paperback, 317 pages
Published Aug. 26, 2020 by Faolan's Pen Publishing, Faolan's Pen Publishing Inc..
Secrets have been unleashed Worlds have fallen A Mage-King has died But the war rages on!
Secrets and warships combined to turn the tide of the Siege of Legatus, delivering the capital of the Republic of Faith and Reason into the hands of their enemies. With Damien Montgomery called away to lead the entire Protectorate of Mars, fighting the war falls to Mage-Admiral Jane Alexander and Mage-Lieutenant Roslyn Chambers.
As the Martian Second Fleet moves against the remaining Republic worlds, Captain Kelly LaMonte’s covert stealth ship sweeps the worlds away from the conflict, searching for the Republic’s government-in-hiding and a chance to end the bloody conflict.
But this war began in the shadows, and the secrets hidden in those shadows threaten to turn the tide of the war once more—and bring it to the heart of the Protectorate!
I liked that this book twisted away a bit from what the series has done until now, and from what I've seen of the next books it keeps on going like that, which is nice :)
The Service of Mars should have been classified as a different series, as it is effectively a spin-off with a new main character augmented by some returning cast members. As it doesn't telegraph this, I suspect a lot of readers will be disappointed due to a lack of Damien Montgomery.
Personally, I was expecting that Damien would end up as a side-character, and was unsurprised when it became clear that scenes with him would be as rare as those from the Mage-King himself. Instead, we return to the frontlines of the War, which was put on hold in the previous novel. It's not a jarring transition since the cast is almost equivalent to Sword of Mars, with the crew of Rhapsody in Purple returning, as well as the Admiral and her flag staff in Second Fleet. Basically if you liked Sword of Mars, you shouldn't dislike this book …
The Service of Mars should have been classified as a different series, as it is effectively a spin-off with a new main character augmented by some returning cast members. As it doesn't telegraph this, I suspect a lot of readers will be disappointed due to a lack of Damien Montgomery.
Personally, I was expecting that Damien would end up as a side-character, and was unsurprised when it became clear that scenes with him would be as rare as those from the Mage-King himself. Instead, we return to the frontlines of the War, which was put on hold in the previous novel. It's not a jarring transition since the cast is almost equivalent to Sword of Mars, with the crew of Rhapsody in Purple returning, as well as the Admiral and her flag staff in Second Fleet. Basically if you liked Sword of Mars, you shouldn't dislike this book because there is one less Hand on the spy ship.
Now that I've finished defending the shift in main characters, I'll return to an actual review of the novel. The plot itself is just as thrilling as ever, with the Republic as sneaky as before and the Protectorate straddling the line between highly competent but constantly getting stabbed in the back. I think we come out just right... the Protectorate doesn't feel like it's too stupid to survive, but just barely. Suspense is ratcheted way up, as while I know Damien won't be killed, I have no assurances for the rest of the cast. I feared for the lives of quite a few of the main characters.
That said, The Service of Mars just isn't quite up to the standards of the previous books. The Republic is not enough of a threat, and worse, the story moved on to other matters in Mountain of Mars. And finally... the new characters just aren't Damien.
Recommended, but have your expectations set correctly.
