Extinction Darkness (Extinction Cycle: Dark Age 4) by Nicholas Sansbury Smith and Anthony J Melchiorri

Format: Kindle
Rating:  5 Stars
Reviewer: Laurel

What an explosive, fantastic conclusion to one of the best series I’ve read in a long time. The Extinction world has been around for a good few years now, and it was wonderful to see Melchiorri and Smith team up to write this sequel series to the original. And what a ride it has been.

Thank you SO much for taking the time to give us more of Fitz, Reed, Horn and all the other characters in this series, and for introducing us to some fabulous new ones. Cornelius, Corrin, Timothy and Azrael, to name a few. If you ever want to write more, I’ll be ready to read more any day.

Extinction Inferno (Extinction Cycle: Dark Age #2) by Nicholas Sansbury Smith and Anthony J Melchiorri

Format: Kindle
Rating:  5 Stars
Reviewer: Laurel

Phew, now that was a ride!

In this book, the Allied States are only just beginning to tap into how organised their enemy is – and I suspect there is much more to come. Team Ghost, as always, are right in the thick of events – and run ragged – while Lovato once again has the task of investigating a scientific solution to the problem. Beyond that, Beckham and Horn try to hold their families and friends together, all while working out who is friend and who foe.

One thing I love in these books – which comes through very strongly in this one – is the “band of brothers” we get between Beckham and Horn. Those two have certainly been through the fire and come out the other side, and now they watch each other’s backs, no questions asked.

This book is, without giving away any spoilers…well, smack in the middle of a “dark age”. That is such an excellent description of this series in the Extinction Cycle. Wow. Not easy reading, but also highly addictive with non-stop action. And the next book is thankfully not too far away, because I really want to know the outcomes for quite a few of the characters in this one.

Extinction Shadow (Extinction Cycle: Dark Age #1) by Nicholas Sansbury Smith and Anthony J Melchiorri

Format: Kindle
Rating:  5 Stars
Reviewer: Laurel

This is a special book. I love that Smith decided to revisit the Extinction World, and that doing so has brought us another collaboration with Melchiorri. And all the things I’ve come to expect from a Smith novel are present here: military action, horror, solid science, and realistic characters.

What a treat it was to meet Reed, Kate and their friends eight years after Extinction War ended. With upcoming elections, life is guaranteed to be a bit unpredictable for a while, but I’m pretty sure no-one in the Allied States ever considered just how unpredictable. Team Ghost is once again in action, as well as new characters and new threats.

Five solid stars to this new entry into the Extinction World. I will be looking forward to the next book in the series.

Outzone Raider by Mike Sheridan

Source: ARC from the author
Format: Kindle ebook
Rating:  4 Stars
Reviewer: Laurel

2041. THE GREAT GLOBAL WAR IS OVER. WHAT’S LEFT OF AMERICA IS IN CHAOS.

Beautiful but cynical exo-robotic operator, Vikki Gurin is playing a dangerous game. To make extra money for her family, she supplies Outzone bandit, Dima Aslanov with the information he needs during his daring raids across New Haven’s border. But when Aslanov and his bratva crew steal vital supplies destined for the federal government, he takes a step too far. Despite being caught up in America’s deadly secessionist wars, the US military are forced to turn their attention on him.

War-weary, Hoke Thompson didn’t expect to return home to find himself fighting fellow Americans. But these aren’t ordinary times. When his special ops team, Tactical Unit 8 return from rebel-held Oklahoma City, they discover their next mission is to neutralize a certain Dima Aslanov. Soon, Vikki gets caught up in the drama as the military hatches a plan to take the bandit down. Can she protect her family yet remain loyal to the Outzone warlord–or does something have to give?

Set against the backdrop of a brutal, war-torn America at the height of the secessionist wars, Outzone Raider interweaves two personal stories to a thrilling conclusion, as well as exploring both the rise of the Outzone and the fledgling New Haven State. Like all stories set in the Outzone World, there’s plenty of action–the characters riveting and believable.

First there’s a world war, and then the American soldiers return home to a divided country, which leads to the secessionist wars. A new state is created in the mid-west, New Haven, and this story is set in the years before a wall is built between New Haven and the Outzone, the latter being a lawless territory where those who wish to try their luck at survival.

Vikki Gurin is feisty exo-robot operator in New Haven’s Industrial Zone. It’s a gritty, hard place to work, but she likes her colleagues and the hard work. She is also a pair of eyes for Dima Aslanov, an Outzone bandit who likes to raid warehouses in the IZ for supplies. One night she hears of supplies of shelters, an order for the federal government that’s located in the heart of the IZ, and she decides to tell Aslanov about it. However, she leaves out information about the destination of the supply.

Dima Aslanov has one rule: if he’s to steal anything from the Industrial Zone, it must not be destined for the federal government. His raid for the supplies is successful, but it turns the eyes of the government and the intelligence organisations on his activities. It isn’t long before things heat up – for both Dima and Vikki.

This is a well-crafted post-apocalyptic thriller. Sheridan easily drew me in to the gritty world of Vikki and Dima, bringing the characters and their lives to life. It was good to get back into this setting and get to know it better through the eyes of a new group of people.

Things definitely do not come easily in the war-torn Americas, and one must take chances to get ahead. But which chance will be a step to far? Excellent post-apocalyptic fare, with great action and nail-biting suspense.

The Honour of the Knights by Stephen J. Sweeney

Source: Own Collection
Format: Kindle ebook
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewer: Laurel

When starfighter pilot Simon Dodds is enrolled in a top secret military project, he and his wingmates begin to suspect that there is a lot more to the theft of a legendary battleship and an Imperial nation’s civil war than either the Confederation Stellar Navy or the government are willing to let on. Within weeks of being reassigned to the Confederate border system of Temper, the five would begin to untangle a web of lies and a cover-up that seemed to span the entire galaxy. And it would not be long before they would come face to face with that which destroyed an empire: an unforgiving, unstoppable, and totally unrelenting foe. There seemed to exist only one glimmer of hope of driving back the darkness: The ATAF Project – a secretly developed set of starfighters that well may just harbour some terrible secrets of their own…

I picked this book up as a freebie on Amazon. And boy am I glad that I did. What an amazing flyboy novel that spans the galaxy. Towards the end of the book I couldn’t help but turn page after page, devouring the images as the tension mounted up to the climax. Sweeney is to be applauded for his vivid writing and the emotions that he coaxes from the reader, involving them wholly in the story.

The Honour of the Knights is a very readable book. More so if you’re a scifi fan who is conversant with combat.

My favourite quote from this book is: ‘There was considerable pause, then, in a grim voice, “They’re the result of the Senate’s desire to control the Empire. They’re a mistake.” “What?” Dodds said. “They’re a mistake?”‘

I’m not sure that I’ll read this book again, but I’ll definitely be looking up the rest of the series, as I need to find out what happens next. The Galaxy will never be the same again, that is for sure!