The volume opens with background on how recruiting for the war effort for both sides has evolved over time. As the war front shifted away from the two worlds, native recruitment waned. An all-volunteer army from home combined with aggressive outsourcing enabled many from Wreath and Landfall to become emotionally detached from the conflict. It was "over there" and not something to really think about.
It's been three months since the events that concluded volume four. Dengo, the mourning robot father who took Alana, Hazel, and Klara (Marko's mom) hostage, not to mention kidnapping Prince Robot IV's son, has decided that he needs help in elevating the status of his cause. So, he contacts "The Last Revolution," a resistance group whose methods make them seem more like terrorists. Dengo insists that they're merely trying to end the war. Meanwhile, Marko, Prince Robot IV, Yuma, and Ghüs are still out searching for them.
Marko confesses to Yuma that he's concerned about his penchant for violence. She tries to help him work through it by offering him some Fadeaway, the drug that Alana got hooked on in volume four. When asked where she got it, Yuma replied that she got it from a veteran. Marko is surprised, but she counters, "Honestly, you're probably one of the only vets who's not using." She went further, stating that Alana used it to try and find "peace." It's a window into another aspect of the suffering that the war has caused.
In the third storyline, Gwendolyn, The Brand, Sophie, Lying Cat, and Sweet Boy are still looking for a compound that can cure The Will. It dawned on me that I'd forgotten to point out that this storyline is actually a few years ahead of the others. Sophie had grown into a tween. In both this volume and the last, she resents being treated like a child and strives for the others to take her seriously. She asks questions of the Brand which seem a bit too adult for someone her age and takes risks that she isn't quite up to task in accomplishing. The Brand tries to find middle ground between treating her like a child and an adult.
Ultimately, these storylines are resolved in this volume—though not without consequences—and the stage is set for new storylines in the next volume.
The artwork continues to be outstanding, particularly the scenes on the impossible world of Demimonde. Coloring remains brilliant yet realistic. And while there's the usual scenes of sex and violence, there's a particularly nasty look at a dragon that rivals the troll balls from volume one. You have been warned.
4.5 stars
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DED
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