While not a true sci-fi fan, I do like SOME science fiction and the Dark Space series is one of those sci-fi's that I enjoy.
For those who have read the first three books of the Dark Space series, Revenge shows the maturation of Scott as an author. This book is an improvement on the writing of the first three stories with much better editing and control of the story. There are a few loose ends that will probably be picked up in the next book of the series, such as where it leaves off the character, Denali. It also drags a little about 3/4 of the way into the book giving lengthy, repetitious versions of the same battle between the Sythians and Avilonians from different points of view. This part reads like a military book without really adding anything to the story. It feels a like the author is trying to pad the book for length but the slight drag doesn't affect the reading experience severely. Most of the book flows well and the ending leaves you satisfied but with just enough unanswered questions and thoughts that you want to pick up the story with book 5 but you can just as easily leave the story where it ends. There are characters you like, those you hate, some are mature, some immature, some stupid, some intelligent... just like people today. Surprisingly, I could relate with the frustration of the "bad guys." Not that I was cheering for them, just that I could see where they were coming from in their thoughts and actions.
For those who have NOT read the other books in the series, you can pick up this book without reading the first three books first and enjoy Revenge on its own. Scott does a good job of bringing you up to speed without retelling the whole story from the earlier books. However, the earlier books give you a much better understanding of the characters, their relationships with one another and how they came to be where they are in this book.
In a quick synopsis, this book is about 3 future versions/races of humanity as they have evolved far into the future. The first race, hiding in Dark Space, is the version which we normally think of humanity today. Basically, the future "us."
The second race are the Sythians who evolved on a mythical world called Origin which is really Sythia. They were genetically altered to adapt to the environments on the various planets that they live in and to live longer lives. When that failed to make them immortal, they discovered a way to live forever by cloning themselves into new bodies after death, effectively living forever.
There is also another race living in a secret place called Avilon. The Avilonians are also called Immortals and have superior technology to the other two races. Their location is well hidden from both humans and the Sythians. The humans want to find them to plead for help with the war waged by the Sythians and the Sythians want to find them to conquer them just as they conquered and enslaved the humans.
The story is complex enough to keep you thinking and reading but not so complex that it it difficult to follow. This book has a little bit of everything: adventure, hints of romance, imagination, humor and is just entertaining.
Overall, I would rate it a 4.75/5 stars given the few nit-picks above.
Comment on Audible version: I normally do not purchase the audible version of a book because they are usually not worth it and reviewers rarely comment on the readings so I will. The audible version of this book is not bad. It is read with a male voice. The reader uses good inflections and varies his voice for the dialog bantering of the different characters which makes the dialog easy to follow while listening. My only criticism is that he reads a tad bit slow so I set the reading speed to 1.25x which changes the voice a little but still was worth listening to for the $1.99 extra that I spent.
Is the book worth 99 cents? Yes, definitely.
Is it worth 3.99? Yes.
Would I buy another book by this author? Yes.
Is this review helpful to you? Yes? If so, let me know by clicking yes. If not, click no and comment why. I am not an author, a book reviewer or otherwise compensated for my opinions. I just like to read books and appreciate other honest reviews by readers so I can pick good books to enjoy.
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