What Rough Beast

The Remembrance War #3

by Michael R. Johnston

Analog SF called the first two books in the "Fine thrillers with many resonances for today’s world." In a bombastic, thrilling ride Johnston's new book brings war to space.

The sequel to The Widening Gyre and Blood-Dimmed Tide praised by Locus, ScienceFiction.com, Booklist, Library Journal and more!

As the Zhen Empire descends into civil war, Tajen, Liam, and Katherine each have their own part to play in the final conflict between the human race and the Zhen Empire. As Tajen searches the outer regions in an attempt to find and recruit Zhen deserters to his side, Katherine heads for Marauder space to seek out technology their Tabran allies need. Liam, believing his two best friends dead, must keep the human fleet alive as it is pursued across the Empire by Zhen forces. As the final battle approaches, each of them will be tested to their limits.

FLAME TREE PRESS is the imprint of long-standing Independent Flame Tree Publishing, dedicated to full-length original fiction in the horror and suspense, science fiction & fantasy, and crime / mystery / thriller categories. The list brings together fantastic new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices. Learn more about Flame Tree Press at www.flametreepress.com and connect on social media @FlameTreePress

304 pages, Hardcover

Published June 21, 2022

About the author

Michael R. Johnston is a high school English teacher and writer living in Sacramento, California with his cats, Loki and Rory. He can be found at mjohnstonbooks.com and @johnstonmr.bsky.social.

Reviews

[S.J. Higbee · Rating 5 out of 5]

First things first – if you have picked up this one without reading the previous two books in this trilogy, instead seek out The Widening Gyre, which is the first book. While Johnston provides an excellent ‘Story So Far’ roundup at the beginning, you necessarily won’t get anything other than the bare bones of the story. And one of the main strengths of the narrative is how the main characters grow and change in the face of the challenges confronting them.

Secondly, for those of you who, like me, are interested in such things, I was intrigued by the titles – not least because they rang annoying bells that I know I’d have recalled before being smitten with Long Covid. And sure enough, Johnston helpfully provides a copy of the poem ‘The Second Coming’ by W.B. Yeats from where all his titles originate. It’s a fabulous piece of writing and nicely chimes with the overarching menace facing humanity in this adventure.

I’m not going to claim that this adventure is anything particularly original – the scenario of nasty aliens threatening to expunge humanity from the universe is as cosily familiar as a late-night cup of cocoa. However, the manner in which our hapless species has been done over by the Zhen Empire is particularly nasty. And yet makes absolute sense in a way that the reasoning behind alien hostility all too often doesn’t. I also appreciated the way that Johnston doesn’t simply lump all the nasty aliens together as ‘the baddies’, while put-upon humans are elevated to a minor sainthood. Nope – in his world there are human agents who believe the species can only ultimately survive by being in thrall to the Zhen and work against the fight to free humanity every bit as passionately as the most committed Zhen supremacist. Meanwhile, one of Tajen’s most loyal supporters is one of his former Zhen comrades. It’s enjoyable to see such nuances in play, as it keeps the reader wondering who is truly trustworthy, as well as feeling more believable.

Tajen is the main protagonist and his storyline is the overarching narrative arc. While he is the classic adrenaline-junkie hero who flings himself into risky scenarios, I was interested to note that he is also gay. His relationship with his husband is written with tenderness and conviction, giving it importance in the story, yet without any graphic sex scenes or a sense that Johnston is trying to make a point. So it works really well. Though in this book, Tajen doesn’t get much opportunity to spend time with his friends and family, as our plucky band are scattered throughout the galaxy as they desperately try to prevail against overwhelming odds. Indeed, it’s foot-to-the-floor action throughout and the pages turned themselves as I wanted to discover who was doing what to whom – and whether they would all survive. Space opera is difficult to write well and I enjoy it when I can simply relax and let the author do his thing, because he’s nailed the conventions and knows how to transfer from one scene to another without jarring or annoying the reader – which is a skill far too many don’t manage effectively.

All in all, this book was a thoroughly enjoyable conclusion to an entertaining, well-written space opera trilogy, and comes recommended to fans of the genre. I’m hoping Johnston is going to revisit this world in due course, as there is lots of scope for more adventures with some of the other characters we encountered. While I obtained an arc of The Veiled Masters from the publishers via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
9/10

[Robert · Rating 1 out of 5]

You know an author is writing past his abilities when he gives long and detailed passages, early in the third volume of his space-saga, detailing everything that has already happened. That's not exposition. It's wooden, mechanical writing, and he might just have driven his ship past a space-billboard (equally believable) and had the characters read aloud about themselves for the reader's benefit. It's like a dramatic recitation of someone's resume--dull and dumbly obvious.

Having repeated in the first two books of his standard-issue trilogy a quest-plot straight out of many other, better books, the big variation here is a Harry-Ron-Hermione triple-lead, which occasions three plots that promptly get away from a writer of little depth. Dividing the action allows for less development (or maybe it was just less work?), and even in shorter tales, he still can't pull off his simplified narrative threads. We get unbelievable twists and pat resolutions toward the end, but it's all just pompous dime-novel bravado. Passages of dialogue are often so stiff that they sound like parody, and whole sections are unintentionally funny, they’re so straight-faced and overblown. Even the (author's own?) jacket copy is trite and silly: "In a bombastic, thrilling ride [sic] Johnston's new book brings war to space." Bombastic is a kindness--and did he really 'bring war to space?' No. He didn't do that the first two times around, either.

One genuinely ugly--as opposed to inept--feature: the plot uses queer characters as if that were a stylistic option or badge of support; maybe this was meant to pass for subtlety, but no one is asking for a virtue signal from a straight writer.

It honestly feels as if the writer doesn't think his reader is all that bright.

[Christopher Gerrib · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read the previous two books in this trilogy and so I ordered #3. It arrived last month without fanfare and I just got to read it last night. I found it a very satisfying end to the series. On that note, one of the things I found most helpful was that the author had one of the characters deliver a brief summary of the previous books, which helped refresh my memory.

A human, Tajen Hunt, became an important military figure in the alien Zhen Empire. Then he lost a battle and discovered that much of what he had been told about Human / Zhen history was a lie. This set off an interstellar war which ended up involving multiple alien species. The action is non-stop but believable.

But the real strength of the book are it's characters. Tajen is gay and married to Liam, who at the start of this book believes Tajen is dead. Tajen has a niece, and the two men have long-time friends and crewmates who are also involved in the war. Their stories and actions are compelling, realistic, and interesting. Overall, I highly recommend this book and the entire series.

[E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this, and the series. Effective space opera thriller with an interesting cast of characters, human and alien. I do think it tries to pull off one too many plotlines for its own good - in particular, one late stage complication really doesn't seem to work and then is resolved too easily. But still a very enjoyable series, and half a bonus point for low-key gay lead characters, always nice to see in SF.

[M.E. Garber · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine and satisfying finish to the trilogy! We get to follow Tajen and his found family and friends through so many twists and turns as they navigate an ever-changing war. Some laugh out loud moments lighten the atmosphere, while friends become enemies and enemies become friends, and nothing it merely black and white--much like life.

[Anthony Philosophos · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a major war in the galaxy. Three different factions are fighting and three humans all play a role in the conflict.

[Melissa Kibler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent ending to the trilogy.