Pros
- More trouble for the venerable protagonist
- Some interesting new characters who hold power that is different from other antagonists in previous books
- Entertaining and engaging writing style
Cons
- Perspective of the story does change a bit now that the cast of characters has expanded, leading to some interruption in the flow of the story
Ryan’s Phantoms Review
Ryan’s Phantoms by Craig Robertson is another fantastic continuation of Jon Ryan’s trouble-filled adventures through the galaxies, universes, and time itself. In this engaging sequel to Ryan’s Gambit, Jon Ryan finds himself facing another seemingly all-powerful enemy, the Void Phantoms.
But this enemy isn’t quite like the enemies that Ryan faced in the past—no, those previous enemies had the universe as their boundary, and while they may have been powerful like the ancient gods or the strange Clan, these enemies were stuck in the current universe even if they wielded the power to traverse time itself.
This time, Ryan faces an enemy who has the ability not only to traverse time but also pierce the veil between universes, making them particularly troublesome. These Void Phantoms, particularly their timeless Queen, are hunting Ryan for a minor transgression: Ryans accidental killing of the Queen’s only daughter.
In addition to trying to overcome this enemy that appears to have the ability to track Ryan across space, time, and universe, he still has to work toward his goal of returning home, not to mention his original goal of fixing the timeline that he changed when he return Earth back to time and existence.
Another parallel storyline follows Sachiko as she attempts to navigate the political and military bureaucracies in order to remain as captain and in control of her time ship Aramthella.
Like other stories in the Ryanverse, this writing is just as entertaining and engaging, and Ryan faces off against enemies who are powerful in their own way, whether it’s power that borders on magic with the ancient gods or brute force power as with the Adamant. The Void Phantoms may not be as magically powerful as the ancient gods nor as militarily powerful as the Adamant, but they do have one tool available that interferes with Ryan’s mission to fix the timeline: the ability to traverse universes.
Some new characters make their appearance in this story that add some intrigue to the Ryanverse—Ryan’s fairy godmother appears, and her existence suggests a universe that is far more intriguing that the physical universe that Ryan and the rest of the characters find themselves attempting to repair.
While Ryan’s story is entertaining, the addition of Sachiko’s story does have a tendency to slow down the pacing of the story with more mundane responsibilities of a person attempting to fight off political maneuvers in order to retain power. In this case, Sachiko’s story does sometimes interfere with Ryan’s story, giving the book a pacing that feels like stop-and-go.
Ryan’s Phantoms by Craig Robertson is a fantastic sequel and second book of The Timeless Void series. Readers will enjoy the antics of a beloved constant, a hero, in a dynamic story universe that is constantly challenging its long-time resident, Jon Ryan.
Read reviews of other works by Craig Robertson.
[…] Ryan’s Phantoms, Book 2 of The Timeless Void, by Craig Robertson […]