Reviewer’s note: This book is appropriate for mature readers only.
The science-fiction genre has always celebrated stories of individuals who test the boundaries of what is accepted and known. After all, science-fiction stories are merely the results of an author answering the question, “What if?” Even the astronomically popular Star Trek and the classic Foundation series came about because their creators took that answer and ran with it. The vibrant, complex worlds that have captured the devotions and imaginations of people across the globe were built from simply imagining what could be possible.
In The Last Acolyte, the question asked may seem almost cliché: “What if a human were suddenly transported to an alien galaxy?” The way Steven Montano answers that question, however, is anything but.
“I’ve done some pretty awful shit. But if there’s one thing that’s for certain in the Auran Galaxy, it’s this: if you’re not a killer, you’re a victim. And I’m not a victim. Not anymore.”
Fifteen years before the start of the novel, Rike went to sleep as a college student and woke up in the Auran Galaxy. Now Rike is a hardened assassin, trained by a brutal order of monks called the Bloodthorn Acolytes. When he discovers that the monastery has been destroyed and the monks all but wiped out, Rike seeks out survivors to complete a mission for a mysterious employer, all the while understanding that he may be the last of the Bloodthorn Acolytes.
Many science-fiction space adventures feature amazing landscapes, incredible alien races, and intellectual and moral dilemmas, but at the heart of each best-selling science-fiction series lies a cast of unique individuals who drive the narratives forward with their choices and their actions. The Last Acolyte certainly has its share of world-building, though the character the story revolves around is certainly no Captain Kirk. Rike is cold, calculating, but also a witty, sarcastic narrator. Even with all of his skill and reputation, Rike is still an outsider to the Auran Galaxy, even after spending almost two decades living there.
The world Steven Montano builds in The Last Acolyte is as detailed as the world J.K. Rowling built in the Harry Potter series, though Montana’s world is rougher and much less forgiving. Still, Montano has a way with description, bringing all of his landscapes – be they jungle, desert, or metropolitan – to life. At first the narrative can be a little heavy on the details, but Montana quickly settles into a rhythm, and his descriptions capture the world Rike is now immersed in with stunning clarity. The many fight scenes are action-packed, but the fact that I never lost track of what was happening is a testament to Montano’s writing.
The alien races featured in The Last Acolyte are just as fantastic as the worlds, their cultures fleshed out so that it feels like you’re in the narrative with Rike. Fangorians, Taur, Helos, Ro’daan, and many others – Montano’s alien races are all so distinctive that I never became confused with who or what Rike was interacting with. “I don’t have many principles, but I’ll be damned if I won’t stand by the few I do.”The Last Acolyte is more than a flashy adventure. Though Rike starts off as more “anti” than “hero,” his development throughout the novel hints at much more. More than an assassin or a Casanova, Rike is a man searching for a place he can belong. As the true purpose for his mysterious mission is revealed, the story becomes a sort of redemption arc, with Rike struggling to save the only place he has ever felt he belonged. Throughout the novel his take on the aliens he interacts with changes drastically, and he begins to redevelop the empathy that was taken from him during his training with the Bloodthorn Acolytes.
If you like rough, blood-stained sci-fi adventure novels written with description and depth, The Last Acolyte by Steven Montano definitely the novel for you. The Last Acolyte is a promising start to what will likely be a captivating series.
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