Advertisement

Legion of the Damned was the first in the series of novels by the man who brought us such tie-in novels for series as Halo, Mass Effect, Resistance, Starcraft, Star Wars and Hitman. He is well-known for his military science fiction having spent his time in the US Navy and the US Marine Corps. A man of many talents he has been a television producer and director of public relations and written more than 40 novels.

Andromeda's Fall is the prequel to Legion of the Damned where Andromeda McKee is missing in action and Cat Carletto takes over where she left off. As Cat is the sort of woman that can't be kept down, she gathers her elite cyborg army, called the Legion, who have to fight against the might of evil Empress Ophelia. Andromeda is busy getting what she wants by force while Cat tries to get her revenge on the once titled princess whom she believes orchestrated her family's murder. Ophelia has her own reasons for wanting power for herself, but none more so than tiring of seeing how her brother ran the empire. She has other ideas of how she wants to run it, and takes power by force -- she wants everyone who opposes her dead. She is opinionated and has a megalomaniac mind that can't be reasoned with by normal people. Cat on the other hand is said to be spoiled rotten, enjoying her lavish dinners where she observes others and immerses herself in debauched surroundings, so she has to adjust her ways after her family's death and take up arms against Ophelia.

Cat is daring, tough and matter of fact with the men under her and shows how hard she is as the novel progresses. She is a first-class heroine with all the strength of her conviction. When Cat gets the news of her father's murder, she has to leave the comfort of her home and hide, and when she does, she sees how the poor and needy live, begging for food, or selling their meagre wares for next to nothing. As Cat tries to escape detection you follow her through the book from being a woman who has had everything to someone who has to sell her own jewels for a lot less than they are worth in order to live life on the run. She has to evade being hurt or killed at every corner. The thrill is discovering after every chapter that she is closer to her revenge.

The chapters are based in different locations such as the Imperial Planet Esparto, Planet Orlo II, Planet Adobe and Imperial Planet Drang. From the moment you read this book you might think it reminds you of all those Warhammer novels that are set in the distant future where the worlds are very different from what we are used to seeing. The only difference here is that some of the cities are those that still exist. Even if Cat seems as if she is unlikely to bring the evil empress to her knees, she has a daring spirit that makes us think she can. Andromeda's Fall is one of the most interesting futuristic novels that will also a treat for those already reading similar novels.

Sandra has been immersing herself in fairy tale fiction for the past month and decided to compose her own in Quailbell Magazine, other than this, she writes for Albedo One, Hellnotes, the British Fantasy Society, the Fantasy Book Review and last but not least Active Anime.