- Bradley Elliott
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
I've had several people reach out about Shatterpoint with questions and comments over the past few weeks since it came out, so I thought it might be worth a blog post to dive a bit deeper into the book.
What is Shatterpoint about?
Ultimately, it's about being pushed to the limit. Testing the breaking point of both Jackson and the GCH. It's about how people deal with extreme situations and if they hold true to their ideals and their humanity, or if they give in to the worst of their base emotions like anger, fear, and vengeance.
When book two came out, a few people commented that they felt like it was sometimes too easy for Jackson. That he always wins. That he doesn't get pushed enough. I thought it was an interesting comment, and having already written the next four books, I knew that wasn't the case with what was about to come, but I could see how early on it felt that way to some readers.
The plot of the Legacy series as a whole isn't about the war. It's not about the Ancients, or the Ularans, or the GCH. It's ultimately about Jackson and his journey. How he adapts. How he grows. How he's pushed to his limits and what that does to him. It's about his humanity and how, despite being from this time - our time - with all the problems in our world making up his background - he finds his best self, and he perseveres.
As the next few books continue, the profound experience of isolation and despair he felt on the island affects him in many ways. He's not the same man who left Foxblind for the shipyard mission. He came back different. Harder, broken, but also focused and driven.
At the end of Shatterpoint, (spoiler alert) after the devastating attack on Kuteria, he's faced with a choice. A chance to potentially end the war tomorrow, but to possibly lose a part of his soul in the process, or to find another way, even if it means putting his life on the line once more and risking everything.
That's where The Shroud of Darkness picks up. With Jackson ready to do what needs to be done to end this war while still determined not to lose his humanity in the process.
So, for those readers who are waiting for the final battle to end the war, or to get back to the Ancients, the Ularans, Arkamus, Winters, the Phague, or many of the other mysteries that have been peppered throughout the first four books, you'd better buckle up. As the next two books unfold, these topics will dominate the narrative and move forward rapidly, taking Jackson on a dangerous journey across the galaxy, and beyond.
I hope you'll join me for the ride.
All the best,
Bradley Elliott
