theradicalchild | Dark Space IV: Revenge (Reply)

Revenge by Jasper T. Scott

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The fourth entry of author Jasper T. Scott’s Dark Space series opens with Master Commander Lenon Donali dropping out of superluminal space, implanting Sythian High Lord Kaon’s identichip into one of his clones, with the High Lord wanting him to assassinate Admiral Hoff Heston, who in the meantime takes relief at no Sythian pursuit, although they know where Dark Space is, and the Gors forgive him for his recent slaughter. One month later, Atton Ortane, in a Nova Fighter, encounters an enemy fleet with his squadron, whilst his father Ethan is about to marry his shipmate Alara.

Riots also break out on many Dark Space worlds, with this civil unrest believed to be a greater threat than the Sythians. Admiral Heston also attempts to have his memories removed via mind probe so that he can resist interrogation by the antagonistic aliens. Atton and his squadron also continue to fight for their lives, with Ethan’s son finding himself ultimately adrift without power. Ethan himself and his new wife further celebrate their honeymoon, during which a takeover of Dark Space by the Sythians occur, and they yearn to use humans for starship labor.

The humans seek salvation in the form of the fabled Avilonians, before which Atton and his fellow pilots, put in stasis aboard the Intrepid, wake early from their suspension. High Lord Shondar of the Sythians wages war against the human fleet and their new allies, with many well-described battles and details on the planet Avilon, especially with regards to the Zenith Tower, and the fourth entry of the Dark Space series is overall a satisfactory read, even with the slight bit of deus ex machina towards the end, and constant shift among various viewpoints.

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