Solid conclusion to a rather fun, action heavy trilogy! Again, like the last volume, Sawyer escaped the 'formulaic' trap here, but this still starts with a bang. Jenkins' Jackals are part of a massive operation to capture an 'infected' Krell leader to see if it is possible to develop a vaccine and end the Krell turning into zombie like killing machines and their subsequent incursions into human controlled space.
Our main villains once again are the 'Dark Spiral' lead by Warlord, a former special operations Ranger that has gone rogue. But why has he gone rogue? What is the back story? We get that here (finally) but I will not spoil the fun. After the massive operation to capture the infected Krell, Jenkins' Jackals, including P, the talking Krell experiment (who is now unofficially part of the Jackal team) head out to see if they can contact the other alien race hinted about for quite some time-- the Aeon. We know the Aeon were allies of the Krell back in the massive war millennia ago against the Shard, the mysterious, machine life forms that are now returning. Can the Shard be stopped once again?
As a series progressed, so did Sawyer's writing and pacing skills. While I enjoyed the Lazarus War series, this one is better in most aspects. The dialogue flows better, the action seems smoother, and the characters feel a little more rounded out. Sawyer is definitely one to watch! While this series may not give your brain cells much of a work out, it definitely gets the blood flowing and I really enjoyed it. Recommended for military science fiction fans and fans of Neal Asher. 4 stars!!