This would be the second or third time reading and listening to this book. I don’t have a lot to say about this book because not a whole lot comes to mind since I already knew what was going to happen despite it being quite a while from the last time I read/listened to it.
* Spoilers *
Another reason why I don’t have a whole lot to say about this book is because this is the first book in the series. The three main characters are going through a lot, they have a language barrier that prevents them from really getting to know each other, and they’ve technically only been together for a few weeks. I’m guessing Carter was probably in captivity for at least two to three days, maybe even longer since he is missing part of his memory. Siel seems to have been in captivity for at least a couple years, while Pykh has been captured all his life.
My favorite character has to be Carter. I love how Joel Leslie voices him and he is a hilarious character who is also really smart. For some reason, I kind of get the impression he sort of favors Siel over Pykh, especially when they start getting into the more intimate scenes. I don’t know if it’s because Siel is older, more patient, keeps himself a bit better groomed, has more experience with surviving out in the wilderness which makes him reliable, he isn’t as tall or as big as Pykh is so they are slightly closer in height, or maybe it’s something else. I mean, he chose to potentially risk Pykh’s life over himself or Siel’s when trying to get the collar off. Which, I don’t think he wanted to risk any of their lives, but I can understand his choice as a way of survival since Siel seemed to know more of what he was doing compared to Pykh when they were fleeing/hiding from the bug aliens. I also would like to learn a bit more about Carter and his background as well. Like what exactly makes him an omega. Are all humans in this world omegas or is he a special case? Since he did mention the reason as to why he became a marine was to appear more manly. Has Carter always been interested in guys or are Siel and Pykh the first guys he’s been interested in? How old is Carter? I was thinking he was in his early twenties. What was his life like before being captured? What exactly did the bugs do to him? Since it seems like he is missing a part of his memory between the time he was captured and the beginning of the book. Do the bug aliens really have a way of messing with a person’s memory? Did they possibly tamper with his anatomy to make him an omega? Was he the only one who was captured or survived the attack on their ship?
The other character I’m really interested in learning about is Pykh. I find it interesting that Pykh for one, knew the language of the bugs for the most part, but also the language Siel spoke in. Because if he was basically raised by the bugs, how would he have learned the language Siel spoke in when Siel was the first of his species that he had met? Siel didn’t really teach him how to speak in their language because Pykh already knew how, he has just been teaching him the different words used in the outside world. The only thing I can think of that would explain this is that the previous aliens that had been captured all spoke in the same language as Siel. The dream that Pykh remembered about the giant with the gold mask, I don’t think that was a dream at all. I think that was a memory that he might have suppressed or his memories might also be tampered with as well by the bugs (or it could be a memory of when he was little). I am also surprised that it seems like he has no memory of who his parents are or any knowledge of how he ended up there in the first place – which most likely has to do with him being very young when he was captured or maybe he was born in captivity. I also am curious on what happened to the other members of Siel’s group that had been captured. It also seemed like Siel and Pykh were the only ones there that were still alive in captivity before Carter arrived. It was mentioned in the book the state of his neck being completely hairless from his collar and I wonder if Siel’s neck was in a similar state or not. I do hope his neck will heal.
I honestly think Siel suffers from depression. I don’t know if it’s from being in captivity or from his life as a warrior, but I hope being free will help. I also don’t really get the whole thing about his brother being the more popular one compared to Siel. Is Siel considered short for his species? Was he just not as good as a warrior compared to others? It didn’t exactly make a whole lot of sense. I will admit I did find it a bit annoying that he would tell Pykh one thing or not to do something, but he ends up contradicting himself by doing whatever he just told Pykh not to do. He is essentially Pykh’s role model and guide to the outside world out of captivity, so in my opinion, he would be a confusing role model who says one thing but does the thing he just said not to do. He also kind of belittles Pykh as well, which isn’t exactly fair on behalf of Pykh. Yes, Pykh can act impatient, apparently has a high sex drive due to his young age (but it was also the only good thing to look forwards to in captivity), can be sweet, naive, but he can be reliable and at times thinks of the right thing to do or say. I don’t exactly know why Siel blamed Pykh for getting both Siel and Carter attacked while they were in the cage. In my opinion, Pykh was outraged by what they were saying and acted upon his rage to possibly try and distract them while showing what they would be up against if they decided to harm Carter. Siel had no idea what was going on since he hardly understands the language the bugs use so I have no idea what fueled his anger during that scene. Was it because of his confusion? Did he really think Pykh truly wanted them to get hurt from his actions? What did Carter think during that whole scene and what was he saying to Pykh after the bugs were done attacking them? I honestly think that since meeting Siel, but mainly because of Carter, Pykh has gained a switch. Because on one hand he is his sweet and normal self who didn’t want the attention of the bugs, but ever since Carter came into their lives who he viewed needed him as a guardian, he has gained a more violent protectiveness that he didn’t have before, as when Siel was hurt by the bugs and during the scene in the cage when the bugs were talking about their plans on what they wanted to do with Carter, he pretty much went berserk. More so when Siel was hurt, because when Carter looked into his eyes during that scene, it was like Pykh was a different person. I honestly don’t know if this switch he has is a good thing or not. Siel always figured he would be a good warrior just on his physical appearance alone, but I doubt he thought Pykh would be capable of this switch. I find it a bit concerning, especially since I know of a certain event that happens in the next book.
Another thing is that Siel and Pykh both call Carter “my omega” and not “our omega”, which I find interesting, but I am also curious if they are really fine with sharing.
I am also curious on who exactly was on that ship that is apparently the master over all of the bug aliens. Was it the giant from Pykh’s memory?
I also find it interesting the different perspectives each character has, especially because of the language barrier. Like, Carter is pretty much trusting them not to hurt him and also had the impression that they wouldn’t, when from pretty much the very beginning Siel and later on Pykh had the intention of killing him to save him from what could potentially happen and Carter had no idea they were planning on that. Except for maybe when Siel just stood there with the sword, staring at him instead of saving him right away. There was also the whole statue thing that is actually magnetic and was trying to use it to get the collars off, but Siel and Pykh had a different impression of it since Carter had no idea what the statue actually symbolized for wanting to have pups. I was kind of glad that Carter had no idea what Pykh was saying when he was trying to sweet talk him into eating the meat like he did when Siel first arrived. It was kind of cringe worthy but also eye brow raising, as I think Carter might have been weirded out if he had understood what Pykh was saying.
A few things I’m hoping that will happen. More about Carter’s thoughts about Pykh and Siel. Their relationship between the three of them getting stronger. For Carter to learn more about the alien culture he has been thrust into. For the language barrier to be fixed. Hopefully to learn more about everyone’s background, especially Pykh’s.
Apparently I was able to come up with more to say about this book than I originally thought.
*Narration*
I loved Joel Leslie’s narrative of this book. He does an absolutely fantastic job giving all three characters distinctive voices that fit with their characters. I especially like Carter’s voice. This audio book has strengthened my enjoyment of this book and I don’t think it would be the same without having Joel Leslie narrating this book.
Overall, I think this is an interesting book to read and listen to. And I would recommend other people to give this series a try.