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Koban: Conflict and Empire  By  cover art

Koban: Conflict and Empire

By: Stephen W Bennett
Narrated by: Eric Michael Summerer
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Publisher's summary

The Galactic Federation is confronted by the vast and implacable Thandol Empire, which has coveted the former Krall region of space for eons, a region of space now occupied and claimed by the upstart Kobani. Outnumbered, they face an opponent who possesses new and deadly weapons. An enemy that had thousands of years to develop the means to take on the Krall Empire, and now present the supermen with a weapon that turns their greatest genetic asset into their greatest weakness. The new Federation must find a way to survive the most powerful threat yet to their existence. Once again, the Kobani are between a rock and a hard place, poised on the brink of death and destruction.

©2016 Stephen W Bennett (P)2016 Stephen W Bennett

What listeners say about Koban: Conflict and Empire

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Same Great Kobani -- Different Aliens!


Conflict and Empire picks up where Forged left off -- with our intrepid Kobani facing the prospect of war with yet another murderous group of high handed aliens determined to conquer humanity. (You'd think it would get old -- nope!)

In Forged, the Empire invaded a new Federation colony, and in turn, the Kobani attacked them in retribution. Now the Empire is planning an invasion to teach the humans a lesson, and what follows is a war with the Empire's security force, an ape-like species called the Ragnar. Of course, the Ragnar have no idea what they're up against when it comes to war with humans. Fun times ensue!

The Kobani have learned that the Empire has weapons that are particularly deadly to their special nervous system, one that could eventually bring the Federation to a painful end, so they waste no time looking for a genetic mod to counteract the threat, but the book ends before that particular plot point is fleshed out. While Confict feels a little like the first half of a longer book, it's so well done that I found it hugely entertaining. If I have a complaint it's that book 7 isn't out yet!

And let's face it -- no matter how long Steve's books are, I'm always sad when they end.

FYI: I'm usually not a fan of straight up military sci fi, (with a few exceptions). But when the 'military' is a bunch of scientists and spacers learning on the fly, it feels different and wide open with smart possibilities. In the hands of Steve Bennett, the wars feel more like something out of Hogan's Heroes or Mash, than Patton, so I enjoy the books immensely. The military strategies are well thought out, entertaining and satisfying, and the tech is awesome, and left me wondering whether our military may have missed out on an innovative potential general in Stephen W. Bennett!

And innovation really is Steve's strength -- and why I keep coming back for more.


HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

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11 people found this helpful

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Shorter but still good

I prefer the long books Mr Bennet but this was still great! I look forward to the next.

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6 people found this helpful

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Amazing book and series

I just finished the latest book in this series and found it absolutely entertaining. This book and its series are well worth investing in. The only drawback is waiting for the next book to be published!

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5 people found this helpful

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First of two

Lot of back story with a bit of action. The next book sounds like a doozey. Its going to be some great action I can hear it now. I cannot wait.

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4 people found this helpful

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Another great addition to the series

I listened to this nearly straight through. It is just as good as the previous installments.

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4 people found this helpful

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Great book. Great narration.

I really enjoy this series. Perfect level of detail mixed with humour, action and drama equals a lot of fun. I absolutely recommend this book and all the rest in the series! if you enjoy sci-fi you will love this!

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3 people found this helpful

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can't wait

since I started listening to the series. I am eager to hear the next one.

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  • 11-20-16

I hope it never ends!

The only bad thing about this series is I can listen/read it far faster than it can be written. the author is obviously well read and while he uses some mystical yet invented technologies to move around, the theories are not completely unfounded and on top of that he not only explains very complicated astrophysics and quantum mechanics in a way most can understand. though I wanted to bash Tet on the head for his glib understanding of gravitational physics, it was a good plot device for teaching a complicated topic to a layperson. As with most of this series I listened almost straight through though I had to have a break this time, and was surprised when it ended as I always want more.

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love this series

I can't put it down I listen then relisten to this book. Gotta start blaming this author for my insomnia every time a book gets released.

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More characters and story please, less tech

I am a huge fan of the Koban series and recommend it highly. There was another book in the series that was like this one - very much like a manual or someone's blog of awesome science-to-come, or battle strategies to be used when weapons become higher tech.

However, I get bored with so much narrative spent on thinking up and explaining weaponry, innovative battle strategies, genetics, space battle tactical maneuvers, and so little spent with the characters.

At some point, just as some characters come in, it's only to continue more science explanations to each other.

The first half of the book felt like 9 parts science narrative and 1 part story. The second half of the book finally brought in characters to talk, but there was little going on with them other than battle strategy and more explaining science to each other. Some banter.

What makes sci-fi fun is to see what people will be living like. Don't forget the people. I love the characters and their high standard of ethics. There's got to be character's stories in a book, not just hours of nifty science and tactical ideas.

Some "people" series as examples: Old Man's War, The No. 1 Ladies Detective, Cabin Pressure, Iron Druid, Peter Grant series . . . I love the Koban series, but this book, along with one other previous book almost forgot the characters and to tell some stories about them.

The narration is just okay. Pretty much everyone speaks standard American, except the aliens have deeper or nasally voices, and there's Capt Murikami's unique voice (which sometimes shows up as someone else is speaking), and Maggie's unique voice, and a Southern Accent, but the rest of the time I have to listen to hear an identifier since the narrator's repertoire is limited. The first book of the series was the best as far as narration goes. Near the beginning of this audio book the scene changed and I had to back up mentally once I realized that the human was no longer speaking, and the location had shifted, and an alien was speaking. Maybe a longer pause between "scenes" would help.

Again, I love the Koban series, but a lot of this book was eye-glazing stuff.

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3 people found this helpful