{"id":6567,"date":"2026-06-12T11:06:29","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T11:06:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=6567"},"modified":"2026-06-12T11:06:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T11:06:29","slug":"continuum-by-gregory-rizzi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=6567","title":{"rendered":"Continuum by Gregory Rizzi"},"content":{"rendered":"

Robust worldbuilding and intense action make for a rousing premiere of this science fiction series.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

If you normally skip prologues, don\u2019t skip this one. It presents the intriguing history of, and an invitation into, the city of Rhea on the planet Ares. It\u2019s home to protagonist Jakob Daedalus, a high-ranked member of the Praetorian Guard. He\u2019s one of a shrinking population of forty million, most of whom are oblivious to their city\u2019s decline.<\/p>\n

Nearly three centuries prior, pioneers intended to settle on the far more hospitable Hera, a satellite of Ares, only to be forestalled by a crash landing. Then came an unusual event labeled \u201cThe Miracle\u201d<\/em><\/strong> that gifted their Ares-born offspring telekinetic abilities to manipulate materials. They and those to whom they passed this on became known as Creators after building a livable city amid what\u2019s collectively called the Wilderness. Their success negated the need to go to Hera.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

However, the constant use of these abilities over time revealed health side effects for the Creators. Additionally, the flaws of human nature crept in and over time citizens forgot their roots. Now the Creators are no longer revered, they are feared. Current practice is to banish them to the Wilderness. The rationale, according to Jakob\u2019s mentor:<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018. . . imagine if you had the power to shape the physical world, what kinda hell would you unleash on those around you? There\u2019s nothing more dangerous to the world than a frustrated young man with god-like power.\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Jakob and his team are tasked with eliminating these dangers by tracking down Creators. The present story opens with a takedown attempt that fails as the target escapes and the Praetorian Guard loses a man. Then on a subsequent assignment, Jakob\u2019s mistake almost causes the assassination of Councilman Marcus Dyne, who wields much power. Despite their closeness, Dyne has little choice but to strip Jakob of his Praetorian Guard status.<\/p>\n

For redemption, Jakob ventures into the Wilderness to find the escapee and other exiled Creators before they combine their exceptional abilities to invade Rhea. Dyne provisions Jakob with tools and protection in the form of a robot, DEC, that can transform into a motorcycle. The dangers come immediately, testing Jakob\u2019s courage and resourcefulness. Still, it\u2019s a conceptually straightforward undertaking with clear goals, until Jakob discovers:<\/p>\n

\u201c. . . a wall inside of him was beginning to crack: A wall that had defined his perception of the world. A wall whose fissures would not reverse, but only grow as he journeyed beyond the horizon of self.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

This marks a shift in Jakob\u2019s perspective that reveals an uncharted wilderness within himself, previously blocked by his Praetorian anti-Creator bias. The journey now takes on a personal dimension as daunting as the perils in the Wilderness. And at the same time to be ready for when it all converges into a thrilling climax.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This is a well-structured and exciting first novel to a series. The opening chapters lag a bit with the failed Creator takedown and its aftermath because it feels like a transplanted policing plot. It\u2019s fine but not especially unique, and the same could be said of our hero. It\u2019s when Jakob exits Rhea with his mechanical compatriot that the narrative truly hits its stride. That coincides with Jakob\u2019s un-stiffening to make him more relatable during his trek through the Wilderness.<\/p>\n

His is an unrelenting odyssey in which it\u2019s impossible to predict what\u2019s to come. Each episode whets the appetite for the next and that anticipation is consistently satisfied. Jakob faces entanglements with the terrain and creatures, such as giant birds called teratorns, the lion-like panteras, and the bear-like arctodus. Each is rendered terrifically with extended scenes that create a palpable sense of Jakob\u2019s mounting wear and tear. The humans he encounters may not be as physically menacing, but it\u2019s never clear if they\u2019re friend or foe.<\/p>\n

What helps make the Continuum<\/em> world, and particularly the Wilderness, engaging is it isn\u2019t saturated or over-complicated with creatures or supernatural elements. It allows the storytelling to achieve the depth to make Jakob\u2019s odyssey resonate. The scope is absorbable yet epic. The balance between worldbuilding and drama is presented with measured precision that escalates to a truly climactic conclusion.<\/p>\n

This initial entry in the Continuum<\/em> series powerfully delivers by meshing a great action story with a fertile world and compelling history to augur more. It will be a tough act to follow, but all signs indicate this author is up to it.<\/p>\n

The post Continuum by Gregory Rizzi<\/a> appeared first on Independent Book Review<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Robust worldbuilding and intense action make for a rousing premiere of this science fiction series. If you normally skip prologues, don\u2019t skip this one. It presents the intriguing history of, and an invitation into, the city of Rhea on the planet Ares. It\u2019s home to protagonist Jakob Daedalus, a high-ranked member of the Praetorian Guard. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bookreviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6567"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6567"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6567\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}