THE STORY OF X0

A band of unlikely allies faces off against a military force and an unmerciful living universe in Jose and Robert Argaluza’s SF/thriller debut.

Ex-assassin Dynasty’s latest job—swiping a device from an Anexsein Empire military base—goes belly up after someone sabotages his plan. In the course of escaping the base, Dynasty runs into a woman named Celina being held there, floating in a liquid-filled glass tank. She has superhuman powers and fixes Dynasty’s rickety spaceship with a snap of her fingers, allowing the two to reach temporary refuge on another planet. This is where they meet Jade, who can form crystal blades on her arms, and Death, a Shadow Knight—the same man who stopped Dynasty from getting that device. The four reluctantly form an alliance, as it’s clear they’ve got the Anexsein military on their heels. A secret kept by Celina soon gives rise to another threat that the allies must confront: She’s the creation of Nyxothar, an immortal being who consumes entire universes. Celina is the key to activating the enigmatic X0 station, which will unleash Nyxothar’s power and be the end of everything. In the meantime, humans who’ve been trying to comprehend the X0 station have opened a small portal releasing the Hollows, an assortment of vicious creatures that periodically attack Dynasty and the others. If the four can stay ahead of a tenacious military force, fight off a host of bloodthirsty otherworldly monsters, and shut down the station without inadvertently activating it and annihilating the universe, then there’s a relatively good chance they’ll survive.

This briskly paced yarn features electrifying characters with fantastical abilities. The leads are effectively antiheroes—Dynasty once killed for the Anexsein Empire, Jade yearns for revenge, and both Celina and Death have murky pasts. Trust among the group isn’t easy to come by, especially as Celina initially confides in only one of the others (who keeps her secret) and the consistently unpredictable Death envies and seems intent on taking Celina’s power. As such, the people coming after these four aren’t necessarily villains; the standouts include hard-as-nails Gen. Capt. Ja Posa and a special forces team called the Royal Flushes with members named Queen, Jack, and Ten (they possess “Skills so ridiculous they might as well have been main characters in their own story”). The authors dish out innumerable action scenes that boast an even mix of gunfire and supernatural powers: One of Death’s abilities is taking control of a corpse for a short window of time, while Dynasty, echoing Jade’s crystal blades, can summon a sword that materializes in his hand. The frenetic pacing does occasionally backfire, especially in earlier, hasty scenes—the allies find themselves on a farming planet that’s more than it appears in a chapter that sacrifices any potential suspense by ending too quickly. The action intensifies as Dynasty and company focus on their mutual goal of taking out the X0 station. The blistering final act begets a few turns that most readers won’t see coming and closes with a hint of a sequel.

A robust, diverting cast fuels this action-packed, interplanetary ride.