The novel “Hostile Takeover” by David Bruns and Chris Pourteau was published for the first time in 2018. It’s the third book in The SynCorp Saga series and follows “Cassandra’s War“.
The Council that decides the fate of the Earth is an uneven group of people who have very different ideas about how to save the planet from a climate catastrophe. Internal power struggles can change many plans but the secret ones continue behind the scenes and Ming Qinlao goes to extremes to carry out her own. The possible ramifications of Elise’s pregnancy add to the uncertainties.
A large group of refugees enters the USA, led by Corazon Santos in search of a better future promised by Cassandra. General William Graves is ordered to keep them under control but the meeting with their leader surprises him when she tells him that he will help her achieve her goals.
“Hostile Takeover” continues a saga set in a future in which the environmental situation is now critical with heavy consequences also on the inhabitants of rich countries. Secrets and deceptions, with the inclusion of sabotage and direct and indirect attacks, made the situation even worse in events told in the first two novels of the series. For this reason, you need to read them to understand the protagonists who return in this third novel and the events, which are the direct continuation of the previous ones.
The important characters who appeared since the beginning of the series are now well known but the authors continue to introduce more of them. In particular, in “Hostile Takeover” Corazon Santos is added, a leader of the NEO faction who leads a group of refugees who arrive in the USA in search of a better future. Her story is intertwined above all with that of General William Graves but becomes important for various repercussions of her actions.
In the third novel in the series, you know what to expect from a big story in which the people who hold economic power agree to share what’s left of the Earth. The balance of power is unstable with the consequence that there may be deals among the parties but backstabbing is the norm in power relationships. Because of this, even the most familiar elements can lead to unpredictable twists. In some cases, events can take the big story in a new direction, particularly the ones where the name SynCorp is mentioned.
The projection into the future of current situations leads to continuous developments in a story full of futuristic elements which at the same time seems in many ways very close to the present. The big story told in this saga is complex and full of ramifications but the authors started it with foundations that are easily understood because they’re familiar to the reader.
The danger for a long series is that there’s a strong start but that the global plot starts losing stamina. In The SynCorp Saga’s case, the start was certainly strong and at the same time “Hostile Takeover” gives the impression that in the third book the most important events have just begun. This bodes well for the next books in a series that offers a good mix of action and food for thought, so I keep on recommending it to readers interested in these themes, especially if you appreciate series divided into novels that are not very long.
