The Enemy of an Enemy was a recommended book by a service I subscribe to and when I picked it up, it was with an open mind. The book follows a young military intelligence analyst in a distant fantasy galaxy somewhere, whose due diligence in doing a good job has him on the fast track to whatever promotions there are within the realm of his intergalactic navy. But he also has some fascinating talents or qualities that we don't learn about until later on the story.
In the meantime, the ship he's on, the Dragon Claw, is headed out to a secretive research facility located on a distant planet, looking to investigate curious events deep within their Empire’s space. One of the problems facing Vydor is that they're the second rescue squad. The first one already disappeared mysteriously.
During their transit to the planet, things are learned and plans of action are set into motion and Vydor is selected personally by their Emperor to lead what amounts to a suicide mission to either recover some tech or determine a destructive course of action for the planet itself by the naval fleet. Vydor is a military man at heart, so he sees it as his duty to do the best he can, regardless of the potential outcome.
But once on the mission, despite being escorted by the toughest space marine species known to man, he finds himself in a losing fire-fight with a mysterious enemy and he barely survives the attack, but survive he does, because of new friends who have secreted themselves away in tunnels on the planet during this hostile invasion.
This new enemy and his new friends bring never before seen weapons that were previously only thought of as myth and legend. Between these new forces of conflict, Vydor finds himself on a precarious path of duty, honor, & responsibility. All of which manages to have his faith shaken to the core.
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When I start a book, I'm in it for the long haul, no matter how 'meh' it feels in the opening act. With The Enemy of an Enemy, Trigili presented this fantasy world or realm, in such a way that my mind was triggered into wondering what he was going for.
There were gates (Stargate?), interstellar warp-like jumps (Star Trek?), an Empire and an Emperor (Star Wars?) and then a good, old fashion, military feel to the overlying theme, which kept me somewhat engaged. (Make no mistake, I think Trigili's universe is so much better than any of the just previously mentioned franchises.)
I like sci-fi and have been somewhat tolerant of wizardry and things like that because that's what was mingled, or woven into the story.
At first the story was a good, old fashioned military rescue mission as the superior might of the Imperial Navy was headed out to deep space to see why this secret research planet went dark. That opening first act was an excellent mystery.
A new enemy has come to the Empire bringing with it dark powers that were abandoned long before the Empire was born. Powers that were thought to be legend and myth. It's up to Vydor to figure things out and keep this force at bay and protect the Empire, but it may come at the cost of his faith and shake the foundations of the Empire itself, as he comes to ponder his own destiny within all these new events.
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I only meant to read the first book of the series. I'm presently starting the (crap)
The Lost Tales of Power is an open-ended series of Sci-Fi/Fantasy books set in a vast multiverse featuring a mixture of traditional fantasy and science fiction elements. The first book focused on Vydor's journey, but when I started the second book, Vydor was a satellite character, as we started following new people important to The Lost Tales of Power series. The third book, we follow more new characters introduced to the story and Vydor is now a critical detail to most of what happens in this realm without going back to focus on him.
Trigili's writing style sucks you in as much as the great story he "weaves." (If you pick up these books, you'll see why I put weave in quotes.) He starts chapters depending on the reader's intelligence, to know who is talking and their conversations or interactions as he weaves (there I go again) such wonderful character interactions.
When there's no action, there's wonderful conversation with character or story development. Details are explained or laid out just right to move things forward but not too overly complicated to bog down the reading experience. Nothing about the pace of his work is mundane. (Yep, there I go again, that only if you read the series will you get that last word! I know... I like teasing you.)
I would never pick up a book series based on a realm of wizards and magic. NEVER! Crap... but this series takes place in a technological world or realm, overlayed by magic. Like Star Wars and the Force, but it feels better, not steeped in the success of one or two characters or an overly marketed franchise. It's a fresh new set of worlds that truly is fun to read.
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