Annihilation

Star Force, Book 7

By: B. V. Larson

Narrated by: Mark Boyett

Length: 12 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

Kyle Riggs is in for a rough ride.

In Annihilation, the seventh book of the Star Force Series, nothing goes as planned. The three fledgling human colonies in the Eden System are beginning to take hold, but the forces threatening to root them out are many. The Crustaceans are calling for help, despite the fact they are the sworn enemies of Star Force. Are they potential allies, or vicious tricksters? And why are the oceans of their world heating up?

Even as Riggs flies out to investigate the situation, more mysteries arise. The Blues are making vague threats, and Earth is suing for peace. Who is to be trusted, and who holds a dagger behind their backs?

Annihilation is a military science fiction novel by best-selling author B. V. Larson. To find the first book in the series, search for Swarm. Annihilation is the longest book in the series so far....

©2013 B. V. Larson (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Hooked

Would you listen to Annihilation again? Why?

Was drawn into the Star Force series from Book 1. Never did consider myself a fan of science fiction books but this series is a great listen and has led me to explore other science fiction series. The words paint a vivid picture and the storyline is captivating.

The book delivers what I expected from listening to others in this series.

Holy sh*t

Damn... This book was like a knife in the heart. I think I understand what Kyle means when he talks about the "hope monkey". This book really shows how strong Riggs is, the way he can suffer such horrible losses and still lead his men. But if you can't stand tragedy I suggest you stop at book 6 and assume Star Force wins, Kyle and Sandra have lots of kids and everyone lives happily ever after. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go cry in the corner for a few hours/days :(

Empire building is hard work

Annihilation is the 7th installment in the Star Force saga. Riggs continues to slowly build up a human settlement in the Eden system. He has managed to surround himself with nearly all the various intelligent species that they have run across: the worms and crustaceans are each one system over while the centaurs and the blue occupy Eden. Farther away, with the macros on one side and a growing hostile Earth led by emperor Crowe on the other, Riggs is boxed in while trying to simultaneously build up his fighting force and grow a sustainable colony.

In spite of being such a nice guy, everyone seems annoyed with Riggs. Regardless of his attempts, the crustaceans remain defiant, pedantic academic twits, while the blues reveal themselves to have greater nefarious intentions. At the same time, Earth makes another try at assassination.Riggs faces some bitter disappointments this time around and the odds of his survival are not improving. At this point, the space battles are becoming a bit too repetitious and the aliens are becoming quite annoying. Without some major future plot development, Riggs will simply spend the rest of his existence battling unbeatable adversaries.

The narration has remained so-so, although the character distinction is slowly improving.

Reality check

The author takes a very liberal view on people willing to die just because Riggs deems it necessary. We are constantly shown an inner struggle to avoid becoming a self appointed ruler, yet he constantly ignores his team to cover his failure to act.

Exciting plot-shift, more emotional depth

In contrast to other reviewers' negative opinions (several suggested this was the worst installment in the series), I felt Annihilation exhibited B.V.'s strongest writing so far. In addition to his usual knack for painting amazing military struggles, the author achieved the strongest emotional connection since Swarm - probably more-so for me. He layers on new character development, changes in the broader; inter-system political situation, and builds an even stronger moral cause, with exciting plot twists that mark a significant change in the course of the story. I had taken a break from Star Force before starting Annihilation but, now I am already downloading Storm Assault. Can't wait!

Kyle needs to get his act together

What made the experience of listening to Annihilation the most enjoyable?

The first half of this book is the typical badassery you can expect from the Star Force series. The Star Force marines get new toys to rain destruction down upon the Macro forces. However after the dust has settled from this first skirmish with the enemy, Kyle becomes dysfunctional and frustrating for the entire rest of the book! Don't expect this book to be as good as Empire or Battle Station. I really hope the next book in the series dramatically improves.

Sad outcome

A sad outcome but an interesting development in the story line. Can't wait to hear the next book.

StarForce at its best... As always

Would you listen to Annihilation again? Why?

I would Listen to this book at least one more time this year alone, Its engrossing and has such fine attention to detail that there is certainly many small things I missed. Larson does an AMAZING job of sticking to the possibility of the Nanos and Macros being something we could actually make.

By the time you are done with this book, you truly believe humans are on their way towards such things, though hopefully less Violent!

What other book might you compare Annihilation to and why?

I can not think of any other book I could compare Annihilation to other than other books in the series. This series is truly one of a kind, and in a world flooded with vampires in love and Orson Scott Card Clones, Annihilation stands out Fresh and on its on 2 feet!

What about Mark Boyett’s performance did you like?

Mark Boyett truly makes each person sound different. You do not need to hear the name of the person before you know who it is after the first hour or so of listening to any book in the series, and that is simply not easy to do.

He also keeps a perfect pace, never monotone, and never over excited. I could not imagine this series without him. I can only compare him to the reader of the Dresden Files series. In that series a single book had a different reader and it took the book from what would have been 5 stars to 3!

That same example applies here, If anyone other than Mark where to read StarForce to me it would be a great loss.

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

A venture into the mind of machines and the soul of humans.

Any additional comments?

This series truly shines in a couple of ways. The first being how Mr. Larson never strays far from what science could truly do given time so it never feels silly. The second is how truly the machines show absolutely no Humanity, and act exactly as a computer does. Finally the wonderful attention to detail is incredible. This may turn some readers off as it does slow the pace of the book from time to time, though never in truly intense scenes.

Every choice that the lead character makes slowly evolves him, and truly show his morality and sense of justice.

Finally I HIGHLY recommend that you start with Book 1:Swarm so that you can see the amazing development of the characters in this series. By book 7 Riggs is truly a different man.

Star Force Fan Girl!

IN GENERAL and RAVINGS: This is book 7. There's no way I can sum up what has happened so far. I've rated each book in this series 5 stars and it's become my standard for military sci fi. I constantly search for other series similar to this, but nothing really comes close! Do yourself a favor and go buy book 1 in the series called SWARM and get on this crazy ride.

SUMMARY: This is the first time I cried (at work like a lunatic) while I was listening. Jokes are always made about Rigg's Pigs and we all know by now how dangerous things are. Danger that comes not just from the Macro machines, but from "Emperor Crow" who has seized control of earth and has always been a thorn in Kyle's side while he's fighting for the lives of ALL biotic creatures in the galaxy. Danger from misunderstanding from other biotic creatures like the Crustaceans, those lofty lobster intellectual snobs. This book heavily involves them and also some emissaries from earth with less than honorable intentions. Something really bad happens. I knew it had to happen sooner or later and I was devastated, enraged (at Crow and the Macros).

ANIHILATION: The Macros have taken things up a notch, that's all I can say. and The Blues are acting shady as well.

NARRATION: As always Mark Boyett does a great job. I like that his female characters sound like females and don't sound alike. He IS Kyle Riggs. He does a great job with the voices of the various Biotic races, making each one unique and often funny.

MORE RAVING: B V Larson writes these quickly, I wish audible would publish as fast as he writes them :-) What are you waiting for, go download SWARM or if you're up to date, your credit won't be wasted on this installment.

ADDICTIVE!

These are great reads. I am having a blast going through this series. Super fun.