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lyleblosser's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed the way the author included the various bits of UFO conspiracy theories into the universe he created, tying them together into a consistent new "reality" but also adding in new concepts. Looking forward to reading the next book, Alien Hostiles.
pjonsson's review against another edition
1.0
This book was rather disappointing as far as I am concerned. The book blurb sounded interesting but the story was, in my opinion, just a hot mess.
It starts off well enough with US Navy SEAL Mark Hunter witnessing this famous UFO mentioned in the book blurb but as soon as the “real” story begins it is really going down hill.
First of all the author jumps straight into (drumroll) time travel. Oh crap! That’s the most destructive plot element of them all. It is almost never done right and when it is done right it is really not that interesting. In this book it goes the way it almost always does and creates a mess. Add to this Nazis in space, time traveling Nazis, time traveling aliens, humans from the future, bullshit politics interfering in military matters and so on and so forth.
The author tries to do a bit of techno babble to explain the time travel aspect and ties faster than light travel into the capability of travel through time in the process. Of course we get a, less than successful, attempt to explain why going back in time doesn’t necessarily have a catastrophically effect on the present and the future as well. It is a mix of far out speculations loosely based on highly theoretical concepts and utter nonsense.
The story is illogical, confusing and circular (what would you expect with time travel bullshit). Needless to say I won’t continue this series.
It starts off well enough with US Navy SEAL Mark Hunter witnessing this famous UFO mentioned in the book blurb but as soon as the “real” story begins it is really going down hill.
First of all the author jumps straight into (drumroll) time travel. Oh crap! That’s the most destructive plot element of them all. It is almost never done right and when it is done right it is really not that interesting. In this book it goes the way it almost always does and creates a mess. Add to this Nazis in space, time traveling Nazis, time traveling aliens, humans from the future, bullshit politics interfering in military matters and so on and so forth.
The author tries to do a bit of techno babble to explain the time travel aspect and ties faster than light travel into the capability of travel through time in the process. Of course we get a, less than successful, attempt to explain why going back in time doesn’t necessarily have a catastrophically effect on the present and the future as well. It is a mix of far out speculations loosely based on highly theoretical concepts and utter nonsense.
The story is illogical, confusing and circular (what would you expect with time travel bullshit). Needless to say I won’t continue this series.
mrfrenchtoasts's review against another edition
https://www.reddit.com/r/printSF/comments/11u5g8w/what_common_sf_device_breaks_your_willing/jcn7aop?context=3
lpcoolgirl's review against another edition
5.0
Fantastic book, I loved the aliens and how this world worked, and I can't wait to explore more of it!
stevenk's review against another edition
3.0
A solid start to a multi novel sci-fi story mixing together UFO and government conspiracy theories going back to WWII and the Nazi's with secret space fleets and extraterrestrial space combat action. This book is good hard sci-fi with a military edge although it has a time travel element the rules of when it is and when it is not possible seem a bit unclear. The world building is a mix of fast and slow but meant to take place over the course of a larger story with several alien species claiming earth as their home and many of the revelations leading to more mysteries. There are lots of characters that get a little mixed together until you sort out the important ones from the supporting characters but they all have their parts to play in the story. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
sbisson's review against another edition
4.0
Recent Reads: Alien Secrets. The first of Ian Douglas' new Solar Warden series mashes up UFO conspiracies with milSF and his own far-future brand of space opera. A Navy SEAL on a mission to hunt down space Nazis ends uncovering deep secrets, about the past, present, and future.
snowcrash's review
3.0
I’ve read just about all of the books written under the penname Ian Douglas, going back to the very beginning of the Galactic Marine saga. So 19+ books over at least as many years. I’ve also read his submarine books written under a different name (though I didn’t realize until later both were the same person). So when I saw he had a new series, I grabbed it.
I know going in that the story will be a mishmash of fiction and fact. The plots recently have tended towards pulpy (my term). The author I also know will spend pages telling us readers about some topic, while the characters wait for us to return to their conversation. I was looking for an escapist ride. But this book doesn’t rise to the best of the Star Carrier series or Galactic Marines. It is average at best, getting itself tangled in what it wants to be.
Here, we follow a SEAL officer from his selection into the Solar Warden program through to fighting aliens in another star system. There is a super heavy dose of UFO mythology that has bolted onto it special forces, space navy and confusing alien intrigue. Add in time travel and it all begins to fall apart. There are too many competing ideas flying around. Plus I really dislike time travel stories.
Oh, NAZI’s too, just for an added pizazz (with a shoutout in the expository paragraphs of a chapter for Iron Sky, a movie spoof about NAZI’s in space).
While the book is a fast read, there are a number of items that detract from the flow. Mix of metric & English measurements. Skype calls in Space! iPads that can hook into alien internets. Anti-Grav, artificial gravity, etc but a cylinder shaped ship? Human crews that seem to know what they are doing, but are also new at interstellar voyages?
I think there is potential here for many more books. But it needs to have a lot more focus. Skip the time travel, that will get more and more silly. I’ll wait to see what the next installment is about before jumping back in. At least this is better than TV.
I know going in that the story will be a mishmash of fiction and fact. The plots recently have tended towards pulpy (my term). The author I also know will spend pages telling us readers about some topic, while the characters wait for us to return to their conversation. I was looking for an escapist ride. But this book doesn’t rise to the best of the Star Carrier series or Galactic Marines. It is average at best, getting itself tangled in what it wants to be.
Here, we follow a SEAL officer from his selection into the Solar Warden program through to fighting aliens in another star system. There is a super heavy dose of UFO mythology that has bolted onto it special forces, space navy and confusing alien intrigue. Add in time travel and it all begins to fall apart. There are too many competing ideas flying around. Plus I really dislike time travel stories.
Oh, NAZI’s too, just for an added pizazz (with a shoutout in the expository paragraphs of a chapter for Iron Sky, a movie spoof about NAZI’s in space).
While the book is a fast read, there are a number of items that detract from the flow. Mix of metric & English measurements. Skype calls in Space! iPads that can hook into alien internets. Anti-Grav, artificial gravity, etc but a cylinder shaped ship? Human crews that seem to know what they are doing, but are also new at interstellar voyages?
I think there is potential here for many more books. But it needs to have a lot more focus. Skip the time travel, that will get more and more silly. I’ll wait to see what the next installment is about before jumping back in. At least this is better than TV.
mattdeluca's review
1.0
Holy expositions Batman! This book is one of the worst books I’ve ever encountered. I’ll start by mentioning I DNF’d as the amount of exposition, which is intended to build the world, was fairly ridiculous. This is pure military sci-fi that is heavy on the military, tries on the science, and reads like Tom Clancy tried his hand at exploring space but sacrificed character development, pacing, and original thought for a pure cash grab. I will never get the time I spent on this book back. All copies of this book should be collected and shot into the sun.
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