THE AUTHORS & OTHER CONTRIBUTORS
Mercedes Lackey was one of the first writers to have an online newsgroup devoted to her writing. She has written over 100 books in the fantasy/science fiction genre and has always been one of my favorite authors.
Steve Libby is from Cincinnati, Ohio, and has worked in graphic and web design, in addition to playing guitar in a seven piece funk band called The Golden Greats. He also plays in the rock band The Scree and used to run his own independent record label.
Cody Martin is a self-described anarchist and avid gamer. He is originally from Scottsdale, Arizona, and is currently living in Florida.
Dennis Lee was born in Seoul, Korea, but has lived in Canada since before he was two years old. He has a Pharmacology degree from the University of Toronto and has a career in cell biology research. On the side, he enjoys writing about fantastical people and making them fight each other.
Lackey’s husband, Larry Dixon, edited the book and illustrated the cover.
The story was created by Mercedes Lackey & Steve Libbey.
THE PLOT
Invasion is the first book in The Secret World Chronicle series. It is based on the MMORPG City of Heroes, and started out as a series of podcasts. The story is about the metahumans, people with special powers whose appearances vary from perfectly normal to quite abnormal. The metahumans work alongside governments as super powered officers and crime fighters. Suddenly, all of the world’s governments (excluding Germany) are attacked by a force of soldiers in giant mecha robot suits that have the Third Reich’s swastika painted on them.
The story is told from the points of view of numerous characters: Bella Dawn, an EMT with touch healing power; Victoria Nagy, a romance writer and techno-mage with agoraphobia; Ramona Ferrari, a human detective; Natalya Shostakovich, a dedicated metahuman communist dubbed Red Saviour; John Murdock, a metahuman drifter on the run from authority; Red Djinni, a shapeshifter with the ability to reform his skin and who is an infamous criminal. A few chapters are also told from the view of Seraphym, a mysterious agent of the Infinite who can read all of the possible futures as well as all of the hopes and dreams of anybody she looks at.
THE WRITING
The first couple chapters of this book did not draw me in right away, but that is not unusual for me and my extremely short attention span. There is a lot of information to process as all of the characters are introduced, but for the most part it is easy to tell which character’s point of view you are reading. Rather than giving a straight-up biography of the characters, most of their traits are revealed by the ways in which they deal with the invasion and what they were doing when it happened.
In Part 1 (called The Way the World Ends), each chapter is written by all four authors. In Part 2 (The Hunt), most of the chapters are written by one or two of the authors. This made it possible for me to deduce which authors are primarily responsible for the writing of each of the main characters.
Cody Martin (along with Mercedes Lackey) is the primary writer for John Murdock and for the Seraphym. Murdock is hopeless, with no dreams or aspirations for himself, but genuinely cares for humanity and has a good heart. This is effectively illustrated in his actions and thought processes. His part of the story mostly takes place on the streets, making him one of the more relatable characters. In contrast, the Seraphym is what most people would call an “angel” sent down to aid in steering humanity toward a course that does not lead to their destruction. She is written with the perfect amount of ambiguity, clearing up some of the mystery while leaving some questions unanswered.
Dennis Lee (and Mercedes Lackey) writes for the Red Djinni. These sections of the story are riddled with stand-up style humor, and I actually laughed out loud a few times while reading. These two also write the point of view of Vickie who is the opposite of Red Djinni. They do a great job depicting Vickie’s neurotic personality, with her agoraphobia and paranoia that results from a horrific experience in her past that leaves her partially disfigured.
Steve Libbey (and, you guessed it, Mercedes Lackey) is responsible for Natalya (Red Savior). The portions told from her perspective are the most unique, due to her communist mindset and her broken English. I found her issues with the English language one of the funniest parts of the book, starting in the beginning when she is asked how her English is and she replies, “Is beink flawless with no accents.” These authors are also the main writers of Ramona, who is the only human and therefore the most realistic. Her passages are characterized with verbal and internal sarcasm, as well as a more human approach to the situations she encounters.
Mercedes Lackey (at times with Cody Martin) took care of Bella, the metahuman mind healer. The writing of Bella’s story definitely has traces of some of Lackey’s other character personalities, not just in her characteristics but in the specific words and syntax of the storytelling.
THE BOTTOM LINE
This book is fast-paced and not as unbelievably unrealistic as some science fiction. The medley of the four authors’ writing styles keeps the flow of the story interesting with the character’s contrasting and complementary personalities. It didn’t take me long to get into the story, and once I was drawn in I was fully engaged until the end. I’ll definitely be reading the next installment of the series as soon as it is released.
Book Review: Invasion by Mercedes Lackey, Steve Libbey, Cody Martin and Dennis Lee
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