The Auctioneer by J.S. Frankel

The Auctioneer by J.S. Frankel
Publisher: Devine Destinies
Genre: Young Adult/Middle Grade, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Action/Adventure
Length: Full Length (247 pages)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Heat Level: Sweet
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Matthew Carter, eighteen and orphaned recently due to the death of his father, continues on the family tradition of auctioneering. It is not his chosen profession, but one that is thrust upon him by circumstance.

Offered a chance to make some money by a man named Baltarus, Matthew reluctantly agrees, and to his surprise, ends up on an alien star-port where he auctions off rare items from all over the galaxy.

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Life is good, but all that changes when he becomes a target of unknown assassins. Additionally, he is forced to sell a planet named Volarus, something that goes against his conscience.

Matthew finds out there’s more to life than making money, and races against time to find a loophole in order to stop Volarus from being next on the bidding block, as well as finding out the faceless killers who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals.

How would you react to a job that forced you to do unethical things?

The romance subplot was handled beautifully. I was pleased with how naturally the relationship between Matthew and Anarra unfolded. They spent time genuinely getting to know each other as individuals first, and that’s always something I appreciate in this sort of storyline. It makes the thought of two characters possibly ending up together for good even sweeter in my opinion than it might otherwise be.

I would have liked to see more attention paid to the character development in this tale. Matthew was a fascinating guy who’d been through a lot in his short life. As interesting as it was to get to know him, I didn’t see the kinds of personal development in him I was expecting to find. He had plenty of opportunities to grow as a person. I simply needed to see more examples of him doing that during the course of his adventures.

Speaking of characters having adventures, though, this book was full of twists and turns. Once I started reading it, I had a hard time putting it down again until I knew how everything would turn out for the protagonist and all of the folks he met along the way. One of the things I enjoy the most about Mr. Frankel’s stories is how much action he packs into his plots, and this one was just as exciting as everything else he’s written so far.

The Auctioneer should be read by anyone who likes adventurous science fiction.