The Darkside War

January 26, 2015
The pseudonymous Brown opens an SF series with a novel that canât quite figure out where itâs going or what itâll do when it gets there. A group of aliens occupying Earth, called the Accordance, is battling another group known as the Conglomeration. Devlin Hart, the son of human protestors, is told he must serve in the Accordance army if he wants to save his parents from execution. When he stands up to an alien whoâs about to kill a human child, he is sent to train for his fate as cannon fodder. Devlinâs training and first encounter with alien enemies show him to be more fallible than the average action hero; his choices are split evenly between intelligent and disastrous. The various aliens arenât distinguished particularly well, usually only described by comparison to some terrestrial animal. Devlinâs adventures have the feel of a young adult coming-of-age novel, but some of the language and situations feel too strong for that audience. Perhaps future installments will find more of a groove.