowly he helps Silence piece together what really happened before she became an assassin.
This story gripped me all the way through, but it also feels a little on the short side and a little too much like a prequel to a series of longer stories. I’m keen to find out what will happen to Silence and Orion next, but I’m not certain this novella stands up well by itself.
Grade: B
Summary:
Tip #1: Don’t get on her bad side. Tip #2: There’s no good side.
Her name is Silence. If she was ever known by any other name, she doesn’t remember.
She is a killer. If she was ever anything else, she doesn’t remember.
She has an owner. If she was ever free…well, that she does remember. She was free and then somebody gave her to a madman to pay a debt that wasn’t hers. She’s his toy, his pet…and his trained killer. She kills at his whim or she dies.
She has a target. Her so-called owner…the man who makes her life a living hell. If she could kill anybody in the universe, it would be him. But he holds her life in his hands.
And she has a wish—to find a man she barely remembers. A man she knows she once loved. The man who betrayed her and stole away her freedom.
With one final target between her and the tantalizing promise of freedom, she moves in for the kill. There’s one problem. There’s something strangely familiar about her mark. Something that echoes in the void where love used to live.
Warning: One woman with a mission, one evil bastard who lies as often as he breathes, and a man who’ll stop at nothing to find what he lost. Be warned…some questionable consent lies within.
Read an excerpt.
