A King's Ship

Empire Rising, Book 2

By: D. J. Holmes

Narrated by: Liam Owen

Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's Summary

The war with China is over. But for Captain James Somerville there is a task still unfinished.

Former Politburo Intelligence Minister Chang has evaded capture and escaped from Chinese space. Declared a war criminal by the UN and British law courts, James is given the Royal Space Navy's newest exploration cruiser and sent after Chang.

His chase will threaten to stir up old rivalries and take him to the edge of explored space. What he will discover there will radically reshape humanity's position in the galaxy and throw him into a series of desperate battles. Alone and outnumbered he will come to realize what it really takes to command a King's Ship.

A King's Ship is the second book in the Empire Rising military science fiction series that follows the career of Captain James Somerville as he takes command of HMS Endeavour.

©2016 David Holmes (P)2016 David Holmes

I could not even finish it

Though the premise and story have some promise the author just can't seem to create a believable character. He has a very competent and professional Naval captain sticking her tongue out at a subordinate at one point in the book. He can't seem to keep his characters true to their portrayal. His writing is juvenile and unpolished. How a book like this makes it passed an editor is beyond my understanding.

The narrator is by far the worst I've ever listened to on an audible book. His inflections just seem wrong and his cadence is annoying. He might be the perfect pairing for this author because they both seem to struggle with making a character believable.

I have listened to we'll over 100 audio books from audible and have never just stopped listening in the middle of a book. This book however became the first.

simple story bad narration

narration is offputting & story is a bit to unbelievable and too simplistic, predictable, and science is off. I'm not well versed in what's theoretically possible or not, but even I fee like things don't add up. Definitely a British officer wouldn't have the authority to do what he did, nor would he be able to accomplish what he did with the ship he had, it just pushed the bounds of believability too far.
But if you don't need any basis in possible reality & don't need things to make sense, it can be an OK mindless ride.
A better narrator would likely make a world of difference. This one is too monotone while also being condescending in his attitude and delivery. Something about his read is just astoundingly annoying & supercilious.
There also is a big correlation between this story and another series that I listened to about a planet named Haven & the Earth colonies. I don't know who stole from who but there were just too many similarities, I thought this was a spin off series, but looking up the author after finishing this, I find he's only got a few books, so makes me wonder. even down to some of the relationships, which seem to be straight out ofcanother series I've read. Maybe this author read the same books I did & is unconsciously (or consciously) cloning bits and pieces of several into his own. Didn't strike me as too original.

WHAT A BUNCH OF SCAT!!! THIS IS TRASH!!!

This author is a moron and has NO WRITING ABILITY!!! He writes his battles as if he was sailing wooden ships with individually loaded cannons combined with airplanes in an atmosphere, not in a vacuum!! It is absolutely

another fast, fun story

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Sure. It's a fun story. It has lots of action and adventure. The characters act in a reasonable manner so it has believability for the setting. And you like the characters. I'm waiting for the next installment.

What other book might you compare A King's Ship to and why?

The "Silver Ships" series by S. H. Jucha. This is another sci-fi action adventure series.

Which character – as performed by Liam Owen – was your favorite?

Why, the hero, Captain Somerville, of course.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Adventure in the cosmos

Any additional comments?

Buy it and try it. I recommend it.