Author: Vidar Hokstad
Book: The Year Before the End (Sovereign Earth #1 of 6)
Published: November 2020
Publisher: Hokstad Publishing
Genre: Science Fiction
Source: Paperback
Rating:
Synopsis:
As humanity started spreading into the solar system, they found they were not alone. A group called the Centauri offered humanity a chance to move into the galaxy itself. They taught humanity about gate technology, and humanity began colonizing the solar system in earnest while building a gate that would take them beyond it. Forty years later and the gate is almost ready. Enter Captain Zara Ortega (Zo) and the crew of the Black Rain. A group called Sovereign Earth hires Zo and her ship to retrieve what they claim to be evidence of a plot between Mars separatists and the Centauri to take over the solar system and split it between them. After Zo and her crew make a successful raid on one of the solar system’s most heavily guarded space stations, they find themselves left with more questions than answers. When the meeting with their contact near Mars goes wrong, they realize they’ve been lied to and double-crossed. Not sure who to trust, they make a desperate bid to save the future of humanity.
Review:
The Year Before the End tells the story of the crew of the Black Rain as they try to ascertain the truth of their current mission. Sent to retrieve data Sovereign Earth told them would prove Mars and the Centauri were planning war, the aftermath leaves them feeling that someone is lying.
Once the raid on Vanguard Station begins, the action and intrigue are intense and nonstop. Vidar Hokstad does a superb job with world-building and character development. My one complaint concerns the information dump at the beginning. Dealing with back story in a novel is never easy. His chosen method, several pages of exposition, was not the ideal solution. Once past it, however, the storytelling proves well worth the wait.
Kurt's Frontier 