Invasion (Red Company Book 4) by B. V. Larson

Pros

• An extinction-level danger threatens humanity
• Great action and battle scenes

Cons

• Breadth of the story feels a lot more narrow in this book compared to previous books

Invasion Review

Invasion by B. V. Larson is an action-packed continuation of the adventures of Sergeant Starn and the mining ship Borag as the ship and its home planet of Mars attempts to fend off an attack by an unknown but ancient and powerful alien species who only has a single ship. But this ship has devastated the colonies and defenses in the outer system and it’s on a straight trajectory toward Mars.

Standing between this singular advanced alien ship and the destruction of Mars is Starn and the knowledge and artifacts he gained in his previous jumps through a parallel universe. Only Starn is aware that he’s not quite in the same universe.

The devastation caused by this single alien ship illustrates just how far ahead in technology this alien species is—if the warp weapons and the portals across time failed demonstrate as much in the previous books. Just as the title reveals, Invasion finds Starn, Borag, and all of Mars coming together to defend their home and, of course, make some money in the process. After all, batteries for laser weapons cost money, and energy isn’t free.

The plot involves humanity fighting against this alien threat in space and on the ground. Starn and his squad manage to survive only through the events that took place in a different universe. The question remains though: what happened to the aliens that once occupied the solar system? And where are the rest?

While these questions aren’t answered in this book, there’s no doubt that these questions will continue to plague the survivors of what has been a fairly single-sided war. If one ship has been able to waltz through human defenses so easily, then a small task group would be able to eliminate humanity altogether. This sense of impending doom and threat contribute to the suspense in the story.

The plot takes a fairly expected course when any one nation is expecting an invasion, and the behaviors of the mercenary groups, as well as one likable accountant on Borag, should surprise no one. But where there are no surprising detours, there is plenty of action scenes.

Invasion by B. V. Larson is an exciting, action-packed adventure that sees Starn and the Borag defending Mars against a singular, powerful alien ship whose motivations are unknown. While the premise of the story is a bit more narrow, the alien ship and its occupants reveal more information than all of the previous books.

Read reviews of other books in the Red Company series by B. V. Larson.

• First Strike, Book 1
• Discovery, Book 2
• Contact, Book 3