11. The Circuit: Progeny of Vale by Rhett C. Bruno
**Coming from Diversion Books on March 15th**
The Circuit: Progeny of Vale delivers a welcome continuation of the first book in the series, The Circuit: Executor Rising. As was my first instinct when I started the book, Cassius Vale, who comes off as a cold-hearted You-Know-Who in the first book, begins to seem more human. He cares about at least one individual and actually seems not to desire the wanton destruction of all human life. At first, it seems like his android creation, ADIM, is on a similar redemption track. ADIM starts off the book having just rescued a human child from a massacre he was ordered to commit. However, the rest of the book confirms my instinct from the start--he seems like a time bomb set to go off in a direction his Creator cannot control,
**Coming from Diversion Books on March 15th**
Spoilers for the first book can be found below. You can find my review of the first book here.
The Circuit: Progeny of Vale delivers a welcome continuation of the first book in the series, The Circuit: Executor Rising. As was my first instinct when I started the book, Cassius Vale, who comes off as a cold-hearted You-Know-Who in the first book, begins to seem more human. He cares about at least one individual and actually seems not to desire the wanton destruction of all human life. At first, it seems like his android creation, ADIM, is on a similar redemption track. ADIM starts off the book having just rescued a human child from a massacre he was ordered to commit. However, the rest of the book confirms my instinct from the start--he seems like a time bomb set to go off in a direction his Creator cannot control,
However, neither ADIM nor any other "time bombs" go off in this second book. While there's plenty of action and we spend time with each of the compelling main characters, most of the book feels like set-up for the finale. We do learn more about the history of the Circuit and the purpose of the element Gravitum (to provide Earth-like gravity across the solar system), and also delve in more to the tribes on Ceres and the history of the war between Ceres and the Tribune. This knowledge helps the reader understand better what's at stake. There's also a more positive central arc to this book than the first one,but just as in the first book, Bruno leaves us hanging. Here's hoping for a big payoff at the end!
Received for review from the author.
Received for review from the author.
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