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After retrieving the data core from the Kantovan Vault, the crew of the Defiance proceeds to an ancient asteroid settlement known as Defiance. The plan is to uncover technologies and equipment to help them fight the encroaching machine intelligence threat.
The story moves forward some more. Mainly this book stands out for the great action sequences, which unlike in previous books where many characters were wearing semi-obvious plot armour, feel like they have very real stakes.
Our heroes must venture deeper into Tavalai human space in their search for evidence of a conspiracy against not only humanity, but several other species as well. This instalment involves a heist, breaking into a mysterious vault on a planet with a crushing atmosphere.
There is a bit less character development and more story focus in book three, but the great action continues.
The story continues as Phoenix and her crew ventures ever further from human space in order to track down evidence of an ever-vaster seeming conspiracy against the current order. Old and terrifying ghosts from ancient history, in the form of the Hacksaws, machine intelligences that once dominated the spiral, are found to be very much still a presence. The mysterious and advanced alo race, ostensibly humanity’s allies, seem connected to the Hacksaws, somehow.
The second instalment takes the series more into an adventure direction, as the story itself solidifies into a quest. The crew must track down clues and ancient mysteries, whilst navigating a complex network of shifting loyalties and alliances. The action scenes remain excellent, and the characterisations are solid.
Lieutenant Commander Erik Debogande and the rest of the crew of the capital ship Phoenix are going home. One hundred sixty years of war are over, and a victory parade awaits. Erik subsequently reconnects with his family, ultra-rich industrialists with a keen interest in human politics. But things soon go awry as Phoenix’s captain is framed for a crime he did not commit, and the crew must escape the homeworld, taking Phoenix, in order to not meet the same fate.
Mr. Shepherd builds a rich and intricate universe of shifting alliances and complex national interests, both between the various spieces inhabiting galaxy, and amongst the humans themselves. Past history going back tens of thousands of years indicates that no one is without blame in some way, and every race and faction has skeletons in its closet, including humanity, which itself is still traumatised from near extinction. The action scenes are top notch, especially those involving the marines. One gripe is that the descriptions of large ships, space stations and other locales, while comprehensive, are often a bit confusing.