The cover of Skyhunter is attention-grabbing, sure. But it's the story that has me hooked. Talin and her mother fled to Mara when their country fell to the Federation. There she met Corian, son of a wealthy Maran family, who helped her get into the Strikers, Mara's elite fighting force. Talin and Corian are partners, and she is required to end his life when he is wounded in battle by a Ghost, the Federation's brutal battle creatures. Her efforts to fulfill Striker requirements by returning Corian's uniform home to his family are rejected, and Talin is left not knowing whether she'll continue to have a place in the Strikers without Corian to take up for her. Never mind that she's a badass fighter, she knows Baseans like her aren't supposed to be in the Strikers, that they made an exception for her because Corian asked. And now a Federation defector has been captured. What's his story? What will happen to Talin? I have got to know what comes next!