Mixing military action and crime thriller with aliens and future tech, Carter creates an engaging space opera that contains something for a broad range of science-fiction fans.
The Bakura was dispatched to Colony 115 as part of a routine training exercise for cadets. However, shortly after take-off, First Commander Grimshaw is briefed that three Aegis, the Alliance’s elite intelligence operatives, are on board. With the mission already orders more serious than he suspected, a brutal attack by unknown forces Grimshaw to abandon ship with as many cadets as he can get to the drop-craft. The command crew of the Bakura mostly dead or cut off from the bridge and critical systems failing, Ensign Evans must turn her simulated flight training toward controlling a crashing starship. Scattered across the planet and separated by a numerically and technologically superior alien force, the survivors of the Bakura and Colony 115 must endure long enough to warn the Alliance. Meanwhile, on the far side of the galaxy, Randis Kahn is trapped between the gangs who rule the area around his home and the polished, but equally brutal, political players of his past.
As is evident from the blurb above, this book switches focus between two locations. However, the narrative also opens some time prior to the Bakura being attacked, with little overlap between the actions of the two crew protagonists, creating three disparate parallel narratives. Unfortunately, Carter’s setting up of context for each of these narratives doesn’t balance the point and frequency of transitions perfectly, resulting in moments when a character might feel somewhat forgotten or irrelevant.
This feeling swiftly passes once the Bakura is attacked and Kahn’s life is threatened, due both to Carter’s slicker transitions and the immediacy of the danger to each character sustaining the reader’s interest in the characters who aren’t on stage.
As Grimshaw’s and Evan’s perspectives of the invasion of Colony 115 intersect, the sense of watching several unconnected stories fades further. However, this greater integration of two narratives makes the contrast with the third more stark; as such, some readers might begin to wonder whether Kahn’s story is actually connected to the others.
Potential opening misstep aside, Carter provides an engaging mix of fast-paced science-fiction action and sociopolitical context. This balance between combat, espionage, and background detail keeps the danger up without leaving a reader feeling the story is just relentless violence.
The technology and abilities of various groups similarly sit in a good middle ground. The aliens have advantages but are not without exploitable weakness. The Aegis are exceptional, but not superheroes. And combat, whether on an alien planet or in the streets of a slum, still comes down to a mix of grit, tactics, and numbers.
Although the novel does leave things open for a series, Carter resolves major arcs both in the main plot and in each protagonist’s life, providing a strong sense of completion.
There are a few transposed words and other issues in the text. These are not frequent and do not obscure meaning, so do not vastly impact the experience. However, readers who are sensitive to technical issues might find them occasionally distracting.
Grimshaw is a well-written heroic protagonist. Smart, decent, somewhat constrained by his training, but with a personality of his own, he provides a plausible military perspective on the struggle against alien invaders.
Evans offers another classic character from military sci-fi: the cocky newcomer who is brilliant in theory but has no real-world experience. However, she also has secrets, preventing her arc from becoming merely a choice between saving the day and learning humility.
Where the others provide differing viewpoints on the military situation, Kahn is a solid protagonist for the more political aspects of the plot. Past his prime and mired in bad habits, he stumbles between making deals to avoid a past he’d rather forget and using what remains of the skills he learnt to avoid the consequences of his deals.
Overall, I enjoyed this novel. I recommend it to readers who like fast-paced science-fiction that includes both political conspiracy and military action without losing its focus on character-driven action.
I received a free copy from the author with a request for a fair review.
