Format: Kindle, 405 pages
Release Date: September 22, 2023
Publisher: Steve McHugh
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Genre: Science Fiction
Civil War tore across the Union Empire, leaving countless dead in its wake. It was a war started by one man, once beloved by the Empire. His betrayal still lingers in the memory of those who lived through it.
Decades later, his son, Felix Drake, is a Warden tasked with both protecting the ruling members of the Union Empire and its Council, and bringing those powerful and influential people to justice should they break the law.
Drake protects the very Empire his father sought to destroy.
When
two members of a Council family are murdered, Drake and his team
investigate, only to uncover corruption, resentment, and yet more death.
As
the case deepens, Drake is forced back into a life he’d left long ago,
bringing with it the same disdain and anger from the very people he’s
sworn to protect.
However, he’s no longer a helpless child, and the
people who try to intimidate him now are about to discover that Drake is
so very much his father’s son.
Steven McHugh's Atoned is the first installment in the authors The Wardens series. This story mixes Science Fiction with Urban Fantasy. Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far, far into the future, Civil War tore across the Union Empire, leaving countless dead in its wake. It was a war started by one man, once beloved by the Empire. His betrayal to both the Union and the Rebellion faction, still lingers in the memory of those who lived through it. His son, Felix Drake, has tried to avoid having to live with the past, but there are those eager to blame Felix for his father's misdeeds.
Felix is now a Warden on the Planet of Atharoth, Capitol of the Union Empire. The Wardens job is to investigate and deal with crimes committed by and against the members of the ruling family. Felix helped put a man named Sabas Gossard in prison for the death of a Warden, but now Sabas is out, and he has some powerful friends that are looking for revenge. Felix is also considered to be a very powerful sage who has access to the Aether. Unlike others who are required to have braces on their arms, Felix doesn't need the bracer.
When two members of the Council family are murdered, Drake and his team investigate, only to uncover corruption, resentment, and yet more death, as well as the fact that the that were murdered were former friends of his who he hasn't seen in 27 years. Felix and his team (Satari, Dai-ix, Rose, and Tuck) are given the job by Celine Moro a former blackcoat investigator now Warden boss on the job. As the case deepens, Drake is forced back into a life he’d left long ago, bringing with it the same disdain and anger from the very people he’s sworn to protect.
However, he’s no longer a helpless child, and the people who try to intimidate him now are about to discover that Drake is so very much his father’s son. On the flip side is Jaysa Benezla, Captain of Tracked Retribution. Jaysa and her crew are Trackers who get paid to hunt people down for money. After her contract is cancelled due to the tracked being killed, Jaysa is contacted by Ren Summers, sage, and daughter of the King of Stars and possible heir to the crown. Ren hires Jaysa to uncover the threat to her family after they come under attack and barely survive.
The reader also introduces you to one of the main villains named Atasia Sark who is yet another Sage capable of using the Aether to render people helpless. Apparently, Sark has some very high access to the Empire's military grade technology, but for the life of me, I am unable to tell you why she is so angry with both Felix and Jaysa that will eventually force the two crews to work together to stop Sabas, and anyone else involved in the attacks on Council members and the Royal Family. Sabas is an easy villain to describe. He wants everyone who helped put in him prison for 5 years dead.
*Thoughts* This is a pretty easy read but has some editing errors that should have been caught before releasing the book. There are times I think McHugh writes too quickly because that's how his mind operates. We finish one series, when weeks later, BOOM, here's another series. The author, unfortunately has fallen into the woke choke that has infested certain genre's with things like a gender fluid robot who apparently is more human than artificial intelligence. The author doesn't really do any real worldbuilding, but he does have a diverse cast of characters who are not human. There is also the curious question as to who was really behind the rebellion, and why the author is leaving a villain alive to cause more damage to these characters. As with all of McHugh's series, one I start them, it's hard for me to not finish the series.
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