Review - Flashpoint by Mel Keegan

With open warfare between the Earth-centered home-worlds and the colonies inevitable after the events of Probe, the team focuses on making the time and place of the next battle one of their choosing. There isn’t any time to waste on a protracted war with Earth, not with the Zunshu automatons destroying more and more human colonies on the edge of Hellgate. The rebels have delved the depths of data recovered from the ill-fated Orpheus and are completing construction of Lai’a, a ship built on the wreck of the Intrepid specifically to navigate the strange currents of time and gravity that make exist on the other side of Hellgate.

Neil Travers and Curtis Marin are back in the middle of things again, whether it’s rescuing General Shapiro’s new boyfriend from bounty hunters or fighting off a swarm of Zunshu robots on a moon of Ulrand. However, there is a little time for romance, although perhaps not as much as the two might like. In fact, there’s quite a lot of romance in this installment of the series, and it’s not confined to Neil and Curtis. It’s not all pure sweetness though. There’s also a melancholy air to even the tender moments, as both humans and Resalq prepare for the impending Zunshu attacks, either by leaving their homes on the known worlds behind, or by going with Lai’a on a mission to meet the enemy head on.

It is the preparation of the ship Lai’a for the voyage into the unknown that occupies as much of this story as the colonial war. Between the two intertwined plot lines, we catch up with all the main players of this epic series, including a few you might not have expected to see again.

As you might surmise, this installment is more about lining up all the pieces for the final book. However, there are still surprises, and even a few real laughs, in this book. As with the previous books, there’s so many plot lines and sub-plots going on that it’s a real roller-coaster read, which may at times keep you up well past your bedtime.

“Flashpoint” is available from Smashwords and Amazon.