“Madness” is the sequel to “Keeper”, a science fiction adventure.  Alex Marcase is a starship captain and explorer who inherited a Sha’erah, or genetically altered human, from his father.  In “Keeper”, Alex and Evan met, debated their relationship, and raced another explorer to the riches in a nebula.  In “Madness” they are asked to go on another search.  This time to find the planet of origin for the Sha’erah, Evan’s people.

It probably helps to read “Keeper” first, however the author does a good job of dropping enough details into the story to help the reader follow along.  Evan is a Sha’erah and was genetically altered before birth to have whatever talents Alex’s father wanted.  On his father’s death, Alex became Evan’s owner, called a Keeper, and wears a silver ring that “magically” seals the ownership.  The Keeper gives the orders and the Sha’erah obeys.  They don’t even think about disobeying since this is their life.  This was the only life Evan had known until he was owned by Alex.  Alex was horrified to find out he owned another person. 

In the second book, Alex is again short of funds and trying to finance an expedition into space.  He’s still uncomfortable with owning Evan, and with the way people treat Evan, but he’s more comfortable with Evan using his abilities and skills.  The funding for their next trip comes from an unexpected source, and for an unexpected reason.  They’re being paid to find out where the Sha’erah are bred and trained.  Evan disapproves because he doesn’t really want to find out about his origins and believes it will be like looking for a needle in a haystack.  Alex is interested and thinks he know where to start asking questions. 

“Madness” didn’t start off with as much action as “Keeper” did.  It seems to be moving more slowly but we get some of the characters’ backstories.  There’s a bit of time spent with Alex’s mother and we get to find out more about his childhood.  Evan talks about his own early memories before Spencer Marcase picked him up.  There’s a bit more humour as Alex deals with his mother’s robot, does his best to irritate his mother, and goes after the people who lied to him in the first book.  So far there’s more talking, drinking and shopping this time, and less time fighting. 

I didn’t read past the first 3 chapters because I found the narration and lack of action made the writing a bit dry.  However, so far the novel is well-written and it has a lot of potential as a space adventure story.  If you like science fiction adventures, you should enjoy this.

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This is a novel about a slave and slaveowner, from both viewpoints.  The owner inherited the slave,  more or less.  The slave was bred to serve.  The owner struggles to break the learned habit of ignoring slaves’ humanity, while the slave battles learned habits of subservience.  Struggling to revise their relationship, they delve into their childhoods to find out [more . . .]

Not good at reviews, so I will just offer my opinion. LOVED IT! This was the sequel to Keeper. I just want the author to know, I am holding my breath in hopes of a Trilogy (maybe something to do with that slimey lawyer of Spencers).

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