The war was over except for the crew of the T.S.S. Phoenix. Lost deep in enemy space, crippled, but not dead. The odds of survival were stacked against them, but they were still determined to fight their way back towards allied space. On New Terra, Roy O'Hara had discovered peace for his spirit and joy in a simple life. Yet he had only fulfilled a portion of the Commander's Prophecy. It told of a darkness that would fall on his new home from the stars and he would be called upon once again to save them all. The Alliance turned a blind eye to the sudden growth of the Sa'larie Empire just beyond their borders, but some in the intelligent community could see the clues of a new threat. A covert team is sent to discover the truth of the alien's goals and they discover much more than they could have ever imagined. Different paths of unlikely allies and new foes will intersect in the skies and on the ground of New Terra once again, where everything will change and destinies will collide.
Matthew O. Duncan is part of the resurgence of Old School Sci-fi. His books are a mix of Military Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, and Mystery weaved together with non-stop action.
A mix of all three are included magic, space, romance. Duncan does a good job of mixing the genres although if you really don't like either you may rate this lower than my rating. In my opinion, at times the romance overshadows the adventure, although romance is an adventure as well, I suppose. The spaceship battle scenes are more akin to WWI biplane battles than jet fighter or space ship. They take place at speeds and distances much too high to engage in dogfight a. But, oh well, that's part of the fun.
Story line is interesting and well developed. There are three situations developing all the same time, all related and intertwined. Romance situations are very real and add to the overall enjoyment of the book. The science fiction aspects and battle sequences add greatly to the work.
I enjoy the characters, but the plotline is a little obvious. As with the earlier installment the writing is a bit hyperbolic and needs spelling and grammar improved. Still its a fun read and I will finish the series.
The major characters threads play out nicely and end with a fairly well made story! I do prefer those two ones that have a forced sequel ending and proof that there will be more. This was enjoyable.
Huge drop from for. Plot lines going everywhere with long, drawn out explanations. A starship captain that doesn't know how his engines work, ludicrous.