Hozark and Demelza are most unusual Ghalian since they are working together as a team and have taken others on as team members too. Ghalian always work alone but circumstances are such that even other members of the Five accept the unusual arrangement. In book 1 Hozark had to complete a mission, and for that, he required a legendary Vespus Blade, and that was basically the plot of book 1, him hunting down and getting the blade and completing his mission.

This book is obviously written by a reader of science-fiction and fantasy who understands world-building. The characterizations are sketches at first, allowing readers to fill some blanks, but the dialogue and story reveal who the people truly are. Fight scenes are realistic as far as I can tell (not an expert), but the space travel is not hard science; it's fantasy--which works out just fine for its purpose. As I said previously, the world building is just incredibly in-depth, but rather than being overwhelming, or losing you (as it can do in some books where there is just too much information), in this case, you find you get totally absorbed in it, and just want more. It is utterly fascinating, this world of assassins, and with each new revelation, several more doors open into this wonderous world. Equipped with a deadly Exitus rifle and with the ability to target Characters hiding behind their own front lines, they’re peerless sharpshooters who are especially good at removing supporting units like Haemonculi , Cadre Fireblades , and even renegade Apothecaries . This book feels like it should be longer. It's set up to be one of those long ass book with big sciencey words that I end up not remembering or caring to remember because they're so long and so many. But this book is nothing like that! A player's weapons are determined by a 1d6 roll with the amount rolled able to be "spent" on a choice of weapons: Electric lash, Assault blaster, Grenade, Gravity bomb, Armour . The player must buy an electric lash or an assault blaster before anything else.Though the plot is slow due to the fact what is happening, it still has enough action scenes to keep the stakes high enough. It feels a bit like a bridge book to the fifth and final one, but I can forgive that considering this book gives more insight into the characters and their dynamics together. Their bonds grow stronger and stronger because of all the things that are happening. The road to their end goal is long and of course, filled with danger, so they just have to work together. Some characters do that better than other ones, which gives a good portion of fun and humor that is needed in the time it takes place. Found family is one of my favorite tropes to read about, and this definitely has it. They all want to help each other and go far to do so, making it also more realistic that sometimes they win more fights, something I had a bit of trouble believing in the other books. Due to the insight on how everyone trains (which doesn’t slow the book down, in my opinion) that disbelief carried away.

Another brilliant series by Scott Baron. After devouring the Charlie and Daisy books in a couple of weeks I was so pleased to discover more books set in the same universe.Mr. Baron has a created a main character that is an assassin who appears to be powerful and overcomes any obstacle he faces to complete the assassination. As I read the story, I did not feel the main character was not facing any adversity and there did not seem to be any real stakes or danger. I thought the other characters featured are flat and not fully fleshed out and realized. In the early years of the 41st Millennium, it was discovered that the Orks of the Roxanzand sector were rallying behind a powerful Warboss called Urgak the Unstoppable, who had set about gathering together Boyz and war machines from a vast area. Worse still, their Meks had begun construction of a colossal Gargant, which the Imperium couldn’t afford to ignore. For example, Chapter 2 was simply told from the perspective of the author. Everything we were told about the world was not from anyone’s viewpoint – it was just what the author wanted us to know.

Or so he thought until someone quite unexpected reared their head. An appearance that gave him pause. Someone he had thought long dead. His former lover. A revelation like that could throw even a master assassin for a loop. That she too was an assassin only complicated things more. Downside?? Well there were, supposedly space dragons and we saw none, that was a major downside.... Just kidding, but I hope to see space dragons next!! Scott Baron has the ability to create new and exciting worlds, people, and situations that feel different from others I have ever listened to. He is a visual writer and I’m a visual learner, so I find his books very entertaining and engaging. The characters are often complex and purposeful, and many are likable as well. If you enjoyed the banter from his previous stories, there is plenty in this book as well. There are a few characters one might expect from the other series making an appearance in this series as well. The listener will also learn more about the special waters Charlie first discovered during his crash landing in this new world from “The Dragon Mage” series. We also are given a better view in into the secretive Council of 20 referenced previously as well. The author is able to blend both technology and fantasy, yet this initial book is more fantasy focused even with space travel being accomplished using spacecraft, etc. A sci-fantasy adventure across space, with magic, starships, sword battles, treachery, deadly beasts, and, of course, a healthy dose of snark and sarcasm.This book was a nice fresh take on a fantasy story for me. Not really read a book yet that takes place in outer space and this writer really worked it out nicely and made me want to take a new look at how I review my books (which is also why it took me a bit longer since finishing it). I would want to rate it based on various aspects of storywriting so here goes: The ending was definitely intense, but it also made it quite obvious what should have a twist at a later point in the story. Nonetheless, I'm very eager to continue on with the series. The magic system appeared but did not have a significant impact on the story. When a character cast a spell, I was told about the effects of the spell and the character casting the spell was successful in casting it. The magic did not have a sense of wonder or mystery. I would suggest that if the magic elements were taken out of the story, the story would not change in any significant way.