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Root Code #3
Sword and Star
Three months after a brutal battle at Peris, Adam Yuga, Lochlan D’Bideshi, and their rebel fleet are embroiled in a new conflict. But things aren’t going well. Even with Lock’s homeship, Ashwina, at the head of the fleet, the Protectorate forces are adapting to their tactics. Before long, two devastating blows send the ragtag rebels on the run. But the greatest threat may come from within.
Since the battle at Peris, Protectorate loyalist Isaac Sinder’s determination to eliminate the rebel fleet has only intensified—along with his ambition. The Protectorate is decaying, and it’s clear to Isaac that only he can save it, by any means necessary.
As the situation worsens for the rebels, the strain begins to tell on everyone. But more than exhaustion grows within Adam. Something alien has started to change him. Lochlan fights to hold on, but even he may not be able to follow Adam down the dark road ahead.
As Isaac’s obsession turns to insanity, it becomes evident that more sinister plans than his are at work. Bound together by threads of fate and chance, Adam and Lochlan turn their eyes toward a future that may tear them apart—if they’re lucky enough to survive it at all.
* * * * * * *
This title can be enjoyed on its own, or as part of the ROOT CODE series.
Word 109,000; page 408
Since the battle at Peris, Protectorate loyalist Isaac Sinder’s determination to eliminate the rebel fleet has only intensified—along with his ambition. The Protectorate is decaying, and it’s clear to Isaac that only he can save it, by any means necessary.
As the situation worsens for the rebels, the strain begins to tell on everyone. But more than exhaustion grows within Adam. Something alien has started to change him. Lochlan fights to hold on, but even he may not be able to follow Adam down the dark road ahead.
As Isaac’s obsession turns to insanity, it becomes evident that more sinister plans than his are at work. Bound together by threads of fate and chance, Adam and Lochlan turn their eyes toward a future that may tear them apart—if they’re lucky enough to survive it at all.
* * * * * * *
This title can be enjoyed on its own, or as part of the ROOT CODE series.
Word 109,000; page 408
415 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 23, 2016
3 people are currently reading
85 people want to read
About the author
Sunny Moraine
75 books241 followersSunny Moraine is—among many other things—the author of the novella Your Shadow Half Remains, published by Tor Nightfire. Their debut short fiction collection Singing With All My Skin and Bone was released in 2016 and their short stories have been published in Tor.com, Uncanny, Clarkesworld, Strange Horizons, Lightspeed, and Nightmare. An occasional podcaster/narrator/voice actor, they are the writer, producer, and lead actor of the serial horror drama podcast Gone, which wrapped up its first season in January 2018 and released a second season in 2022. For more info, please see their website at sunnymoraine.com.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 8, 2017
4.5 STARS This is a really great sci-fi series with gay MC's and sexuality isn't a problem but it's also not in your face. There's no hot and heavy sex scenes either It's just a really great trilogy with and excellent story, extremely well written and quite the adventure.
May 18, 2021
I wasn't happy with this last chapter of Adam's story. It felt laboured. The second half of the book became easier to read, but the taste of dissapointment was still around. I would have given it 2 stars, but I gave it 3 on account of the whole trilogy.
May 15, 2016
Sword and Star is book three of the Root Code series and I would recommend reading Line and Orbit (#1) and Fall and Rising (#2) because I assume they are as awesomely good as this one. I have not read any of Sunny Moraine’s work before. That seems like a massive oversight.
Sword and Star is a deep and rich space opera. Adam Yuga and his husband Lochlan are at the center of a great saga. Developed and fascinating characters like telepaths and mind-melders and space soldiers swirl around them. Including an amazing, interesting antagonist I kind of rooted for. The universe is drenched in politics. Aliens abound.
These are tales of intense, abiding love, but sex is scant. Instead there’s soap opera turmoil (in a good way) and quite a bit of existential brooding. There are mysterious, suspenseful elements I find myself thinking about when I’m apart from the book.
If you’re fans of Adam and Lochlan already, this is not some cash-grab sequel, this is a masterpiece that stands on its own. If you’re not yet, wonder awaits you.
Five Stars
I was provided this book in exchange for an honest review by Inked Rainbow Reads. I was not compensated, coerced, or flattered into an opinion.
Sword and Star is a deep and rich space opera. Adam Yuga and his husband Lochlan are at the center of a great saga. Developed and fascinating characters like telepaths and mind-melders and space soldiers swirl around them. Including an amazing, interesting antagonist I kind of rooted for. The universe is drenched in politics. Aliens abound.
These are tales of intense, abiding love, but sex is scant. Instead there’s soap opera turmoil (in a good way) and quite a bit of existential brooding. There are mysterious, suspenseful elements I find myself thinking about when I’m apart from the book.
If you’re fans of Adam and Lochlan already, this is not some cash-grab sequel, this is a masterpiece that stands on its own. If you’re not yet, wonder awaits you.
Five Stars
I was provided this book in exchange for an honest review by Inked Rainbow Reads. I was not compensated, coerced, or flattered into an opinion.
July 3, 2016
Sword and Star is the third and final book in Sunny Moraine’s Root Code trilogy. In addition to be a satisfying wrap-up to the series, the final book in the trilogy builds on the first two in a way that expands the universe in which they’re written. Everything feels bigger in Sword and Star – the stakes are higher, the world larger, and every decision carries more weight. Taken together, the three books can be compared to a single camera shot, continuously pulling back so more and more of the world fills the frame. Line and Orbit was a fairly personal story, focused primarily on Adam and Lochlan, their budding relationship, and the immediate danger to both their lives. Fall and Rising broadened the focus, showing the way Adam and Lochlan’s decisions in the first book impacted those around them, their friends and loved ones, as well as people they barely knew, but who they would come to call allies. Fall and Rising also deepened and matured Lochlan and Adam’s relationship, taking it from the heat of battle and passion to a more complicated and contemplative level as they learned to live with each other. In Sword and Star, the camera is zoomed all the way out, showing the larger consequences of the actions begun in Line and Orbit as they ripple across the galaxy to touch alien planets, shake the foundation of the government back on earth, and threaten to tear the fleet apart. Lochlan and Adam’s relationship has expanded as well, encompassing the possibility of loss in a new way as they both change and grow, and deal with their own pain and challenges. The emphasis is less on the immediacy of sex and romance, and more on the consequences of love, how it makes people vulnerable and stronger all at the same time. This idea is echoed in multiple relationships across the novel – Kae and Leila, Rachel and Aarons, Kyle and Eva. Friendships are tested, limits are pushed, and worlds both personal and all-encompassing hang in the balance. As usual, it’s all wrapped in Moraine’s gorgeous prose. While I’m sad to see this series ending, I can’t wait to see what they move onto next.
June 19, 2016
Disclaimer : I received an ARC of this book in exchange of a fair review. So here it is !
This book was a good end to the series. I liked how we get to have more characters' point of view., even though it was a bit difficult to remember who did what in the previous books. I also liked how the writer regularly shut down Adam's annoying "woe is me, the Chosen one/Golden child" routine, but at the same time managed to have the series start and end with him, which kind of undermined the whole point of having other characters telling him repeteadly that this was not about him and bigger than him...He still ended up being THE (1st) one AND the one who did what he did at the end....Likewise, I could have done without the relationship angst which I found pointless, and was a bit disappointed by the big confrontation at the end which felt anti-climatic : the villain was so great, I wish we had known more about them and how they ended up doing end being what they did and were....
This book was a good end to the series. I liked how we get to have more characters' point of view., even though it was a bit difficult to remember who did what in the previous books. I also liked how the writer regularly shut down Adam's annoying "woe is me, the Chosen one/Golden child" routine, but at the same time managed to have the series start and end with him, which kind of undermined the whole point of having other characters telling him repeteadly that this was not about him and bigger than him...He still ended up being THE (1st) one AND the one who did what he did at the end....Likewise, I could have done without the relationship angst which I found pointless, and was a bit disappointed by the big confrontation at the end which felt anti-climatic : the villain was so great, I wish we had known more about them and how they ended up doing end being what they did and were....
August 20, 2018
Fantastic end to a great trilogy
As the third and final book in this series, don’t even think of trying to read this first. It won’t make sense if you’ve not read the first and second books first. The first book took care of almost all the world building. The second is more focused on relationships and unavoidable battles. I didn’t think it was possible to increase the tension and suspense of the second book. But the final book is a tough read because I care about the characters so much and the struggles they face surprised me. A galaxy at war and something far worse... I had no idea how it would end, but I couldn’t put it down.
As the third and final book in this series, don’t even think of trying to read this first. It won’t make sense if you’ve not read the first and second books first. The first book took care of almost all the world building. The second is more focused on relationships and unavoidable battles. I didn’t think it was possible to increase the tension and suspense of the second book. But the final book is a tough read because I care about the characters so much and the struggles they face surprised me. A galaxy at war and something far worse... I had no idea how it would end, but I couldn’t put it down.
September 4, 2016
Plot somehow fell apart in the finale...
January 1, 2017
3.5 stars
Intricate relationships. I suspect it is recommended to have read previous stories in series to properly appreciate. Review pending.
Intricate relationships. I suspect it is recommended to have read previous stories in series to properly appreciate. Review pending.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews