EMPIRE isn’t just for young people. John Connolly’s reputation across multiple genres for readers of many ages precedes him. The Charlie Parker series straddles a no-man’s land of mystery, thriller and horror, while his Samuel Johnson fantasy trilogy garnered an audience that ranged far beyond that of the middle-school readers at which it was ostensibly aimed.

Jennifer Ridyard made her debut in CONQUEST, the first volume of The Chronicles of the Invaders, and brought some considerable literary and science fiction chops to the endeavor. EMPIRE, the second of this projected trilogy, advances the themes and stories introduced in the opening installment while ushering in additional subplots and characters that should garner even greater interest in this already exciting series.

"While there are plenty of unresolved plot lines by the conclusion of EMPIRE, one never has the sense that the authors are marking time. No, the story advances with some issues being resolved, new ones manifesting themselves, and the hero and heroine seeking to conquer all, despite the fact that the Universe, literally, is aligned against them."

Before I go further: Bless Connolly, Ridyard and Atria Books for incorporating into the very beginning a short summary of what has gone before and being so clever about it. It’s perfect, and I urge you to read it, whether or not you are new to the series. For our purposes, what you need to know is that the earth has been conquered from without by the Illyri, extraterrestrials bent upon the conquest of galaxies. Sound familiar? It isn’t. The Illyri themselves are divided, and nowhere more so than between the Military and the Diplomats, who have been engaged in a low-level rivalry to the point of hostilities for Earth-centuries. Those on our home planet are not taking the Conquest lying down.

The Resistance does little more than annoy the Illyri, and members who are captured find themselves conscripted into the Brigades to fight the (bad) fight on the outposts of the Illyri Empire. Among them is Paul Kerr, a young but brave soldier who naturally is deeply in love with the one woman he cannot have. That would be Syl Hellais, who is the first Illyri child to be born on Earth. Star-crossed lovers have nothing on this pair. Naturally, the two are split up in intergalactic fashion, separated by light years and millions of miles.

Does this sound interesting? It is, and extremely so. However, it gets even better --- or worse, as the case may be --- in EMPIRE, where Connolly and Ridyard pull the curtain back a bit further and reveal more about the Illyri. For a good part of the book, the narrative proceeds along two separate but parallel tracks. Kerr is posted as a soldier in what is most assuredly the armpit of the Universe, while Syl is placed in a school whose resemblance to a convent is not entirely coincidental. As one might reasonably expect, Kerr’s story is more militaristic --- more like conventional science fiction, if you will --- while Syl’s world is steeped more in what one might consider to be fantasy. Both, however, are making discoveries that will eventually reveal The Others, whose existence has been secret, thanks to the efforts of the Illyri to keep things that way. By the end of EMPIRE, Kerr and Syl have separate pieces to a much larger puzzle and are making progress --- against seemingly impossible odds --- to reunite, if time, distance and circumstance will permit it.

If you read CONQUEST, you will be pleased to know that Connolly and Ridyard do not experience a sophomore slump (which, unfortunately, is common among trilogies). While there are plenty of unresolved plot lines by the conclusion of EMPIRE, one never has the sense that the authors are marking time. No, the story advances with some issues being resolved, new ones manifesting themselves, and the hero and heroine seeking to conquer all, despite the fact that the Universe, literally, is aligned against them. Well, almost all of the Universe. But read the book. Strongly recommended, for you and your offspring in the basement.