In Six with Flinteye, author Sean T. M. Stiennon takes us along on the adventures of bounty hunter, bodyguard, and mercenary Jalazar Flinteye.  The Sword Review editor Angie Lofthouse reviews this collection of short stories.
 

     In Six with Flinteye, author Sean T.M. Stiennon takes us along on the adventures of bounty hunter, bodyguard, and mercenary Jalazar Flinteye.  Flinteye, an alien who reminds me of a cougar more than anything else, travels the galaxy with his ‘bot friend Axten in search of jobs and adventure (preferably at the same time.)  Flinteye is never far from his plasma pistols or his dagger, and he never backs down from a fight.

     The action starts right off as we go “Hunting with Flinteye.”  On the backwater planet of Asi XII, Flinteye is hired to accompany some rich “Alliances” on a hunting expedition.  The only problem is, they’ve got assassins after them and they think Flinteye might be one of them.

     Next we meet up with “Flinteye and the White Killer,” where our hero is inadvertently mixed-up with a most unusual hit-man out to kill a member of the Stellar Patrol and in the process makes an enemy for life.

     “Flinteye’s Vacation,” affords a little too much relaxation on the perfect resort planet of Allaua.  Tired of the decadent food and bored out of his mind, Flinteye goes out looking for some action and even on this peaceful planet he finds it in spades.

     Then Stiennon takes us on “Flinteye’s Ride” across the grueling deserts of Polod, where Flinteye and Axten must not only confront the hostile natives in order to find a fugitive embezzler, but must also prevent Axten from being murdered by sworn ‘bot hater, Nolthel, who has been hired to help them.  But there’s something fishy about this job.  Something their employer, Hiblon, hasn’t told them.

     In “Flinteye and Ockron,” Axten has taken what Flinteye considers a boring planetary survey job.  But things don’t stay boring for long when their ship is attacked by unknown assailants and they are forced to crash land on the planet.  Putting their survival skills to the test, they must deal with the strange life forms they find on the planet and soon discover the disturbing truth about the enemy that they face.

     Finally, we meet up with “Flinteye in the City,” my favorite of the six.  Flinteye and Axten are hired to protect a spoiled Alliance girl when she travels to Nalkress, the most dangerous crime-ridden slum in the galaxy, for a jewelry show.  A jewelry show on Nalkress?  Still, a job is a job, but before long the job becomes more dangerous and costly than Flinteye could have imagined.  It is in this story that Flinteye’s courage and strength really shine.  I thought it was the best of the bunch, and that’s saying a lot.

     Stiennon has created a marvelous character in Jalazar Flinteye, and Axten’s dry sense of humor is not to be missed.  Six with Flinteye is full of non-stop action and adventure and tightly woven, believable plots.  One word of caution: the action-hero type violence is abundant and often graphic, but I think Six with Flinteye will keep you on the edge of your seat.