Wraithkin
Year: 2016
Author: Jason Córdova
Length: 381 pages
Somewhere along the line, I picked up this eBook for free because I was trying to fill my new Kindle with things to read. Now that I finally got around to reading it, I found this military sci-fi book to be mostly just OK. Granted, I haven’t read a ton of the genre, but I can understand its appeal to others. I’m usually focused on the sci-fi of this genre, so when it’s not that strong in a book like this, I tend to find things to nitpick. I’m sure if someone likes military sci-fi that they’d definitely enjoy this.
The vibe I got out of Wraithkin was somewhat akin to Warhammer 40,000 mixed with Seal Team 6. The reader follows these super-soldiers as they are told by high-up leadership what to do when engaging in a war against alien species. Of course, we have one of those generic male fantasies about the main character doing whatever it takes to rescue his wife/girlfriend/lover, which itself leads the plot to the normal “are you crazy?” places it usually goes. Which is fun for a bit, even if it wears out its welcome after a while.
My main issue with this book was that it didn’t feel like sci-fi. So many of the names of the characters, planets, and other accoutrements sounded Hispanic to the point that it made me wonder if Mexico had taken over the universe. There wasn’t anything terribly alien about much of the story, even though the reader is told that these aliens are the worst. The lack of diversity pulled me out of the immersion, since I’d expect some weird creatures or at least less Earth-based settings on foreign worlds (with Earth-based discrimination castes). Still, it has a good setup at the end for anyone who wants to continue with this story.
A military sci-fi book that skimps on a lot of the sci-fi trappings, I give Wraithkin 3.0 stars out of 5.
