Warhammer 40,000: Renegades: Lord of Excess by Rich McCormick

On August 31, 2024August 31, 2024 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Five-Star Books, Science Fiction, Tie-in Novel, Warhammer10 Comments

Publisher: Black Library (Audiobook – 6 April 2024)

Series: Warhammer 40,000: Renegades – Book Two

Length: 14 hours and 17 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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Prepare to break the bounds of sensation, desire and treachery in the amazing Warhammer 40,000 novel, Lord of Excess by Rich McCormick, the second book in the fantastic Renegades series.

I have been having a great time with the huge variety of unique and elaborate Warhammer 40,000 books coming out in recent years, and it is always fun to see the impressive reads the franchise is producing. One of the things I particularly enjoy about the Warhammer 40,000 fiction machine is the way in which it gives new authors the chance to shine, with several talented authors writing their very first book as part of the Warhammer canon. I have already talked about one particularly good Warhammer 40,000 debut this year with Deathworlder by Victoria Hayward, but another incredible first novel I had the great pleasure of reading was Lord of Excess by new author Rich McCormick.

Lord of Excess was an exceptional book that was released as part of the loosely connected Renegades series that looks at a different band of traitor Space Marines as they make their dark way through the universe. For example, the first Renegades book, Harrowmaster by Mike Brooks, looked at the nefarious Alpha Legion, and I am sure that future entries will dive into the other traitor legions with some fun stories. Lord of Excess is the second Renegades book, and it provides the reader with an outstanding and unique story focussed on the ultimate beings of excess, the Emperor’s Children.

At the dawn of the Imperium, the Emperor’s Children were the master of mankind’s most loyal and revered Space Marine Legions, dedicated to the fight for humanity while seeking perfection in all things. However, during the tumultuous events of the Horus Heresy, the Emperor’s Children followed their Primarch into treachery, and turned against their Emperor, falling into the service of the ruinous powers of Chaos.

Now, millennia later, the Emperor’s Children are a twisted remnant of their former glory. Scattered into smaller warbands, the Emperor’s Children now only seek pleasure and sensation in hedonistic service to the Chaos God Slaanesh, the lord of obsession and excess. One such band is the feared and infamous group known as the Adored. Lead by the tainted Space Marine Xantine, the Adored has ravaged the galaxy for centuries, taking slaves and bringing untold torment, but Xantine has never found what he truly desires, until now.

Suddenly dropped out of the Warp, the Adored find themselves in orbit about the isolated planet of Serrine. A wealthy and corrupt planet of the Imperium, Serrine has been long cut off from the rest of humanity due to corrupted currents of the Warp. Sensing the opportunity to carve out a place for himself, Xantine decides to take control of Serrine, and turn it into the perfect society, dedicated to loving him. However, making true perfection is an impossible task, and Xantine soon finds his rule challenged by both the population of Serrine and those closest to him. Worse, there are darker forces at work within the bowels of Serrine, and soon the world will be engulfed in perfect destruction.

Lord of Excess was an exceptional and impressive Warhammer 40,000 novel that achieved so very much for the reader. Featuring a complex and compelling tale of betrayal, deceit and corruption, loaded with fun characters and larger-than-life personalities, Lord of Excess was an entertaining and elaborate read from the very start, and I could not get enough of it.

I really loved the story contained with Lord of Excess, and I find it hard to believe that this was McCormick’s very first novel. The plot of Lord of Excess is an elaborate and continuous tale of woe and failed ambition as it charts main character, Xantine of the Emperor’s Children, as he attempts to bring perfection to the world of Serrine. Starting off by introducing Xantine and his renegade Space Marines, you are soon shown the world of Serrine, an isolated and mismanaged Hiveworld with plenty of its own problems, including an uprising from a genestealer cult. Taking advantage of these chaotic events, an obsessive Xantine leads his mostly apathetic Emperor’s Children to the planet’s surface, telling the locals they are there to save them. This proves to be an intriguing start, as the reader is shown a battle between two very different group of villains, which is essentially the equivalent of the cenobites from Hellraiser facing off against xenomorphs from Alien (with both sides using a lot of purple). This fight against the genestealers is a fun first part of the book, and I honestly thought that McCormick was going to stretch that conflict out for the entirety of Lord of Excess. However, the author instead chooses to cleverly end this conflict about a third of the way through the book, and the rest of the novel goes in some very interesting directions.

Following this introduction, Lord of Excess than goes through a series of time skips, as you follow the unlucky course of Serrine under the “benevolent” rule of the Emperor’s Children. Each new version of Serrine you see is somehow worse the previous version, and it proves extremely entertaining to watch the inherent downsides of the protagonist’s twisted version of perfection. The plot cleverly rotates between the machinations of Xantine and his Adored as they fight over the course of their warband, and several intriguing human inhabitants of Serrine, whose reaction to the fate of their planet varies across the emotional spectrum. The plot goes in some very interesting and entertaining directions, as Xantine finds himself continuously beset by betrayal, mostly of his own making, while many others are driven to extreme lengths by Xantine’s actions, and other malign foes hiding beneath Serrine’s surface. Things continuously get darker and darker as the plot continues, leading up to a brutal and amusing conclusion. I loved the various elaborate twists and captivating revelations that McCormick cleverly worked into the plot, and his accompanying character work really helps to sell it. The book ends on a fantastic note, with devilish and deserved endings for many members of the cast, and the ultimate fates of everyone really reminds you that Lord of Excess is a grimdark book focussing on deranged villains.

McCormick really showcased his effective and powerful writing style in Lord of Excess, and I loved the elaborate and multifaceted book that he ended up creating. The fantastic story has so many deep elements to it, and it transcends the typical action-focused Warhammer fiction by providing nuanced portrayals of society, human nature, and the impossible search for perfection. That’s not to say that there isn’t action in Lord of Excess, as McCormick loads the book with multiple over-the-top and entertaining fight sequences that prove hard not to love. However, he also balances these battles with intriguing character work, long-running elaborate story elements, and complex depictions of intriguing Warhammer features. The way in which the author cleverly shifts the narrative around several fantastic characters works to create a fun and layered story with many moving parts to it. I also love how descriptive and visual McCormick got at times. The author clearly had fun describing the many excesses and mutations of the Adored, and you really got a clear and vivid sense of the twisted nature of the beings involved. This ended up being such an outstanding read, and McCormick did such a great job bringing his elaborate story to life in the absolute best way.

I felt that Lord of Excess was a pretty awesome Warhammer 40,000 novel, that will really appeal to a varied audience. Established Warhammer fans will love the fantastic depictions of the Emperor’s Children featured within this book, and I love how well McCormick captured the complexities of these renegade Space Marines and the depths to which they have sunk. While he doesn’t do a full deep dive into the history of the Emperor’s Children, McCormick provides some detailed flashbacks into their past, that Warhammer readers will appreciate, which also providing some good context for new readers. While this book did spend a lot of time examining the Emperor’s Children, it also featured its own unique and clever narrative, which really utilised the grimdark nature of the wider Warhammer setting to its advantage. Readers are gifted by a truly complex and intense read, and I felt that Lord of Excess is an amazing example of just how good a Warhammer 40,000 novel can be. This would be a pretty good entry point for new readers keen to check out the elaborate Warhammer 40,000 fictional universe, especially as you can get an amazing sense of the overall cruel, deadly and often ironic nature of this fantastic overarching setting.

Easily the key strengths of Lord of Excess were the elaborate, distinctive and damaged characters that McCormick centred his story around. There are some brilliant characters featured in this book, from ancient traitor Space Marines lost in their own obsessions, to the normal inhabitants of Serrine, whose lives are irrevocably turned upside down by the arrival of the Adored. These elaborate character arcs are very intriguing, and McCormick expertly features them throughout his story, ensuring that the reader becomes intrigued by the fates of these various figures. The most prominent character is the Adored leader, Xantine. An ambitious and twisted being, Xantine finds himself drawn to the world of Serrine and sees it as an opportunity to create a perfect world, much like the previous planets the Emperor’s Children called home. Xantine proves to be an intriguing central figure for the book, especially as you get drawn into his obsession and the disdain of his followers for his vision. Thanks to the machinations of the daemon S’janth, who shares Xantine’s body, you get some fascinating insights into this character’s mind, and you soon appreciate the depths of his determination to be perfect, which stems from his daddy issues and dark personal history. I loved seeing how the events of the book were driven with this figures love of perfection, and Xantine proved to be an excellent dark heart to this entire story.

In addition to Xantine, Lord of Excess features several other great characters, all of whom are damaged in fantastic and intriguing ways. This includes the various members of the Adored, each of whom has their own unique obsessions and focuses. McCormick really had fun when it came to these corrupted figures, and there are some delightfully over-the-top characters as a result. These other members of the Adored often come into conflict with Xantine, primarily due to their incompatible obsessions, and I loved the barbed interactions that followed, especially as Xantine both loves and hates his fellow renegades. While several of these characters stood out, the best one was probably Vavisk. Vavisk, a Noise Marine, is obsessed with finding the perfect sound, and often finds himself lost in his horrifying music. However, Vavisk is also Xantine’s closest friend, and the unique bond of brotherhood between these two figures, proves to be a key part of the book, especially as the potential for it to break is always there.

Other major characters include several inhabitants of Serrine who attempt to survive the actions of Xantine. Due to a creation myth, many people on Serrine initially see Xantine as a destined saviour, and the eventual revelation of his true nature leads to much heartache for them. These characters provide an outstanding alternative perspective to that of Xantine and the other Adored, and I loved seeing the various reactions to the evil that came to their planet. Key figures include the young man Arqat, whose rage at the injustices performed against him drives him to some dark places. The mysterious Cecily founds salvation and escape thanks to the patronage of Xantine, although her loyalty costs her deeply. While the foppish noble Pierod, seeks to take advantage of the arrival of the Adored, which has blistering ups and downs for him. I really enjoyed these three human characters, and their unique storylines, some of which were nearly as extensive as Xantine’s, helped to turn Lord of Excess into a particularly brilliant read as you get drawn into their various tales of woe and opportunity. While Pierod’s story was probably the most entertaining, due to his naked ambition and greed, you honestly connect to all three of them, and it proves fascinating to see where their encounters with the Adored takes them. McCormick writes some grim and fitting fates for all three of them, and the other humans of Serrine, and seeing the journey they take to get there, is so damn entertaining.

As with most Warhammer 40,000 novels I enjoy, I ended up grabbing Lord of Excess on audiobook, which is just the best way to appreciate a piece of Warhammer fiction. Coming in with a runtime of over 14 hours, the Lord of Excess audiobook is a decent length, but one you can get through quickly once you become caught up in the outstanding plot. I love how well this format highlighted the epic narrative featured with Lord of Excess, and you get a real sense of the plot’s chaotic delights, unnatural horrors, and devilish figures when they are read out to you. It helped that the Lord of Excess audiobook was helmed by one of the very best Warhammer 40,000 narrators, Richard Reed. Reed has been killing it in recent years with his work in Warhammer 40,000 fiction, including The Infinite and the Divine by Robert Rath, Ruin and Reign by Nate Crowley and Grim Repast by Marc Collins, all of which were greatly enhanced by his impressive voice work. His work in Lord of Excess is particularly awesome, as he once again produces an impressive range of unique voices to fit the big personalities of the plot. This includes multiple mutated and utterly corrupted Space Marines, and Reed provides very fitting voices for them, as well as the unlucky humans caught up in their machinations. The over-the-top story comes out so much better because of Reed’s compelling narration, and I love how effectively he captured the various insane figures. This amazing voice work turned the Lord of Excess audiobook into something very special, and I had an exceptional time getting through it.

Lord of Excess by Rich McCormick is an absolutely brilliant and amazing piece of Warhammer 40,000 fiction that I could not get enough of. Expertly combining elaborate elements of the Warhammer 40,000 canon with a complex narrative and darkly damaged characters, Lord of Excess was so much fun to read, and it proves impossible not to get caught up in this epic debut. This might be one of the smartest and most compelling pieces of Warhammer 40,000 fiction release so far in 2024. A truly outstanding Warhammer 40,000 book from a particularly amazing new author, Lord of Excess comes very highly recommended, and Rich McCormick is an author with big things in his future.

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WWW Wednesday – 24 July 2024

On July 25, 2024 By The Unseen LibraryIn WWW WednesdayLeave a comment

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Taking on a World of Words, where bloggers share the books that they’ve recently finished, what they are currently reading and what books they are planning to read next. Essentially you have to answer three questions (the Three Ws):

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

So, let’s get to it.

What are you currently reading:

Sentinel by Mark Greaney (Trade Paperback)

Sentinel Cover

A sequel to Greaney’s previous novel, Armored, Sentinel provide readers with an intense, action-packed read, and I am looking forward to seeing how it unfolds.

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Warhammer 40,000: Renegades: Lord of Excess by Rich McCormick (Audiobook)

A fantastically over-the-top Warhammer 40,000 novel that follows the very best of the bad guys.

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The Sandman: Act III by Neil Gaiman (Audiobook)

After loving Act I and Act II of this great performance, Act III chugging along nicely and I love the elaborate story and exceptional celebrity cast.

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What did you recently finish reading?

Outrider by Mark Wales (Trade Paperback)

Outrider Cover

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Warhammer 40,000: Siege of Vraks by Steve Lyons (Audiobook)

Warhammer 40,000 - Siege of Vraks Cover

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What do you think you’ll read next?

Confessions of the Dead by James Patterson and J. D. Barker

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That’s it for this week, check back in next Wednesday to see what progress I’ve made on my reading and what books I’ll be looking at next.

Top Ten Tuesday – Novels from the First Half of 2024 that I Still Need to Read

On July 9, 2024 By The Unseen LibraryIn List6 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. The official topic for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday was to return to a previous list you’ve done as part of a Throwback Freebie. However, I decided to instead continue my literary examination of the first half of 2024 by looking at the top books from the first half of the year that I still need to read.

While I have already enjoyed a substantial number of outstanding novels in 2024, there are still quite a few impressive novels from the first half of the year that I have yet to read. Many of these were on my most anticipated books lists for 2024 (both fantasy and other), and while I was really excited for them, I have honestly not had a chance to check all of them out yet. Therefore, I am going to use this freebie session to shame myself in the hope that it gets me into gear to finally check out these epic reads. This proved to be an easy list to pull together, as many of these books have been weighing on my mind for a while. All 10 novels below (plus honourable mentions) sound really, really good, and I hope I get the chance to read all of them soon.

Honourable Mentions:

The Burning Land by David Hair

An epic fantasy novel that I know I would have an amazing time reading.

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The Trials of Empire by Richard Swan

One of the big fantasy releases of 2024. I left this book as an honourable mention, mainly because I haven’t read the preceding book in the series yet, and I would need to do that before even contemplating reading The Trials of Empire. Still, this seems like a big gap in my 2024 reading schedule, and I should try to get up to date with this series ASAP.

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Past Crimes by Jason Pinter

A cool and exciting science fiction thriller that sees true-crime documentaries get way too interactive in the future.

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Top Ten List:

Death on the Tiber by Lindsey Davis

Probably the book I am most surprised about not having read yet is the new Flavia Albia novel from Lindsey Davis, Death on the Tiber. An excellent and intriguing historical murder mystery, Death on the Tiber is the latest book in one of my favourite series and looks set to throw the protagonists into another complex murder in ancient Rome. I always have so much fun with this series, so it’s very surprising that I haven’t read it yet. This will hopefully be resolved soon, as it will likely be one of my top books of the year.

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Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Another major book from the first half of 2024 that I really need to check out is Service Model by acclaimed science fiction author Adrian Tchaikovsky. The second of four books Tchaikovsky has coming out this year, Service Model will follow a rebellious robot who gains sentience and becomes determined to destroy the crumbling remnants of human society. I have no doubt this is going to be an epic read, and I am going to try very hard to read it as soon as humanly possible.

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How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin

One of the more compelling murder mystery novels from the first half of 2024, How to Solve Your Own Murder sounds like an extremely fun read, and I must try to check it out.

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Warhammer 40,000: Renegades: Lords of Excess by Rich McCormick

I have had a lot of fun with several Warhammer books in 2024 so far, but the key one I’ve missed out on reading is Lords of Excess by debuting author Rich McCormick. Part of the Renegades subseries that highlights Chaos Space Marine warbands, Lords of Excess follow the hedonistic Emperor’s Children as they attempt to bring their twisted version of perfection to an isolated world. I love the sound of this book, especially as you know more chaos and destruction is likely on the way, and it is always fun to read a Warhammer book told from the villain’s perspective. I might honestly try to start listening to the audiobook version of Lords of Excess in the next week or two, especially as I need another Warhammer 40,000 fix.

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The Shadow King by Harry Sidebottom

Another major historical fiction book from the first half of 2024 that I need to check out is the epic novel, The Shadow King by Harry Sidebottom. Sidebottom is a fantastic author, and I have had a wonderful time with all his recent books set in the Roman empire. The Shadow King will see Sidebottom examine Alexander the Great’s empire in an intriguing new way, and I know that I will find the whole thing deeply fascinating and exciting. As such, I will hopefully make time to read The Shadow King soon, especially as I will be very disappointed not to read this book by the end of 2024.

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The Instruments of Darkness by John Connolly

John Connolly is an author who I have been meaning to read for years. I had hoped that his latest book, the intense and dark legal thriller The Instruments of Darkness, would have been a good opportunity to enjoy his work for the first time, but I have yet to have the time to read it. I am still optimistic that I will be able to read The Instruments of Darkness soon, as it sounds like a very complex and powerful novel.

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Assassins Anonymous by Rob Hart

A very fun sounding thriller about a retired assassin in a killer support group who is dragged back into the world of contract killing against his will. I honestly fell in love with Assassins Anonymous’s fun sounding plot the moment I read the synopsis and I have been meaning to grab a copy since it came out. Hopefully I get one soon, as this sounds like such an exciting and awesome book.

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Star Wars: The Living Force by John Jackson Miller

While there were a few Star Wars novels out in the first half of this year, the one I most regret not reading is The Living Force by John Jackson Miller. Set just before the events of The Phantom Menace, The Living Force is a compelling entry to the canon that focuses on the various members of the Jedi Council. I love the sound of this awesome book and I am hoping to listen to it in the future, as it should be a fantastic novel.

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The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill

An intriguing and captivating murder mystery from a very talented Australian author, The Mystery Writer sounded like a very impressive novel, and I have had some great experiences with Sulari Gentill in the past. I look forward to checking this book out at some point in the future and I am sure it will be an outstanding read.

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Five Broken Blades by Mai Corland

The final book from the first half of 2024 that I want to highlight here is the fantasy debut Five Broken Blades. Following five dangerous rogues tasked with killing a tyrannical king, Five Broken Blades sounds like a very awesome book, and I have heard some great things about it. I currently have the audiobook version of Five Broken Blades ready to go and I am hoping to listen to it soon, especially as I am in the mood for some fun and fierce fantasy fiction.

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Well, that is the end of this latest list. As you can see, there are a bunch of exceptional novels from the first half of the year that I need to check out. All the above books sound incredibly epic, and I am going to have to try a lot harder to start reading through them. In the meantime, let me know which books released in the first half of the year you most regret not reading in the comments below.

Top Ten Tuesday – Books I Meant to Read in 2023 but Didn’t Get To

On January 30, 2024 By The Unseen LibraryIn List7 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers creating and sharing lists on various book topics. For this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, participants were required to list their top New-to-Me Authors they discovered in 2023. However, I already published a list on this topic a few weeks ago, so instead I will be listing the top books I meant to read in 2023 but that I didn’t get a chance to. This was actually the official topic of last week’s Top Ten Tuesday, which I missed because I was doing a special post on my favourite Australian novels of 2023. I look forward to making up for this list here, which is likely to be my final list highlighting the top books and authors of 2023.

2023 was a pretty awesome year for books and I had such an outstanding time getting through a solid collection of debuts, exciting sequels and fun older novels, most of which were epic and impressive reads. However, no matter how hard one tries, there are always a couple of books each year that fall through the cracks and that you don’t get the chance to read, either due to time constraints, lack of access or from being too overwhelmed with other reads. As a result, this is a list loaded with regret, as each book I mention below is one that I really wish I had taken the time to explore.

To complete this list, I pulled together some of the more interesting and compelling sounding novels that I did not get a chance to read in 2023. Each entry was released last year, and while I knew that they were coming out, I did not get a chance to read any of them. In many cases, I have these books sitting on my shelf, silently and constantly judging me, and I will have to try and read them to stop their bookish glares. I was eventually able to cull my list of regret down to 10 entries with an honourable mentions section. The final list is an interesting collection of books from across the genres, and includes several major 2023 releases I did not get the chance to look at.

Honourable Mentions:

Star Wars: Rise of the Red Blade by Delilah S. Dawson

An intriguing Star Wars book that follows the life of a fallen Jedi who becomes a notorious Inquisitor.

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Thick as Thieves by M. J. Kuhn

Thick of Thieves was a great sounding fantasy novel that I regret not reading, especially after enjoying Kuhn’s first book, Among Thieves.

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The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz

A particularly fun sounding novel from last year about crime fiction authors being murdered at writing retreat that I really wish I had read.

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The Hunters by David Wragg

An outstanding fantasy novel that I know I would have loved.

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Top Ten List:

Gods of the Wyrdwood by R. J. Barker

Without a doubt, the book I most regret not reading in 2023 was Gods of the Wyrdwood by R. J. Barker. An incredible and unique sounding fantasy read that would follow a former-chosen one in a dark new fantasy world, Gods of the Wyrdwood had so much potential behind it. Unfortunately, I just never seemed to be in the mood or have the time to read it, which is so mindboggling to me as I absolutely loved all of Barker’s previous novels. Barker’s The Wounded Kingdom trilogy (made up of Age of Assassins, Blood of Assassins and King of Assassins) and The Tide Child trilogy (made up of The Bone Ships, Call of the Bone Ships and The Bone Ship’s Wake) are some of the best fantasy trilogies I have ever had the pleasure of reading, so it is very surprising that I didn’t read Gods of the Wyrdwood yet. I have a copy of Gods of Wyrdwood at home now and I am hoping to read it in the next month or two, especially so I can enjoy the upcoming sequel from Barker.

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Star Wars: The High Republic: Cataclysm by Lydia Kang

I have mentioned a few times recently that I have fallen behind in my reading of Star Wars fiction and this really became apparent in 2023 when I did not read Cataclysm by Lydia Kang. A key book in the High Republic extended series, Cataclysm continues the epic main story featured in several outstanding books I have previously read. As such, it is probably the most important Star Wars book I can read right now, especially if I want to keep going with the High Republic. I hope I get the chance to catch up on this series in 2024, as I have been really enjoying the unique narratives in these prequel reads.

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The Sword Defiant by Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan

Another exciting fantasy novel I really regret not reading last year is The Sword Defiant by Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan. A compelling and exciting sounding book about legendary heroes corrupted by the swords they wrested from their great evil enemy, The Sword Defiant sounded so damn cool, and I had high hopes for it the moment I saw its plot synopsis. Unfortunately, I did not get a copy of The Sword Defiant when it first came out and I have not had a chance to get one since. I really should make an effort though, as I know I would have loved this book.

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The 9th Man by Steve Berry and Grant Blackwood

I have been having a lot of fun with Steve Berry’s iconic Cotton Malone thriller series the last few years, with epic books like The Malta Exchange, The Warsaw Protocol, The Kaiser’s Web and The Last Kingdom, really impressing me with their elaborate and compelling narratives. As such, I should have made more of an effort to read Steve Berry’s other 2023 novel, The 9th Man, when it came out. Co-written with Grant Blackwood, The 9th Man was the first book in a spin-off series featuring one of the main supporting characters from the Cotton Malone books. Featuring Berry’s typical blend of historical conspiracy and modern day thriller storyline, The 9th Man sounded very fun and I am confident I would have deeply enjoyed this excellent novel. The 9th Man is another book I am planning to try and read soon, as Berry and Blackwood have a sequel coming out later this year.

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The Tyranny of Faith by Richard Swan

After having such a great time with Swan’s first fantasy novel, The Justice of Kings, I meant to read the sequel, The Tyranny of Faith last year. Continuing Swan’s intriguing tale of a roaming Justice who brings law and order to their world with magic, swordsmanship and legal work, The Tyranny of Faith further explored the elaborate conspiracy that Swan set up in the first book. I really did intend to read The Tyranny of Faith, but I could never fit it into my reading schedule. I am hoping to change that soon, especially as the third book in the series is out very soon.

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Defiant by Brandon Sanderson

One of my most anticipated books for the end of 2023 was Defiant by Brandon Sanderson. The final book in Sanderson’s excellent Skyward young adult science fiction series (made up of Skyward, Starsight and Cytonic), Defiant sounded pretty damn epic and it wraps up an outstanding series. Unfortunately, there was just not enough time to read Defiant before 2023 ended. I will definitely try to finish off this series this year, and I cannot wait to see how Sanderson finishes everything off.

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Storming Heaven by Miles Cameron

Another major sequel I should have read last year was Storming Heaven by Miles Cameron. The intriguing follow-up to Cameron’s outstanding 2022 novel, Against All Gods, Storming Heaven continued to explore the author’s new world of murderous gods and rebelling humans. I had such a great time reading Against All Gods and I plan to make an effort to read Storming Heaven this year, hopefully before Cameron’s next intriguing novel comes out.

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Generation Ship by Michael Mammay

I really enjoyed Mammay’s original first three books, Planetside, Spaceside and Colonyside, but since he released those, I just have not been able to make time for his other excellent, standalone science fiction novels. I was particularly annoyed at myself for not reading his 2023 novel, Generation Ship, which sounded like such a fantastic read. Focussing on a massive generation ship at the end of its long voyage, this book explores the various issues that arise as they near their destination, including an unknown alien planet, unsuccessful colonisation efforts, and a class uprising from the crew. Generation Ship sounded so damn good, and I really wish I had the time to listen to it last year as I know I would have loved it.

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Warhammer 40,000: Renegades: Harrowmaster by Mike Brooks

I read a lot of Warhammer 40,000 fiction in 2023, but there are still some great books from this franchise I wish I had checked out. The main one of these is Renegades: Harrowmaster by excellent author Mike Brooks. Brooks has deeply impressed me in the last year, and his other 2023 Warhammer 40,000 novels, Warboss and The Lion: Son of the Forest, were so damn good. Renegades: Harrowmaster, which also came out in 2023 (at least on audiobook), sounded extremely awesome, as it follows the infamous Alpha Legion, the most mysterious, secretive and manipulative group of warriors in the canon. I love the sound of this great book, and I really wish I could have listened to Harrowmaster last year. I am hoping to read this book at some point in 2024, although this might have to wait as I also want to read another novel from Brooks first, Brutal Kunnin.

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Slayers by Christopher Golden and Amber Benson

The final entry I want to include on this list in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer audio drama production, Slayers. Written by author Christopher Golden and actor Amber Benson, Slayers serves as a sequel to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, and explores the multiverse surrounding the shows. As a massive Buffy fan, I love the idea of any sort of official continuation and I was pretty excited for this audio production, especially as it features the voices of several key actors from the show. Unfortunately, there were just too many other books I needed to read before the end of 2023 and I could not fit it in. I have plans to try to listen to Slayers in the next month or so, and I cannot wait to see how it turns out.

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Well, that is the end of my latest list and it looks like I have a lot catch-up reading to do if I am going to make a dent in it. There are some truly amazing-sounding novels on this list and I fully intend to get through all of them at some point, although with all the outstanding books coming out in 2024, it might take me a little time. In the meantime, let me know what books you most regret not reading in 2023 in the comments below.

Supernova by Marissa Meyer

On October 17, 2019August 20, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Alternate Timeline, Five-Star Books, Superhero, Young Adult6 Comments

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends (Trade Paperback – 29 October 2019)

Series: Renegades – Book 3

Length: 552 pages

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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Lies, betrayal, anarchy! Acclaimed author Marissa Meyer brings her epic young adult series, the Renegades trilogy to an end with Supernova, an electrifying and outstanding book that I had an absolute blast reading.

Supernova is the third and final book in Meyer’s Renegades trilogy, which started in 2017 with Renegade and continued last year with the incredible Archenemies. Archenemies had to be one of my favourite young adult books of last year, so I was pretty eager to check out the final book in the series. For those of you unfamiliar with the series, the Renegades books follow the adventures of two teenagers, Nova and Adrian, in an alternate version of Earth where a number of people, known as prodigies, have superpowers. After a period of superpowered destruction and terror known as the Age of Anarchy, the world has entered a time of peace, thanks to the superhero collective known as the Renegades.

Nova is a member of the supervillain group known as Anarchists, the remnants of the followers of the world’s greatest supervillain, Ace Anarchy, who has been living in hiding since the end of the Age of Anarchy, close to death. Nova, or as she is known to the world, Nightmare, is Ace’s niece, and hates the Renegades with a passion, due to the role they played in the death of her parents, and because of the way her friends have been persecuted by the supposed heroes. In order to recover Ace’s helmet, the one item that can restore him to full power, Nova has taken on the persona of Insomnia in order to infiltrate the Renegades as a hero. However, her dedication to the Anarchists and her mission has been shaken thanks to the leader of her patrol team, Adrian.

Since joining the team, Nova has slowly fallen in love with Adrian, a romance complicated by the fact that Adrian is the son of the world’s greatest superhero, Captain Chromium, Ace Anarchy’s arch enemy and the man who Nova hates the most in the world. Adrian also has secrets of his own; while he spends his days as the Renegade Sketch, at night he is secretly the outlaw vigilante superhero known as the Sentinel, who acts outside the rules and codes of the Renegades. He is also pursuing a solo investigation into the murder of his mother, and his primary suspect is Nightmare.

Despite her steadily growing feelings for Adrian, Nova is still determined to take down the Renegades, especially after the announcement of their new secret weapon, the chemical Agent N, which can permanently depower a prodigy. Breaking into Renegade headquarters at the end of Archenemies, Nova was able to successfully recover Ace Anarchy’s helmet; however, her absence allowed Adrian and the rest of their patrol team to accidently find and capture Ace. Now with her uncle captured and awaiting execution and all her lies and deceptions coming apart, Nova must find a way to rescue Ace and bring the Renegades down. However, with new players on the board and old fears resurfacing, can Nova and Adrian survive when anarchy returns to Gatlon City, or will their combined secrets finally overwhelm the two young prodigies?

This was a pretty amazing way to end a trilogy, as Supernova is an excellent and highly addictive read that I powered through in around two days, despite its hefty 552-page length. This final book tells an exciting and compelling story in its own right, and Meyer has done an outstanding job of finishing off her series, producing an epic conclusion that ties together a number of the intriguing storylines that have been running since the first book. Those readers interested in Supernova who have not read the previous books in the series should be able to follow the plot without any issues, but in order to experience the full emotional impact of the various story elements that are concluding, it might be best to at least read Archenemies first. That being said, those readers who choose to read Supernova alone will still be in store for an incredible young adult superhero read that does a wonderful job blending together action, tragic backstory, likeable characters and a very complex and rewarding romance storyline.

One of the most enjoyable things about this series was the cool and unique world of superheros that Meyer has created. The whole background of a world that is slowly rebuilding after an extended period of anarchy is pretty darn fascinating, and it was really interesting seeing the ways that superheros are trying to maintain order in this world. Meyer has done an amazing job filling her world with a variety of memorable prodigy characters, and the sheer number of unique power sets that the author has come up with is truly impressive. All these cool and imaginative powers make for some pretty epic battle scenes when the prodigies end up fighting each other, and Meyer has come up with some thrilling large-scale battle sequences throughout her story. Overall, I found that this superhero filled world to be an excellent and creative setting for this great story, and it is one that I hope Meyer returns to in some of her future works.

Perhaps my favourite aspect of this cool superhero world is the significant amount of time spent examining the morality and motivations of the various superpowered characters. Rather than the classic superhero story where all the heroes are pure and good and all the villains are evil, the morality of the characters in the Renegades series is a lot more complex. For example, the Renegades, despite being the heroes, are willing to do anything to preserve the status quo and ensure that the Age of Anarchy never happens again, including some punishments that seem pretty extreme. They are also so strictly bound to the idea that their organisations and their codes of conduct that a vigilante like Adrian’s Sentinel persona is automatically seen as a villain, despite all the good he does, while the faults of certain Renegades who abuse the system for their own aims are overlooked. The Anarchists and other non-Renegade prodigy groups, on the other hand, despite being villains, can in many ways be seen as victims of the current system, especially as they believe that they are mostly fighting for their own personal freedoms.

This is a rather interesting dichotomy that has been fun to unwind throughout the course of the books, especially through the eyes of the series two point of view characters, Nova and Adrian. Nova, who is both an Anarchist and a Renegade, begins the series believing that the Anarchists are in the right, while the Renegades are corrupt and hypocritical. But throughout the course of the books, as she spends time with the Renegades, she begins to see that many of the heroes, especially the members of her patrol team, are good people who are mostly trying to help, and she finds herself drawn between family loyalties and her new friends. However, the heavy-handed actions of the Renegade Council, especially in this book, ensure that Nova’s loyalty to the Anarchists and her uncle remains intact. Adrian, on the other hand, was born into the Renegades and is a major supporter of them. However, when he begins to adventure as the Sentinel, he begins to see how restrictive and rigid the rules of the Renegades are and he begins to question a number of the Council’s decisions, especially when it comes to Nova. All of this leads the reader to have some very serious doubts about which characters are truly in the right, and this entire moral debate is a really fascinating overarching aspect of the book and the series as a whole.

Like the rest of the books in this series, Supernova is being marketed as a young adult novel. While this is a good book for younger readers, this novel is also easily enjoyed by older readers who will really like this clever and inventive take on the superhero genre. Due to the fact that the book contains a large amount of violence, which includes several deaths and even torture scene, Supernova is probably best left to a teenage audience, and might not be completely appropriate for younger readers.

Marissa Meyer’s Supernova offers the reader an amazing and addictive young adult novel that also serves as an exceedingly satisfying conclusion to the author’s fantastic tale of superheroes and villains. In this third and final book in the outstanding Renegades trilogy, Meyer not only does a sensational job wrapping up her series, but she also produces another exceptional story filled with superpowered action, forbidden love, an inventive alternate Earth and some intriguing discussions about morality. A first-rate read, if you have not experienced Meyer’s Renegades series before you are in for a real treat. I really hope that the author returns to this universe at some point in the future, and I will be keeping a close eye out for Meyer’s next release.

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Halo: Renegades by Kelly Gay – Audiobook Review

On April 4, 2019August 17, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Tie-in NovelLeave a comment

Halo Renegades Cover.jpg

Publishers: Gallery Books and Simon & Schuster Audio (19 February 2019)

Series: Halo

Length: 8 hours 37 minutes

My Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars

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In this review, I dive into the expanded media universe surrounding the popular Halo video game franchise, as I review one of their latest tie-in books, Renegades by Kelly Gay.

I remember way back in 2001 when we first got the X-Box, the original Halo (or Halo: Combat Evolved) was one of the first games we got on the system, and it was definitely one of the best games we had at the beginning of the platform. The graphics on Halo were just incredible for the time, and it represented a fantastic evolution in the first-person shooter genre. The Halo series has since expanded out in a number of addition games, including the five main games (Halo to Halo 5), two additional first-person shooters (ODST and Reach) and two real-time strategy games (Halo Wars 1 and 2). I have ended up playing most of the games in this series and have quite enjoyed the fun action and excitement that come with the series.

Like many other video game franchises, writers have taken advantage of the Halo series’ popularity to create a range of tie-in novels, comics, animation and other media items. There has even been talk of a live-action Halo movie for some time, although we are probably a long way off from that. Halo is one of those games where the creators actually invested in a complex backstory and extended history, much of which is revealed within the game’s impressive cut scenes. While I quite enjoyed the extended Halo backstory revealed in the games, I never got too into the media tie-ins associated with the franchise. The only other book in this franchise I have read is Halo: Contact Harvest, which I bought in Philippines to supplement my reading material on an extended trip. While I did actually really enjoy Contact Harvest, which focused on one of the most entertaining side characters in the original game trilogy, I did not have a chance to read any of the other books written about the games until now. Since starting my blog, I am always keen to expand my range and decided to listen to the audiobook version of this book for something different. I did have to choose between Renegades and the recently released young adult Halo book, Battle Born, but ended up going with Renegades in the end. I may yet check out Battle Born at a later date.

For those unfamiliar with the franchise, the games are set in the 26^th century, after humanity has journeyed away from Earth and formed an interstellar civilisation. Some years before the events of the first game, humanity comes into contact with an advanced alliance of alien races, collectively known as the Covenant, who engage in a brutal war against humanity. As part of this war, a human ship fleeing the Covenant lands on an artificial ring planet, known as Halo. The Halo rings were created millennia ago by a now extinct race of beings, the Forerunners, to stop the creatures destroying their civilisation, the parasitic race known as the Flood. However, the only way to defeat the Flood was to wipe out all life in the galaxy to starve the Flood, and then reseed life, including humanity, back into the galaxy. Throughout the course of the first three games, the protagonist attempts to save humanity from the Covenant and the Flood, eventually forming an alliance with elements of the Covenant and bringing the war to an end. Halo 4 and 5 are set a few years after the original trilogy, and feature the protagonist dealing with surviving members of the Forerunners and a whole set of other threats.

Renegades is set in the year 2557, approximately around the same times as Halo 4, and follows the adventures of the human salvage ship Ace of Spades. After the events of the book Halo: Shadow and Smoke, the crew of the Ace of Spades are still reeling from the losses they experienced and are eager to get revenge of the Sangheili (Elite) Covenant commander Gek’Lhar. Captain Rion Forge is also determined to use the information they recovered in their last adventure to locate and rescue her father’s missing ship, the Spirit of Fire.

However, Gek’Lhar is not the only enemy they have made. The United Nations Space Command’s (UNSC) Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) works to collect or control all valuable or dangerous pieces off Forerunner technology in the galaxy, and the crew of the Ace of Spades are the only people aside from Gek’Lhar who have knowledge of a massive debris field filled with valuable Forerunner technology. In the middle of a daring heist to steal information from Gek’Lhar, Forge and her crew find themselves captured by ONI operatives, who confiscate the coordinates to the debris field, as well as all the crew’s assets and salvaged technology.

Left with nothing but their ship, the Ace of Spades crew need to find the next big score, and information Forge secretly obtained from ONI during their arrest may provide them with what they need. ONI are on route to secure a remote and desolate planet, which contains the remains of one of their ships, which apparently crashed with classified technology aboard. The contents of the ship may be the crew’s best option to reclaim their stolen possessions, so they set out to get there first. Beating ONI to the planet, the Ace of Spades crew make a surprising discovery of an advanced robot calling itself 313 Guilty Spark.

Halo: Renegades is a terrific novel from author Kelly Gay, who creates an exciting and compelling story with a huge number of connections to the Halo universe. Gay is a well-established author of science fiction and fantasy fiction, best known for her Charlie Madigan series, and who also writes under the pen name of Kelly Keaton. Renegades is the direct sequel to Gay’s 2016 novella Smoke and Shadows, but it also continues stories started in the games and introduced in The Forerunner Saga of books.

The first thing I have to talk about when it comes to Halo: Renegades is the sheer range of Halo references and backstory from across the Halo games and extended media utilised in this book. Not only is the story set in the post-Halo 3 universe but the book takes place around the time of the events of Halo 4, with several of the events from the fourth game commented on and having some impact on the story. In addition, one of the main protagonists of the book, Rion Forge, is the daughter of one of the main characters from the first Halo Wars, Sergeant John Forge, and Rion Forge spends a good part of this book trying to find her father and the ship from Halo Wars 1 and 2, the Spirit of Fire. Renegades also features 313 Guilty Spark, one of the main antagonists from the original trilogy, as a major point-of-view character in the book, and characters from the Spartan Ops additional content of Halo 4 appear in various minor roles throughout the book. That is on top of all the information contained in the previous books in the Halo extended universe. Renegades takes place directly after the events of Gay’s preceding Halo novella, Smoke and Shadows, and all the events that occur in that book are incredibly relevant. In addition, the events and characters explored in The Forerunner Saga, a trilogy that dove deeply into several key Forerunner characters from the various games, also play a significant role throughout Renegades.

Now, with all these references to various games and books, how easy is the plot of Renegades to follow, especially for those with limited or only basic knowledge of the Halo universe? I would say that Renegades is a perfect book for hardcore fans of the Halo series who have enjoyed some of the books mentioned above and who will appreciate all the references and discussion that occurs within. People with slightly less knowledge of the franchise may struggle during certain parts of the plot and have a hard time understanding the relevance of what is happening. Having played all the games and having done some background reading, I thought that I would be able to follow everything that was going on, but I actually struggled with some aspects of the plot, especially with the extensive discussion about ancient Forerunner characters. While I did struggle a little, I found that as I stuck with the book, all the relevant parts were eventually explored in some additional detail, helping to fill in the picture. I do think that the author took the reader’s knowledge of the events of all the video games a little for granted, and there were some gaps in the story that, while I was able to fill them in, people less familiar with the games might have trouble with. That being said, Gay did a fantastic job of making the story accessible to those people who had not read her direct prequel story, Smoke and Shadows, and readers were quickly able to get a good understanding of Gay’s earlier entry into the Halo universe. In the end, if you have very little knowledge of the Halo games, this probably is not the book for you, and while you might be able to enjoy the adventure within, you are extremely likely to get lost a number of times throughout the complex plot.

Aside from the intensive amount of inclusions from the various Halo games and media tie-ins, I felt that Renegades was an overall awesome book that was a lot of fun to listen to. Gay presents an entertaining character based novel that has a good amount of new, original story content while also utilising the main aspects of the Halo universe. The author presents the story from a range of different character perspectives, allowing for a richer and fuller story for the reader to enjoy. There is a little less action than you would expect from a Halo tie-in novel, but there are still a number of action sequences throughout the book to keep fans of combat and firefights interested. I quite liked where the story went, and I was extremely glad that I decided to read this book.

I thought that the camaraderie of the crew of the Ace of Spades served as a good emotional heart to this story, and I liked the time that Gay spent exploring the familiar relationship that had formed among the members of the crew, and the strain that recent events had placed upon them. I also enjoyed how the story focused on a gang of salvagers, and it was interesting to see how they fit into the wider Halo universe. It also meant the story featured a few heists-like sequences, as the team uses intelligence rather than brute-strength to defeat their opponents.

One of the more interesting characters utilised in Renegades was the character of 313 Guilty Spark. Spark was a Forerunner Monitor; an intelligence left behind to maintain the Halo rings and help activate them in case of another Flood infestation. Spark appeared in all three of the original Halo games, including Halo: Combat Evolved as the main antagonist, and Halo 3, in which he was apparently killed. However, The Forerunner Saga of books revealed he had survived the events of Halo 3 and was actually a former ancient human who had been transformed into a monitor long ago by the Forerunners. Spark had quite a good redemption arc within this book, as well as good a redemption arc, as someone who killed off Sergeant Major Johnson deserves. While Spark has his own agenda for most of the book, his time among the crew starts to rekindle his lost humanity and slowly turns him into a somewhat likeable character. I did enjoy the duality that Gay portrayed within Spark, as the character tries to figure out who exactly he is: the ancient human, the Forerunner monitor or something entirely different. His subsequent quest to find out who he is becomes a major part of the story, and it was interesting to see how it tied into the larger Halo universe, especially in relation to the Forerunners. I was slightly disappointed that his role in the original three Halo games was not really mentioned or explored, but it was still a compelling character arc that I found to be most intriguing.

As I mentioned before, I chose to listen to the audiobook format of this novel, narrated by Justine Eyre. Like many tie-in novels, this is a relatively short audiobook, only going for 8 hours and 37 minutes, making it fairly easy to get through this book quickly. I quite enjoyed listening to this book rather than reading it, as it allowed me to absorb the deep dive into the Halo lore a little easier. I also found that the audiobook format helped enhance some of the action sequences, such as the awesome spaceship fight sequences in the centre of the book. Justine Eyre did a fantastic job of narrating this story, and the voice she provides for the base narration and the book’s central character, Rion Forge, is perfect, encapsulating the strong and determined nature of Forge that Gay sets forth in the book. I quite liked the voices that Eyre utilises for the other human members of the Ace of Spades crew, and she does some decent and varied voices for the book’s alien characters. I had a little trouble liking Eyre’s voice for Guilty Spark, mainly because Tim Dadabo did such an incredible job with the character in the games; however, this did not really negatively impact my experience with Renegades. As a result, I would definitely recommend the audiobook format of this tie-in novel, as I found it to be an awesome way to enjoy this amazing story.

Kelly Gay did an excellent job following up her 2016 Halo novella, Smoke and Shadow, and I had an absolute blast listening to Halo: Renegades. The book contains an outstanding story that goes deep into the lore of the Halo franchise and successfully pulls in elements from several games and novels to create a fantastic overall read. While some readers may have trouble following some parts of the story, I had a great time reading it, and I know that established fans of this particular franchise will really love Gay’s new book. I really hope that Gay continues the story of Rion Forge, 313 Guilty Spark and the rest of the crew of the Ace of Spades in the future, and I would be quite interested to see them try to navigate the post-Halo 5 universe. This is definitely a series that I will be keeping an eye on.

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Archenemies by Marissa Meyer

On November 15, 2018August 20, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Alternate Timeline, Superhero, Young Adult4 Comments

Archenemies Cover

Publisher: Pan

Publication Date – 6 November 2018

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Following on from her immensely popular 2017 release, Renegades, Meyer continues her exciting tale of superpowered duplicity and intrigue with Archenemies, the second book in the Renegades trilogy.

In an alternate version of Earth, superpowers exist and those that have them are known as prodigies. For most of this world’s history, prodigies were tormented and persecuted and many were forced to live in hiding. That was until the Age of Anarchy, when the world’s villainous prodigies rose up and established their own world order of chaos and destruction, led by the notorious Ace Anarchy. It was not until the rise of the superhero syndicate, the Renegades, that order was restored and prodigies were accepted as a part of society. While most people see the Renegades as symbols of hope and virtue, there are some who have good reason to hate them.

Nova is one of these people, and her hatred has led her to live a dangerous double life. Most of the world knows her as Insomnia, a recent recruit to the Renegades, who serves as a member of a patrol team in Gatlon City, the location of the Renegade’s headquarters. However, Nova is also secretly Nightmare, the niece of Ace Anarchy and a member of the Anarchists, a group of villains dedicated to destroying the Renegades. Hating the Renegades for the role she believes they played in the death of her parents, Nova has infiltrated the superhero team in the hope of discovering all their secrets in order to destroy them from within.

While she has so far maintained her cover, Nova’s mission has become complicated due to her relationship with Adrian, and the son of the people she holds most responsible for her family’s tragedy. But Adrian has secrets of his own. While he leads Nova’s patrol team as Sketch, Adrian is also living a double life as the Sentinel, a vigilante superhero acting outside of the codes and restrictions of the Renegades. Although Adrian was only attempting to help, his actions as the Sentinel have placed a target on his back, and the Renegades are determined to stop rogue prodigies.

While Nova is determined to complete her primary mission and retrieve a powerful artefact from within the Renegades’ headquarters, both hers and Adrian’s lives are about to get even more complicated. The Renegades have revealed a game-changing new weapon which forces the two young prodigies to question everything they know about what justice is. Can they keep their respective secrets from each other, or are their worlds about to come crashing down around them?

Archenemies is the latest book from bestselling young adult author Marissa Meyer, and the second book in her Renegades trilogy. The first book in the trilogy, Renegades was one of last year’s most successful young adult hits. Readers may also be familiar with some of Meyer’s other young adult works include The Lunar Chronicles, a series that focuses on a dystopian science fiction reimagining of classic fairy tales; Heartless, a prequel novel to Alice in Wonderland; and the young adult graphic novel series Wires and Nerve.

This second book in the trilogy continues Meyer’s incredible story of superhero intrigue and adventure. The central story is a captivating tale told from the point of view of both Nova and Adrian and follows them as they attempt to live their double lives in this exciting world. The storyline that follows Nova attempting to hide her affiliations with the Anarchists as she infiltrates the Renegades is a thrilling and exhilarating narrative. Nova is constantly on edge as she must allay the suspicions and investigations into her background and her motivations for performing certain tasks around the Renegades’ headquarters. The character must also deal with the emotional turmoil that she experiences as she struggles to stay on her original mission of betraying the Renegades, despite some conflicting feelings she develops. The sections of the book that focus on Adrian are also very compelling, especially as his is the direct opposite to Nova’s story, as he begins to disobey the rules of the Renegades to engage in some illegal vigilante work. His struggles about whether to keep up his activities become a major part of his storyline, especially as he experiences some severe consequences for going into the field without backup. He is also determined to keep his identity as the Sentinel hidden from Nova, as she particularly dislikes the Sentinel, although Adrian gets the reason for the dislike completely wrong.

These two separate storylines combine together really well into one central narrative, and Meyer does an incredible job showing how the secret actions of one of the point-of-view characters impacts on the other character. For example, part of Adrian’s storyline focuses of his investigation into the death of his mother, a famous superhero, and his search leads him to believe that Nightmare holds the answers he is looking for. This becomes a big problem for Nova, as she has managed to fool most of the world into believing that Nightmare is dead, and Adrian’s investigation could blow her cover. There are also several fantastic scenes where one of the protagonists comes across a clue that the reader knows could reveal the other character’s dual lifestyle. The suspense that Meyer creates during these sequences is subtle but effective, as the reader is left holding their breath, waiting to see if this will be the event that will lead to the inevitable part of the trilogy when the two characters find out about each other. This second book also contains some interesting hints towards some major reveals that are likely to occur in the final book of this trilogy, as well as some urgent plot points that can only lead to some intense and action-packed scenes in Meyer’s next release.

Meyer also continues the intriguing romance angle between the two main characters that began in the first book of the trilogy. Rather than being ultra-intense, this romantic subplot comes across as more of a slow burn, as Nova and Adrian both like each other but are reluctant to act on their feelings due to the dual lives they are secretly leading. Nova does spend most of the book attempting to heat this relationship up, but this is more in an attempt to seduce Adrian in order to help her further her goals for the Anarchists. However, she truly has feelings for him, which continue to develop throughout the course of Archenemies. There are several nice scenes throughout the book as the two point-of-view characters attempt to initiate the relationship, and despite the deceitful backdrop of the story, their relationship starts to feel like a genuine, heartfelt romance. The eventual reveals about both characters’ secret identities will no doubt result in some significant drama within the next book, and readers will be interested to see the final result of this relationship. For those interested in a less complicated romantic story, there is also a lighter romance angle between Renegades side characters Smokescreen and Red Assassin. Their sweet and awkward flirting and courtship will be instantly recognisable and relatable to most readers, and you can’t help but hope that the two characters will realise how much they like each other.

I quite enjoyed the fantastic world that Meyer has created for the Renegades trilogy. A world filled with superpowered beings is an excellent place to set an intrigue-studded young adult series such as this. The creative and thrilling story of infiltration and morality is amplified by the rich number of superhero elements throughout the book. There are a huge number of diverse superpowers, as well as mysterious and dangerous artefacts and weapons. Meyer has created a number of interesting and unique superpowers, including a woman who makes practical weapons out of her own blood and a man whose power is to make people see the wonder in everything. The sheer amount of different powers and technology available thanks to the author’s imagination allows for a number of cool fight scenes and action sequences throughout the book, which plays wonderfully with the other elements of the story. A superb and creative background location.

While Archenemies’s dramatic story and fun superhero-based location forms a fantastic base for this novel, one of my favourite parts of the book was the moral and ethical issues raised by various characters throughout the story. Both point-of-view characters have different opinions about whether the Renegades or the Anarchists are in the right and what constitutes justice. While Nova’s opinions about the Renegades could potentially be explained away as brainwashing from her uncle and the other Anarchists, several of the actions and attitudes she encounters while undercover seem to justify her beliefs. Her belief that the Anarchists might be in the right is supported by the fact that most of the remaining members of the team of villains seem to be really nice people who are supportive and helpful to Nova. Several members also have somewhat tragic backgrounds which highlight why they choose to live their lives apart from the rest of society. Adrian, on the other hand, has been raised to believe in the Renegades’ methods and code, but he has started to find them too restrictive and begins fighting crime outside them in his guise as the Sentinel. However, he finds himself targeted by the Renegades for doing heroics outside of their code, and begins to wonder if they are making the right decisions, a feeling that becomes amplified thanks to his interactions with Nova. Meyer further complicates matters by diving into the history of the prodigy persecution and discussing how it only ended when the villains rose up and took control, and this current golden age of super heroes only exists because they did.

This moral debate about what a group of superheroes should be able to do is further amplified by the introduction of the Renegades’ new weapon, Agent N, a formula that can permanently remove the powers of any prodigy. Nova, in her guise as Insomnia, argues strongly against the Renegades’ policy of wilfully administrating Agent N against any rogue prodigy they encounter, believing that they don’t have the right to decide who gets to have powers and who doesn’t. While her debates are mostly ignored by her team members, her concerns are validated thanks to the actions of a rogue team of Renegades who abuse Agent N in the field. There is a great scene when Adrian as the Sentinel attempts to stop them committing a terrible crime, and these rogue Renegades actually believe they are still morally superior to Sentinel because they are members of a super team, and he’s not. Despite her misgivings, Nova still utilises Agent N to achieve her own goals, and justifies it as being for the greater good. Thanks to a series of escalating situations within the story, by the end of the book, the reader is left wondering which side, if either, is completely in the right, which personally has got me very excited for the final book in the trilogy.

Archenemies, the second book in the Renegades trilogy, is a captivating and excellent read from Meyer which presents a superb story about dual identities in a morally grey superhero universe. While aimed at a young adult audience, this series will prove to be incredibly intriguing to older readers and is easily suitable for a younger teen audience. Probably best read after enjoying the first book in the trilogy, Archenemies is still quite easy to follow for those who chose to enter the Renegades series at the second book, due to its detailed descriptions of major plot points that occurred earlier in the series. I had a lot of fun with Archenemies and will definitely be checking out the final book in the trilogy when it comes out next year. An incredible adventure from Meyer, this book comes highly recommended.