DFV Ethereal

The Terran Fleet Command Saga, Book 6

By: Tori L. Harris

Narrated by: Marc Vietor

Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

Desperate tyrants often resort to desperate tactics...regardless of their species.

After suffering a near-catastrophic defeat by Terran Fleet Command, the Pelaran AI strain gambles on a bold, “hands-on” approach to controlling the destiny of a human world. On the pre-industrial world of Didara 4, Dryden Beck awakens alone in the depths of the Scarsdow Forest, knowing that he has murdered thousands of his own people, but with no memory of how or why.

He soon discovers that he has been forever changed; modified against his will to serve as the most powerful weapon in the arsenal of a ruthless puppet master bent on total domination. Stripped of powers he never wanted but now desperately needs, Dryden finds himself caught in the middle of a war in which both sides - those he once sought to destroy as well as his former master who forced him to do so - see him as their most dangerous and hated adversary.

To prove his allegiance, Dryden’s only choice is to flee. It is a journey that will take him across a region where opposing sides seek to destroy one another, and wielding technologies are introduced centuries before their time, supplied by a mysterious benefactor whose motivations remain unknown.

With the help of a pair of enigmatic Grey aliens, can this lone human regain control of the same deadly weapons he once used to slaughter his own people in time to save them?

©2021 Tori Harris (P)2021 Podium Audio

Good next installment

This was a good next installment, I enjoy Marc Vietor I just am not a fan of voice changes in a series…. Even if they are only tangentially related books.

I look forward to the next one.

Very different from the original TFS series

Apparently the start of a new series based on the TFS universe. Ultimately how good the series becomes will depend on how well the author is able to develop the theme in subsequent books. The TFS series was excellent and performed by Jeffrey Kater who is my favorite reader. Whether this series rises to that level is still to be determined.

Another winner from Tori Harris

I totally enjoyed his latest book DFV Ethereal, great new characters with some old friends showing up to right some wrongs, great action With a Wild West vibe. If you like SF with a BBB different twist buy the audio and listen to Mark Vietor does an outstanding job with keeping the story interesting bringing out the cast of characters making each enjoyable.

it's good...but

ok. it's good. but if you, like me, listened to the previous 5 books the narrator change was unsettling all the way through. he's a good narrator and had he done the previous books this would be nothing... but I feel they may want to provide the option of the original narrator for the full book or at least for the parts of Rick and Miguel. (maybe even the envoy but... meh). overall again though it's still good and lives up to the series even when it wasn't originally written to be part of the series

Do years of great sci-fi, it’s still finding new geniuses

I am not much of a fan of military sci-fi as a rule. But Tori adds dimensions that you just can’t resist. I can’t wait to see the new series with Rick continue. If you love high-tech sci-fi, but with a twist you may like his work. Hurry up Tori get some AI help and put something out fast. I need a fix

DFV spinoff.

Good standalone book with a connection to the other DFV series. I like the narrator but had to set my mind to a different story as I have heard him read the Block Company.

Great tfs

If you like tfs you like this just no space battle
Can't wait for next book

Where is the ending?

Narrator is great, Marc Vietor is amazing in everything I've heard him in.

The story takes place maybe a few years after the main Terran Fleet Command Saga. Exact time is unclear, I'd guess no more than 5 years or so.

Basically we have a lost human colony in the wild west type era of their world and one of the Pelaran guardian AIs is here trying to subjugate the natives. It's not totally evil from his point of view, it's simply how he is implementing the Peleran 'cultivation program' where they uplift certain worlds up to specific technological stages in order for them to become powerful and further expand the influence of the Pelaran Alliance.

The book has elements if litrpg stuff, where the main character has hidden abilities that unlock as time goes on.
This personally felt incredibly out of place to me in the Terran Fleet Command series. This series has nailed things like the tactical implications of tech advantages, interspecies diplomacy, and the intricacies of uplifting and enlightening lesser advanced cultures. This book has none of this.

The main reason I'm leaving this review, however, is the ending. Or rather, the lack thereof. You have the main character talking to the bad guy, a couple other things happening at the same time. Rather large implications for the universe of Terran Fleet Command that connects to the main story. And within literally 10 minutes of this, that connection is outright CUT and no longer relevant, and without ending the story, the bad guy leaves the area, and the book just ENDS.

???
I don't even know. If an ending can ruin a book for you, don't read this. If you want a bit more background info for the Terran Fleet Command series, this book does have some of that, but even so, it's absolutely not a sequel of any kind. And as I put in my review, the one connection to the previous books that actually made me excited to get to the end, had absolutely ZERO payoff and singlehandedly took this story down another point for me.

It's very strange how average this book is considering how much I loved the main series. I feel that this story could have been much better if the author didn't feel compelled to lump it into the same universe. I totally understand why fans like other and myself could like it because it could have pulled off something really cool, but this one was a total dud.

Hard to give a fair review 🤔

If you are looking for the 6th book in the series, then prepare to be disappointed. That said, the author is quite clear in his prologue that this book, although worked into the same universe as the rest of the books prior to this one and occurs after the events in the previous installment, is a stand alone story (and a possible launch for a separate story arc).
Once you get past the above mentioned disappointment, you will find a well written and excellently performed Science Fiction story.

Poor

This was essentially a short story that drags out. Character development was poor and it basically ended in the middle. No conclusion. Very disappointing