RENEGADE FLIGHT

Fifteen years after the events of Rebelwing (2020), dragon AI mechs flown by Global Alliance of Nations Peacekeepers are now plentiful.

Their pilots, however, are starting to go missing. As a member of the Park family, Viola is privileged, politically powerful, an overachiever, and under a lot of pressure, but it is her ego that drives her to tamper with the Academy for Combat and Cybernetic Arts Entrance Exams. The only way for her to get back on track for the GAN Academy, prove herself worthy, and hopefully solve the mystery of the missing Peacekeepers is for her to show humility by joining the misfit probationary class. The subsequent storyline is fairly straightforward and includes misfits overcoming the odds, both friend and romance drama, and a predictable villain. What is refreshing, however, is the way the main character cuts through the BS, sometimes displaying enough self-awareness to manage her own foibles. Situations that some novels require long exposition to unwind here are called out by Vi in a decisive manner while displaying a kindness that even surprises herself at times—she just needs to work at checking her ego at the door. This alternate futuristic North American setting includes a variety of multicultural characters; Vi is proudly Korean Canadian.

Don’t expect complex plot twists and revelations but stay for the sassy characters and mech battles.