In this second space adventure in the Shieldrunner Pirates trilogy, Adda and Iridian have survived the murderous Artificial Intelligence that tried to kill them—but now they'll need all of their ingenuity to escape the evil megacorporation that wants to own them
If Barbary Station was a variant on the gothic novel in space (complete with a haunted house in the form of a space station), Mutiny at Vesta is a nested, layered series of capers in which Adda and Iridian work with limited resources and the pressure of time and other people’s competing priorities to pull off the damn-near impossible. There’s a real joy in watching the solidity of their relationship, their commitment to each other ... Stearns writes measured, tense, and intense space opera, filled with a diverse selection of believable characters. I really enjoyed this book. Adda and Iridian are a lot of fun to read about. I’m definitely looking forward to reading more of their adventures.
The story continues at a fast pace ... The sexuality of the main characters is rather subdued and allows the reader to simply enjoy the person-to-person interactions that often occur between those who are newly married. Fans of space opera, female protagonists, and independent thinkers will enjoy this piece of science fiction, which can be read independently from the first book in the series[.]
Stearns’s second space opera is heavy on rousing action scenes, political intrigue, and high AI weirdness, but the book is bogged down by predictable interpersonal dynamics and an overemphasis on corporate skulduggery ... The cinematic qualities of the imagery and the personable protagonists only go so far to elevate the mood of this capably written but emotionally sterile novel.
