This is a very long review!
INTO THE BREACH
This is some good writing. It’s different than most stories because the author uses contemporary language and references just like a person from this century would do. I don’t know what century this book was supposed to have been written for, but it could easily be for right now or a little further in our future. It doesn’t really matter since all the action happens far, far from Earth.
Frank Wolfe is an ex-Marine, but since there isn’t such a thing as a ex-Marine, I guessed you have to call him an inactive Marine. He was in real life a weapons salesman representing his company called B.U.T.T.S. Yes, that’s the name of the company which stands for Ballistics United Tactical and Tech Systems. Sounds like something that was made up and it probably was. Anyway, Frank was a very good salesman for the company going out into the field and demonstrating the latest tech in weaponry and personal protection that his company developed and sold.
Then he got a call from his Boss to meet with a prospective buyer and do his thing for them once at their location. Transportation was arranged by the proposed buyer and Frank was whisked away by a not so bad looking Marine Major Lucy Lopez. Nothing was unusual about this pickup other than it was in a Humvee which he soon found was going into the deserted Nevada desert. Then the unusual happened when he was asked/told to put a black hood over his head since the final destination was going to be classified. Reluctantly, he followed along.
That’s when Frank should have known he was getting into something different. When arriving at the final destination, it appeared they were in some kind of cave system, a huge cave system and it appeared to be under a dam since water was seeping slowly through the overhead. He noticed this after the hood was removed and he also noticed there was a huge amount of B.U.T.T.S. equipment loaded on pallets where he was deposited.
He was then introduced to Colonel Solomon Breaker, a very grizzled and battle-weary Marine if there ever was one. Along with Col. Breaker, he met Dr. Raj Agarwal and Elly, some kind of super-scientist/genius, and a few other Marines. He then set about explaining and demonstrating some of the equipment his company had produced and was ready to answer any questions when his presentation was done. All the Colonel asked was if there was enough ammo for all the weapons. Frank guessed there was enough ammo to supply a small army, if that’s what the Colonel wanted.
So, Frank began asking for his leave, telling the Colonel that he would like to head back to where they picked him up. Unfortunately, the Colonel had other plans. He told Frank in pretty blunt terms that he was going to go with this Marine team to wherever they were going just to make sure they had someone around to fix any of the stuff if it got broke. From the sounds of that, Frank surmised that they were going into harms way and he had had plenty of that while a Marine on active duty. Now as a civilian, he didn’t have to put up with it or so he thought. Frank refused the “invite” and then got another call. This was from his Boss. She firmly told Frank that he was to accompany the Colonel and as compensation, she was willing to pay him four times his normal fee! Very reluctantly, Frank agreed since he didn’t think he’d be allowed to not go no matter what.
So, the Marine team loaded up in their battle armor, weaponed up and marched off through a number of small corridors until they came to a large cavern. Inside this cavern sat a huge ball. Well, it didn’t sit, it was floating and on one wall of the cavern it projected what looked like a triangular doorway. The Colonel told Frank that this was in fact a gateway to another planet where they didn’t know for sure, but they were going to find out. So, through the gateway they all went. Sounds like an old episode of Stargate, doesn’t it?
ALWAYS FORWARD
Nothing really happened immediately after going through the gateway, but during the night the team got a rather abrupt introduction to the new planet they had arrived at. Someone or somethings were attacking them and just about going to wipe them out until some other warriors riding huge winged eagles arrived to turn the tide of the battle. These Neeve were from the House of Thunder and their Princess Vega took a liking to Frank when she helped him recover from his wounds. The Marine team were now on a planet on the opposite side of the universe far, far from home with not a clue of how to return.
Soon after Frank recovered from his wounds, he me an old Neeve who had a very curious mind as did Frank. The old man wanted to know all about who had attacked Frank and his Marines the night they arrived on his planet. Frank told him while the old man, who was named Heron, took him through an old room lined with stacks and stacks of books. It also held display cases with different artifacts from very strange places. None of it looked familiar to Frank.
It turns out that while Frank was staring at all the strange things in their cases, one case that contained a pair of vambraces (which I had to look up to find out what they were), started to glow a dark ultraviolet. Heron opened the case and said that this was impossible as the vambraces began to float towards Frank. They stopped just short of him at about chest high. Heron was also shouting that these vambraces only react this wan in the presence of an Arilion Knight. I have no idea how to pronounce Arilion, but that’s the name of someone who wears these vambraces. Which Frank suddenly find wrapped around his forearms! Only an Arilion Knight can wear these vambraces and they choose who they want to wear them. The Arilion Knights are the defenders of the universe and have done so for eons.
Of course Frank says there must be a mistake and that he’s no Arilion Knight, but the Princess sees them on him and she is also awed by the fact that an Arilion Knight has come to their world. It seems that these vambraces channels the will of the wearer into a powerful force that can take any physical shape the wearer desires. Frank soon learns that he can project an image of a weapon he is familiar with and it appears in his hands ready for battle. It never breaks nor does his chosen weapon run out of ammo. He can project anything from a sword to a gauss rifle GS2000.
Heron tells Frank that he has arrived just in time to help his planet battle the Lord of Chaos and his dark army. He says that without the help of the Arilion Knights, the universe is doomed to fall to the Lord of Chaos with chaos running rampant through the galaxy. Of course, Frank hasn’t a clue as to what he’s talking about and just now wants to go back home.
CHAOS SIEGED
Ok, we pick up here for the final confrontation with the Lord of Chaos. Frank Wolfe, a.k.a. Arilion Knight, has been in some pretty concentrated training. Another Arilion Knight from Draconia known as Sava came to Earth to collect Frank and begin his training. Now this was Knight was a lizard looking, green scaled alien, but she also have glowing vambraces. Her planet of Draconia has been fighting the Lord of Chaos for quite awhile and it is pretty devastated. Still, she has a training arena for Frank and must put him through his paces so he will come to know just what it means to be a Arilion Knight.
Now, Frank is used to tough training since he is a Marine. But, he didn’t expect the severity of the training program set out by Sava. She knew that his skills were almost non-existant with regards to the power of the Will, but she also knew that Frank possessed a very strong and powerful Will. The only problem with this training program is that they don’t have the time to run Frank through it thoroughly. He’ll have to fight as he fights now pretty much using his Marine skills.
The Draconians join forces with the Neeve (the House of Thunder and the House of Leviathan) in hopes that two Arilion Knights and their combined forces can defeat the Lord of Chaos. He has a very large army and instead of waiting for him to come to Draconia as he as done time and again, they are going to take the battle to him. They have found where all the attacks have originated and located a dark and burned out moon with a single massive pyramid sitting on the surface. That’s where they will have to fight the final battle.
Prior to that, the Lord of Chaos has sent out his own fleet of three massive battleships which will have to be defeated if the troops of the Light can even think about challenging the Lord of Chaos. So, Frank and Sava have their work cutout for them. During this battle, Sava suffers a devastating injury that puts her in a coma. It doesn’t appear that she will be of much help to Frank during the final battle. You’ll have to read the book to find out the outcome and it’s very exciting.
Great writing in all three books. There’s just enough humor to make the books enjoyable without the characters coming off as goofballs. One thing you’ll notice, which I found odd, is that both the Neeve and the Draconians have committed their entire civilization to the fight while Earth sends 5 Marines. Doesn’t sound like Earth is taking this seriously. If they don’t defeat the Lord of Chaos here, he will eventually reach Earth, but that’s probably another story.