An awesome space opera and worthy addition to one of the better sci-fi series around. Progeny of Vale is exciting, smart, and largely avoids the cringe-worthy cliches of prevalent in the subgenre these days.
At the end of the last novel, Cassius Vale initiated his plan to take down the Tribune, a theocratic power that dominated the ring of Solar System colonies, referred to as the Circuit. He saves his former daughter in-law Sage Volus, a dangerous operative of the Tribune, known as an executor. She is a faithful servant but with her Tribune implant removed, she is feeling pain and complex emotions for the first time. Her faith is shaken after events in the last novel. Cassius is a traitor and heretic, but also an old friend and former father in-law. The death of Cassius's son is the event that put this whole series in motion.
Talon, the former Clan henchmen who was betrayed by Sage (despite her feelings for him), survives Cassius's attack on his prison ship and tries to return home to his daughter Elisha. He also wants revenge on Sage for murdering his friends and getting him thrown into the prison ship to die.
Progeny of Vale flows better than the first novel in the series. I am not sure exactly why but I got through the first half of this novel easily and got a very clear understanding of the conflict. The first novel, by virtue of being the first, had to spend more time in exposition while this book let the story and characters develop much more organically.
The diversity in characters is another positive. Cassius Vale is a former executor (special operations soldier for Tribune), war hero turned Tribune politician. When he is betrayed, he uses his knowledge and tactical skills to orchestrate an interplanetary coup. Yet, he is no freedom fighter or hero. He comes off as a sociopath with very specific goals, willing to do anything to achieve them. There is definitely a soft spot for Sage, and his robot creation ADIM but that is about it.
Sage Volus was largely a helpless servant in the first novel, exploited by the Tribune in every way. They use an implant to strongly influence her actions and control her thoughts. With the implant removed, you see her begin to think independently for the first time, although she is still unwilling to betray the Tribune. Despite watching her love interest be dragged to prison and executing innocent people, she cannot support the heresy of Cassius. As the novel progresses she ceases to be the helpless, exploited servant.
The Earth Spirit, or the religious fervor built around the belief in a return to our dead home world, is the basis for the Tribune's power. Sage believes in all the tenets of the faith, and the supernatural spirit that drives all events in the Solar System. The faith came off a little underdeveloped at times, especially in what was supposed to be the far future when we are technologically more advanced.
Talon and the robot ADIM were not as compelling. Talon was a little too good to be true, pretending to be an anti-hero like Wolverine or Han Solo. He has a daughter by a drugged-out hooker, is a former mob enforcer, and now is just an all-round great guy somehow. ADIM was interesting at times but is otherwise a conventional "robot with feelings" subplot.
The central conflict is not really a battle of good versus evil, Jedi versus Sith, or freedom versus tyranny. Cassius Vale is no freedom fighter. He wants revenge; so does Talon. Sage is lost unsure of which side to choose. It is sort of like a civil war between an oppressive theocratic government and an aspiring military dictatorship. Even the innocent civilians are more or less represented by crime families known as the Clans. The Circuit is an imperfect realm led by imperfect people, with the rest of the people just trying to get by or survive.
The series, therefore, relies on the strength of the main characters to generate the drama, not ideas or morality.
Another strong positive is the balance of hard technology with story. Rhett Bruno avoids infodumping and reduces the technical jargon and backstory to its rightful place, staying on task as a storyteller. At the center of all technology is a new resource called gravitum, mined from the Earth's core and used for ship propulsion, artificial gravity and other things. It's mining from the core is also believed to be the reason the Earth became barren, which isn't a particularly unique element. Science fiction seems pretty convinced we are going to kill this planet.
Generally, the dialogue was good but did get a little cheesy a couple times. I also didn't really understand the use of ancient Roman titles and names: Cassius, Volus, Tarsis, and Tribunes. Humanity seems to have taken a huge step backward culturally in the future. The inclusion of hereditary Clans was an even bigger leap backward in societal organization. Tough times after the death of Earth might've pressed human society into a Dark Age, abandoning all the progress of the age of the enlightenment, reason and rationality for more ancient structures such as hereditary rule and mysticism.
Overall, Progeny of Vale is one of the strongest new space operas out there and worth picking up. A third novel in the series is on the way, which I am eager to start!
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