This was a very long book! I’m not sure why, but it seemed to go on forever. At times it seemed boring, but at other times it was exciting. I think my initial response to this book was disappointment since it’s not tied into Book 1, “A Fiery Sunset” by Chris Kennedy and Mark Wandrey. I don’t know why you would include this story in The Omega War series, but I guess it’s still in the same setting.
If you haven’t read the first book I mentioned above, then here’s the background. Earth has been attacked and basically conquered by a group of alien mercenaries under the supposed approval of the Mercenary Guild. Earth has been introduced to a much bigger galaxy than they thought was out there. There are many, many alien civilizations and they have formed Guilds to manage and control the activities of so many skill groups. If your planet doesn’t have a product that can be sold to the galaxy then you planet and civilization are going to be marginalized and eventually eradicated. Earth has found that it can produce mercenary armies organized as commercial companies to fight various battles for whomever wants to hire them. Of course, there have been alien mercenary companies that were flourishing before Earth came into the picture.
Humans are very good at being mercenaries. These mercenary companies are becoming very profitable and that has gotten the other alien mercenary companies downright made. So, under the Command of General Peepo, a Veetanho alien, they have decided to outlaw Earth’s mercenary companies. Fortunately, the primary mercenary leaders caught wind of General Peepo’s plans and they were able to escape to a stronghold owned by Alexis Cromwell and her Winged Hussars. While none of the “Four Horsemen” mercenary companies are at full strength, they are making plans to get that way and they intend to take Earth back. Part of their strategy is to gather assets to defeat the alien mercenary companies. Jim Cartwright in particular has the ability to activate the Raknar, a 100-ft tall, gigantic fighting machine that were thought lost thousands of years ago after the last terrible war. Jim found one and got it activated and now his in pursuit of others. And that’s what this story is about. Three Raknars have been found and need to get back to Jim Cartwright.
But, which mercenary company is going to get this done. One is the Scorpions lead by James Sinclair. He wants to transport these three Raknars to where they should be in order to help the Earth in this war. On the other hand, another company called the Midnight Sun Free Company led by two sisters, Major Sue Sun and Captain Blue (no first name given). Major Sun was in charge of ground forces while Captain Blue, the younger sister, commanded their ship, the Midnight Sun. This company has a strange relationship with its owner, which happens to be an alien that actually resides aboard the ship. At first, this alien entity wanted the Raknars for its own purpose. But, it eventually decides that they would best be given to the humans. That decision comes too late.
As the Midnight Sun was trying to escape the system in which they had taken the Raknars from the Scorpions, it was attacked by the Condottieri, another human led mercenary company which has been hired by the Veetanho. Of course, this company and the Veetanho want the Raknars so they can give them to General Peepo. They almost get them except that the Midnight Sun and the Midnight Sun Free Company crashed on a terrible, jungle infested planet. They are fighting for their lives just to survive on this planet. Now the Condottieri land and start to exterminate the Midnight Sun soldiers, but they don’t go quietly. Meanwhile, the Scorpion leader, James Sinclair did escape the system and had promised to send back reinforcements. Will he do that?
Most of this book, then, is the story of the Midnight Sun soldiers attempting to survive in a deadly jungle while fighting a full and better equipped mercenary company. It is a struggle. Still, this book really has nothing to do with the first book and the Four Horsemen. It also doesn’t get into the fight to re-take Earth. I would hope future books in this series do both of those, but I can’t be sure unless I read them.
So, book 4, “Dark Moon Arise”, is available on Amazon and I guess I’ll put it on my reading list for now.