EVERYTHING IS CHAOS.
(No way, right? I mean, let’s be honest, at what point in this series haven’t things been at least a little chaotic?)
Seriously though, with a title like that, it’s a safe bet things are going to get wild. As expected, Chaotica opens by diving straight into the aftermath of the semi-cliffhanger we were left with at the end of All Our Tomorrows. For the first half or so of the story, we’re dealing with all the usual chaos you typically find in an Amaranthe novel—unresolved conflicts that have been plaguing the cast for the last couple of books. Cartels and assassins. Domestic terrorists and hostage situations. Espionage and rocky partnerships. Shaky diplomacy and old grudges. Aggravatingly reticent Kats who are so obviously up to something. And then, you know, ceaseless space battles against continually-adaptive, unrelenting, shapeshifting alien/machines.
Throughout all of that though, breadcrumbs are sprinkled in that hint at answers to some of the questions and secrets the characters have dealt with for the past few installments in this series. Those breadcrumbs really start taking shape in Part III (seriously, I almost get an image in my head of a liquefied T-1000 pulling itself together, or, perhaps, a Rasu 😉). Here, the implications of Nika’s—shall we say—incident at the end of All Our Tomorrows open up a whole new realm of possibilities.
Part IV is where things totally ramp up. Theories are tested. Risky plans are set in motion (no surprise there, huh). New discoveries turn the tide in battles both amid the stars and on the ground (the on-the-ground part is particularly epic). But perhaps most importantly, a secret that has literally spanned all 18 books of this series is finally revealed. In my opinion, there’s not so much an “OMG, it was SO OBVIOUS” moment as…everything just MAKES SENSE. The big revelation is something I never would have expected (and believe me, I was trying), yet it’s clear now how events have been flowing so naturally and inevitably toward this point the entire time. I have so many theories!
No joke, this is an accurate representation of my brain for half the book:
But for all the information we get here in Chaotica, there’s still so much more to come, ranging everywhere from a sinister plot against one of my faves to the ramifications of The Big Secret™. Believe it or not, our cast gets a little bit of a breather at the end of this book, but as one character says right on the final page, there’s a massive storm coming.
And now I will leave you with a few non-spoilery things you’ll find in this story that I enjoyed, in no particular order:
Bro shenanigans with Eren and Caleb (and Felzeor!) that may or may not involve jungle warfare
The deliciously entertaining banter between Eren and Nyx—inject it into my veins!
The unflappable and oh-so-charismatic Corradeo Praesidis being <gasp> a little bit awkward?? My dude ❤️
A nightmare-inducing accidental spacewalk
Quite possibly my favorite performance from Mesme in recent memory
Also of note: this may be my new favorite cover out of all the books so far 😍
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ABOUT G.S. JENNSEN
G. S. Jennsen lives in Montana with her husband and two dogs. She has written sixteen novels and short story collections, all published by her imprint, Hypernova Publishing. She has become an internationally bestselling author since her first novel, Starshine, was published in March 2014. She has chosen to continue writing under an independent publishing model to ensure the integrity of her series and her ability to execute on the vision she’s had for them since their genesis.
While she has been a lawyer, a software engineer and an editor, she’s found the life of a full-time author preferable by several orders of magnitude.
When she isn’t writing, she’s gaming or working out or getting lost in the mountains that loom large outside the windows in her home. Or she’s dealing with a flooded basement, or standing in a line at Walmart reading the tabloid headlines and wondering who all of those people are. Or sitting on her back porch with a glass of wine, looking up at the stars, trying to figure out what could be up there.
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