The Rimes Trilogy Boxed Set

I bought this boxed set a couple of years ago when I came across it on sale. I ended up loving P.R. Adams writing. There is enough details in his descriptions so you picture the scenery and what is happening, but it doesn't get bogged down trying to describe every nook and cranny. Some authors can pull off that sort of detail in their descriptions without making the story a slog (hat tip to GRRM) but many fail and end up not only not conveying the imagery in their head, messing up the pacing of their stories. The Rimes trilogy starts out fast paced and full of intrigue and never really changes. When I finished, I read the preview for the "Turning Point" book which is the 1st book of the ERF series (the story successor to the Rimes Trilogy) and enjoyed it all the same. I finally finished a previous book series I was reading and pulled up the full Turning Point book and have not wanted to put it down. I keep telling myself, "One more chapter..." when I know I should go to sleep. If you enjoy Military / Sci-Fi action, then this is a great series. It makes me think if Christopher Nolan wrote a novel instead of making a movie.

This series is some of the best military sci-fi novels I've read in a very long time. The author has created a gritty world, with no easy solutions to the problems facing us today. It's a dark future, showing what may happen as the current economic trends continue and resources become more constrained. Adams weaves in socioeconomic realities, such as corporations gaining power and influence at the expense of individuals. His characters are true to life, flawed, and believable. The protagonist, Jack Rimes, struggles to find his way in this near-future world through tricky situations that don't have clear black and white choices. The books remind me in many ways of “Blade Runner” in it's setting, and the works of Phillip K. Dick and Alfred Bester, with a dash of the cinematic take on Jack Ryan from the Tom Clancy novels. Book two kept me on the edge of my seat - fast paced and exciting. The story picks up with Rimes having completed officer training, and watches him grow in his command. Once again, Adams' characters are complex, entertaining, and believable. As with the first book, there are no easy solutions, no cookie-cutter villains. Adams expands upon the technological and geo-political themes of the first book, where everyday people struggle to make ends meet while the elite live easy, comfortable lives. In "Transition of Order", we see the creation of a new elite commando force heading out to the stars to track down the genetically modified humans who have sworn to eliminate humankind, and the meta-corporations who created them. I found the third book, “Awakening to Judgement”, every bit as good as the preceding two books. As with the other two books, this one also addresses perseverance in the face of adversity, and keeping one’s morals in a shady world. I also liked that each of the three books has a different tone - each book has the same thematic goal, but each gets you there in a different way than the predecessor. I enjoyed “Awakening to Judgement” a lot - as Michael Woods notes in his review, the book takes a bit of an unexpected turn, and it works out very well. Nicely done, PR Adams!

This was a very entertaining story that has well developed characters and an intricate plot.