The Bookwyrm's Review of Behind Blue Eyes: Fallen Angels by Anna Mocikat

 

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Rating: 9/10 Stars

Synopsis

Olympias City is shaken by a series of unspeakably brutal murders. No one is allowed to know the shocking truth about who the victims are: Guardian Angels.

Someone is hunting the almost invincible cyborgs with the neon-blue eyes. Someone who knows their secrets and who uses a formerly unknown technology.

Promoted to Archangel, Nephilim is in charge of the investigation. It leads her into the underbelly of Olympias’ most notorious district, Oldtown, and also into the Inner Circle, where the elites reside.

Struggling with memory loss, Nephilim barely survives an attempt on her life.

It seems that the Guardian Angels have some very powerful enemies. If this wasn’t dangerous enough, the two other corporate global players, Rosprom and TogbuaXiang, scheme in the shadows to not only bring down the Angels but the entire city of Olympias.

Everything changes when Nephilim accompanies Metatron on a trip to Olympias City III, formerly Rio de Janeiro. There she discovers that nothing is what it seems and that Metatron is much more cunning and dangerous than anyone suspects.

Things get even more complicated when old friends from Nephilim’s past appear. Nephilim will have to decide on what side she wants to stand …

The Behind Blue Eyes saga continues!

Killer cyborgs, mega cities, corporate wars, cinematic action and plot twists that will leave you speechless.

Review

After finishing the first book in this series, I was curious where the story would go from there, especially with the hint at the very end that things were not exactly what they seemed. Well, I am glad to say that this one takes off from the first book and runs in some great new directions. Adding some new characters into mix creates some exciting situations, and sets up the final confrontations, with some familiar faces returning to stir the pot.

The world building expands from what book one started with. The high tech dystopian future envisioned here, with three corporate run oligarchies competing for control of what's left of the world is still there, and we get to get a look at the wider world, with scenes in both Olympias 3 (formerly Rio) and in the former Russia. Its interesting to see these new locations, and how different they are from Olympias 1, which is built from the bones of Atlanta. The culture of Olympias 3 still retains some of its pre-war culture, including stubbornly holding on to religion in secret. Its an interesting contrast to Olympias 1, where there is no god allowed aside from the government, which sees to all the inhabitants needs, requiring only unquestioning obedience in return.

The characters really shine, as I've come to expect from this author. Nephilim is definitely the focus, as her rebirth from her rebellion in book 1 has her now focused into being an intense force of nature, death on two legs. And yet, she knows something is not right, that something happened that is just not jiving with her life, and her doubts and feelings are leading her in unexpected directions, Her upgraded cybernetics make her a much better killer, but the issues she's having with her memory implants is leading her to a faceoff that may be beyond even her abilities.

The secondary characters are excellent as well. Nephilim's partner Adriel from the first book returns, and it's an interesting balancing act for him to deal with the rebooted Nephilim knowing what he does about what happened in book one. The police detectives they have to work with to find a serial killer are interesting, especially a suave detective from Olympias 3, who has a fascination with Nephilim that might not be good for his health. All these secondary characters just add flavor to the story, and a mystery character from the first book makes a surprise return, and turns Nephilim's life upside down.

The politics of this dystopia are on full display, with the struggle between the ruling council and Metatron, head of the Guardian Angels, breaking out into the open. The conflict between them is also endangering them from outside forces as well, putting the whole system under strain. It's easy to see how the three corporate states left, who have such opposing viewpoints and methods, are in conflict with each other, and try all measures short of open war to try and bring the others down. It's very satisfying seeing this world further fleshed out as the series progresses.

This series is getting better with each book. The character interactions, the tension, action and threats being reveled throughout are extremely engaging, and are sure to please readers. This is an outstanding new addition to this series, as well as to the cyberpunk genre in general. I highly recommend this series to fans of cyberpunk and sci fi, although there is broader appeal as well.