Renegade

Spiral Wars, Book 1

By: Joel Shepherd

Narrated by: John Lee

Length: 17 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

One thousand years after Earth was destroyed in an unprovoked attack, humanity has emerged victorious from a series of terrible wars to assure its place in the galaxy. But during celebrations on humanity’s new homeworld, the legendary Captain Pantillo of the battle carrier Phoenix is court-martialed then killed, and his deputy, Lieutenant Commander Erik Debogande, the heir to humanity’s most powerful industrial family, is framed for his murder. Assisted by Phoenix’s marine commander Trace Thakur, Erik and Phoenix are forced to go on the run as they seek to unravel the conspiracy behind their captain’s demise, pursued to the death by their own fleet. What they discover about the truth behind the wars and the nature of humanity’s ancient alien allies will shake the sentient galaxy to its core.

©2015 Joel Shepherd (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

Perhaps this Year's Surprise 6 -- but stealthy

Let me begin by saying that John Lee could read a cookbook and give it the subtle impact and nuanced inflection of Richard !!!. So part of my reaction to this book is a result of his performance.

That said, my favorites are Neal Stephenson, Peter F. Hamilton (Void Series), Dan Simmons (Hyperion), Alastair Reynolds (Revelation Space Trilogy, Terminal World), Richard K. Morgan (Altered Carbon) and Charles Stross. (Halting State and Rule 34. -- also Corey's Expanse series.) Although the plot mechanism here is not a complex revelation (no pun intended) the execution is really good.

Military space opera with a pretty standard lead in -- junior command officer has to take over valiant ship and fight his way out of big trouble. A slightly slow start but oddly akin to the beginning of Hamilton's Void. I was totally unprepared for this being so much fun. Don't read it for the new ideas, read it because it is well done. The dialogue, pacing and characters are just that.... a lot of fun. I really hope that this is the first in a series.

(When I read the first book in the "Galbraith" detective series, I almost remarked that it reminded me of another, more sophisticated writer. When I read The Martian I almost stopped because it seemed so simple at first. So this time I'll ask even if it sounds odd....has anyone seen Joel Shepard, Alistair Reynolds and Peter F. Hamilton together in the same place ????)

And by the way, speaking of Richard III -- keep in mind the scene where, left alone with his executioners, the stunned Hastings slowly realizes that Stanley was right all along. Richard is a manipulative, power-hungry traitor, and Hastings has been dangerously overconfident. Always a risk.

Military sci-fi thriller

Renegade is Joel Shepherd's Book 1 of the Spiral Wars series. Lt commander Eric Debogande heads 3rd shift on a storied warship that is just coming out of long war with an alien foe that permitted a prior alien race, since defeated, to destroy Earth and rule humanity's diaspora. Even before the cleanup for the ticker tape parade, Eric finds his captain in jail for treason and is subsequently framed for his murder. What follows is a race for the basis of a highly placed cabal cleaning house in space command. Eric and his warship must piece together clues while staying one step ahead of fleet on their tail, along with various alien races with dubious intentions and buried secrets.

The sci-fi elements display faster than light drives necessary for interstellar interactions, while the multiple alien cultures are the main attraction with variety and diversity evident. The real appeal is the complex "geopolitical" intrigue without resorting to the more typical monolithic alien mindset. Under these conditions, old allies and adversaries don't always align correctly leading to confusion, uncertainty, and unique, creative situations. At the same time, humanity is also dealing with internal, divergent interests between "spacers" and "worlders" that is partly the driver for the "evil" cabal Eric is facing off against. One final noteworthy aspect is that while humanity is relatively speaking, the "new kid on the block," they are regarded as one of the more formidable races in the galaxy.

John Lee's narration is another gem of a listen. The range of characters of both genders is excellent, as is both his pacing and tone that meshes well with the back and forth between military action, both in space and marine infantry and political intrigue.

Surprised by how much I enjoyed it

I was surprised that I enjoyed this book as much as I did. I just thought it would be another space opera with no beginning or end. Turns out that it is a space opera that has dynamic characters that learn and grow. On top of that the setting is very detailed, the antagonists are despicable, and you find yourself rooting (sometimes out loud) for the good guys.

I especially loved the history of the galaxy that has to be pieced together as the characters travel through various locations.

I couldn't turn it off. It kept me hooked till the end.

Intriguing space adventure

Story has a good mix of action and intrigue. Good characters. Looking forward to more.

Renegade Awesome

The book flows well and is intelligently read, I sat straight through the read, much the wife's chagrin.

Impressive, Nuanced Space Opera

I recommend this to people interested in modern space opera sf similar to Peter F. Hamilton, Banks Reynolds et al. While I have nothing against military sf, I'm not crazy about a lot of mil. sf that gets bogged down in the details of military life at the expense of the wonder of sci fi. While Renegade is military sci fi, Shepard has worked hard to create fascinating characters, cultures and ETs. The novel also deals with difficult questions, such as where to place one's loyalty and at what cost, the challenges of democracy and the consequences of authoritarian rule.

Great stuff, nuanced characters, exciting space and ground-based battles. It's a refreshingly sophisticated book.

On the edge of my seat.

This book - don’t listen to it before bedtime, you’ll never get to sleep, because you won’t want to! I love listening to exciting space-operas and this one was so much fun - I stayed up too many nights! If I had read it from a paper book, I’d likely have given myself paper cuts trying to turn the pages fast enough. I’m going to stop writing now, because book #2 in the series is awaiting!!

most tense, smart & unpredictable mil/space opera

what a ride this book is. it starts slow, with a precise and deep but well written introduction of the characters and the situation in the galaxy, then explodes and keeps going.

it's a slo-mo explosion, unpredictable and lived through the eyes of people not called smart, but acting smart and goal oriented.

it has such an intense, underlying feel of dread and the characters are aware of it and do their best to get a handle on it. most books in that genre just present interchangeable "geniuses" that never do anything intelligent, just get by on luck and have the author write them as oh so smart in their background info dump.

this book is such a breath of fresh air. I thought books like this aren't written anymore. and it's all just getting started with 7 books in the series right now.

it seems military SciFi nowadays is just a renamed USA battling renamed or literal Chinese or Russians and one action scene after the next with zero character depth and forgettable dialogue. barely above blatant propaganda fiction with a fig leaf of "SciFi" sprinkled on to sell it and have all the bots in place for predictable the 5 star jubilant reviews...

this is different. real aliens. real stakes. a believable galaxy, believable politics.

John Lee is the perfect narrator who presents the story with incredible and frightening clarity, no matter how bad things are getting.

I've listened to hundreds of books by now and this is the best military SciFi I've ever read and among the top of space opera novels. the best mix of both by far.

Great start for a series

Good story and imawesome narrator.. John Lee could make make the list of ingredients on a bag of chips riveting.

I'm impressed 👏

Got roughly 70+/- Sci-fi titles in my library, at least 30% of those I could have lived W/O 😖. Hard to find a great Sci-fi epic...I'll admit I found this new adventure by Searching for what narrator John Lee is on, that guy just really brings any book he calls to the maximum 💪🙌. There's a lot more military battle sequence in this than I usually tolerate, I'm more of a world builder, 1st Contact, Deep time nut, but these characters are quality & the science is good here, which I believe makes Sci-fi plausible if done properly. I'm looking forward to getting on to the 2nd novel here!