Book Review: Blackout (Breakers 8) by Edward W. Robertson

 

A new ship hovers over the water, eyeing the Dunemarket and spreading an ominous electric charge throughout the city. Raina's tasked with preparing her people for a new war. Sebastian gives Ness a look "like he'd just stumbled into a mass grave." Lowell decides to flee with Randy. Walt steps out one last time to take down the second ship. In a world where people are scattered about and many aren't beholden to anything but their closest friends or family, even the most reluctant step up for a final stand against the Swimmers. Live or die, they're determined to show the Swimmers that they messed with the wrong planet.

The final installment of the Breakers series, Blackout brings together all of the familiar characters on the west coast in an effort to destroy the Swimmers once and for all. While they're all working toward the same goal under Raina's command, nothing is easy or goes according to plan, of course, and it throws the characters in different directions that requires them to take risks and go into the heart of danger. The novel wouldn't be complete without a fight aboard the new ship, Walt going rogue, or Raina coming two seconds from death. The final Breakers book gives readers everything they want and more, doing every character justice with an edge-of-your-seat pace we expect from Robertson's work.

One of the most interesting parts of the novel is the character development, especially with Raina. While Walt is Walt and Ness continues to run into danger while crapping his pants, Raina shows more range of emotion in Blackout than in any of the other novels. Where readers know the hard-nosed, odd-ball does what it takes to keep her people safe, you see the stress of the war begin to crack her hard exterior, and it only makes you root harder for her to succeed. Nothing's simple with our little firecracker though. Her worry, her pain, and her sorrow all simply fuel the fire behind her eyes. By the end of the book, Raina appears to be the fully rounded leader she should be to keep the Dunemarket safe and oversee her people during peaceful times. She lets that hard shell show wear while keeping a level head, proving once again why she is so respected by her people and why Mauser is right to attempt to keep her as safe as possible.

As action packed as Blackout is, it's easy to imagine that readers might have a hard time following the movement and layout of a rapidly changing fight. There were a couple of times, particularly when Raina's troops infiltrate alien walls, that some of the scale was hard to imagine. When there are so many walls, sometimes it's hard to envision who's doing what at this wall or that wall or simply referring to so many walls makes the reader pause to try to break down the scene visually. Overall, however, Robertson does a masterful job of keeping confrontations clear and moving at a quick pace. After all, it's our main characters that we're really worrying about and that means that sometimes their surroundings are less important than the fact that Swimmers are shooting at their heads, alien tanks are rolling forward, or fighter jets are lighting their path on fire. The action shines throughout the novel, and no big battle disappoints.

If you've never read Edward W. Robertson's Breakers series, you're missing out. Blackout is the final of 8 books that take readers around the world fighting Swimmers and each other. The series taps into the threat of outside invasion and the threat of humans with power. It makes readers think about how they would adapt to a world that must rebuild and wonder if they could be as brutal as necessary to survive. It takes you through heartache and loss as well as thrill and triumph. It's a truly wild ride, and in the end, Blackout brings it all together in a conclusion that would actually be satisfying if only readers weren't still begging for more.

Book Review: The Red Sea by Edward W. Robertson

Dante and Blays are once again off on adventures in Edward W. Robertson's new trilogy, The Cycle of Galand. I'll be honest: I am a huge fan of Robertson's Breakers series and would probably rate it at the top of my favorites list. When I saw he had a new book, I figured I'd give it a shot, but it wasn't until I was finished with The Red Sea that I realized this is a sequel to his other series I never read, The Cycle of Arawn. If you haven't read the prior series, do not be deterred. I thoroughly enjoyed The Red Sea and now that I'm starting The White Tree, the first of the prior trilogy, I am even more interested in the backstory of the characters of The Red Sea.

While busy creating a new trading route for his nearby ally, Dante receives a message from his long lost father: he's sick and needs Dante's help to recover. The only problem is that he resides on a forbidden island to the south that no man desires to visit due to a plague affecting its residents. Although initially determined to avoid the letter and the feelings is brings related to his father, his best friend and sidekick Blays helps convince him to make the long journey. After many troubles and close calls, they finally make it to the island and come face to face with Dante's father. They also discover that treating him is not as easy to is appears, sending them on a dangerous adventure through the island's jungles to find the only cure. But is everything as it seems? Lies are afoot, and it's only after he puts his life on the line that Dante finds out the truth about his father's intentions and the island itself.

The Red Sea takes readers on an adventure full of magic and deceit, forging friendships and uncovering long lost truths. Set on an island shrouded in mystery, the culture of its people and the history of its possession builds the story into a puzzle where you never quite know what will come next. Robertson does a masterful job of creating a unique world not too far fetched yet beautiful like the tropical islands of reality. At times it feels like a couple of the characters fall flat, but the author finds a way to give us new insight that rounds them back out and gives some explanation of their actions.

An interesting part of the book are the concepts of ether and nether, first introduced in the previous trilogy. Using one of these two substances, skilled sorcerers can alter the forces of the world, yet their magic isn't unlimited. There are times in the novel where the fear of loss of nether power heightens the fear for our favorite characters and others where, as a reader, you are silently shouting at Dante to learn to harness the power of both substances. The use of ether was a sticking point in this novel, in my opinion, because at times Dante seemed a little too clueless about using the complementary nature of the two substances. Despite this complication with the plot, the idea of the two substances was refreshing and increased my anticipation for the next novel in the trilogy as it appears there will be a clash. In that regard, Robertson cleverly left the reader hanging, wanting for more.

Sail the seas, adventure through the jungles, and see the power of the force of nether in action yourself in The Red Sea, the first novel in bestselling author Edward W. Robertson's newest trilogy. If magic isn't quite your thing, but you love a good apocalypse with a unique twist, go right now and begin his Breaker's series (the first book's free on kindle). Either way, you won't be disappointed.