J.R. Vaineo

Adam Jordan’s Imposition is the first in the No Man's World series. I normally would split my review into four categories: Plot, Prose, Character Development, and Originality. But because I tried to give a genre I don’t typically read, a chance, I feel it’s only fair to base my review off of how well this book fits within its genre. I’ll not be doing an in-depth review this time. For my personal taste in stories, Imposition has earned 3 out of 5 stars. If, however, I was a fan of the post-apocalyptic genre, Imposition would gain 4 out of 5 stars.

 

So, I tried something new. I can’t say I hated the story, nor did I love it. It fell into a category of shock and awe, for me. Utter chaos of violent, disturbing events shown and described in such a way that there was no chance I could read this book, while trying to stomach some of my lunch. I’ll jump right into what Imposition reminds me of. As I’ve never read a book quite like this, I can only relate it to movies. Think, The Wolf of Wall Street set in a post-apocalyptic world, and Imposition is what you’ll get. It has a similar vibe to Monster Hunter as well, in that you never know what crazy confrontation is going to happen next, or what weird, psycho character will be introduced. It’s quite lively. There’s cheating, lying, violence, and vulgarity galore. Humanity has been brought to a new level of low. They are trying desperately to survive, and they’ve devolved to rely on very animalistic instincts in the process. The women, who have managed to survive, are treated horribly by most of the characters. This story was raunchy, often grotesque. Adam Jordan does a great job of capturing how debased a society of people can become in a ‘last one standing’ type of scenario. There are not many pages of ‘down’ time. This is a gory, action-packed book, basically from start to finish. And the end completely caught me by surprise. Let’s just say, I wasn’t going to read the second book, but now I am. I’m not won over to the post-apocalyptic genre as a whole. But I’ll give it a go with Adam Jordan’s No Man’s World series, because, well . . . I must know how this crazy story ends. I’ve never read anything like it. Ever.

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Adam Jordan expands his character list in Rupture, adding some new faces, new names, new places. My two favorite character additions are Huntress and Ceteris. Huntress is one of many human survivors, bent on restarting some semblance of a life after the apocalypse. She has carved out a name for herself as a monster hunter or “sword for hire.” With the intro to Ceteris, the reader is finally given a glimpse of what the Vagantem are like. The alien race who invaded planet Earth are as varied as humanity, I’m happy to say. They definitely aren’t like some mindless Borg Hive, with a mastermind at the center. Ceteris does outshine the other Vagantem, though, at times reminding me of the robot in the Lost in Space reboot. This vibe is mainly felt when he’s following Huntress around. The Vagantem added depth to the story that gave much needed relief from the insane warlord and his violent dealings.

 

Slugger thinks of himself as a warlord. It’s been a while since I read the first book, Imposition, so I don’t recall how he came to be a leader over a significant group of people. I’m sure it had something to do with his intense mood swings. Just when it appears that he is going to chill for a moment in the story, BAM! He has some sort of outburst that often ends in someone dying. His character is written well in that I love to hate this character. I consider him to be some kind of odious version of Houdini, with a thirst for violence. He often escapes karma, but will he meet with a just fate by the end of Rupture? You’ll have to read it for yourself to find out. Jordan has done it again by penning a compelling ending. One that will leave you with a need to know the ending to the series.

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Accession takes the reader away from Earth, focusing primarily on the Vagantem in their spaceships. A familiar face reappears from the first book too. Shane is back and I couldn’t be happier about it. Through his eyes, we get to see the complexities of the Vagantem society. Their home was destroyed. Now they’re trying to find a new one. Adam Jordan has done an excellent job of creating a believable and immersive universe in his No Man’s World series. Though Accession contains far less violence than the previous two books, it certainly does not lack adventure and treachery.

 

The Star Teller, Auroron, is the main face of this book. As the layers of his character are revealed, more depth is added to the story. He intelligently and craftily leads his faction of followers. He’s unpredictable, yet patient; manipulatively kind; and ever suspicious of betrayal. His character really makes this third book shine by adding mystery and intrigue. Lady Kesstin is an excellent addition as well. Ever protective of her family, she is not the sort to be trifled with either. The Vagantem have an echo of humanity, making it easier to relate with them, but they are their own race. Different from us in many ways. It strongly comes through, the farther along in the story you get.

 

A nice touch is that the ends of Rupture and Accession meet in the same moment of the story. Only the viewpoint characters leading up to that point are different. Old acquaintances find each other at the action-packed end and it propels me into anticipating the next book. I’ve become addicted to this series, which is completely unexpected given that I rated Imposition between 3 to 4 stars. I give this third book 5 out of 5 stars. I loved it! The shift in my attitude speaks volumes of Adam Jordan’s talent in capturing a reader’s interest. Give No Man’s World a go, knowing that it only gets better with each addition to the series.

 

 

Happy reading. :)

Julie