Star Crusader

Hero of the Alliance

By: Michael G. Thomas

Narrated by: Andrew B. Wehrlen

Length: 7 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

Nate has a talent for space combat after hundreds of victories in the Star Crusader videogame simulation. His skills are unique, enough to gain him a rare privilege: the chance to join five other Alliance cadets and escape the dull routine of the classroom. They will enter a fierce competition light-years away in the ancient Byotai Empire. Yet days after their arrival a rebellious faction begins a bloody mutiny that spreads like wildfire. The time for competition has ended; the time of war has begun.

A handful of capital ships attempt to avoid the massacre, but only Relentless escapes. Nate and his friends are aboard, part of the few to make it out alive. Relentless is a heavily armored assault ship, a relic from another age, but most of her crew members are dead or missing. Nate and his fellow cadets have to face the unthinkable. Under the guidance of Lieutenant Higgins, the ship's last fighter pilot, the six cadets have just days to practice operating the ship's fighters. There are no others. Only they can defend the ship, or face death at the hands of the enemy.

©2015 Swordworks Books (P)2015 Swordworks Books

Fast Pace Space Opera

This book is part of a universe of books written by the same author and does a great job of starting a series of books without prior knowledge of the other books. The book starts at a fast pace as prospective civilian and military cadet fighter pilots compete for the opportunity to take part in a distinguished tournament training program. Unknown to the winners is that their training will go from simulation to the real thing faster than they expect. The stakes only increase for the cadets as the stability of peace shatters around them and they must push their training to keep themselves and those around them alive in an effort to make it home. As a fan of science fiction books I found this book to be quite satisfying from the space combat scenes to the universe the books takes place in.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost for an honest and unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast.

Great sci fi lots of action

Great audio book. Good for adults and young adults alike. Lots of action goo story keeps you hooked. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series. I received this audio book for free from the author, narrator or publisher for free via audiobook blast in exchange for an unbiased review.

Action packed space battle with teen cadets

Nate is a seventeen-year-old who has played hundreds of games on a vidogame known as Star Crusader. Based on his successful victories Nate has won a place in the Alliance cadet program. The Alliance is a space program set up to defend against attacks. The Alliance has a shaky relationship with the Byotai Empire who are an aggressive lizard-like race.

Nate and five other teens are shipped off to a far off spaceport to participate in active battle competitions against the Byotai trainees. The kids are in class when a rebellion breaks out. They barely escape the room trying to make their way to the marines seeking flight to their capital ship. Nate and his friends are among those who get out with the help of the marines, including a tough female.

When the dust settles from the first battles many of the crew members, including pilots, are gone and the capital ship is struggling to get to a rendezvous with other Alliance ships. Reluctantly the last of the fighter pilots, Lieutenant Higgins, who is injured, begins training the cadet pilots on the ship's fighters. The capital ship will stagger along with the thin hope that a handful of teen cadets will be able to defend her if they run into any enemy, especially before they get to restock their supplies and weapons.

I enjoyed the sharp, observant nature of Nate’s mind and the rivalry and friendships among the cadets. Each of the teens have unique strengths that make them a valuable team if they will work together. Before the end of this action packed story they will face the enemy and learn that they must use their skills together to be successful in their mission.

I picked this title as it reminded me of The Last Starfighter. Although it starts with the videogame the rest is a new story. The characters are distinct, if not fully developed, and the action is pretty much nonstop. When this started I thought it might be more suitable to a younger audience. However, as the work progressed I found that I liked the young, brave characters and was fully engaged. I realized after finishing this book that it is the first of four in the current series. Apparently there are older series with a prior generation that lead into Nate’s generation. For now, I will be lining up the current set through Audible but I’ll be eyeing those prior books when I need a good sci fi fix!

Audio Notes: Andrew B. Wehrlen did a very good job with the narration. He captures the youthful personality of the cadets and is still able to pull in the older characters too. I had no trouble following the thought processes and action. I fully enjoyed the audio listen.

I received this title from the Author through Audiobook Blast, for an honest review.

Decent Story, Simple YA Sci-Fi

This book is, for the most part, exactly what I expected. The site description is pretty spot-on for this book.

Nate, the main character, is part of a group of students that have the top rankings in simulated flight combat. Flight simulations have become essentially the football of the future. Different worlds and races compete in simulated military flight missions as games. When the group of students competing on another world, the local citizens overthrow their government and attempt to kill or capture all of the humans in the system. The students flee on a damaged, outdated assault carrier with limited supplies and very few crew members. With all but one pilot lost in the initial escape, it is up to Nate and his friends to pilot the remaining drones and fighters (the ship's only significant defense).

The story itself wasn't bad. I found the backstory and description of the rebellion in the beginning a little confusing. All of the student pilot characters are also pretty stereotypical. Main character, girl he's interested in, best friend, boy he competes and argues with, etc. I found the plot a little unbelievable at some points as well, but nothing too bad.

Narrator was good. Definitely a good fit for this book.

Overall it was a decent listen. Lots of action, dogfights, suspense, etc. It was good enough that I'm probably going to listen to the next one in the series.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from the author, publisher, or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review. I was NOT required to write a positive review and this reflects my honest opinion of the work.

Action packed

This story is great. Start to finish, full off action. Absolutely loved it! Great work

ScoobyDoo in pace (without the dog)

Every element of this book is derivative and pedestrian. While there is some creativity in terms of battle descriptions, the author doesn't seem to have any military knowledge and it shows. Imagine a starship Captain rushing toward a group of inexplicably disabled ships saying there is no time for caution.

Even as a YA novel, it fails as the characters don't develop or experience meaningful adversity. The narration is first rate.

Action packed space battle with teen cadets

What made the experience of listening to Star Crusader the most enjoyable?

I enjoyed the sharp, observant nature of Nate’s mind and the rivalry and friendships among the cadets. Each of the teens have unique strengths that make them a valuable team if they will work together.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Star Crusader?

I liked the young, brave characters and was fully engaged

What about Andrew B. Wehrlen’s performance did you like?

Andrew B. Wehrlen did a very good job with the narration. He captures the youthful personality of the cadets and is still able to pull in the older characters too. I had no trouble following the thought processes and action. I fully enjoyed the audio listen

Any additional comments?

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

Great Audiobook

I've always enjoyed Mr Michael's books, and this one is no exception. Mr Andrew does a great job with his narration, and does good with the tone of the Audiobook. No spoilers here, but I'd recommend listening to the Audiobook if you like Space Opera.

Great book, not the typical space opera

Very good story. I enjoyed it thoroughly. It could have used a bit more background and development of the characters surrounding the main character; however, overall it is a very good read.

Great intergalactic story just wish it was longer

What does Andrew B. Wehrlen bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I must say he grew on me, I didn't like his style at first but by the end of the book he was great.

Any additional comments?

This started pretty slow then sped right up with all the battle ship fighting and allies turning into enemies in quickly. Very good character development made you want the cadets turn into full fledged pilots at the end. I wanted more and then the end of the book seemed to come too early. I will actually try to follow this series and cant wait until the next book!

"I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot com".