And the Mighty Will Fall
A NeoG novel by K. B. Wagers

Reviewed by Galen Strickland
Posted November 29, 2024

Click this link for my take on the first three NeoG Novels.

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I am sure "found family" stories have been around a long time, but they feature in some of the best current SF and Fantasy tales. The need for found family can be for different reasons; death of biological family, or the disintegration of biological family due to conflict on ideological or cultural grounds. Anyone in the LGBTQIA+ community shunned by family is but one current example. Within families of either type, or within a cultural or political group, differences of opinion can arise. Examples of all sorts occur in the NeoG (Near Earth Orbital Guard) stories. Maxine Carmichael had long been estranged from her family, choosing to join NeoG rather than the CHNN (Coalition of Human Nations Navy) as many of her family had done, and she had also rejected working within one of her family's vast corporate holdings. Luckily, through the first three novels, Max had resolved issues with several of her siblings, but as far as I gathered, not her parents yet. Max had found a family, and a home, aboard the NeoG Interceptor Zuma's Ghost. Even though she is asexual she had formed a bond of love and respect with Commander Nika Vagin. She now considers Senior Chief Petty Officer Altandai "Jenks" Khan her sister, and the feeling is mutual, since Jenks is both her best friend, and Nika's adopted sister. The crew of Zuma's Ghost has changed over the years (10 years since the first book), with Commander Maxine Carmichael now its superior officer, with a new Lt. Commander under her, while Nika is back working with CHN intelligence groups.

While CHN is comprised of more than just Earth nations, most of the others, including the Trappist system, are esentially still colonies, with but a few representatives in the CHN Senate. Mars is the outlier, having rejected many compromises, wanting full independence rather than a limited voice under CHN. The troubles had been brewing for a long time. Free Mars was considered a terrorist organization by many, and because conflict, compromise, and rejection had been the result, FM had splintered into various factions. Some wanted more direct, military action, while others were willing to accept compromise. Some Martians didn't care, they just wanted to get on with their daily lives. Yet some of the dissenting groups included people who had lost family or friends in past conflicts, going back decades. One of them had been in hiding a long time, plotting and scheming his revenge. He and Max finally meet when she is assigned the task of supervising a changeover from NeoG to Mars Civilian Control of MOS, the Mars Orbital Station, which handled all shipping and space activity to and from the red planet. Some people's grudges can't be satisfied by such meager conciliation, especially when they considered both CHN and Free Mars equally guilty for the process having taken so long, and for the many lives that had been lost. Only destruction of the status quo will do, even if it means their death as well. Almost immediately after Max came aboard MOS, hostile forces attacked, hijacking the station and killing both military personnel and civilians. Max's Lt. Commander, Saqib Vahid, is taken prisoner, but Max is able to hide, and the long siege begins.

There is as much action in this book as in the previous three combined, but also great character moments. However, I am still wondering who or what is referenced by the book's title. I'm sure the CHN felt they were the mightiest of human endeavours, both on Earth and beyond. NeoG is mighty due to its fierce and loyal forces, and its commitment to justice, but I am sure it is not them. Free Mars is one of the eventual winners, even though it wasn't as much as they had dreamed of, so probably not them. Maybe the hijackers? They felt theirs was a noble cause, and they did eventually fall. Another appropriate title would have been "Orphans of War," since that is mentioned several times by the hijackers. They considered themselves orphans since family had died from CHN attacks, or from Free Mars negligence. They blamed everyone, and were willing to kill innocents to exact their revenge, for after all, "No one is innocent!" I hope the title does not refer to Max. She did everything possible to protect the innocent aboard MOS, although in doing so she had to kill more of the enemy than she had ever had to do before. The book began with a news flash that Max was the most recent winner of the final Cage Match at the Boarding Games, having defeated her "sister" Jenks, a long-time champion. In that sense, she was mighty, but now she may be broken by the trauma of what she was forced to do. She is once again a hero, except in her own mind. There better be another book in this sequence, especially if Max is the subject of the title. I need to see her rise again, reverse that fall. The fall will be worse if she does not let Nika and Jenks back in her life. Only time, and Wagers, can tell. This book, and the previous three, are highly recommended.

 

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