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B**H
A futuristic science fiction with an impressive plot; a fight to protect people from oppression.
Randal Scott and Stacie Spencer are newly initiated Guardians of the Commonwealth Defense Force (CDF), and their drive for enlisting goes beyond service and duty to the New Humanity. Randy joins the CDF to deliver retribution to the man who killed his mother. That man is his father, former CDF captain Arson Scott. Stacie seeks to forge a life free of her parents’ control. Only she will shape her destiny, no one else.Now both Randy and Stacie proceed with deployment to Colony Four, where Arson operates his insurgent faction. Alongside each other, they enter a war that may have them questioning both of the combat forces in opposition, the CDF and the insurgency known as the Coalition of Rebel Factions.The plot was very interesting. The idea that humans have created a space to flourish among extraterrestrial beings and are in an alliance with them felt new and interesting to me. The alliance and the resources were clearly explained. The technological advances of modifying humans, creating colonies and artificial islands were intriguing to read. Humans created and developed Eden to be an icon for growth and power, and in that process forgot people who weren’t lucky enough to live in Eden. This ends up creating unrest among people and the continuous ill treatment creates a rebel force - the Coalition.And CDF’s answer to them is to brand them as terrorists and massacre them. A sound decision indeed. This ended up in a war and people were murdered. When an organization says “No matter what the critics say, we acted within the boundaries of the Exception to Force Clause, and you should believe that beyond a shadow of a doubt” that’s pretty shady. Hence, the CDF always felt shady to me. It told me CDF was hiding something but nobody questioned all this villainy rhetoric.I did not like the characters because I found a lot of issues with them. Randy was supposedly a righteous guy who doesn’t hurt innocent people but he makes so many ill-advised decisions. Many end him in dubious situations where he ends up hurting others but there is never an ounce of guilt from him.Stacie calls herself morally lax and an attention hogger and loves the way women envy her and men want her. When Randy figures out there is something sinister happening in Eden and conveys it to Stacie with the proof. She figures out that her parents are involved in this and confronts them which only ends with her getting a lesser allowance. And that was the end of it.“Your account has been reduced from two-hundred-million credits to fifty thousand. And I was gracious enough to sign over the villa we bought you. You’re on your own. When you come to your senses, come talk to us. And I’m permitting you access to Babylon until sundown.”Stacie’s heart jumped. She just virtually went from princess to pauper.She says she became a pauper since her parents decreased her allowance and gave her a villa. This is hurtful since they just saw so many people living in poverty. She spent the whole book telling people she wasn't entitled but that wasn't true. This could've been a defining moment for her but sadly she came off as shallow and entitled.The romance between Randy and Stacie was non-existent. I could not see any bond between them. It was mostly sexual gratification and there was no romance or feelings. There was a lot of objectification of women throughout the book which irked me. Like when Randy and Stacie go to a party for their graduation and they meet Randy's mentor Conlan, this was his first thought.Conlan shifted his friendly topaz eyes toward Stacie. Strong cheekbones, a thin pretty nose, piercing blue eyes, modest-sized breasts, and nice legs. Randy had snagged himself a treasure, he thought. She reminded him of his late wife when she was her age. “And who might this tantalizing young wallflower be?” he asked.Nobody takes issue with such views and makes reading the book pretty tough for me. By the end I love the book for the plot but the characters do not excite me. It was a really good effort on the plot and all the details that went in and the world-building.
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