I found this author through his debut novel Between Stars. It was an incredibly powerful story that I loved reading; here’s my review.
When I heard that he’d written a second novel, I had to pre-order it. I started reading it as soon as I could find time, and I’m pleased to report that, although it’s a different tale altogether, it’s just as good.
Before we get to my thoughts,
Here’s the description,
Ever had a dream that felt too real to shake? Even after you’ve woken, you can still feel it. Taste it. Breathe it.
That’s Jax De’Van’s every day now. He doesn’t know what’s real anymore.
One moment he’s on Earth. The next, he’s fighting a war he never chose, on a world that shouldn’t exist, and somehow, he already knows exactly what to do when the fighting starts.
Thrown into a brutal alien conflict alongside a handful of others torn from their old lives, Jax fights for a cause he’s only beginning to understand, while the truth about who, and what, he and the others really are keeps slipping further out of reach.
This is a story about war, memory, and what’s left of you when everything you knew turns out to be twisted and unrecognisable, when even the truth stops feeling like the truth.
Sanity is upon a knife edge, and trust is the hardest thing to find in the darkness of both worlds.
It’s a world that will swallow you up and spit you out changed.
The book is available now.
My thoughts. No spoilers.
This is a real Hard Sci-fi adventure.
It’s a complex story, but once you get going, it grabs you with its relentless action, shocks and intrigue.
Jax has dreams of war on an alien planet. But that’s not the half of it. As he delves deeper into the events he’s apparently experiencing, you realise that there’s a lot more to his dreams than he might have thought.
Then, he finds that there’s someone who wants to hear every detail, but why?
It’s very hard to write a review without giving anything away about the incredible journey this story takes you on. I’d hate to spoil it for anyone who picks up a copy.
I’m not going to reveal anything about the twists and turns in the narrative, except that you won’t see most of them coming.
Let’s just say that as Jax finds out more about his situation, he discovers the camaraderie born of extremes and what it is like to be under more stress than he would have thought possible.
He meets others in the same situation. Then there are the people who he thinks are helping him unlock his dreams. There are those he can trust and the dubious ones with as yet unknown motives.
All he has to do is make sure that he picks the right path.
As I already said, there’s plenty of action. It’s consistently well written, edge-of-your-seat stuff. The plot is mind-blowing in its complexity, yet totally logical and easy to follow.
As I would have expected from Between Stars, the worldbuilding is comprehensive and full of imagination. The locations are places described so well that they come alive. The characters are all solid, multi-dimensional and form a team you will feel every emotion of the story with. And there’s a lot of emotion to cope with.
I even spotted an Easter Egg. A nod to Between Stars tucked away near the end.
I’ve waffled on long enough. If you’re looking for something out of the ordinary, hard sci-fi with a heart and a message, then this is one you shouldn’t miss. And the best part, there’s going to be a sequel.
Highly recommended.
About the Author.
H.G. Dawson is a science fiction author fascinated by questions of identity, consciousness, and what makes us human.
He spent years writing novels that never left his computer. Fear has a way of keeping things at 90%. Not this time.
Between Stars is his debut novel, born from equal parts imagination and a stubborn refusal to let self-doubt win. Several more stories are already waiting in the wings.
He lives in a town in Northamptonshire with his wife, two boys, and a dog named Hugo, who has strong opinions about plot pacing and is sometimes the only one who listens.
The author has a website, where you can find out much more about him.
I am HG. I write stories that live somewhere between the stars and the human heart.
Science fiction is the setting.
People are the story.
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