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Content levels
ViolenceStrong
Sexual contentNone
LanguageStrong
Trigger warnings
DeathWarGriefViolencemilitary conflictConspiracyLoss of Child
Positive tags
Determined ProtagonistRedemption ArcQuest
Tropes
Military SFColony WorldMorally Gray ProtagonistHostile PlanetReluctant HeroConspiracyVengeance QuestOlder Protagonist
Themes
Grief and LossParental LoveConspiracy and CorruptionJustice vs AuthorityOrdinary Man in Extraordinary CircumstancesWar and Its Consequencestruth-seeking
Synopsis
Owen Mercer thought thirty years of fixing broken machinery was the only war he’d ever face. He was wrong. When his son is declared Missing in Action, the fifty-three-year-old mechanic trades his wrench for a rifle. But on the brutal colony world of Hawthorn, Owen discovers his son was part of Project LANTERN—a conspiracy so dangerous that both the military and the enemy will kill to keep it buried. Surrounded by lethal secrets and a system that wants him to stay silent, Owen must navigate a web of corruption to find the truth. The military wants him to wait for answers that will never come. Owen is done waiting. The war took his son. Now, he’s coming to take him back.
Tags
Military ThrillerConspiracy FictionRevenge StoryParent-Child Bond