I was provided a review copy courtesy of the author.

An old old idea in fantastical fiction is that it might be possible to enhance, or even replace, parts of the human body, giving the subject greater power. Since this often produces an unsettling, or even disturbing result by deviating from the natural appearance and abilities of a typical human being, it also raises the fear that doing such a thing calls into question the human nature of the person so enhanced.

When the mode of the story is one of tragedy, that is often exactly what happens. This, however, is not a tragedy, but rather a romance, by which I mean a sequence of marvelous adventures. Often, in an adventure story, our hero is markedly superior to other men. Faster on the draw, stronger, more clever, more beautiful than their foes. In an otherwise mundane universe, cybernetic enhancements can give a character something very much like superpowers.

An undesired transformation of this sort is a way that we can introduce an element of pathos to the hero’s story, without completely losing what makes an adventure story exciting and wondrous. I think you can dial this element up or down, and end up with stories that feel different even though they are exploring the same concepts. The circumstances of a character’s involuntary transformation shape their character and their place in the universe.

You can go for something only one step removed from horror, as in the Stroggification sequence from Quake 4. Kelsey’s experience in book 1 isn’t far off from this.

Or you can go for something a bit more subtle, like the self-inflicted anguish of Will Smith’s Del Spooner, who is only a monster in his own mind. Since her outward appearance is unchanged, thanks to the medical technology of her society, Kelsey does not have to deal with shock and rejection just because she walked into a room.

Rather, her struggles are those of a victim of a crime. Grief and loss as she tries to cope with the knowledge of what happened to her, plus an entirely reasonable fear that she might hurt someone by accident, as the rescue interrupted the implantation procedure. Her psychological feeling of a loss of control is shadowed by a very physical lack as well.

But, since this is an adventure, Kelsey doesn’t wallow in self-pity like Detective Spooner, but rather deals with her trauma in roughly the same way that Teddy Roosevelt dealt with the death of his mother and first wife: by never leaving herself a quiet moment to think about it. Fortunately for her, the opportunity to pay back her attackers comes quickly.

To heighten the tension, Kelsey and her half-brother Jared, commander of their ill-fated expedition, are drawn into local politics as well. A coup is imminent among their new allies, because why waste a good crisis when you can consolidate your position?

As the series progresses, we learn more and more of what the pre-Fall Empire of Man was like, and the magnitude of the disaster that befell it. This is of course part of the fun, and I like the pacing of revelations in Mixon’s work. A good backstory makes an enjoyable work even more interesting for me, and we get to learn about the world at the same time that Jared and Kelsey do.

The second volume has time for quite a lot of action, since the stage was set so well in book 1.Each new discovery broadens the universe, and the scope of what can be seen and done. Since the scene has been set, now I can look forward to seeing Kelsey drive her enemies before her. ( )

*This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review, at my request.

Jared's crew is stuck in the Pentagar Empire. Kelsey is recovering and going through therapy for her implants while on Pentagar. Jared is working on Courageous and Athena to fix them up and find a way to continue on the mission when a ship is ready. But Pentagar has their own troubles that royalty is not aware of. There is someone who wants usurp the throne. Jared and Kelsey along with the crew get stuck in the middle of it all.

Veronica is the voice of our crews once again. In this case of a vast crew, Veronica shines. I love listening to her as she gives me different tones, personalities, and emotions with each character relating to the moment they are in. She easily slips into the persona of each character, and the event they are living through so we can feel the emotions as well as hear them in her voice. Veronica gives the space opera a fourth dimension to absorb with the story.

We start in a little over a week from where we ended with Empire of Bones. I'm glad for that as I wanted to see Kelsey in her recovery! And there is plenty happening to keep our attention, with the new Empire and troubles they have, creating a fully functioning ship for Jared and crew to continue on, and finding a way to stop the Pale Ones from attacking again. Wow! It all fits together in a wonderful harmony as we explore with Kelsey and Jared, learning about the new worlds.

I got to thinking about this book because I can't find the words to express how much I really, truly enjoyed this book/series thus far. The question arose: How do you share when you simply love a book? What was it that drew me in? I don't know. Everything.

The characters are ones I really felt I became close to; Kelsey, Jared, Talbot, and many more. There are characters I don't like, but that's because of who they are and what they are doing. These characters are well written and I just want to scream they are bad to all to stop the troubles that will come. These characters spike my worry and suspense for when they will be found. But I love how our crew fights on and get better with each chapter and event. They never stop, having the determination to keep going.

The setting. I like the unknown of space. The troubles that could linger out there, waiting to find our characters. I like that there is action and fighting to go with it. This book is set in Pentagar and the systems around, which we have visited when attacking the Pale Ones. But we also see a bit more as we have a small crew land on a planet.

The plot. Wow. There is trouble in the paradise of Pentagar. There is always a threat to the throne and it crosses with what Jared, Kelsey, and their crew is trying to accomplish. Oh how things get complicated. We also are looking for the main AI system that sends commands to the Pale Ones. This needs to be found and stopped to stop the Pale Ones making more ships and soldiers like them. But what is found with doing this could open doors to more information! Yes!

The characters interact and are smart. They relate to their surroundings and adjust for them too. There's action and information. All the things I enjoy and draw me in.

So, to answer my previous question, this story/series (so far) has everything I love in one nice, neat package. Sweet find! ( )