Fiction Review - Red Empire by Jonathan Maberry

 Red Empire

Jonathan Maberry

St. Martin's Griffin, 2026, 528pp.

As a science and technology guy, a historian, and a lover of good adventure and a man with a military background, I've never found a series that draws me in the way the adventures of Joe Ledger do. The deep dives into history and psychology add to its allure.

Red Empire is the most complex and ambitious novel in the Ledger series, and one of the most gripping. Still grappling with the loss of his family, Joe is surprised, to put it mildly, when his seemingly supernatural nemesis Nicodemus visits him. Nick is apparently dying but determined to see a last plan through and torment Joe and especially Mr. Church as much as possible on his way out. Joe hasn't begun to figure out all the angles when he has to raid a castle and stop a bioweapon (the kind of event also known as "Tuesday" to RTI). He finds himself holding threads to the most dangerous global threat he's ever faced and to the identity of the mysterious Church.

All the allies and enemies are here, and the main adventure is interspersed with glimpses of the activities of Nicodemus and Church, bound together by fate and choice, through the centuries. I'd guessed only about one and half steps of the complex journey that led Church from being a semi-ordinary man to the most intriguing character in thriller fiction. Maberry has referred to alchemy many times, and the long quest for the elixir of life had mixed results that echo through the centuries.  Church is older than I thought and has a much more interesting origin. There's a reason he says cryptic things like "The war is the war." In a book with many interesting threads, this is the most compelling.

Meanwhile, Barrier, the UK equivalent to the old DMS, is under a type of attack they thought impossible, isolating their London HQ and flooding it with an updated version of the Black Plague. But Nicodemus explains in a very short, pivotal chapter, he's running a much bigger game. If Church is always playing a complex game of chess, Nick is playing it on the quantum level. Barrier is only a side quest to the purpose Nicodemus is pursuing. Joe and Church have a terrible time trying to figure out the causes and objectives of his stage management. Almost anyone in these novels can die (except our favorite war dog, Ghost), and many of them do. Joe is pushed harder than ever, trying to solve mysteries, fight superior enemies, and do it before he dies of the disease ravaging his body. Along the way we have philosophical questions, moments of humanity (big bruiser Bunny's contact with a plague victim is unforgettable) and new views of old friends like Toys and Bug. We also get the cutting-edge science and medicine, cool gadgets, and lots of white-knuckle combat.

Red Empire will wrap up many storylines, explain many conundrums, and set the stage for a quite different world. Maberry has never been afraid to blow things up in this series, story-wise and literally, and it’s really impressive when a series this mature can still leave the reader with no idea what will happen next.

It's not quite perfect. It wraps up a little too fast, and it’s unclear how some bad guys evaded what should be extensive vetting to pop up in unfortunate places.  Also, as far as I can figure it out, we have a helicopter flight taking an hour in one direction and over three in the return.  But followers of this series will find this a very satisfying multi-course meal where even the garnishes are nourishing, and the desserts and wines are sumptuous. Clear your day(s) and dig in. You won't want to pause.

What is Conservation Worth?

Looking at the conservation of nature in terms of dollars and return on investment is not intuitive, but it is important. While the value of a beautiful sunset seen through clean air is infinite, the resources to ensure it exists ARE finite and subject to competing priorities. Some people argue we can't afford to protect nature as much as we want when we also have to feed the poor, provide health care to the sick, and support everything from fire departments to prisons to schools. To demonstrate that a simple "either-or" approach is misleading and inaccurate, The Nature Conservancy has worked it out. The benefits range "From helping to protect communities from floods and wildfires to improving our physical and mental health." The authors argue "Protecting, restoring and enhancing nature is an essential way to support thriving communities and economies in the United States." In other words, the money is well spent - in ways that can be quantified.

Drop a link to your elected representatives.

https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/who-we-are/how-we-work/policy/natures-dividends/

While we're at it, what is the state of nature in the USA? The government is supposed to provide an annual assessment. It will shock no one that this isn't being done. Fortunately, non-government contributors have filled the gap. Here's the draft assessment. 

A local example, Rocky Mountain National Park. Image: NPS

Fiction review - Fourth Wing

Fourth Wing

by Rebecca Yarros

Entangled: Red Tower Books, 2024, 544 pp. (paperback) 

I don't do novels in this blog very often, and when I do they are about space or cryptozoology. But Fourth Wing has so much buzz around it that I, a fan of classic Tolkien-type fantasy fiction, decided to see what the fuss was about before the streaming adaptation hits. 

In real-life countries at war, people who fail in flight training serve in other areas. In Navarre, dragon riders who don’t make a merciless cut die uselessly – if they are not shanked by competing cadets, which is legal in this best-selling romantasy.  Rebecca Yarros uses this and surprise romantic eruptions to amp up the tension, but the illogic nagged me all through Fourth Wing. It’s an unfortunate flaw in a tale with exciting action and some interesting ideas about how dragons and humans work together. Neither species’ magic is adequate to defend their homes from the encroaching gryphon-riders: effective magic requires synergy. That’s a good foundational idea for a story that mixes modernity and classic fantasy, though the execution is uneven. On the one hand, we have a compelling main character in the frail, unwilling dragon cadet Violet. A great group of friends, a nasty clique of enemies, and a varied group of dragons are developed alongside her. On the other, the medieval dragon college has a weight room, sex is vividly over-described in modern wording, and it’s unclear  why Violet’s mom, a hardass general, has forced her into a program almost sure to kill her.

It’s not a spoiler that Violet beats the odds, and it’s tense fun to watch her use brains, luck, and allies to just barely survive while more prepared cadets bite the dust. Her bonds with the dragons are equally complex, and she’s not the only person surprised at how they develop. I figured out early on that the high command has some shady hidden motives, but the reveal was more dramatic than I expected. Be prepared for anyone to be a liar – about missions, the history of the conflict, and who is allied with who. Violet has to make choices on the fly (often literally) as her worldview is wrenched apart. Yarros has some good points about control of history.

I see the appeal of the story but didn’t like it as much as I wanted to. The main romance seems based wholly on unwise sexual attraction turned up to 11, and not much of the military detail or organization makes sense (for example, everyone is combat, medical, or Scribe – where are the support forces like supply)? A military school that should foster healthy rivalry but MUST breed mutual trust and instead suborns outright murder makes no sense. The common penalty for failures and violations is death - again, insane in a country fighting for its life.  There’s enough good stuff that a lot of readers will continue the series, but I’m afraid not me.