The Attribute of the Strong – Stephen J Sweeney

This is a book review of The Attribute of the Strong (Battle for the Solar System, #3), a third book in a trilogy by Stephen Sweeney.

I read the first of this trilogy back in December 2011 and the second last month. I enjoyed reading both books, and it was time once again to jump back into the space opera and read the final book!

I’m not going to spend long on an overview. In this sci-fi book the focus is around four core characters who fly highly advanced and almost invulnerable starfighters. Which is just as well as one part of humanity is hell bent on destroying everyone, civilian and military alike.

This book doesn’t tease and it doesn’t leave loose ends! This is definitely not a standalone book, you should ideally have at least read the second in the trilogy, and to maximise your enjoyment have read the first.

If space battles sprinkled with romance is your thing, then this space opera is for you! However it is a monster of a book, perhaps too long, but that being said I polished it off in a few days as it was hard to resist.

Ever watch a TV series and wonder how some characters are still alive? Well the same often applies to action and sci-fi literature books, especially if part of a series. However Stephen Sweeney was willing to take the gloves off and bloody his story.

It was book three and various questions raised throughout the trilogy were answered. Though someone did eat some snow on the enemy’s home world, which left me thinking another conclusion was going to occur! 😉

This should give confidence to those considering reading the trilogy, as rest assured you will find a conclusion at the end of book three, and not everything left on the table unresolved!

Did I like all of the story? No, but then that can often be said of stories. On a positive note the pace and build up was superbly measured.

So to conclude, a strong sci-fi story that should satisfy space battle nerds (which I am). If you enjoyed the monster space battles in the final days of DS9, then you definitely should check it out!

Also it should be noted Stephen Sweeney has a great style of writing, and I will be sure to check out his other books as well.