Book Review: ‘Awakened Horror’ by Quill Holland

Awakened Horror is the second book in Quill Holland’s science fiction series: The Forgotten Saga.

Set a few years after the events of Holland’s first novel Forgotten Evil, protagonist Raith is enjoying the life he fought so hard for – a simple but good life on the planet Gaia with his wife and children. But, in those intervening years, the galactic-sized mechanical death machine (aka the Horror) that we saw awaken in Forgotten Evil’s epilogue has finally arrived. Seemingly unstoppable, only by working together can humanity survive. However the Republic and the last remnants of the Tynan Empire are more concerned with annihilating each other than co-operating. Is this the end for humanity?

Straightaway I liked how Holland set up the orbital Horror with the prologue told from the machine’s point of view. Rather than having it make an ‘out of nowhere’ appearance mid-story, by starting the novel with the Horror’s journey through space it gives the entity a foreboding and lurking presence in the earlier chapters as we wait for the characters to realise the danger they are in. We also get a little more backstory on the Horror which I liked.

One of the sci-fi elements I like about The Forgotten Saga is the inclusion of the time differences that exist on journeys between planets. Rather than spaceships arriving at their destinations in a blink of an eye, it takes the characters several months to travel to a new location – with the option of staying awake or entering cyrosleep. While I do wish the longer effects of characters experiencing time at a different rate to each other had been explored more I liked that time and distance play an important obstacle in the narrative. For example when the Horror attacks the planet Akka its residents know help is months away. Similarly when racing to their aid, Raith knows that he may be months too late to make a difference. Altogether this world building element builds tension as it adds to the ticking-clock deadline of the plot.

Raith continues to be an interesting lead character. Now free from the voice of Emperor Tynan Khidar that previously resided in his head Raith is able to fully become his own person. When faced with conflict and dilemmas he is able to draw on his own battle with good and evil to sway arguments. Preferring to fight with words rather than weapons, Raith often serves as the moral compass of the story by metaphorically holding up a mirror to the actions of corrupt leaders and continually striving for a better world that is free from evil and control.

The carefully chosen title, Awakened Horror, refers to more than one dangerous element in the story. Firstly you have the Horror itself – the unmanned (as far as we know) Death Star-like machine that humanity inadvertently draws the ire of. The second, and surprise enemy in the novel, is the semi-resurrected Tynan. In hindsight, I should have guessed that a character like Tynan had fail-safes against death. His lust for power and personal vendetta against Raith are the source of many of the story’s conflicts. The third character who could fall under the heading of ‘awakened horror’ is Raith himself. We know that he will always have some of Tynan’s darkness inside him but Raith makes a conscious decision to fight and not awaken the horror that is buried within him.

Awakened Horror is a sprawling space opera that visits both paradise and hell over the course of its story. The novel manages to blend the backdrop of sci-fi with a core narrative about one man’s desire to keep his family safe. It expands on the previous novel’s exploration of good versus evil with scenes of self-reflection leading to a better understanding of self-identity.

With the ending once again setting up a clear sequel, I can only imagine what Holland has in store for Raith in book three.

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An Advanced Reader Copy of ‘Awakened Horror’ was kindly provided by Quill Holland. For more information about the author, check out Quill’s website.

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