Darker Space by Lisa Henry

Darker Space by Lisa Henry

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I really appreciate it when an author can write a series of books in which each book builds upon the last, but each is its own distinct chapter in the characters’ lives. That’s exactly what Henry has done with both books in the Dark Space series. Darker Space continues the story of Brady and Cam’s life together since reuniting with Lucy and resuming their military service, on Earth. While Brady had a possibility of advancement when in space, back on Earth he’s been relegated to janitorial work and as much as he hates it, he comforts himself with Cam and Lucy – the only things in his life worth fighting for. But when residual effects from Cam and Brady’s time with the Faceless begin to reappear, the men are left wondering WHO they will be fighting against.

Henry has a wonderful way with words in Darker Space. With the story being told from Brady’s point of view, his introspective nature sucked me into his mindset. I felt Brady’s fears, his frustrations, and his anger at the military officials, the Faceless, and the universe. Even more, I felt his love for Cam and Lucy. And all of this was magnified when the mental connection between him and Cam was reestablished and expanded. While Brady reiterates in the story time and time again that he was never meant to be a hero, as the story unfolds, we find that he was far more of a hero than anyone ever realized – except for Cam and Lucy, because Brady would always be their hero. We learn that Brady was perfect in his imperfections and Cam and Lucy weren’t the only ones to recognize him for who he was.

There is a LOT that goes down in this installment and I’m trying my best not to reveal any major spoilers. I do have to reveal that after a series of events, Cam and Brady find themselves back on the Defender Three along with a cadre of other officers. While Brady’s self-doubt regularly leads to him feeling worthless, it is his experience as an enlisted man (basically drafted into service) that helps save most of his companions’ lives once things go bad on the ship. When forced to face his biggest fear, Brady also realizes that the fear of losing Cam and Lucy far outweighs all other fears he had – making him numb to them. Cam and the other officers might have been fighters, but Brady was a survivor and he learned just how far he would go to survive for those he loved. Because of this, I felt we saw a huge amount of character growth and development on his part. Although we don’t get the story from Cam’s perspective, we still get to see some of the events play out from his point of view through his and Brady’s connection. I actually loved how Henry made that connection work to give us events from more than Brady’s perspective – even if they were still filtered through his awareness. I LOVED the scene in which Brady flips off Doc and actually laughed out loud. But the best part, the very best part, is that while Darker Space is a whole story that concludes this chapter in Brady and Cam’s lives, Henry leaves the ending open for the next chapter – not a cliffhanger, but rather a whetting of the appetite.

I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Reviewed by Angela at Crystal's Many Reviewers!

Check out the Darker Space (Dark Space #2) by Lisa Henry blog post on Crystal's Many Reviewers.


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