While browsing a list of offered review copy books, this title caught my eye. I received a oopy, at my request. I have just finished listening to it and am now posting a voluntary review.
This book centers on Aidan, new commander of the ‘Wild Cards’. The ‘Wild Cards’ are a group of soldiers/rebels assisting in the attempt to overthrow corporate control in America. Set in a near future 2155, a war has been waging for 60 years between the corporations and the displaced US military. The book starts out giving us little bits of background information about how the corporations gained control of the country and continues filling in the gaps throughout the story.
There is a secondary main story besides the sci-fi/cyberpunk elements. A significant portion of the book is devoted to a romance between Commander Aidan and the logistics officer on base, Kevin. Aidan’s character is a transgender male who is still coming to terms with his body. We see how the couple navigate and explore what that means for both Aidan and Kevin. It is a thoughtfully and sensitively told story that I liked very much.
The sci-fi story is not non-stop action but there are a few nice suspenseful scenes. The author has constructed some wonderfully thought-out world-building. There is a believable plot with plenty of details about how this dystopian world works under corporate control.
The characters are a wide mix of personalities and backgrounds. The focus is the alternating POVs of Aidan and Kevin in this first book of the series. I’m hoping subsequent books will give some of the secondary characters their own focus.
The narration by Kirt Graves is stellar. His storytelling abilities had me immersed in the story. I’ll be checking out his other work, for sure.
Recommended. It’s well worth the time to listen.