Defiant Dominion by Athene Z. Adam

A spectacular third act to the Reign of the North Forest saga, Defiant Dominion by Athene Z. Adam is an off-world allegory in a far-flung future.

The crash landing of a starship and two aliens from Earth has sent a shockwave through the childlike population of Eiyesia. Rather than arriving as a harbinger of a third war with their ancestral planet, Dr. Alex Nymaria and his brilliant mind may be the key to solving the arrested development of the Antisenents. However, not everyone on Eiyesia sees a permanent cure for this “disease” as a good thing, including King Drimys, putting the alien Terrans and their research efforts squarely in the crosshairs.

Maintaining the tense, character-driven energy of previous installments, Adam’s prose is vivid and thorough, brimming with detail that pulls readers seamlessly into this fully imagined world. This installment also pushes this sprawling sci-fi series into new thematic realms, weaving the plot through issues of indigenous rights, colonization, eugenics, and human sexuality, as well as the ethics of exploration, medicine, and scientific pursuits. Within a premise where primitive survival tactics are aided by hyper-modern knowledge, Eiyesia becomes an intriguing parallel to a dystopian Earth, giving the book a sharp and prophetic edge.

Both timely and entertaining, this expansive novel offers thoughtful existential tangles, captivating imperfect heroes, and the epic atmosphere of top-shelf fantasy with unique sci-fi world-building.