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The Silver Ships & Libre by S.H. Jucha

by hutchm
written by hutchm

OK really quick review of the first two books in the silver ships series. Don’t go into this expecting any amazing writing, or think about any new and amazing technology or military battles again you won’t find it.

What you will find however is a cute sweet little story that actually engages you almost from the get go. The characters while being somewhat two-dimensional are interesting and quite likable. The hero again as in many others of this type of book is seemingly infallible and can make no mistakes.  In fact not only is he infallible, he also happens to be the smartest and strongest person around! His kindness and empathy resonate not only with other humans but even with AI’s … basically, he’s the best of us magnified a million times!

 

Silverships

The first book – Silverships tells of a derelict ship careening through a distant solar system. When mankind departed Earth in the near future they learned some hard lessons along the ways – namely that they needed to care for the environment and the planets and couldn’t continue their destructive patterns. One of the colony ships eventually made its way to a new Terra which is where Alex came across a drifting Meridian ship.

 

While the technology of the new Terrans was not significantly greater than our own (although they are in space) Alex himself, is as mentioned previously, an infallible genius and is able to capture the Meridian ship before it escapes the solar system. After gaining access to the ship he was able to not only restore it to functionality but revive the remaining 17 occupants of the vessel and learned their story of a hostile attack on the ship. Choosing to believe in the Meridians (being that they were human also but from another colony ship that had left earth at about the same time) he was still astounded and amazed by the level of technology that they demonstrated. However as a peaceful society the meridians had no weaponry or warfare and were completely unprepared when they were attacked by this other (hostile) ship.

 

After Alex was able to restore their ship he is instated is captain of the vessel and together they returned to Meridian. Here Alex was able to capture one of the silver ships and make a determination that he would still need additional assistance if he was to defeat this enemy for good.

 

Libre

In book 2  – Libre, Alex, and his crew arrive at the planet Libre populated by independents. These independents are Meridians that do not agree or conform to the status quo of the rest of the society

 

While Alex initially hoped that they would have some more ships in actuality the Meridians on Libre had chosen to build massive colony ships so that they could run away from the attacking silver ships. Alex and the Librans realize that they have no choice but to accelerate the building as the superships would be attacking them even sooner.

 

Alex is able to interact not only with the other AIs but also with the implants continues to advance and his skills quickly surpass that of any other Meridian. One is forced to wonder whether Alex really is human himself!
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Artist Spotlight: Mike Mignola

by Admin
written by Admin

For this month’s artist spotlight I’m featuring the man responsible for creating Hellboy. Basically a character that helped to establish Dark Horse comics as a legitimate competitor  to DC and Marvel comics.

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Mike Mignola had already established himself as a unique talent in the comics industry prior to creating Hellboy. His stock was on the rise due to his ,one of a kind style that became impossible to mistake for anyone else. Picture Jack Kirby meets Eduardo Risso with 2 parts Bruce Timm & Kevin Knowlan. His anatomy wasn’t perfect and his shadows were often exaggerated, but that was the point. His “ugly” style was, sort of , elegant and wonderful at the same time. His harsh shapes and square jaws were always a much better match when dealing with larger than life characters. Monsters, Batmen and Paradeamons allowed Mignola to flex his muscles.

Hellboy took all of those strengths and made him shine. Mignola’s contributions were not only limited to comics. In the 90’s, he worked on Batman T.A.S. and helped to design several characters. Mr Freeze, had an unmistakeable Mike Mignola look to it. His design, in no small part contributed to the successful reboot of the character.

Here’s a brief look at some of Mike Mignola’s work throughout the years. From DC & Marvel to Dark Horse comics.

Doctor Strange & Doctor Doom: Triumph & Tragedy: By Roger Stern & Mike Mignola  

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This classic Marvel tale is considered, by many to be one of the best Doctor Doom stories of al time. It’s also highly regarded as one of Doctor Strange’s best as well. In this particular story, Doctor Doom enlists the help of Doctor Strange to save his mother’s soul from the clutches of Mephisto. Both men have to journey into Hell itself to do so. It’s a great read and Mignola’s art is tailor made for Hell. His artwork really helps to push the story forward and give a fresh look to those  characters. This story was so popular when it came out that it’s been out of print and hard to find for years. Fortunately, Marvel recently reprinted it. It can now be found quite easily for future generations to enjoy.

Rocket Racoon: 1985 mini series: by Bill Mantlo & Mike Mignola 

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I thought it best to pick an often overlooked Mignola story. In 1985 Bill Mantlo & Mignola gave Rocket Racoon his first ever solo comic. It managed to give fans a taste of what the character was about well before the Guardians Of The Galaxy film. It’s as zany as Rocket himself. It’s got anthropomorphic animals, killer clowns, other worldly planets, and much more. This is one of Mike Mignola’s earlier efforts, and you can tell. He’s about as conservative as he gets when it comes to his art. It’s still shines where it needs to but it’s not what you would fully expect. It’s still a very cool and novel thing to see how much his work has evolved. Thanks to this story, you can.

Phantom Stranger : Heart Of A Stranger: By Paul Kupperberg & Mike Mignola     

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A very cool story featuring the very underrated, Phantom Stranger. Sort of the mystical version of Marvel’s, The Watcher. Doomed to observe and not act. Of course, The Phantom Stranger does bend the rules. “Heart Of A Stranger” could’ve easily have been a Doctor Strange tale. Forces of Darkness? Check. Mystical Villain? Check. Capes and spells? Check. either way it’s a fun romp for a character that doesn’t get much stories of his own. Plus the additon of Gotham City as the forefront location is always interesting. Truth be told , it’s Mignola’s art that makes it memorable story. His style had already been well established by now so any work he did was instantly attractive. His first intro page alone makes you want to turn the page. It’s never been collected as far as I can tell but it should be easy to find. Very cool to look at and a worthy addition for any Mignola completist.

 

DC’s Cosmic Odyssey: By Jim Starlin & Mike Mignola  

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Definitely one of my favorites on this list. Cosmic Odyssey was one of my first introductions to Mike Mignola’s art. His art being so different at the time, that when I read it, it seemed more ” mature”. Like something that was sure to be big and game changing. That turned out to be sort of true. Particularly true for Green Lanter: John Stewart. This comic is a classic , end of the universe tale. It’s got a major assortment of DC characters. This being said, I found it exciting to see Mignola’s interpretations of characters like Superman, The Demon, Batman, The New Gods and especially Darkseid.  Jim Starlin is famous for stories like The Infinity Gauntlet and for his redefining of Thanos. Starlin penned this tale during the height of his popularity, so he was in rare form.  It’s been universally praised as some of Mignola’s finest work with DC.

 

Batman: Gotham By Gaslight: By Brian Augustyn & Mike Mignola 

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Probably Mike Mignola’s most popular work outside of Hellboy. It has the distinction of being DC’s first ever Elseworld’s publication. These were stories told outside the regular DC universe. Sort of like, a better version of Marvel’s ” What If?” Stories. While, “Cosmic Odyssey” was my first exposure to Mike Mignola’s interior art, ” Gotham By Gaslight” was my first exposure to his art… Sort of. I remember seeing the ad for the series in one of monthly books I was reading at the time. Check it out here.

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What an ad! Sure enough, I picked it up and it didn’t disappoint. A new look Batman was created for a very different time and Mignola relished the chance to let loose. The man clearly has an admiration for the character and it showed, Gotham By Gaslight is constantly rated as one of the best Elseworld tales by fans, in no small part, due to Mignola’s stunning art. The man needs to draw Batman more!

 

The entire Hellboy saga: By Mike Mignola & various   

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For my final installment we reach the pinnacle of Mignola’s success. Hellboy. A labour of love and a creation owned by Mignola, himself. There have been several stories over the years. So many good ones that it’s really a disservice to showcase one of them only. The beauty of Hellboy is that all the stories are a series of short form mini series, or one shots. This means that you can jump in at any time and enjoy the read. Many times, the long form, ongoing comic turns off many potential fans. It can be daunting and confusing to jump in the middle of , what might be, a huge story line. No such problem for Hellboy.

Mignola’s best work is, undoubtably with Hellboy. He is the creative force behind, mostly every aspect. Therefore, he knows his strengths when he plots a story. If anything, his method and style has improved thanks to Hellboy. It also turned out that, Mike Mignola could write. Hellboy, to this day, is one of the most consistently well reviewed comic series. So much so, that Hollywood took notice and brought Hellboy to life on the big screen. This led to a sequel and a few animated movies. So go to your local comic shop, pick a story and dive right in!

 

 

 

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Halloween special:The Best Of Batman Villains: Part 1

by Admin
written by Admin

Halloween is just upon us and what better way to celebrate than by honoring Batman’s frightful rouge’s gallery. One could certainly make the case that Batman has the best villains of any superhero. Think of how many you could name off the top of your head if you’re an average fan. Now think of how many you could name if you were slightly more hardcore.

Now try to name as many Daredevil villains… Not to bash or diminish Daredevil in any way. Just an example of how deep Batman’s rouge gallery goes.  Here’s a quick peek at some of my favorite stories for some of The Dark Knight’s most formidable adversaries.

Penguin/Oswald Cobblepot

 

He’s come a long way from his campy beginnings. Often dismissed in the past as one of Batman’s more ” nonthreatening” foes by many. That’s not really the case anymore. At a certain point Penguin took a turn as a more sinister and brutal villain. Sometimes portrayed as an intellectual mobster and other times as a misunderstood monster. All of which work well with the character. Like many of Batman’s villain’s, he’s almost sympathetic. Perhaps a victim of cruelty in a cruel world. An obvious parallel to Batman himself. Did Penguin turn out this way because he is inherently evil or did society make him so? Currently, Penguin plays one of the central antagonists on “Gotham”. For some great Penguin stories check out these recommendations.

Joker’s Asylum: Penguin ( one shot) By: Jason Arron & Jason Pearson

 

 

This is my personal favorite Penguin story of all time and it’s only a single issue! Written by fan FAvorite Jason Aaron during a time when he was still a relative newbie to the comic scene. To me, it perfectly encapsulates everything he’s about. He’s portrayed as a respected man who holds a great deal of power, and yet he still remains insecure about his appearance. This leads to a very important lesson for a few in this story… Don’t embarrass the Penguin. Both parts chilling and heartbreaking. Sort of like Tony Soprano without the imposing physical stature.

 

Other recommended readings include…

  • Batman Annual # 11  by Max Allan Collins & Norm Breyfogle

  • Penguin: Pain & Prejudice 1 – 5  by Gregg Hurwitz & Szymon Kudranski

  • Secret Origins Special # 1 by Alan Grant, penciled and inked by Sam Kieth

Two-Face/ Harvey Dent

 

If you like your villains with pathos, look no further than Two-Face. Harvey Dent is another classic Batman villain that succumbed to the evil and temptation of the outside world. Gotham’s favorite son that lost everything and crossed a line he never thought he would. The character has had a number of interesting portrayal’s. The Dark Knight film treated him more as a good man pushed to insanity. The accident that scars his face is simply the last straw. Some comics, and even Batman T.A.S. play on the fact that Harvey had always had a violent multiple personality and that the accident simply brought it out permanently. There have been a number of tweaks here or there in Two-Face’s history. One such case happens to be my favorite Two-Face story of all time.

Batman Annual# 14 – Eye Of The Beholder by Andrew Helfer & Chris Sprouse

 

An excellent story that delves deep into Harvey Dent’s tortured past. It manages to bring a different idea to what made Harvey Dent become Two-Face. The multiple personality angle is there, but this time we learn the reason when and why it began. Parts of this story inspired the famous Long Halloween comic series. We find out that Harvey’s father was quite abusive to him in his childhood. The psychological ramifications of that abuse come out in full force throughout this story. The edgy and dark artwork by veteran Chris Sprouse really adds to the already fantastic script. A risky story for DC to put out back then but a keeper for sure.

Other recommended readings include…

  • Batman: Faces by Matt Wagner

  • Gotham Central #6- #10 : Half A Life by Greg Rucka & Michael Lark

  • Batman: Black & White – Two Of A Kind by Bruce Timm

  • Two-Face ( One Shot) Crime & Punishment by J.M. DeMatteis & Scott McDaniel

 

Ra’s Al Ghul

 

 

Translated to English, his name means the demon’s head. One of Batman’s most powerful enemies by a long shot. His reach extends throughout the globe with an army of assassins behind him. It doesn’t help that, thanks to his Lazarus pits, he is immortal.  A complex villain that seeks to help humanity by destroying it first. An idealist of an extreme sort. Throw in a romance between Talia( Ra’s Al Ghul’s daughter) & Batman and you get just how complex Ra’s Al Ghul can get. Ra’s has always been a fan favorite for Bat fans but his stock rose to new levels thanks to The Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy. He’s even manged to transcend the Bat-world to make it on the TV show Arrow.  Here are some of my picks for his best stories.

 

Batman: Death & The Maidens 1 – 9 by Greg Rucka & Klaus Janson

 

 

A fantastic story written by one of my favorites: Greg Rucka. It shows just how far Ra’s Al Ghul has gone and is willing to go for his mission. The story also speaks to the importance family. Particularly for Batman. In a rather interesting twist of fate, Ra’s asks Batman for help against a mysterious woman, hellbent on killing him. What would Batman get in return for his assistance? How about a chance for Batman to speak one more time with his dead parents? An offer that may well tempt the dark knight. It’s a delight to read an to look at. Penciled and inked by the underrated Klaus Janson.

 

Other recommended readings include…

  • Batman: Birth Of The Demon by Dennis O’Neil & Norm Breyfogle

  • Batman: The Saga OF Ra’s Al Ghul 1- 4 by Dennis O’Neil & Neil Adams

  • Son Of The Demon by Mike W. Barr & Jerry Bingham

  • Trinity by Matt Wagner

 

Riddler/ Edward Nigma

 

 

Easily one of Batman’s most recognizable villains, from a pop culture standpoint. He has a great look to him and an intriguing shtick. Of course, said shtick can and did get tiresome by the late seventies. Batman Forver didn’t exactly help his cause either. Since then, he’s now been reinvented and reinvigorated, thanks to the New 52 reboot in 2012.  Personally my favorite portrayal would have to be ” Batman T.A.S.  Edward Nigma was portrayed as a man who was smarter than everyone who should be at the top. His quest to prove that at all costs led to some, criminal dealings of sorts. These dealings eventually always lead him to Batman. Time and again, Riddler is defeated by the only man smarter than him. Of course , The Riddler refuses to accept this and therefore, does his best to outwit the DArk Knight. That’s the general take on him that I loved on the Animated TV show. Nevertheless, there are some great reads out there.

Batman; Zero Year # 21- 27 & #29-33 by Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo

 

 

Scott Snyder has been making his mark on Batman and his world. no character more than the Riddler. Jeph Loeb’s Hush did a good job at showing why never to underestimate The Riddleer. Snyder went a step further and made him extremely formidable. The Zero year story was a remarkably fresh take on Batman’s origin. It boldly gave Riddler real relevance by making him one of his first major villains. The whole story unfolds in epic fashion and Riddler is deservingly at the forefront of it.  He’s written mucher colder than I can ever remember. Just different enough to be interesting but also familiar enough not to offend.

 

Other Recommended stories include…

  • Batman: Hush by Jeph Loeb & Jim Lee

  • Batman: Dark Knight Dark City by Peter Milligan & Kieron Dwyer

  • Riddler ( One Shot) The Riddle Factory by Matt Wagner & Dave Taylor

  • Batman: Run Riddler Run by Gerard Jones & Mark Badger

Stay tuned for part 2 coming soon!

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Steel World – Undying Mercenaries #1

by hutchm
written by hutchm

I’ve been reading Mr. Larson for a while now & the one thing I have to state is that I’m really glad I haven’t given up on him.  Some of his earlier books were a bit hard to get through and while they had elements that were interesting they didn’t necessarily live up to the promise – this was probably most evident in Swarm (reviewed here) as it started out so well, but just got gradually more and more annoying and tiresome.  The Undying Mercenaries series though seems to be a showing of his true potential and as long as he doesn’t flog a dead horse past its expiration date, I have really high hopes for it!

In a similar vein to the Legion series’ of books – Book 1 Marine Cadet (by Tim C Taylor) reviewed here – Earth has been contacted by the “Galactics” and given an ultimatum if they want to stay alive.  In Legion, Earth had to give up millions of its own children to become fodder in the Galactics wars and battles.  Here it’s slightly different.  Every planet has to provide at least one trade good that is unique to their world, something that cannot be copied or stolen by another world in that sector.  The solution to this request was similar … Earth was going to be supplying mercenaries.  Soldiers that the other planets could use in their own internal struggles at a price.

Sad as it is, the theme seems to be fairly constant amongst SciFi authors that one of the things Humans do best is fight.  This is something I remember reading for decades in books like The Man Kzin Wars and others of a similar vein.  While I’d like to believe that we can offer more, I can understand this assumption, especially if we are the ones being contacted!  One would rightly assume that the people doing the contacting have more available to them in terms of technology and knowledge than we do! However, I think you’d agree that humanity as a group being only suitable for soldiers is somewhat depressing!

Anyways, with the above being said, this is actually a very engaging and enjoyable story.  Similar to pulp SciFi it still has a hard and gritty realism to it that is quite enthralling.  Jame McGill is our primary protagonist although there are quite a few other characters that you’ll grow to know throughout the book also – Carlos, Natasha, Graves and Harris to name but a few – and unlike other series of a similar nature, you really can invest yourself in these characters as Humanity made a very smart purchase with its initial fund of Galactic Credits.  See the reason this series is called – Undying Mercenaries – is because they initially purchased a machine that can literally recreate a copy of someone.  These are not clones but are rather new bodies with all of the memories and abilities of the originals.  Restricted (by Galactic Law) to a single copy at a time, the mercenaries are able to constantly replenish their forces and while they may at times get wiped out, they tend to never lose!

Overall the weapons and technology at play in this series are believable and realistic and make sense.  While the Galactic Empire possess faster that light travel, that is written more as a “black box” without too much detail of wormholes or anything of the like.  Guns are guns and armor is armor.  The biggest technological marvel at play in the book is the ability of the mercenaries to return from the dead and that is given just the right amount of detail.

Steel World tells the story of James’ first missions as a mercenary and his acceptance into Legion Varus.  Exposed to a planet ruled by Dinosaurs is nothing if not intimidating and it was really refreshing to see that “modern” technology was not automatically superior to mass.  While the eventual outcome was never really in doubt, some of the twists and turns along the way were quite interesting and really well written.  You could almost feel the Dino’s rushing the wall in preparation of a new tasty mercenary snack! As the story progresses you can definitely see James grow into a more interesting character and change from a callow youth into a man.  While he’s still a bit of a womanizer, it’s obvious that he actually cares about the people he’s around and tries to always do the best he can for them.

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Artist Spotlight: Brian Bolland

by Admin
written by Admin

As some may or may not know, Frank Miller’s Dark Knight trilogy comes to an end in Dark Knight 3: The master Race. a number of artists will be providing variant covers for the first issue due out in November. One of those artists is British legend, Brian Bolland. I thought, why not honor a legendary artist who may have fallen  by the wayside in the last few years.  Here is his most recent cover for said Batman story.

If you study at his art, you’ll notice that he has an incredible amount of subtle detail. His line work and his inking are nearly perfect. Some might say, too perfect. Almost machine like.

Regardless, every piece that he does is dynamic and meticulously thought out.  He can make any cover pop. So much so , that he’s, pretty much made a career out of doing exclusively covers. I would hazard to say that he is one of the best comic book cover artists of all time.I don’t think he’s done any interior work since Batman: Black & White.

Of course he wasn’t always an exclusive cover artist. He made a name for himself quickly while working on 2000 A.D.

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Brian Bolland an number of years ago.  He was kind enough to sign a few comics I brought in at no charge. The real treat was getting to see him draw. He was doing a commission for another fan. Bolland himself  has said that a big reason he doesn’t take many interior projects is due to his ” slowness”. Having seen him in action, I can see why. As I said before, he’s meticulous and certainly a perfectionist. As we know, perfection takes time. But the end result is always a sight to behold. Here are a few projects to look into if you’re curios to see Brian Bolland at his best.

Judge Dredd – The Judge Death saga and others.

 

I think Bolland really made a name for himself working on the popular Judge Dredd strip. His realistic take became( for me) the definitive look for the character. When I think of Dredd’s face, I think of Brian Bolland’s version. His trademark scowl and large chin done to perfection. Bolland also helped to create Judge Death. Dredd’s ultimate nemesis. Track down these stories and take them in. The originals are a bit of a search but the stories themselves have been reprinted numerous times. I’ll never forget this classic panel below.

 

Animal Man

The above cover is one of my favorites of his lengthy run. While he didn’t do any of the actual interior work on the title, he did do a whopping 63 covers on it. This certainly elevated a character many considered “lame” at the time. His realism added a feeling of importance to the character that made it difficult for any reader to, at least, pick up the comic and take a look.  Being on the title as long as he was also gave the series a constant look and standard. Having Grant Morrison writing the title for a number of years didn’t hurt either.

Camelot 3000

 

Another risk was working on the ambitious Camelot 3000. This is notable because it’s the longest run of interior work Bolland’s ever done. I think this is where Bolland really thought twice about doing interior work. Particularly on a monthly series because deadlines were not his specialty. It was a moderate failure at the time. Not in any part due to Bolland’s artwork but more toward a subpar story line. Not terrible, but not excellent either. I’d say this is a must have for Bolland completionists.

Batman: The Killing Joke

 

A Batman comic that needs no introduction to Bat-fans. Arguably the definitive Joker story of all time. This is Brian Bollands best work ever in my opinion. Brian Bolland was actually the one that pushed Alan Moore and DC to make this story happened. After months of hounding him, Alan Moore finally relented and delivered a fantastic script. Brian Bolland ran with it and gave art worthy of that script and more.

Every panel is like a cover to be studied. There are countless moments and images in this comic that have become iconic. The cover itself is an example of that. In typical Bolland fashioned, he took his time, but the reward is plain for all to see. It’s controversy as a story, has grown over the years, but the art still shines through regardless. In terms of the comic book medium,  it’s definitely one of the most referenced stories of all time.  Even the Dark knight film did an homage to this classic sequence.

 

Not exactly the same but when you watch the scene, you’ll know. I urge you to track down some of his work and enjoy for yourselves!

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Renegade: The Spiral Wars

by hutchm
written by hutchm

This review was one that I wasn’t actually planning on doing, as I’ll be honest, I didn’t think that the book was worth it.  This impression lasted for probably the first quarter to almost half of the book unfortunately as it seemed to be such an effort.  I’m actually really not to sure why this was, as the early chapters introduced a galaxy spanning conspiracy that would have normally captured my attention quite quickly.  For Renegade, though it just didn’t seem to work though and it really felt like I was plodding through it without any enjoyment and I have to admit that more than once I planned on giving it up as a lost cause.

Fortunately for me I didn’t!  The pace of the book and the overall story itself picked up dramatically in the latter half of the book with the characters themselves being a lot more engaging and interesting.  While I’m pleased to say that this book stayed away from the normal caricatures that I’ve seen (and reported on) in other books, they were still dull and uninteresting in the early pages.  When they started to take on a life of their own though – they really started to shine and while the two key characters (LC Eric Debogande & Major Trace Thakur) definitely owned the latter half of the book, quite a few of the supporting characters made a definite impact on me also.

Quick Summary

Without going into too much detail, Earth was destroyed by another species and humanity itself was on the brink of extinction.  While there were only a tenth of us left though, another species came to our aid and helped us to rebuild and recover.  After Humanity took their revenge on the species that attacked and destroyed Earth (not covered in this book) – removing them from the cosmos – we had access to all of their planets and were no longer at risk of extinction.  However the patrons of that species were still around so Humanity along with their benefactors and yet another species attacked them and after 150 years of war (again not covered) managed to defeat them too.  This is where the book actually starts – at the end of a massive war and with Humanity seemingly on the verge of peace.  However – not everything is as as it seems!

Humanity itself is divided into two distinct factions – the Spacers and the Worlders.  The Worlders are the ones that provide the bulk of the workforce and drive the economy but they are generally focused inward on the planet that they live on. The Spacers – about 10% of the population – are the fighters and manage and run the Navy.  While they have a much smaller population they own the orbitals and the common feeling is that if the Worlders were in charge, then Humanity would have lost the war as they wouldn’t have focused on what is happening outside their own planetary body.  The Spacers decide overall policy but with the end of the Triumverate war, many people are expecting some significant changes to happen.

It is into this politically focused conflict, that the book delves.  While there are elements of combat, they occur primarily in the latter half of the book (the part I enjoyed) and the earlier parts of the book are focused more on the search for answers.  In some cases answers to questions we didn’t even know we were asking ourselves!  One key question though is why was the Captain of the most famous battle carrier in Humanities fleet – Captain Pantillo – court-martialed and then killed before he was even brought to trial and why was LC Eric Debogande framed for this murder?!

Thoughts

I think I’ve mentioned it a couple of times now, but the biggest negative for me was the story they didn’t tell and the overall pace of the book.  Some of the battles that could have been covered would have been excellent to read as the ship to ship combat when it did occur in this book was just awesome.  The hand-to-hand combat too was extremely well done and I almost wish that this book was number 4 or 5 in a series as by that point we’d have covered Humanities return to the stars and their battles and this exploration of a more internal – civil – matter could have occurred.

The writing style itself I can’t really fault.  It wasn’t too technical and while Jump Drives are more of a black box than anything else, the other weaponry on the ships was covered really well.  Marine technology is understandable and reasonable & I particularly liked the Hack Saws – rogue AIs that all species in the Galaxy attack on site.

I’d definitely be interested in seeing where this series goes in the future and I really hope that now they’ve kicked off the action the pace keeps up as I’d really be disappointed if things slowed down again.

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