It’s been 200 years since the events in Helix, and the humans have established a colony on New Earth. In his work as a pilot for the peacekeepers, Jeff Ellis flies a shuttle between the many planets of the Helix.

“This is the Helix… there are no tiers or levels as such, just one continuous spiral: four circuits below the sun, and four above.”

page 9

One day the peace is broken, and Jeff is forced to team up with several aliens to stop a race that is intent on taking over the Helix.

Why is this on our bookshelf?

It’s the epitome of sci-fi; an alien race with advanced technology and evil intentions pitted against humans teamed with other races. And the bad guy on the cover has hands of blue.

Helix Wars has been nominated for the 2012 Philip K Dick award.

Rating (5 stars)

Helix Wars is even better than the original book in the series, Helix. We’re launched into the action from the first chapter, and the pace doesn’t let up as our heroes struggle to save the Helix.

The characters – the real gems of Brown’s writing – shine again, each of them having a clear personality, and it’s impressive to see how they are changed by the events unfolding.

Since Helix Wars is set 200 years after Helix, the plots don’t directly connect, and Helix Wars will read just fine if you haven’t read Helix.