Book Review: Recall Order
The explosive second instalment in The Weight of the World trilogy by Dave McCreery.
The covers for the Weight of the World trilogy are all so good it’s almost unfair. They look absolutely fantastic. So, Recall Order is my first indie of 2025! I’ve been really enjoying this trilogy so far, and I do highly recommend picking them up if you like military sci-fi, space opera, mechs and alien invasion stories. But with this second instalment we can add terrorism thrillers and espionage to that as well.
Blurb
They killed his friends and threatened his home. Will his trauma stop him from preventing another war?
Ryan Fall is haunted by nightmares. With the horrors of fighting extra-terrestrials still fresh in his mind, he tries to escape through Cyber Cycle, his first passion.
When a friend launches a devastating attack on Earth’s government, Ryan is recalled to active service to uncover the truth. Being reunited with his squad brings little comfort when the very aliens who tried to kill him eighteen months ago are assigned to help his squad hunt down the terrorist.
The line between friend and foe blurs, and Ryan’s anger at not knowing who to trust steadily grows. With each new discovery triggering painful memories, any wrong decision could mean those closest to him will pay with their lives.
Can Ryan overcome his rage and stop Earth becoming a battleground?
Review
Recall Order really ups the ante from Reality Check and does a great job exploring the fallout from the events of that book and upping the stakes. Ryan and the Mech Force have been through hell and it’s not just from fighting off the Zurna invasion fleet, but also from the duplicitous actions of the higher ups in the Enforcers. Gone is the almost YA training school feel of the first book, left behind for a much more mature espionage and terrorism thriller. While I still thoroughly enjoyed the bombastic space action of Reality Check, I think Recall Order is where the trilogy really comes into its own and is a much better book for it.
The pacing is excellent, the story is gripping and weighty, and Dave doesn’t shy away from exploring deep into the trauma the characters suffered. And the book definitely brings a lot more mystery and intrigue into play. We get to see more of Earth in this one as well, as most of the action takes place down on the surface. It isn’t until nearer the end that we get back up into space again. But this gives a lot of space for more of that really solid worldbuilding that Reality Check had.
Ryan, Ryder and the remnants of Flare Squadron were very well written and engaging characters. The only issue that carried over from the previous book for me was that I still had a hard time keeping in my head who the other squad members were. They all have codenames which should be fine, but for some reason, with the exceptions of Wisp and Oaf, they just won’t stick in my head. Oaf in particular has a good voice of his own, but Sketcher, Bishop, Toomes, Wrecker, and Rig I had a harder time with. Ren was a great new addition, though, not just in bringing nonbinary rep, but because their voice was very distinct, and their being at odds with the way Flare Squadron usually operates added some fun tension.
Overall I had an excellent time with Recall Order and I highly recommend picking up the trilogy. I’m looking forward to devouring book three, Desperate Measures soon.
