The Ravens Nest

Jon Del Arroz Knocks Us Into Outer Space Again

Author’s Note: This article may contain spoilers. If you want the review in a nutshell, it’s this. Go buy this book and read it. It has my recommendation and you might as well grab a copy of Overmind while you’re there and, if you want more Ayla Rin, get a copy of The Immortal Edge, the novel that picks up where Overmind left off.

Okay, I finally got a moment to sit down and actually read this one through. The best and saddest part for me was, this was a quick read.

You’re definitely going to see heavy inspiration from both The Green Lantern (The Hal Jordan character, my personal favorite of the Lanterns) as well as the Edgar Rice Burroughs John Carter of Mars/Barsoom series.

The best part? It works and works well.

Let’s start with the main character, Captain Daniel Sawyer, a precision fighter pilot who flies for the Navy’s Blue Angels. Captain Sawyer is one of the best pilots the Navy has in his field and, during an aerial show, he’s suddenly transported to Jola, a planet shared by two warring species; The Jolan and The cyclopean Phobos. A demilitarized zone had been established in order to preserve peace, however, the population growth between the Jolan and the Phobos have made it difficult to preserve the lasting peace.

A pact was reached centuries before Sawyer’s arrival that each species would have a champion that would duel to the death in an arena, settling any disputes. Captain Sawyer had been chosen as Champion for the Jolan. On this planet, he finds that he has superhuman abilities such as the ability to fire energy from his hands and the ability to fly. Unfortunately, for him, knowing that Sawyer is from Earth also dooms Earth to a potential invasion by the Phobos.

Sawyer has to use his newfound and developing powers to defend both planets in the hopes of eventually returning to his own life.

First, let’s talk about the story. Yep, heavily inspired by both Green Lantern and John Carter, however, not the same. While you’ll notice aspects of both, this is very much it’s own thing. The big difference is that, unlike John Carter, there’s no switching of sides, it’s clear that the Jolans are on the side of right and the Phobos are inherently evil. There’s also the prophecy on the Jolan planet where Sawyer’s coming is predicted. Heavy Christian themes are present with Sawyer himself being a Christian and also being referred to as “son of Adam” indicating that the Jolan are aware of the Adam and Eve Creation story. It is, however, not heavy-handed or preachy…it’s just present. Sawyer’s development is also present and well-established. He goes from cocky pilot (he’s good…damn good…and he knows it) to humbled at the prospect of having to become a fighter when he thinks of himself as just a pilot in his “Dammit, Jim!” moment.

Sawyer goes through moments where he’s not very good at what he does and barely manages to squeak out a win, despite putting on a show of bravado. In other instances, he makes a few missteps and it nearly spells disaster, however he does fall back on his training as a precision pilot and uses quick thinking to manage his way out of what would be terrible consequences for himself and others.

Also, Sawyer’s personal life is completely upended and he understands that what’s been done in his absence on Earth can’t be undone. He realizes he now has a higher calling and gifts given to him and that he has a new life and has to cast away his old life in favor of the new one.

Situations that would be tough for just about any of us, Sawyer stares them in the face and overcomes his fear and moments of self-doubt in order to achieve his mission, knowing that he is all that stands between Earth and Phobos.

This is a story that resonates with just about everyone, the desire to be someone better than who we are at the moment, every moment helping us realize it’s not too late to do it and letting go of people that don’t align with that new version of ourselves. Sawyer truly wants to make himself better and now he has an idea of what that looks like. His new purpose drives him and makes him a better man, not necessarily his newfound powers and abilities.

This is a book I do highly recommend you pick up and, yes, if you do, it will be autographed, possibly like my copy.

This book is a trade paperback which leads me to believe that it had been published in single-issue form before but this is another case where I’d love to see further exploits of Captain Sawyer to see where this goes, how big this becomes and what sort of new, if any, powers and abilities that Captain Sawyer develops or what kind of difficult situations Sawyer overcomes next. While the Phobos did pose a legitimate threat and still do, perhaps there are others out there that the Jolan may face in which Captain Sawyer aka The Cosmic Warrior could help them. We may never know. Give this book a serious read and just sit back and enjoy. You won’t regret it.

Jon Del Arroz did excellent work again, y’all.