Blacklight born

Darwin's immensely satisfying conclusion to his Combat Codes trilogy (after Grievar's Blood) pulls no punches, returning to a world where international clashes are settled via one-on-one combat. Cego, a gifted Grievar fighter, seethes following his discovery that, as an infant, his body was suspended in a vat called the cradle while his mind was put through countless simulated fights at the behest of the Daimyo empire. Now he's reunited with his older brother Silas, aka the Slayer, who is targeting the Daimyo in a series of brutal attacks. Cego joins Silas's violent crusade against the empire, becoming known as the Slayer's shadow and earning the moniker the Strangler. Murray Pearson, the legendary Grievar Knight who'd been Cego's mentor, resolves to do whatever he can to reclaim Cego's soul from the hyper-violent mindset Silas has inculcated in him, hoping to find some traces of the innately honorable boy he'd known, who "always stood up for the weak." That mission coincides with a desperate rebellion against the Daimyo as the many plotlines hurtle toward an explosive finale. The martial arts scenes are as expertly devised as ever, and the riveting plot keeps the pages flying. This sends the series out on a high note. (Dec.)