This is the continued saga of First Scout Terrllss-rr and one that keeps you turning the pages until the end and, screaming, “No! He can’t end it now, not like this!” I absolutely loved the suspense and the many twists and turns. Stefan keeps you on the edge of your seat trying to figure out what is going to happen next.
The Serrll government has been utilizing Terr’s special ability to summon Death by having him terminate key officials unfriendly to the government. But now the government has decided to leak the information about his last assignment. This has given Terr some powerful enemies and he has been marked for death. At the same time, the Serrll has another encounter with the Orieli, an alien power from a globular cluster above the galaxy. The last visit by the Orieli was four years earlier and one man in particular, Anatol Keller, is not happy to see them again. The Orieli want to set up an observatory on the dark side of the Earth’s moon to monitor potential incursion of a machine intelligence bent on destroying all organic lifeforms.
The Serrll government has assigned Terr to assist the Orieli in setting up the observatory and to keep an eye on the Orieli. Tensions mount as both sides size each other up and test how far each has progressed since the last encounter. Added to the tense situation, Earth’s newest survey satellite happens to be over the Serrll Moon Base when the shield system fail and Earth discovers that they are not alone.
Orieli delegates and Terr visit Earth and announce their presence to the United Nations. Their appearance on Earth creates confusion and cultural shock. On the Moon, accidents are starting to happen to Terr and he realizes that he is caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse. When his training ship crash on Earth, U.S. authorities decide to take advantage of this unique opportunity to study him and the crashed spaceship. Terr must now fight for his freedom.
With Shadow and Thunder is a must read. There are so many twists and turns that it literally keeps you on the edge of your seat. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and was extremely disappointed when it ended. I am eagerly looking forward to reading more about Terr in the future works by Stefan Vucak. The story is initially a little slow getting into because he is introducing so many plots, but please don’t let that stop you. This book is well worth the read and I highly recommend it.
Review by Debbie Braaten
