The novel “Nowhere to Hide” by Jude Austin was published for the first time in 2022. It’s the third book in the Projects series, later indicated as the Five Worlds series, and follows “Homecoming“.
Kalin Taylor, now known as Kata, is trying to rebuild his life, but it seems that some people have no intention of leaving him alone, starting with his parents. Tau continues to write him emails, but in his case, it’s an attempt to keep in touch with the first person who considered him a person and not a tool. Kurai tries to give Tau a hand, but he too, albeit in a different way, must deal with his past.
Vasari Adrianne Demont of the planet Trandellia has her own agenda, and to get what she wants, she must capture a specific person on the planet Atthiras. She sends a group of holin, elite forces specialized in infiltration and assassination, to look for them. The holin are used to working alone or in small groups, without a hierarchy, so an operation conducted by a large group can create problems. Diran realizes that those problems can lead to clashes among the holin themselves, but the important thing is the success of the operation.
“Nowhere to Hide” continues the story of Kalin/Kata and Tau, picking up where they left off at the end of the second book. The novel includes some background information on the events of the first two books in the series, but it’s no substitute for reading them.
Kata has finally gotten the chance to build a life of his own choosing, but all the trauma he has accumulated can’t be simply put aside. His story continues to show the long-term consequences of various types of abuse and how people can try to deal with the resulting trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Kata needs serious psychological therapy, but he has a hard time trusting anyone. Alan is one of the very few people who have earned his trust, but he too must be very careful how he behaves around Kata, even when he does things with the best intentions.
Jude Austin continues to expand the fictional universe she has created by using the stories of the protagonists of the previous books and some new important characters. She already gave us some idea of how, even several centuries in the future, on the planets colonized by humans, forms of society have developed that are not very democratic. Vasari Adrianne Demont exercises enormous power over a large area of Trandellia and also uses that power for operations on other planets when it’s useful to her agenda.
The story of Diran, one of the holin sent to Atthiras to kidnap a person, shows another side of Trandellian society. The life of the holin includes various duties that are strictly regulated, as well as some privileges. On Atthiras, Diran’s story is intertwined with that of Ingal, a newcomer among the holin. Their interactions offer various insights into how boys and girls are selected to become holin and how they are manipulated and molded to prepare them to do the dirty work for their rulers.
All this and more ends up creating almost three novels in one because it’s divided into various subplots that rarely intersect. This can be considered a flaw because the novel is a bit fragmented, with pauses in each subplot that can last for various chapters. It can be considered a merit for the further development of the characters introduced in the previous books and some new important characters and for the expansion of the fictional universe.
Jude Austin has announced a fourth novel in the series, but “Nowhere to Hide” has its own ending, so the three novels published so far can be read now without problems. The expansion of this fictional universe continues to offer food for thought thanks to the political and social elements contained, so I think it’s worth reading them, keeping in mind that the themes could be a problem if you’re triggered by one or more of them. It’s available on Amazon USA, UK, and Canada.
