Despite the Ash Angel victories in the prior books, the threat from the Dreads has only increased and the Ash Angel Organization finds itself on the verge of collapsing. Other Dread Loremasters have risen in power to fill the power vacuum at the top, and the war has grow so large that it now threatens entire cities of normals. As an Angel Born, Helo may possess power never before heard of, but that is also true of the new Dread leadership. Toss in the fact that Aclima is now back on the dark side, and Helo has limited options available to him. He knows that he can't win this fight without the other Ash Angels, but since he finds himself alone in his belief that Aclima can still be redeemed, joining up with them could cost Aclima her life. Despite his best efforts, Helo finds himself on a path where he may have to kill the only woman he has come to love in his afterlife in order for good to triumph over evil. Could he even do it?

Charlie's life has been going steadily downhill for several years. When he sees a report that his wealthy uncle has died, he doesn't expect it to impact his life since he hasn't heard from the uncle since his mom's funeral decades ago. But when he has to stop the guests from stabbing the corpse at the funeral to make sure it's actually dead he begins to suspect that not all of his uncle's wealth came from owning parking garages. Before he knows it, he has inherited a private island complete with volcano and hidden base. Charlie's first crisis as a new supervillain comes as soon as the plane lands. It seems some of his minions feel that their working conditions are unfair, so he's forced to fake his way through negotiations with supersmart asshole dolphins. The supersmart cats are management, so they don't have any complaints. Then he has a crash course in supervillain 101 because in less than a week he's due to meet the other dozen supervillains. All of which hated his uncle and see him as easy prey.

The victory against King in the first book is short lived, and the evil Dreadlords are determined to seek retribution in a very personal way. After their rebirth, Ash Angels keep their distance from their former family members and acquaintances; however, the Dread follow no such rules. Aclima warns Helo that he does not understand what lengths Cain will go through to exact revenge, and as events unfold, her warning is spot on. Helo and the Ash Angels are not prepared for what comes their way, and Cain is always one step ahead of them. Aclima becoming an Ash Angel provides access to an amazing wealth of Dread knowledge, but not everyone trusts her intel. Will her unprecedented turning to the good side make the difference or is it all just part of Cain's plan?

After surviving the horrors of humans and robots corrupted by alien ruins in Network Effect Murderbot is more than ready to take it's humans back to Preservation where they belong. Sadly it's humans, along with ART's humans, are determined to save the colonists from the greedy corporation trying to lock them into labor contracts in return for resettling them on a safer planet. Translation: the corp is trying to lock them into slavery and get them out of the way so it can exploit the planet's resources and sell the illegal alien material on the black market without disclosing the horrible corruption of bots and humans it causes. If only the idiotic colonists weren't still determined to disagree with anything another faction wants. At least they've quit killing each other so now it's only the remaining corrupted bots that Murderbot has to fight until the idiotic colonists finally remember that there might be another settlement hidden on the planet in yet another potentially infected pre-corporate bunker. Somehow life continues to live down to Murderbot's expectations.

I'm not into most urban fantasy, and heaven vs hell is also not a genre that usually grabs me, but I am a sucker for a well defined magic system. In Dread Uprising, if someone gives their life for another, then there is a chance they can be re-awakened as an Ash Angel. If their ashes are spread at the location where they were killed during the summer solstice, then there is a chance they will return as an Ash Angel. This is exactly what happens to Trace and he finds himself thrust into the eternal struggle against the Dread, who are created in a similar but opposite way. A Dread must have killed someone else while alive, and then the dust of their remains must be taken to the location of the murder. Ash Angels earn divine gifts known as bestowals, which are powers they may use against the Dread, and after 7 bestowals they ascend into heaven. Despite these powers, for the first time in history, the Dreads have the upper hand and the Ash Angels now find their numbers greatly reduced.

Shards of Glass is set in the same world as The Chronicles of Elantra and shares some characters, but it is set at the Academia , which appeared in the fifteenth book, Cast in Wisdom. It isn't necessary to have read Cast in Wisdom, but it would be very helpful. Robin was homeless and living on the streets of Elantra's worst slum when he was kidnapped and thrown into the Academia. Now that the Academia is a school again, he wants his friend Raven to join him. Robin loves the Academia, but Raven isn't sure it's safe, especially when a third student is found dead on her first day there. These deaths are disturbing because the Academia's spirit, Killian, did not "see" what happened. Two of the dead students were immortal and found without a mark on them to indicate cause of death. Even stranger, Raven alone can see a piece of the glass she collects under the body. Robin should be more surprised, but he's always known Raven was peculiar. Maybe he can accept that his best friend isn't human, but if he wants to stop the killings and save the Academia, Robin will have to accept that he's not an ordinary human boy either.

Ascendant gives off strong YA vibes right from the start, as it focuses on two young characters destined to change the world around them. Koren, a young peasant boy that could be the most powerful wizard the kingdom of Tarador has ever seen, and Crown Princess Ariana, who will become queen of Tarador on her 16th birthday. Unless, of course, the acting Regent allows the kingdom to be conquered before then. So when Ariana is ambushed by the enemy, it just happens to be Koren who saves her, thus setting up the inevitable desire for a romantic relationship that can never be. This also allows Koren's unknown wizard powers to be discovered by the court wizard and he is instantly pegged to be the savior the kingdom needs. But before that can happen, the adults in power need to screw everything up so the kids can save the day, and that can take a while.

Despite being the most capable warrior the trolls have seen in generations, Tryton was never comfortable with the war-like ways of his people. He took it upon himself to change that, and he has managed to forge peace for his people. Now the rock trolls play the role of protectors instead of killers, inspiring respect instead of fear. Rock troll society has also drastically changed and children are now raised by their parents. This was important to Tryton and he has now raised 3 children of his own since the last book. However, despite the new peaceful existence he has created for his family, Tryton has still trained all of his children for war. They are all capable warriors, which is good because as they come of age the ugly specter of war returns. A war that threatens all races, not just the trolls, but only the martial prowess of the trolls can save them all...

This story is all about the question of how and why an alien species might divide a planet so that one half remained in its natural state while the other half was terraformed. With help from scientists and her own imagination Czerneda pulls together threads of cryogenic colony ships, strange worlds, artificial intelligence, and alien minds so different from ours that every interaction is a puzzle. Even the human civilization of New Earth, the first and only known settlement of Original Earth, has some unexpected aspects. The characters and plot tend to take a backseat to the unique and strange possibilities of the universe in this speculative sci-fi story.

It is the way of the rock trolls to advance in rank by challenging those above them in combat. When you win, you get the rank of the defeated troll, and this process extends all the way to the top. It also means that when a troll is killed, those that remain may fight for the vacated position. It is within this system that newly named King Sybrik assumes power, and that bodes ill for Tryton. The former king saw potential in Tryton's new belief system for troll society, but Sybrik absolutely does not. In fact, Sybrik is so full of contempt for Tryton and his followers that he feels they have no place in troll society. Tryton knows he can beat most of his superiors in combat, but he also knows he cannot beat Sybrik. So it should be no surprise that shortly after Sybrik ascends to the throne, Tryton finds himself and his followers exiled from the only home he has ever known.