First Elite
An intelligent hero pursues his wife’s killer across an empire in the action-packed science fiction novel First Elite.
In Emmanuel M Arriaga’s thrilling science fiction novel First Elite, galactic soldiers struggle between duty and revenge.
The Huzien Empire rules over the Twin Galaxies, which stand as a symbol of order and peace. The arrival of a powerful killer, Entradis, threatens their rule, though. After Neven, one of the Empire’s top minds, learns that his wife was murdered by Entradis, he grapples with feelings of grief and hatred. His lust for revenge impacts his colleagues and friends, who try to rein him in. Meanwhile, Entradis wreaks added chaos across the Empire, wielding violent, dimension-shifting powers that few can match.
This is a busy novel whose cast is wide and whose worldbuilding covers long spans of history, conflicts, and personal relationships. While its background is expansive, the story is centered by Neven’s revenge quest. Having earned the trust of Huzien leaders through his intellect and technical feats, his pain and rage have grand consequences, adding to the stakes. His android assistant, Ellipse, becomes his close companion; he has an unexpected fling with Tashanira, a friend and soldier who endures her own traumas. Neven’s commander, Lanrete, is a source of further support.
Despite all those in his life who work to ground him, Neven confronts Entradis every time he has the chance to. Gore-ridden action scenes also take place between rival factions and because of personal vendettas. However, the novel’s quiet moments are its strongest. Ellipse’s and Tashanira’s struggles are given space, for example: Ellipse tries to become more human, desiring to be closer to Neven, though the modifications she needs to develop those traits are illegal because of past Empire conflicts. Tashanira, hailing from a feline alien race that values romance and sexual relationships in freer terms than most, explores what she wants out of life and faces pregnancy. The women end up in competition for Neven’s affection, leading to plentiful, and sometimes random, sexual encounters. In time, Neven is compelled to reconsider the importance he places on vengeance because of them.
But there are also digressive subplots following the Empire’s founder, Lanrete, and his top warrior, Uriel—immortals bound to higher responsibilities. Uriel’s chapters hold much of the action and political intrigue as he climbs the ranks, uncovering secrets and serving the Empire with methods that mimic Entradis’s. In the end, too much ground is covered at once, muddling the narrative. Still, as swaths of the story intersect, the book moves toward harrowing battles, revelations, and an entertaining conclusion.
In the sprawling science fiction novel First Elite, warriors develop a sense of what they should hold on to and what they should let go of.
Reviewed by
Brandon Pawlicki
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