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The Dark Angels #3
Dark Angels Rising
The concluding volume of the Dark Angels Trilogy, which began with the Amazon UK #1 best seller Pelquin's Comet.
The Dark Angels – a notorious band of brigands turned folk heroes who disbanded a decade ago – are all that stands between humanity and disaster. Reunited with their ship, The Ion Raider, Leesa, Jen, Saavi and their fellow Angels must prevent Mudball – a resurrected Elder, last of a long dead alien race – from reclaiming the scientific marvels of his people.
Supported by the Night Hammers – an outlawed military regiment –and Saflik – a star-spanning criminal organisation run be zealots –the resurrected alien has discovered the whereabouts of the ultimate Elder cache, long considered to be a myth, and is intent on using the scientific marvels stored there to establish itself as God over all of humankind.
Can one ship of reluctant heroes hope to stop them? The Dark Angels know they have little choice but to try.
The Dark Angels – a notorious band of brigands turned folk heroes who disbanded a decade ago – are all that stands between humanity and disaster. Reunited with their ship, The Ion Raider, Leesa, Jen, Saavi and their fellow Angels must prevent Mudball – a resurrected Elder, last of a long dead alien race – from reclaiming the scientific marvels of his people.
Supported by the Night Hammers – an outlawed military regiment –and Saflik – a star-spanning criminal organisation run be zealots –the resurrected alien has discovered the whereabouts of the ultimate Elder cache, long considered to be a myth, and is intent on using the scientific marvels stored there to establish itself as God over all of humankind.
Can one ship of reluctant heroes hope to stop them? The Dark Angels know they have little choice but to try.
- GenresScience Fiction
230 pages, Paperback
Published May 6, 2020
5 people are currently reading
60 people want to read
About the author
Ian Whates
122 books81 followersIan Whates lives in a comfortable home down a quiet cul-de-sac in an idyllic Cambridgeshire village, which he shares with his partner Helen and their pets – Honey the golden cocker spaniel, Calvin the tailless black cat and Inky the goldfish (sadly, Binky died a few years ago).
Ian’s earliest memories of science fiction are fragmented. He remembers loving Dr Who from an early age and other TV shows such as Lost in Space and Star Trek, but a defining moment came when he heard a radio adaptation of John Wyndham’s The Chrysalids. From that moment on he was hooked and became a frequent haunter of the local library, voraciously devouring the contents of their SF section.
This early love of science fiction manifested most tellingly during his school days, when he produced an SF murder mystery as homework after being set the essay title “The Language of Shakespeare”, much to the bemusement of his English teacher.
Ian’s first published stories appeared in the late 1980s in small press magazines such as Dream and New Moon Quarterly, after which he took a break from writing in order to research his chosen fields of science fiction and fantasy. In other words, he read copious amounts of both. Clearly the research was extensive, because he published nothing further for some seventeen years. In the early 2000s he made the decision to pursue writing seriously, joining the Northampton SF Writers Group in 2004 after being introduced to its chairman, Ian Watson.
In 2006 he started submitting stories again, and has subsequently been surprised at how many otherwise eminently sensible people have chosen to publish him. A couple have even appeared in the science journal Nature, and one, “The Gift of Joy”, even found its way onto the five-strong shortlist for best short story in the British Science Fiction Association Awards. And it didn’t come last! Ironically, the award was actually won by Ken MacLeod’s “Lighting Out”, a piece Ian had commissioned, edited and published in the NewCon Press anthology disLOCATIONS (2007).
In 2006 Ian launched independent publisher NewCon Press, quite by accident (buy him a pint sometime and he’ll tell you about it). Through NewCon he has been privileged to publish original stories from some of the biggest names in genre fiction, as well as provide debuts to some genuinely talented newcomers. The books, their covers and contents have racked up an impressive array of credits – four BSFA Awards, one BSF Award to date, inclusion in ‘Year’s Best’ anthologies and recommendations and honourable mentions from the likes of Gardner Dozios and Locus magazine.
In addition to his publishing and writing, Ian is currently a director of both the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) and the British Science Fiction Association (BSFA), editing Matrix, the online news and media reviews magazine, for the latter.
His first two completed novels are both due to appear in early 2010: City of Dreams and Nightmare via Harper Collins’ imprint Angry Robot, and The Noise Within from Rebellion imprint Solaris, with sequels to follow. When not pinching himself to make sure this is all really happening, Ian is currently beavering away at the sequels… honest!
Ian’s earliest memories of science fiction are fragmented. He remembers loving Dr Who from an early age and other TV shows such as Lost in Space and Star Trek, but a defining moment came when he heard a radio adaptation of John Wyndham’s The Chrysalids. From that moment on he was hooked and became a frequent haunter of the local library, voraciously devouring the contents of their SF section.
This early love of science fiction manifested most tellingly during his school days, when he produced an SF murder mystery as homework after being set the essay title “The Language of Shakespeare”, much to the bemusement of his English teacher.
Ian’s first published stories appeared in the late 1980s in small press magazines such as Dream and New Moon Quarterly, after which he took a break from writing in order to research his chosen fields of science fiction and fantasy. In other words, he read copious amounts of both. Clearly the research was extensive, because he published nothing further for some seventeen years. In the early 2000s he made the decision to pursue writing seriously, joining the Northampton SF Writers Group in 2004 after being introduced to its chairman, Ian Watson.
In 2006 he started submitting stories again, and has subsequently been surprised at how many otherwise eminently sensible people have chosen to publish him. A couple have even appeared in the science journal Nature, and one, “The Gift of Joy”, even found its way onto the five-strong shortlist for best short story in the British Science Fiction Association Awards. And it didn’t come last! Ironically, the award was actually won by Ken MacLeod’s “Lighting Out”, a piece Ian had commissioned, edited and published in the NewCon Press anthology disLOCATIONS (2007).
In 2006 Ian launched independent publisher NewCon Press, quite by accident (buy him a pint sometime and he’ll tell you about it). Through NewCon he has been privileged to publish original stories from some of the biggest names in genre fiction, as well as provide debuts to some genuinely talented newcomers. The books, their covers and contents have racked up an impressive array of credits – four BSFA Awards, one BSF Award to date, inclusion in ‘Year’s Best’ anthologies and recommendations and honourable mentions from the likes of Gardner Dozios and Locus magazine.
In addition to his publishing and writing, Ian is currently a director of both the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) and the British Science Fiction Association (BSFA), editing Matrix, the online news and media reviews magazine, for the latter.
His first two completed novels are both due to appear in early 2010: City of Dreams and Nightmare via Harper Collins’ imprint Angry Robot, and The Noise Within from Rebellion imprint Solaris, with sequels to follow. When not pinching himself to make sure this is all really happening, Ian is currently beavering away at the sequels… honest!
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 18, 2020
Great to be back with the Dark Angels again! This book provides a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy, with the pulling together of various threads that have so far been left hanging. The first chapter provides a deeply disturbing scenario which actually gave me nightmares (thanks for that, Mr Whates!) but once we get into the body of the book it becomes a hugely enjoyable story, with Drake/Cornishe reassembling the Dark Angels for one last mission. It reads very much as a superhero tale, with our heroes using their powers, gained from Elder technology, to take on the bad guys in one final battle. Can be read standalone if you must, but far better to read the trilogy in order!
August 27, 2020
In Dark Angels Rising, the Dark Angels regroup for one last mission, using the powers they've extracted from forgotten alien technology. Like the first two books, this is easy to read, enjoyable space opera with interesting, natural characters - it reminds me of Eric Brown to a degree (though probably a bit better) - a "Sci-Fi lite" of sorts.
Overall a very decent set of books, but the first book Pelquin's Comet was the best.
Overall a very decent set of books, but the first book Pelquin's Comet was the best.
June 27, 2020
Anoter good tale from Ian Whates, but again rather on the short side, at about 280 pages and, to be honest, one expects more than this for the money. The storyline ran on from the last book, but there were several gaps, which were only later explained en passant. Really, I have given this only 3 stars and not the 4 that books one and two got.
January 24, 2021
The last half of this book didn't feel like the first 2.5 books in the series. It felt like a rushed ending that tried to jam in a bunch of new stuff and characters. This completely disconnected the reader with anything that had been invested in first half. This book would have been better served as a a few more where the ideas could have been explored and fleshed out.
August 7, 2020
A fun read once again, but here Whates heads squarely into superhero territory--and I don't care for superheroes. Lots of action, but space-operatic elements become less important, and the conclusion is a bit rushed, although pleasantly violent and cinematic.
December 11, 2020
Flawed, but diverting light reading. Book 3 is a bit "X-Men in space," and "hard" sci fi this is not, so suspend your disbelief, but the action generally makes up for the minimal character development. Several glaring typos, which kind of sums it up - slapdash, but fun enough.
December 25, 2022
Dark Angels 3 and final book of the trilogy, went out with a whimper rather than a bang. A bit meh! Some good fight scenes dotted throughout the book, but not enough to keep a heightened sense of excitement and suspense, for the remainder of the book. So in conclusion I thought it was ok, but only just.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews