Synopsis
Hyperion was Rohan’s hero. His idol. His mentor. Even his friend.
The shadow of that man has been Rohan’s ward, his confidante, then his rival, and ultimately his enemy.
That Hyperion has caused the death of innocents. Has attempted to destroy the entire human race. Cares for nothing but his own revenge.
He’s stronger than Rohan, tougher. And he’s enhanced his abilities with esoteric chemicals that shouldn’t exist.
The one time they fought, he beat Rohan handily. Savagely.
Rohan thinks he can stop his nemesis. He thinks he has what it takes to win.
Enough strength. Enough Power. Enough love.
Is he crazy?
Or is he smarter than anybody realizes?
Who will prevail, and at what cost?
Review
“I’m a physicist. To me, proteins are just unnecessarily complicated collections of particles that would be far more interesting on their own.”
Well that’s the book that has beat every other book in 2026 for me so far. And it has also replaced Misaki vs Takeru’s duel from Sword of Kaigen as the best duel I’ve read in spec fic. It’s Diwali come early. What a finale for the Black Gold Arc. Joe closes a major plot thread he opened in book 4 and as a reader, it is extremely satisfying and delivers everything it promised. If Joe can put me through such emotions with only 9 books, I don’t know what journey he has planned for his readers through book 25. This is such a comfort series for me and it brings me so much joy. I keep loving Rohan more and more with each book.
This is the 9th book in the series, so at this point the reviews are just for me. I will write early what I usually write at the end of the review: If you have not started this series yet, please give book 1 (Wistful Ascending) a chance. You will have a lot of fun. You will form an emotional attachment to Rohan and his found family. You will grow to like and care for Rohan like a real-life friend. You will do all of this and more by book 1 itself and by book 9, it will feel like a delicious cake being delivered every time Joe releases a sequel.
I usually talk about how good Joe writes in terms of dialogue, humour, action, and badassery in lieu of talking about the plot, but this time I’ll focus on his world building. He’s very inventive and imaginative. It is just so clear that punching a spaceship is more fun than shooting a laser beam at it. Then there’s the way he sets up logic and dynamics in the world. There are so many overpowered beings of different degrees who can impact a lot of stuff in the world and Joe sets up logical arguments as to why they don’t or can’t. And the aliens and places Joe litters his world with is just a treat. There are characters and places that we have only seen in about 3-4 scenes across a million words that I strongly feel about and want to see more of.
If you like Wolverine, X men, and Dune, you’ll love Mortality Gauntlet. Give me book 10 J.C.M Berne.
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