FOUNDRA

In the far future, a rookie recruit to the armed forces of an intergalactic empire tastes his first military action (and maybe his last) during the rampage of an ancient, hostile entity.

The story opens generations after war has shaken the “Twin Galaxies” and spawned the benevolent Huzien Empire. The humanlike Huzien are magnanimous to vanquished opponents (including Earth), absorbing them as allies and even intermarrying with the conquered populace. Lucky individuals in the highest echelons have attained literal immortality (though, with effort, they can be killed), and leaders such as Lanrete must bear the pain of watching loved ones age and perish over centuries of maintaining order. Behind the immortality is the concept of the “Enesmic,” powerful energy existing on another plane. (“You can think of it as a new elemental force, similar to gravity, which holds our galaxy together.”) The most skilled “Cihphist,” or master manipulator of the Enesmic, is, surprisingly, a human, Lord Soahc. Lanrete brings a fresh recruit into the Huzien military’s “Founders’ Elites,” a young technology prodigy named Neven. Neven learns quickly just how much danger is involved in this peacekeeping fellowship after a mining crew disturbs a tomb-prison from eons ago, releasing Sagren, an 8-foot-tall “Eshgren,” one of a secretive race from the Enesmic realm. Sagren summons Enesmic energy to create ghoulish creatures and assemble alien cronies and thought-controlled warships to attack the Huzien. The material is action-rich and fortunately not as comic-book chaotic as it sounds. Not all is gloom; Huzien females are super-sexy, and steamy encounters abound. When the real battles begin, though, recreational mating recedes to make way for an impressively epic pageant of devastation, horror, loss and outsized heroics. Glossaries, printed maps, diagrams, and character portraits (resembling Japanese anime characters) appear throughout. The SF combat jargon also deploys amply: “Quickly holstering her WMAs—Wopan master arms—Phoenix pulls out Unquenchable, the Nenifin blade’s power core emitting a soft hum at her expert touch.”

Epic action, tragedy, and romance amidst superhero-types fighting cosmic evil.