The Messenger: Decent sci-fi adventure.

The Messenger (The Messenger, #1) by J.N. Chaney and Terry Maggert
My rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ out of 5 stars

Dash never asked to be a mech pilot, but fate has other plans.

On the run and out of chances, he guides his ship and crew into the heart of a relic older than the galaxy itself–and finds himself on the edge of an eternal war he never knew existed.

The relic is a mech, lost to history and forgotten by all who remain. Built by an ancient race to be the ultimate weapon, the machine is capable of unspeakable destruction, and its discovery could unhinge the balance of power throughout known space.

Worse still, the A.I. inside the machine speaks of an ancient evil that will soon arrive–a race whose power far exceeds anything humanity has ever witnessed.

Only the Messenger can stand against them, the A.I. tells its new pilot. Only you can do what must be done.

This is one of those books that is more fiction than science. It is a decent enough adventure story but it is at times somewhat silly and simplistic.

I do like the idea of the story though. A rash freelance pilot does, due to a series of more or less believable circumstances, end up with a friendly combat mech from a hugely advanced but extinct (maybe) ancient race. Unfortunately, said combat mech was created for the purpose of repelling a race of mechanoids who considers it their purpose to rid the galaxy from any advanced biological life and our hero is the “chosen” one to ride the mech into the fight.

To make matters worse, the mech is not finished and our hero has to wonder around in space to collect the missing pieces. This is where, to me, the story kind of devolves into something you would find in a video game rather than a book but okay, it’s not too bad.

Pretty early on our hero picks up some friends, a girl (of course), a master mechanic and a genius kid. Together with the mech, who is sentient by the way, they form a merry band embarking on a adventurous journey.

There are some other bad guys thrown into the mix as well just to make life a bit more exiting. Although I have to say that these jerks, who happens to be fanatics, are really not adding much except to throw our hero and his mech into one frustrating situation after another.

On the hole I found it a enjoyable read. It’s not great but definitely enjoyable. Much of my enjoyment probably comes more from the fact that I like the story rather than the implementation though. Having said that, I find both the sentient mech and our hero’s new friends quite likable.

There’s a second book coming out in October and I will most likely read that one as well before I pass final verdict on whether to continue to read the series or not.