==[Note: As of 12/03/2023, this will not be published on Amazon since I have been banned from posting reviews for some unknown reason. Once the ban is lifted, assuming it does get lifted, I’ll go back and post this to Amazon.]==
This was a good book. I have been a little concerned about reading these stories since the main character is a teenager just barely out of high school. In fact, I don’t know if he even graduated yet. It might have said so in the first book, but the point is, he’s a very young man with no experience. Now he’s the “Messenger” flying around in space inside a suit of armor called the Archetype. That suit has an on-board AI who calls itself Sentinel. Lawson Sawyer is the Messenger since his DNA matches the DNA of Dash Sawyer the original Messenger. Dash Sawyer was reluctant to take on the title and role of Messenger but at least he had some life experiences behind him and knew what it was to fly around ordering people to do things. Lawson has never done any of that and really doesn’t want to be the Messenger. But he is and that’s kind of settled.
It was especially settled when the Cygnus Empire split with some following in Darius Spann while others decided to follow what they believe to be the true and rightful Messenger, I.e., Lawson Sawyer. Darius Spann had been calling himself the Messenger since there was no one around to claim that title in a very long time and he was kind of appointed to that role by the Cygnus Supreme Council. Now, with the split, Darius Spann finds himself and most, but not all of the Supra (genetically enhanced humans) leading the Cygnus Empire while Lawson Swayer and most of the Ordinaries and a few Supra forming the Cygnus Realm which was originally founded by the original Messenger.
Both leaders desire to restore this split into one human civilization as it has been for the last four hundred years. Yet, it’s not going to be done peacefully since Darius Spann believes himself the rightful ruler of all humanity no matter what his title. He has tangled with Lawson in previous books, but came out on the short end so now they are both doing similar things. And that is looking for allies somewhere in outer space. This might be difficult for Darius Spann since he is very xenophobic but he’s willing to set aside his feelings if his allies can bring him the power he desires.
On the other hand, Lawson Sawyer and his followers have formed Task Force Cygnus led by Commodore Grandin to find some specific allies. They believe there is a sect of the ancient “Unseen” somewhere out there and they need to be contacted by humanity. The Unseen were a powerful civilization that left most all the artifacts that now are used by humanity. The Sentinel is one such artifact as are the two other mechs, Polaris and Swift, in this task force. These are supremely advanced weapon systems with a lot of Unseen tech also incorporated into all the ships of the Realm or Empire’s fleets. Swayer believes these Unseen could be just the allies he needs to defeat Darius Spann and reunite humanity.
But, the Unseen were all thought to have been exterminated by the Deepers and Golden. Those alien civilizations had fought a long hard war that was only won with the help of the original Messenger, Dash Sawyer. Yet, ancient text poured over by Kamryn had revealed that there was a sect of the Unseen that had split with the original group and went into hiding because they didn’t want any part of the war.These were the people Lawson Sawyer needed to contact and soon. He knew that Darius Spann had a fleet of his own searching distant space for allies so he needed to make sure that he found his before hand or at least had some allies as powerful as any found by Darius Spann!
So, Lawson and the Task Force under command of Commodore Grandin begin their journey only to find that they have attracted some unwanted attention. The Ravennox seem to be following the task force and could soon be right behind them. This is an enemy of humanity for some reason. They had previously attacked the Empire and had almost won a major victory if it had not been for Lawson Sawyer’s actions as the Messenger. Commodore Grandin didn’t want to fight the Ravennox with her small task force so the only thing they could do was run as fast as they could. That worked, but it also put a lot of stress on their ships.
It appeared that the Ravennox would find the task force and a battle would have to take place. Yet, both groups received a message from deep space which immediately caused the Ravennox to turn and head back the way they came. This ominous message just happened to be from the very Unseen the task force needed to find. So, should they continue even though they might not get a very good welcome or should they just go back home?
Meanwhile, Darius Spann has found something or someone who will help him. This entity has seemly turned Spann into a megalomaniac who is ready to destroy everything. I wonder what’s going to happen when these two groups actually meet up?
So, book 4, “Final Clash”, should be very, very interesting!