Audiobook Review: The Expeditionary Force Series

Expeditionary Force Books 1-3, Columbus Day, Spec. Ops and Paradise

Written by Craig Alanson and narrated by R. C. Bray.

 

Columbus Day

Publisher’s Summary

We were fighting on the wrong side of a war we couldn’t win. And that was the good news.

The Ruhar hit us on Columbus Day. There we were, innocently drifting along the cosmos on our little blue marble, like the Native Americans in 1492. Over the horizon came ships of a technologically advanced, aggressive culture, and BAM! There went the good old days, when humans got killed only by each other. So, Columbus Day. It fits.

When the morning sky twinkled again, this time with Kristang starships jumping in to hammer the Ruhar, we thought we were saved. The UN Expeditionary Force hitched a ride on Kristang ships to fight the Ruhar wherever our new allies thought we could be useful. So, I went from fighting with the US Army in Nigeria to fighting in space. It was lies, all of it. We shouldn’t even be fighting the Ruhar; they aren’t our enemy. Our allies are.

I’d better start at the beginning.

My Take:

I enjoyed the hell out of Joe Bishops antics and Skippy the inconceivably ancient and powerful…beer can.  Also converting a “Barney” themed ice cream truck into an improvised tactical vehicle is sheer genius.  The excellent story crafting and R. C. Brays delivery had me laughing out loud at stop lights and driving to and from work.  Five out of five enjoyment factor points are hereby awarded!!

 

Spec. Ops

 Publisher’s Summary

Colonel Joe Bishop made a promise, and he’s going to keep it: taking the captured alien starship Flying Dutchman back out. He doesn’t agree when the UN decides to send almost 70 elite Special Operations troops, hotshot pilots, and scientists with him; the mission is a fool’s errand he doesn’t expect to ever return from. At least this time, the Earth is safe, right?

Not so much.

My Take:

It’s hilarious how the picture of future Earth, post contact, still has us at each other’s throats and ripe for domination.  Joe is going to go back out on the Dutchman to fulfill his promise to Skippy but Earth thinks it is sending a team to figure out how to get the ship for Earth.  Skippy isn’t having any of that and I think this was the volume where I heard something immensely profound “Hold my beer, watch this!”

Excellent sequel to Columbus Day, five out of five again!

Paradise

Publisher’s Summary

While the crew of the starship Flying Dutchman have been trying to assure people that hostile aliens do not have access to Earth, the UN Expeditionary Force has been stranded on the planet they nicknamed “Paradise”. The Flying Dutchman is headed back out on another mission, and the UN wants the ship to find out the status of the humans on Paradise. But Colonel Joe Bishop warns that they might not like what they find, and they can’t do anything about it without endangering Earth.

My Take:

This third time Bishop, Skippy and the Dutchman go out with an Austrian Overseer appointed by the UN to try and keep Impulsive actions under control.  Oh he so doesn’t know what he’s in for in dealing with the Magnificent Skippy.  Also in this one is the flawless deployment of a joke related to suspense…  Three times enjoyed this series at a five out of five level, excellent work Mr.s Alanson and Bray.

http://www.audible.com/series?ref_=a_lib_l__vsml_1_1&asin=B01N9CUGHG

Audiobook review: Out of the Void and into the Fire!

A Night Without Stars

Written by Peter F. Hamilton.

Narrated by John Lee

Bienvenido was a world that the Brandt Colony ships had crash landed on after they entered the Void and all their tech had stopped working.  3,000 years of dictatorship by the Captains led to a revolution after Nigel set off a Quantum Buster in the Faller Forest and got them expelled from the Void to…a deeper Void.  At least their tech started working again in time for them to fight with the Prime and Faller invasions.  Krysandra, the warrior Angel, can’t keep up with the idiocy of the planetary government.

Now Nigel’s backup plan of a cloned Paula Maio has engaged to rescue Bienvenido and the Fallers have accelerated their Apocalyptic time table.  Maybe they’ll find some unexpected allies?  As usual I thorough enjoy works by Peter Hamilton.  The character voice ranges in this work may have stretched the ability of John Lee but I still enjoyed its telling.  Overall five out of five entertainment units.

 

 

http://www.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/A-Night-Without-Stars-A-Novel-of-the-Commonwealth-Audiobook/B01LXHIHIB

 

Book Review: What is the next logical step for Humans?

Post Human Series Books 1-4

Written by David Simpson

Post Human Books 1-4 is what I would consider an Omnibus novel. That is good because really detest when authors under develop a story and the end product comes out under the Hugo definition for a novel.

Craig Emilson is a a Special Forces Operator working for the US trying to suppress the Chinese effort to develop a strong A.I. He and his team do a sub-orbital insertion into a radioactive wasteland from SpaceShip II, way to go Virgin Galactic. Just the start of a very twisted saga of events stretching a couple of hundred years, Moore’s law not withstanding.

The books progress from Sub-Human to Post Human, Human Plus and finally Trans-Human. In some of the story-lines the reader has a firm grasp of who is the protagonist and who is not but by the end…we are our own worst enemy.

I liked the quality of this book from concept through editing and the price is excellent for a kindle product. Personally, I give it four out of five stars for entertainment value and ignore some of the hand waving that occurred during…oh, trans-dimensional travel, worm-holes, alien humanoid shaped androids because we are the pre-eminent shape sentient life would choose…okay, so I didn’t ignore it.

Here is something that caught my notice because it truly is BS. Amazon shows this work has 1,816 reviews. If you think that is legit good for you. I don’t. Just call me jaded I guess but the effort to get legitimate reviews out of readers these days is Herculean and to see that tens of thousands are putting up reviews for best sellers sends up my scam antenna.

For the most part the demographic that consumes Science Fiction is not extroverted in the manner that would gain this response. That being said I’m encouraging folks to read this book in the four book form. Enjoy!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00H0D5NTI?keywords=post%20human%20series%20books%201-4&qid=1445376461&ref_=sr_1_1&s=digital-text&sr=1-1

Audio Book Review: Dated but still good Alien Invasion

Footfall

Written by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle

Narrated by Macleod Andrews

Damn it, no damn is safe!

The Centauran circus has come to town and they are serious about their take.

Apparently…so are we

I’m not sure who was imitating who but Footfall is a 1985 SciFi novel not unlike the Colonization series by Turtledove.  Now these guys do not need praise or criticism from somebody three decades later but it is astounding how this work has stood the test of time…written as it was, a near term work.

 

Pachyderm-like aliens invade our solar system to try and take Earth from us.  They bombard us with kinetic weapons, lasers and other crap they inherited from their predecessors.  We on the other hand, are stimulated into innovations for fighting back.  Can you hear the jingoistic species martial music in the background?

 

By the way, where else can a borderline alcoholic biker guy become a hero and then a space combatant ship do it all engineer?  I liked this book back when I read the dead-tree version and I still like it in audio.  Four stars for some hard SciFi.

 

 

 

http://www.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/Footfall-Audiobook/B003NTPCJE/ref=a_search_c4_1_7_srTtl?qid=1443549762&sr=1-7