Recruits by Thomas Lock (Book 1)
Recruits by Thomas Locke is a science fiction novel that sets readers in a present day earth focused on two seventeen year old twins, Sean and Dillon, on the brink of summer feeling as though there is more to their present world than they have been able to truly experience. As the story opens, Sean and Dillon argue over cars and have an encounter with a mysterious new neighbor that they cannot shake. Before too long, they visit the new neighbor and quickly learn that their world is not exactly all there is. If they are willing to take a chance, they may lay hold of more than just their dreams.
As the story unfolds, Sean and Dillon are trained to transit between worlds. In Locke’s science fiction world there are other planets that exist with humans that are more advanced than those on earth. Earth is in fact an outer post not part of a special Assembly. Some people hold the ability to use energy forces to essentially open portals and do other miraculous things. Sean and Dillon are in one sense too old for such training, but after they were discovered Carver is intent on teaching and training them. The man in charge of training, Tirian the Examiner, is against their training and is less than a pleasant man. Nevertheless, Carver and the Counselor proceed with their training.
Sean and Dillon excel quickly in all that they are taught, and by being at the wrong place at the wrong time they set in motion a series of events that almost causes their deaths twice - one by car accident and one by the explosion of their home. More questions than answers, Sean and Dillon end up living in a garage apartment belonging to a friend from school, Carey, who Dillon has an eye for. Prior to the car accident, Carey is almost assaulted by an ex-boyfriend at school and Sean and Dillon use their training in energy force to defeat the main perpetrator and his friends. Carey and her father are immensely grateful to Sean and Dillon.
Unhappy with answers after the loss of their home and the car accident, Sean and Dillon continue to train at a new facility, the actual school run by Tirian who is now missing, and attempt to find some way to investigate on their own. Jumping forward a bit, Tirian is believed to have been the culprit for the destruction of the house, but Dillon is adamant that it was not Tirian. After Tirian is found and arrested, Sean is able to break him down in questioning to get the truth of what happened. What is soon revealed is that the aliens they thought hadn’t been attacking as they once had have actually developed new strategies and have every intention of attacking again. Now, Sean and Dillon along with the other characters must overcome a battle over authority in order to save an entire planet from an alien invasion.
Noteworthy Quotes/Mentions:
“We meet together today in order to determine whether the seed planted in each human at birth has taken root. Despite everything about the physical universe that keeps you trapped. Despite all the reasons you have to lose hope and confine yourself to the mundane” (22).
“The Examiner refused me permission to come here. I went over his head. I argued that if twin recruits can emerge from a society that degrades hope, that scorns the promise of better things…” (29).
Sean and Dillon have classes while they sleep. In one they learn a new language called Serense that is said to be immensely beautiful and has emotion that colors the words to say more of what one really means to say.
Starting on page 49 and through a good portion of the novel there are mentions of the stoic and isolated homelife of Dillon and Sean. There are many mentions of their coldness throughout that ultimately leads to the decision to divorce after the house is destroyed.
In the story the boys sometimes make comments about particular women being “hot” or a “hottie”, liking to see a shorter skirt that shows legs. Specifically in chapter 12 and 13 there is a scene where they pick up three scantily clad college girls to take to a party with mentions of presumed drinking to come. Picking up the girls also comes after the rescuing of Carey.
In chapter 13, Sean sits between two girls in the back of the Charger Dillon is driving and a girl is kissing him on the neck (87). As Sean keeps staring at her, he does eventually realize that she isn't real.
Noise bothers the boys after some of their training and their physical feeling at the noise is compared to the feelings of hangover (65).
“This is your life now. Do you understand what I’m saying? It’s not about where you sleep. It’s about the life you build for yourself. It’s the perspective you take on tomorrow” (139).
“As Carey grew closer to his brother, Sean had the lurking suspicion there was something about his personality or some hidden trait the beauties could smell or sense, something that just plain turned them off” (198).
There are various mentions throughout of Dillon kissing Carey and Sean kissing Elenya. Locke does keep their relationships from moving beyond kissing and in scenes where they must stay the night somewhere, the boys are in one room and the girls in another.
Sean spends time with John Havilland, Carey’s father, and he lies the feeling of being like an adult in that moment and seen as someone with legitimate thoughts and understanding (246).
When Elenya defies her family to be with Sean he doesn’t accept her and what she has done right away. There is a scene where he is processing much, but then the two reconnect and move forward - Chapter 41.
The aliens are said to be able to “take over people” (271).
Page 280, “What granted them entry into an individual also fueled their duplication process.”
“The rage, the fear, the ugly hidden forces that ate at an individual's natural shield” is what ultimately allows them entry to take over (281).
Tirian is embarrassed at first to tell Sean what happened when he was taken over by an alien because it was disguised as a woman and his lust for her drove him to be consumed by her - Chapter 46. I think one could easily make parallels to the seduction of women mentioned in Proverbs.
“If I don’t do this, I’ll suffer the guilt of turning away from what I know I’m supposed to do. I’ll carry that weight for the rest of my life. It would taint everything” (310).
“An adept is someone with the courage to see what needs doing, and then finding it within themselves to act” (356).
This type of novel is far from what I typically read. Science fiction is not one of my top genres. However, once I was able to get into the story a bit and piece together the world, I did enjoy the story and could not wait to reach the resolution of various conflicts. While science fiction, there are hints of maybe more spiritual undertones of good versus evil, but there are definitely themes and motifs related to family dynamics and coming-of-age as Sean and Dillons’s family falls apart, Carey’s mother is said to have died years earlier and as she goes with Dillon to transit to other worlds, her father must come to terms with her growing in relationships, as well as Sean’s girlfriend Elenya who defies her family to be with Sean. Truthfully, I’m not sure how I feel about a lack of stable family structure and relationships with any of the characters. Locke does a good job of trying to build out some of the dynamics behind the scenes that has caused the breakdown, but ultimately the entire family structure and relationships within the novel are broken and unstable. Towards the end there is a lot about what Sean and Dillon are doing versus what the “adults” think is best based on structures and systems in place. Sean and Dillon need to work beyond these systems in order to save a civilization. I might be thinking more deeply than I ought to about the plot line, the characters, and the meaning of certain actions. Nevertheless, I thought it was interesting and if you have a young adult interested in science fiction, it might not be a bad option, despite some of the worldly references noted previously. Lastly, while he does have novels that incorporate the Christian faith, that isn’t present in this particular novel.
Renegades (Book 2)
Renegades by Thomas Lock is the sequel to Recruits. The twins Sean and Dillon are now several years older and much has changed in their life circumstances. To begin, they both have separated from their love interests that developed in book one, they are on trial facing years of imprisonment, and a war is about to break out in a world where dragons, technology, and energy forces collide.
As the story opens, Carey’s cousin, Landon is kidnapped by mysterious criminals who know of his connection to a well-known senator. Dillon draws Sean in, and the two manage to rescue Landon and capture the kidnappers. Meanwhile, their actions have drawn ire from Sean’s professor Kaviti who is also the one to lay charges against him and Dillon for their actions back on earth. As is slowly revealed over several chapters, Kaviti is behind more nefarious dealings between other planetary systems that connect to a weapon with the ability to harm transiters (those who can transport from one location to another).
Not clear from the beginning but resolved over the course of the novel, Carey and Dillon broke up because Carey did not like the warrior that Dillon was becoming with his training. She preferred the man he used to be. Sean encourages Dillon that the break up was the right thing because there is a plan and purpose for Dillon and he must walk in that.
Sean and Elenya also separate, and it appears more hostility was present in that separation, but the details are not quite clear. Over the course of the story, Sean begins to have romantic feelings for the Advocate Cylian who helps the brothers leading to their trial. She begins as a very strong forceful character, but diminishes after being impacted by nightmarish dreams and her desire for Sean. Feelings seem to develop between them, but in the face of war Sean pushes the distraction away. Nevertheless it returns at the end when she once again appears more forceful in calling Sean her darling and telling him that “Elenya is part of your past. I am part of your future” (278).
Aside from the storyline with Landon’s capture and then Sean and Dillon, there is also an additional storyline around Logan, Nicolette, and Vance. Logan is ambitious, desiring a mission to an undesirable place where no one has returned from. As readers learn little by little, Logan has a claim on the area due to his lineage. Vance is a womanizer in the opening of the story and Nicolette is a committed and loyal soldier to Logan. The three of them work together to help bring about the downfall of the Havoc Clan that will ultimately benefit Logan’s uncle. When Dillon and then Sean arrive, they quickly learn that the battle is bigger than they had eyes to see.
Noteworthy quotes/mentions:
On page 13 there is a mention of Logan watching his father’s hanging when he was eight years old.
Logan, speaking of Vance, “Pity they don’t hand out medals for seduction. You’d have a chestful” (15).
On page 55, there is mention of Vance being hungover after having spent time with three ladies (56).
“So many lives he had known were wasted up the next drink, the next wench, the feeble excuse of pleasures that came hard and left easy. At least he and his team would give their all for a reason greater than just another forlorn hour” (59).
“They never said it, but Sean knew they thought being transistors granted them superiority over lesser mortals” (63).
In chapter 11, Logan overhears a conversation where Vance apologizes to Nicolette for the way he has treated her in the past and there is clear insinuation that they may have been momentarily romantically involved. Vance says, “you are far too good to be anyone’s plaything.” Nicolette responds that “most women are”, but Vance clearly disagrees with her (71).
Logan saves and protects a woman named Sidra. There are references to predators that would have tried to get her (74).
“History has been rewritten by people who prefer good publicity to the truth. The monsters were considered a threat to their concept of idyllic superiority” (108).
“A hero is a common soul who rises to meet the challenges of his or her time” (155).
On page 169, Cylian essentially makes her advance and intentions towards Sean clear. She claims that the reason Sean and Elenya didn’t work out is a result of Elenya’s desire to lead and have authority, she did not want to submit to Sean. Cylian also ends the moment with kissing Sean.
“Dillon lived for action. He liked the danger high. But he ran the risk of flying off in the wrong direction, lured by a false lead. He knew he could trust Sean to hold him back” (177).
On page 217, Sean and Dillon have a conversation about Carey and the difficulty of that relationship having continued.
Truthfully, there is a bit of confusion for about the first quarter or so of the novel due to the dual storylines without clear chapter distinctions. In a science fiction novel where the reader already has to bear a lot of cognitive load with the world building, structural choices could help lighten that load a bit. Overall, the story was fine, and I can definitely see its appeal to male readers for sure, especially those in their late teens. The novel definitely appeals to this age range as they are likewise trying to explore who they want to become and where their place is in the world. The novel doesn’t shy away from characters doing the hard things and being called to greater purpose in the service of others.
