Opening line: Dying isn’t like living; it requires no effort at all.
Ann Aguirre started this series with a heroine who was strong and kickass, but in the fifth book, AFTERMATH readers come to realize just how much growth Sirantha Jax has done since the first book. Jax makes a decision that results in the death of 600 soldiers. In life, that’s an obscenely large amount of souls lost. But in war, that’s a lot of manpower gone. As people burst out in outrage, Jax must do what she must and face the consequences of her actions. Didn’t matter that she thought she was acting in the best interest of her people. People died because of her, and she feels the weight of that burden on her shoulders.
As she awaits trail, March goes on a personal hunt to find his nephew. It’s not in March’s ability to sit idle while the rest of the world waits on Jax’s trial. They communicate through touching letters to one another that display the amount of heartache and love they have for one another. It’s because of their relationship that I continue reading this series. It’s the one bright spot amid the darkness that war causes.
This entire series reminds me of THE HUNGER GAMES where everything wrong occurs and yet, you have these strong characters that are able to bear the weight of such a suffocating journey. Be warned that when you read this series, it’s a dark and gloomy one where people unnecessarily die in the face of war and there are few bright spots at the end of all this. But similarly, the Sirantha Jax series is just as addicting and easy to read as THE HUNGER GAMES. Ann Aguirre grips you in this tautly written novel and releases you at the most inopportune parts, until you’re begging to be drawn into this fantastic sci-fi world again. This series is simply one of the best, regardless of genre.
Good review. As they say “War is Hell” and if it wasn’t for the loss of human life – we would have even more wars on our hands than we already do. I plan on adding this series to my reading list.