Official Review: Enemy Immortal by Jim Meeks-Johnson
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[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Enemy Immortal" by Jim Meeks-Johnson.]
Enemy Immortal by Jim Meeks-Johnson is a space opera set at the beginning of the 23rd century. Humanity might join a federation that includes a lot of species called the Entanglement, but a lot of people are against it because that would mean join a caste to supply a specific service. Human skills will be assessed in an inter-species mission that aims to solve the mystery of an alien colony that simply vanished. The Immortal Ascendancy, another alien power, has a peace treaty with the Entanglement, but the ambitious Lord Umlac is planning an invasion that puts the Earth in danger too. That's just the first complication for Lieutenant Jade Mahelona of Solar Defense Force and the other humans who are representing humanity in the mission.
Space opera is one of the most classic science fiction subgenres. It had a peak during the 1930s and 1940s, during the pulp magazine era with the publication of a lot of adventurous stories. In recent years, space opera is seeing a new period of glory with works that are much more than simple adventures of space exploration and wars against aliens. In modern space opera, not all aliens are evil and character development is important.
Jim Meeks-Johnson shows that he is indeed a writer of modern space opera with this novel where world-building is crucial in the story's development. The future he described is full of life with very diverse aliens species in terms of physical appearance and psychology. Communications can be difficult between different species, especially for humans, who are just getting to know the many aliens who are part of the Entanglement. Meetings with representatives of different species are used by the author to give details about them without slowing down the pace.
The protagonists are mostly humans, and that gives us the idea of their difficulties in dealing with aliens. Some aliens are among the important characters, including Lord Umlac, the main villain, and that gives us a better idea of their civilizations and their psychology. Jim Meeks-Johnson skillfully uses a multiple point of view to offer a great development of several characters and follow different events that are important for the story. That was probably the part that impressed me the most because not many writers can properly develop non-humanoid characters.
The humans part of the inter-species mission end up involved in events much bigger than anybody anticipated for a story full of action and twists. I found the plot engaging and well-thought because Jim Meeks-Johnson made a great use of the aliens. The various alien cultures and technologies were used very well to develop the story with consequences on the events.
Enemy Immortal shows a universe full of life with interesting human and alien characters. The novel contains no profanities and there are only very mild sexual innuendos between two human characters, so anybody can read it. The editing is good, with only a few little errors, none distracting. For the amazing quality of the world-building, the engaging story, and the interesting characters, my rating is 4 out of 4 stars. The story is perfectly self-contained, but I hope Jim Meeks-Johnson will write a sequel because his fictional universe is very rich and offers room for many more fantastic stories. I recommend this novel to anybody looking for a great science fiction story.
******
Enemy Immortal
View: on Bookshelves |
Enemy Immortal by Jim Meeks-Johnson is a space opera set at the beginning of the 23rd century. Humanity might join a federation that includes a lot of species called the Entanglement, but a lot of people are against it because that would mean join a caste to supply a specific service. Human skills will be assessed in an inter-species mission that aims to solve the mystery of an alien colony that simply vanished. The Immortal Ascendancy, another alien power, has a peace treaty with the Entanglement, but the ambitious Lord Umlac is planning an invasion that puts the Earth in danger too. That's just the first complication for Lieutenant Jade Mahelona of Solar Defense Force and the other humans who are representing humanity in the mission.
Space opera is one of the most classic science fiction subgenres. It had a peak during the 1930s and 1940s, during the pulp magazine era with the publication of a lot of adventurous stories. In recent years, space opera is seeing a new period of glory with works that are much more than simple adventures of space exploration and wars against aliens. In modern space opera, not all aliens are evil and character development is important.
Jim Meeks-Johnson shows that he is indeed a writer of modern space opera with this novel where world-building is crucial in the story's development. The future he described is full of life with very diverse aliens species in terms of physical appearance and psychology. Communications can be difficult between different species, especially for humans, who are just getting to know the many aliens who are part of the Entanglement. Meetings with representatives of different species are used by the author to give details about them without slowing down the pace.
The protagonists are mostly humans, and that gives us the idea of their difficulties in dealing with aliens. Some aliens are among the important characters, including Lord Umlac, the main villain, and that gives us a better idea of their civilizations and their psychology. Jim Meeks-Johnson skillfully uses a multiple point of view to offer a great development of several characters and follow different events that are important for the story. That was probably the part that impressed me the most because not many writers can properly develop non-humanoid characters.
The humans part of the inter-species mission end up involved in events much bigger than anybody anticipated for a story full of action and twists. I found the plot engaging and well-thought because Jim Meeks-Johnson made a great use of the aliens. The various alien cultures and technologies were used very well to develop the story with consequences on the events.
Enemy Immortal shows a universe full of life with interesting human and alien characters. The novel contains no profanities and there are only very mild sexual innuendos between two human characters, so anybody can read it. The editing is good, with only a few little errors, none distracting. For the amazing quality of the world-building, the engaging story, and the interesting characters, my rating is 4 out of 4 stars. The story is perfectly self-contained, but I hope Jim Meeks-Johnson will write a sequel because his fictional universe is very rich and offers room for many more fantastic stories. I recommend this novel to anybody looking for a great science fiction story.
******
Enemy Immortal
View: on Bookshelves |
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