11/22/16
Another really good space science fiction book. This follows the first book, “Destroyer”, picking up nicely with all the unfinished pieces from that book. The author even provides a pretty good “catch-up” section in the front of the book which is a good idea for other authors to follow. He just kind of recapped what happened in “Destoryer” which is very helpful if it read the previous book a while back.
The humans have been at piece for a while after the recently declared end to the Eight Year War with the Tigris. The Tigris is a race of cat-like aliens who have about the same technology as the humans. Now, something has come up that is destroying or wiping out human and Tigris colonies. In fact, the colonist aren’t just being killed, they’re being kidnapped without a trace. A third race, called the Primo, a very advanced race, who are also pretty arrogant, are not as numerous as the Humans or Tigris, but they are also being attacked. The Primo maintain huge ancient libraries which have already lead to the identity of this new alien race as the “Void Wraith”. The Void Wraith are extremely advanced and seem to be unlimited in numbers. They need to be stopped or they will soon conquer the entire Milky Way galaxy.
Yet, even as powerful as the Void Wrath are, they are only puppets of another “Master” race who’s whereabouts were unknown until then Commander, now Captain Nolan, found their hidden location next to a massive black hole. Floating next to black hole is some kind of massive alien eye that has some kind of mental hold on the Void Wraith, humans, Tigris and Primos whom it has infected with its larva. The Void Wraith, have built a massive ship yard, churning out thousands of ships and a massive single bomb. That bomb was supposed to go to the Primo homeworld and ignite, but Nolan, with he help of a Tigris crew, managed to destroy the bomb.
Now, with a common enemy, Admiral Dryker, Captain Nolan, and Mighty Fizgig, they have to convince their respective civilizations that they are not enemies, but they all need to focus on destroying the Void Wraith. That is almost an impossible task since the senior military commanders for each civilization has some how been infected with the alien larva and it is controlling their actions. If the Humans and Tigris don’t stop fighting, they will wipe each other out and the Void Wraith won’t have a problem conquering both civilizations and the Primo along with the entire Milky Way.
The story has a lot of moving parts but they all fit together in the end as they should. I’m not sure about the authors use of his cat’s names for some of the Tigris, but at least the names of his aliens are pronounceable. The story doesn’t quite end with then end of this book. No, the actual real battle hasn’t even begun yet! There’s something about a mysterious starship called the “Forge” which needs to be found. But where?
There is a third book, “Eradication”, which I have already obtained. I’ll be reading it shortly since this is such a great series.