Tags
3.5 stars, Book Review, bundle, dragons, Kennedy King, military scifi, scifi
About Skyline: The Dragon Commander by Kennedy King
It’s 2350. Cold Fusion, AI nanotech cops, and the SkyLine between a dying Earth and a developing Mars are parts of life.
It’s a turbulent time to be a Major General, even one resigned to desk work. But the calm can only last so long. When tragedy strikes Precinct 117 in Shanghai, Chris Drogan and his unit are forced to gear up again. What waits for them in the heart of a robot with a beta personality matrix will change the planets on both ends of the SkyLine, mankind, and Major General Christopher Drogan forever.
About Skyline: The Captain, The Billionaire Boat, and the Dragon Crusader by Kennedy King
Dawn Redding. An Admiral of the World Crisis Committee, she stands on the threshold of the life she gave everything for. She only needs to bring in the galaxy’s first outerworld outlaw.
The astral road to him, the SkyLine, launches Dawn and the crew of the Arcadia from Mars to Neptune, and past the edge. Companions in loathing and love, they fight to level the cosmic scales. Through it all watches Alice, inside the Billionaire Boat, the Arcadia. More closely than anyone, she watches Dawn.
About Skyline: The Dogs of War by Kennedy King
With the destruction of the planet Mukurus comes the dawn of new struggles for the Worlds Crisis Committee. In the chaos, the Worlds Crisis Committee turns to the Dogs of War. This elite task force tackles two missions to keep the Milky Way from tearing itself apart. Open new trade routes. Find the Dragons and uproot them from the galaxy. The mission sounds simple to the Dogs’ Captain, Demitri “Demi” Alexander, until he sees the crew in action. He alone can reconcile the differences between siblings from the mines of Saturn’s Rings, the niece of a high-ranking WCC executive, and an M-Particle research specialist.
For better or worse, the Dogs of War cross every planet in the SkyLine. They delve deep in the Chrysum wells of Neptune and the floating city of Jupiter alike, in search of the Dragons and hope to defeat them.
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Review of Skyline
The Dragon Commander is a short enticing introduction to this interesting series where the stuff of fantasy becomes scifi aliens. Dragons in space. Not long enough to work up much of a plot, but just the right length to make the reader sympathize with the hero Drogan and his co-conspirator Machaeus. I was hooked as I finished part 1.
Rather than continue to follow Drogan, in The Captain, The Billionaire Boat, and the Dragon Crusader, all new characters are introduced. While, they do cross paths with Drogan, the Dragon Commander’s part became secondary, which was disappointing to me. Dawn Redding is the new heroine in this story of the hunt for the outlaw Dragon. As hinted at in part 1, there is much more at stake than the adversarial relationship between Humans and Dragons. Not clear is the intended end-game Macheaus envisions. Drogan plays the uncomfortable roll of go-between/spy/marauder.
In The Dogs of War, yet another cast of characters is involved. Drogan and Dawn continue to play roles while Mr. Powerful Marcus Brass sends his Pawns to root out Dragons while expanding the Skyline. In book 3, there is another ‘D’ character: Captain Alexander Demitrius – Demi. Brass becomes the autocrat you don’t trust. Demi and his motley Dogs of War become their heroic bests in their attempts to defend humanity from the Dragons. But all the while, Macheus still has his agenda. And, if you are human, you won’t like it. Most likely.
Skyline needs: 1) more editing. I don’t usually comment on editing, but I was distracted enough by odd sentences, that I do bring it up this time. 2) A core set of characters. Drogan is the singular fascinating character and books 2 and 3 would have been better if his role had been greater and more central. 3) A focus. I say this because you think that the focus is the saving of humanity, but then Machaeus throws a major shift into the works. Trying to avoid spoilers I will say I felt like the author sympathized with Machaeus. If so, make him a bigger part of the story. 4) More explanation of the Skyline. I found myself drifting without a spacesuit every time the book talked about the outside deck of a ship. 5) Less sex. It was all pretty much gratuitous and did not lead to any happily ever afters.
Despite my critiques, I found the overall story line fascinating. The bundle is billed as ‘the epic first half of the SkyLine Series book set’. I would not call it epic, but I think it has the potential to be so. Who says Dragons did not originate from another galaxy? Maybe that is why we don’t see them on Earth these days. The futuristic Skyline technology is an interesting space travel method, though it does seem limited. Perhaps, the second half of the series will have humanity advancing even more. And Machaeus, whose reach across the stars gives him a god-like persona, has the potential and inclination to re-shape the galaxy as we know it. Will he? Should he?
Skyline bundles three books in the series loosely tied together by the ongoing Humans Vs. Dragons plot that begins in book 1 and ends with in book 3 with some unresolved issues. Yes, a cliffhanger.
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