WARRIORS AT THE GATES

In this fantasy/SF debut, futuristic soldiers of varying alliances fight one another to get their hands on a mysterious device.

The Global Union rules nearly every region on an Earth devastated by nuclear World War III. Capt. Tressa Ladovitch’s latest mission for the Coalition Intelligence Agency is recovering sensitive information in GU–controlled territory. The key element of this operation is securing an enigmatic object called the Cube. Sadly, a stranger has already compromised Tressa, who needs the Cube to trade for her kidnapped daughter, whom she gave up for adoption two decades ago. Tressa and three fellow soldiers double-cross the rest of the team post-mission and make off with the device. Though left for dead, the team leader, Cmdr. Cayden Battle, survives. His new goal, with the assistance of two Coalition soldiers, is taking the Cube from Tressa. Meanwhile, the GU’s Imperial High Command Gen. Saigo Takamori sends former GU spy and bounty hunter Sateria Ritch to retrieve the object. He promises to commute her life sentence in prison if she succeeds. As a bonus, she may be able to get revenge on Cayden, the lover she believes betrayed her years earlier. Saigo, who’s likely one of the Desani (Angels in human form that entered Earth via a dimensional portal), also has at his disposal cybernetic Iterations, or clones. So as Cayden’s new team chases Tressa and her comrades, Sateria and GU forces are in pursuit of both groups, spawning a plethora of confrontations.

Royster’s cross-genre story teems with action, sprightly characters, and chic technology. Cayden is particularly intriguing. He’s a Desani, but unlike others of his kind, he was “borne of flesh and blood.” He moreover brandishes a katana and uses his Desani powers to anticipate threats even in combat. Character backstories are also engaging, from details on Cayden’s reputed betrayal of Sateria to the reason Tressa gave up her child. While the author doesn’t meticulously describe all the novel’s tech, most of the gadgets don’t need a lot of details, like holo-naculars and the “changer” hoverbike that converts into a “slick snowmobile variant.” Much of this tech shows up in the book’s myriad action sequences. These exhilarating scenes rarely let up; in one extended bit, Cayden and Coalition soldiers are caught in an aircraft chase with GU’s soldier-esque Knights that eventually moves to snow-covered ground for laser gunfights and fisticuffs. Concise prose helps energize these scenes: “Cayden felt another laser blast coming toward them. He banked slightly, careful not to crash into the mountainside. He punched the exhaust and let out a plume of smoke that blanketed the cavern. It blinded the Cobra, causing the pilot to lose control and collide into the side of the rock, rendering the formidable attack jet a ball of flame.” It seems that Royster intends this novel to launch a series. Accordingly, not everything is resolved by the end, with questions lingering and some characters in peril. But this action-packed story will surely have readers pining for a sequel.

A lively, refreshing, and endlessly entertaining post-apocalyptic tale.