Max discovers there's another X5 in town, a fellow escapee named Ben who has taken to murdering to prove his worth as a soldier.

Up to now, we've only seen one Manticore escapee working against Max, and she was converted to the joys of living to fight another day. Now we get to see what happens when two really clash, with some awesome bone-crunching fight scenes and plenty of scary confrontations between Max and her friend who must be stopped from killing whatever the cost. What could be a simple serial killer story is enhanced by some creepy playing by the actor portraying Ben, and Max's reactions to what he's doing and the state his mind is in really make the point well.

The fact that Ben has a warped view of his life makes for unpleasant viewing with some grisly images of death, and the base covered in Manticore commands is particularly effective. We learn some of the more unsavoury aspects of Max's past, and Logan has an encounter with Lydecker in which he is told that Max isn't necessarily what she appears, something that holds true with her actions here towards her 'brother' and a chicken at the start of the story. Is it possible to change her or will she always be a killer through and through? Neither we nor Logan know, but for too long Max's background has been ignored, along with the desires she must always keep suppressed. Perhaps she's a ticking time bomb, and one day soon she may go off...

****

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