If you read book two, then you MUST read book three. There is no way you can not do so!
Rarely does a book cause an emotional reaction from me. I’ve read so many, many science fiction books that sometimes it’s hard to tell them apart. They seem to have the same predictable plot and follow along just as you’d expect to the end. Not this book. Not these books. The author has managed to capture some of the emotions that go into being a good person as well as a bad person. I like that best about this story, although I have to admit, I’m getting emotionally worn out after the first three books.
Scott Remington is a good guy fighting not to be a really, really bad guy. Although he’s going to the “dark side”, he’s not really one of them, a Nightman. He does wear their black armor and as a fulcrum, he has the black horns of his rank. He is in a war no matter what is going on in his personal life. He’s not only fighting aliens bent on killing everyone around him, but he’s also fighting his own internal demons. Some of his friends have abandon him, feeling that he is lost to the Nightmen. Others and especially one who had come back, know that he is not a real Nightman. Yes, he is a gruesome fighter and is filled with rage, yet there is still good inside this man. As dark as book two was, this book starts to shed some light on Scott’s internal struggles. If he can live, he might, once again become the man he was before his rage took over and he did an unspeakable act. Time will tell.
As I said, the author’s writing draws out the readers emotions, strong emotions. It’s bad enough being in combat and constantly fearing for your life, but to not care and know that no one else cares is total failure. That’s when soldiers die. I like this kind of emotional battles even though outwardly most people don’t know that you’re fighting them. Still, good or bad, Scott has responsibilities to Unit 14 that he has to fulfill or more people will die.
This place, Novosibirsk, is really strange. It’s obviously evident that a person can get away with murder in front of witness. I don’t understand that part of the book. Also, it seems that summary executions for failing to carry out a mission is not uncommon. A Nightman sentry can walk up to a Captain and shoot him dead and no one does a thing? There’s a number of disconnects like this in the book. It’s as if the author is making up the rules as he goes. You can leave Novosibirsk when you please apparently, and you can return just as easily as you want also (why anyone would return is beyond me). This is definitely not the kind of military base that I’ve ever been to, but that’s what’s great about science fiction; you can make it up as you go along. Why not?
I’m excited that there appears to be a fifth book coming out soon. I have book four, “The Glorious Becoming”, and I might start reading it right away. Though, I might need an emotional break. These books are really emotionally exhausting, especially if you read them at night, in the dark.