Space Fleet Academy

Year One

De: Jon Del Arroz, Vox Day

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

Humanity chose to suffer. The alternative was extinction.

When genetic engineering nearly doomed the species, humanity made a desperate bargain: let the frontier do what nature intended. Harsh colony worlds. Brutal selection. Children dying on planets designed to test them. Two centuries later, the Mandate has kept humanity alive, but at a price no one is allowed to question.

Cadet Constantine Ramsey questions it anyway.

As a frontier colonist at Earth's Space Fleet Academy, Constantine keeps flinching at the hard calls, and finds himself being outperformed by the cadets who don't. Then colonies start going dark. Whole worlds, no survivors, no explanation. With senior classes rushed to the frontier, Constantine is thrust onto an unprecedented first-year team at the Inter-Colonial Games, the highest-stakes competition in human space. When catastrophe threatens all four colonies at once, he faces the choice the Academy trained him to make, and makes the one they never expected.

Some officers are made to follow orders. Real leaders are made to give them.

Start the journey today! Grab your copy of Space Fleet Academy: Year One, the first book in a new military SF series perfect for fans of Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, Old Man's War by John Scalzi, and Star Trek.

Solid beginning

if you want overly dramatic characters this is not a story for you. first year cadets trying to survive a tough school / boot camp. the 'real world' mystery (disaster?) is introduced and affects their lives but it's still a mystery left for the next books. the characters are not are not terribly deep or memorable at this moment so plenty of room to grow in the next books. and for no real reason I just don't like the main character's name Constantine. lol

very ender's game, with more realism

unique Vulcan like races, treated like elves, I also liked the unique questions they asked, no spoilers. best was the ending, and the call to duty and nobility

Humanity's best learn and grow

a collection of humanity's best attend the academy, many wash out, but all grow stronger

Looking forward to the Second Year!

This book started as a dare. Del Arroz wrote this in response to Robert Picardo’s “challenge” to write something better than the Starfleet Academy TV series.

Del Arroz did, in the span of a few weeks.

The book has a young adult vibe, but the world is anything but. Stemming from Day’s work on evolution, the future colonization efforts of the human species is guided not by conquest, resources, or faith, but to turn back on natural selection so the human race doesn’t go extinct. It’s a disturbing concept. Far more disturbing than what this first novel addresses.

Altogether this is an enjoyable story, if light fare. Characters are a little one dimensional and the plot somewhat predictable, but it had the feel of classical science fiction such as Heinlein’s juveniles. Plenty to like for adults though.

The books faults are almost absolutely the result of the genesis of this project and the speed of its production. I hope that Del Arroz and Day can take the time to mature the narrative and add even more depth and dilemma to the world in which these cadets are expected to serve. The first year is a great beginning story, somewhat full of naïveté. second year cadets should be confronted with even more of the harsh reality they have to deal with. The world is rich in opportunity for really dealing with the repercussions of the Mandate. Del Arroz and Day have the opportunity to bring the cadets and the readers to full maturity in confronting what it represents. I hope they both take it, because this has the potential to be a great universe.

The audiobook is serviceable but the Virtual Voice probably made the novel sound more juvenile than the book really was due to many errors in tone when delivering emotion. Not a show stopper, but it shows AI can’t do everything.

Regardless, this is an education worth pursuing.

the greater good

This is one on the most interesting books I've listened to in years. it's about a system built around what is basically eugenics. most authors would not be brave enough to touch something like that with a ten foot pole. But that becomes a secondary story line. What the book is really about is the greater good and the courage to make the hard choices even at great cost.
The book was clearly rushed to print. there are a couple of inconsistencies. a conversation where genetic compatibility scores are posted is repeated. But on the whole this is a great book.