I bought this book directly from Aldin during Oz Comic-Con this year. If you happen to like this cover and you manage the buy it somewhere you’ll be incredibly lucky. I happened to snag the last copy with this cover. This is the second book in the Outer Reaches Series. The first book, Iconic, was written by Aldin in collaboration with A.J. Gordon. They each wrote about their own set of people who travelled together for a little and then went their separate ways. The third book is by A.J. Gordon.
In this book the story of the ‘Proselyti‘ (converts) from the first book converges with other ‘Proselyti’. These people have chosen to help repair the damage not caused BY civilisation, but TO civilisation. They are essentially warriors, but they’re kept in hibernation until needed. They have been going for 1,700 years, being brought out of hibernation to do guard duty, help get a person from point A to point B, or whatever and then go back into hibernation.
Things I like
I like the way they can how old they are, if I had that kind of tattoo I might have to stop telling people I’m 18. Essentially, they have a tattoo on their wrist with their chronological age that updates in real time. I think it has more than just that, but I can’t find where it’s written to be sure.
The writing is great, but I’ve spent a bit of time talking about Aldin’s books over the past few years. I don’t feel I need to bash you over the head about that any more. I’ll leave the bashing to the characters in the book.
In this book we’re given a snippet of how there are many different religions among the Proselyti. We’re told in a way that makes enormous sense, while also showing us how accepting they are of each other’s religions. When some of his troops are killed, Saito gives them the equivalent of last rights in the manner that was appropriate to them and their religion. If someone has no religion he salutes them. It’s really accepting and shows compassion for their beliefs.
Going back to the cover for a paragraph. I actually like this cover. I understand Aldin doesn’t but that’s his prerogative. What I like about is the female on the front cover looks absolutely fantastic. She’s the Quaestor and we’re shown fairly early on how vain she is about her appearance and her skills. This drawing of her shows her to have all the right curves for someone with that amount of vanity.
Do I recommend it?
Yes, if you like science with your fiction, and if you don’t mind a bit of mindless violence. I left it in my nephew’s hands for a couple of minutes. Later that day he’d finished with it with the phrase ‘good book’.