When I was young and watching Star Trek, I learned early on that Kirk, Spock, and all the rest were never really in jeopardy. I think, everyone did. Now, I certainly enjoyed growing up watching the franchise but I never really worried that a main character would die.

Later in life, I started watching TV shows from the BBC and, unlike American television, those shows were willing to kill off a main character (even very popular ones). It really changed the tension level for me and I enjoyed that uncertainty a lot.

I promised myself that if I wrote a sci-fi series, I would do my best to keep the readers uncertain on the outcomes of the main characters.  Recently I saw a very gratifying post on Facebook, right after Last Measure of Devotion was released.  A reader had just bought the book but it was late and she needed to go to sleep. The post ended with:

“Garrett, I’ll see you tomorrow and please don’t die…”

That simple (and humorous) post was such a compliment to me!

Well, the TCOTU series is over and it’s been a fairly tough series on the opening characters.  Just over half of the main characters in Book 1 survived. No Way to Start a War was especially hard on them but then again, that was the book that most covered the Brevic-Hollaran war.

With the series complete, the survivors can enjoy some down time and age a little. But, as some reviews on Amazon and Barnes & Noble have requested, it’s highly likely that at least some of these characters could see action in the future. For now, they deserve some rest and relaxation.

On a final note, I want to thank each of you again for reading the series. Your very kind reviews mean a great deal to me!