Chain of Command

By: Frank Chadwick

Narrated by: Graham Rowat

Length: 11 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's Summary

Lieutenant Sam Bitka, US Naval Reserve, is getting used to civilian life when he is called back to active duty. Tensions between Earth and the alien Varoki are on the rise, and Sam is assigned as tactical officer aboard the deep space destroyer USS Puebla. Dispatched to the distant world of K'tok to protect human colonists, he wants nothing more than to serve out his active duty time and get back to his civilian life.

But when the Varoki launch a crippling surprise attack against the Earth coalition fleet, Sam finds himself suddenly in command of the USS Puebla, a job he is far from certain he can discharge successfully. What's more, mounting evidence points to a much larger and more sinister alien plan.  

Now, Sam must deal with faltering leadership in the human task force and an alien enemy who always seems one step ahead of them. Time for Sam to step up and rise to the challenge of command.

©2017 Frank Chadwick (P)2020 Tantor

Not well written and terrible narration

I really wanted to like this book based on its description. But I gave up half way through. The storytelling is unsophisticated, there's almost no character development, and I don't really care what happens next. It doesn't hold my attention and it's too formulaic. The narrator's tone is high-pitched hysterical, his cadence never varies, and his volume doesn't change.

Yes ! Deeply enjoyable A great listen

Babylon 5 meets U571 if you’ve ever watched the movie ( A bridge to far )that’s what this book reminded me of

if you like good military science fiction you will love this book

The ships don’t have gravity or Energy shields
Every time there’s a fight the ship takes real damage and people die ! they’re put in body bags bloods floating around the habitat

The main character is a person with real world hangups. Not some chiseled jaw hero A man doing a dangerous job with no margin for error

Good, but confusing

A good story, but I’m afraid that if you don’t have a bit of military knowledge in your experience, this book will be very confusing in places. Abbreviations and jargon are used, as they should be, without much explanation.

The narrator lacks the ability to give distinct identities to some characters. Several times a female crew member would sound decidedly male when speaking.

As I said, a good story. The idea that all the space craft did not have artificial gravity was refreshing. The characters were, by and large, relatable. The character development was good and steady. There is room for a sequel, but not the need. I’ll keep an interested eye out.

Great book

If you like military Science Fiction this should be right up your turbo thruster. We written and researched, to the point I was saying to myself I never really thought about that but he’s correct it would work that way.
Also the inner workings of the political game between peace time and war time were fantastic.
Over all I was taking a chance on this one thinking I needed something else to listen too and was over joyed when I realized I was completely engrossed in the story. Very well done. I do not take the time to write a lot of reviews but really felt the need to do so for this book.

Great book

I had to skip back to parts i missed because of fast narrative. otherwise great story. cant wait for the next one!

great straight up fight book

great story telling from start to end. easily lost track of time during the fights, which were descriptive and fast paced. Good character development all around.

Excellent

Best military sci fi book I have heard on audible or anywhere. Very realistic and captures your imagination

Excellent and remarkably realistic military sci-fi

Taken in the context of the setting, this book is one of my favorites, especially for the genre. No oversimplification here. My only complaint is the narrator, who is tolerable, but not in my opinion up to the standard of Chadwick's other audiobooks.

Excellent Military SF

Frank Chadwick is best known as a game designer, including being one of the lead designers of the original Traveller RPG and the principal designer of the Space: 1889 RPG. His long study of military history shows in this excellent novel of space combat.

The protagonist, Sam Bitka, is a reservist recalled to active duty during a military crisis who ends up playing a major role in the first military confrontation with a new enemy. (I'll avoid spoilers and not say more about the plot.) The book is almost entirely a combat narrative and the combat is well-rendered and quite believable. The protagonist's experience with the military hierarchy and personal growth throughout the novel rings true for someone dealing with the events presented here.

The only major quibble I have with the writing is that Chadwick apparently doesn't understand how delta-V works on a spaceship. If you know what that means, you'll probably see the same problem I did and if you didn't, this is probably not the place for a short course in the basics of spacecraft acceleration. But that's not enough to change my rating from a 5. The plotting and characterization are strong enough to sustain my attention throughout.

The reader, regrettably, is not as good. While he is capable of the full range of emotions from A to B, C is apparently right out. And his voice is grating. The next book would be much better with a different narrator (and I see that there was a change for the next book in the series, one hopes for the better.)

Strongly recommended for any fan of military SF.

good listen. wow i liked this cant wait 4 book 2

wow liked this book cant wait for book 2. this is good listening. woo hoo

Impressive

And catching story, full of breathtaking action, the rise of a true hero and the people around him, seasoned with the obligatory cowards, with nepotistic ties to power and rank.