In PRICE OF VENGEANCE, humanity has spread to distant worlds. Etrusci, one such planet, is beset by an inexplicable, half-century-long infestation of “a huge, colony insect.” After the chitin began attacking cities and decimating the population, Neo-Etruscans abandoned all the other cities and New Olympia became their last bastion. One fallout victim is Liam. Orphaned when his homesteader parents were killed by chitin, he was raised by a military family with an adoptive brother, Randolph.

In the present day, Liam is a soldier in New Olympia. Long derided for his immigrant status and smaller, un-Neo Etruscan frame, he’s labeled by some as a “dangerous foreigner” and “misborn.” When Liam’s squad is killed and he’s presumed dead in an outpost attack, he begins a long journey back to the city he’s sworn to protect and reckons with his tragic past. But there’s more to the chitin than he knows: specifically, an evil mastermind bent on conquering Etrusci, as well as traitors in New Olympia who will do anything to get what they want.

Author Kurt D. Springs sets up an intriguing premise in the peoples of New Olympia, the Galactic Alliance, and the Finnian (Liam’s people and the result of a long-past “supersoldier” genetic experiment). Not to mention the obvious, thought-provoking odes to Earth’s ancient civilizations. However, the full breadth of that diverse, physiologically enhanced population is left woefully unexplored.

PRICE OF VENGEANCE is a typical sci-fi war novel with its moves and countermoves playing out under the eye of a military force. In this case, one that is collaborating with Etrusci’s religious leaders, an all-female order of psychically gifted priestesses whose Creator-centered faith had “adopted elements of the ancient religions of Terra.” Myriad combat scenarios, drawn-out fight scenes, and necessary but lackluster scouting missions unfold with inadequate pacing, mise-en-scène, and temporal markers. In these stretches, the plot drifts.

Across the board, dialogue and inner speech are often unnatural and flat with little to no demonstration of character voice. The antagonist’s villainous soliloquies come off as priggish and trite. When adding Liam’s and (to a lesser extent) Randolph’s unsubstantiated priestess love interests, the character arcs—such as they are—grate.

The Dreamscape Warriors universe holds promise and sets itself up for more. This is especially true in its world-building around characters like the telepathic bear lizards, previously assumed dangerous and unintelligent, and the Gothowans, a species of scaled dreamwalkers who live for centuries. Expansion on those elements unfortunately doesn’t occur in the novel, but it’s those unique details that make the PRICE OF VENGEANCE sometimes absorbing.

Kurt D. Springs’s PRICE OF VENGEANCE boasts military sci-fi elements galore and thought-provoking details that will sate devoted genre readers.

~R. Poore for IndieReader