Published: March 2012
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Pages: 370
Copy: Library
Summary: Goodreads
Obsessed with MUSE, the clandestine project that created the AI in his brain, mercenary chief Durango draws the ire of the government when he steals part of the secret project data and hightails it with his lieutenant, Vienne, to an ancient monastery. There, he meets the monks who raised Vienne from an orphan and also encounters soldiers working for his old nemesis, the crime lord Mr. Lyme. Lyme controls the territory surrounding the monastery, as well as the datacenters housing the rest of MUSE.
Undeterred, Durango and Vienne pull off an ill-advised raid on Lyme’s complex. During the ensuing battle, however, Vienne is captured, and Durango is beaten and left for dead. Now, wounded and shaken, Durango must overcome bounty hunters, treacherous terrain, a full scale civil war, and a warrior monk with an eye for vengeance (not to mention his own guilt, self-doubt, and broken arm) to find Vienne and free her from Archibald, a brain-washing pyromaniac with a Napoleon complex who wants to rule Mars--and kill Durango in the process.
Back in February of last year I reviewed Black Hole Sun, the prequel to Invisible Sun. It was one of my 'loved it But...' reviews. I did enjoy it enough to jump at the chance to read Invisible Sun when I saw it at the library, and I am so glad I did. It was great - no buts this time around. For me this definitely did NOT fall into the second in series slump. I was sucked in from the first line -
'Vienne points the gun, squeezes the trigger, and fires a live round square into my chest.'
- and loved every minute until the very last page.There is high octane action, grin inducing humour, heart stopping tension and a wonderfully kick-ass hero and heroine.
Mr MacInnis Gill does not hold back on the violence, but it never seemed gratuitous. Durango and Vienne are trying to find out more about MUSE and nothing seems to be going their way. This Mars is gritty, inhospitable and extremely dangerous and just about anything can, and does, happen. There is more filling in of backstory this time around - which I thought was missing in Black Hole Sun - and we find out a little more about the main characters. I'm thinking Durango is a little more than 17, but I'm still not sure. Must do some investigation here - the Mars years don't seem to correspond to ours and there is talk of him being 'year nine'! Vienne is just so tough and hard-core, but we get a glimpse of a slightly softer side - for about 2 minutes.
I get the impression that Black Hole Sun was started as a stand-alone, but Invisible Sun - called the 'companion' to BHS - ends very definitely set up for a sequel and I for one cannot wait for the continuing adventures Shadow on the Sun (Spring 2013). You don't need to have read the first to read this one, but it doesn't hurt. I'm sure you'll enjoy them both.
Check out the webpage I just love the new artwork.
No comments:
Post a Comment