Review of INDIE Ebook Valkyrie Burning – Book 3 of the Hayden War Cycle by Evan Currie #Brainfluffbookreview #ValkyrieBurningbookreview

I have read and enjoyed the two previous books in this series, particularly the first one, On Silver Wings – see my review here. So I was pleased to see that Himself had also picked this one up…

BLURB: The war that began on Hayden’s World years ago has blossomed into a brawl across the stars, and yet that single and otherwise largely unimportant colony continues to be a central point in the conflagration. Human forces have pushed outward, now taking enemy worlds in response to the attacks on their own, but they don’t have the numbers or the power to hold what they take. Now the alien Alliance shows a sliver of it’s true power, and the war for domination of the skies over Hayden burns brightly once more…

I have cut short the rather chatty blurb, but you do get the gist – this is a continuation of the military space opera adventure featuring Sorilla Aida as a super soldier who ends up back down on the planet Hayden, once again. Inevitably as this adventure has worn on, we get a wider number of characters pulled into the story as there are also sections from the viewpoint of the aliens who are attacking Hayden. They seem rather too similar in outlook and culture to the human commanders embroiled in this war, however this is not a dealbreaker.

Currie has a fluid writing style that whips the story along with plenty of pace and action. What I did miss from this slice of the adventure was enough of Sorilla who I fell in love with during On Silver Wings and I would have liked to have seen more of her – especially after that amazing stunt she pulls with the space tether. The outstanding aspect of this book are the space battles, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Currie has set out the rules by which his technology works and gives his reader a clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the ships embroiled in his battles, which works really well. There was a shocking outcome which reminded me all over again that Currie is not afraid to kill off characters that I’ve grown to enjoy.

I found this an entertaining and readable adventure and look forward to more Hayden goodness in the future. Recommended for fans of military space opera.
8/10