Lee is captain of the forces sent to Avon to crush the terraformed planet's rebellious colonists, but she has her own reasons for hating the insurgents. Rebellion is in Flynn's blood, and he is determined to avenge the children who were let down by the terraforming corporations. When he catches Lee, he returns to base with her as prisoner, but as the rebels plan her execution, Flynn gets second thoughts. He and Lee quickly escape together, caught between two sides of a senseless war.
Gr 7 Up Kaufman and Spooner focus on new characters and a new world in this splendid return to the universe that they created in These Broken Stars (Hyperion, 2013). Captain Jubilee Chase is the longest serving soldier on the partially terraformed planet of Avon, the only person who has proved immune to "The Fury," the mindless rage that strikes off-worlders who come to serve on Avon. Flynn Cormac is a member of the native Fianna rebels, who hopes that by kidnapping Chase, he can discover more about a mysterious facility hidden in the swamp to the east of the military's main outpost. Neither wants a return to the open warfare between the military and the Fianna that ended a decade earlier with the execution of the Fianna's former leader, Flynn's sister. The two develop a mutual respect that grows to something more--even as their alliance comes to be seen as a betrayal by both sides. Midway through the book, Tarver Merendsen and Lilac LaRoux make appearances, tying the many unexplained events in this title to those in the first volume of the "Starbound" trilogy. Kaufman and Spooner prove that their first brilliant installment was no fluke with this strong second outing. They provide complex characters and a situation with no simple solution. There is action, a spark of romance, and a mystery, all set on a fully-realized planet. This should have broad appeal among teen and adult science fiction readers. -School Library Jounal