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Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite
Tumulus by Paul J.C. Edge is the second installment in the Book of Xaal series, and the fifth book in the sweeping saga, The Dark Ones. In the book Terminus, Kevin, a cynical journalist and hacker, uncovers a massive alien artifact in Earth's core while investigating a secretive group. As he delves deeper, he suspects his mind is being manipulated. Confronted by soul-eating aliens threatening the afterlife, Kevin must decide whether to risk Earth's stability to battle them. His discoveries challenge his beliefs, revealing cosmic secrets about life, death, and the true purpose of the mysterious Terminus. Now in Tumulus, survivors must fight an alien threat, the Xaal, after Earth's devastation. Drawing on ancient strategies, they aim to reclaim their world. Azrael, a seer, helps police capture a deadly serial killer who becomes entangled with the Xaal. As humanity returns to Earth from the Moon, Azrael faces a crucial choice: protect them from a terrible fate using forgotten knowledge, or let them face annihilation.
“The astral forms of all humankind were imprisoned there for eternity, sustenance for the ravenous Xaal... It was evil beyond measure.” Tumulus by Paul J.C. Edge is a sharply written, high-concept science fiction novel with a bleak, but somehow believable, future. The depiction of the Xaal as energy-based beings with a metaphorical vampiric edge is inventive, and I think it's such a brilliantly horrible species. Kevin’s prior encounter with them carries forward the urgency and weight. The settings are harsh and unforgiving, yet never feel forced, and the post-apocalyptic world is presented with grit. I love Azrael’s transition from confined isolation to a decaying, unpredictable outside world, and how he slides right into a society stripped of empathy. When he, Atreus, and Kevin come face-to-face as the story barrels toward its climax, it's devastating proof that survival often overshadows morality. Kevin’s emotional and physical vulnerability, despite his powers, is one of the book’s most effective elements, grounding the story in a way that feels earned. Altogether, this is science fiction at its best.
