This book started with a bang. Action and suspense were apparent from page 1 as marines were sent to rescue their comrades imprisoned in a mining facility that hasn’t been used in 100 years. Things go incredibly wrong and lots of people lose their life.
The story slows down after the initial scene as the reader is transported from the distant planet to a well-inhabited space station. From there, a good chunk of the book is dedicated to character development and showing the ins and outs of being an administrator during a war. There is some action during these parts, but it’s not as exciting as the beginning of the book.
I didn’t totally hate learning about the characters. They were pretty interesting individuals, and I was fairly surprised that the marines weren’t stereotypes that you normally see in space operas. They were given credible human qualities, including emotions and flaws.
I also liked the images included with each chapter. I thought that added something nice to the story.
The last few chapters of the novel were just as exciting as the beginning, and I found myself completely engaged with the end. It’s apparent that there will be another one in the series, and the author revealed just enough to make me want to find out more.
The biggest issue I had with this story was the fact that it kept referring to a military campaign that had taken place several months before this story occurs. I kept thinking that if that battle had been so important, why wasn’t it focused on more? Then, I found out that this is the second book in the series.
While reading the first book would have given me some more background information, I was still able to tell what was going on without having to have read the first one. I wasn’t overly lost and still enjoyed the story.
If you enjoy space opera stories that focus on battles and military campaigns, you may want to check this book out. Maybe start with the first one...
The last few chapters of the novel were just as exciting as the beginning, and I found myself completely engaged with the end. It’s apparent that there will be another one in the series, and the author revealed just enough to make me want to find out more.
The biggest issue I had with this story was the fact that it kept referring to a military campaign that had taken place several months before this story occurs. I kept thinking that if that battle had been so important, why wasn’t it focused on more? Then, I found out that this is the second book in the series.
While reading the first book would have given me some more background information, I was still able to tell what was going on without having to have read the first one. I wasn’t overly lost and still enjoyed the story.
If you enjoy space opera stories that focus on battles and military campaigns, you may want to check this book out. Maybe start with the first one...
