Praise for JL Doty’s Sci-Fi:
“An excellent military SF novel, part Hornblower, part Wiggins. It had me from the first page and held on for the rest of them.”—KEVIN J. ANDERSON, NEW YORK TIMES-BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE DARK BETWEEN THE STARS on OF TREASONS BORN
“A roller coaster ride of a story which is one of the best books I’ve read in years.”—SFFWORLD on A CHOICE OF TREASONS
For many … I’ve read in years.”—SFFWORLD on A CHOICE OF TREASONS
For many the dying part is hard.
For some the living part is harder.
At sixteen years of age, Mathius’s life is focused on scrounging bits of food in the midst of a five-way civil war on the planet Novalis III. Two government factions and three rebel factions are all hell-bent on killing one another, and the civilian population is caught in the middle. If Mathius doesn’t find food, he and his father, mother and sister will go hungry for the day, a not unusual occurrence. Mathius must also avoid the rebel factions, who frequently kidnap young boys and force them to become soldiers.
Will the Commonwealth of Allied Systems intervene? And what of the Blacksword Regiment, the elite soldiers of the Commonwealth Security Corps? Will they sweep in and make everything right?
And the Kelk Supremacy, a race of strange humans with blood-red eyes, and pale bluish-white skin? They’re perfectly human, and yet they are not. Why does Mathius keep seeing signs that the Kelk are somehow involved in the unrest?
A gripping saga of war and redemption. Order it now.
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The book starts off in a very dark place with quite a narrow scope focused in on 1 of the main protagonists, but soon events and different points of view conspire to give the reader a much larger scope to the initial conflict. I greatly enjoyed this book, following the story along you really feel the sense of vindication and victory that Mathius feels as he overcomes the trials and tribulations he encounters going from a backwater planet in the midst of a civil war to a member of a close-knit and well trained squad of soldiers. Nikeala, the other main protagonists provides a great foil to Mathius’ story as she starts the story in a much better place, both socially and as a soldier and her point of view provides the reader with a lot of (I think) clues and potential foreshadowing for both this book and the upcoming ones in the series. As you can imagine, both of their stories are tied up together and I can see the potential for a great relationship going forward. I greatly enjoyed reading through this story; the initial scope focused on Mathius gets the reader on his side quickly and effectively. What he goes through at the start of the story is a trial by fire that I almost couldn’t get through (again, it goes to some very dark places and war is never pretty), but I’m glad I did. This story doesn’t start off pretty and it goes to dark places, but through all of this you have a cast of characters that you really root f0r and watching them strive forward towards their goal and discovering more about the conspiracy that ruined Mathius’ life is a great read. I can’t wait for the next book.
Loved it! The book starts with Mathis, the young male lead, stuck in a city endlessly at war. He is forced to fight which puts him into situations where there isn’t a right choice available.
I couldn’t put this book down. I spent every free moment reading until I finished. Thank goodness the next book is out in a month. I can’t wait to see what Mathis is faced with next.
Wonderful book!
I was lucky enough to get an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed the book. I thought it flew along as it showed perspectives on either (and neither) side of an intergalactic cold war. There was plenty of action and many enjoyable supporting characters. I particularly liked how the political background of the cold war was worked in to the story – it was dripfed in organically through character interactions and scenarios, rather than exposition.
By the end of the book I felt I knew the protagonists well and can see that there’s plenty of scope for them and the cold war to grow/heat up over the next books of the series. Bring on book 2.
The book was fantastic. I really enjoyed the grit and realism of the characters, which is something that is usually missed in most scifi stories. The fact the character does not win based on some unique gift or calling, but by his own determination and willpower is refreshing. One of my biggest gripes in most hero characters is that they get by on sheer dumb luck or some advantage that they did nothing to earn. Seeing an intelligent, tough, and driven character drove the story to be that much more compelling.