The Lost Knight: Awakening is an action-packed sci-fi novel written by Zachary Watson. Cieran Kean finds himself woken up from cryogenic sleep by an alien, only to learn from her that his home planet, Earth, was overrun by the Empire of the Homeworld about a century ago. After being dropped on the planet of Alum, he finds shelter in the home of a female Trahcon named Trenah, with whom he forms a mutual friendship while becoming her assistant as a technician. When Cieran and Trenah agree to work on a project sanctioned by the Thondian businessman Xerol Shaaryak, they unwittingly embroil themselves in a turf war involving a local gang called True Sons, an Empire agent, and a slave trade conspiracy with far-reaching consequences. Meanwhile, Cieran starts a burgeoning relationship with Xerol's niece Nynsi Shaaryak.

The Lost Knight: Awakening is a thriller that hooks you in from the start and refuses to let go till the last page. Zachary Watson keeps a blistering pace to the narrative and spins an intricate yarn that keeps your eyes glued to the pages. The characters are well-developed and thoroughly entertaining. Cieran, Trenah, and Nynsi felt like real people, who I found very likable. The dialogue and banter between them felt like one of the best aspects of the book. The plot resolves itself quite neatly, but Zachary Watson leaves room for the possibility of sequels. I had a blast reading The Lost Knight: Awakening. I would recommend it to fans of sci-fi novels with plenty of action.

"An alien was sitting next to my bed. A bed inside of a room I couldn't remember ever seeing before." In The Lost Knight: Awakening by Zachary Watson, Cieran Kean is eager to start his life anew after he volunteered and was chosen as a technician on an expedition into space, Earth’s attempt to build a colony in another solar system. However, something happened on the way to the designated foreign planet as Cieran wakes up from his cryogenic sleep, malnourished, and next to an alien. From that point on, Cieran must learn to adapt to being a rare species among strange, stronger beings in his new environment if he wants to live.

Set in the 22nd century of the 'Terran' calendar, the world-building is made up of intriguing layers of aliens, strange customs, and endless enmity due to greed and faction disputes. The concept of The Lost Knight: Awakening is brilliantly developed into an interesting story premise and a well-paced plot. It's easy to relate to protagonist Cieran Kean - if you want to start over, why not leave Earth and search for a better life in a faraway galaxy? He seizes a golden opportunity but it turns out to be a different life than he imagines. Cieran’s not a warrior but is definitely a determined survivor. His friendship with Trenah, the brash-talking Trahcon, provides hilarity to the story whilst his relationship with Nynsi, a high-born Thondian, provides intrigue. The prose is clear-cut and the narrative is a balance of humor and seriousness amid the numerous, suspenseful fight scenes that the characters have to go through against their persistent foes. An imaginative sci-fi adventure from Zachary Watson, The Lost Knight: Awakening is a great start to the series.