The Dead Sun

Star Force, Book 9

By: B. V. Larson

Narrated by: Mark Boyett

Length: 12 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's Summary

Kyle Riggs sits uneasily upon Earth’s throne. He’s liberated his homeworld from a tyrant, only to replace him. In The Dead Sun, the ninth book of the Star Force Series, the Great War between life and the machines reaches its final chapter. Both sides have new technology and expanded industrial bases. Star Force and the machines attempt to exterminate one another in a final, glorious conflict. Along the way, Riggs finally learns who his real friends and enemies are.

The Dead Sun concludes The Star Force series but don’t worry – we’ve got plenty more military sci-fi action from best-selling author B.V. Larson. Check out Steel World, book 1 in B.V. Larson’s new Undying Mercenaries series.

©2013 B. V. Larson (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Finally, the end

I really can't believe I waded through all 9 books in the series but I guess I got hooked. I think probably because I'm a lot like Kyle Riggs myself. An excellent series if a little awkward at times. I liked the ending although would have liked it if there had been some closure with Miklos and the other characters like Kwan, Gaines, Nukum and of course Marvin.

Sad to see the series end, but enjoyed the ride.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely. It is a unique series, great plot, great protagonist, Excellent writing style.

What did you like best about this story?

Col. Kyle Riggs. One of my favorite heroes of all time. Considered an outlaw, looked at indifferently by most of senior officers, chased by the bad guys, good guys, friends, several world governments, multiple alien species that consider him to be Earths leader and greatest warrior. I love deeply flawed, but brilliant protagonist in a novel, and Riggs fits this profile better than nearly any character I've ever seen.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, I stayed up late to buy it as soon as it went on sale.

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed this book, and series. Col. Kyle Riggs is a true hero similar to John McClain in the Die Hard Movies. He gets thrown into extraordinary circumstances against his will, and ends up being the deeply flawed, but super effective savior of Earth. Riggs is the type of man that will ignore his government, and entire senior staff when directing an order. This order may result in millions of deaths on earth, but to Riggs millions of deaths is necessary sacrifice in order to save billions. He is a true Cowboy. The books are all well written with a perfect mix of action and dialog. I'm sad to see the series end, but I have high hopes for B.V. Larson as a sci-fi novelist going forward.

glad i listened...satisfying conclusion

Any additional comments?

if you're at this page, then you've probably read/listened to the previous books in this series. if you're wondering whether or not to give your time and credit to this final chapter, then let me help you by saying, "go for it!"

even if you're like me and felt a little let down by the last book, i'd still recommend that you go for it. yes, there are some annoyances, like jasmine's clinginess, but i still enjoyed it.

again, i think the story feels rushed. there are a few major plot points that get easily and quickly resolved. bv could've expounded on them, but then again it might've slowed the pace of the story. regarding the pace, once the story starts, it races to conclusion. this makes it an easy listen, but i miss the complicated situations riggs has to deftly dig himself out of. i never got the feeling that he was facing overwhelming, unbeatable odds, like in the earlier books. there are difficult situations, but they seem like they're easily overcome b/c they're overcome soo quickly. the pace of the story is quite fast.

perhaps that's why i felt rushed. the story is exciting, but i felt like bv was rushing the plot to tie off the different plot lines. BUT i am satisfied with how most of the plot lines were tied off by riggs.

for most of the series, riggs has been the star, but now marvin outshines him. i like marvin, and i like how marvin has evolved through the series. he has definitely saved riggs' bacon on more than one occasion, and he again plays a pivotal role in this story. i guess my biggest disappointment is that marvin's story is left up in the air when the story ends. it's almost like bv forgot about marvin at the end. i mean you get closure with riggs- his decisions and what he ultimately decides to do, but riggs has no last talk with marvin. the last time we hear of marvin is during a battle. after things are settled in a way, we don't hear about marvin. where is he? what are his plans? what he might do afterwards is hinted at about 2 hours before the story ends, but the reader/listener is kind of forced to remember a conversation between riggs and marvin.

by now, you must be wondering why i'm recommending this after all my griping. LOL at the heart, this is a pretty good conclusion to the series. my rants revolve around things i wished were in the story. my wish list would probably add hours to the story and slow down the breakneck pace.

while this seems to be the end of riggs' story, there are a few interesting plot lines that other reviewers have mentioned that could interestingly continue the star force series. i will definitely miss kyle riggs! thanks bv for entertaining me over the years.

overall, a good conclusion to kyle riggs' story and worth your time and credit!

Leader of the world fights on the front line

Have you listened to any of Mark Boyett’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Mark Boyett does an excellent job at narrating, great choice for this series.

Any additional comments?

Larson is pretty one dimensional. Advanced civilisations that have a uniform behaviour. Nearly nothing happens that Riggs doesn't personally do or think of, other characters are grudgingly given ideas, but they will always complain and moralise, while Riggs stands alone with nearly no support. If something has to be invented to save the day then there is Marvin, the regularly verbally and occasionally physically abused genius AI. Riggs goes about thinking up good lines to partially speak only to get cut off mid sentence, and then everything changes. Well you'd hope so, but it doesn't. 9 books of pretty much the same stuff. The guy in charge of everything deciding he better go be on the front line, micromanage everything.

It's All About Marvin!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. This installment is another solid addition to B.V. Larson's Star Force series. Once I started it up it was hard to turn off. First Sargent Quan and Marvin continue their wary alliance as they help Griggs defend sentient life against those pompous Crustaceans and backstabbing Macros. Everyone everywhere should get the chance to follow the glorious deeds of the greatest robot in the history of everything - Marvin!

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Dead Sun?

Any time Marvin grabs the mic. a memorable moment is on tap. I get a huge kick just listening to him as he tries to leverage as much personal advantage as possible out of every exchange. Marvin the Magnificent is always in the mix, always shaping conversation to squeeze out some self-aggrandizing concession - another camera, new appendages, a couple more vats to expand his colony of captive micro wonder bugs. As hope fades and humanity is crumbling under the Macro's boots, or being diced by some sadistic Crustacean's pincers, who slides in from the abyss and saves our collective asses yet again? That's right - Marvin!

Which scene was your favorite?

When Marvin gets the helm and everyone but him groans and rolls their eyes. Jealousy, pure and simple. They may hem and haw, but deep down inside they are thanking every diety they can conjure that Marvin is on their side. Marvin may have his faults, but don't we all? Think of it this way, if you were stuck alone in vacuum space with fourteen pissed off Macros zorching towards you with malice aforethought who do you call?
All together now - Marvin!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Extreme reaction? Well...not really. I did not cry, but I laughed 46 times give or take a few. I frequently found myself smiling as yet again Griggs has to turn to his designated savior of mankind - Marvin!

Any additional comments?

Hey B.V. - if you ever feel in a rut with this series, I have a suggestion. Start a new a epic space saga with Marvin at the head of a band of conniving, passive aggressive uber probes tasked with the mission of eradication of everything lame, slow or otherwise chronically in the way. Marvin's jurisdiction is only limited by the scope of your imagination, Mr. Larson. And I can say, without fear of contradiction, that you are one creative individual. So, think about it. At least two beings will be fired up: yours truly and my favorite robot - Marvin!

Where blood and steel join, take me there again!

So, after nine books, what more can be said about Larson's ninth book in the Star Force series, The Dead Sun?

DEAD. SPOT. ON. That's what.

When a series gets this long in the tooth, the writer has earned his or her place, and the work is built upon the author's previous tomes in the series. IF the author is smart, they give their readers what they want. Larson does this in a major way in The Dead Sun.

But Larson has always done that in the Star Force series.

He drags me onto the battlefield, where blood and steel join in the exploding heat of combat. He slips me behind enemy lines into the heart of the enemy conflict, and shoves me into the shadows, watching as politicians and generals coldly set the fate of countless warriors ready to sacrifice their lives for sometimes blurred and shallow causes. Larson builds worlds, and sets the pace, tempo and rhythm of this stirring march into this incredible military scifi that is Star Force.

So, when I read or listen to Larson's work, I can't accept the tired rhetoric and hastily written pulp so many other authors think of as noteworthy military scifi. Larson rules this arena totally, and The Dead Sun reminds me why I started this series in the first place: Larson, as a writer, is, in a word, exceptional. His work lives beyond the written page, and above the audio data bytes. If you peruse the web, you'll find blogs, chat rooms and web pages praising, debating, arguing and exploring the entire series. Want to know when an audiobook series REALLY does its job well? When people argue over their favorite characters, declaring that their favorite should have their own books in the series, and even write fan fiction in the same milieu, giving the series life beyond the author's pen..

Larson's Star Force series has all of this, and in my opinion, leads the way in this genre.

But, what about The Dead Sun? I sense in this ninth book, that we may be seeing the end of this fantastic journey (I hope to God not!). If this IS the end, what an incredible journey!

However, this may only be the end of a CHAPTER - We'll just have to see where Larson takes us. But having said that, I don't give very many reveals or spoilers in my reviews. I try to give you very solid reasons to buy or not buy an audiobook, based on the merits of the author's style, talent, and passion. By now, you know my philosophy on this - I will not spoil the author's wonderful work by giving you sneak peeks into what happens - You have the brief overview provided by Audible, as well as many other reviewers that happily spill the beans about the audiobook. As usual, I'll get marks against me for not doing so. Still I must be true to my convictions.

However, I WILL give this one thing to you regarding The Dead Sun - A new generation may be on the horizon, a new ushering in, if you will, of a new chapter and direction in this fantastic series. In this ninth audiobook, surprises, revelations and changes await you.

And, of course, exceptional writing.

If you follow my recent reviews, I have been MERCILESS on a number of military Scifi writers - Want to know why? I listened to the previous audiobooks in THIS series.

And the listening has spoiled me completely.

Very well done, Mr. Larson.

Where blood and steel join, take me there again!

Riggs finally finds some peace

Larson has finally (after 9 installments) brought some closure into the life of one Kyle Riggs. At the end of the 8th installment, Riggs had finally succeeded in defeating Crowe and undertook the arduous task of restoring some semblance of rationality to Earth. Needless to say, he tires quickly in the job of governing and returns to space. He and Marvin cook up a scheme to glimpse beyond the Thor ring. There is more revealed regarding the ring and machine origins as well as some critical information regarding their particular local cul-de-sac. Riggs must battle the machines again and deal with the Blues all the while, sidestepping assassins and coup attempts. With a sense that Earth is safe for the foreseeable future, Riggs apes Cincinnatus and Washington to enjoy the sunset.

The sci-fi elements are in line was earlier installments with a bit more esoteric physics of gravity control. The space battles continue to evolve with the machines learning faster than humans. The limited alien diversity (intelligent anthropomorphic variants of Earth animals with annoying personality disorders) is still present.

The narration is passable with a limited range of characters.

Worth your time

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes i would there is a chess match with a lot of action

Have you listened to any of Mark Boyett’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Mark is a great performer you don't have to guess who is talking you know by his voice who is speaking

Any additional comments?

I was happy about the last battle. It wasn't by the skin of his teeth that he won the finial battle. It did seem in the earlier books it was always a close battle that he barely won

I was disappointed with the end of the story. Riggs didn't like farming he like designing and programming, the other books said that more then once. One thing i did like about this last book was we were not reminded over and over again how hard his Marines are to kill.

I didnt like that fact that he just left Marvin. Marvin had become his friend and he just abandon him to ? people that would have destroyed him or will because they dont know how to talk to him. He really just abandoned everyone.

As smart as Riggs is he basically left the earth to people who could not do what he did to save it and he came to that conclusion towards the end but yet he gave up his position to people who would not be ready if the ancients came. If this story was to continue in the future they would come calling on Riggs to save the earth once again and it would be a struggle every time.

In all that was disappointing to me this was a very good series Larson kept me coming back for the next one.

SHORT ENDING

This was a good series, but the ending was too abrupt and seemed forced as if the author just grew tired of writing the series and wanted to move on.

Author changes his philosophy

The story was very good and then he changed, maybe when trump got elected.
Would not recommend this series to anyone

The Final Battle

The Dead Sun represents the final chapter of the war against the Macros and
brings the primary Star Force series to an end in its current form. The
series does continue in a sort of spin-off or at least follows on many years
later from the events at the end of this book.

Once more the author, B V. Larson has come up with a superb easy to read
story that brings the reader of the series so far to the final battle
between the machines known as Macros and humanity. This book weaves intrigue
and action in a mix that has created a page-turner of a novel. I have always
marvelled at Larsson's consistency and prolific writing abilities and this
book is no exception.

Having reached this point and seen the scale of the series, I can definitely
say that I think that no movie or TV series could likely do such books
justice. It does appear to me that if you want to experience the best and
rawest form of science fiction then you have to resort to the written word.
I mention this aspect because one of the questions asked in one form of
review offered by Audible asks if the book read would make a good movie.
Well, thinking about it, the only way I could ever see any real justice done
to these stories is to split each book up into 12 one hour TV shows and
literally use the book as the screenplay as anything else would be cutting
corners which is all too often why the movie or TV versions of books fall
far short.

I love the way Larson writes the Marvin character. The robot's dialogue is
superb and really befits the pure logic of an artificial intelligence. The
writer really does well with his depiction of alien life and just how
differently they behave and even think.

The Dead Sun rounds off the series nicely almost going full circle by seeing
Kyle Riggs return home to his farm and settle into retirement. I did detect
a slight rushing to finish the book as although it was mentioned as to how
to help deal with the impending collision of the comets brought along by
the Macros, I don't believe the author actually tackled that final element
during the wrap up phase of the book.

This audio book has a nice preview of Larson's newer series called the
"Undying Mercenaries" series and gives the reader about one and a half
chapters of Steel World to get their teeth into as a taster preview of this
exciting series from Larson.

I will certainly miss all the regular characters featured in this series and
hope to perhaps come across some of them in the spin off or follow on books
in this series. The Star Force series has been a very enthralling and
entertaining one despite its somewhat shaky start in my opinion. I know now
that I will be consuming this authors other works in short order as I cannot get
enough of this writer.

A great book, a wonderful saga and well written and read.

Not a single likeable character in the series

At first I thought Kyle was a nice character but as the series progress he became an arrogant self centred tyrant who only cared about himself. Killing his people and expecting them to just deal with it. Coming on to every female he came across like a cheap hormone riddled teenage version of Captain Kirk on viagra!
I hoped he’d improve as the books progressed but he doesn’t.
Marvin and the macros are more humane and relatable than most of the main characters.
I kept having to remind myself of when this was written to excuse his sexist narrow minded behaviour and the way the female characters faun all over him and put up with his BS!
And every time you think someone decent will take over, they are found out and eliminated.
Most of the series I found myself rooting for the enemy!
What kind of leader takes his people into mortal danger knowing he has better protection than anyone else. And not caring if they live or die. And what kind of morons would follow him.
If you know he’ll expend you life like toilet paper why fight to save a planet you’ll never get to see again?!
Especially given the fact that he’ll deliberately antagonise the enemy into attacking you!

This series left me annoyed on so many levels!

A superb series!

B V Larson has excelled himself with the Star Force series. The story was original and well written, keeping me riveted to the unfolding saga.

Mark Boyett’s narration was equal to the challenge adding depth to a great story. The end was sadly inevitable but well timed.

I look forward to reading another of his stories in the future.

great book

Love the book it is a great book series and I highly recommend listening to it

good as usual

I think this may be the end of this story. it's run I ft s coarse.

Not a very good end to a series of 9 books.

So many lose ends. What became of Marvin and many other characters that had played key parts throughout the series. Disappointing.

yet another hit

the Starforce saga continues, stays exiting to the end and leaves you wanting more, twists and turns in the ongoing story

Left a little deflated

Any additional comments?

The end could have done with a little round up of where the other main characters were heading. I've done the whole series and got to know and love them.

Nice 'Happily every after ending'

How do you end a series of sci-go stories where the guns get bigger and the soldiers get stronger and faster.
As far as endings go this is a pretty good one!

Another good read

Every one in series so far is addictive well written very well read . Easy buy