When Nathan Stryder is abducted from Earth and thrown headfirst into an interstellar war, it shatters his world.
Freed from his captors by the Meraki Dominya, Nathan learns his sister was also taken and strikes a deal to rescue her. Enlisting in their military, he meets Arista, a skilled commando who has been trained to kill first and not ask questions later. But he soon discovers that under her hardened exterior, there is a kindred soul. As the risks around them escalate, he must determine if she is truly friend or foe.
Meanwhile, Nathan is caught in the middle of an expanding conflict he knows little about. As his new reality twists in unexpected and dangerous ways, he battles alien soldiers, spies, and assassins, pushing him to his limits. All the while, his decisions trigger consequences that echo beyond anything he can imagine.
With the future of an entire planet and possibly the galaxy hanging in the balance — is he in way over his head? Or will he overcome the galactic odds stacked against him?
Author Brad Pawlowski has crafted a wonderfully comprehensive work of science fiction that leaves no stone unturned in its development. The layers of worldbuilding and concept that form the bedrock of the story are solidly developed, with a particular interest in the Meraki Dominya and their culture, attitudes, and history. The alien threats are well-realized, not just as the plot's big, exciting danger points but as a separate force with their own internal logic and fully-rounded society. Then there’s Nathan and Arista, whose character development, close narrative, and sharply-penned dialogue allow us a deeper insight into their attitudes and feelings, moving the plot forward effortlessly with naturalistic exposition but also bonding us to them. To top it all off, the fantastic pacing of the novel allows for slow-burning moments of suspense and character development that suddenly spill into tense twists, conspiracies, battles, and heroic moments with cinematic depiction. Overall, War of the Harbingers: Deathwind is a novel that fans of well-penned, sensational science fiction simply must read.
