BOOK REVIEW | BLINDSPACE | JEREMY SZAL

ABOUT THE BOOK

Vakov Fukasawa is a Reaper. An elite soldier injected with a dangerous drug called stormtech: the DNA of a genocidal alien race, the Shenoi. It makes him stronger, faster, more aggressive. At a price.

 A price that, if the House of Suns cult isn't stopped, all of humanity will have to pay.

 Vakov saved his estranged brother from the cult and killed their leader. Now they want his head on a spike, and they're hunting him and his friends down to get it, while continuing their mission to awaken the Shenoi and plunge the galaxy into mindless violence and chaos. There's a dangerous journey ahead, but Vakov and his misfit crew of eccentric aliens, troubled bounty hunters and rogue hackers will take any risk to stop the alien awakening. Only there's one risk Vakov hasn't shared: the one he himself poses. He got a terrifying glimpse of the Shenoi in the depths of interstellar space, and the violent nightmares he's suffered since suggest their DNA isn't just inside his body - he might already be fighting them for his mind . . .

REVIEW

The second book in Jeremy Szal’s gritty sci fi epic The Commons, Blindspace expands the universe of Stormblood.

Continuing the fight against the right-wing terrorist group The House of Suns, Reaper Vakov Fukisawa and his storm team raid an off-world installation for the distribution of the drug Stormtech.

Returning back to Harmony in triumph, their victory is short lived as The Jackal, the leader of The House of Suns violently murders one of the Stormblood team and puts it out for all to see, vowing to kill all those that are close to Vak until he gives himself up. 

This leads to a fight to find The House of Suns and hopefully put a stop to it. Except that what it leads them to is an event that will shock the very foundations of Harmony. 

Blindspace is a longer and more contemplative novel than the first in the series. It spends its time building the relationships between the Stormblood team as they become more of a close knit fighting force. That isn’t to say that character development takes the place of action as there are plenty of set pieces in the book to keep the ardent action fan full to the brim for weeks. 

Szal is more confident in this book, more confident in his writing and his storytelling prowess. Willing to give the time for the story to breathe and grow organically, rather than the break neck pace of the original.

With the third book coming out in 2026, get your hands on the books now. You won’t be disappointed.