Pros
- Ship-to-ship combat against enemies with powerful and exotic weapons
- Great story for those who like plots involving aliens often referred to as ancients, first ones, or precursors in science fiction
- Good action scenes
Cons
- Plot direction was a bit predictable if readers were paying attention
- Aliens have fairly bland names
Bane of Worlds Review
Bane of Worlds by Anthony James is a great sequel to his first book in the Survival Wars series, Crimson Tempest. While the first book was a bit narrow in its focus, it does an excellent job of setting up the stage for a more expanded story involving aliens with powerful technology that is foreshadowed in these first two books.
What James does well is writing an engaging story that has exciting combat between spaceships using exotic weaponry. Throughout the first few books, hints about an ancient, all-powerful race long absent are revealed to the reader, and the foreshadowing is so heavy that it’s difficult to miss, making the plot reveal a bit underwhelming.
And the direction of the war with The Ghasts takes a turn that isn’t surprising either, especially considering their shared nemesis. But what is surprising is how The Ghasts are portrayed. Despite their names, they appear to be quite civilized and competent, which makes sense considering their ability to continually push humanity back during the war.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the story, and by extension the series, is the discussion of the exotic weaponry and technology spread throughout the galaxy that the series is set in. This technology, and the species that developed it, is referred to as The Dreamers. The alien names are a bit bland, and like The Ghasts, the names don’t appear to be representative or reflective of the species.
Much like its predecessor, there’s plenty of space and ground combat, and the writing style is simple enough that it doesn’t interrupt the flow of action in the story. T
That aside, stories that include ancient aliens that once populated the galaxy inspire the imagination, giving the universe that the characters find themselves in a sense of adventure. What wonderful technologies and treasures await those who are daring enough to explore and take risks? Babylon 5 arguably does the best with this concept of the ancients and their technology, and this book gives readers almost that same sense of awe with the technology.
A bit more is revealed about The Ghasts, and events in the book ensure that the following sequels will give readers more information about these mysterious aliens that were the villains in the first book of the series.
Bane of Worlds is a great continuation of the Survival Wars series by Anthony James. Readers who enjoyed the first one will only find more to love in this sequel since humanity finds itself yet again under threat of extinction from an overwhelmingly powerful foe. Only this time, humans won’t be alone.
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