Conquest: Star Force, Book 4

By: B. V. Larson

Narrated by: Mark Boyett

Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

Conquest is the next chapter in the great interstellar war between all living creatures and the machines. Star Force must stop the machine invaders once again - but how?

In the fourth book of the Star Force series, Kyle Riggs has freed Earth from the chains of the Macros - but at what cost? The Macros no longer trust him. He is a mad dog that must be put down - and all Star Force must be stamped out with him. The war expands in this story, and mankind is once again faced with annihilation.

©2011 B.V. Larson (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Riggs finally stands his ground

With the 4th installment, Riggs is finally back on home court and preparing for the eventual round 2 with the macros. The same cast of characters is back with Sandra getting creepier due to the microbiological/nanite combo in her. Crowe is still his "time to flee and hide" self. Much time is spent on defense, followed by a counterattack. At the same time, he is dealing with assassins gunning for him. Riggs also gets to call in any chits he's obtained with alien biota.

While the plot is compelling, the pacing well done, and the battle scenes well executed, the overall story suffers from Riggs being forced to carry the whole load. Without Riggs, earth would have been toast long ago and it's not due to a one time superhero feat. Rather, every interaction with aliens of any type always needs Riggs to save the day or at least manage to prevent a catastrophe from developing. Crowe is simply tiresome with his cowardly lion act and Sandra is just plain weird to everyone. Everyone else is extremely formulaic and stereotypical. At the very least, Riggs needs a Mr Spock to figure out what most of the stuff they find actually does. Noticeably absent in this installment is any discussion of the alien race responsible for all this stuff. With a well deserved lull, perhaps Riggs can outfit a more diverse and capable star force (a physicist and biologist would be nice additions).

The narration is passable, but unremarkable. For a group that is suppose to represent a swath of earth's population, everyone sounds like they come from a Hollywood studio's caricature department.

Never Again

What disappointed you about Conquest?

"Conquest" was basically the same BS as the other Star Force books, slightly warmed over. Kyle Riggs has the same dysfunctional relationships, the same ridiculous ego clashes, the same idiotic way of making snap judgments based on wishful thinking. His behavior is juvenile at best. Mooning over a pretty fellow officer during a life-and-death battle? Unwillingness to work cooperatively with ANYBODY? Inability to have anything resembling an adult conversation? That's our hero Col. Riggs. It is supposed to be Military Science Fiction, but is fails both the Military and Science Fiction parts.

What do you think your next listen will be?

I have already purchased the sequel to "The Mote in God's Eye", titled "The Gripping Hand."

Which scene was your favorite?

Where Rigg's second in command, Lt. Col. Barrera, explained how Riggs was irresponsible, unprofessional, rash, and dangerous. All the things that annoy me endlessly about the character.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

I am disappointed that I wasted the money buying it,

Any additional comments?

I waited several months after completing the first 3 "Star Force" books before giving this one a listen. This will DEFINITELY BE MY LAST B.V. Larson book! The narrator does a credible job, but the characters are just so ridiculous that I found myself hoping the darn book would end. Fortunately the chapters though many are short so the "plot" such as it is moves along.

Holy Crapper! Where do I even start!

First off, let me explain that I have listened to about 10 Audible Audiobooks, yet this is my first review of one of them. Actually, I found the Star Force series by mistake when trying to search for the sequel to one of the audiobooks that I had read in the past.

Well, I am delighted to have found the Star Force series, and although they are all overwhelmingly addictive, I must say that this one is my favorite in the series. Are there drawbacks, yes, but I won't bore you with the details, I always hate when reviewers give you spoilers, just tell me if you like the book or not! Besides, the drawbacks are more like very old, highly abused speedbumps, they only slow you down if you let them.

The storyline gets deeper and deeper, and I hate to be cliche, but the plot thickens. And I mean, it's thicker than the nose cone of a Macro cruise ship! Crowe has been busy in Riggs' absence. Earth has better defenses now, but the Macro's are back with a vengeance! The author uses more humor in this latest part of the series as well. He seems to know exactly when to innoculate the reader with an oddball joke that no one else in the world would appreciate except a die hard Star Force Marine, or a Star Force audiobook listener.

Everyone who survived the recent inter-stellar campaign has developed as a character significantly. The action is seemingly non-stop, even when there aren't any lasers firing. Don't even think twice about it, hit the "Add to Cart" button asap. If you liked all of the other books up until now, you will love this one.

And if you loved all of the other books up until the release of Conquest, well, need I say more.

Good Military Sci-Fi Listen

Good listen! Story picks up where book three left off. B. V. Larson’s Star Force series is very similar to my favorite Military Sci-Fi author John Ringo and is certainly a must read for Military Sci-Fi fans. The entire book is written in the first person and gets a little old at times. Conquest also compresses a very large scale battle into a relatively short book, leaving very little for additional story or character development. Although constant action is what Military Sci-Fi readers are looking for, and Conquest provides plenty.

Still AWESOME

book 4 and still loving the storyline :) the hard choices and moves the characters have to make keeps the book exciting and keeps me wanting more... the relationships of characters, how they evolve, and decisions that they make keep me engaged till the book ends and then i find myself trying to find out when the next book will come out :) a great syfy novel

Why, oh why???

Why do I keep wasting my credits on these things. Over emotional performance, horrible writing...

Repetitive

I was looking forward to reading another book in the Starforce series. I enjoyed it until About 1/2 way through when I began to get irritated. The behavior of the characters has become predictable. Riggs will always have the answer, be able to build anything, and go headlong into everything. Crow will always talk big but go off and hide. Sandra is dangerous except when she's not and then she's whining. Marvin will appear when there's a hole in the plot to fill (Jar-Jar Binks comes to mind when I think of Marvin). The only one I still like is Kwon.

Sandra is probably the one who ruined this book for me. It's a professional military environment. They are in the middle of a war that could destroy Earth. Here comes Sandra, the Riggs' girl, sticking her nose into everything. I guess the other characters accept her because she is the boss' girlfriend. Riggs continually remarks that he shouldn't have his girlfriend around but there she is. Then there are the arguments. Riggs does something to piss her off. He smirks or says a clever word or two that causes her to suddenly understand and everything is ok. In real life, he'd be sleeping on the couch more often.

Come on, Crow, get a pair or shut up. Don't hurt my ships, Riggs or I might take them and go home. Wimpy, wimpy, wimpy.

Juvenile and unlikable characters

Normally I would look forward to continuing with a science fiction series that allows the reader some escape and entertainment. However I just cannot endure the main character anymore. He is base, petty, and represents the least noble aspects of people.

It is just so difficult to like a character who in the middle of a struggle that will effect thousands of lives is more interested in hitting on a woman under his command and hoping that his girlfriend does not catch him.

It is also ridiculous to believe that a professor turned farmer is the greatest programmer on earth, the most brilliant military commander, and the one person that should be in a position to alone decide the faith of humanity.
I was hoping that after the first few books in the series, the author would try to develop a main character that the reader could like. Unfortunately he did not. And unfortunately I will not continue to read the rest of the series.

Just gets better with each chapter

Excellent chapter/episode. this series continues to impress with each instalment off to read episode 5. give this man a movie contract please.

Great 4th book!

All 5 books in the series so far are very well written and well narrated! Waiting for book 6.

Another enjoyable installment

Another enjoyable installment in the star force series.

Well read with easily recognised voices for the characters.

B.V Larson has a formula and sticks to it.

Just finished undying mercenary, if you liked that you will enjoy this, as usual main character is a misogynist but the sci-fi ideas are simple and easy on the ears. Mark's reading as always brings it alive.

another excellent book

I am loving this series... dont hesitate and read it... narrator is fabulous. The experience is a bit like the expanse series. cant wait to start the next book

A great listen from the master.

A great listen from the master.
I have invested heavily into this series and has built steadily so as not to disappoint.
some annoying characters and seemingly immortal coincidences.
looking forward to progressing to a logical point before the series burns out by re hashing the old.

just as good as the rest of the series

doesn't disappoint loving the series so far can not wait to download book 5 a1

Good entertainment, but with some character and narrative issues

Good audiobook to listen to akin to an action movie. There are loads of fighting and some interesting concepts. However, with the risk of being an armchair critic that in fairness could not match the author myself, the characters come of as not as well developed as they could be. However, it’s definitely good enough for me to buy the next book to see what happens next. In other words, it does what it is supposed to do, I.e. entertain the reader.

Slow in parts

Struggled with the story in the middle. Far to detailed in some of the battles.

Ok listen

Ok book for the unsophisticated Sifi reader.
Those more knowlagble will spot the clumsy marine tactics and improbable space battles.

a poor recording

I'm guessing this was recorded at different times in different places. at a lot of places the audio changes and it does impact negatively on listening to it

Love the story but horribly, cringily sexist

As per all the other books in this series, the female characters exist only to be in love with the protagonist and to fulfil a male fantasy. The same phrases are trotted out again and again. When they look at something, it's inevitably with 'dark, pretty eyes', they walk and we must watch their 'shapely forms' and when they cross their arms, it's always 'under their breasts'.