Amish Werewolves of Space, by Kerry Nietz

In 2013, Kerry Nietz wrote Amish Vampires in Space.  Fully embracing that genre-busting precedent, he followed it up in 2015 with Amish Zombies from Space.  Now, four years later, he has continued the "Peril in Plain Space" series with Amish Werewolves of Space.

Like any good sequel, AWoS stands on it own.  If you didn't read the first two books, you won't be lost in this story.  However, Nietz drops plenty of hints and references to the first two books.  New readers will have their curiosity piqued, and readers of the other books will have their memories pricked and will want to go back and read them again.

AWoS picks up a few years after the events of AZfS.   The planet of Resolve has continued to grow as an Amish planet, but some "Englishers" (non-Amish) have moved in as well.  Many of the Amish from the first books are still in the community, others are still in relationship with the Amish but no longer a part of the community.  Nietz keeps the Amish values and lifestyles as part of the story, showing the contrast between the distant future technologies of space travel and medical marvels with those who still use horse and buggy and who resist using machines.

More than simply the Amish lifestyle, Nietz weaves in questions of the Christian faith throughout the story.  The characters face ethical dilemmas regarding the use of violence, living lives of submission and forgiveness, and being subject to government authorities.  More importantly, characters deal with questions of their own faith, and struggle with the balance of relying on God through prayer and taking action on their own.

The plot draws in elements of the first two PiPS novels.  A group of teenagers have retained vampire qualities, and try to live peacefully in their community of superhumans.  And on other planets, the zombie plague is invading and taking over.  It's up to some of the people of Resolve, the vampire teens, and their new-found werewolf peer to, ultimately, save the galaxy.

Nietz ramps up the action in a hurry, giving the story a very cinematic, episodic feel.  There's not a lot of time for the characters to catch their breath as the dominos fall and they have to make decisions about next steps or face foe after foe.  Nietz writes about some traditional monsters, but his vampires, zombies, and werewolves aren't mystical or magical; this is sci-fi, not fantasy.  Nietz is, refreshingly,  more in to nanotech than magic spells.  With lots of well-written action, solid character development, and a world view and story cycle that comes full circle with this third book, Nietz has outdone himself and completed this trilogy with a bang.