Jas's Reviews > Miasma Burn

In this 2nd part of the series, we see Galvin Quintos as the Captain of a newly restored USS Hamilton, the ship having been newly repaired and upgraded by the Pleidian Weonan’s after Quintos and the crew of the Hamilton rescued the Empress of the Pleidian people by defeating a disgusting and vicious pirate called Cardinal Thunderballs. The Empress has been held for an extended time and brutally tortured by the Pirate, as well as torturing and killing hundreds of her people as well. The Pleidian people are advanced starship builders, and have vastly improved the Hamilton.
Quintos himself is still recovering from serious injuries after his ship was attacked by the Grish.
The war with the Grish had been going badly, but with the heroic actions of Quintos and his crew at Ironhold Station, the Pleidian Weonan have joined forces with them, and have been beating back the Grish.
As a result, the Grish have turned to a dark and terrible enemy, an alien species that is truly from nightmares, the Varapin. These are creatures that have evolved over the centuries to feed on the lifeforces of other creatures, quite literally sucking the living energy out of another being until it is left a lifeless husk. In a lot of ways, these aliens reminded me of the Wraith from Stargate Atlantis, with their ability to suck the life from others. However, unlike the Wraith, the Varapin are also highly intelligent, with intellects vastly superior to most other species. They also have the ability to phase their physical form, so that energy weapons, the main form of most assault weapons, are totally useless against them.
With a huge Varapin fleet tearing through human space, heading for Earth, it is up to Quintos and a fleet of older ships, manned by those that have signed on for a mission they don’t expect to return from, to stand in the path of this fleet, and delay it for as long as possible, so that a suitable defence of Earth can be set up.
The USS Hamilton has been turned into one of the most powerful warships in the sector, but even she is outmatched by the super Dreadnaught of the Varapin fleet, and the only thing that stands between them and complete destruction, is the crew of the Hamilton, and their uncanny ability to turn the odds in their favour.
The character work in this book is again, just incredible, the first person story telling, not only from Quintos, but several other key members of the Hamilton crew, is creative, exciting and thrilling, with intelligent dialogue that makes for gripping reading.
The Captain is again the main character, we see most of the story from his eyes, and McGinnis does a brilliant job of having this young, unorthodox Captain, thrust into a situation he does not feel he is ready for, but knows he is the only one that can really do anything about. His inner struggle, is compelling, but the interactions with the other crew are gritty, realistic, and make for not only entertaining ready, it is just a lot of fun, and utterly enthralling.
One of the best characters in the book has to be Hardy, the Chronobot that is part machine, but has been possessed by the 50yr old disembodied entity of the old crew member John Hardy. He is not only a key part of the story, seeming to save the day on several occasions, but he is just hilarious (the ‘facial’ expressions he makes with the tiny LEDs on his face plate are just priceless). Along with Hardy, there is Doc Viv, and Lt Pristy, the two main Female characters in the story.
The Doctor is a bit of a conundrum, both a powerful and seemingly almost harsh person in some ways, but under the harder exterior, is a very kind soul, just looking for some attention, and wanting to care for her people.
Lt Pristy is absolutely SMITTEN with the Captain, but it is not just a case of a school girl crush, she genuinely admires the Captain, and is completely in love with him. Rather than impeding her work though, it only serves to make her work harder for his approval, and she is one of the best operators on his crew – unfortunately, Quintos is too blind to see it.
There are multiple other characters, Mattis, Derrota, Grimes, and unfortunate Tannock, and the wonderfully colourful, brilliant and hilarious team of Max, Magnet, Grip, Wanda, Ham and Hock, but I will be here all day if I keep going.
McGinnis has spent a lot of time in creating epic combat scenes, whether that be in the space venue, or in personal arena, the combat sequences are described with meticulous detail, giving us exceptional depth, and whilst they are not overly brutal or bloodthirsty, his descriptive work is extraordinary, with gritty portrayal of combat that really lets you understand what is happening. It makes for a really engaging read, as you feel like you are part of the story, feeling what the characters are going through so that you get a more realistic point of view.
McGinnis also does a spectacular job with the world building, and this is another aspect that really immerses you into the world he has created, so that as you are reading the characters story, you are on the bridge, with a full picture of what they see, or running through corridors, in the sick bay, or zipping about in a fighter. Everything is intensely vivid and realistic, and it makes for an exceptional read.
McGinnis has created an outstanding sequel to what was a brilliant first book, and this is growing into an amazing series, so now is the time to get on board. If you love a great Mil Sci-Fi series, this is the one – it is one of the best I have read.