Star Crusader

Legends of Orion

By: Michael G. Thomas

Narrated by: Andrew B. Wehrlen

Length: 7 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

It is a dark time for the Alliance, with their forces scattered before the advancing legions of the unstoppable Star Empire. Further disastrous news arrives that General Makos and his loyal Byotai warriors have been utterly routed in battle, leaving the Alliance no option but to fall back to Helios.

Nate returns home with Battlefleet Victorious, only to find the entire Alliance fleet gathered to give battle. Admiral Churchill has assembled many squadrons of cruisers, destroyers and battleships for the inevitable arrival of their undefeated foe. Princeps Tahkeome and his grand fleet is just days away, and soon he will arrive at Helios, the gateway to the Alliance and beyond.

There will be no rest for Nate and his friends, and they are hastily mobilized for battle. Heroes of the past and present reunite, bringing cadres of warriors and mercenaries from a dozen worlds to stand up to the invasion. Nate will face a battle unlike any he has seen before as the combined might of three great powers join battle in a fight that will change the galaxy forever.

©2017 Michael G. Thomas (P)2017 Swordworks

Too much action, not much of anything else.

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Add some meat to the characters. The book keeps jumping from one fight sequence to another. There's almost nothing else in the book. not much of a character development to speak of. I would've liked to see some somber interaction between the different characters in the book. But that didn't happen.

Any additional comments?

This audiobook was provided to me by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.

Great starship battles rival those in Star Wars

The author has created a great series with a wonderful galaxy spanning war that leads to great heroes and villains. Battles that are huge in scope and yet can be examined from the cockpit of a Star fighter. The main hero and his squad are a group of prodigy teens picked for a mission of peace and relations based on their video game prowess and instead they have been thrust into the front lines of the war. Well written and well narrated series. Love them all. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

The Alamo, in Space!

Legends of Orion is a novel length equivalent of the last battle seen in many war movies. As it is book seven it wastes no time from reintroducing our main heroes to racing them to where the final defence line will make its stand. From that point on it is non stop action from one view point of the battle to the next. It is a fun listen as the author does well in keeping everything in context so you never feel lost in what is going on. For action it receives full marks, but there are very few breaths from one action scene to the next so it could of had a few more or have them last a little longer. With all of the action there is very little room for character development or more nuanced plot but for the sheer scale of the conflict of ship to ship battles you don't feel too cheated.

Overall I would rate the story 4/5 but I shaved a star off purely because I felt the ending was cut too short. The ending was where I expected to get some character based pay off after all the action and I felt it didn't deliver. This is a personal opinion so others may not feel the same way.

Andrew Wehlern does a great job in narrating voices of the characters and the story as everything is clear and crisp. This is the second novel I have listened to his narration and it was as well done as the first.

In the end I would recommend this audiobook for those who like an action popcorn novel which is an inch deep but a fun ride all the same.

***I received a free copy of this audio book at my request from the narrator in exchange for an honest review***

great read

I was gifted this ARC from the author/ Narrator for a honest and unbiased review. Overall the story and the plot were well written. The narrator had a easy listening voice and allowed the various characters voices to be distinguishable. The only negative I would have would be what I think is a lack of naming imagination. Many of the senior officers names as well as the names of a lot of the ships, were taken from our history from several hundred years ago. Since this story was based on 400 years in our future, I would think that there would have been different military heros  or battles whose names could have been used.

Great Series Continues!

Great series, worth the credit.


"This book was provided at no cost for an unbiased review."

Legends of Orion

Any additional comments?

An entertaining and enjoyable addition to the Star Crusader World.

While I have really enjoyed several other books in the Star Crusader world and this story was entertaining it just didn't hold my attention as much as the two previous books I have listened too. Not sure why. Each new book is like coming back to visit old friends and as usual there is never a dull moment. This book was full of non-stop action. There was one space battle/firefight after another. Something is always happening. Even though there is no rest when your in the middle of an intergalactic war, I would have enjoyed a little more interaction between the characters outside of the constant battles.

It's hard to remember that Nate and his friends are basically teenagers. Nate has just turned 18.

Nate, his friends,the crew and the rest of the Alliance are going to have to pull off a Hail Mary pass to get through their latest fight with the Star Empire alive. Several well known characters from the Star Crusader Universe join Nate and his friends in this battle.

Once again Andrew B. Wehrlen does a great job with the narration. He is the voice of the series. Nice voice that is easy to listen to for long periods of time. Clearly spoken with a smooth even pace. Really good character voices. Each character has a distinct voice. He brings the story to life through his narration. As always, very enjoyable.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator or publisher.

A good story, but borrowed from many sources

The characters were compelling, and sometimes fun, but overall the story borrows character names and concepts from multiple other stories. It was enjoyable to go through the story, but more originality would have been ideal.