Well, after all that happened in book 1, “Genesis”, you’d wonder what could happen in this book that would be better? Well, not much. This book will tell about one specific horrendous battle at Brigantia which no one but Captain Travis Miller, Commander of the Commonwealth Space Cruiser Herculean, saw as a necessary thing until it was just about over. Earth has just gotten it’s act together and managed to kick the Tahni Emporium out of the 82 Eridani system, but this was only after the Tahni had conquered four of Earth’s colonies. Now the Commonwealth at Earth was very, very nervous. They felt that Earth might be the next target for the Tahni.
Yet, Captain Miller didn’t think so. He was well aware of how the Tahni fought and knew that they were dead set on allowing humans to flourish outside of the Solar System. According to their beliefs, every planet in the universe was specifically designed for their use and not for the humans. While the Tahni were almost human, they were various differences, but their systems of government were extremely different. The Tahni had one single ruler and he was next to or in some cases considered a god and they fought with religious fever.
No one knows how large the Tahni fleet might be. Neither does anyone know how many planets are under the control of the Tahni so fighting them is definitely an Intel problem first and foremost. From the encounters Captain Miller has already had, he knows that humans starships are just a capable as Tahni starships, but he’s afraid they cannot match them in numbers. It seems that every time he has encountered the Tahni he and his fleet has been outnumbered. Still, he believes they can stand up to the Tahni and should be doing so to take back their colonies.
Earth meanwhile has notified the Common Wealth Fleet that it wants to pull back every available starship in order to defend Earth. They feel that sacrificing a few hundred thousand colonist to save over fourteen billion humans in the Sol System is the best course of action. While Capt. Miller can’t really fault that concern, he doesn’t believe the Tahni are really ready to take on the entire Solar System. He believes they will strike somewhere else and he intends to be there. He just hopes he’s not order back to Earth because he might just have to see those orders disobeyed!
We get a hint of a couple of romatic interludes during the book. Apparently the Corporate Council has some pull within the Common Wealth so they have managed to send one of their representatives along with the Herculean. Patrice Damiani, also happens to be the daughter of the very wealthy Chairman of the Corporate Council and she is extremely good looking though genetic modifications for the children of wealth citizens has been practiced for some time. She also appears to have the hots for Captain Miller. You’ll have to read to find out if this is going to cause him problems.
What could cause him problems is that he also has feeling for his Air Wing Commander, Commander Leer. Those feelings appear to be mutual, but he has to be a professional and not let this get out. Since the Commander is a direct subordinate, they can’t really have any kind of relationship, but she’s not of the opinion that it’s not that impossible if they are discrete. It’ll be interesting to see which desires comes to the top!
This book was again well written even though it really only cover one specific battle, but it does so for the space and ground combat. It like it when we have some insight into the enemies thoughts and what’s driving him. It does appear that Earth can easily stand up to the Tahni, but they have to have the courage to do so. Right now, Earth’s government is running very sacred! Looking forward to the next book, “Revelation”, which won’t be available until 24 September 2021.