Review: Damn cyborgs. Die, die, die
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 24, 2013
Fresh from Mars with diplomatic credentials from a doomed planetary government, hero Marten Kluge heads off to contact leaders of the Jupiter confederation of moons and asteroids in "Cyborg Assault," the forth book in the Doom Star series. He's got with him his buddy and fellow shock trooper Omi and a female cyborg he befriended during the siege of Mars by Social Unity and its duplicitous cyborg allies. But as readers of author Vaughn Heppner, pleasant sailings and success remain tantalizingly distant. Marten's got series challenges ahead, and dealing with the absolutely bizarre Jupiter government, which is based on the teachings of Socrates, is first among them. Right away, he discovers cyborgs have taken control of a Jovian battleship and succeeds in blasting it apart. Then he gets to meet a tiny woman named Tan whose role as chief strategist means she's a bigwig in the Jovian hierarchy. She's also an arrogant bitch who sees Marten as a barbarian. Marten gets arrested before winning over the captain of the new ship he's rescued by and discovering another rebellion. He finally gets the Jovians to accept that they're under threat of extinction by the cyborgs, and battle begins. There's also an appearance by the Praetor, a really nasty Highborn who doesn't much care for the apparent superiority of cyborgs. Big battle climax. These Heppner books have me hooked.