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The Ruhar hit us on Columbus Day. There we were, innocently drifting along the cosmos on our little blue marble, like the Native Americans in 1492. Over the horizon came ships of a technologically advanced, aggressive culture, and BAM! There went the good old days, when humans got killed only by each other. So, Columbus Day. It fits. When the morning sky twinkled again, this time with Kristang starships jumping in to hammer the Ruhar, we thought we were saved.
On the edge of the galaxy, a diplomatic mission to an alien planet takes a turn when the Legionnaires, an elite special fighting force, find themselves ambushed and stranded behind enemy lines. They struggle to survive under siege, waiting on a rescue that might never come. In the seedy starport of Ackabar, a young girl searches the crime-ridden gutters to avenge her father's murder; not far away, a double-dealing legionniare-turned-smuggler hunts an epic payday; and somewhere along the outer galaxy, a mysterious bounter hunter lies in wait.
The Wizard's Council of Tarador was supposed to tell young Koren Bladewell that he is a wizard. They were supposed to tell everyone that he is not a jinx, that all the bad things that happen around him are because he can't control the power inside him, power he doesn't know about. The people of his village, even his parents, are afraid of him, afraid he is cursed. That he is a dangerous, evil jinx.
The Galahad, a faster-than-light spacecraft, carries 50 scientists and engineers on a mission to prepare Kepler 452b, Earth's nearest habitable neighbor at 1400 light years away. With Earth no longer habitable and the Mars colony slowly failing, they are humanity's best hope. After 10 years in a failed cryogenic bed - body asleep, mind awake - William Chanokh's torture comes to an end as the fog clears, the hatch opens, and his friend and fellow hacker, Tom, greets him...by stabbing a screwdriver into his heart. This is the first time William dies.
From the Audie-nominated narrator of The Martian. In eleven years' time, a million members of an alien race will arrive at Earth. Years before they enter orbit, their approach will be announced by the flare of a thousand flames in the sky, their ships' huge engines burning hard to slow them from the vast speeds needed to cross interstellar space. These foreboding lights will shine in our night sky like new stars, getting ever brighter until they outshine even the sun, casting ominous shadows and banishing the night until they suddenly blink out.
Bob Johansson has just sold his software company and is looking forward to a life of leisure. There are places to go, books to read, and movies to watch. So it's a little unfair when he gets himself killed crossing the street. Bob wakes up a century later to find that corpsicles have been declared to be without rights, and he is now the property of the state. He has been uploaded into computer hardware and is slated to be the controlling AI in an interstellar probe looking for habitable planets.
The Ruhar hit us on Columbus Day. There we were, innocently drifting along the cosmos on our little blue marble, like the Native Americans in 1492. Over the horizon came ships of a technologically advanced, aggressive culture, and BAM! There went the good old days, when humans got killed only by each other. So, Columbus Day. It fits. When the morning sky twinkled again, this time with Kristang starships jumping in to hammer the Ruhar, we thought we were saved.
On the edge of the galaxy, a diplomatic mission to an alien planet takes a turn when the Legionnaires, an elite special fighting force, find themselves ambushed and stranded behind enemy lines. They struggle to survive under siege, waiting on a rescue that might never come. In the seedy starport of Ackabar, a young girl searches the crime-ridden gutters to avenge her father's murder; not far away, a double-dealing legionniare-turned-smuggler hunts an epic payday; and somewhere along the outer galaxy, a mysterious bounter hunter lies in wait.
The Wizard's Council of Tarador was supposed to tell young Koren Bladewell that he is a wizard. They were supposed to tell everyone that he is not a jinx, that all the bad things that happen around him are because he can't control the power inside him, power he doesn't know about. The people of his village, even his parents, are afraid of him, afraid he is cursed. That he is a dangerous, evil jinx.
The Galahad, a faster-than-light spacecraft, carries 50 scientists and engineers on a mission to prepare Kepler 452b, Earth's nearest habitable neighbor at 1400 light years away. With Earth no longer habitable and the Mars colony slowly failing, they are humanity's best hope. After 10 years in a failed cryogenic bed - body asleep, mind awake - William Chanokh's torture comes to an end as the fog clears, the hatch opens, and his friend and fellow hacker, Tom, greets him...by stabbing a screwdriver into his heart. This is the first time William dies.
From the Audie-nominated narrator of The Martian. In eleven years' time, a million members of an alien race will arrive at Earth. Years before they enter orbit, their approach will be announced by the flare of a thousand flames in the sky, their ships' huge engines burning hard to slow them from the vast speeds needed to cross interstellar space. These foreboding lights will shine in our night sky like new stars, getting ever brighter until they outshine even the sun, casting ominous shadows and banishing the night until they suddenly blink out.
Bob Johansson has just sold his software company and is looking forward to a life of leisure. There are places to go, books to read, and movies to watch. So it's a little unfair when he gets himself killed crossing the street. Bob wakes up a century later to find that corpsicles have been declared to be without rights, and he is now the property of the state. He has been uploaded into computer hardware and is slated to be the controlling AI in an interstellar probe looking for habitable planets.
Meet the galaxy's unluckiest outlaws. Carl Ramsey is an ex-Earth Navy fighter pilot turned con man. His ship, the Mobius, is home to a ragtag crew of misfits and refugees looking to score a big payday but more often just scratching to pay for fuel. The crew consists of his ex-wife (and pilot), a drunkard, four-handed mechanic, a xeno-predator with the disposition of a 120kg housecat, and the galaxy's most-wanted wizard.
In the 20th century Earth sent probes, transmissions, and welcoming messages to the stars. Unfortunately, someone noticed. The Galactics arrived with their battle fleet in 2052. Rather than being exterminated under a barrage of hell-burners, Earth joined their vast Empire. Swearing allegiance to our distant alien overlords wasn't the only requirement for survival. We also had to have something of value to trade, something that neighboring planets would pay their hard-earned credits to buy. As most of the local worlds were too civilized to have a proper army, the only valuable service Earth could provide came in the form of soldiers....
Control dinosaurs. Tame women. Rule the world. Victor Shelby and his tribe of beautiful alien women have built a fortress to keep themselves safe, but when they encounter another tribe of survivors, Victor must leverage his dinosaur-taming abilities to negotiate either peace or violence. And violence is what Dinosaurland is all about.
Children are not supposed to rescue their parents, life is supposed to be the other way around. And rescues aren't supposed to be needed on the trip out to the new colony planet Valhalla. Slow, yes. Boring, yes. Dangerous? No, the trip is not supposed to be dangerous, never has been. When thieves attack the transport ship to steal an ancient alien artifact, and young Kaylee and her brother, Manny, are cut off from their parents, they have to stop the thieves from getting what they want.
Adrian Tchaikovksy's critically acclaimed stand-alone novel Children of Time is the epic story of humanity's battle for survival on a terraformed planet. Who will inherit this new Earth? The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home among the stars. Following in the footsteps of their ancestors, they discover the greatest treasure of the past age - a world terraformed and prepared for human life. But all is not right in this new Eden.
Minalan gave up a promising career as a professional warmage to live the quiet life of a village spellmonger in the remote mountain valley of Boval. It was a peaceful, beautiful little fief, far from the dangerous feudal petty squabbles of the Five Duchies, on the world of Callidore. There were cows. Lots of cows. And cheese. For six months things went well. Then one night Minalan is forced to pick up his mageblade again to defend his adopted home from the vanguard of an army of goblins bent on a genocidal crusade against all mankind. And that was the good news.
The year is 2108, and the North American Commonwealth is bursting at the seams. For welfare rats like Andrew Grayson, there are only two ways out of the crime-ridden and filthy welfare tenements, where you’re restricted to 2,000 calories of badly flavored soy every day. You can hope to win the lottery and draw a ticket on a colony ship settling off-world, or you can join the service. With the colony lottery a pipe dream, Andrew chooses to enlist in the armed forces for a shot at real food, a retirement bonus, and maybe a ticket off Earth.
It's a simple story. Boy finds proof that reality is a computer program. Boy uses program to manipulate time and space. Boy gets in trouble. Boy flees back in time to Medieval England to live as a wizard while he tries to think of a way to fix things. Boy gets in more trouble. Oh, and boy meets girl at some point.
It's just another day of high school for Zack Lightman. He's daydreaming through another boring math class, with just one more month to go until graduation and freedom - if he can make it that long without getting suspended again. Then he glances out his classroom window and spots the flying saucer.
At once wildly original and stuffed with irresistible nostalgia, Ready Player One is a spectacularly genre-busting, ambitious, and charming debut—part quest novel, part love story, and part virtual space opera set in a universe where spell-slinging mages battle giant Japanese robots, entire planets are inspired by Blade Runner, and flying DeLoreans achieve light speed.
For eons, conquering dungeons has been the most efficient way to become a strong adventurer. Although not everything is as straightforward as it seems. Several questions have always plagued the minds of those who enter these mythical places of power: why are there so many monsters? Where do the amazing weaponry and heavy gold coins come from? Why does the very air fill with life-giving energies? Cal has all of the answers to these age-old questions, for a very simple reason. He is a Dungeon Heart.
More than two centuries after World War III poisoned the planet, the final bastion of humanity lives on massive airships circling the globe in search of a habitable area to call home. Aging and outdated, most of the ships plummeted back to Earth long ago. The only thing keeping the two surviving lifeboats in the sky are Hell Divers - men and women who risk their lives by diving to the surface to scavenge for parts the ships desperately need.
Colonel Joe Bishop made a promise, and he's going to keep it: taking the captured alien starship Flying Dutchman back out. He doesn't agree when the UN decides to send almost 70 elite Special Operations troops, hotshot pilots, and scientists with him; the mission is a fool's errand he doesn't expect to ever return from. At least this time, the Earth is safe, right?
Not so much.
BREAKING IT DOWN BARNEY STYLE
I wanted to BLUFF IT, but it is your money. I liked this book and will continue the series, but I did not love it. The book is very funny and that is what saves it. It does have some SCIENCY STUFF to the point of over my head. We are talking lots of physics with wormholes and flat universes. I like the main character Joe. I like the fact that he shows humility, but yet is in charge. It is entertaining 90% of the time. I liked the planet of the week, which this week is an Ice Planet.
BONUS OR BONE US
Keep in mind, I said I like the book and I am going to continue the series. When I listen to book 3, I will wear my lucky underwear. YEA, LUCKY UNDERWEAR IS A REAL THING. For the first hour or two, the sarcastic SKIPPY almost becomes too much. Almost every line is a sarcastic remark by him. I love this type of humor, but the first hour was annoying. The jokes are repeated so many times, that I found myself giving the sarcastic remark before Joe or Skippy did. You always know that Joe is going to think up something Skippy does not think up. You know that Skippy will get upset over that fact. You know that the solution will almost always involve Skippy listening in on the enemy's communications and often manipulating them to make the enemy see or hear something different than the truth. When it is not that, it will have something to do with Skippy making a small worm hole. After a while it became SEMPER TEDIUM. With all that, there is still some LOL moments towards the end and of course the love that is growing between Skippy and Joe.
THAT'S ARE STORY AND WE'RE STICKING TO IT
I am also very interested in the mystery of the Elders, along with a new mystery, involving an unknown race that is using Elder technology for evil uses.
IT IS BETTER TO BE SILENT AND BE THOUGHT AN IDIOT, THAN TO SPEAK AND REMOVE ALL DOUBT
R.C. Bray is no idiot and I will always listen to him speak.
191 of 215 people found this review helpful
The story seemed forced and less important then book 1. What really started to bother me was the same 2 or 3 scenerios kept playing out over and over. Skippy has no plan, Joe comes up with plan, Skippy cant believe a monkey came up with a plan. Tbat happend about 5 times i swear. Even phrases and information was repeateded. The performance was top notch, the writing was lazy.
48 of 56 people found this review helpful
I'm a person who enjoys watching Sci-Fi, but im usually disappointed when I read it. This is the 2nd book in the trilogy and the author's style is definitely different, but it's a "good" kind of different! His choice of words and his ability to make me think and feel that it's entirely possible for an object that's shaped like a beer can that's, because it is the most intelligent being in the universe is a testament that the author' is creative and his book is worth listening to.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
A wonderfully written masterpiece of Sifi mixed with some of the best (tasteful) jokes and one liners I've found in a book. Everything about this book (and series) is spectacular AWESOMENESS! Mr. Alanson has done a great job and gained a lifelong follower. Buy it, you will not regret it.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
I love the fact that it's 15 hours and it's something to keep my mind from going numb when I am on the treadmill, but just barely. The reader has a dynamic voice, which makes up for what the writing lacks. Characters don't develop so who they are on page 10 is who they are on page 1000 --- basically which part of the galaxy they replay the same skit over and over again changes but the book ends where it begins with character and plot development a good author could have accomplished in 3 paragraphs. I am heading to the gym, so I guess I use another credit and get the 3rd....oh well....here's to hoping.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
If you liked the first one you'll probably be good with this continuation. The plotting and development isn't as interesting and there's virtually no world building. This one is very much about a cycle of "stumble into big problem for the monkeys, magic AI almost fix, stumble into new catastrophe, AI has no solution so everyone is gonna die, stupid monkeys come up with a clever idea the AI didn't think of, magic almost fix, stumble into new catastrophe, etc.. It goes on like that a great deal. Groundhog day continues as the plot of the series moves forward a very, very, small amount. I'll read the next one but I'm less excited about it.
23 of 28 people found this review helpful
Just got done researching part 3 "Paradise" and RC Bray is narrating it and it's due out May 23, 2017. Can't wait!
7 of 8 people found this review helpful
What disappointed you about SpecOps?
Book 2 takes a few elements that worked fairly well in Book 1 and repeats them ad naseum to fill the pages. Did the publisher require a specific page count from the author? The plot is basically a loose collection of randomly appearing, insurmountable problems that end up being resolved by (1) Skippy, using another one of his god-like, deus ex machina powers that aren't mentioned until he explains the solution or (2) Joe's "brilliant" idea that Skippy for some reason could not foresee despite his superpowers, followed by Skippy's grudging acknowledgement of monkeys being smarter than he thought and "I hate my life and monkeys" screams.... Rinse and repeat N times to fill the book.
The rest is filler without much character or plot development. We don't get much in terms of world building, interactions with various aliens or Elders, but we get a ton of pages about Newark. The constant banter between Joe and Skippy worked well in the first book, but eventually became really repetitive and formulaic. Also, Joe's constant inner monologue is cringe-worthy - we get it, you have a strong sense of duty to save everyone and also don't feel like you deserve the promotion to colonel, but how many times does it need to be mentioned???
Would you ever listen to anything by Craig Alanson again?
No, if Book 3 in this series is like Book 2. I liked the first book, but this is just lazy.
What about R.C. Bray’s performance did you like?
Excellent narration.
31 of 38 people found this review helpful
I am in love with this series so far. The story is wonderful. It's not too fast or too slow, it moves along perfectly. Excellent blend of Action, Sci-fi and comedy. Highly recommended!
26 of 32 people found this review helpful
Entertaining, with more emphasis on chat than on plot, ideal as an audio book since there is a lot of repetition of what-is-happening - if you are doing something while listening don't worry about going back because you missed a bit - the author has the characters repeat what's going on at least twice, if not three times.
The humor is more the guys-insulting-each-other kind of joshing and less the clever or witty kind of humor. It still made me laugh out loud or at least put me in a good mood.
Sometimes the narrator's British character's voice (Smythe?) slipped into the same as Skippy's voice, but other than when that happened the narration is fantastic.
Light and fun sci-fi.
18 of 22 people found this review helpful
Well book two was just as amazing as book one can't wait for book 3
R C brey has done a outstanding job again.
13 of 13 people found this review helpful
really enjoyable, just as good as the first book! I can't wait for the third book in the series.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful
Yet another awesome instalment. Excellent book, once again well read by R C Bray and I really can't wait for the next part. 5/5
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
What did you like most about SpecOps?
This audiobook is just a lot of fun.
What was one of the most memorable moments of SpecOps?
The whole adventure was enjoyable from start to finish.
Which character – as performed by R.C. Bray – was your favourite?
Skippy - the AI character is a bit of a one trick pony on the joke front, but somehow the joke always remains amusing.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes - definately. It was a virtual page turner...
Any additional comments?
This book, in literary terms, probably does not stack up against the best scifi - but that is missing the point. It is great escapist fun and a thoroughly enjoyable listen. It sounded like Mr. Bray enjoyed reading it - and he did another great job. Please hurry with No. 3!
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
This doesn't need much: LOVED the first book, LOVED this one. Can't wait for the next.
Top notch - give it a go - you won't regret it.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
Next please.........
More more more more more more more more more more more I need more.
Gimme MOAR.
7 of 8 people found this review helpful
I think there's a very simple way to review this book. If you've read the first book and want some more, then get this book because the adventure just takes off in the same way. There's more Barney, more Skippy, more irreverent monkey insults and more great action.
RC Bary the microphone maestro continues to do his thing and I grow more in awe of his talents as a narrator with every passing word I hear from him. He's on top form with this performance and I really get the impression that he has particularly enjoyed reading this series so far.
Even though this really is space opera and the kind of thing to give plot hole pedants nightmares Alanson creates a universe with a little depth, has interesting sci-fi ideas and gives his books a sense of action and adventure.
Maybe I should grow up more but it had me both laughing out loud and rooting for Joe and his merry band of pirates the whole way through. So, when's the next one out?
15 of 19 people found this review helpful
After reading the first book in this series, I was eager to get right into
the second one. I was so pleased that the second book had only just been
released on Audible and so no waiting time and as anyone who has read a
fantastic book knows, it's the waiting for the next instalment which is the
killer.
So, I fed on Spec Ops, the second instalment of the Expeditionary Force
series with a voracious appetite and I am thrilled to report that it is
every bit as good as the first. So often one can find an excellent opener to
a series only to find that the next book is somewhat of an anti-climax.
Remarkably, Craig Alanson has maintained beautiful consistency here and
every bit of the Bishop and Skippy interactions you came to love in the
first book are here in the second. Just perfect continuity of character and
plot.
One of the key elements in this and the first book that I have come to love
is the often hilarious conversations between Joe Bishop and the A.I known as
Skippy. Alanson has come up with such great characters in both Skippy and
Bishop that the interactions between the two are wonderful. This and the
last book have probably been the only science fiction novels I've actually
laughed out loud while listening too. Alanson has created the perfect real
world balance between humour and serious storyline. His writing genius is
that he has created a balance which feels just so natural as if he
transcribed the conversations from real incarnations of his creations and
put them into his book. I have read quite a bit of science fiction and
although I have many more authors to read in this genre, I can say that so
far I've found this series from Craig Alanson rank in my top 5 books of all
time. That top five includes both his first and second book so, as you can
see, I am pretty enamoured with this writer and his superb story.
The other thing Alanson does so amazingly well is to come up with really
dire situations and then between Skippy and Bishop, come up with a truly
ingenious response. All this wonderful characterization and engrossing plot
is woven together into a naturally flowing narrative. It's as if the author
has sat you down and is telling you the story himself as if it really
happened.
Now, having said all of the above, what really compliments this wonderful
series of books so superbly is the totally excellent narration provided by
R.C Bray. It's true to say that a good book can be destroyed by a poor
narrator but it's also true that an excellent story is elevated even further
by a great narrator. The essence of the story and the characters Alanson has
written are perfectly realized by Bray's wonderful reading of this book. I
am so pleased that Bray was the one selected for this project as I can think
of no other, bar none I have listened to, that could do this book more
justice.
As I am a reader that notices tiny inconsistencies, I have to make mention
of two small such examples I noticed. At the end of book 1 we are told that
the expedition about to go forth will have 14 scientists aboard. By the
opener of the second book which resumes right after the first, this number
has reduced to 12. The crew compliment of a Thorranin star carrier as
specified by Skippy was 87. In book 2 it was mentioned that the crew
compliment was 78. Perhaps simple typos but, really, who cares?
When I reached the end of the book I wasn't even sure if a third instalment
was in the offing but was thrilled to find that a sample of the next
instalment, Paradise, was provided and it was read by R.C Bray. This book
hints at the story taking on a parallel timeline as Bishop's old friends
"Corn Pone" and "Ski" are featured as they adapt to life under the Ruhar.
This is another very promising thing that Alanson has shown in his story
development and I look forward to the release of this title with great
anticipation.
Spec Ops is another superb story from Craig Alanson and if you liked the
first book then you will love this one too. These two books are the best
reads I've had in a long while in this and any other genre for that matter.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
it was awesome R C Bray really brought Skippy to life and have the story a whole lot more depth it was very entertaining
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
Any additional comments?
I love this book. The banter between Joe and Skippy is hilarious and those hateful lizards have no chance. R.C Bray delivers a spectacular performance, can't wait for book three
4 of 5 people found this review helpful
a decent story but a little repetitive, formulaic at times. having skippy be annoyed that he didn't think of an idea got old after the first time. by the end it was grating.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
really enjoying this series...
R.C Bray really brings to life all of the writers characters and makes the whole audio book experience even better.
I usually look for this narrator for this reason....
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
Love it! Skippy sure is an A-Hole though ;) just the right balance of adventure, suspense and humor.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Craig Alanson has a gift! Logic, suspense, technical knowledge, social awareness and an enlightening sense of humour. A gift to produce a magnificent story stitched together with a majestic and fluid style of writing.
And hats of to RC bray for bringing the words , story and Characters to life. I love the relationship Joe and Skippy have - priceless!
3 of 4 people found this review helpful
There has been a lot of thought put into writing this series. Funny and clever but still remember logistical issues and reality
The writing is truly terrible compared to any established modern SF author. Most of the book is exposition. Nothing in terms of major plot actually occurs. You could delete this book from the series without noticing. I am very disappointed in the high ratings this author and book/series is getting on audible. It erodes a lot of the trust I have in ther rating system here. If The Martian or Bobiverse are B grade SF this is E or F.
This is the most epic space saga since hitchhikers guide to the galaxy and it far surpasses it!
rc bray one of the best ever. the story was amazing. cant wait for the next book
It isn't anything mind blowing, but it hits the nail on the head for enjoyment. I will be carrying on with the series!
If you like this genre the narrator Bray really brings it to life. Great stuff!