The second volume of this gritty series follows the continuing adventures of the close-knit group of children-turned-combatants in the ongoing war against the mysterious alien forces that devastated the Earth. Lies follows the same expositional style of Volume 1 (The Beginning), flashing backward and forward in the timeline to reveal the paths that Ringo, Jonas, Rey, and the rest of the squad have taken to become the soldiers they are in the present. Each of the three chapters in the volume begins with a glimpse into the precipitating attack that orphaned the protagonists as children; the illustrations are unforgivingly brutal, accompanied by almost poetic recollections of the horrors each experienced.
Volume 1 reached its climax with a pitched battle on a distant planet, humans against the still enigmatic beings that seemed to appear and disappear at will. Volume 2, by contrast, begins to allow the mystery behind the entire war to slowly unravel, revealing the secrets that have been kept by those figures in command and that have the potential to destroy what order has been restored in the wake of Earth’s desolation. Some characters presumed to be dead are anything but; some missions are shown to be based on lies and hidden schemes. As the core group of five Orphans begins to stumble upon the truth of what actually transpired on that fatal day, each of them are forced to make hard choices about what to do next.
As stated, the violence in the book is extremely graphic, involving weapons as well as physical fighting. Early in the first chapter, there is reference to an attempted sexual assault, though not explicit. The depiction of gore and death, though, is quite in keeping with the theme and tone of the story, and it is in keeping with the style of the first book in the series. Apart from the extraterrestrials, the space travel, and the rest of the futuristic technology, the harsh depictions of the battles and killings feels realistic, if chilling. After all, in a world in which children are impressed into military service and given orders to kill or be killed almost from day one, readers can easily expect high body counts, portrayed in full-color detail.
This book will definitely appeal to fans of HALO, Starship Troopers, and other space-battle tales. Young adults may identify heavily with one or another the Orphans, particularly, as despite their flaws and obvious trauma, they remain sympathetic in the end. ( )