Last Stand

Behind Blue Eyes, Book 4

By: Anna Mocikat

Narrated by: David Reimer, Jessica Weyman

Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

Don’t mess with Metatron—just don’t.

Nephilim barely survived the dramatic events of Behind Blue Eyes-War Games. Her body has been horribly damaged, yet her spirit is as unbroken as ever.

While Nephilim recovers from her injuries at Guardian Angel HQ, the High-Archangel plots revenge. Metatron takes the assault on Nephilim personally and will make those responsible pay.

If this means going against the Board of Olympias and starting a war with the elites, then so be it.

But Cillian Stavros is expecting an attack, and he isn’t the only powerful player who wants to see Metatron dead…. Meanwhile, Rosprom is preparing its biggest military offensive against Olympias with the goal of total destruction.

Only the Guardian Angels can stop the invasion. And only Nephilim can lead them into battle.

Will their desperate Last Stand be enough to avert a catastrophe?

Find out in the next chapter of Behind Blue Eyes—the modern-day cyberpunk saga.

©2023 Anna Mocikat (P)2023 Anna Mocikat

Another amazing entry

Once again I'm simply blown away by the raw talent from Anna, David and Jessica. If you are this far in the series you know what you are getting. this book knocks it out of the park!! The end of this book is an amazing fight scene that had me on the edge of my seat. David and Jessica brought this world to life for me. I can't wait for more!

Amazing! The most action packed yet!

Excellent narrative team as always! I'm eagerly awaiting book 5. All of the main characters have had such an impressive growth arc and none of the development felt forced or rushed. The main characters also avoided any blatant "plot armor" as is so often the case with action stories. This was very well done.

Thrilling series with punch

Epic battles rule the fourth installment of the BEHIND BLUE EYES series, while other lives hang in the balance. Mocikat has a knack for nailbiting fight scenes, and turning the tables when least expected. Cannot wait to see what happens next in the thrilling cyberpunk series.

Beta Cucks will fall and Gigs Chads shall rise

MINOR SPOILERS: All jokes aside this is another fantastic entry in the BBE saga. it's fascinating to see how the author manages to completely change our perspective of Megatron. In the first book we view him as an irredeemable monster, but now he's been shown as the most human character in the book. To the authors credit it progressed in such a natural way it didn't seem forced at all. On the flipside it paints Jake to look like a spoiled child who didn't get his way. absolutely fantastic.

Fantastic Sequel

BEHIND BLUE EYES is a fantastic cyberpunk series that remains one of the best indie experiences I’ve had the pleasure of finding. Kindle Unlimited is a feast or a famine with nine terrible books for every great one, so it’s always good to find some that are worth the effort. This is the fourth book in the series and continues directly from the cliffhanger of the previous book, so if you’re planning on starting the series, it’s best to avoid the rest of this review. For those who read the previous volume, this is a real escalation in the series’ stakes as well as a change in a lot of characters’ behavior.

LAST STAND is a dark and edgy sci-fi thriller that isn’t afraid to deal with dark and difficult subjects. It reminds me of the original Altered Carbon that didn’t shy from social satire even as sex and violence were on full display. Anna, as a female writer, knows how to present numerous subjects in a way that focus on their victim as opposed to glorification of the abuser. Still, let the reader beware that it’s a series that definitely earns its hard R status.

The series’ premise is that far in the future, humanity has fallen under the sway of three separate corporate overlords. Two of them, Rosprom and Olympias, are on the verge of war with both of them waging a behind-the-scenes espionage campaign in order to prepare for their inevitable conflict. The primary protagonist, Nephilim, is a cyborg soldier for Olympias’ death squad known as the Guardian Angels.

In previous volumes, Nephilim broke free from her brainwashing and sought freedom but ended up falling back into the sadistic clutches of obsessive psychopath Metatron. Metatron has been mentally preparing Nephilim to be his consort since she was thirteeen. Something detailed in the spin-off Nephilim series. He fancies himself a romantic hero but deleted Nephilim’s memories of her rebellion in order to better control her.

War Games ended with Nephilim critically injured trying to deal with serial killer Cillian Stavos. Stavos is a board member of the Olympias Corporation and has voluntarily sold out his country-corporation in exchange for what he believes will be a position of increased power in the new regime. Unfortunately, for him, his latest victim not only exposed his machinations but personally infuriated powerful entities on both side: Jake and Metatron.

Metatron has deluded himself that Nephilim would love him even without his brainwashing and Jake is a Rosprom spy who is happy to let Stavros horribly mutilate Guardian Angels until it’s the one he’s sweet on. Nephilim, herself, is hospitalized but struggles to be ready when the Rosprom forces invade. All three characters undergo significant arcs with Metatron deciding he’s willing to die for the woman he’s wronged the most, Jake succumbing to insane jealousy as well as self-delusion, and Nephilim fully embracing the ideology of Olympias that she previously discarded. It’s a major set of twists that turn hero to villain and villain to hero (or do they?).

We also get some good development on the side characters front as well. Finwick, Nephilim’s computer hacker sidekick, has managed to change his face as well as adopt a little girl in recent times. It was his information that allowed Stavros to kill so many Guardian Angels but he has no idea that’s what use it was put to. He’s matured considerably from the creepy geek he was at the start and is a much more likable character. We have the police detectives investigating the murders that are now troubled by crippling debt due to the injuries sustained by one of them during the battle. No police health insurance plans in our dystopian future.

In conclusion, Last Stand is a great installment and I can’t wait for the next one. These serialized adventures are fun, dark, disturbing, and sexy in equal parts. Cyberpunk is best when it’s genuinely edgy versus sanitized and for everyone. This is no exception. How long will the Behind Blue Eyes series go? No idea but I think I’ll be there the entire time. The narration by David Reimer and Jessica Weyman is great.

Gripping from start to finish

The various and tangential storylines keep you hooked through til the very end, though the ending, as usual, will leave you wanting more. Make sure to clear your schedule for at least the last 3 hours of listening as you will not be able to put it down/stop listening! David Reimer's performance, though always fantastic, was this time particularly award-worthy for an intensely dramatic scene that you've been waiting for since the last book (I won't add further spoilers). I must say that Jessica Weyman is also just getting better and better. This is my favorite of the series so far!