SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: There Before The Chaos by K.B. Wager: https://t.co/fAQjacPeLm Short Review: 8.5 out of 10 (1/3)— garik16|CanesFan (@garik16) November 8, 2018
Short Review(cont): The 1st book in a new SciFi political/thriller trilogy in a pre-existing universe finds former gunrunner turned Empress Hail Bristol trying to avert war btwn 2 alien races from spilling into human space. Strong characters & writing made this very enjoyable 2/3— garik16|CanesFan (@garik16) November 8, 2018
There Before the Chaos is the start of a new SciFi trilogy by K.B. Wagers. That said, its universe is not entirely new - the story takes place with the same characters as in K.B. Wagers' first SF trilogy - The Indranan War Trilogy - only a few months later. I haven't read the Indranan War books, but I was able to pick up this book perfectly well without the foreknowledge. Readers with prior knowledge of this universe will probably get extra enjoyment out of this book however.
Still, I enjoyed There Before the Chaos, despite the book being rather hard to classify. It's essentially a scifi political thriller, as our heroine Hail Bristol, former gunrunner and now Empress of the Indranan Empire, tries to prevent a war between alien forces which has been threatening to envelop the worlds of humanity. On the other hand, the book is also a major character story, with most of its drama coming from its interactions between characters (this is where foreknowledge would be most helpful) and then becomes a space opera thriller in its last moments. Whatever it is, it was enjoyable and I'm looking into reading the prior trilogy as a result.
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Hail Bristol, formerly known as the gunrunner Cressen Stone, has now sat on the throne of hte Indranan Empire as its Empress for a few peaceful months. Since the Civil War that took her family, and which temporarily killed her, Hail has been working to pull the Indranan Empire out of its antiquated ways and prejudices - particularly against the use of men in leadership positions. It's not the type of work Hail feels most suited for - Hail has always preferred a gun or knife in her hand to weapons of politics - but its her role now, and she is doing her best.
But the galaxy may not let the Empire alone for long: as a long-term war between alien races - the Farians and the Shen - is starting to creep into human controlled space, and threatens to envelop the Indranan Empire. And now both sides of the conflict seem to have taken an interest in Hail for some mysterious reason....and both sides can kill with only a touch. If Hail can't navigate a path between these two mysterious alien races to peace, all she has gained for her people may be lost just as quickly as it came.
Assuming Hail doesn't get herself killed first.
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As I said above the jump, while this is the start of a new trilogy, this book relates heavily back to the events and character relationships in the prior trilogy. It's rather good at explaining through its first person narrative the gist of what happened, so I was never really lost at any point, but I do suspect that if I'd read the first trilogy, I'd have a greater appreciation of the character work done here.
Still, the story works really well without foreknowledge, and Hail is an excellent character - a heroine who wants to do right but is conflicted still between her two identities, despite having chosen one (Hail Bristol, Empress) over the other (Cressen Stone, Gunrunner) in the prior trilogy. And Hail's past (again the prior trilogy) has left her with serious traumas that only her closest confidants know anything about - for they've left her with triggers that can debilitate her at a moment's notice. How she overcomes them (or fails to) and tries to act in a way that's right even in difficult situations is really fascinating and makes her a character whose story I want to get to know better.
Again, this is largely a character-based book, as the central issues in most of it (until the last quarter really) are Hail's relationships with her friends from her former and current lives, all of whom have had to adapt to the change of circumstances. And these side characters are rather solid, with their own clear motivations and backstories and again I wish I knew more about them from the prior books as a result. The conflicts that arise from these relationships feel natural, and where they don't feel natural to the reader, well they don't feel natural to Hail either, so it all makes sense.
The plot itself is fairly interesting although this is clearly the first book in a trilogy, with the ending cliffhanger to some extent feeling inevitable by midway through. Some readers as a result may find this book rather slow, as nothing big happens until the very last few chapters, despite the book teasing that the war could come to Hail at any moment. But the book's narrative is so well done that I never really felt that frustrated with things not happening, helped along by the characters and the excellent dialogue. One part of the cliffhanger ending is kind of lame though - especially as the book contains a teaser for the sequel which immediately negates it, but it's only a minor issue.
If you're looking for an action packed adventure, or a booming space opera, you're not going to like There Before the Chaos - this is at least for now a SciFi Political and Character Drama, with promises to turn into big Space Opera, but little action in and of itself. The next books in the trilogy promise to change that, but know going in to this book what you're getting. If you do, you'll probably enjoy this book like I did.
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