Capital Starship

Ixan Legacy, Book 1

By: Scott Bartlett

Narrated by: Mark Boyett

Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

The Galaxy's Doomed Without Him

The Ixa smashed the galaxy to bits before they were defeated. Captain Husher has sounded the alarm in the decades since: the Ixa’s creators will return to finish the job.

But unlike Husher, the galactic government didn't battle the Ixa, and the politicians have convinced themselves that maintaining peace means limiting the ability to wage war.

Now the enemy has returned, with high-tech weapons that prove they haven’t limited their own combat capabilities in the slightest. If Captain Husher and his beleaguered supercarrier crew can't manage to stop the invaders, they will happily devour the galaxy whole.

Fans of Daniel Arenson and Jay Allan will love Capital Starship, part of a new military science fiction series set in the Ixan Prophecies universe.

©2018 Scott Bartlett (P)2018 Scott Bartlett

Riveting, gripping, military space opera

This was the first book I'd read or listened to from Scott Bartlett. I was really interested in his writing. Narrator Mark Boyett did an outstanding job of characterizing all the different people - particularly since there were many alien races in the mix.

This is the story of a supercarrier, the Vesta, and her crew. Led by Vin Husher, her captain, who has a troubled past indeed. In this first book of the 3 part series, Husher must defend the IU, the Interstellar Union, against enemies both foreign and domestic. And his hands are tied in many ways. There are politically based rules of engagement he must follow, even though he is the captain of one of the most powerful ships in the galaxy. He is not allowed to shoot other attacking vessels. He is also hobbled by the fully populated civilian city that exists at the heart of the Vesta. And those people don't like him. There are political struggles abound, even on the ship, and to make matters worse, not everyone's motives are virtuous.

Husher has some interesting characters to deal with. His first officer is an avian species, a winger named Fesky. And she is utterly loyal to him. He has a scientist on board, whom he secretly has developing military hardware. And to make matters worse, this scientist is a war criminal from the last galactic war.

So with a complex and complicated plot, with twists and unexpected turns abound, this is a really good book.

I have to admit, it started a little slow for me. I was really wondering if I was going to make it through the first few world-building chapters, and character-building chapters, but even as I was wondering about this, and not liking the descriptions of Cybele (pronounced Sibiley), the city at the heart of the Vesta and its inhabitants, all the action and intrigue caught hold, and I really started getting into it. So much so, that I got very involved, and I purchased the next two audiobooks, as I knew I had to read them and see where the series went and what happened to the characters.

Scott uses really interesting and imaginative technology in this book. Oculenses provide virtual reality vision for everyone. They seem to be like virtual reality contact lenses, and they also allow the control of the ship and the display of tactical information. They play a huge part in the series later on. Scott also does a magnificent job of capturing the different perspectives of the characters and the various diverse races. Somewhere along the line Scott was either exposed to or worked for a military organization or a government or both; his descriptions of the political and hierarchical processes are very realistic. Most importantly, this is a story of our galaxy on the brink of war. We face overwhelming odds and racial obliteration. That's more than enough to make for an incredibly gripping and action-packed read.

On the whole, this was a 5-star read and listen, with fantastic narration by Mark Boyett and exceptional writing by Scott Bartlett.

I ended up really loving this book, and I think you would too. I highly recommend it. Just be aware that if you go down this rabbit hole, you're going to want to read the whole series!

Just a great Space/Military story!

I really enjoyed this one from Bartlett. It was a great Space/Military story with plenty of twists and turns, many of which I didn't see coming. I rather enjoyed the mix of the political battles that the captain faced doing his job. Looking forward to book 2!

Great start to a excellent series

Capital Starship is the first book in the Ixan Legacy series. If you are looking for a well written SciFi Military book, this is a good one to listen to. Having read all the series of books looking forward to listening to the remainder of the series now.

A gutless captain(so far)

Okay i'm almost halfway through this books and if the captain doesn't grow a pair soon I'm not sure I will be able to finish this.

Great Start to an exciting, action-packed Series

Plenty of action, technology, and even some ruthless politics. Our main protagonist is thrown into battle vs. evil forces with superior technology. Beating the odds, mostly, he moves through a story line with ever-improving tech, plot twists and turns, and some major surprises. As character driven as it is space adventure.

Capital starship book 1

This was one of the most riveting SciFi books of the hundreds that I have read. The author expertly kept the reader on the edge of their seat while salting the story with plot twists, with devious political plots designed to steal the freedom of an entire galaxy of mixed races.

I guaranty this book to be one that is nearly impossible to put down.

Fun book

Space Combat, ground combat, hi tech, SJW, current issues in a scifi setting. very enjoyable book.

Very accurate

As preface: some reviewers don't seem to have the CPU power to realise what exactly the Author is criticising, and give 1 star while actually agreeing with the Author, it's pretty funny. No one should judge too fast. Anyway back to the review.

Yes the tone changes a little from the previous trilogy, but in a good way. The author comments on the recent intolerant overcompensating tolerance policies that engulf the western world. His description of what if feels like to be tolerant and a decent person without being overtly positively segregationist is spot on. Husher is the ideal balance between two extremes, which obviously makes him a target from both sides.

Good stuff. Even in 2023, I've seen very similar situations to those painted in the story.

Had some doubts at the beginning.

Starting this listen I thought I might not finish this book. Then Scott Bartlett not only hit top gear but kicked in the NOS! Great listen, grabbing book 2 now even though I was saving a credit for another book. I don't think I'll be sorry one bit!

Great world building but somewhat painful

We return to Vin Husher after twenty years, and he has had to make compromises with rude obnoxious politicians of the worst sort to keep his command. For most of this book we experience these painful interactions with child-like politicians, betraying comrades and uncompromising social justice protestors, everyone seems to hate Vin and it takes him most of the book to, as another reviewer said, 'grow a pair' and stand up for himself. But it does happen and the pay-off is worth it in the succeeding books, don't give up before that happens, the pay-off is worth it!
And big kudos to Mark Boyett, he is an outstanding narrator!