Y’all we are SO back! The NeoG is back in business with a tense, well-plotted race against the clock as our familiar group gets separated and has to dismantle a highly politicized space station hijacking from within (Max) and without (everyone else but most notably Nika, D’Arcy, and Jenks with Sapphi, Tamago, and Chae reprising their supporting roles). While the chapters themselves are kind of long, they’re broken up into punchy little sections that serve to maintain relentless forward momentum while giving us action (so many good little fight scenes), political background, hostage negotiation, collaboration with a long-time enemy, and good old investigation.

While this one is technically action- and plot-heavy, it doesn’t lose the found family aspect as characters continue to check in with and support each other as the going gets tough - and we even get to see snippets of the hard work of recovery after that kind of trauma.

I’m very happy to say that I’ll just pretend book 3 doesn’t exist and continue to look forward to potentially more NeoG books in the future!

I enjoy a good sci-fi and can appreciate the action in this book.

I signed up for the arc because it's labeled as a standalone. However I immediately felt like I was missing out on a whole lot of backstory. There were so many characters and actions and labels going on I struggled to even attempt to catch up.

I feel like I need to start from the beginning to fully appreciate this work.

I wanted to like this book more than I actually did. It isn't a bad book by any means - if you're a fan of the NeoG series, I'm sure you'll love it. Here we find the NeoG heroes engaged in a complicated political and terrorist situation above Mars as the orbital station/gateway to Mars is being handed over to Martian control.

But there's a problem here. The marketing for this book will tell you that the books of the NeoG series are stand-alones that are linked together, but this is absolute nonsense. If you do not know the characters (as I didn't) or the universe (as I didn't), this book drops you in the middle of a universe you won't understand and with characters you don't know. Very little is explained - it is assumed that you're up-to-date on the series, so if you're wondering what "boarding games" are...or who runs Earth...or what the deal with Trappist is (or WHERE it is)...or the situation on Mars...sorry - you're out of luck here. Or even what the difference between NeoG and the rest of Earth's military is. Yes, you're told in the blurb about how this is inspired by the Coast Guard and sure...I get that. Except that seems a stretch in what is going on in this book.

Moreover, there is so much backstory on the characters that you don't get (because, as I said, you're dropping in media res) I actually had to put the book down and look for summaries of the three prior books in order to understand anything. Max comes across as kind of a borderline "Mary Sue" if you don't know all that backstory (to be clear - she is not one...and I hate that term...but again...I'm reading this as the 'stand=alone' that it was labeled as). Same for other characters. You don't get the impact of the characters on different sides because you've never met them before. I don't know if this is a marketing fail or if the author really believes these are stand-alone novels. But it was incredibly frustrating.

The constant pronouns thing - look, I get it. And let me be absolutely clear - people should be called however they want...I have NO PROBLEM with they/them/their or whatever someone wants to be called. It is just so much in this books (and I assume the prior ones) that I found it getting in the way of the story. And the story itself is fine! I just don't understand why this is being marketed as a stand-alone when it clearly isn't. I probably never would have read it if it wasn't.

Sadly, my experience has probably meant that I'm not going to go back and read the back catalog. And that's probably a shame since there is some interesting stuff in the background here. I'm afraid 3 stars is the best I can do. As always, ymmv.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book - all opinions are entirely my own and freely given.

Have you ever wanted to read Die Hard set on a space station? If so this is the book for you.
Fourth in the NeoG series of good Space adventures with great characters.

I like K.B. Wagers but not all of K.B. Wagers. These NeoG books leave me cold. In this standalone we have treachery and deception in the handover of the NeoG station to Mars authority. It's ok but not what I prefer from this author.

The tenuous peace between the rulers of MARS and the NeoG organization is broken by a shocking act of terrorism and Commander Maxine Carmichael is smack dab in the middle of it. Forced to avoid and fight terrorists on a orbital space station. With politics playing a role, the situation spins out of control. Former enemies become tentative friends in order to ensure a peaceful end to the situation. All the characters from previous NeoG novels make an appearance, but in an older, mature way. I enjoyed this entry in the series.

I generally have liked K.B. Wagers but this series got off to a slow start for me. I didn't love the framing mechanism of the Boarding Games all that much but those, while still part of the background, have fallen away as a major thematic element during the series. By book four what is left is adrenaline laced, taut hostage drama, layered conspiracies and revelations, and a familiar crew of well drawn characters going on a traumatic roller coaster ride. Wager doesn't pull punches and is isn't afraid to harm familiar characters in service to a strong plot. Well done. Start at the series beginning for full impact (Boarding Games and all.)

1 star, Trigger Warnings Not Disclosed

AND THE MIGHTY WILL FALL
by K. B. Wagers

From the blurb, this looked like it might have been a good or great science fiction book. I was mistaken. The book's first character that's introduced has mental illness. Usually, a book starts disclosing mental illnesses further in. With this book, the sixth word describes the mental illness. I would never have requested this book if there had been trigger warnings disclosed.

I received a complimentary copy with no obligation to post a review.

#mentalillness #scifi #andthemightywillfall #triggerwarning @harpervoyagerus @avonbooks #netgalley

A great adventure for the NeoG and their fans. A word of warning: it picks up a few years after the last one, so a lot of stuff has changed. I absolutely went online and checked to see if I'd missed a book. There's a lot of twists and the action is well paced. I enjoyed this book and will continue to look for more from this author.

My thanks to NetGalley for making an eARC of this book available to me.

This is just non-stop action from the get-go. You may suffer from whiplash due to the constant and rapid changes to the point of view, but if you can suffer your way through it you'll be most gratified by this book. All of your old favorite players are back, plus a few new ones. This is a book of action, adventure, conspiracy, and found family. Definitely recommended (although you really should read this series in order from the beginning).