Nova War

Shoal, Book 2

By: Gary Gibson

Narrated by: Charlie Norfolk

Length: 14 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's Summary

Dakota and Corso discover not only that the Shoal are caught in an aeons-long conflict with a rival star-faring species, but that the Bandati have resolved to make an alliance with this race by giving them deadly knowledge acquired from the Magi starship; forging an unholy alliance with the Shoal-member Trader. Dakota is determined to stop them - but the destruction of millions of inhabited worlds appears inevitable.

©2012 Gary Gibson (P)2012 Audible Ltd

Slow start, strong finish

Gibson’s second book in the Shoal Sequence continues following its two protagonists from “Stealing Light”, Dakota Merrick and Lucas Corso, largely in two separate narratives. Having concluded their previous story in possession of the ultimate prize, a superluminal and ultra powerful starship full of technologies denied to humanity, Gibson promptly removes that advantage from them in order to ratchet up the stakes. While a good part of the first half of the book is a snail-pace chronicle of their imprisonment, it also introduced some additional characters from other species, and these were both imaginative and helpful in stretching both the perspective and focal length on the plot. The action-packed climax has a satisfying number of moving parts, although I was surprised at the amount of epilog following, which I imagine will make for a much smoother transition into the third volume.

Starts slow, then more goodness.

Listened to the book on Audible. Still love this series. First half of this book was a bit slow due to the introduction of new aliens that played a pivotal part in the story. But at the half way point, it takes off!! On to book 3!

Another fun romp

This is a good continuation fron Stealing Light. A few good twists and turns keeps you going.

Loving this series of books.

I don't know how I stumbled across Gary Gibson but I am glad I did. Book 2 of the Shoal story starts slow - much too slow for me - but once it picks up it rarely let's up. The characters are real and I can easily see them as they talk. The story, the whole premise, is engaging and intriguing. I normally alternate books between sci-fi and something different, it help stop my sci-fi merging into one, but I am tempted to go straight on..... Really enjoyed it.

A pretty good sequel.

Enjoyed this book; if the story ends there that would be okay but it's open enough to continue in into a third book. I'd be up for another book if it was written.
Performance was very good.

TOO LONG,FAR TOO MUCH FILLER,OVERALL GOOD

READ TWO OF THE THREE BOOKS,FAR TOO MUCH UNNECESSARY FILLER THAT DOES NOT ENHANCE THE STORY,OVERALL GOOD STORY,VERY GOOD NARRATOR.

i love this story. G Gibson can tell a good story

I've read the books before, but couldn't resist having it read to me.

i love Gary Gibson

Enjoyable second book in series

I have a love hate relationship with the narrator. She is perfect for the Dakota the main character and excellent for the narrative and okay for many of the aliens. She is less stilted with the male characters but still doesn't pull it off.

The story continues with Dakota swept along in the tide of events and trying her best to survive. Unlike many other space war novels the battles here tend to be intimate and up close as opposed to vast armadas in space which keeps you interested and rooting for Dakota.

All in all a good listen and the second novel ends well with the setup for the third.

First Rate Read!

A most exciting opening to a series!



Great concepts and a rich tapestry crossing the galaxy!



The characters are well developed and definitely good fun.



Without doubt the narrator does a great job bringing the characters to life.



Good fun, thought provoking, exciting and with every possibility of a long running series.



Take a gamble, you'll love this one!

Great Continuation

The is a good continuation of the Shoal series as with the previous book it has slow point but in general a good listen.