I received an eARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. It has not affected my opinions.
Genre: Sci-fi Age Range: Adult Star Rating:4 stars Series: Yes - second book of duology
*SPOILER ALERT: contains SPOILERS for SEVEN DEVILS*
Synopsis:
After an ambush leaves the Novantae resistance in tatters, the survivors scatter across the galaxy. Wanted by two great empires, the bounty on any rebel’s head is enough to make a captor filthy rich. And the seven devils? Biggest score of them all. To avoid attacks, the crew of Zelus scavenge for supplies on long-abandoned Tholosian outposts.
Not long after the remnants of the rebellion settle briefly on Fortuna, Ariadne gets a message with unimaginable consequences: the Oracle has gone rogue. In a planned coup against the Empire’s new ruler, the AI has developed a way of mass programming citizens into mindless drones. The Oracle’s demand is simple: the AI wants its daughter back at any cost.
Time for an Impossible to Infiltrate mission: high chance of death, low chance of success. The devils will have to use their unique skills, no matter the sacrifice, and pair up with old enemies. Their plan? Get to the heart of the Empire. Destroy the Oracle. Burn it all to the ground.
Synopsis taken from Goodreads. Add to your shelves here.
Review:
This duology finale is another action-packed ride through a world where technology takes away free-will (even if you’re not aware of it.) The horror-level of the Oracle/the One (the AI and its interface) controlling people is upped. A lot. The fact that it takes away control and subconsciously programs people (and then not subconsciously at all!) makes for such an insidious opponent.
There are plenty of twists and turns. Unlike the previous book, where the characters were coming together to focus on the same goal, in this one they’re sent on separate missions (or those remaining behind have different focuses.) It gives the book scope to show the full awfulness of what they’re up against, and spring a lot of reveals. The Elysium sequence probably has the most “uh-ohs” per word count!
Like the previous instalment, this one contains a mix of present day chapters and past/flashback chapters. There are fewer flashbacks in this book, the overwhelming majority of the book focused on the battles and conflicts of the book. This is because the first book revealed most of the important backstory necessary to understand the characters, so there are only a few snippets – and most of that comes from between the two books and for the characters (Kyla and Cato) who didn’t narrate the previous book.
This series is stuffed full of Greek and Roman references, which has a lot of fun hints towards the story. “Eris” was the Greek god of discord, with a Roman counterpart in “Discordia” (and both are the names for one character at different points in her life.) It’s a nice subtext layer to the book, as the world clearly isn’t a classical Greek or Roman one (I mean, it’s set in space with a very futuristic vibe.)
In all, it’s a satisfying end to the action-packed duology about fighting for yourself and others, and also one that delivers on the high-cost world with real consequences.
Read my reviews of other books by Elizabeth May and Laura Lam:
By Both:
Seven Devils (this series):
- SEVEN DEVILS (#1)
By Laura Lam:
Standalones:
Sifa Elizabeth Reads 