Okay, so humans aren't always the sharpest tools in the shed, but we do have some pretty good ideas when it comes to deception. Especially where survival is concerned. We can reach back into our history and pull up interesting ideas that can be useful in our current situation. That is what the next generation of Guardians do in Christopher W. Wilcox, Sr.'s fifth installment of the Æthereal series, Æthereal's Children.

The Æthereal are one of many races known as Guardians. In the form of dragons they have patrolled our planet since before we were here, protecting the planet from invasion by the Gray (think Roswell). Twenty years ago, the human race was made aware of the Æthereal and life on Earth changed for the better. No more war and no more illness. The Gray menace has been silent for those twenty years after being driven out by the Guardian and Human races banding together against them. Æthereal and man now live on Earth in harmony and together with other Guardians, the Ursars and the Leonids, reach out to rebuild worlds damaged by the Gray.

Now, one hundred and ninety two Æthereal have disappeared during routine explorations to six planets and the Council wants to know why. New teams of human and Æthereal are called together to explore the planets that, for some unknown reason, the Grays bypassed as they swept through the galaxy years ago, on their way to devastate the Leonid planets, home of the feline Guardian race.

What could be on these supposedly untouched planets that would block so many trained, veteran warriors from being heard from again after their portals to the planet closed? What could possibly stop even one survivor from opening a portal to home, bringing word of the evil that is evidently residing on the other side? What will the second generation of Guardians find on the distant planets? With the help of the group of "enhanced" Humans, the Council is determined to find out.

Mr. Wilcox has once again penned an engaging future for humanity. Taking what is known up to this point in the Æthereal series and adding a new twist to things, he has also brought forth some SciFi and special effects favorites from my own past movie watching experiences. Bravo for incorporating the classics into this soon-to-be classic series.

As this is the fifth installment of the Æthereal series, Mr. Wilcox has included an introduction covering what has gone before, and a glossary of who's who in the book. But it would be my recommendation that you simply read the entire Æthereal series to enjoy the excitement and emotion of the stories as they build one toward the next.

Æthereal's Children carries the excitement, intrigue, and full-on SciFi adventure begun in the first installment, Æthereal, and continued through Æthereal Revealed, Æthereal's Clans, and Æthereal's Pride. It will be a long wait for me until the sixth and final novel, Æthereal’s Destiny.

I loved this novel and the series.  Æthereal's Children continues to fulfill my expectations of the series and I hate having to wait for the next and final installment. My dear Will; please do not keep me waiting too long.

Reviewed By MargeAnna Conrad
© March 2008