Pros
- Nice change of setting for story to take place outside of local sector of galaxy
- Some information about the Mogwa and their society
Cons
- Story moves away from Varus and focuses on McGill instead
- Ending feels a bit rushed with the conclusion regarding the Blood Worlders
City World Review
B. V. Larson’s seventeenth entry into the Undying Mercenaries series, City World, delivers yet another action-packed story with its fumbling but likable protagonist, James McGill.
What City World does well is to reveal to readers some more background information into the Mogwa and the empire that rules over Earth and its surrounding space. This background information, namely the political rift between Mogwa Prime and the setting of this book, reveals that all is not well in the empire.
Previous books in the series hinted as much into the different Mogwa factions fighting for influence near the core of the galaxy, and Grand Admiral Sateekas’ status in this story show how far he has fallen.
The book does a good job in showing readers the weaknesses in the Mogwa and their empire. Their disdain for other lesser aliens and their feeling of superiority has resulted in a species that has become too comfortable. Their only advantage over Earth and other frontier aliens is their superior technology.
These weaknesses become evident in the story as the Galactics essentially commandeer the entire Earth fleet, including Legion Varus, and fly them near the core of the galaxy in order to fight off an invasion of a Mogwa planet by a familiar enemy.
As usual, McGill finds himself smack in the middle of the conflict, and his usual fumbling, dumb luck, and spontaneous bouts of inspiration eventually lead him saving the day (and Earth). In fact, if there’s a drawback to the story, it’s that the emphasis of the story shifts from Legion Varus and the various supporting characters: Carlos, Kivi, Galina, Harris, and other members don’t really play a big role in the story.
The Varus supporting characters do make their appearance, but these appearances seem almost written in as an afterthought, to remind readers that indeed, Varus members are there and dying for Earth.
Likewise, the ending of the story regarding a certain group of creatures, feels a bit rushed, though their fate may lead to some interesting consequences in the next story.
There should be no surprise that along the way, he manages to bed several women, even adding yet another new one to his long list of conquests.
City World by B. V. Larson is another fun iteration of James McGill’s antics and how these antics manage to stave off Earth’s ultimate destruction. The usual characteristics of the Undying Mercenaries series readers have come to love continue to excite: battles, flirting, dying, and saving the world. There’s not much change to the formula here, but that’s what readers have come to expect and enjoy.
Read reviews of other books by B. V. Larson.
