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Jason Alexander Xavis, better known as Jax, is the lone survivor on New Horizons, an old colony ship from Earth. Found in his pod with a clearly-used pipe by Captain Barnaby, Kell, and the other crew members from Orion’s Belt, Jax was hardly a day over sixteen when he went into the pod. It has now been several hundred years, and he is a complete blank slate. He remembers nothing of his past and how he got into the pod. With each unraveling detail and revelation, readers feel a sense of heightened excitement because they are receiving the plot details at the same moment as the main character.
From the opening scene, it’s apparent that chaos and death cloak Jax, yet he is embraced with open arms by Orion’s Belt's crew and Barnaby. His training there is short-lived, however, when he unintentionally finds himself in the middle of an execution event after the node that powers the city is blown to bits. Almost as if his body instinctively recognizes that it has been in these situations over and over, Jax’s poise is on full display as he channels his inner Indiana Jones and treats each crisis like an adventure unto its own. From being taken captive and meeting Jules to collectively taking out their would-be killers and then impersonating them and stealing their ship, the characters drive the action in a plot that moves at a breakneck pace.
Implementing strong worldbuilding techniques in the galaxy he has created, Roberts pits Jax against the Loccoran empire, whom some say are offshoots of mankind themselves, emerging from the Great War that eradicated humanity and even led some prolific figures to inhabit the stars. With elements such as cryo pods, space travel, and brain alteration by the Loccorans, the narrative exhibits distinctive and patented science fiction qualities, but perhaps none more compelling than “Frankenstein’s monster,” a reference to the human-like androids that had come to the forefront.
Amidst the chaos, a love triangle (that later evolves into a rectangle) ensues with Jules and Captain Diane and a constantly waffling Jax, unable to choose from both captivating women. While not central to the crux of the plot, it is essentially icing on the cake, letting audiences in even deeper into Jax’s mind and helping them understand how he processes the world and the stimuli around him. With impeccable character development that gives even the most minor characters a role to play and a connection to the central characters, Roberts’ work maintains a fluidity in the story arc while holding the audience’s attention.
The mystery of who Jax really is drives the first half of the book, but as the plot progresses, the intrigue shifts to the backstory of the Loccoran empire and the impending coronation of the soon-to-be empress, who seems adamant about uniting humanity. Fascinating devices like Shiv the Destroyer allude to key elements of Hinduism and Lord Shiva, the destroyer himself, and continue to carry the science fiction aspect of the novel into the latter stages of the novel. While Jax and his friends can hardly say they know what they are headed toward in the early junctures of the novel, their destinies are clear as they are on a collision course with Loccoran Prime. At stake is their very survival. In nearly all aspects, the narrative has a natural knack for the cinematic. Roberts’ vibrant writing style and steady use of dialogue combined with a heavy dose of meaningful action and obstacles to cross make for a simultaneously entertaining and thought-provoking read.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review