Synopsis
Turn Two of the Hybrid Helix.
Humanity faces extinction. Ten-kiloton monsters are rising from the depths of the Pacific, levelling entire cities in frenzies of destruction. Earth’s heroes have been decimated. The survivors put their hope in one last, desperate plan: find Hyperion, Earth’s most powerful hero, and ask him to return from exile to save them.
What they don’t know is that Hyperion is dead. The Griffin spent ten years fighting wars across the sector as a weapon of mass destruction for the il’Drach Empire. His victories made his name a curse on a dozen worlds and a nightmare on scores more. He retired to the peaceful station Wistful and discovered that leaving his name behind didn’t clear his sins, his debts, or his conscience.
Earth’s peril may give him a chance for redemption, if he can only find a way to stop the monsters without turning into one. Without becoming The Griffin again.
Review
‘“Rohan, if you get yourself killed, I will be sad. If you get Lyst killed, I will find a team of Shayjh to resurrect you so I can kill you again, with my own hands.”
He sighed. “I’ll prioritize her safety over my own. Good enough?”
“It is a start.”’
I’m back with turn two of the hybrid helix and am determined to get through the series this year. It is definitely one of the fun books I get to read. Superhero fantasy usually gets little of the limelight while discussing the different subgenres under the fantasy umbrella but this series is one of the best realizations of it. There is no way simply that readers do not love Rohan a.ka. The Griffin.
Book 1 (Wistful Ascending) is one of the best books I have ever read and it was in my top 10 reads of the year 2023. I shouldn’t have taken such a long break after that but I’m determined to correct that this year especially with one or two books coming out every year. As I said in book 1’s review, even with a lot of action and some pretty dark stuff, I associate a cozy, comforting feel with this series and it doesn’t change.
Sentient spaceships are always a nice touch. A new one was introduced in the beginning of this book and immediately skyrocketed to the top of my favorites list. While the first book happens entirely in space, this one takes Rohan back to Earth. He was an angry superhero who left Earth a decade ago but is now back because Earth is facing an extinction-level threat. The way this threat is written is so effective. I truly felt that humanity was in an impossible situation and the battle, and the losses suffered as the threat grew felt so convincing. The stakes were set up so well and I was invested. While he faces a very obvious threat, he also has to go back and talk to his mother and his ex – after being in no contact for more than a decade.
‘Ben raised his donut in a salute. “Two angry women. Not something the Empire trained you to handle.”’
Great action scenes, witty banter, and great emotional character arcs are all ̶f̶a̶s̶t̶ ̶b̶e̶c̶o̶m̶i̶n̶g̶ already trademarks of JCM Berne. Rohan is such a captivating character to follow, I simply don’t see how anyone can not enjoy and be captivated by his journey. He is such an OP character in this universe and yet is also flawed, relatable, complex – leaving the readers with such a lasting impression and an emotional connection. I want Rohan to win and I want him to be happy. We also get a lot of references to our Earth’s pop culture and that adds to a lot of fun.
Two minor quibbles I have are that – I am personally more partial to the side characters and relationships developed in book 1 and I miss them. This book being set in a totally new area, offers a new cast of side characters but it is like starting a tv series on its fourth season and while they do win me over, it takes a very long time. The other is that while the ending is certainly explosive and has a proper resolution to the plot threads, I wanted the orchestrators of the enormous thread explored a bit more. This one definitely seems to be more about Rohan’s character growth and redemption.
So while this falls slightly short of the highs Wistful Ascending (Book 1) reached for me, it was still an enjoyable time and I’m certainly going to start Book 3 very soon.
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