How would you feel as a reader about the direction of a series when the author introduces a brand new character?

This is the question that Kristine Kathryn Rusch presents in the third book of the Anniversary Day Saga of the Retrieval Artist Series.  I have read and review the nine previous books in the series that features the main characters of Retrieval Artist Miles Flint and the Moon’s Chief Security Officer Noelle DeRicci. I will admit I have grown fond of both characters throughout the series and had some trepidation in reading A Murder of Clones that did not feature either one of them in the novel.

A Murder of Clones introduces Earth Alliance Frontier Marshall Judita Gomez as the main character of the novel.  She launches with her team an unauthorized investigation into a case about the murdering of clones that connects it to the Moon’s Anniversary Day bombings.

Marshall Gomez and team learns more than they bargained for with the investigation. It will put everyone’s careers and lives into jeopardy as they get closer to the truth about those bombings. Also, they uncover a truth about the Earth Alliance that is unsettling to everyone.

As she has done for the entire series, Rusch creates a solid science fiction thriller with complex twists and turns that keeps you guessing right up to the end of the novel. While, I did not warm up to Marshall Gomez like I did with Flint and DeRicci in The Disappeared, the first book of the Retrieval Artist Series.  Gomez has the potential to be a well-written and fully-drawn out character as the Anniversary Day Saga continues towards its conclusion. Also, it does bring a freshness and vitality to a long running series that could be written on autopilot with a skillful storyteller like Rusch.

Murder of Clones is still more of a transition book in the series and it could be read as a standalone. However, I would suggest that new readers start with Anniversary Day and continue with Blowback to get the full scope of this saga.  I highly recommend this novel and looking to Book Four of the Anniversary Day Saga, Search and Recovery.

Blowback is Book 2 of the Anniversary Day Saga by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.  This novel continues into the exploration of the Moon’s Anniversary Day attacks that happened in Book 1 of the saga.  As a result of the attacks, Moon’s Chief Security Officer Noelle DeRicci is trying to hold the remaining vestiges of the government together and learns more  information about the attacks that could crumble everything.

Meanwhile, Retrieval Artist Miles Flint has become displeased with the investigation into the attacks and decides to conduct on his own investigation using contacts from both sides of the law.  What he learns will shock him and begins to realize that the Anniversary Day attacks was just the tip of the iceburg.

As usual, Rusch creates a credible, solid science fiction thriller with plenty twists and turns to keep a reader guessing right to the very end.  However, I see Blowback as more of a transition book in this saga.  It is a solid read but I would suggest that newcomers start with Anniversary Day before reading Blowback.  Recommended.

I’m coming up on seventy posted reviews for this website and I’ve written many other reviews on various book social websites like Goodreads, Booklikes, and such. I have noticed there are some books you read and review because of their importance to the literary culture.  There are some books you read and review and that you do not connect with but continue reading them to learn something from that experience.  And there are some books you read and review that puts a smile on your face.

Anniversary Day by Kristine Kathryn Rusch goes into the section of the aforementioned sentence.  This is the eight book that I’ve read and review of the excellent Retrieval Artist Series and the first one of the Anniversary Day Saga.  This first book of the saga focuses on the celebration called Anniversary Day where the moon colony of Armstrong remembers the bomb that destroyed part of the dome protecting it four years ago.

A greater threat is happening on this Anniversary Day observance that not only affects Armstrong but the rest of the Moon.  Moon Security Chief Noelle DeRicci is trying to stay one step of the unfolding disaster.  However, the disaster is bigger than she could have ever imagined.  She enlists Retrieval Artist Miles Flint for help and he learns just how widespread the disaster has become.

The story in Anniversary Day does not revolve around Retrieval Artist Miles Flint.  Moon Security Chief Noelle DeRicci and Detective Bartholomew Nyquist take center stage in Anniversary Day. That might be a disappointment for fans of the series who are attached to Miles Flint (like myself).  However, Rusch is such a skilled storyteller than I have found DeRicci and Nyquist are just as compelling to read as Flint.  I appreciate the fact that the series does not rely one character to carry it for subsequent books.  The diversity of the characters is one of the main reasons I have become an unabashed fan of the series. I hope that other writers in series-length genre fiction can take inspiration from Rusch on this important technique.

It’s hard for this reviewer to be totally objective for each book I post a review for in this series.  It has become the literary version of Mad Men, House of Cards, or Breaking Bad for me.  I have truly looked forward to reading each book in this series and glad to have seven more books of the Anniversary Day Saga to post reviews for.

However, I will admit that I thought the ending (after being built up with great tension) was a let down for me.  I understand why Rusch had to wrap a bow on the ending. But, I wanted at least another 40 or 50 pages of it for selfish reasons.  That is my only quibble with Anniversary Day.  I highly recommended this series and Anniversary Day is an excellent entry point for those of you who are newcomers to the series.

Miles Flint, a Retrieval Artist, was hired by a prominent couple on the moon colony of Armstrong to find their daughter who has become a Disappeared because of her political activities on several planets.

Flint retrieved the daughter and reunited her with the parents.  However, the reunion was not a happy one and short-lived.  They were murdered by an assassin that might be linked to the daughter’s political activities from her past.

Also, Flint has been implicated in the murders because of his contact with the family before their deaths.  Noelle DeRicci, his former partner on the Armstrong Police Force, has been investigating the murders and tries to come to grips with Flint’s involvement.

I can not give away anymore of the plot.  However, there are several twists and turns in this hybrid science fiction thriller that will keep you guessing as you turn the pages.  Consequences is book three of the Retrieval Artist Series and I will admit in this review, I’m hooked.

Rusch has created some wonderful characters in Miles Flint and Noelle DeRicci.  I have been drawn into their relationship since The Disappeared (Book 1) and into Extremes (Book 2).   Flint has grown into a top Retrieval Artist and learns that being a successful one means that your integrity and morality will always be tested. Meanwhile, DeRicci has grown as a detective and learns that the politics in her position can challenge her morality as well.

Moreover, the setting for the human and alien cultures are well-detailed, believable, and original.  Consequences will be one of my favorite reads of 2014 and I highly recommend reading it.  The good thing is the each book in the Retrieval Artist Series can be read as a standalone.  I would suggest that you start with The Disappeared to get the full history and background of the characters and the world created in the series.