This is a new series that I’m starting, but I’m not exactly sure I’ll finish it. Oh, the writing is very good and the storyline is interesting, it’s just not my kind of read. For one, the main character, Nathan Stacker, isn’t in the military. And he won’t be brought back into the military because he killed one of his soldiers while on duty and went to prison for a long time. He was in prison for 50 years! Right, that is a long time. Still, Nathan Stacker is kind of unique in that he’s an original replica. He was one of the first humans to be created in a lab using DNA from another human. I think he stated somewhere that he was created and grown inside of three months or something like that.
Anyway, while in the military, he did kill one of his soldiers by accident when they got in a fight. Stacker’s entire body is enhanced way beyond what a normal human would be, so when he uses his fists, it’s not just a “love tap”. I can’t say it was all his fault, because most normal humans don’t like replicas and treat them badly if they can get away with it. To top it off, this original group of replicas, including Stacker, had a defect that caused them to become unstable when threatened. So, while Stacker didn’t actually mean to kill the guy, he acted without thought or real control of his mind. The military jury didn’t consider this built in flaw, so he was sentenced to prison. He was released after fifty years when a review panel decided to give him some slack and shorten his life sentence.
Now, obviously, Nathan Stacker doesn’t age like the rest of us or this book would be about an 80 year old man. But, it’s not, because Stacker seems to be about mid-30s or somewhere around prime condition. Since he left the military, he’s not had many opportunities to get a job. He wound up working for the Trust, which is similar to Earth’s Mafia and organized crime syndicate. Oh, yeah, Nathan Stacker, lives on Proxima B, Dome One, Old Praeton. He’s just finished a job for the Trust and is headed home to his wife, Niobe. That’s when things go bad, very bad!
How does Earth fit into this story? Well, of course you’re going to have to read the book to find that out. Still, this is not necessarily a military science fiction book which is what I like to read. There is fighting and other combat related stuff to be sure, but it’s not my kind of action. The writing is good and the story is told very well. As the first book in a series, you already know that something else is coming and I encourage you to read the series just because the writing is done well.