The Deep Man Trilogy by Michael Mersault
Book 1: The Deep Man
Book 2: The Silent Hand
Book 3: The Presence Malign
Military science fiction space opera
Amazon Cover
BOOK BLURB ON BAEN for THE DEEP MAN
A relic of humanity’s violent past, this old weapon stands ready for the Emperor to wield.
The Galactic Imperium of the Myriad Worlds slumps into centuries of decadent peace enabled by a flood of advanced technology from the mysterious nonhuman “Shapers.” Among the great Families, only the once-mighty clan of Sinclair-Maru remembers the maxims of the warrior Emperor, Yung I, ready to defend the Imperium from any threat.
Stubbornly clinging to the Honor Code, Family prodigy Saef Sinclair-Maru finds himself in command of an outmoded, under-equipped frigate of the Imperial Fleet. With spies and assassins on every side, trusting only in his considerable skill and the bizarre competence of his companion, Inga, Saef must complete his mission, restore the greatness of his Family, and uncover the chilling plot meant to extinguish humanity’s light from the galaxy.
MY REVIEW for THE DEEP MAN
Full disclosure: Received at the 2024 ConGregate Baen Book Roadshow for free. No review required.
Vibes: Libertarian-style military sci-fi with swordfights, gunfights, spaceship battles, ground action, mechs, aliens, intelligent ships, Dune-like quotes – wonderful goodness. Some of Baen at its best.
The Reality: I know I said “Libertarian” and initially it does seem to be that superman-styled story which assumes everyone and anyone is capable of reaching the pinnacle of society and if they don’t, it is their own fault. Our hero, Saef, won the genetic lottery and is a child prodigy for what his Family values. And here is where that goes off the political embrace of perfection from individuals create a perfect society. The world-building is for military action with specialization; Saef does not and cannot act alone. He is not capable of everything. He depends on Inga, and a long list of shipmates, specialists from Ops to Micro-Engineering. He depends on his Family for financial and emotional support, and supports them as well. So while the vibe of Libertarian is strong, the end result, when you peel back the presentation falls short of the extreme. The world-building is about everyone is necessarily, whatever their specialty – cook to corporate, for society to survive.
Overall, I would give the book a 4.5 stars. The manuscript seems to fall just shy of the best of science fiction. I could use a bit more humor; one character was inserted for humor purposes but, at the moment, seems to have no other reason for being. Claude isn’t integral to the first story of the trilogy.
But even beyond that, something just doesn’t sit right. A vibe humming just a breath off tune. It took some time to figure out. Science Fiction, the ones I like the best, are about hope, a study of potential. The Deep Man skirts the edge. An amazing society allowing people to push themselves to nearly unimaginable levels through leveraging alien tech; but at the same time has devastating poverty. Every single success at the same time also has a painful cost.
With great power comes great responsibility.
That dancing on the edge between hope and despair, between power and payment, is extremely well-done. Maybe the best hugging of that razor-honed edge I’ve ever seen. I’m going to round up to a full five stars.
Amazon Cover
BOOK BLURB ON BAEN for THE SILENT HAND
HARD-HITTING MILITARY ACTION AND POLITICAL DRAMA FOR READERS OF DUNE AND DORSAI!
They said ten-year-old street urchin Inga was perfect for their purpose, taken from the squalor of Port City to the asteroid enclave, Hawksgaard, where she underwent the training and augmentation that transformed her. Maturing to full lethality even as war erupts among the Myriad Worlds, Inga is assigned to protect Family scion, Captain Saef Sinclair-Maru as he leads the fight against humanity’s merciless enemy.
The vessel: IMS Hightower
The mission: Rescue a trapped Legion force from the surface of Delta Three.
The crisis: Nothing is as it appears.
With Marines plummeting into surface combat, an orbital space battle raging, and assassins swarming within Hightower, the stakes could scarcely be greater, but in the midst of this tumult, treacherous revelations continue to unfold. A mysterious enemy emplacement, a vanished civilian population, the inexplicable powers suddenly unleashed: Each new facet of discovery creates a deadly path leading from Delta Three to the heart of the Imperium and the emperor himself. To seize any chance for victory—or even survival—Inga must accept the irrevocable course leading from the remnants of her own humanity to the fullness of the Silent Hand.
MY REVIEW for THE SILENT HAND
The Silent Hand, as book 2 in the Deep Man Trilogy, holds what is usually the “saggy middle” slot. It is anything but; stronger than the first, it resulted in a night of reading ignoring all the duties I had the next (week)day which needed a full sleep, after a day of ignoring the weekend tasks and chores, and finally arriving at the next day’s wake-up alarm with a book-hangover.
Worth it.
The worldbuilding, which was good in the first book, DELIVERS in the second. The interpersonal relationships established in the first book, amaze. The technology created for this military science fiction, makes this book.
If you love military science fiction, especially of the naval variety with some political intrigue to have some spice for the ship-to-ship battles and the ground-pounding marine action, this delivers.
I personally would love some slice-of-life humor, but that doesn’t seem to be in Mr. Mersault’s writing toolkit. But the stuff he does have in that box of tools, he has mastered.
Now off to sleep.
Amazon Cover
BOOK BLURB ON BAEN for THE PRESENCE MALIGN
In a desperate fight for humanity’s survival, Captain Saef Sinclair-Maru must lead the powerful private warship Salahdiin and an unlikely alliance against genocidal forces, balancing the demands of shareholders with the heart of a rebellion.
Piracy, War, and Humanity’s Last Stand
The heavy cruiser Salahdiin is the most powerful private warship in the history of the Myriad Worlds, and bears a Letter of Marque, the Imperial charter for legalized piracy. As the most successful fighting captain of the Imperial Fleet, Saef Sinclair-Maru is the ideal choice to command the privateer, but exchanging egotistical admirals for demanding shareholders carries its own unique challenges, particularly when the fate of humanity lies in the balance.
While war rages within the Imperium, few comprehend the inhuman instigators at the heart of the conflict or their genocidal ambitions, but Saef and his counterpart, Inga, draw a surprising coterie of allies to their campaign of desperate resistance, including spy master Winter Yung, former Molo Ranger Kyle Whiteside, and even Erik Sturmsohn, a Thorsworld war chieftain sworn to overthrow the emperor.
Together, in the face of approaching annihilation, they each must choose: Obedience to the edicts of their leaders, or loyalty to a deeper motivation that defines the very heart of humanity.
MY REVIEW for THE PRESENCE MALIGN
The Presence Malign finishes the Deep Man Trilogy with a satisfying bang. While the society of this series is very libertarian leaning, a favorite political-structure choice for military science fiction writers, the flows of this type of society are exploited by invading aliens – the cracks opening up a lethal weakness for the aliens to insert the killing blade. Can the “supermen” from previous books – the “Deep Man” Saef Sinclair-Maru, a paladin of a military leader; the “Silent Hand” Inga, a waif turned into a nanobot-enhanced killing tool; and the Imperial spy master Winter Yung survive with their lives, loves, and honor intact?
Loki, the crazed ship intelligence, is a favorite character for me, may he always get his fish.
The book has great pacing with multiple points-of-view, switching between space battles and the political maneuvers on the capital planet. Mr. Mersault has created an immersive world with layers of weight; from the Shaper technology and the horrors of the enemy, everything connects for a solid, believable world-base.
Other reviewers (quoted on the book cover) compare this series to Dune and Honor Harrington and they are not wrong, other than woeful fact this series is ONLY a trilogy. The ending didn’t pull together enough loose ends to satisfy me. I want more of this universe, and I hope Mr. Mersault revisits the Myriad Worlds of the Deep Man Trilogy.
Read the book in two days.