I continued going after the first book of Defiance and the series keeps getting better. The writing has improved a bit but the real reason I keep going is that the further Zac progresses and learns about his unique heritage the deeper the story gets. The initial story of a thirty year old marketing exec being inducted into a System run universe and fighting alone to overcome an alien demon incursion isn't remarkable for the genre but we like rooting for the mortal underdog as he blunders his way along. Except it quickly becomes clear that Zac isn't exactly the underdog when it comes to his amazing luck and hints that his mother wasn't from Earth. His background is truly unique and it gradually appears that his cultivation and advancement will effect the entire multi-verse. Nope, no spoilers here, if you want an idea of what's going on you have to read book two.

The series almost lost me midway through book three when Zac prevails and Earth is finally free of incursions. The one trip Zac had taken off-world at that point seemed crammed with things the author told us were important but had no relevance to the story of Earth's fate. Honestly, aside from introducing a few side characters that would later provide Zac with connections to other factions it was underwhelming. The same was true of Earth's victory. It felt a rather flat. Not even Zac's unique heritage, still mostly a mystery then, would have intrigued me enough to keep going if the series wasn't included in Kindle Unlimited. Which would have been a real shame because the world building and Zac's story both take off in book four as he leaves Earth to keep advancing. Oddly, Defiance shares one of the main attractions from the Highlander television series, glimpses of the past. In this case as he develops his bloodlines, he relives pivotal memories from two ancient ancestors which usually leave more questions than they answer but pre-date the existence of the System. Just when you think Zac has found a connection to his present he learns something new that leads in a different direction entirely.

Ultimately, this is a series that focuses on the development of a single character. While PoV occasionally shifts to a side character for a few pages it's almost all about Zac. His advancement through battle and cultivation is incredibly detailed. Most of it is action oriented, even if he's sitting in a cultivation cave trying to advance his soul. I thought Brink might speed up those details as Zac advanced but if anything it slows down because advancement gets harder as you level. So far there are thirteen books in the series (number fourteen releases in Dec. 2024) and Zac is barely halfway to the ultimate stage of cultivation. But in addition to the System advancement there is Zac's path of self discovery as he deals with his powerful but possibly sociopathic mother, his double or possibly triple bloodline, and being used by different factions including the System itself to achieve their mysterious goals.

I don't plan on reviewing each book since the series will keep going for a long time but I can say it's worthwhile if you like the genre and don't mind getting sucked into a long saga.