Dalzelle continues to create these impressive stories, even after 8 books, the 9th was just as good, if not better.
Something is trying to destabilise the Confed, or more importantly the Confed banking system.
Whilst Omega Force has no love for the Confed, they understand that the removal of this organisation will be disastrous, as potentially bring down the Confed and see billions or trillions of lives at risk, and dozens of worlds at risk with no support from the Confed fleet.
Jason sees no option but to try and work out what is going on. This leads to a rather interesting mission, and a series of trips all over the galaxy as they hop from place to place trying to work out what has happened.
As usual, this leads to various ‘interactions’ for the crew and as the story progresses, there is a lot of fun, antics and action as they try and try and piece together what is going on.
This is what makes these books so great. The collection of misfits in the crew are unlike anything else, but at the same time, they also remind me (and others) of a lot of the brilliant shows/books from the past and present (No I’m not going to start listing them, there are too many).
However, Dalzelle has not simply copied them, he has made this his own, with his own unique galaxy backdrop, each of his own wonderful characters, and some brilliant tech to tie it all together. There is still the fantastic humour that leaves you in tears at times (there are things that Jason says to Twingo that are hilarious that don’t just leave Crusher in stitches)
One of the things that I think made this book the standout for me personally, was the start of the book, as well as several other bits where we get to learn a lot about Lucky. In this episode, we actually learn how he was created, why he is like he is, who made him, what he is, when and where he was made, and the reasons for not just his senescence, but for his conscience as well. It made this a truly fascinating listen, and Dalzelle has spent a lot of time developing this story line to make sure that it is not just exceptional, but that it honours both his listeners/readers and Lucky himself. This is what makes him such a great character writer.
There was some storyline in relation to Cage and Jason as well, as well as the Ship, which got a complete overhaul, but Lucky was the main star of this book. We also get to see a lot of other battlesynths in action this time around, which added an extra bonus to the book as well.
Overall, as I said earlier, this was a fantastic listen, and Dalzelle continues to show why he is such a brilliant author and why this is such an exceptional series. If you are a fan of the series, you must listen to this for the Lucky info, and if you haven’t, then get the first one – I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.