Outcast

Star Force, Book 10

By: B. V. Larson, David VanDyke

Narrated by: Mark Boyett

Length: 13 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

Star Force is called to arms again! Outcast is a new beginning, the first book in a new spin-off series.

Many peaceful years have passed since the Macro Wars ended. Most of those who fought against the heartless machines have aged - but not the ingenious artificial construct known as Marvin. His insatiable curiosity is as strong as ever, and he’s brought home fresh perils to humanity’s doorstep.

The new Saga in the Star Force universe begins with Outcast, the longest book in the series. A full-length novel of military science fiction by best-selling authors B. V. Larson and David VanDyke.

©2014 B.V. Larson, David VanDyke (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Riggs Pigs

Saddened to see father Riggs not on the scene but his son does an impressive job...reminds me of all those star trek episodes I watched....one ship deep in space with no help.

Can't wait to buy the next book.

Really happy to hear about authors other books...Steel World sounds really great too.

Another engaging journey....

Not one who normally wrights reviews i believe this series deserved a few words. I started with the first book Swarm as a bit of a novelty as I have never been a fan of military style books. I was pleasantly surprised with more of a war of the world's approach to the story and was hooked. . Now having finished the 10th in the series and ready to start the last (so far produced) I can say that the whole series has been very enjoyable. Mixing in just enough military combat inflections with relationship and character development has kept me coming back to this story. Last note is about the narrator. I usually prefer dramatization stories with different voices for the characters but Boyett does a fantastic job in bringing new voices to all the players in the stories so as not to get lost in trying to figure out who is saying what or a constant slew of statements of who is speaking. This really lets the reader fall into the story. Larson has other series that I am looking forward to trying. Just hope that the stories are as engaging as this one.

A bit different from the other books in the series

This book is a bit like book #2 - different. For a first time when listening to a book of Larson I got frustrated - the robot Marvin is constantly been manipulated, overused and used in a bad way. I can see how people are going to make Macro out of a nice and friendly robot. Very unfair and too harsh for the always helping robot.

Beside this - you can feel the influence of the 2nd author on Larson. The book has more romance, describing more stuff, which I don't find so interesting. The best thing of Larson's books is his ability to come up with lots of story, often unexpected one, which grabs you and don't leave you until sometime around 2-3 AM when you simply fall a sleep while listening. So in this book the story is not so rich, especially compared to book #9, where it rocks everything!

In general - you will enjoy the book, indeed. If you like the series - you will love this one as well. But as with any love - there are some pros and cons. The cons are just a few, so go for it and enjoy it. Next book in the series rocks and returns the Larson's usual entertaining rich story!

More of why we got this far.

If you could sum up Outcast in three words, what would they be?

Happy to hear more about this universe. The new writer is way to loyal and a little obvious. All that being said i enjoyed the book. Please take some unpredictable risks in the next book. Everyone knows who killed his girlfriend..... PLEASE surprise me!

another hit

another hit to keep us interested DV Larson is the best and so is Mark boyette

Great way to continue the storyline with the son of the original protagonist

In the same vein as the other nine books in the series it was a perfect way to continue the storyline with the next generation. A good story.

I don't like that I like them!

These books are terrible... and addictive. The writing is ok, the plot is loose and the characters are one dimensional and all the books follow the same formula. That being said, I have read/listened to everything that BV Larson has ever written and will (unfortunately) continue to buy anything new that comes out.

BV Larson writes from the extreme male perspective. The protagonist is hyper masculine, sex obsessed and kind of a dick but always turns out to be correct in following his gut without thinking. The aliens are always trite and one dimensional, and outhought by a moron.

It's a terrible plot and the characters are worse but I can't stop listening... I guess that says something about me.

Keep up the mediocre work B.V. I'll be with you every step of the way!

A chore to listen and uninteresting.

This was the first book in the Star Force series where I actually lost interest and tuned out large portions while trudging through this listen. I listened to every word when it was solely written by B. V. Larson. With this book, you can definitely tell it has the hand of David VanDyke written all over it. In fact, I think this book may have been written almost entirely by David with B.V. Larson acting solely as editor and possibly adding bits here and there. The story feels entirely different in the way it unfolds. Where Swarm saw Kyle unwittingly grabbed up by a terrorizing entity, Outcast sees Cody jumping headfirst in of his own accord. For me, the story feels contrived and only uses the technology from books 1 through 9 solely as glue that binds this story to the universe.

It's also a weird genre jump between books 9 and 10. Books 1 through 9 were clearly targeted as adult science fiction. Book 10 feels very much like a young adult novel, very much in the vein of Hunger Games and Maze Runner. I kind of feel betrayed by this genre turn of events.

Still, this book doesn't carry on anything to do with nanos or macros other than having nanotized warriors and ships. Everything else is about new enemies, new star systems and new dangers with Cody at the helm (and a few familiar, but underutilized characters along for the ride). Nothing left hanging from books 1 through 9 is resolved in book 10. It's like this book is trying too hard to set up an entirely new series under an existing series brand. Cody is also not Kyle for better or, in most cases, worse. I'm not as much a fan of VanDyke's writing style or storytelling as I am of B. V. Larson's writing. I wanted to like this book, but unlike the other 9 books, this one feels like a chore and is also entirely different. I'm always cautious when I see a new author name on the cover and this book illustrates exactly the reason why.

Need More Marvin .

Would you consider the audio edition of Outcast to be better than the print version?

No its from the person point of view .I like audio versions because of limited time to read .

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Portals and Marvin , Pandas / Raptors ? really

What does Mark Boyett bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I like him in the 1-9 books but the same voice is to much like the father is still running the show .

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

No

Any additional comments?

I Loved the Series but this one was to much like the father is still in the show , the son starts out as a ensign and then after the whole top brass gets killed he takes over as the commander ?

Will be getting a refund for this

I could barely get through the last few books in this series but OCD made me continue. That is why I bought this book but after an hour of this poor story and awful performance I have to ask for a refund.