A Pale Light In the Black

A Pale Light in the Black by K.B. Wagers

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I read and enjoyed all 5 books so far in K. B. Wager's Indranan War series, so while I was waiting for her to finish Book 6 I decided to buy this book, the first in the NeoG series. NeoG stands for Near-Earth Orbital Guard, which is the space equivalent of the modern US Coast Guard. "Near-Earth" is a bit of a misnomer as much of the action takes place out by Jupiter.

The book is set several hundred years in our future, after a mid-21st century event called "The Collapse." Earth is rebounding and unified, but many conflicts remain. LT Maxine ("Max") Carmichael, a member of a very famous and rich family, joins the NeoG instead of the (space) Navy. She's assigned to Zuma's Ghost, an interceptor with a tiny crew of a dozen or less. There she finds herself in intrigue while the crew prepares for the annual Boarding Games, a multi-service special forces competition.

What I really like about this book in particular and Wager's work in general is that we have very complex human beings as characters. They have friendships, loves, hates and everything in between. They also get hurt, make mistakes and generally are real people. While all of this is going on, there's a very gripping plot happening. It's all done quite entertainingly and seamlessly. I highly enjoyed this book and can't wait for the next.



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