A gripping military space‑opera perfect for readers who want to get lost in dazzling new worlds.
With the capacity of Earth, Mercury, and every other habitable planet, moon, and asteroid in the Solar System strained, humanity has pushed itself to consider the wider cosmos for relief. But it isn’t science holding sapient beings back. Even in the vastness of space, the same old politics, grudges, and disagreements plague them. Newly commissioned officer Jake Dawes doesn’t care much about universal politics or conspiracy theories, only about his future as a logistics officer, a career he has a passion for. On what should have been an evening of raucous celebrations and fond farewells with fellow graduates, a taxi ride turns into a war scene. The lieutenant wakes in a hospital bed, robbed of his girlfriend, his physical independence, and the life he had been working toward. When the Anti-Terrorism Task Force presents Jake with a chance to get cybernetic upgrades, train as a drone commander, and maybe avenge his girlfriend’s murder, the choice is easy. What isn’t easy, however, is navigating the gap between the man he was and the man he is becoming. The more he trains, fights, and learns, the less he really understands about the forces shaping the war he’s caught in. Harder still is untangling the truth from every lie he’s been fed and choosing which path to take when each one leads only to a different shape of destruction.
Thoughtfully conceived and elegantly executed, Savages of the Bulk is the kind of immersive novel that resets the bar for science fiction writing. The first thing readers will notice is just how well Nathaniel Jungheim choreographs an action scene! Crafted with striking precision and complete control, they are visceral but never excessive, taut but never overburdened with technical clutter. Jungheim’s storytelling is also marked by well‑timed layers of world and character detail, each arriving exactly as the narrative needs them. A brief meta moment sees a character reflecting on how first contact killed sci‑fi’s old imagination, adding cultural depth without interrupting momentum. And beyond the book’s interesting characters and speculative elements, the entangled politics and lore are meticulously constructed and clearly conveyed, guiding the reader through a universe that feels both vast and accessible. A futuristic saga about adaptation and survival in a war‑torn system, Savages of the Bulk is a gripping military space‑opera perfect for readers who want to get lost in dazzling new worlds.
