Blurb:

In the pursuit of progress, how much of your soul are you willing to sacrifice?

In the shadow of a ruined Earth, the Republic and its church claim to offer safety and security while burning ideas and people alike. No moon or planet is free of flames and bloodshed, even as the rebel organization, the Vermilion Coalition, seeks to dismantle the Republic’s oppressive regime.

On a terraformed Mercury, Kaya al Vardan hopes to find the truth behind her mother’s murder; a difficult task when everyone insists it was a tragic accident. When Kaya’s adventurous spirit leads her into the forbidden Great Desert, she’s sent to the Republic’s capital on Mars to study under the watchful eye of the all-powerful church she despises. There she unravels mysteries about her mother’s life and faces a choice: fall in line or risk everything to take up her mother’s mantle.

Silas Beckett, High Commander of the Pandora Fleet and hero of the Republic, can feel his time running out. Fighting terrorists has been his life’s mission, but his nemesis Hex—leader of the Vermilion Coalition—still eludes him. As his failures mount and his allies abandon him, he has few chances left to bring Hex to justice. Can Silas secure peace for his family and for the entire solar system?

Vermilion Flames is the first book in the Midnight War series, an action-filled epic set long after the destruction of Earth.

Review:

Set in our solar system millennia in the future, you're met with a dystopian sci-fi of epic proportion. Adam Fernandez’s debut novel is a page turner, and I found myself desperately impatient to keep reading.

Vermilion Flames paints an interesting future system. With terraformed planets, habitable moons and asteroids, and an earth that was abandoned long ago, all is now under the control of a deteriorating Solar Republic, backed by a church that has left it’s people in desperation. Kaya is accustomed to living amongst the most privileged and has a difficult time facing the realities that creep in around her as she navigates the new life forces upon her. Silas, missioned to fight the rebellion with the Pandora Fleet he commands, knows first hand the disparity that their failing empire affects, but is bound in duty and honor that he struggles to combat.

After an action packed prologue, the story opens following Kaya, a feisty nobleman’s daughter with a spirit of adventure. At first glance she seems like the stereotypical dystopian teenage MC, but we soon get refreshing multidimensional layers to her story. I loved how she grew and could change her thinking when presented with new information. It wasn’t all black and white, with her or Silas, and many time’s the “right” choices came with bad motivations, or vice versa. 

That’s what I loved most about the character depth, it wasn’t the linearity you expect from yet another space opera with a rebellion problem. You could feel the humanity in the world. There were aspects to military life that were refreshing to see, the inhuman actions of desperate people felt understandable, and the malevolence born from the past’s good intentions felt eerily familiar. Though there weren’t many sparks flying in this story, there were plenty of interesting relationships, rivalries, reluctant partnerships and mistrusting allies that all had to navigate the failing worlds they lived in.

The political themes in this story were superb. There’s a beautiful balance of motivations from every aspect of the authoritarian, to the rebellion, to the neutrals trying to survive… or living well because of it. The religious aspect had me on the edge of my seat, and I think Fernadez did a wonderful job of separating spirituality from institution. This was highlighted in our two MCs, and I can’t wait to see where they both end up in this series with their faith.

Fernadez builds an intricate world with nods to the reality we know woven into their past. The third person POV suited the cinematic feel, but Adam still made it feel very personal and connected to the characters he limited it to. The details came across fluidly, the prose wasn’t clunky with all the information it conveyed. I am one to live in the details and I wasn’t let down. Through academia settings, military operations, extreme civil unrest and desperation, you felt the human elements woven through the action packed entertainment. Though at times the pacing felt a bit rushed for the style of writing, the intrigue made recovering from those moments a breeze. I both read and listened to this book at different points, and loved the narration as well.

I absolutely recommend this book to my fellow sci-fi lovers! I was thoroughly entertained and left really excited for the books to come. There were enough answers to leave me completely satisfied even when I walk away with many more questions. There is plenty of room for the world to expand, politics to evolve and characters to grow, and I know we won’t be left off the hook of having to ask ourselves what our own motivations are in the story. I’m interested to see where our characters end up, what exactly the Vermilion Coalition is aiming for, and how the Republic will respond! Kaya and Silas have a lot more to share with each other and I am all ears!