A fantasy book written in the future after the 2020 election causes a world war. The Void is created which is basically a no mans land with no government ruling in Texas. We follow along with three different stories, one about gifted children, a Texas ranger and “the defender.” All seem to get caught up in an elaborate cover up by the government. I did not feel like this story had any character development. The characters seem too good to be true. If something does go wrong it’s quickly fixed. Things were happening but at the same time not. There was a lot of description of the weapons used and those were well done. In the end it was hard for me to finish this book because there was nothing drawing me back. I didn’t care what happened to the characters and found the whole book shallow. Written for NetGallery

This book is set in Texas, 60 years after the Cultural War Treaty ceded Texas to create "the Void", a land where the rules are what you make of them and what you can defend. The Federal Government cannot legally enter the Void nor interfere with their ability to self govern. The population living in the Void is as you would imagine, good guys, bad guys and really bad guys. The main settlement is led by a family with some unique strengths, the Walsh family utilizes the many resources they possess to keep the citizens safe. Then you have the Defender, a man of mythical talents that is seen as a very real threat to the Government's plans for the citizens of the Void. And, being in Texas, you have the Texas Rangers, defenders with considerable resources themselves. This is the back story of a very good western/ action thriller/ fantasy journey.

The Walsh family along with a large group of scientists and engineers have managed to utilize their technological resources to educate an army-to be of children who have amazing powers of their own. The Government...the really bad guys in this story...decide they will enter the Void and take these children. And so war is started again....

Writing all of this, the story sounds strange and confusing, but it's really not. It's a very good western set in a technological stage where the good guys are forced to protect their homes and families on a daily basis then must face an even larger enemy that have more and better weapons. David vs Goliath could also be an analogy but the western one is more fun to imagine. Add in the rogue Texas Rangers and how could you not have an excellent beginning to what should be a kick ass series.

A great read full of action. Good story line and development of characters. It was hard to put down.

Thank you to #NetGalley and BookBuzz for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.