Ruins of Empire by Jay Allan

Ruins of Empire by Jay Allan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ruins of Empire is the third novel in the Blood on the Stars series by Jay Allan and in this novel the war between the Confederation and the Union has reached an impasse as both sides consolidate however the Confederation has far greater manufacturing capacity and new battleships will soon be leaving the yards in ever increasing numbers.
The Badlands are huge tracts of the galaxy which contain the worlds of the human empire which feel during the cataclysm, sacrosanct by treaty does not prevent scavengers and other maybe more ethical ships running deep into the badlands to search out technology and much of it ends up on the black market. However world is out of a huge find, one that could tip the balance of power for generations to come to whichever government recovers it. The Dauntless is sent into the Badlands as news comes through that the Union may have secured an intact starship generations ahead of any ship currently serving either state.
The increase in detail of the "universe" these novels inhabit was most welcome, we still know little about the empire but certainly the technology in this ship kinda indicates they were truly a force that could reshape a galaxy and explains why so little is found centuries later be it technology or population remnants. As always the series relies on the reader being invested in the main characters and if you are upto the third novel that like me you must be enjoying the adventures of Captain Barron and his crew. The addition of the Pegasus livened things up and we'll see where that leads the narrative but never fear there are lots of battles both major fleet engagements and more personal fighter clashes as well as marine combat. This novel is perhaps my favourite of the series so far but not quite the fifth star but never the less a highly entertaining story.

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Legacies: Book #3: Purgatory's Key by Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore

Legacies: Book #3: Purgatory's Key by Dayton Ward
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In our universe the Enterprise has to continue dealing with the Klingons and the fallout from the events on Centaurus but like their fellow writers Dayton and Kevin have given depth and levels of complexity to the Klingons which just gives the narrative so much more for the reader to embrace.
As events weave between the two universes the galaxy sits on the edge, failure for the Federation and Klingon Empire could mean Organian intervention, peace would not be the result as predatory species would fill the void and lets not forget the invasion forces that sits the other side of the mirror only a breath away. The threat has never been higher but the crew of the Enterprise and like minded individuals from the Empire and the Jatohr may bring us all back from the brink.
The final novel in the Legacies series "Purgatory's Key" was aptly named, we learn so much more about the universe that the Jatohr were attempting to escape from and it's totally understandable why they were so desperate. Of course not all of these aliens are of the same mindset which is always rewarding, the one emotion fits all for an alien race can ruin a story but we see many attitudes and by extension actions on the part of this race.
Purgatory's Key was a very satisfying conclusion to the three part series, once again writing styles gives this novel a slightly different feel than the previous two but the characters and themes ran true and while it's not all wine and roses for the civilizations and people involved we once again see that communication and cooperation when given the chance can work, granted some directed energy devices may be required to encourage all the parties involved:)
An excellent novel to wrap up a worth addition to the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Star Trek, delighted to be given so much Captain Una and Joanna McCoy and who knows what the future may bring.

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