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justkentbob's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
cameronkc's review
3.0
This is really more of a 3.5 star book, but I have no way to represent that.
The story is, OK. We did not get any real background on the attackers, and some of the points in this book are driven home like I did not read the last two hundred pages. That said, I am a sucker for space ships, strategy and killing aliens.
I think the main problem with this book, is while the story was interesting, I never really cared about any of the characters.
The story is, OK. We did not get any real background on the attackers, and some of the points in this book are driven home like I did not read the last two hundred pages. That said, I am a sucker for space ships, strategy and killing aliens.
I think the main problem with this book, is while the story was interesting, I never really cared about any of the characters.
dabrit's review against another edition
4.0
A good old fashioned space opera. I would have given it 3.5 stars as it could have been better written but actually the story flowed and was exciting, the end a good twist if a little abrupt and overall was an enjoyable read. Will definitely look for vol 2
bosermoki's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I would say military space opera is my favorite genre for guilty pleasure reading and I came into this excited, a 20+ long book series featuring interstellar combat naval derringdo and all the high drama plucky characters a person could hope for. But the characters are shallow but somehow overdone. One character is struggling with a drinking problem but almost no other detail about him is referenced, but his problematic substance use is constantly referenced. Along with another character who is an aristocratic nepo-baby.
The action is over and done with, blink and you miss it. The setting has ample opportunity to be rich but is nearly bereft of any meaningful description. The titular Ark Royal, all we really are told is that it's blocky in shape and that basically tells you how everything else goes.
I'll give it 2 stars for not being out and out off-putting, but lacking anything that would make me want to keep reading
The action is over and done with, blink and you miss it. The setting has ample opportunity to be rich but is nearly bereft of any meaningful description. The titular Ark Royal, all we really are told is that it's blocky in shape and that basically tells you how everything else goes.
I'll give it 2 stars for not being out and out off-putting, but lacking anything that would make me want to keep reading
minorsend's review
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
pjonsson's review
5.0
This is only the second book from Christopher Nuttall that I have read. The first one, Sufficiently Advanced Technology, was a good book. This one was great!
I like the basic story. First contact is made and they are not friendly. Nothing like an alien invasion to spice up a science fiction book. The aliens rather easily smash the modern human ships who, thanks to politician’s short-sighted urge to cut costs are simply too fragile to stand against the enemy which, just to add to the problems, are technologically superior. Humanity’s only hope is the old carrier Ark Royal, the last of the human ships still built with solid armor and her aging crew who is the only ones who can run her.
This is a solid space adventure with plenty of space battles and enjoyable characters. The actual combat is well done and the physics is believable…for a science fiction book of course. I would not hesitate to compare this book to work like Star Carrier by Ian Douglas or Odyssey One by Evan C. Currie. Both are book series that I like quite a lot.
I actually find very little not to like with this book. If I should try to come up with something it would probably be the dumbass journalists that the Captain is forced to take with him. I hate journalists just as much as politicians. 9 out of 10 of them are lying assholes with a political agenda that happily profits from other people’s misery. Said journalists do not really play a very prominent role in the book though apart from two of them which are not too bad.
The last parts felt that they was a wee bit rushed though. Not only learning to understand alien technology but learning to adapt and use it in such a short time was a bit over the top. It almost felt like there was an urge to finish the book within a certain time or within a certain number of pages.
These are minor complaints though. On the whole this is a great book. As it stands today it is not part of a book series but the war against the aliens are far from over. At the end of the book the author asks the reader whether or not we would like a sequel and, since the author has a WordPress blog, I wrote a comment on the entry for Ark Royal saying that a sequel would be appreciated. Apparently I was not the only one appreciating the book since I got a reply stating that a sequel was in the works.
I like the basic story. First contact is made and they are not friendly. Nothing like an alien invasion to spice up a science fiction book. The aliens rather easily smash the modern human ships who, thanks to politician’s short-sighted urge to cut costs are simply too fragile to stand against the enemy which, just to add to the problems, are technologically superior. Humanity’s only hope is the old carrier Ark Royal, the last of the human ships still built with solid armor and her aging crew who is the only ones who can run her.
This is a solid space adventure with plenty of space battles and enjoyable characters. The actual combat is well done and the physics is believable…for a science fiction book of course. I would not hesitate to compare this book to work like Star Carrier by Ian Douglas or Odyssey One by Evan C. Currie. Both are book series that I like quite a lot.
I actually find very little not to like with this book. If I should try to come up with something it would probably be the dumbass journalists that the Captain is forced to take with him. I hate journalists just as much as politicians. 9 out of 10 of them are lying assholes with a political agenda that happily profits from other people’s misery. Said journalists do not really play a very prominent role in the book though apart from two of them which are not too bad.
The last parts felt that they was a wee bit rushed though. Not only learning to understand alien technology but learning to adapt and use it in such a short time was a bit over the top. It almost felt like there was an urge to finish the book within a certain time or within a certain number of pages.
These are minor complaints though. On the whole this is a great book. As it stands today it is not part of a book series but the war against the aliens are far from over. At the end of the book the author asks the reader whether or not we would like a sequel and, since the author has a WordPress blog, I wrote a comment on the entry for Ark Royal saying that a sequel would be appreciated. Apparently I was not the only one appreciating the book since I got a reply stating that a sequel was in the works.
coach_sean's review against another edition
4.0
Great space opera. Hopefully the rest of the series will be just as good.
The narrator was perfect for the story. Caught my interest from the first few minutes of listening.
The narrator was perfect for the story. Caught my interest from the first few minutes of listening.
robport's review against another edition
2.0
A friend of mine recommended this as a solid space opera. I think it aspires to that, and at times reaches it, but I found the book to be plodding to the point of distraction. The repetitive and lengthy inner monologues the characters engage in made whole chunks of this book almost unreadable. I hate abandoning stories unfinished, but I couldn't get through this one. It felt like work.
webgambit's review against another edition
4.0
Very nice underdog story, though it did gloss over the immense distances involved in space travel by never quite saying how fast the ships travel. Overall, the story made up for the hand wavy science, imho. The characters felt as though they had some depth to them. and I enjoyed all the various sci-fi and pop culture shout outs.
hootinglance's review against another edition
4.0
a little bit slow at points and slightly removed from the action... but its a fantastic book and definitely worth a read to anyone who likes space operas or hard science fiction.