D'mok Revival

Retribution

Young Adult - Sci-Fi
434 Pages
Reviewed on 04/22/2014
Buy on Amazon

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    Book Review

Reviewed by Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite

D'mok Revival - Retribution by Michael Zummo is a story of science, action, and adventure. This is the second book of the Invasion Trilogy. D'mar has been wiped out from the Millenia by Nukari. Even D'mok, who has super-human abilities, is unable to stop that. Now the fledgling human Coalition is Nukari's next target. Their first attack destroys the space station. But it brings out strong powers in Rhysus Mencari who is the only survivor. Mencari joins with the last surviving D'mar, Osuto, to fight Nukari before he attacks them again. Will they succeed?

The plot is a scientific thriller with a lot of suspense, intrigue, mysterious creatures, and unique locations. The characters are all well developed and they give more depth and intensity to the plot. There are a lot of twists and turns in the story and characters come and go, which speeds up the pace. The story will come across as a bit complicated when you start reading, but when the plot develops and readers get familiar with the characters, it becomes more exciting.

Compared to the heavy science fiction books we read, the author has made this much lighter, keeping in mind the young audience. The book caters mainly to young adults. There is lots of action and adventure to keep readers engrossed in the book. The story is original and it a fun read for youngsters.

Samantha Rivera

Eyani, with her purple scales and exotic eyes, along with the powerful Commander Mencari, are tasked with protecting their home planets, each in their own way. It is up to them to save their universe from the creatures that continue to attack. They must determine the source of the attacks, whether the Nukari are truly behind them and if so, to what end. To find answers to their questions they must travel to strange places like New D’lon City, Selsamed and D’lasa and discover more about an ancient race known as the D’mar. They find unlikely allies like Katen, who would be a powerful ally, but is dangerous to trust. If they choose to trust the wrong people, it could very well be the end of them all. D’Mok Revival Retribution by Michael J. Zummo will leave you guessing until the very last page.

I found myself drawn into this story with all its interesting characters and plot twists. Each of the characters was very different and I’m not just talking about the way they look (though those were all different as well). They each have different qualities, skills and traits and I definitely wanted to learn more about them and it kept me reading. There was enough action throughout this story to keep me intrigued and definitely enough adventure. The characters travel all over different planets trying to find the answers to some very important questions and of course trying to save their own lives which was definitely great reading. I would recommend D’Mok Revival Retribution by Michael J. Zummo to anyone who loves science fiction, adventure, outer space and of course action.

Kathryn Bennett

D'mok Revival: Retribution by Michael Zummo is the follow up book to D'mok Revival: Awakening. It takes us back into the world of the Nukari and the war that is going on in Rhysus Mencari’s world. There is a new threat that the D’mok warriors must face; Nukari beasts that have the super abilities of the D’mok warriors and, to add another pitfall, they find a race of unknown aliens that are strong and taking on the Nukari beasts. Are they friend or foe? What will happen to the new group of D’Mok Warriors?

This is an interesting series so far and I really enjoy the layers of aliens that Michael Zummo has created. The approach to his sci-fi is creative and for me very fresh. I am a long time sci-fi lover so it takes a lot to make it seem new to me. I love watching the D’mok warriors having to struggle and figure out things as they go along. It is a group that has to fight for survival and what is right, but they don’t just get everything handed to them at once. For me that is a key point; they have to struggle like any of us human types in the real world. It makes the race as a whole and the warriors easier to feel connected with; I need that when I read. Overall, I give this second book in the series a thumbs up - it has a good flow to it and is a strong read in an equally strong series.

Kayci Webster

D'mok Revival: Retribution by Michael Zummo is a well-crafted science fiction piece that serves as an instalment of The Invasion Trilogy, continuing a tale of conflict, despair and growing hope. It is a tale of a world where every day is a constant struggle for Rhysus Mencari, the only survivor of the Nukari's first attack on a Coalition space station. Millennia before, the violent and destructive Nukari had annihilated the ancient D'mar race, despite the abilities of their best warrior, D'mok. Similar abilities awakened in Rhysus Mencari shortly after his tragedy. Still struggling with the loss of his family, Rhysus and the last living D'mar, Osuto, teamed up in Book One to begin a journey as the possible only hope the humans have of overcoming the Nukari. Book One of this series explores Rhysus' journey to overcoming his past and leading a new team of D'mok warriors, while developing his new abilities and restoring hope to the human Coalition in a race against time with the Nukari. This installment furthers this journey.

Well-researched, developed and executed, D'mok Revival: Retribution is a refreshing blend of adventure, drama, angst and science fiction that kept me wanting more after each page and chapter. Fans of the genre will likely enjoy the story's character and plot developments, as well as its intense imagery. Michael Zummo utilizes vividly descriptive writing in a successful attempt to relay his tale, and the end result is a fun and catchy read. I have become engrossed in this trilogy and recommend it to sci-fi fans.

Kayti Nika Raet

In D'Mok Revival: Retribution, a science fiction novel by Michael Zummo, the Nukari, a violent yet mysterious alien race, are traveling across the galaxies, blowing up space-stations, eradicating species, and causing general mayhem. Rhysus Mencari, along with his friends Allia, Naijin, and Seigie are the descendants of the D'Mar, an advanced and civilized race gifted with spectacular powers. They were the first race exterminated in the Nukari's quest for intergalactic power. Now a thousand years later, the Nukari are back causing more terror than ever before and they plan on getting rid of anyone that may stand in their way - especially the last descendants of the D'Mar. Now Rhysus and his band must travel the galaxy, gathering the last of the descendants as they perfect their fledgling abilities and prepare to get rid of the Nukari once and for all.

D'Mok Revival: Retribution by Michael Zummo is a very action packed book, leaving the reader with very little room to breath as we're launched from one crisis to the next. The writing speeds right along and once Zummo grabs your attention he doesn't let go. Since I hadn't read the first book in the series I wasn't as familiar with the characters as much as a true blue dyed in the wool fan might be and since there was an entourage of characters I didn't feel as connected to the cast as I would have liked. Even so D'Mok Revival: Retribution by Michael Zummo is a great, fast-paced read for hardcore fans of science fiction.

Lit Amri

Rhysus Mencari lost his wife, son, and fellow humans to the warmongering Nukari race. Only his superhuman abilities, which were awakened during the attack, enabled him to survive. While assembling a team of powerful aliens with abilities like his – the D'mok Warriors, also known as D’mar – he discovered that the Nukari are deeply rooted in countless worlds. The team successfully stopped many of the enemy’s plans, and the Nukaris are very aware of this matter. Now the team has to face ferocious Nukari beasts with D’mok-like abilities. However, a group of super-aliens are found battling the new enemy. Can they be considered allies? D’mok Revival: Retribution is a YA sci-fi fiction by Michael Zummo.

This is the second volume in the Nukari Invasion Trilogy and Michael Zummo’s second book that I read. Zummo’s first installment, D'mok Revival: Awakening, introduced me to Rhysus Mencari and his team, as well as my favorite character Toriko Purg, the cute cat-girl geek. Not forgetting Toriko’s robotic dog, Spark, who has been upgraded. The plot was fast, multifaceted and action-packed – I’m glad that the main elements in Awakening are maintained in Retribution. I also noticed the improvements of the prose; the narrative was less vague in describing the scenes. D’mok Revival: Retribution is somewhat detailed enough (in terms of its back story) to be read as a standalone for readers who are new to the trilogy. That being said, reading the first book would definitely be worth while to get a grasp of the story as a whole. Overall, this is another excellent work from Michael Zummo.

Lisa Jones

D'mok Revival by Michael Zummo is a science fiction novel set in space. A group of warriors with special powers have joined forces to track the Nukari and they plan to fight these warriors. On this journey, however, they feel the wrath of the high priestess and are banished to a strange land. The smog there is thick and poisonous and there are also other monsters present. With some detection work, the group discover that the Nukari have something to do with these monsters. Mecari and his group also discover the last of the D'mar people from the first invasion. With their forces now united they have the Nukari in their sights. The group also uncover some other truths while on their road to victory and, as the plot thickens even further, so do their suspicions.

D'mok Revival is a meaty, fast paced science fiction novel. There are plenty of twists and turns throughout which keep the reader guessing as to the outcome. The reader can tell immediately that the author has put his heart and soul into this novel as he writes with such passion that it seeps through his book. The novel was complex in places and, as a reader, I needed to concentrate or I would have to re-read. This just shows the complexity and the skill involved in creating such a novel. The main characters were unique and intriguing throughout. I would recommend this novel to science fiction fans everywhere as it is a wonderful and interesting novel.

Ray Simmons

D'mok Revival: Retribution by Michael J. Zummo is space opera in the vein and style of the Star Wars and Serenity films. It is fast paced with a lot of alien characters and a lot of old west style shoot outs and action…only in space. Rhysus Mencari is a hardened combat veteran. D'mok Revival begins with him having nightmares about a son and wife he couldn’t save. He finds solace and action in missions and in the company of his teammates. He has a lot of teammates from worlds and species that we only have a few sentences or paragraphs to get acquainted with. D'mok Revival is book II of a trilogy. I suggest reading the first novel in the series first so as not to be overwhelmed by the complexity of this universe. There is an art to introducing characters, worlds, and factions in science fiction, and while I eagerly followed the action of D'mok Revival I knew I had missed a lot by not reading its predecessor first.

I can tell that Michael J. Zummo loves his characters. There are a lot of them and we get a sense of the personality behind almost all of them. I would rather have really loved and cared about two or three deeply than try to like a whole lot of characters just a little. I liked the action and grittiness of D'mok Revival, but I felt a lack of fine tuning in the characterization. Perhaps I felt that because I missed the first book.