What They Are Saying About
The Tempest
The war between Azania and New Persia erupts as a biochemical seed storm blows out of the Northern Waste. Basir Turani gains rank as a commander of Persian forces, but the challenges he faces are greater than ever. Suri Pahlavi is offered an opportunity to serve her country. Nasrin Avesta comes into her own but what sacrifice is she willing to make? Farad Hashemi fights the enemy in the air and under the waves. The storm of war breaks across the world of New Persia.
Lynch's painstaking character work in New Persia: Before the Storm pays off in this riveting, intense sequel. As an enormous natural firestorm threatens them all, its immense scale is humanized through a rescue operation. Triumphs and tragedies abound.
Lynch's expertise is in military tactics, and he clearly depicts the perspective of officers who still have to lead combat. Each chapter is short and packs a punch. The cultural politics from the first book are still factors here, but are more in the background as the story focuses on what it means to engage in total warfare. Lynch's characters are all capable but far from perfect or invincible, and that lends tension to every encounter.
Lynch is also interested in the ways in which technology affect war, as tactics can only go so far against superior weapons and vehicles. With the technology on this world at a 1950s level, the introduction of helicopters proves to be a devastating move. There are times when the battle scenes are too dense, especially since so much of the book involves combat, but Lynch always brings the focus back to people, giving the book a resonant payoff. This is not a good starting place for newcomers, but series fans will be thoroughly satisfied by this installment and breathlessly await the next.
-Book Life Reviews
The author follows up his New Persia: Before the Storm (2018) with a military-SF actioner whose technology is more retro-20th century than futuristic. That's because the setting is a twin-sunned planet, circa the 34th century, settled by refugees from Earth, deep-space colonists trying to recover from a harsh beginning and setbacks costing generations of progress. Territorial conflict now simmers continuously. Meanwhile, a background threat looms against both warring nations: a "seed storm," a periodic calamity occurring in this alien ecosystem, when ubiquitous native plant life starts a chemical cycle of fiery holocausts.
Lynch (Endemic, 2018, etc.) only drops hints about the backstory of his compelling, imaginary world, but he does mention that-in its millennia or so of human habitation-the spacefaring civilization here rose and fell to ruin more than once, climbing its way upward repeatedly from dark ages featuring seed storms and entrenched belligerence. On that note, the only Azanian character of consequence, a tank commander named Aran, turns out to be an ethical soldier (and a Christian disciple, at least in part), initiating a cease-fire to evacuate vulnerable civilians. The theme of female courage and resourcefulness under fire does come through loud and clear.
Hard-combat Sci-Fi that delivers thoughtful alternative history speculation rather than ray gun stuff.
-KirkusReviews
