Two very different sequels to science fiction hits—their predecessors “Red Rising” and “Shovel Ready” are already being shaped into movies—that largely continue their first installments quality (or lack thereof).
Near Enemy by Adam Sternberg…The best thing I can say about this book (a continuation of the journeys of futuristic hitman Spademan in a dismal near-future where people spend all day in virtual reality) is that you can probably read it in about two hours. Sternberg’s love of noir terseness means short sentences unencumbered by chunky exposition paragraphs and that’s for the best since the plot wouldn’t be worth much effort to follow it. I wasn’t a huge fan of the first installment, but if you liked that one, then this one is roughly equal to it. [This is a series you probably can wait for the movie of, scheduled to star Denzel Washington.] Grade: C+
Golden Son by Pierce Brown…It carries on “Red Rising”‘s excellence but isn’t afraid to take a lot of risks. Some of those risks really work: the new character of Ragnar; the fleshing-out of Darrow’s chief enemy the ArchGovernor of Mars so that he’s no longer the most despicable person in the room; the grand space battles that give you the thrill and excitement of watching “Star Wars” for the first time, but with more realism and detail; and some of them weren’t my favorite: the last fifty pages or so. The worst thing I can say about this book is that it ends on a massive cliffhanger (guaranteed to make you throw the book across the room) that makes it very hard to wait until next year when the final trilogy installment comes out, but that only shows just how much the saga of Darrow has pulled me in. More than a dozen times, I found myself wanting to skip ahead to see what happens, but I’m glad I didn’t because I’d be missing the richness of the family feuds, the spaceship armadas colliding into each other, the kinetic sword duels, and the insanely rousing battle for a Mars city that seems destined to become a classic. I can’t say it enough: don’t miss out on this book series. Grade: A