The Garrison Lockdown

Vijaya Schartz

The year is 3033, the place Zurin Five, a moon-size mining planet in the Andromeda Galaxy with an underground high security prison run by a human corporation.

An artist at heart, Rhonda Alendresis never wanted this prison job. When the civilian personnel vanish and an earthquake damages the nuclear reactor, she must go down to affect the repairs with Mr. Perfect himself, Captain Cole Riggeur, who always plays by the rules and never trusted a woman in his life.

Cole Riggeur, a seasoned professional loyal to a fault, dreads to take Rhonda along on a perilous mission. She is a rookie and a woman to boot, but he has no other choice.

Rhonda, a free-spirited medic, a lover and a healer, doesn't like her boss's macho attitude. She only hired on at the Garrison to pay for her trip back home, and no one should ever learn the deadly secret that brought her to this place.

But deep in the underground penitentiary, something has gone terribly wrong. The most wicked convicts in the Galaxy are loose, and a treacherous shape-shifter plans his revenge.

Disconnected from the Garrison, locked down with the convicts, fighting against impossible odds, Cole and Rhonda now face their greatest challenge... trusting each other in order to survive.

In their desperate flight, Cole and Rhonda may well discover that hate often masks a passion of a different nature, and love flourishes at the most unexpected times in the strangest places...

Review by Jessica (170707) Rating (6/10)

Review by Jessica
Here is another compelling paranormal novel of love and loyalty by Vijaya Schartz.

On a planet the size of the moon is a prison called The Garrison. This is where Rhonda Alendresis works along with her colleagues, one of which is the sexy Captain Cole Riggeur.

Rhonda was employed as a medic prison guard although it was a job she wasn’t happy doing. She is also a bit of an artist and this streak shows through in her work. Sometimes Rhonda questions whether she is good enough at her job but now she must put aside her own worries as a bigger problem awaits.

Civilians are missing and most of the prisoners have escaped their cells. This wouldn’t be such a big deal but these prisoners are not your normal kind. They are deadly shape-shifters and fierce animals intend on killing anyone who should cross their path. Also The Garrison’s nuclear reactor has failed, causing the prison to shake with turbulence. Rhonda and Cole must descend to level nineteen and repair the reactor before it explodes and kills everything and everyone.

You instantly see how these two characters slowly begin to trust each other as they try and save the Galaxy from a terrible fate.

I don’t think this is one of Vijaya’s best novels. The storyline has action but it does get a little boring from time to time. It could have been more exciting but the unexpected ending does make up for this. Worth a read.
Jessica (17th July 2007)