Steel World

Undying Mercenaries, Book 1

By: B. V. Larson

Narrated by: Mark Boyett

Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

In the 20th century Earth sent probes, transmissions, and welcoming messages to the stars. Unfortunately, someone noticed. The Galactics arrived with their battle fleet in 2052. Rather than being exterminated under a barrage of hell-burners, Earth joined their vast Empire. Swearing allegiance to our distant alien overlords wasn't the only requirement for survival. We also had to have something of value to trade, something that neighboring planets would pay their hard-earned credits to buy. As most of the local worlds were too civilized to have a proper army, the only valuable service Earth could provide came in the form of soldiers…someone had to do their dirty work for them, their fighting and dying.

I, James McGill, was born in 2099 on the fringe of the galaxy. When Hegemony Financial denied my loan applications, I was kicked out of the university and I turned to the stars. My first campaign involved the invasion of a mineral-rich planet called Cancri-9, better known as Steel World. The attack didn't go well, and now Earth has entered a grim struggle for survival. Humanity's mercenary legions go to war in Steel World, best-selling author B. V. Larson's latest science fiction novel.

©2013 B. V. Larson (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

It's about as SOFT as Sci-Fi gets

Steel World Overall = C
Story (D+): I was HOPING for another great SciFi novel. What I got instead was a protracted first-person tale of a series of battles against dinosaurs (T-rexs & raptors). I guess it is technically SciFi in the same way that Land of the Lost or something is SciFi, but you could completely remove the spaceships, put it back on Earth, rewind time to the Cretaceous period, and you’d end up with basically the same story by sprinkling in some humans. The only part even remotely worth pondering for a few minutes was the concept of brain “backups” allowing for revival after becoming dino hors d'oeuvres (but the author beats that concept to death, since everybody was getting picked out of T-rex teeth ad infinitum).
Narration (B): pretty solid. Decent variation for voices. Some of the characters were voiced in a bit of a stereotype of military personnel.
I actually had to convince myself to go ahead and finish up with the book. I will NOT be checking out the other ‘Worlds’ in this series.

Wow.

I love it when I pick a book and it turns out AWESOME! Put Mr. Larson and Mr. Boyett together and you cant go wrong.

Enjoyable Read

What made the experience of listening to Steel World the most enjoyable?

The change in human society and how Earth adapted to a superior race forcing mankind to become indentured to a galactic confederation.

Who was your favorite character and why?

There are several characters that I enjoyed throughout the book - each had their own priorities and each went about ensuring their personal success and that of the Legion.

What about Mark Boyett’s performance did you like?

Mark did a fine job, good narration makes or breaks an audiobook and I was not disappointed.

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

No

Any additional comments?

I mostly read Fantasy books and was looking for something different - Steel World was suggested by Audible as something I might enjoy. I've not read B.V. Larson before, so this book was a new experience into his world of sci-fi that I really knew nothing about.

Another Winner!

Very creative and entertaining first volume. Boyett does his usual excellent job at narration. This is a bit of a coming of age story of a Recruit in an Earth-based mercenary outtit, but Larson has weaved in a complex and nuanced underplot that slowly reveals the complexity of this universe as the story unfolds. This volume ends well, but we know there is more to come. Bring it on. I hope that we see James Magill mature and grow into the leader that seems foreshadowed. I would hate to see him stuck in early adult immaturity over the trajectory of this series. A mature, nuanced Magill would cope with the intricate complexities of the politics and economics of this galaxy in very interesting ways.

Wow oh Wow!

B.V Larson does it once again! I can not wait for more of this story. If you like the Star Force series then you will love Steel World.

Told in first person POV

My bad. I like space opera and I like this narrator, so I didn't listen to the sample. See, I don't like books written in first person POV. Rarely do I finish them. The constant references to "I" and "me" and "mine" just ruins the story-time feel for me. I guess I'm looking for the magical feeling you get from a classic-style storyteller: "Once upon a time..."

Sometimes I manage to enjoy an i-centric story, but it's rare.

I didn't finish this one. I have no complaints, it's just me.
But I wanted to alert other listeners, in case they feel like me.

Excellent performance by narrator Boyett.

interesting and charming

A great story about a call of duty kid getting a reality check when he enlisted for real.

Great story, with a few minor hiccups

The story is amazing overall. Great exposition, backstory, world building, and setting. It takes on a new twist to the "galactic federation" trope. The minor characters are memorable and the dialogue is pretty good as well. There were just a few plot holes and sometimes it can be a bit slow; however, these issues are very minor in my opinion.

pleasant surprise

this book really surprised me. it was totally unexpected and hilarious. McGill is quite a character. looking for book 2 asap

Crazy great story!

Slightly unexpected plot twist with the enemy type but well written so it was rather believable and a great listen. Gearing up to get the rest of the books now.