My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
A story about human origins and destiny, painted upon a vast and wonderful canvas. This is a big story, the first of a six-volume series that looks like it's going to be quite an epic. The author has combined many tried and true tropes of the genre creating a blend of space opera and sci-fi action adventure, with the melodramatic conflict between opponents who have advanced abilities, weapons, and other technologies. There are battles and skirmishes in quantity and lots of explosions. Quite dynamic in theme, it starts as a dystopian drama, moving into human-alien first contact and growing into the large-scale space opera that it really is.
Things kick off here on Earth, which has been invaded and overrun by hordes of alien raiders, who destroy anything and everything in their path. At first, the invaders' motivations aren't clear and we soon learn that there are more than one extraterrestrial species taking an interest in Earth. It appears that there are things here that galactic factions greatly desire, devices that can give those who posses them an upper hand in their conflict. Underlying this is the mystery of the originators of the devices, and we catch a glimpse of them at the beginning in the Prologue. Somebody or something is manipulating events through these devices. The author draws a faint outline of the overarching story and gives clues to more detail as the story unfolds. I'm guessing that some incredible things are going to be revealed as the saga evolves.
Pockets of humans survive in communities which are fiercely defensive and insular, a typical post-apocalyptic scenario. It is from within these groups that we get our human protagonists, who are destined to become part of a grand plan to overcome the invaders. They will also hopefully aid in the restoration of a Galactic Alliance, once-powerful but now in disarray. What follows is a rapid progression of events. Mysterious forces cause the human race semi-willingly into a pivotal role, caught between evil forces bent on conquest and other benevolent species who will help them in return for service and allegiance to their Alliance. As the story gets into full swing, there are hints of a conspiracy among the factions, subtle hints of another level to the drama. I absolutely loved the mother-ship! A massive city ship, in the form of an inverted pyramid over forty thousand feet in height. A technological marvel unlike anything mankind has seen before. That's what is shown hovering above the hill on the book cover. Things like this are one of the reasons why I love sci-fi, they fill me with a sense of wonder which leaves me in awe. This book is full of impressive techno stuff.
The book is written in an easy chronological style, but it gains complexity from the scenes jumping dramatically from one to another. I got a little lost at times and found myself having to pause and take stock of events at various points along the way. The speed of the story is the cause of this, but it wasn't difficult to catch back up again. The author keeps his foot on the pedal, and the prose and dialogue is quite raw which makes for an engaging read.
There is a large cast of characters with many different titles and roles, and the story is driven evenly by characters and events, and it's just as much about the action as the players themselves. I found the characters to be believable and their dialogue is suitably unpolished (but without unnecessary profanity) which made it easy for me to relate to them. They have reasonable depth and you learn enough about who they are, the key figures being examined to a moderate extent in this early stage of the saga.
In summary, this is an excellent addition to the massive array of indie science fiction books, one that thoroughly deserves every bit of praise it gets. I've been left breathless by the sheer scale of the story. I give it a solid 4.5 stars, only losing that last little half for a slightly jumbled arrangement. I'll be watching this series and this author, he's a refreshing and exciting prospect.
5/5 for concept
4/5 for delivery
4.5/5 for entertainment
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