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Sky #2
Dead Sky
"THE THRILLING SEQUEL TO BURNING SKY Coming home from war is never easy, but for Boy Scout this time it’s even worse. He’s brought something with him. Multiple entities have hitched a ride in his mind, and at least one of them wants to take it his mind, body and soul. Hounded from his monastery refuge by Faood’s dervishes, only McQueen, Preacher’s Daughter, and a shadowy US Intelligence Agent from the Special Unit 77 can help him prevent an ancient power from destroying all life as we know it. With enemies within and all around, the T.S.T are about to face their toughest mission yet."
- GenresScience Fiction
214 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 12, 2019
6 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
About the author
Weston Ochse
129 books295 followersThe American Library Association calls Weston Ochse “one of the major horror authors of the 21 st Century.” He has been praised by USA Today, The Atlantic, The New York Post, The Financial Times of London, Publishers Weekly, Peter Straub, Joe Lansdale, Jon Maberry, Kevin J. Anderson, David Gerrold, William C. Dietz, Tim Lebbon, Christopher Golden, and many more of the world’s best-selling authors. His work has won the Bram Stoker Award, been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, and won multiple New Mexico Arizona Book Awards.
A writer of nearly thirty books in multiple genres, his military supernatural series SEAL Team 666 has been optioned to be a movie starring Dwayne Johnson and his military sci fi trilogy, which starts with Grunt Life, has been praised for its PTSD-positive depiction of soldiers at peace and at war.
Weston has also published literary fiction, poetry, comics, and non-fiction articles.
His shorter work has appeared in DC Comics, IDW Comics, Soldier of Fortune Magazine, Cemetery Dance, and peered literary journals. His franchise work includes the X-Files, Predator, Aliens, Hellboy, Clive Barker’s Midian, and V-Wars. Weston holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and teaches at Southern New Hampshire University. He lives in Arizona with his wife, and fellow author, Yvonne Navarro and their Great Danes.
A writer of nearly thirty books in multiple genres, his military supernatural series SEAL Team 666 has been optioned to be a movie starring Dwayne Johnson and his military sci fi trilogy, which starts with Grunt Life, has been praised for its PTSD-positive depiction of soldiers at peace and at war.
Weston has also published literary fiction, poetry, comics, and non-fiction articles.
His shorter work has appeared in DC Comics, IDW Comics, Soldier of Fortune Magazine, Cemetery Dance, and peered literary journals. His franchise work includes the X-Files, Predator, Aliens, Hellboy, Clive Barker’s Midian, and V-Wars. Weston holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and teaches at Southern New Hampshire University. He lives in Arizona with his wife, and fellow author, Yvonne Navarro and their Great Danes.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 29, 2019
Never in my time as a book reviewer, or indeed just as a general reader, have I ever been simultaneously excited and apprehensive to read a book. Dead Sky is the follow-up to Weston Ochse’s 2018 bestseller Burning Sky, a Military Horror novel that I described in my review as representing “…the pinnacle of the military horror genre, and will be difficult, if not impossible, to surpass…” In preparation for receiving the review copy of Dead Sky, I went back to read Burning Sky, and even after a year away from it, reading some absolutely fantastic Horror titles, it still stands out as one of the best pieces of Horror fiction I’ve ever read. It’s a superb blend of fast-paced action, chilling supernatural, reality-bending horror, and a starkly honest portrayal of the very human horrors of PTSD, as can only be described by a veteran-turned-author. It’s also a perfectly self-contained novel, with a distinctly downbeat and ambiguous ending, and that was where my feelings of apprehension came from. Intellectually I knew that Burning Sky was simply the first book in a planned trilogy, but I genuinely had no idea how author Weston Ochse could possibly continue that story, and also maintain the incredibly high standards he had set in the first novel. So it was a sense of intrigue but also trepidation that I cracked open Dead Sky and dived back into the world of Boy Scout, former Special Forces operator and Private Military Contractor.
There will be relatively little description of the plot of Dead Sky in this review, nor that of Burning Sky, and purposefully so, because to do anything other than sketch out the narrative in general outlines would be to ruin the superb work Mr Ochse has put into the characters and world-building. I hope it suffices to say that Boy Scout and his team of operators, while working in Afghanistan, encountered a number of supernatural objects on what should have been a standard protection job. Despite returning to the United States, they gradually realised that they were now enmeshed in a reality-bending, potentially-apocalyptic scenario that had been in process for centuries, and struggled to escape from it. Now, having returned again to the United States, Boy Scout is forced to not only deal with the guilt of several of his closest friends dying, but also the fact that a number of entities – ‘travellers’ in the parlance of the novel – have merged with his very soul as part of his overseas experiences. Their memories are chaotic blends of combat and grim hardship, becoming additional, unwanted burdens that only exacerbate his pre-existing PTSD; and to make things worse, one of them is powerful enough to take over his body, with violent and near-lethal effect. With the aid of a former nun, herself once possessed by a demon, and a secretive US Army intelligence unit with unclear motivations, Boy Scout and his last few friends struggle to purge the travellers from his soul, and figure out why they’re still being pursued by their enemies.
As with Burning Sky, the plot in Dead Sky is fast-paced, supercharged and entirely devoid of padding. The focus is entirely on the characters of Boy Scout, Preacher’s Daughter and McQueen, and while Boy Scout is the protagonist, I’m once again struck by the fact that the latter two characters are so well-realised that they could easily be the protagonists in their own series, given the amount of care Ochse has taken in crafting and then developing them throughout the two books. Once again we as the reader are drawn into the tight-knit world of military veterans, and especially Special Forces operators, and the unshakable bonds drawn up between them regardless of gender or age. The relationship between the three, and the way it contorts, cracks but reaffirms itself under the immense pressure that Ochse places onto the team, is one of the most rewarding and engaging parts of Dead Sky. And while the three operators dominate the novel, the supporting cast of characters that Ochse brings in are just as fleshed-out– particularly Charlene, the mysterious psychic Boy Scout repeatedly encounters, and the team’s nemesis Farood, the leader of the Dervishes pursuing them across Los Angeles. The fact that Ochse can make these characters just as memorable as the protagonist speaks volumes about his skill as a writer, as well as his ability to transfer his military experiences onto paper.
The supernatural elements that came into the last third of Burning Sky are now front and centre in Dead Sky, which allows Ochse to significantly develop and expand on them; and there are some genuinely fascinating ideas to be found within the novel. Boy Scout is already a damaged individual, dealing with the experiences of being a combat veteran who’s served for decades, but now he’s forced to deal with the intense, fragmented and often traumatic memories of the travellers who have merged with him. It can really only be described as PTSD from hell, and Ochse wields it superbly – and sensitively – to bridge Boy Scout’s entirely human-made trauma and the increasingly supernatural-focused plot. Slowly but surely, Boy Scout is forced to grapple with the concept of warfare on an entirely different plane, one in which a single mistake can be fatal to more than his physical form, and where he has to learn an entirely new set of skills. Slow, intense scenes on the astral plane are blended with fast-paced and violent action scenes set in the real world, and Ochse uses them to invoke a real air of mystery as to what is happening to Boy Scout and his team. It’s obvious that Ochse has put a huge amount of thought into this concept and done his research, ensuring that the astral plane scenes are both entirely logical within the Dead Sky universe and really cool as well, bringing a whole new dimension of action and fighting to the series.
But while excursions into the astral plane, daemons, whirling dervishes and out of body experiences are integral parts of Dead Sky, it’s impossible to get away from the fact that the core of the novel – and indeed the series as a whole – is the struggle by Boy Scout to deal with the mental and physical damage that comes from being a veteran. PTSD is a convenient label to use, and indeed is invoked throughout the novel by Boy Scout, but barely begins to cover what Ochse carefully, intimately and openly examines throughout Dead Sky. He has a superb ability to lay bare the realities of the scars – both obvious and hidden – that returning veterans have, and also the complete inability of civilians to truly understand. Not just the more well-known things like PTSD, flashbacks, tremors and the like, but also things I hadn’t considered; the suffocating feeling of being around people you don’t truly know or trust, or the panic that can break out when you’re hyper-aware of a situation but not able to be in control, or see what’s going on all around you.
When I finished Dead Sky, I felt like I had a greater understanding of these issues than I had gained from any number of real-life biographies and history books written by veterans – all the result of Ochse’s unique ability to merge his experiences with the skills of a superbly-talented writer. Even the fight scenes in the physical world are all the more brutal and striking for the understanding Ochse brings of the results of those fights, so often ignored or glossed over in the genre. Broken limbs, dislocated joints leading not just to temporary incapacity for a few chapters, but permanent crippling and maiming that will remain with an individual for the rest of their suddenly-restricted life. I felt strangely humbled by the end of Dead Sky, given a glimpse into Mr Ochse’s experiences as a veteran even as he weaved a complex, multi-layered and often deeply emotional story that drew on those experiences and also his phenomenal and fertile imagination.
To say that I read Dead Sky doesn’t seem to be a sufficient way to describe this novel – experienced seems to be more accurate, yet somehow still lacking. It is complex, multi-layered and genuinely soul-searing in its raw honesty and emotional engagement. Boy Scout may well inhabit a supernatural world full of Matrix-style fighting and super-cool astral plane experiences, with dervishes and psychics and ultra-secretive intelligence units that hint at a wider world not yet fully revealed; but he must still fight as a soldier, live as a soldier, and suffer mentally and physically as a soldier. And those experiences are the heart of Dead Sky and what makes it such a remarkable and unforgettable novel – one which has built upon its predecessor in every possible way, and therefore done what I thought impossible: surpassed it as the pinnacle of Military Horror. Dead Sky to me is not just a good novel, or a great novel – it is vital reading for anyone who wishes to read or write in the Military Horror genre, or indeed the Horror genre as a whole. I understand there is a third novel to come, to close out the trilogy. I have no idea where Mr Ochse will take Boy Scout and his few remaining comrades – but I will be there every step of the way.
There will be relatively little description of the plot of Dead Sky in this review, nor that of Burning Sky, and purposefully so, because to do anything other than sketch out the narrative in general outlines would be to ruin the superb work Mr Ochse has put into the characters and world-building. I hope it suffices to say that Boy Scout and his team of operators, while working in Afghanistan, encountered a number of supernatural objects on what should have been a standard protection job. Despite returning to the United States, they gradually realised that they were now enmeshed in a reality-bending, potentially-apocalyptic scenario that had been in process for centuries, and struggled to escape from it. Now, having returned again to the United States, Boy Scout is forced to not only deal with the guilt of several of his closest friends dying, but also the fact that a number of entities – ‘travellers’ in the parlance of the novel – have merged with his very soul as part of his overseas experiences. Their memories are chaotic blends of combat and grim hardship, becoming additional, unwanted burdens that only exacerbate his pre-existing PTSD; and to make things worse, one of them is powerful enough to take over his body, with violent and near-lethal effect. With the aid of a former nun, herself once possessed by a demon, and a secretive US Army intelligence unit with unclear motivations, Boy Scout and his last few friends struggle to purge the travellers from his soul, and figure out why they’re still being pursued by their enemies.
As with Burning Sky, the plot in Dead Sky is fast-paced, supercharged and entirely devoid of padding. The focus is entirely on the characters of Boy Scout, Preacher’s Daughter and McQueen, and while Boy Scout is the protagonist, I’m once again struck by the fact that the latter two characters are so well-realised that they could easily be the protagonists in their own series, given the amount of care Ochse has taken in crafting and then developing them throughout the two books. Once again we as the reader are drawn into the tight-knit world of military veterans, and especially Special Forces operators, and the unshakable bonds drawn up between them regardless of gender or age. The relationship between the three, and the way it contorts, cracks but reaffirms itself under the immense pressure that Ochse places onto the team, is one of the most rewarding and engaging parts of Dead Sky. And while the three operators dominate the novel, the supporting cast of characters that Ochse brings in are just as fleshed-out– particularly Charlene, the mysterious psychic Boy Scout repeatedly encounters, and the team’s nemesis Farood, the leader of the Dervishes pursuing them across Los Angeles. The fact that Ochse can make these characters just as memorable as the protagonist speaks volumes about his skill as a writer, as well as his ability to transfer his military experiences onto paper.
The supernatural elements that came into the last third of Burning Sky are now front and centre in Dead Sky, which allows Ochse to significantly develop and expand on them; and there are some genuinely fascinating ideas to be found within the novel. Boy Scout is already a damaged individual, dealing with the experiences of being a combat veteran who’s served for decades, but now he’s forced to deal with the intense, fragmented and often traumatic memories of the travellers who have merged with him. It can really only be described as PTSD from hell, and Ochse wields it superbly – and sensitively – to bridge Boy Scout’s entirely human-made trauma and the increasingly supernatural-focused plot. Slowly but surely, Boy Scout is forced to grapple with the concept of warfare on an entirely different plane, one in which a single mistake can be fatal to more than his physical form, and where he has to learn an entirely new set of skills. Slow, intense scenes on the astral plane are blended with fast-paced and violent action scenes set in the real world, and Ochse uses them to invoke a real air of mystery as to what is happening to Boy Scout and his team. It’s obvious that Ochse has put a huge amount of thought into this concept and done his research, ensuring that the astral plane scenes are both entirely logical within the Dead Sky universe and really cool as well, bringing a whole new dimension of action and fighting to the series.
But while excursions into the astral plane, daemons, whirling dervishes and out of body experiences are integral parts of Dead Sky, it’s impossible to get away from the fact that the core of the novel – and indeed the series as a whole – is the struggle by Boy Scout to deal with the mental and physical damage that comes from being a veteran. PTSD is a convenient label to use, and indeed is invoked throughout the novel by Boy Scout, but barely begins to cover what Ochse carefully, intimately and openly examines throughout Dead Sky. He has a superb ability to lay bare the realities of the scars – both obvious and hidden – that returning veterans have, and also the complete inability of civilians to truly understand. Not just the more well-known things like PTSD, flashbacks, tremors and the like, but also things I hadn’t considered; the suffocating feeling of being around people you don’t truly know or trust, or the panic that can break out when you’re hyper-aware of a situation but not able to be in control, or see what’s going on all around you.
When I finished Dead Sky, I felt like I had a greater understanding of these issues than I had gained from any number of real-life biographies and history books written by veterans – all the result of Ochse’s unique ability to merge his experiences with the skills of a superbly-talented writer. Even the fight scenes in the physical world are all the more brutal and striking for the understanding Ochse brings of the results of those fights, so often ignored or glossed over in the genre. Broken limbs, dislocated joints leading not just to temporary incapacity for a few chapters, but permanent crippling and maiming that will remain with an individual for the rest of their suddenly-restricted life. I felt strangely humbled by the end of Dead Sky, given a glimpse into Mr Ochse’s experiences as a veteran even as he weaved a complex, multi-layered and often deeply emotional story that drew on those experiences and also his phenomenal and fertile imagination.
To say that I read Dead Sky doesn’t seem to be a sufficient way to describe this novel – experienced seems to be more accurate, yet somehow still lacking. It is complex, multi-layered and genuinely soul-searing in its raw honesty and emotional engagement. Boy Scout may well inhabit a supernatural world full of Matrix-style fighting and super-cool astral plane experiences, with dervishes and psychics and ultra-secretive intelligence units that hint at a wider world not yet fully revealed; but he must still fight as a soldier, live as a soldier, and suffer mentally and physically as a soldier. And those experiences are the heart of Dead Sky and what makes it such a remarkable and unforgettable novel – one which has built upon its predecessor in every possible way, and therefore done what I thought impossible: surpassed it as the pinnacle of Military Horror. Dead Sky to me is not just a good novel, or a great novel – it is vital reading for anyone who wishes to read or write in the Military Horror genre, or indeed the Horror genre as a whole. I understand there is a third novel to come, to close out the trilogy. I have no idea where Mr Ochse will take Boy Scout and his few remaining comrades – but I will be there every step of the way.
November 1, 2020
On balance, I liked the prequel to DEAD SKY (which was BURNING SKY). Unfortunately, DEAD SKY seems to both suffer from all the weaknesses of the prequel and lack most of its strengths.
DEAD SKY continues to follow the story of Bryan "Boy Scout" Starling, now home in America and suffering from the supernatural elements (that he and his team encountered in the first book) that have now taken up residence in his psyche. While DEAD SKY, like its prequel, still has plenty of plot twists and surprises, many of them feel confusing or unearned, embedded as they are in a narrative whose grounding in time and space can get muddy. While part of this is intentional--a big theme in both books is that discerning what is real can be difficult or impossible, and there are parts of the action that are later revealed to be figments of Boy Scout's imagination--some of it is just because of unclear writing. I found myself asking things like, "How did they get to this location again? How did they know that XYX was a factor they should worry about? Wait, where does this scene take place? What time of day is it? I thought he was sitting on the floor but here it says he's in a chair?" The thing I loved the most about BURNING SKY was the mirror-bright polish of its writing, and how smoothly it carried me throughout the story. With that asset no longer in play, DEAD SKY becomes a much less compelling read.
While the snags in the writing made it harder for me to get invested too deeply in DEAD SKY's plot, I also had trouble getting too emotionally invested in the story because of what read to me like uneven character motivations, unrealistic shifts in emotion, or too-abrupt tone changes. While peculiar emotional reactions were something that bothered me in BURNING SKY, too, in the case of DEAD SKY, I feel that it went a step further; it sometimes felt like characters were behaving according to what the plot needed and not according to who they were as people, which made the story seem forced in places.
DEAD SKY does expand on the supernatural world introduced in BURNING SKY, and I did enjoy seeing what Ochse chose to do here, such as weaving in the astral plane, apocryphal elements of Judeo-Christian mythology, ancient aliens, and exorcisms. Unfortunately, some of the worldbuilding comes in big, info-dumpy chunks, and when it was sprinkled in naturally, the less clear writing sometimes made me miss something key that I didn't realize was key until later on.
On the whole, the muddier writing and the tonal shifts made DEAD SKY feel less like a brightly polished thriller (like BURNING SKY did) and more like an in-process draft. I can't help but wonder if this book was produced on a much tighter deadline; if so, I can't fault the author for that too much, since you've got to do what you can within the parameters you're given. Still, the net effect is a much less satisfying read.
DEAD SKY continues to follow the story of Bryan "Boy Scout" Starling, now home in America and suffering from the supernatural elements (that he and his team encountered in the first book) that have now taken up residence in his psyche. While DEAD SKY, like its prequel, still has plenty of plot twists and surprises, many of them feel confusing or unearned, embedded as they are in a narrative whose grounding in time and space can get muddy. While part of this is intentional--a big theme in both books is that discerning what is real can be difficult or impossible, and there are parts of the action that are later revealed to be figments of Boy Scout's imagination--some of it is just because of unclear writing. I found myself asking things like, "How did they get to this location again? How did they know that XYX was a factor they should worry about? Wait, where does this scene take place? What time of day is it? I thought he was sitting on the floor but here it says he's in a chair?" The thing I loved the most about BURNING SKY was the mirror-bright polish of its writing, and how smoothly it carried me throughout the story. With that asset no longer in play, DEAD SKY becomes a much less compelling read.
While the snags in the writing made it harder for me to get invested too deeply in DEAD SKY's plot, I also had trouble getting too emotionally invested in the story because of what read to me like uneven character motivations, unrealistic shifts in emotion, or too-abrupt tone changes. While peculiar emotional reactions were something that bothered me in BURNING SKY, too, in the case of DEAD SKY, I feel that it went a step further; it sometimes felt like characters were behaving according to what the plot needed and not according to who they were as people, which made the story seem forced in places.
DEAD SKY does expand on the supernatural world introduced in BURNING SKY, and I did enjoy seeing what Ochse chose to do here, such as weaving in the astral plane, apocryphal elements of Judeo-Christian mythology, ancient aliens, and exorcisms. Unfortunately, some of the worldbuilding comes in big, info-dumpy chunks, and when it was sprinkled in naturally, the less clear writing sometimes made me miss something key that I didn't realize was key until later on.
On the whole, the muddier writing and the tonal shifts made DEAD SKY feel less like a brightly polished thriller (like BURNING SKY did) and more like an in-process draft. I can't help but wonder if this book was produced on a much tighter deadline; if so, I can't fault the author for that too much, since you've got to do what you can within the parameters you're given. Still, the net effect is a much less satisfying read.
April 22, 2021
Dead Sky is the sequel to Burning Sky and like the first one, the writing was outstanding with solid third-person limited and past-tense writing. The narrative was mostly brisk and to the point.
The concept was as weird as the first one and the Cormack McCarthy influence was still there, though as I mentioned in the review of the first book, I cannot stand McCarthy’s stuff.
That being said, I had a good time with this mostly easy and fascinating read right until the ending which spoiled it.
The thing about any good story is the payoff. As with the first one, Dead Sky had an ending that not only left me flat, but ultimately disappointed and downright upset. I don’t want to give it away, but having invested all that time and effort into what was otherwise an enjoyable read ended up being a slap in the face in the end. It’s like the author didn’t care about his audience at all, or wanted to shock us and spoil all the fun. I guess I should’ve known better, given the Cormack McCarthy worship.
This story ended up being a huge disappointment and a big waste of time and money. Two stars for at least a good time up until the last few pages.
The concept was as weird as the first one and the Cormack McCarthy influence was still there, though as I mentioned in the review of the first book, I cannot stand McCarthy’s stuff.
That being said, I had a good time with this mostly easy and fascinating read right until the ending which spoiled it.
The thing about any good story is the payoff. As with the first one, Dead Sky had an ending that not only left me flat, but ultimately disappointed and downright upset. I don’t want to give it away, but having invested all that time and effort into what was otherwise an enjoyable read ended up being a slap in the face in the end. It’s like the author didn’t care about his audience at all, or wanted to shock us and spoil all the fun. I guess I should’ve known better, given the Cormack McCarthy worship.
This story ended up being a huge disappointment and a big waste of time and money. Two stars for at least a good time up until the last few pages.
July 14, 2022
Thought you could get off the roller coaster of book 01? Think again
Dead Sky, the second instalment in the Sky series is an interesting follow-up to book 01. It continued the mystery of the dervishes and delves deep into Zoastirian beliefs. The team (missing a few members of course) are now back in the US and the fight must continue as Boy Scout figures out the entities inside him.
I liked the book overall and the ending was superb. Also, the part about the US government was on point and matched the overall theme of these types of books.
What I liked
-Continuity.
-The introduction of additional characters.
-Farood's true mission revealed.
-Not so many plot twists but enough to continue Ochse's style.
What I didn't like
-Inclusion of entire parts of book 01. While beneficial, I skipped those.
Recommended for
-Thriller fans
-SciFi fans
-Mystical fans
Dead Sky, the second instalment in the Sky series is an interesting follow-up to book 01. It continued the mystery of the dervishes and delves deep into Zoastirian beliefs. The team (missing a few members of course) are now back in the US and the fight must continue as Boy Scout figures out the entities inside him.
I liked the book overall and the ending was superb. Also, the part about the US government was on point and matched the overall theme of these types of books.
What I liked
-Continuity.
-The introduction of additional characters.
-Farood's true mission revealed.
-Not so many plot twists but enough to continue Ochse's style.
What I didn't like
-Inclusion of entire parts of book 01. While beneficial, I skipped those.
Recommended for
-Thriller fans
-SciFi fans
-Mystical fans
November 19, 2019
Possibly the final (I hope not) T.S.T. book that combines fantasy, horror and military action into a really enjoyable mix. Lots of fast paced fun that pulls you into the story
Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...
Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...
April 19, 2020
The first book in this series was a masterpiece of military horror and science fiction. Military sci-fi in the last 50 years comes in a pretty standard mold, one that has been fashioned over and over again based on the Heinlein Starship Troopers template. Lots of great works have been done in the mold from the Forever War by Vietnam war vet Joe Handleman to Card's Ender's Game and Scalzi's Old Man's War. I know Weston and I both agree on last year's The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley as a fantastic entry in the genre. Being that Weston is Vet and long time military contractor it gives him special insight and like Handleman he used that insight to create a great entry in that mold with the Grunt series. (I have only read book one so far, but it is really good).
As good as Grunt Life was Burning Sky took on the same important theme of PTSD and did something rare in military sci-fi it broke new ground. It could be said that This series is more military horror than Sci-fi and the second book is more horror than the first. We are dealing with supernatural creatures, not aliens. The thing that made the first book special to me is that it also dealt with the experiences of trauma, reality, and sense of being all through the lens of PTSD. That is why I was so surprised that when I interviewed Weston for my podcast (link below) and he said he hadn't read Philip K Dick yet.
Like me take a quick aside...While he fixed that because he made reference to the PKD book Cosmic Puppets that has the same demons as his book in it. Very funny scene by the way and The interview contains the moment where we at Dickheads put the characters of this book on the trail! (Ha!)
Burning Sky was a masterpiece in my opinion and it is still, in my opinion, Weston's strongest work to date. It has what is reality aspect of it that makes it a true story of post Traumatic pain. It gives that novel an extra weight that is hard to top. That is my biggest problem with Dead Sky. It is fun and exciting. It has great moments of suspense and character moments. It never reaches the jaw-dropping reveals of the first book. Sometimes it is hard when the mystery is revealed. Jaws is not nearly as scary when you see the mechanical shark.
Dead Sky is not a bad book, it is a really fun book. I read it pretty fast, and Weston's grasp of characters is strong enough that I stayed up late reading it. The biggest problem this novel has is the powerhouse of the first book. The first book dealt with heavy issues of the unending trauma of violence and war. I feel this was more action fun and less of the themes mixing with the plot. That is what was so impressive about the first book is those themes mixed in so perfectly.
It is hard to talk about the plot without spoiling the first book. The main character who goes by the name Boy Scout propels some of the book's best moments with one of his new skills. The Trauma sticks to hit in the form of connection quite literally to his demons. One of the strongest aspects of the book is Boy Scout's relationship with Sister Rene the character that teaches him this skill.
I like Dead Sky a lot. But I LOVED Burning Sky. It was fun and worth it to spend time with these characters. This series is done with this second book but the characters might not be. Either way I recommend both but it is hard to go wrong with Weston.
As good as Grunt Life was Burning Sky took on the same important theme of PTSD and did something rare in military sci-fi it broke new ground. It could be said that This series is more military horror than Sci-fi and the second book is more horror than the first. We are dealing with supernatural creatures, not aliens. The thing that made the first book special to me is that it also dealt with the experiences of trauma, reality, and sense of being all through the lens of PTSD. That is why I was so surprised that when I interviewed Weston for my podcast (link below) and he said he hadn't read Philip K Dick yet.
Like me take a quick aside...While he fixed that because he made reference to the PKD book Cosmic Puppets that has the same demons as his book in it. Very funny scene by the way and The interview contains the moment where we at Dickheads put the characters of this book on the trail! (Ha!)
Burning Sky was a masterpiece in my opinion and it is still, in my opinion, Weston's strongest work to date. It has what is reality aspect of it that makes it a true story of post Traumatic pain. It gives that novel an extra weight that is hard to top. That is my biggest problem with Dead Sky. It is fun and exciting. It has great moments of suspense and character moments. It never reaches the jaw-dropping reveals of the first book. Sometimes it is hard when the mystery is revealed. Jaws is not nearly as scary when you see the mechanical shark.
Dead Sky is not a bad book, it is a really fun book. I read it pretty fast, and Weston's grasp of characters is strong enough that I stayed up late reading it. The biggest problem this novel has is the powerhouse of the first book. The first book dealt with heavy issues of the unending trauma of violence and war. I feel this was more action fun and less of the themes mixing with the plot. That is what was so impressive about the first book is those themes mixed in so perfectly.
It is hard to talk about the plot without spoiling the first book. The main character who goes by the name Boy Scout propels some of the book's best moments with one of his new skills. The Trauma sticks to hit in the form of connection quite literally to his demons. One of the strongest aspects of the book is Boy Scout's relationship with Sister Rene the character that teaches him this skill.
I like Dead Sky a lot. But I LOVED Burning Sky. It was fun and worth it to spend time with these characters. This series is done with this second book but the characters might not be. Either way I recommend both but it is hard to go wrong with Weston.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews