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Messenger Corps #2
Cold War
Thanks to Lawson Sawyer and the ancient mech known as the Archetype, the threat of the alien Ravennox has been averted--for now.
Because the Ravennox are still out there. But thanks to Darius Spann and the Superba, Lawson and the other forces of the newly-restored Cygnus Realm face another, far more immediate threat. Spann and his Superba allies still hold sway over a huge swath of human territory, declaring it all Imperial space. Humanity is split, the Realm on one side, the Empire on the other, both claiming to be led by the Messenger. With neither able to land a decisive blow to knock out the other, a cold war now simmers between these two competing visions for the future.
Philosophies clash. Border skirmishes flare and fade. Schemes and intrigues abound. People die.
But Spann is determined to break the stalemate and reunite humanity under the iron grip of Superba rule, with him as its leader. To do that, he will travel into the spinward reaches of the Milky Way's Sagittarius Arm, seeking new and powerful allies. First, though, he resolves to recover some of the ancient war machines of the enigmatic Unseen, powerful mechs each nearly as mighty as the Archetype itself--or die trying.
Meanwhile, to Lawson and the Cygnus Realm, it is only too clear that the Ravennox threat is far from ended, and that they desperately need to learn more about these mysterious aliens. But they must also counter Spann's efforts to recruit new alien allies of his own, who themselves could pose as profound a threat to a divided humanity as do the Ravennox. They must mount their own spinward expedition.
As the two factions jockey for power and prepare to launch themselves into the vast galactic unknown, one thing is starkly clear.
Only one of them can prevail. Will humanity be governed as envisioned by the First Messenger and the Unseen, with egalitarian wisdom, or will it be ruled by ambitious powermongers who see themselves as humankind's "better" future?
The survival of humanity itself in the face of implacable alien threats hinges on the answer to this, the most important question ever posed.
Because the Ravennox are still out there. But thanks to Darius Spann and the Superba, Lawson and the other forces of the newly-restored Cygnus Realm face another, far more immediate threat. Spann and his Superba allies still hold sway over a huge swath of human territory, declaring it all Imperial space. Humanity is split, the Realm on one side, the Empire on the other, both claiming to be led by the Messenger. With neither able to land a decisive blow to knock out the other, a cold war now simmers between these two competing visions for the future.
Philosophies clash. Border skirmishes flare and fade. Schemes and intrigues abound. People die.
But Spann is determined to break the stalemate and reunite humanity under the iron grip of Superba rule, with him as its leader. To do that, he will travel into the spinward reaches of the Milky Way's Sagittarius Arm, seeking new and powerful allies. First, though, he resolves to recover some of the ancient war machines of the enigmatic Unseen, powerful mechs each nearly as mighty as the Archetype itself--or die trying.
Meanwhile, to Lawson and the Cygnus Realm, it is only too clear that the Ravennox threat is far from ended, and that they desperately need to learn more about these mysterious aliens. But they must also counter Spann's efforts to recruit new alien allies of his own, who themselves could pose as profound a threat to a divided humanity as do the Ravennox. They must mount their own spinward expedition.
As the two factions jockey for power and prepare to launch themselves into the vast galactic unknown, one thing is starkly clear.
Only one of them can prevail. Will humanity be governed as envisioned by the First Messenger and the Unseen, with egalitarian wisdom, or will it be ruled by ambitious powermongers who see themselves as humankind's "better" future?
The survival of humanity itself in the face of implacable alien threats hinges on the answer to this, the most important question ever posed.
- GenresScience Fiction
458 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 24, 2024
253 people are currently reading
12 people want to read
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J.N. Chaney
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 15, 2025
Lawson Sawyer is now for certain the real Messenger. He’s in command of the gigantic mech called the Archetype which is ran by the AI named Sentinel. He doesn’t want to be the Messenger and would gladly give up his role if there was someone else that could trust to run the Archetype, but that isn’t possible. He’s stuck doing something he’d rather not do and he’s also homesick. I the first book, when he first found the Archetype, he learned that only someone with the original Messenger’s DNA could continue to operate the gigantic mech with the support of Sentinel. So he was stuck in this role and just like everyone else on this side of the Black Gate.
Beyond the Black Gate was Lawson’s homeworld, Hustanal’s World and his family. He knew he couldn’t just go through the Black Gate to home because it was heavily guarded by the Empire. Yes the former Empire has split with the Superba falling back to Hydaspes and with Darius Spann claiming he was the true Messenger. Spann insisted that the Cygnus Empire still existed with him at his head while the so called Cygnus Realm was a bunch of revolutionists lead by a kid, Lawson Sawyer. At the moment, neither side had enough of a military advantage to conquer the other so a sort of stalemate existed.
Both sides were looking at how to booster their position so the original Empire or Real could and would be once again, united. Only Darius Spann wanted it united with the Superba completely in control and ordinary humans under their command. Sawyer didn’t see that as something good for everyone. He thought most of the Superba were arrogant and only out for themselves which was mostly true, although several Superba has stayed with the Realm after the split. Again, both sides were looking for an advantage.
Spann recognized that with the Realm’s alliance with the N’Teal, he could be caught between two different enemies although neither by themselves were powerful enough to act alone. He needed to fix that and do it so. Meantime he had tasked Tara Quin, a vicious henchman, to attempt to deal with Sawyer. An assignation attempt would be perfect, but only if it was some kind of tremendous explosion while Sawyer was in the Archetype. So she was busily setting that up and it might just work. Swayer was not that experienced in warfare nor was he quite aware that some people would go to no ends to kill another. He had to be very careful, but sometimes he forgets!
Lawson also knows that he and his associates must also find something to booster their side. He needs allies, preferably strong allies and certainly not more enemies. They can search the depths of unknown space from which they know other civilizations must occupy. They have signals from distant places that give hits of someone or something out there that might be quite advanced. He also has found out that Dash Sawyer, the original Messenger, had five other gigantic mechs assisting him in his fight to establish the Cygnus Realm. They think they know where they can find two of these mechs but they don’t know if they will respond to their contact. And they also assume that wherever they are, they won’t be easy to get to. They are very right in this assumption.
So you’re going to read about both sides doing what they can to get an advantage over the other. Spann has his own distractors. Some don’t necessarily believe he is the real Messenger since he once had control of the Archetype, but only briefly. It would seem that once he had control of this mech made for the Messenger, he would be able to keep it. But, in actuality, the never really had control other than by removing the AI name Sentinel and replacing it with one of his own creations. That only worked temporarily until Swayer was able to board the Archetype and revive the Sentinel. It knows that he is truly the Messenger via his DNA.
Some of this book is kind of predictable. While Lawson Sawyer’s side wants to make Spann think that he’s opposed by a naive juvenile, it’s not necessarily true nor is it totally uncorrect. Lawson is just a teenager and he’s very homesick. He doesn’t want to do what he’s required to do because he doesn’t have the experience or the knowledge to do it comfortably. He’s been thrust into a position of command even thought he’s never been in the military and doesn’t know a thing about military tactics or strategy. But, he has found out that he relishes battle and that troubles him because there will be many battles in his future.
The series continues in book 3, “Spinward War”, now available on Amazon.
Beyond the Black Gate was Lawson’s homeworld, Hustanal’s World and his family. He knew he couldn’t just go through the Black Gate to home because it was heavily guarded by the Empire. Yes the former Empire has split with the Superba falling back to Hydaspes and with Darius Spann claiming he was the true Messenger. Spann insisted that the Cygnus Empire still existed with him at his head while the so called Cygnus Realm was a bunch of revolutionists lead by a kid, Lawson Sawyer. At the moment, neither side had enough of a military advantage to conquer the other so a sort of stalemate existed.
Both sides were looking at how to booster their position so the original Empire or Real could and would be once again, united. Only Darius Spann wanted it united with the Superba completely in control and ordinary humans under their command. Sawyer didn’t see that as something good for everyone. He thought most of the Superba were arrogant and only out for themselves which was mostly true, although several Superba has stayed with the Realm after the split. Again, both sides were looking for an advantage.
Spann recognized that with the Realm’s alliance with the N’Teal, he could be caught between two different enemies although neither by themselves were powerful enough to act alone. He needed to fix that and do it so. Meantime he had tasked Tara Quin, a vicious henchman, to attempt to deal with Sawyer. An assignation attempt would be perfect, but only if it was some kind of tremendous explosion while Sawyer was in the Archetype. So she was busily setting that up and it might just work. Swayer was not that experienced in warfare nor was he quite aware that some people would go to no ends to kill another. He had to be very careful, but sometimes he forgets!
Lawson also knows that he and his associates must also find something to booster their side. He needs allies, preferably strong allies and certainly not more enemies. They can search the depths of unknown space from which they know other civilizations must occupy. They have signals from distant places that give hits of someone or something out there that might be quite advanced. He also has found out that Dash Sawyer, the original Messenger, had five other gigantic mechs assisting him in his fight to establish the Cygnus Realm. They think they know where they can find two of these mechs but they don’t know if they will respond to their contact. And they also assume that wherever they are, they won’t be easy to get to. They are very right in this assumption.
So you’re going to read about both sides doing what they can to get an advantage over the other. Spann has his own distractors. Some don’t necessarily believe he is the real Messenger since he once had control of the Archetype, but only briefly. It would seem that once he had control of this mech made for the Messenger, he would be able to keep it. But, in actuality, the never really had control other than by removing the AI name Sentinel and replacing it with one of his own creations. That only worked temporarily until Swayer was able to board the Archetype and revive the Sentinel. It knows that he is truly the Messenger via his DNA.
Some of this book is kind of predictable. While Lawson Sawyer’s side wants to make Spann think that he’s opposed by a naive juvenile, it’s not necessarily true nor is it totally uncorrect. Lawson is just a teenager and he’s very homesick. He doesn’t want to do what he’s required to do because he doesn’t have the experience or the knowledge to do it comfortably. He’s been thrust into a position of command even thought he’s never been in the military and doesn’t know a thing about military tactics or strategy. But, he has found out that he relishes battle and that troubles him because there will be many battles in his future.
The series continues in book 3, “Spinward War”, now available on Amazon.
October 15, 2025
I am going to keep going with the series, but for right now I've put this on hold. There's a whole lot of political maneuvering and not enough main character for me. They have this plan to defeat the bad guy but it's a whole lot of dickering back and forth.
Other things have captured my attention, so this is on hold until I can really concentrate on it and let it grab me.
Narration by Jeffrey Kafer is great, though!
Other things have captured my attention, so this is on hold until I can really concentrate on it and let it grab me.
Narration by Jeffrey Kafer is great, though!
December 4, 2024
A good continuation of the story only spoilt by long pointless sections of waffle particularly towards the end that seemed aimed at just extending the length of the book as it did nothing for the story.
April 8, 2025
Great Character and Story Telling!
I can’t get enough of this series. The characters development just keeps you wanting more and more. While it started off a bit slow for me, giving it a chance proved it absolutely is an incredible journey.
I can’t get enough of this series. The characters development just keeps you wanting more and more. While it started off a bit slow for me, giving it a chance proved it absolutely is an incredible journey.
June 1, 2025
Absolutely brilliant sci-fi fiction.
A thrilling read with space battles galore.
Great characters with realistic situations and lots of action.
I look forward to the next one.
A thrilling read with space battles galore.
Great characters with realistic situations and lots of action.
I look forward to the next one.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews