Wow, looks like the last time I read a book in this series (“Liberty”) was back in 2018. Still, it’s a pretty good series even if it’s getting kind of long in the tooth! We’re also still reading about Tim Granger, a former IDF Captain and one with a very, very, very long history. Seems he took a trip through a black hole and went back in time to set up some events that would help Earth defeat the Swarm as it just did. Now he’s been resurrected via an alien contraption that is owned and operated by the Skiohra, one of three known alien races that gave some help in defeating the Swarm after Captain Granger managed to get them released from Swarm control.
So, Tim Granger is back, but he’s not actually himself. He can’t remember anything; no long term memory and hardly any short term memory. He starts off in a hospital, but soon gets tired of that and gets reinstated by the Fleet Admiral Oppenheimer. Granger is supposed to go to a the area of Penumbra and see if he can find evidence that the Findiri where around when the Swarm was defeated. He wants to know if the Findiri were helping the Swarm and to find out anything at all about the Findiri since Earth nor any of the other civilizations have ever had contact with the Findiri. It’s also a chance to get Captain Tim Granger back into action to see if he can even do anything in the present day. Grange readily accepts the new mission, but on the way, he decides he must do something else!
Meanwhile, the Findiri have attacked and wiped out a distant Earth colony called Zion’s Haven. They killed every single inhabitant except for one small boy. The only message they left with the boy was, “We want Tim Granger!”.
Now Admiral Shelby Proctor knows the Findiri are coming for Earth. She also knows there’s not much she can do about it. While she was recalled to active duty to assist in defeating the Swarm, she’s not the IDF Fleet Admiral any longer and has to report to Admiral Christian Oppenheimer. That guy is questionable in his abilities and they do not get along very well. Currently, he has the bulk of Earth remaining star fleet guarding Earth as he should. He wants Shelby to gather whatever ships she can and go to Paradiso which is believed to be the next target of the Findiri on their way to Earth. She’s also to asks the other alien races to assist in the defense, but she doesn’t believe they will help since their planets are not the targets of the Findiri. She has also been working with two new alien races, but they are just now figuring out how to talk to each other. There’s no way she’s going to ask them to join in a fight right after introductions!
The book does cover some background story on Tim Granger, but not much. You pretty well have to have read all the books prior to this one to really understand what is going on. Most of that story involves the Swarm. After they were destroyed in book 6, I didn’t expect them to show up again in this book, but they do, somewhat. It’s a mystery and it’s not going to get solved in this book. The Findiri are definitely a threat to Earth and since Earth’s star fleet was just about wiped out during the Swarm War Two, there’s nothing much the fleet can do to defend Earth. So, just what kind of aliens are the Findiri? Read the book and you’ll find out. There will be an eighth book, “Leviathan”, but it’s not going to be available until 11 Sept 2021.