In the shadow of a brutal, corrupt dictatorship, numerous characters coexist in a setting whose vastness works against it. Cole (Ripples Through Time) never gets his plot threads to cohere in what is intended—but not indicated—as the first book in a series. Instead of focusing on a few fully fleshed-out characters, the story employs archetypes in broken-up set pieces that lack depth. Darius Gray, an ex-bodyguard of the dictator, wants to overthrow the government, but he’s ruthless and kills at will. Angry young man Jayson Coley must fight for his life alongside joking, sexist Richard Dyson and trained fighter Tricia Jester; they battle Alexander Robinson, an elderly but skilled fighter, who tosses them out into the dangerous nearby woods. Government official Argus Wade tries to hide his daughter from his enemies while pawning off a superpowered child on soldier Vivian Drowel; she’s not ready to be a mother, but she’s the only one Wade can trust. The overall effect is off-putting, transforming a potentially grand epic into something that collapses under its own weight. (BookLife)