Supercarrier Box Set: The Complete Ixan Prophecies Trilogy

By: Scott Bartlett

Narrated by: Mark Boyett

Length: 26 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

The best-selling military space opera: the complete series in one box set.

Captain Keyes is loved by the public but hated by Command. He captains the UHS Providence, an aging supercarrier and the last human ship not dependent on dark tech - technology humanity has used to rule over the galaxy since barely defeating the Ixa in the First Galactic War.

Dominance has come at a cost. Over the decades, old allies have grown resentful, and when dark tech itself fails, Captain Keyes’ predictions start coming true: those old allies are now enemies.

But Keyes is not the only one proven right. As the galaxy plunges into war, the Ixan Prophecies are being fulfilled, one by one. Humanity’s oldest enemy is on the rise, with weaponry never seen before.

The fate of the galaxy now depends on Captain Keyes, his tired ship, and his oddball crew. It doesn’t pay to be right.

Box set contains:

1. Supercarrier
2. Juggernaut
3. Reckoning

Jump into the action. Download this complete series box set today.

©2016-2019 Scott Bartlett (P)2019 Scott Bartlett

Captivating

Scott Bartlett's Supercarrier Box Set: The Complete Ixan Prophecies Trilogy had the three components of what I consider a captivating series - character development, a plot that intrigues and develops naturally, and something that can be difficult for many writers, a dialog between characters that doesn't seem unnatural or flat. There is depth to this book. Congratulations Scott!

Woeful

I should start by saying that I really like Mark Boyett’s narration...he was just great in the Undying Mercenaries series; but here even he struggles to carry a storyline (and I use the term loosely) which has plot holes, unbelievable dialogue, and sounds like it has been written by a teenager.

Count the number of times you hear ‘firing solution’...it’s like the author thought ‘that sounds cool, I’m gonna use that...to death’. The captain of the Supercarrier is so flawed he would never receive a command, our hero has been busted down ranks and exiled yet still finds himself in tactical meetings with the ship’s command within days of arriving, as well as leading a marine assault party and becoming their top fighter pilot and lead negotiator. OOO-kay. The dialogue is so cliched that it’s just plain cheesy. Inner monologues simply don’t work as a device and make the characters sound neurotic rather than giving them depth, and the whole: ‘lets threaten them with a nuke to get them to become our allies’ (which, spoiler alert - they do) is just laughable. This book really made me appreciate BV Larson, Dennis E Taylor, Jason Anspach and Nick Cole!

Wow

I’m so impressed with this book series. Each chapter kept me on the edge of my seat. Each character in the book was fully fleshed out with their own motivations. The narration was perfect, and enhanced the experience. I loved it and would recommend this book to anyone! I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Long and enjoyable journey

This is one of those trilogy that you become involved with all of the characters and the naration enhances the experience memorably

Epic Series Reminiscent of Battlestar Galactica

This is the Supercarrier trilogy boxset – all 3 of the Ixan Prophecies series that start the series of the Characters Keyes, Husher, Fesky and so many more I won’t mention so I don’t give away spoilers. This is a complex and brilliant Mil Sci-Fi that is a wonderful read, following are reviews for the individual 3 books in the series:
Book 1: Supercarrier - This really reminded me of the reboot of the Battlestar Galactica series, although, with a few extra alien races. It is like the UHF are the Cylons – they have been taken over and gone bad, led by an evil leader, and the Providence (or Galactica) is the only thing that can stand in their way. They even have a lone senator trying to rally support for their cause. Now don’t get me wrong, because this is not a bad things, ‘Supercarrier’ is a fantastic book, especially if you like a good story, with some brilliant characters and just good old fashioned Sci-Fi.
Although not what I would call hard Sci-Fi, or really full-on, this story does have a lot of plots and a lot of action.
The Human race had the first interstellar war a while ago, and won thanks to an Alien called Ocharium, who gave them Darktech, which allowed them to improve their weapons, open their own wormholes, all sorts of fun things. This allowed them to defeat a race called the Ixa. Only the Humans have Darktech, and they have kind of lorded it over the galaxy for a while. The other races, the Wingers, and the Gok, do not like the Humans as they consider themselves oppressed by Humanity. There are also the Fins, a very intelligent race who are also very perceptive, it's almost like they have prescience or an incredible intuition they can strategically and tactically see things so well. The Fins live with the Wingers, so are closely aligned.
When a deliberate incident happens, setting off a chain of events, the galaxy is basically plunged into war, with the Wingers taking the opportunity to attack their oppressors.
In the middle of all of this is the Providence, the last of the Supercarriers, the only ship without Darktech, and therefore vulnerable to manipulation by alien misdoings.
This is not just a book with an incredible amount of spectacular space combat, but also a rather intriguing political thriller as 5 different races all clash for power, and some have multiple factions within, the humans being the prime example.
As the galaxy soon tears itself apart, Captain Keyes and his crew must try and save humanity, protect the providence, and protect those that are too weak to protect themselves. Cue Disgraced Lieutenant Husher (which I have to point out was Admiral Adama’s callsign in Battlestar!!) the son of an alleged traitor who collaborated with the Ixa in the first war. He has just been stripped of his Captaincy for making an ethical decision and has joined Keyes.
The Character work makes this story a fun, and intriguing Mil Sci-fi story. Each of the main characters has their own agenda and at this stage of the story, we don’t get a huge amount of backstory yet, just basic introductions with the knowledge that there is more to come. But it is more than enough to make this interesting and pull you in, especially with the main characters of Husher, Keyes, and the others I won’t mention.
Bartlett does a wonderful job with his world-building, creating an immersive galaxy with a wide variety of races and scope for his story, and the starships are just stunning (seriously, the starships in these books and the ensuing combat are just outstanding!!), and really make this series a standout as a Mil Sci-Fi.
Overall, I really enjoyed this (huge fan of BSG, so of course I was going to!), it had an outstanding story, and although I have been a bit critical, the story really is very clever, Bartlett has managed to string together multiple plots without losing any (I'm into the second book and he is still tying them together nicely), and the quality of his space combat is exceptional. The political intrigue is also sensational.
Book 2: Juggernaut - This is a really brilliant series that is a lot of fun, and a really exciting and interesting read.
I said in my review of ‘Supercarrier – Part 1’, that I thought this series had a lot of similarities to the reboot of BattleStar Galactica, and I still stick with that.
I also had a few comments about the quality of the dialogue in my review of ‘Supercarrier’, and it is was good to note that there was a subtle change in ‘Juggernaut’, that the characters matured, keeping their overall tone, but not quite as overdone as they were in the first book. This was definitely a better book.
The remnants of Humanity, fighting for their lives against hopeless odds, being pounded around the galaxy, looking for various bits and pieces to try and save themselves.
Only in this instance, there are multiple alien races. And thankfully some of them have decided to become allies with the humans.
In this particular episode, the President of the humans is basically in league with the Darktech industry, and so sets about trying to help them. As a result, she makes some horrendous decisions, and policy that leads to worse decisions.
UHF acts in a way that is beyond criminal, turning on their once allies, and in the middle of this Keyes decides he can stand for it no longer.
This is where other comparisons to BSG come in, the true integrity and moral fibre of the characters and crew of the Providence. Keyes in particular has so much in common with Adama, the two could be mirror images of each other. And it's what makes this series such a good read, the depth and character strength of each of the main characters that draws you to them, makes you follow them, and want to read the story into the late hours of the night.
‘Juggernaut’ is an exceptional sequel to ‘Supercarrier’, picking up almost straight away after the events of the first book. The characters are more developed and stronger in ‘Juggernaut’, the Author having had the chance to get to know them a bit more, and thus getting to explore them more in ‘Juggernaut’.
This also goes for the Aliens, and the Main Alien characters, in ‘Juggernaut’, we get a much greater in-depth view of both Fesky and Ek, but we also get to know more about Piper, the Tumbran from the short story ‘Traitor’, as well as the Gok. The aliens are a highlight of the series, each of them being so unique, bringing something rather amazing to the table. The individual Main characters are also wonderfully brilliant adding something special to the story.
The other thing that is touched on in this story thanks to the Aliens is the concept of discrimination. It's something that Bartlett does with a few issues, using his work to highlight these issues without making it either obvious, but it allows it to be a discussion point for readers. It is wonderfully clever.
Bartlett has subtly touched on a few topics in this series, such as mental health, discrimination etc, and it is very clever, letting you enjoy the series, and if you want, ponder these greater issues as well. It is a series that leaves you thinking after about some of the bigger issues in life and that is always a good thing.
Overall this is a brilliant sequel to an epic series and if you have read the first, then you have to read this!
I'm already into the 3rd book.
Book 3: Reckoning - The Ixan Prophecies have been revealed for what they are, and it appears that the Ixa are going to crush everybody and anybody regardless of their species.
The crew of the Providence are desperately trying to rally support for their cause in one final hope, bringing all the last hopes of the galaxy together to face off against the Ixa.
Of course, the Ixa are now lead by Baxa, the super AI that actually has an agenda.
‘Reckoning’ is a full-on book, in which it just all unleashes. As with ‘Juggernaut’, ‘Reckoning’ has again improved with the quality of the characters, the dialogue and the overall writing, Bartlett really got into the characters in this one.
‘Reckoning’ again delves into human emotions and human psychology, looking at different aspects of vengeance, PTSD, loss, sorrow and as it crashes towards the end Hope. It is fascinating reading the different aspects of what is happening to the Main characters, both alien and human alike. Bartlett has obviously done a lot of research, and taken his influences from different characters, creating some brilliant mains and even secondary characters along the way.
Again, I found that there were a lot of similarities to other Sci-Fi sources, as if Bartlett has been a keen student, and taken all the best material to produce his Key Character Keyes (sorry, couldn’t resist), as well as to develop the other major characters, and wrap it into this extraordinary adventure.
Bartlett uses the final book to wrap up all of his major and minor characters, Keyes, Husher, both Junior and Senior, Caine, Fesky, Ek, Piper, the list is huge. But he has not only provided them with their own storyline, he has done so in a non-convoluted manner, unravelling each of the plots and closing them cleanly, bringing the story to a thrilling and climactic close that is just outstanding.
It is important to note that if you have not read the short story ‘Traitor’, that it is probably worth reading it BEFORE you read ‘Reckoning’ as there are things in ‘Reckoning’ that make a lot more sense if you have read ‘Traitor’. And ‘Traitor’ is just a great read anyway!
There is no holding back in ‘Reckoning’, and Bartlett is not afraid to unload on his main characters, and it is great to see an Author who does not believe in the invulnerability clause for their main characters. This not only made the story that much more entertaining and gripping, as you did not know what was going to happen at any time, but it also added a level of realism to the story.
‘Reckoning’ is about the reckoning of the human race, of the individual characters, of the various alien races, and of the galaxy as a whole, there are numerous meanings to this title, and thus, this book is incredibly well done when you dig into the various plots and unravel all of it.
Whilst at the surface, it may appear to be just a ‘Softer’ Mil Sci-Fi or Space Opera, there are a lot of deeper meanings for the characters and the future of the galaxy that can be pulled from this story, discrimination, working together for the greater good, peace, resource management, hope, and many more.
This is both a book and series that will leave you thinking about how it played out for days after it finished, which is always something different with a lot of books (as in normally you just pick up the next one!)
This is one you just won’t forget!!
Mark Boyett is just outstanding as the Narrator for these books, creating this incredible audiobooks that flow with such ease, but telling us the story with so much passion, so much emotion in his characters. He has created an iconic voice for Captain Keyes, so much so, that even when just reading the books, I still just hear Boyett’s “Keyes” voice in my head, it is so good, and seems so perfect for the Captain. The same goes for Husher!!. He has also created a range of other voices, male, female, human and alien that are such masterful. His voices are so distinctive, that you can tell who is speaking individually, regardless if it is a female avian, or a Male human in their later years, everyone gets their own voice, so that they all stand out, it is so good. And just as good, he is able to create emotions for each of these characters, within the scope of their situation, whether they are excited by a social event, terrified by an attack on the ship or angry at the Captain for some politically charged reason. The Audiobook is just exceptional, and it makes the experience so much better than just reading this book – Boyett is a Genius!!

Awesome Space Opera

Scott Bartlett does an amazing job at world building and fleshing out the universe this takes place in. The story is fast paced and good from beginning to the end. The Narration from Mark Boyett compliments the book well and keeps you thoroughly entertained.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

A Wild Ride

Take a wild ride through this military science fiction trilogy. “Supercarrier” has it all and will keep you on the edge of your seat to the very end. The story runs at a breakneck pace twisting and turning like a roller coaster and the characters are brought to life keeping you engaged and caring about what happens to them. The narration by Mark Boyett is bang on breathing life into all the characters. I thoroughly enjoyed this series and can’t wait to start on the next one.

Excellent!!!

Bartlett has created a complex society based on multiple species that compels the reader to be drawn into his worlds. Excellent narration, Boyett has outdone himself. I’ll be listening to this trilogy again and again!

Great Series!

So I consume a lot of audio books. I am always on the lookout for a new box set. I hadn't heard of this author before but the series sounded interesting. It was great. Great characters, both the flawed humans and flawed aliens. Mr. Bartlett has created a very cool universe as he takes us for a ride. I am also always impressed when an author does such great work while remaining clean. To me, this is a sign of a great writer. I also was not aware of the narrator's work before this series. Mr. Boyett ranks up there with Jefferson Mays and Bronson Pinchot for being able to create unique voices for each character and switch between them flawlessly. I now have a new author and a new narrator to follow.

Well Done Story !!!

I was very impressed by Mark Boyett’s narration that brought the characters and the action to life in this exciting space opera series. I am especially pleased at having the complete series to listen to and enjoy non-stop! I think that if you appreciate good science-fiction, this series will be very satisfying!

The writer is skilled at his craft, which will be immediately noted in the fast and sustained pace from beginning to end. This story line will draw the listener deep into the book. It is very well done, fabulously narrated, and won’t fail to leave a lasting impression.

A rambling yarn

I've downloaded a few of these expansive and generally multi-part sci-fi epics and this one is better than many in concept and scope. You don't have to concentrate too hard, so they're good for insomnia or long journeys! However, the main issue I have with many of this genre, and this one is no exception, is that they routinely seem to default to a US-Marine-based shoot-em-up in which the outer space location is largely irrelevant and the story could be transposed to Vietnam/Iraq/France etc etc in more recent times... There's lots of aerial dog fighting too, slotted in between the recurrent Marine gun action. The more thoughtful narrative bits about science, exploration or origin or even galactic politics and associated machinations are much more varied and, I found, much more interesting for that. I actually eventually started skipping through some of the fighty bits of this title to get to chapters that had a bit less gun action and more substance, and a slightly less predictable narrative thread. Let's fervently hope that this vision of a constantly warring, militarised galactic travelling future isn't how it actually turns out if the human race ever does make it to the stars!

one dimensional is all aspects

Couldn't get more than half way through the first book, probably the worst space story I've ever heard. no nuance, no shade, all binary choices and thinking. avoid.

very slow

very slow, with some big plot jumps. I'm afraid that I dumped it before finishing book 1.

not my cup of tea

I got bored with this book (these books) after an hour, the story lacked interesting characters, and the storyline was the same as many of its genre, no recommendation from me.

Good if you're a teenager or early twenties

Forget it if you're not. 2D characters, multiple deus-ex-machina, every sci-fi trope you can think of and then some. I'd have loved this four decades ago, but now I couldn't even finish the first book.

Despite that, the narrator does a good job of keeping the character voices separate.

Fly Phoenix

Its been a long time coming and well worth the wait. It comes as no surprise that its humanity against the universe. However, I found Husher's naivety to be frustrating at times.

Supercarrier is one of those easy to listen to military sci-fi books that packs a punch and was well worth my credit: All the more so because narration, as always, by Mark Boyett, was first class.

A complex story

I recieved a review copy of this book. It presents an excellent story following a chaotic multisided conflict, and the struggle against seemingly impossible odds. The narration is excellent and there is significant depth to the story. My only disappointment is that it was difficult to visualise the scale of the space battles from the descriptions in the book.

Waste of a credit

Seems good value but just don’t - didn’t like it on every level sadly. In particular felt more like a child’s book than adult, but even then a very poor child’s book

By the end I was ready for it to be over

Not particularly gripping. Can't say I was endeared by any character. 3rd book was the best, introducing a grander plot, but by then I was ready for it to be over. Narration was ok. It must have been a challenge to voice the different species, but some sounded quite flat and uninterested.

solid performance desperately cliched writing

got to the end but it was a struggle which is a shame because the underlying concept was pretty cool... if this is your first sci-fi space epoc then you might be okay but beware the star trek level military tactics, ridiculously thin character complexities with no emotional depth to empathise with and some horrible cliches and glaring plot holes.