Graeme Rodaughan

Whew! This installment of the Metaframe war series read like the most actiony action movie that ever actioned. My goodness they were blowing up a lot of shit!! I loved it! Here's the hard thing about a series like this. Not everyone can make it out alive, obviously. There are multiple battles between The Order, Shadowstone and the Vampire Dominion and some people are going to have to die. And sometimes those people happen to be one of my FAVORITE CHARACTERS!!! Damn! It's ok, I'm ok. On to show more the next!

And still, I don't know who The Raven is!! show less

The Metaframe Adept is the seventh and final book in The Metaframe War by Graeme Rodaughan. It is time for the final conflict between humans and vampires to see who will end up controlling reality itself. The world has been changed. Chloe Armitage has consolidated her power and united the vampires in open rule over the human population and any resistance is met with extreme prejudice. Things are looking grim.

The story takes a very dark turn for our heroes. Unbelievably, the stakes for our show more characters are ramped up yet again turning this into an emotional read as I kept wondering who was going to survive to the end of the tale. One of the main themes in this final installment is one of unforeseen consequences. I loved how they kept popping up when least expected for basically everyone. Rodaughan has a true gift for writing cinematic quality action and this final installment doesn't disappoint. It was also highly satisfying to see the Metaframe in action.

I enjoyed joining Anton, Li and Peter for their final journey. It's a fitting and hopeful end for just about everyone which was a surprise with all the twists and turns. There is even a small hook left open should the author decide to revisit this universe in the future. My only complaint - the story needs more tanks ;) show less

All of the groundwork laid out in The Day Guard pays off in The Crane War, the fifth book in The Metaframe War by Graeme Rodaughan. Events pick up where the fourth book leaves off: the Order of Thoth has taken heavy losses; The Mirovar Force Team is plotting how to best use the newly discovered information about the Panopticon; Cornelius Crane is as paranoid as ever; Chloe continues to play the faithful servant while working on a solution to her implant problem. The action is non-stop and show more the schemes within each faction definitely keep things interesting.

One of Rodaughan's strength lies in his ability to write heart pounding cinematic action. The Crane War does the impossible by dialing up the intensity. The blending between various points of view and fighting styles is seamless. Once reaching the final third of the book it was hard to take breaks, there was so much constantly happening. I'm not sure if I was more impressed with Chiara's defense of the nemesis tower or Anton and Arthur's final showdown in the hanger at the end. All that was missing was a rampaging tank!

Plot-wise, I am enjoying the Vampire Dominion side of things a lot more than the Order of Thoth. Chloe and Crane's constant power plays against each other, with Chloe's meticulous scheming and Crane's inherent paranoia, are delightful. On the flip side, The Order of Thoth is feeling YA in an unpleasant way when compared to the vampires. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with most of the Mirovar team being teenagers, but still!

The new world building snippets we see are both great at answering questions and frustrating at what they don't answer. I loved finally getting to meet the myth himself, Arthur Slayne, and seeing more behind the loremaster ability. Chloe makes a great discovery that I hope gets delved into deeper in the next installment. The Red Empire takes a back seat while the Order and Dominion clash.

This was a satisfying read. Now starts the long wait for book six. show less

The Day Guard is the fourth book in The Metaframe War by Graeme Rodaughan. It serves as a transition to the second story arc of the series. Still reeling from past events the Order of Thoth, the Vampire Dominion and the Red Empire begin to maneuver their forces into place as each continues to seek to control the fate of the fabric of reality. What no one realizes is a new faction has entered the game, one thought to be long extinct when it's remembered at all.

This book ended up being a show more combination of things I was expecting and some crazy twists that added a whole new perspective to the war between the factions we've been following so far. The Order of Thoth's story line was the most predictable and straight forward while the Vampire Dominion threw me a couple curve balls. The Day Guard troops were both what I was expecting and more thanks to Louise's brilliant planning with the Panopticon. The new faction introduced provides an entirely new layer to the narrative and some exciting opportunities for the future.

While there is plenty of action in the story, it is tempered by the need to move people into position for what is to come which slows down the frenetic pace of the previous installment. That said, Chloe's solo assault on the Red Empire Citadel is pure awesome. I read parts of it twice it was so enjoyable and cinematic. The fighting capability she's honed over the years leaves me in awe. I'm highly frustrated and intrigued at the twist thrown at her as I have no idea how she'll get around it to fulfill her plan against Crane, which I dearly want her to succeed with.

I was not expecting the twists introduced in this installment. It changes the game entirely. I'm excited to see where The Crane War goes from here. show less