Review: Excellent
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 13, 2014
The Stygian Conspiracy starts off with what reads like most of the science fiction war stories I've read, but it quickly changes and becomes a race between secret societies vying for control of an alien technology that is as deadly as it is amazing.There are no shortages of space battles, robot combat, or action.  The adventure goes from start to finish with romance, espionage, intrigue, and even horror as the plot advances the whole conspiracy starts to take shape.The politics in the book didn't bother me a bit, it's actually like window-dressing.  It's there, but really doesn't matter due to what is going on behind the scenes.Characters were superb, and very easy to get attached to.  Kabuto, he's the man.  Of all the characters in the story, he's my favorite because he's like a father figure to the Sledgehammers from start to finish.  He's smart, tough as nails when he needs to be, but also kind, generous, and understanding.The science of the book seems plausible to me, and I found the technology in this book to be well done enough to keep my suspension of disbelief.  Especially the part about how the humans were able to unlock some of the secrets of the alien technology and use the ships found derelict at Alpha Centauri.  I can see how a galaxy-wide alien culture would need to simplify the workings of their machines to allow for conquered races to use them in the service of such an empire.The tactics, and strategies used in the battle scenes in this story are outstanding.  The book portrays combat in three-dimensional space as it should be.  Fleets are in formations that make sense in space and the effects of damage to spacecraft have realistic consequences.I also liked the decor of the various cities, asteroid bases, and insides of the ships.  Again, there was clearly a lot of attention given to detail without the need for information dumps on the reader.  The descriptions are woven into the story showing the reader the environment rather than telling.  I liked that.Overall, this book was great and my rating reflects that.