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A Small Colonial War  By  cover art

A Small Colonial War

By: Christopher G. Nuttall
Narrated by: Ralph Lister
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Publisher's summary

A new war has broken out.... Indian ships have invaded three British-held systems, and Indian troops have occupied British colonies, forcing Britain to choose between war and shame. The Royal Navy, battered by the fires of the First Interstellar War and desperately trying to recover from the terrifying casualties, must launch a counterattack and recover the colonies. For HMS Warspite - and a task force of British warships - the stakes have never been so high. If the Royal Navy loses, Britain will be humiliated, and the global power system will shift catastrophically, but even victory may come with too high a price. Pushed to the limits, the Royal Navy must take the offensive and determine the outcome quickly...before the Indian gambit triggers a civil war that will rip the human sphere apart.

©2015 Christopher G. Nuttall (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about A Small Colonial War

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

A fitting conclusion to the series

The Warspite series concludes with A Small Colonial War, which focuses on the conflict in space between India and the UK. India sees an opportunity to be recognized as a "Great Power" and decides to seize control of a few British held systems as well as Vesy. This act of war puts the Royal Space Navy in a tough spot as the only way it can fight back is to pull ships from the border that protects human space from the tadpoles. Exposing the border could have dire consequences for humanity but the UK can't afford the shame of letting India steal systems from them without a fight.

This is military sci-fi and the battles are well done. Captain Naiser and Warpsite play a key role in the story as two evenly matched battle groups go up against each other. The battles are interesting and there are some tough decisions to be made. This conflict also provides an opportunity for both sides to try out new weapons and technologies for the first time since the war with the tadpoles came to an end.

Each book in the series is better than the one before it but as usual character development is not a strength of Christopher G. Nuttall. In the end the Warspite series is just not as entertaining as the Ark Royal series simply because human in-fighting is a lesser story arc than an alien invasion with the potential for human extinction. If you have enjoyed the other books in the series then you will want to finish it up and get to the point where the next series, Vanguard, is teased at the end. Ralph Lister delivers another solid performance and his British accent remains a good fit for the material.

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3 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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The Indian Gambit

This is book six in the Ark royal Series. This story has the Indian government in open rebellion and seizing British held plants and demanding to be recognized as a serious world power. After the Interstellar War the United Kingdom is struggling to rebuild its military as well as its war-torn country. The last thing it needs is a war with India. Can the dispute be solved with diplomacy or does the Royal Navy need to be sent out?

One thing I enjoy about the space opera genre as well as the westerns is the straight forward story of the good guys protecting everyone from the bad guys. Nuttall often takes his ideas from current affairs and puts them onto an interstellar stage. I think that in this story you can think of the Falkland War as the current affair idea.

The plot is straight forward, the pace is fast and the story is well written. Nuttall is continuing to develop the key characters with every story. The space battles are classic, the story entertaining and enjoyable. Ralph Lister does a good job narrating the story.

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A fine tale!

A good story with a real universe woven in.
If you are portraying British people, military personnel including some aristocratic types, try and get them to use fewer Americanisms. "Gotten" is not part of the language outside the USA.
This is surely something an editor should have caught anyway.
A very good continuing story and I look forward to the next part.

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So far 16 Nuttall novels each one my favorite!!

So far I've read 16 Christopher G. Nuttall novels each one is my favorite!! I fell in love in high school with science fiction. The ability of the genre to let and author give you an analogy of his view of the future. I buy them for myself for quick easy Entertainment while reminding myself the future will have all the same human problems faced by both current events and history. I buy them for my grandchildren in the hopes that this author can interest them to think beyond the level of a good shooting up. I vote for keep it simple and have fun
I believe you will enjoy!!

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Warspite trilogy finale

Christopher G. Nuttall's A Small Colonial War is the 6 the installment of the Ark Royal universe and the final installment of the Warspite trilogy. As the military options begin to heat up, the Admiral in charge of the British taskforce and the captain of Warspite each play unique roles in taking the fight to the Indians from both the military and diplomatic angles. The solutions and strategies are creative and engaging. The battles take place in both in space and on the the ground. Percy finds true love and his sister gets her story and book deal along with both learning details about their father.

The sci-fi elements are in line with earlier installments with an evolving space warfare strategy driving military options and spacecraft design. The unique angle for the Ark Royal universe is late 20th century geopolitics transitioned to the 23rd century space based mercantilism where the major space powers mirror the UN security council, the Russians are galactic pariahs, and lesser powers, colonially deficient and trying to project status. While the story is quite engaging, the persistent of the British monarchy is a bit depressing to ponder.

The narration is outstanding with an excellent range of voices along with good pacing and mood. Nuttall has established a pattern with the Ark Royal universe with each succeeding trilogy revolving around a particular evolution in spacecraft design. With Warspite finished, the next in line will be Vanguard along with a gradual promotion of established characters and new ones on the front lines.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Awesome !

Vary well written ! Most stories I can listen to while working around home . But not Mr. Nuttall's , often I find that I have to go back a couple of chapters to find the minute detail that was mentioned that makes everything fit together . The mark of a Great Writer .

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Awesome, cannot wait for Vanguard!

Title says it all! Can't wait for Vanguard!

Mr Nuttall, these are the stories you should focus on! Ark Royal, Empires Corps Universe etc.

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Kept me listening

I found the story held my attention and kept me wondering how it was all going to come together
A great listen

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Another winner

Just one thing for me to say; Another first class book from this author !!!!

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pretty lame war

I mean, come on, absolutely nothing unexpected or interesting happens ... This was more like reading a news article than a book.

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