Review: Wolfskin [The Common Book #3] by Jeremy Szal

It all ends here with the Wolfskin.

Vakov Fukasawa is trapped.

Captured by his ruthless and cruel enemies, the House of Suns, he has been broken in body and mind, tormented until he is something less than human. And yet, Vakov and his brother Artyom are the Common’s last hope.

The war against the Suns has grown to swallow the galaxy. Entire systems rattle with violence. Planets are burning. Species are hunted to extinction. And now that the genocidal alien Shenoi have been successfully summoned, billions of lives are staring into the abyss.

To save his friends and his home, Vakov will need to work with his brother to build a great intergalactic army. He will need to become the hero, the legend, his people believe him to be. He will need to draw on his every last ounce of courage to gain the loyalty and fury required to survive. He will need to become The Black Wolf.

But is Vakov willing to pay the price that victory demands?

Ah, but what a wait it has been for this final instalment of Szal’s Sci Fi trilogy, The Common. Full disclosure: I received an advance copy from the author in exchange for an honest review but I’d previously read books 1 and 2 off my own back.

On that note, Stormblood (Review: Stormblood (Book #1 of The Common) by Jeremy Szal | FanFiAddict) and Blindspace (Review: Blindspace (Book #2 of The Common) by Jeremy Szal | FanFiAddict) were two breath-taking Sci Fi smash ’em ups, told at a frenetic pace and with all the bone splintering, angry, violent stuff that was just so good. So, what I’m trying to say is that I’m a fan of the series. As a fan, was there anything I wanted in particular from Wolfskin? Well, yes …

See, a little context, our main man in this series, Vakov, couldn’t be in a worse place by the end of Blindspace. Vak finds himself in suffocating solitary confinement at the mercy of a sadistic cult leader. Bound, broken and alone. You’d be fairly stupid to start the series at book three as it won’t hold your hand. This is brutal.

With that in mind, what I wanted to see going into Wolfskin was Vakov unleashed, his enemies dismantled, and whether the galaxy was a smouldering ruin or he saved the day; I wanted Vakov to go one-on-one with the main antagonist, The Jackal.

Those early scenes of torment set the tone for the ultimate catharsis that is The Common series. Vakov vs his arch enemy the Jackal. As the book unfurls into an intergalactic war against the insidious Shenoi (think cyberspace Zerg mixed with Hellraiser) it never forgets that this is all about either Vak and the Jak comes out on top. You just have to keep on reading because you just. Need. Vakov. To. Kick. This. Guy’s. Ass.

This is the book where characters let things go. The war is bloody and it’s unforgiving. Former favourites meet their makers and others find new purposes to why they fight. Even the baddies get some moments to exhibit their scenery-chewing malevolence. Shout out here to “Black Kriv”, like a Krogan with roid rage.

Alright it’s not all endless slogging meatgrinder violence. There’s plenty else going on while amassing forces to defeat the Jackal and his House of Suns. Szal gives us some ample Mass Effect 3: Citadel DLC moments too with characters we’ve grown fond of over three books. These range from the touching brotherly moments between Vakov and mid-redemption arc brother Artyom, to the hilarious “I bought the whole bloody store Katherine”. There’s a playfulness to Szal’s punches. A welcome respite from intergalactic war.

On Artyom and Vakov, the wolves. Much is made throughout the trilogy of the relationship between the two. As breath-taking as the action is throughout Wolfskin, the sign off on the brothers’ enemies to friends arc is excellently done. No spoilers, but there’s a heart-in-mouth moment where it looks like there’s not going to be a happy ending for our boys. The fact I cared so greatly by the end about both is testament to how well Wolfskin signs off the series.

All in all Wolfskin doesn’t cower in the shadows of its strong predecessors. Szal does plenty to cement The Common as a supremely solid Sci Fi series that doesn’t hold back.

I can happily put this story to bed after all this time and feel satisfied with how it all turned out. It was a warm goodbye to some badass characters who put their bodies on the line for three books in a row.

Now it’s your turn. Go start with Stormblood and by the time you’ve finished that and Blindspace, you’ll be ready for Wolfskin.