I'll preface by saying this: the other day I bought a pack of gum, and it cost me $1.39.I can't say it was money well spent, but I'm not complaining.I bought this eBook for $.99--I've even seen it advertised for free.At $.99, I consider Rogue Hunter: Gaia #1: Into the Abyss money well spent.I recently purchased a Kindle, and I've been on a short story kick lately. I download mostly free stories, but I've read this author before, and wanted to read more of his work. Mr. Hendrickson also wrote The Legend of Witch Bane, a young-adult fantasy tale, and one I highly recommend.I downloaded Rogue Hunter: Gaia #1, and finished reading it in one night.I've read some negative reviews of this book, and I can even understand some of the complaints. First, this is not actually a book in the traditional sense, more like a short story. Correction: Rogue Hunter is more like part of a story. It is only fifty or sixty pages. That being said, I knew it was told in parts, so that was no surprise to me. As I stated earlier, I felt it was money well spent. Those who complain about a free story...well, I don't quite understand.Overall, I enjoyed the story. I thought Zyra was a strong female character. I felt the storyline was interesting enough for me to want to know what happens next--which is, of course, the point of a good story. I'm not a hefty reader of sci-fi, and I appreciated that Mr. Hendrickson didn't make it complicated. I wasn't lost in technicalities of space travel and science, instead thrown into a fun and exciting story.As for the negatives: I felt this book was a bit abrupt. Not so much that it was short, but I felt the cliffhanger ending was mid scene, that it needed a bit more. At times, the dialogue was off, but nothing that distracted me from the story. A few other things, but overall the story was enjoyable. As I stated earlier, it was money well spent.Mr. Hendrickson is a good writer. I feel he has a promising career, and look forward to reading more of his books. He is one of the few small press/self-published authors I enjoy reading. His description is always good, and the story is always intriguing.If you enjoy fantasy or science-fiction, I suggest you reading Mr. Hendrickson's work.I'll be downloading the second book in the Rogue Hunter series soon...Vincent Hobbes
books reviews