January 2006 Review by Anita Moyt, managing editor of Family & Friends magazine. familymag@aol.com

Protector of the Realm: Book One Supreme Constellations by Gun Brooke

ISBN 1-933110-26-0 $15.95 360 pages

This sci-fi novel, the first of a trilogy of Kellen O’Dal, the lifelong protector of a small child with royalty running through his veins, and Commodore Rae Jacelon, who first meets her future wife in an altercation in the area of space she and her team are patrolling, is spell-binding, touching, amazing and incredible.

Brooke is an amazing author, and has written in other genres. Never have I read a book where I started at the top of the page and don’t know what will happen two paragraphs later.

She keeps the excitement going, and the pages turning. In a century when marriage is recognized between two adults and gender is not an issue, Brooke shows that love and romance and passion can grow. Likewise, she reveals to us the soft vulnerable side of these two strong, battle-hearty women.

Let’s just say, I can’t wait for the second in the trilogy to see what happens next.

Reprint of article in Family & Friends magazine

More reviews from Amazon.com

Action, Adventure, Science Fiction and Romance that you can't put down, April 6, 2006

This is a real page turner. At over 350 pages the story is fully satisfying. The action is non-stop and the characters wonderfully drawn. The main characters exude a warmth that I found utterly endearing and I didn't want the story to end.

This is a perfect read for the beach, or on a long airplane trip or an evening at home.

It is nominated for a Golden Crown Literary Award www.gclscon.com

This from the publishers site - A space adventure filled with suspense and a daring intergalactic romance.

When fired upon during a space journey, resolute Commodore Rae Jacelon of the Gamma VI space station apprehends a stunning, but decidedly lethal, Gantharian woman fleeing from her home planet together with an unusual young boy. Kellen O'Dal is prepared to cut any deal or commit any crime to carry out her duty and keep the child with her.

Having lived for her career in the Supreme Constellation, a vast union of planets, Rae risks her future and offers Kellen a solution with unanticipated ramifications. High-stake power games among bitter planetary rivals further complicate the unexpected attraction that develops between the women. While the powerful Council debates how to take advantage of the politically explosive situation, Rae and Kellen embark on a dangerous mission to save the child, and ultimately, each other.

Just the right blend of science, adventure and romance, March 27, 2006

I have to say this was a great book. I was leery to start it because so far all of the lesbian Sci-fi/Fantasy I've read was either too unrealistic, or too much on the science and too little on the fantasy. Gun gave just enough description and information to create a good picture of how things worked. Anyone who enjoys reading Star Trek books and Star Wars books will enjoy this book very much.

The book, is very character driven. All of the characters had a strong impact on me. There is the relationship; which is not the usual love/hate relationship, but more a matter of trust and priorities. And each woman is strong, talented and independent in their own right.

Sometimes there are characters that pick up their suitcases and plant themselves inside your brain. But then there are those few characters that just pick up their suitcases and move inside your head. In this book, Kellen, Rae - and their whole family did that to me. The interaction between the characters is very real, and very complex as each character carries a good deal of personal baggage with them - both emotional and professional.

Equally important is the very complex storyline, it isn't something you necessarily see coming. Yes, you figure out that there is obviously something about the boy - the reader learns things at the same time Rae learns them. And just just when you think all is well and it's safe...well...maybe not.

While she didn't leave me hanging at the edge of suspense for the next book; (thankfully - because I really hate that) she did prepare a good set-up for the next book which left me hungry more. I look forward to the next book - I believe it's going to be a trilogy.

mixed reaction, March 25, 2006

This science fiction novel takes the marriage of convenience plot that's so popular in het romances and makes it more interesting. Not only are the partners both women but one is an alien on the run from enemies determined to kill a child, a boy called Armeo, that she is protecting. But Kellen O'Dal is lucky to be captured by Commodore Rae Jacelyn who marries her to protect her. Nothing is simple in this arrangement and the story follows their progress toward love, at the same time as describing the events that lead up to important revelations about who Armeo really is and why he is in danger.
This is not the best science fiction you'll ever read, and sometimes Rae and Kellen sound like the same person, but it's not a bad story and there is plenty of it, possibly too much as it is quite drawn out in places. I skimmed some parts because I got bored, but other than that I enjoyed this book and it's better than the average awful lesbian sci fi.