Review: Stellarlands 2
War has broken out across the universe, and the desert moon of Upentia is a strategic stronghold. Tensions brew between the human soldiers and the indigenous population, who see them as nothing but occupiers.
Lieutenant Caladin Geis is more than just another human soldier. His keen instincts uncover Eritraxian traps on Upentia, saving the lives of his comrades and helping to root out the enemy. Also, his loyalty to his unit does not prevent him from speaking out against the exploitation of the locals. The blue-skinned Atolans are tempted with job offers that are well paid but with a chilling trade-off. A mission to a remote planet gathering biological samples sounds easy enough until you realise that the planet is deep in a powerful gravity well that creates a drastic time dilation effect. A few hours work translates into decades of lost time. Returning home not long after you left, from your perspective, you find your home transformed by the years that have rushed by without you.
When his tactical input leads to the destruction of an Atolan village, Cal is torn between his duty and his conscience. He decides upon a solution that reveals his true nature: he is a "preter" - like Anvil Liza of Issue One - an individual with preternatural abilities. He can do things that the average grunt cannot. But even a superhuman cannot escape all consequence...
The second installment of Stellarlands by writer Max Ferrada and artist Ben Worrell introduces another complex character to the unfolding saga; a young soldier who finds himself on a foreign soil far from home, part of a garrison representing the supposedly friendly power, acting in the best interests of the native populace and hoping to win hearts and minds... only to find himself disillusioned.
This chapter is a deeper dive than the previous issue, digging into the moral quagmire of military operations in a conflict where alliances are uncertain and fleeting. With insight, soul-searching and ingenuity, our protagonist finds that you do not always have to be a warrior in order to be a hero.
STELLARLANDS 1 & 2 on Kickstarter
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