Book Review Series: Kantovan Vault, Book 3 in the Spiral Wars

★★★★☆

Kantovan Vault, the third book in The Spiral Wars series, is a moderate step back in what made the first two books so endearing. Shepherd does something, that I believe was an experiment and not one that succeeds, by separating some of the main characters into different groups. What works in this, is he can explore multiple plot threads with their own action beats, their own tense moments of drama, and their own paths to conclusion. What doesn't work, however, is splitting up some characters that were made even more interesting by the charisma they shared with one another. Namely, Trace and Eric, who spend a great deal of time apart in Book 3.

Kantovan Vault, is a straightforward caper-style plot: Our heroes aboard the UFS Phoenix must break into a maximum security vault on the surface of a planet that's environment alone adds to the vault's security. The plot drives a lot of this book, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it certainly takes away from the previous books where the characters made you flip to the next page. This story relies less on character drama and more on the impending mission's various issues and how the crew overcome them.

Problem number one for the crew, is simply finding an excuse to even go to such a remote system to begin with. The Tavalai aren't likely to let just anyone near a secured vault facility, so Eric Debogande strikes up a plan to assume a council seat. A seat that's been reserved for Humans for centuries, yet never occupied. This gives them a reason to go to Kantovan's System. Problem number two, how to get to the planet's surface. The issue presented here is the sheer uninviting environment of the planet itself: Oppressive heat. As such they'll need to purchase or commandeer a specialized dropship. Issue number three - actually waltzing into the most secure facility in the known universe. Guarded by Sard, all manner of high-tech deterrents, and a vault that is held inside a graviton field and can crush you instantly... Maybe Styx can help with that?

The setup and the execution of the plot is handled with a steady hand by Shepherd, and true to his writing style, it makes for some amazing and visually stunning final chapters. If you enjoy a high-tech, sci-fi heist - then this book will slot in nicely on your shelf. If, however, like me, you jumped aboard this ride because the crew dynamics kept the fantastical set pieces of these stories grounded, then this will be a book to finish simply to get to the next one.

Four stars - only because the experiment veers to sharply from the proven method.