The Dark Crusade

Loved the first book and looked forward to the next one. Got the next one and found out it was turning into a series and groaned "oh no - they never live up to their starting volume!" Got the third and darn it - each book has kept me yearning for the next - not sure where it's going but still keeps up the suspense from the first book and I'm looking forward to finding out where everythings leading :)

These 4 books - The Dark Wing, The Dark Path, The Dark Ascent, and The Dark Crusade - exhibit many of the standard space opera devices. There are the winged and in many ways admirable aliens, the remorseless insectoid alien adversaries, the hidden powers attempting to manipulate human fates, and the sprawling and somewhat corrupt space empire. There is also more than a touch of mysticism with events mirroring myths of the winged alien species. Nor can it be said that Hunt has done anything particularly novel with these devices. Nonetheless, Hunt is a more than competent practictioner and these books are a decent read. Hunt does quite well with reasonably tight plotting and characterization. His integration of the mythic elements is better than average. These books are better, for example, than David Weber's very popular books.

I always thought that this series had been a trilogy. I read the orginal book where the zor were the enemy, and I thought that it was an interesting read. The second book had also been pretty good, and when I saw this book I thought that it was the third in the trilogy. I was thus surprised to find out that not only is it the 4th in the series, it is also itself a cliffhanger. The story itself is well done, although it did not begin to grab me until the middle of the book where I could see the roots of facism taking hold in the Empire via the Blazing Star. I admit to skipping over a lot of the mystical stuff and focusing on the actions, but the plot and characters are solid. I would be interested in seeing where the story will go next.

This is the fourth book in what seems to be a never ending series. At first glance it seems to be a science fiction book, and it is mainly a classic space opera, but there are strong elements of fantasy. The three main races in these books have mental powers, and there are many themes of a mystical nature. The first book in the series, "The Dark Wing," set the stage for this series. Humans were fighting with the zor, an alien bird like race which is heavy into a mystical view of the universe. The second book "The Dark Path" takes place years later when the humans and the zor have learned to get along, but are threaten by a new alien race. Some humans are dragged into the zor's approach to life. Jackie Kearny ends up on a quest for a special zor sword, the gyaryu. In the third book "The Dark Ascent" the new alien race, the vuhl, have attack the humans and zor, and initially have great success. The humans and zor learn some ways to protect themselves. A large part of "The Dark Crusade" focuses on a small group of humans and zor, the Blazing Stars, who have learned a very effective way to fight with the vuhl. Their ultimate goal is to completely destroy the vuhl. The war changes from the humans and zor protecting themselves. It isn't even about conquest; the Blazing Stars want to exterminate the vuhl. There are clear hints of another form of life which is trying to manipulate the humans, zor, and even the vuhl. We don't know who they are or what limitations they have. Some how this other group, life forms, or beings are tied to six colors of a rainbow. They do seem to be trying to get the humans and zor to destroy the vuhl. One thing I've wondered is are they playing a complicated chess game with humans, zor and vuhl as pieces; that the colors have picked sides and are trying to defeat the other colors. I wish the author gave us a bit more information about them. The story is complex and rich in detail. There are many characters and the story bounces from viewpoint to viewpoint. The story moves along very well and never drags. It isn't clear that this series will have a conclusion any time soon. More and more characters, races, and threads get added with each book. The story is well written. If you like space opera and don't mind a story that leaves you hanging, then check out "Dark Crusade."