TL;DR Review: Prison Break meets space marines…with a hint of Avatar thrown in for good measure.
Synopsis:
A fight for survival at the edge of the galaxy.
In the depths of space, far from the watchful eyes of Lenzaaban government, lies Prison Station 12, or as it’s fearfully known, Purgatory. It’s here that Commander Predaxes, a hardened former Marine, faces his most daunting mission yet. With only a wormhole linking them to civilization, the isolation of PS12 is palpable; the danger, imminent.
Enter Samea Malik, the latest addition to PS12’s population and a man with a target on his back. As the son of the Minister of Justice, Malik is a pawn in a galactic game of chess where the stakes are life and death.
When an assault on the station forces the crew and inmates to flee, they find themselves crash-landing on Faebos—a world as deadly as it is beautiful. Abandoned mining colonies whisper secrets of the past, while the planet’s native creatures lurk in the shadows, ready to strike.
Stranded and surrounded by peril, survival hinges on the uneasy alliance between guards and prisoners. As Commander Predaxes and Malik navigate this alien landscape, they must confront not only the beasts of Faebos but the ghosts of their own pasts.
From the mind of bestselling author Jaime Castle comes Rogue Stars. A tale of survival, redemption, and the thin line between captors and captives, this Military Sci-Fi adventure is packed with high-octane action, cutting-edge technology, and a world that will captivate and terrify in equal measure.
Prepare to be thrust into the heart of the unknown, where every decision could be your last. Welcome to Purgatory, where the battle for survival is only the beginning.
Full Review:
Ben Predaxes just wanted a quiet, cushy administrative job following his retirement from the Lenzaab Navy, so being the head of a high-security space prison on the wrong side of a wormhole shouldn’t be too bad, right?
Well…unless your prisoners all happen to be former enemy special operators, infantrymen, and marines who don’t stop being highly competent badasses just because you lock them up.
And no, things couldn’t possibly get any worse when you add a high-value, high-risk, highly intelligent captured enemy—who just so happens to be personally responsible for some seriously deadly attacks on high-ranking Lenzaab officers and government officials—into the mix.
Purgatory, the first book in the Rogue Stars series, introduces us to Prison Station 12—affectionately nicknamed “Purgatory”—and the men and women on both sides of the cell bars. Right off the bat, we’re thrown into a high-octane escape attempt with enemies crashing (literally!) into the prison in an attempt to break out their freshly captured buddy.
But what makes this book so great is that the story you think you’re going to get in the beginning is very much NOT the story you actually end up getting.
The prison break attempt is just the beginning—from there, you’re taken on a wild ride to surviving in space inside a damaged spaceship prison, a desperate attempt to make landfall on a nearby planet, and the dangers of trying to colonize a planet where everything is out to eat you!
Before long, the book changes from Prison Break in flavor to more Avatar (the James Cameron movie), with a fascinating, breathtaking, epic sci-fi planet that is home to all sorts of amazing—and ultra-deadly—creatures, from giant rhino-bears to wyvern-like flying things to “spider-legs” that will trigger all your creepy crawly fear reflexes. Thankfully, there are machine-gunning, high-tech giant walking robot suits (a la Avatar or Titanfall) that give our fearless space marines (prisoners and guards) an edge in jungle combat.
This book is an absolutely insane action ride from start to finish. I never knew where it was going to go next—it ended up being delightfully unpredictable, with twists and turns that I could never have seen coming, and a story that just kept bobbing and weaving in all directions until finally it wrapped up in a climax that left me breathless and in need of a cold drink.
What really made it enjoyable for me was the razor-sharpness to every character. As former snipers, rangers, scouts, infantrymen, gunners, Marines, and hardcore combatants, all of our protagonists and (human) antagonists have this hyper-competence that makes them instantly engaging. The dialogue is so evocative of military banter and the use of jargon and slang feels so natural.
The character of Malik became my instant favorite. You know he’s a prisoner and there to do hard time for his very real crimes, but you can’t help but be drawn in by his charm, his competency, his cleverness, insightful nature, and intelligence. Then, when he goes on a rampage in a full mech suit and shows just how badass he is (repeatedly!), you’re absolutely sucked in.
Make no mistake: despite the high-octane pace, this book is not just about action. There’s plenty of intrigue and mystery, along with riveting insights into human nature on both sides of the line of morality.
A whole lot of fun, addicting characters, and a never-slow storyline—it’s everything I want in a sci-fi series!
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