Do you want to read a book set on a far off planet, belonging to a species called the Necurians? These human-like powerful beings, some of whom think they are gods, will entangle you in an epic affair like none other. Blades of the Fallen is their tale, and I am excited to share this amazing indie SciFi book with you! Take a look at the synopsis first:
The murder changes everything. The Vanguard is supposed to protect against such violence, not fall victim to it. But even the so-called ‘Fallen’ wouldn’t kill without reason. Would they?
The murderer changes everything. The Fallen keep to themselves, living comfortably separate to other Necurians. But he is dragging them towards war. Why is he so convinced that it’s the Vanguard’s fault?
The inquisitors have changed. As teenagers, they witnessed the murder in front of their eyes. Five years later, they wield the authority of the Vanguard, and they will hunt down the killer. The motives must be uncovered. Because even the Fallen would not kill without reason.
Content Notes: Descriptions of Sword-based violence.
Themes for Thought
Blades of the Fallen begins with two young Necurians teenagers, Solan and Railen. They are partners at the academy and dream of becoming Vanguard inquisitors who have honed their psionic powers and are not just smart but also extremely powerful amongst their species. In the first 10% of the book, I learned about the academy, the society and the Necurian philosophy of living. The teenage boys were also warned about the Fallen Necurians, members of their species who do not believe in the same values.
Each had their own reasons, but the thing that connected any Fallen was a belief that they were superior to all other species. That they were akin to gods. And that they should use their power to align all species with their version of the Necurian way.
Blades of the Fallen
Solan and Railen are sent on mission to to talk to a disgruntled student about the academy. Meeting Suhn, talking to him about their society and confronting some bigger questions about their species gets the two thinking. With Suhn, they are sent on another mission to a tourist destination planet to find missing kids. Little do they know that this is leading up to a fateful encounter with a Fallen Necurian, and subsequently, a Vanguard’s murder.
The murder, indeed, changes everything, sending Suhn into a mad search for the Fallen, uncovering long buried secrets and exposing heads in the sand.
On an Existence of Shame
Our ancestors tried to wipe out life in half the galaxy, Taelan. Perhaps there is too mammoth a concept to fully comprehend, but they slaughtered countless people. They extinguished stars, crushed planets into dust, drove civilizations to extinction. Thousands of years later, the galaxy is still affected by that butchery in ways we cannot know.
Blades of the Fallen
The Necurians were not always like they are today. They used to be a war-loving species. They had successfully tapped into the powers of the mind, learning telekinesis and other psionic powers. Thousands of years ago, they had wrecked havoc in the universe, but today, they live for a message of peace, staying out of wars and only getting involved if they have to.
But as heinous experiments are revealed through the plot and the societal structure of the Necurian Vanguards comes into question, our protagonists start to question what it means to truly embody their values.
On Perspectives
You know me and learning, so you can guess how much this quote meant to me. It speaks so well to the choices we make as individuals, the potential we have and the crux of why we don’t do the things we don’t. When Solan and Rialen are young, most of their education has been compulsory but they have made it their goal to be Vanguard inquisitors. They are bothered to learn about it and hoping to convince a younger Suhn to commit to the path of being a Vanguard. I continuously learned thorough this book, and this journey with Solan and Rialen, five years after the murder was quite an escapade.
Solan and Rialen are opposites in many ways. One is thoughtful, the other is impulsive. They don’t necessarily see eye to eye on the Necurian values, but they have grown up together and get along well. The story switches between their point of views (POVs) and other characters, but these two are the focus for the most part. Once they are trained inquisitors and are contemplating the morality of taking someone else’s life, it is good to see their struggles with the concept and how they address it as individuals. They support each other like brothers.
There are a number of other perspectives in this story. The Fallen from the synopsis offers his side of the story. Other Vanguards and their missions are explored too. There are space pirates involved as well! The plot is complex at times, especially when it comes to understanding the events of the past. Multiple POVs can ruin that but in this case, I continued to keep engaged.
World Building in Blades of the Fallen
This deserves a whole section for itself! The Necurian society through the means of Blades of the Fallen really fascinated me. I can’t think of a book that I have read in the last few years where humans didn’t play the main role. In this book, humans only made occasional appearances. They had mastered the technology to travel to other planets and vacation there while back home. Timeline wise, they are getting close to completely exhausting all of Earth’s resources.
The universe is a huge place and I liked that the book gave subtle hints at this vastness. Chapters were labeled based on the planet name and which territory the planet was located at. But not having reached all the planets in the universe, does not mean that humans do not have influence. The Necurians use Japanese Katanas as their weapons and follow traditions of a personalized Katana for each warrior after they pass the exam to be a Vanguard. The acceptance that the Katana came from Japan and how well it s infused in the fight training of the Vanguards was a details I enjoyed a lot.
The world was very well done in my mind and the changes in the action settings did not deter me from staying engaged. I could keep up! 🙂
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I was sort of in the middle of a reading slump where all my fiction reads were turning out to be 2 or 3 stars. This book got me through. This world, this species of the Necurians kept me wanting to read on.
** Blades of the Fallen is available in stores! If you get a copy, let me know your thoughts! **
Amazon Print
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This book is a part of thee Nexus series by Ross Harrison. These are standalone books, though characters cross paths in the different storylines. I will be picking up the next book Ghosts of the Fallen, in the coming months. Stay tuned for that and check the Book Review Index for my other Scifi reviews!
Many thanks to the author for providing me a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Cover image from Unsplash
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