RETURN OF ANARCHY: THE FALL OF NEW AUSTRALIA is the sequel to King Everett Medlin's Rijel 12: The Rise of New Australia. In that book, a penal colony is established in the deepest recesses of space where the most violent and dangerous criminals can be separated from the rest of the intergalactic planetary populations. A secondary benefit of having these prisoners quarantined on Rijel 12 is that they will be put to work mining valuable resources for the rest of humanity to enjoy. So it's a win/win for the government of Earth and The Interplanetary Authority, whose only aim is to punish and isolate this bad element of society. The problem is things don't go exactly as planned and the convicts on Rijel 12 have some plans of their own. You see, they're not really interested in just accepting their servitude lying down without a fight.
Fast forward ten years and much has happened since the events that concluded the previous book. Rijel 12 is now called New Australia and has transformed from a barren wasteland to one that is deluged with constant rain and rife with vegetation. The climate is not the only major change to have taken place however, as the quality of life for those who were imprisoned on the desolate planet have taken a turn for the better. In fact, some would say that they are bordering on thriving.
But this new way of life is not without it's challenges as the population on New Australia must now adapt itself to a place of laws and rules. That's more than a difficult transition for those who have spent the majority of their lives breaking laws and flouting rules at every turn. The question quickly arises whether this burgeoning settlement will destroy itself before it even has an opportunity to flourish. A major power struggle may also be on the horizon that could tear apart everything that has been built up to this point. Can the citizens of New Australia pull everything together before the powers-that-be on Earth see this growing instability as a chance to finish what it started?
RETURN OF ANARCHY: THE FALL OF NEW AUSTRALIA is a very intriguing follow-up to book one in this series. The first book showed us the pain and brutality of war and what happens when a desperate people rise up to claim what they believe is rightfully theirs. This book is more of a slow burn and details what happens when a people who are not used to living in a structured and law-abiding society, find themselves having to do so to survive. The aftermath of the battle of chaos and disorder is sometimes worse than the battle itself.
I found this book to be slightly better than the previous one as the characters have much more to deal with and are thus less one-dimensional in their thoughts and actions. I did feel as if there were times when the writing could have been a little tighter and less of a telling over showing method, because it would have significantly improved my feelings in the end. That being said, the moments of action and suspense glossed over the clunkiness enough for me to enjoy this book for the most part.
If you are looking for an entertaining science-fiction romp that feels like an action movie at times, then you could do a lot worse than RETURN OF ANARCHY: THE FALL OF NEW AUSTRALIA. It's a popcorn read for sure that seems to be coming into its own with each book. Hopefully book three will continue this trend. If you are interested in checking it out, this book was just released on November 21 by Chandra Press. But I would encourage you to start with the first book Rijel 12: The Rise of New Australia before tackling this one. Overall a good SF read.
(My Rating: 7/10)
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