Tuesday, September 4, 2012

From Chaos Born (In Her Name: The First Empress, Book 1) by Michael R. Hicks

Book Description: 

CHAOS

For long ages, the Kreelan race has been ruled by war. Only the priests and priestesses of the ancient martial orders prevented total annihilation as countless times civilizations arose, only to collapse again into savagery.

RISE OF THE DARK QUEEN

Near the end of the Fourth Age, a powerful warrior from a brooding fortress deep in the Great Wastelands began her bloody rise to power. Syr-Nagath, known as the Dark Queen, began a brutal war of conquest across the face of the Homeworld, secretly planning to destroy the martial orders and resurrect the dark ways of her race’s apocalyptic past.

A CHILD FORETOLD

What the Dark Queen did not anticipate was the birth of Keel-Tath, a child unlike any other. A child foretold in an ancient prophecy, who was destined to wield the powers of the ancient orders and unite her race.

A child the Dark Queen must kill, no matter the cost…


Review 5 of 5 Stars

From Chaos Born is the first book in the third trilogy that Michael R. Hicks has done in the In Her Name series and is a prequel that takes us back to the time of the first empress of the Kreelan civilization to observe the beginning of the changes to the Kreelan culture and honor system that will eventually lead them to human space far in the future.  I really enjoyed it and it was interesting to see the societal struggles that this race faced as it was developing and reaching for the stars in an endless cycle of destruction. Syr-Nagath, the Dark Queen, is truly a brutal character with no redeeming qualities as far as I could tell.  Of course, though, in its slanted way this story is about good trying to triumph over evil as has been the rest of the series.  This is a story of hope for an embattled people who have carried on for generations watching their civilization rise and fall. In Keel-Tath there is hope and prophecies of greatness as well as warnings of dire events to come.  Since this is a beginning to a story that we've already witnessed in the current books of this series I was really glad to see that it didn't founder and the storytelling was as strong and imaginative as in the previous books. Can't wait to read the next one when it comes out.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Final Battle (In Her Name: Redemption, Book 3) by Michael R. Hicks

Book Description: In the final book of the In Her Name: Redemption trilogy, Reza Gard awakens in a hospital on Earth after having been in a coma for months. Charged with murder and high treason, he finds himself the scapegoat for a daring plot to assassinate the President of the Confederation.

Escaping with the help of Jodi Mackenzie, who is now hunted for what she knows about the death of the president, Reza discovers that something is deeply wrong with the Empire: the warriors have lost their will to fight. Compelled to step into a trap set for him and Jodi, the two once again find themselves bound for Erlang.

But this time it is to meet Tesh-Dar, who has been taken prisoner. Captured and sentenced to death, Reza can only watch as a human armada gathers for a strike against the Kreelan homeworld. But the human fleet - and humanity itself - will be doomed to utter annihilation unless he can reach the Empress in time...


Review 5 of 5 Stars

Altogether this has been a great series and I was thoroughly disappointed when I reached the end of Final Battle, the last book in Michael R. Hicks' In her Name: Redemption trilogy because I truly didn't want the story to end. Reza is a fantastic character who is incredibly interesting and easy to empathize with while reading. There's a lot going on in this book and I think Mr. Hicks did a great job of wrapping it all up, though I can only hope that there's another book after this one that will delve into other issues that would lead to a spoiler alert if I were to discuss them here.  Once again there's lots of action, intriguing characters and a gritty feel to the portions of the story that need it.  These stories are filled with so much that it has become more difficult to review them for those who have not read the others in the series as I truly don't want to give away too much and take away from the reader's enjoyment of their own discoveries and realizations. This is great science fiction / fantasy (as there are some elements that could be considered fantasy by some) and I thoroughly recommend it.  Mr. Hicks is a very good writer and I greatly enjoyed this book and the series as a whole.  So 5 stars for Final Battle and 5 stars for the In Her Name Redemption trilogy as a whole. If you're looking for something fresh and well thought out that will whisk you away to another place and time this may well be a story for you.