Review: A worthy sequel
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 28, 2014
Jake Murcer and company return in Endi Webb’s continuation of the Pax Humana Saga: Chains of Destiny. I enjoyed The Terran Gambit, the first book in the series, so I read Chains of Destiny as soon as it was released. I had some issues with The Terran Gambit, though they were minor, and mostly concerned with how the action started. In Chains of Destiny we are yet again dropped into the middle of the action, but this time it makes a lot more sense.The book starts with the Phoenix, the only ship to survive the ill-planned gambit by the Earth’s Resistance, in combat with another starship. Soon after, the ship is attacked and driven off by a group of pirates. The pirates offer a place to refuel and resupply, and despite reservations Jake accepts the offer. Thus begins another adventure.I don’t want to give away any more of the story; it’s quite good and unpredictable. It also highlights the fact that there are many ways in which Jake is not ready for command, which I think is a nice touch. At the end of the Terran Gambit he falls into command of the Phoenix with no experience, and Webb does a good job of showing what happens when you give the keys of a starship to a fighter jock.The other refreshing aspect of Chains of Destiny is that it breaks up the story a bit. No longer is the plot centered around the action on the ship, there are other storylines. Webb also hints at a great deal of intrigue that will probably play out in the next few books. With The Terran Gambit setting the major elements in motion Chains of Destiny is free to delve into the more subtle plot points. There are several things that are hinted at that I feel will be important later on, even if they don't play a large role in Chains of Destiny.In terms of character development Chains of Destiny only improves upon The Terran Gambit, creating a convincing story and adding some depth to the characters in a natural way. While after The Terran Gambit I had a hard time separating some of the characters from each other, they are now distinct personalities. I think the reason is an interesting thing to call out. In The Terran Gambit, Webb had an interlude between the two sections of action, showing the characters on leave. Here they talked a lot about their lives, and their past, and had some occasional deviations into autobiography. This, to me, felt like I was being spoon fed a character outline. In Chains of Destiny, the basics of the characters have been established, so all of their development is through their action. This lets the characters develop naturally, as we see how they interact with the world. I think that if Webb had simply cut out the interlude between battles in The Terran Gambit, and let us get to know the characters as they responded to events, it would have lead to a better experience.Overall, Chains of Destiny has everything that made me enjoy The Terran Gambit, while getting rid of some of it's issues. If you enjoyed The Terran Gambit at all, and if you haven't read it I would say you should consider it, you'll love Chains of Destiny. I certainly did. Considering the improvement from book one to two I’m looking forward to the next installment in the series, set to land in August 2014.