Marooned on the edge of the Solar System.After crash-landing on the frozen surface of L-4 Prime, Jephora Cochrane and the crew of the Jakob Waltz fight to survive while they unravel an alien secret that will change the path of Humanity’s future. An attempted rescue mission brings civil war in its wake, and catches him between an emerging authoritarian regime and Chancellor Roja‘s resistance … Roja‘s resistance forces. Running out of options, Cochrane must leverage the limited resources he has in a desperate play to keep his crew safe and to protect humankind from certain self-destruction.
Thrust into the center of the crisis, they may hold the keys to avoiding the inevitable battle that seems destined to shred civilization.
If they can stay alive long enough.
Read Fulcrum of Odysseus and discover how a little power in the right hands can redefine the destiny of the Solar System.
Book Two of the Shan Takhu Legacy.
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Fulcrum of Odysseus is the second book of the Shan Takhu Legacy, a hard science fiction series by Eric Michael Craig. The story picks up right where Legacy of Pandora left off, which is a very good thing. If Craig had jumped more than a second into the future, I would have shown up at his front door to engage in a lively battle of fisticuffs.
We rejoin the imperiled crew of the Jakob Waltz as they delve further into …
And now comes the hard part. How do I give this book a proper review without divulging too much of the gripping plot? As anyone who has read the series can attest, one of the biggest appeals of the Shan Takhu Legacy is its reveals. I said as much in my previous review, where I teased a riveting ending that gets an extended reveal in the second book.
Here’s something I can say without conflict: I love Rocky. She’s hilarious in that gruff and candid Russian kind of way. She remains one of my favorite characters.
In reading this second installment, one thing became abundantly clear. Eric Michael Craig is a very big fan of Robert Heinlein, one of the pillars of classic science fiction. Heinlein’s influence is evident throughout the series, from the liberation of ethos to the corruptions of power, painted as empathetic flaws that ultimately lead to war. Craig tackles these themes in a very thoughtful way, often conjuring sympathy for characters that do not deserve any. These are difficult waters to tread, even for the most seasoned of writers, and yet Craig manages to glide across the surface with ease.
I highly recommend the Shan Takhu Legacy to anyone with a taste for space operas, political drama, psycho horror, or proper science. So basically, anyone with a functioning brain.
(Spoiler alert, but not really.) The highlight of this book for me was the marriage of Derek Tomlinson with Odysseus. “Marriage” in this case would be more of an unholy alliance, as Odysseus is a nefarious form of artificial awareness that rises in response to the Tacra Un discovery. Working through Tomlinson, the former chancellor of a powerful cartel, the entity seeks power and leverage over a collapsed governing union. That said, this is more teaser than spoiler because the psychodrama that unfolds is the tantalizing reveal.
The Shan Takhu Legacy continues to gain steam with Fulcrum of Odysseus, the second book in the series penned by Eric Michael Craig. Jumping in immediately after the events in Legacy of Pandora, we pick up with Jeph Cochrane and the crew of the Jakob Waltz after their amazing discovery at L-4 Prime. Way out at the fringe of the solar system they’ve found evidence for a very advanced extraterrestrial civilization. They are slowly working to master the alien’s language – a unique “test” developed by the aliens themselves – but events begin to spiral out of control as Katryna Roja – ex-chancellor of FleetCartel – speeds toward the Jakob Waltz with her small fleet. At the same time, the discovery of the Tacra Un has triggered events down system as an advanced artificially aware (AA) program called Odysseus consolidates power in the former Human Union through Derek Tomlinson, the former chancellor of DoCartel. Meanwhile, Edison Wentworth, ex-Investigator General of the Union (there are a lot of ex- folks in this book – which really speaks to the upheaval that Eric has made of their cozy little Union) is looking to find a hole to go hide in as changes sweep the Union. But Edison finds himself entangled with Dr. Tana Drake, former chancellor of WellCartel, and her wife Saffia, as Tomlinson (through the prodding of Odysseus) hunts down Tana. Tensions quickly rise and war is not far off the horizon.
I applaud Eric for another masterful performance. Fulcrum of Odysseus is a seat of your pants ride through a future rife with political intrigue, amazing discoveries, and real people doing their best to survive in a rapidly changing world (solar system?). Eric has changed things up a bit, making the events down system take the forefront of the action, while Captain Cochrane and his crew continue to deal with their discovery first hand. Jeph and crew realize that they are in a very dangerous position with the former head of FleetCartel barreling down on them, and the storyline that focuses on the events around the Tacra Un takes on more of the political maneuvers and drama that were the focus of Chancellor Roja’s story in book one. I really love this change in the storylines for the different characters and I think it really shows how situations change and develop for the characters. We also get to spend more time with Derek Tomlinson in this book and see how he reacts to becoming the dictator for the Human Union. Derek’s storyline is very interesting, and I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but I loved seeing him struggle under Odysseus’s orders. Derek becomes a man that you both loath (I think hate is too strong a word for him) but you also pity him because of the situation he is in. He is a fish out of water and struggles often because of this. I think he’s a great character because of all of this.
I cannot recommend more that you pick up and read Fulcrum of Odysseus. Eric again delivers a very powerful and exciting story. I couldn’t put the book down and read the last several chapters in a marathon stint. (Of course, if you haven’t yet read Legacy of Pandora you need to go do that first. I’ll wait.) Great characters put into very exciting and rapidly evolving situations make this book stand out. It has all the hallmarks of a great sci-fi adventure and really, I wonder why the television rights to this series haven’t yet been bought. Go pick up a copy today.
The Shan Takhu Legacy continues to gain steam with Fulcrum of Odysseus, the second book in the series penned by Eric Michael Craig. Jumping in immediately after the events in Legacy of Pandora, we pick up with Jeph Cochrane and the crew of the Jakob Waltz after their amazing discovery at L-4 Prime. Way out at the fringe of the solar system they’ve found evidence for a very advanced extraterrestrial civilization. They are slowly working to master the alien’s language – a unique “test” developed by the aliens themselves – but events begin to spiral out of control as Katryna Roja – ex-chancellor of FleetCartel – speeds toward the Jakob Waltz with her small fleet. At the same time, the discovery of the Tacra Un has triggered events down system as an advanced artificially aware (AA) program called Odysseus consolidates power in the former Human Union through Derek Tomlinson, the former chancellor of DoCartel. Meanwhile, Edison Wentworth, ex-Investigator General of the Union (there are a lot of ex- folks in this book – which really speaks to the upheaval that Eric has made of their cozy little Union) is looking to find a hole to go hide in as changes sweep the Union. But Eric finds himself entangled with Dr. Tana Drake, former chancellor of WellCartel, and her wife Saffia, as Tomlinson (through the prodding of Odysseus) hunts down Tana. Tensions quickly rise and war is not far off the horizon.
I applaud Eric for another masterful performance. Fulcrum of Odysseus is a seat of your pants ride through a future rife with political intrigue, amazing discoveries, and real people doing their best to survive in a rapidly changing world (solar system?). Eric has changed things up a bit, making the events down system take the forefront of the action, while Captain Cochrane and his crew continue to deal with their discovery first hand. Jeph and crew realize that they are in a very dangerous position with the former head of FleetCartel barreling down on them, and the storyline that focuses on the events around the Tacra Un takes on more of the political maneuvers and drama that were the focus of Chancellor Roja’s story in book one. I really love this change in the storylines for the different characters and I think it really shows how situations change and develop for the characters. We also get to spend more time with Derek Tomlinson in this book and see how he reacts to becoming the dictator for the Human Union. Derek’s storyline is very interesting, and I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but I loved seeing him struggle under Odysseus’s orders. Derek becomes a man that you both loath (I think hate is too strong a word for him) but you also pity him because of the situation he is in. He is a fish out of water and struggles often because of this. I think he’s a great character because of all of this.
I cannot recommend more that you pick up and read Fulcrum of Odysseus. Eric again delivers a very powerful and exciting story. I couldn’t put the book down and read the last several chapters in a marathon stint. (Of course, if you haven’t yet read Legacy of Pandora you need to go do that first. I’ll wait.) Great characters put into very exciting and rapidly evolving situations make this book stand out. It has all the hallmarks of a great sci-fi adventure and really, I wonder why the television rights to this series haven’t yet been bought. Go pick up a copy today.