For Alien Super-Being Exterminator Katherine “Kitty” Katt, anti-alien conspiracies, threats from outer space, and a couple of killer alligators are all in a day’s work. It’s been five months since Kitty joined Centaurion Division, working with the aliens from Alpha Centauri. She and Jeff Martini have grown closer and life looks rosy.
But when an experimental spacecraft is unexpectedly returned to the Kennedy Space Center, Kitty and the rest of Alpha Team are called on to investigate and are immediately embroiled in life-or-death situations that scream “political conspiracy.”
The team must survive murderous attacks, deal with a mysterious space entity that has seized control of a group of astronauts, and evade a woman who’ll do anything to eliminate the competition when she develops an obsessive crush on Kitty’s old high school boyfriend. And that’s all before the evil masterminds decide Kitty’s extermination is vital…
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I love the Alien series by Gini Koch. “Alien Tango”, written in 2010, is the second book in the series. Since Gini Koch is one of my favorite authors, I’m working my way through her books to try and bring you an idea of just why each book is worth reading….and they are totally worth it! Alien Tango continues the wild ride that began with the first book, expands on the ideas and gives us more of that awesome humor that kept me engaged in the Touched by an Alien.
Alien Tango begins five months after Kitty joined Centaurion Division. She and Jeff Martini have grown closer and life looks good. But Kitty and the rest of Alpha team are unexpectedly called to Kennedy Space Center to investigate and told not to use any of their normal travel methods. With strange instructions from their leaders, Kitty and team get embroiled in life or death situations that quickly indicate political conspiracies are part of the problem.
Not only that but there are internal schemes by the aliens and major relationship complications while Kitty and her team investigate. Along with killer alligators, murderous attacks, and a mysterious space entity that is controlling a group of astronauts, Kitty must evade a woman who will do anything to eliminate her competition. And that’s before the evil masterminds get involved. Will Kitty manage to solve all these problems and her relationship chaos at the same time?
Within a paragraph or two, I am immersed back in the world of Pueblo Caliente, Kitty and the Alpha Centaurians. One of Gini Koch’s strengths is her fast paced action and humor. With that kind of thriller style pacing and cliffhanger chapter endings, she quickly pulls you into into Kitty’s emotions and her relationship with Jeff.
The plot is complex with a lot of things happening and you need to pay attention. Not only do surprises keep Kitty’s world in chaos but it keeps the reader involved and engaged with story. We also meet more of the integral characters in Kitty’s life as well as newcomers. One of the complications is Charles, Kitty’s best friend. In addition, we also meet an old high school ex-boyfriend. Both of them add layers of conflict to Kitty’s relationship with Jeff. But on the plus side, we meet Kevin, her mom’s second hand in the agency who with bags and bags of charisma ends up being incredibly helpful to Kitty and the ACs.
One of the most interesting parts of the story is the trek to the NASA Kennedy Space Center. One of the factors that makes the writing so immersive are the details. While the descriptions are quick, they are integral to the story. A lot of the story takes place in the Space Center. Thanks to the author, it feels realistic and believable, right down to the alligators. While some of it is out of this world, science fiction also needs to be grounded in the details. Gini Koch has done a great job of doing so while still keeping the action and energy high.
This book as well as the others in the series have to be balanced just right. There are several aspects, including mystery, science fiction and action but it also has to have just the right amount of humor, dialogue and romance underpinning the book. Gini Koch does a great job keeping the humor going while still developing the characters and storyline in the book. Even when you think things are quiet in the book, they aren’t and the action continues right down to the last chapter.
Gini weaves real world conflicts and elements into the story which helps the conflicts be believable. One part that I especially like is that the relationship isn’t perfect. Kitty and Jeff are still working on their relationship and part of the story is how they resolve those issues. Kitty struggles with his family liking her, he struggles with her past as well as the fact that his family would prefer him to marry another Alpha Centaurion. But these elements of culture and race are integral to the characters and make the story so much more realistic than if everything was perfect.
The jokes keep you laughing, you get to meet up with all the great characters from the first book, you get to see Kitty’s relationship with Jeff change and grow, plus you meet new characters and have a ton of action. There is very little to dislike and so, so much to love! If you like action, thrills, mystery, this is the book for you! The world gets bigger which means there just that much more to love.
Rating: 5 alligators out of 5
Series: Alien Novels (Book 2)
Publisher: DAW (December 7, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0756406323
ISBN-13: 978-0756406325
You can find the book at these sites:
Barnes and Noble
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