Author: Jamie Gray
Genre: Science Fiction, Young Adult
Published on: August 22, 2014 by Clever Crow Press
It’s Renna’s biggest job yet — convincing MYTH leadership that she’s put away her lock picks and is ready to save the galaxy, despite the dangerous implant in her brain. But with the Athena on the run, she’s working solo and facing her most ruthless enemy, the traitor Pallas, who’ll go to any lengths to destroy the MYTH organization. Including framing Renna for a devastating assault on MYTH HQ that leaves their defenses crippled and hundreds dead.
Now that MYTH believes she’s a dangerous double-agent, Renna escapes their firing squad before they put more holes in her than a pair of fishnet stockings. But the ticking time-bomb in her head is the one thing Pallas needs to complete his master plan and he’s not about to let her get away. Even worse, he’s discovered the only thing that will bring Renna to her knees — threatening Captain Nick Finn.
Out of time and options, Renna’s got one shot to take down the traitor before he annihilates everything she loves, even though winning this battle may cost her everything.
A new book finds galactic thief Renna Carrizal continuing her adventure. She's a 25-year-old human woman who got involved in a mission to save the galaxy. One of the top leaders of MYTH, a covert intelligence agency, persuaded Renna to lend her skills for a special mission. This unexpectedly reunited her with someone she believed dead, a guy now known as Captain Finn. The latter deeply distrusted Renna at first due to her reputation. They slowly ended up falling for each other. It seems opposites do attract, eh? Renna may not be one of the bad guys, but she still ran with shady people. And Captain Finn became as righteous as the likes of Steve Rogers.
Together, Renna and Finn managed to uncover a conspiracy threatening not just MYTH, but the whole galaxy. Now, Athena's Ashes begins with Renna fighting a new battle. During her confrontation with a mad scientist, he injected her with an experimental formula. The compound will integrate Renna's high-tech brain implant with her nervous system, turning her into a part-cyborg. That is, if she survives the process. Renna thought her best chance was to return to MYTH. She uses her need for medical help to get inside and unmask the identity of a traitor. All that Renna knows about him is his codename, Pallas. This guy is the book's main antagonist. His goal appears to be to create an army of cyborgs to take over the galaxy.
In the previous book, Renna came up with a hasty plan to find Pallas. She pretends that Finn and his team went rogue. Renna then volunteers to help find them. Major Larson, the commander at that MYTH outpost, is suspicious of her at first. Then Major Dallas, the man who first enlisted Renna's services, clears her for the new mission. Renna joins a new crew aboard a new spaceship, the Eris. It's not as big as Finn's ship the Athena, but it's still one of the finest ships at MYTH's disposal. Renna meets the captain, Commander Cori Jayla. She's human, and has a particularly significant role. Since anyone could be Pallas, I looked at Jayla carefully at first. I think she can be trusted, but you never know.
Renna uses the mission to secretly dig up information on Pallas. Neither Jayla nor the rest of the crew suspect anything. Renna may have to reveal her true intentions soon, though. She's used to working alone, but this time Renna may need all the help she can get. As if finding Pallas wasn't enough, Renna has more to worry about. She's developing new abilities due to the implant integrating with her nervous system. Two of these abilities were really cool. Renna also finds out about a curious side effect from one of the Eris crew members, who's a tech empath. This character also ends up becoming important to the plot. I'm not spoiling her role, but it's good that she's on Renna's side.
The story doesn't take long to reveal Pallas's true identity. It wasn't too hard to guess; there really weren't many possibles. What I didn't expect was how far ahead this person was. Pallas has been several steps ahead of Renna and her team for a long while. This antagonist is also notable in that they're the kind of villain who think they're the good guy. Pallas honestly believes that what they're doing is for the good of the galaxy. I don't think anyone who knew what Pallas has done so far would fall for this farce, though. Pallas's methods are dark and ruthless. This is not the kind of character you'd root for.
The final confrontation happens someplace that I thought was fitting and good to see in a sci-fi novel. I’ve read quite a few novels set in the far future, and most reveal this setting no longer exists. I liked seeing it here even if it was for a few scenes. Anyway, Athena’s Ashes was an enjoyable read. This series, being a duology, is a great choice when you’d like to read a space opera but don’t want to commit to a longer series. I would recommend these to fans of Brandon Sanderson’s Skyward series or the Firebird Chronicles by T.A. White.
My rating: ★★★★ 1/2
4.5 stars - A fantastic page-turner!
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