Warspite

By: Christopher G. Nuttall

Narrated by: Ralph Lister

Length: 13 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's Summary

Peace is not freedom. Peace is merely the absence of war.

The First Interstellar War is over, but the Royal Navy still has plenty of work to do. As Earth struggles to recover from the bombardment, Captain John Naiser is placed in command of HMS Warspite - an experimental heavy cruiser - and ordered to escort a squadron of colony ships to a star system of immense strategic importance. But as the crew struggle to survive hundreds of light years from Earth, they find themselves dealing with the legacy of the war...and a threat that may sow the seeds of renewed conflict or a deadly civil war that will rip the human sphere apart.

Like my self-published Kindle books, Warspite is DRM-free. You may reformat it as you choose. There is a large sample of the text - and my other books - on my site: chrishanger.net. Try before you buy.

©2014 Christopher G. Nuttall (P)2015 Audible Inc.

absorbing

This book picks up where the Ark Royal trilogy ended. This could be a standalone book or a beginning of the new series.

The first interstellar war is over. The Royal Navy is rebuilding and has lots of work to do. The earth is struggling to recover from the war. Our new protagonist is Captain John Naiser who is Commander of HMS Warspite, an experimental heavy cruiser. HMS Warspite is ordered to escort a squadron of colony ships to a star system of strategic importance to Earth.

Nuttall provides us with space pirates; tension building among the colonist in what might become a civil war. The story provides action, humor and some interesting developments for future stories. The story has both space battles and ground battles. We are introduced to a new human like aliens that are still in a primitive state.

Nuttall has made in my opinion a couple of gross mistakes that would never happen in any military in the world , and as far as I am concerned not even in military Sci-Fi. The first error is a corporal never out ranks a sergeant and the other error; never would a civilian been given a military rank and made the executive officer of a ship.

It looks as if Nuttall is launching another series. I will be in line to buy the next book if this becomes a series. Nuttall has created a couple of interesting characters I would like to learn more about. Ralph Lister narrated the book.

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

Can't wait for next one

All though not quit as intense as the others it keeps you wanting more. Intriguing character and multi store lines. Some thing were predictable more so than previous. Warspite II has got at least 3 possible story lines from this book. Can't wait to see which one comes out.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

The Saga continues

Would you listen to Warspite again? Why?

Yes, in fact plan on listening to all 4 books again

What did you like best about this story?

The blend of science, military action and future look into humanity

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

Yes, outstanding as always

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Not Star Wars!!!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Taking a great world/story and revitalizing it.

Where does Warspite rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I love Ralph Lister's narration, and the Nuttall's ability to weave an interesting story is impressive. I had my doubts when I picked up the first book (Ark Royal), quite at random, but this fictional world has me hooked, and I'm just blown away that the Warspite storyline so fascinatingly picks up and starts a new life for the series. The Ark Royal sequels were also great, and very perfectly tied up all the lose ends. I could have been happy with just those, but there's more!This series keeps me coming back and it is now one of my favorites in my collection.

What other book might you compare Warspite to and why?

There is a real element of Star Trek in this series as well as Battle Star Galactica. While those series' canonicity is based on a different medium, the worlds around the settings and plot are similar enough that any fan of those franchises will love this series too. It's not epic or deep like Frank Herbert's Dune, but incredibly well-written. The pace is just about perfect, the characters fleshed out enough that you care and remain consistent, and you end up with just the exact amount of good sci-fi that you need.

Which scene was your favorite?

I really liked the alien planet invasion. There was a good amount of tension built up leading to it, and the whole alien race-reveal really took me by surprise. Also, I appreciate the Russians-as-bad-guys element in connection (I believe) with current political event.

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

This book, and its continuation of an enjoyable series, really satisfied my need for good sci-fi. I'll definitely keep purchasing Nuttall's work.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Great story!

Great addition to the series. Really worth listening too! Performance well done, and quite enjoyable. I look forward to another book.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

The start of a new post war series

Warspite is touted as book 4 of the Ark Royal series but it would be more accurate to view it as book 1 of the Warspite series. The war that provided the Ark Royal series story arc is over and it's absence is felt. Warspite is the first of a new class of heavy cruiser produced by the Royal Navy from a combination of alien and human technology and this story follows her on her maiden voyage. It is composed of all new characters that are basically the next generation after the main characters from book 1-3.

Unfortunately many of the situations presented in this book feel artificial and manufactured compared to books 1-3. Warspite should be capable of traversing alien-grade tramlines but that capability was never tested prior to her initial deployment, which requires her to do just that. Without the interstellar war as a driving force for such reckless action the reasons just are not very convincing and make the story feel pretty thin.

To be fair, some of the scenarios encountered by Warspite and her Captain are complex and some tough calls have to be made, but that just isn't enough. Nuttall's characters are once again lacking in depth and too dry. Combine that with the lack of the interstellar war arc that made books 1-3 interesting and it puts Warspite on the wrong side of mediocre.

Ralph Lister returns to voice the characters and his performance is consistent with the first 3 books.

6 of 8 people found this review helpful

Author went politically correct on us

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

Not as written

Who was your favorite character and why?

I had no 1 favorite character

What about Ralph Lister’s performance did you like?

All the characters have to same voices. Even 20 year olds sound like their 60.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Don't make it a film...

Any additional comments?

I really don't understand the need to continually highlight the main characters sexual orientation to being gay. It had no bearing on the story and IMO the author was trying to appease a certain segment of the population. I am a big ark royal series fan but he dropped the ball on this one.

8 of 11 people found this review helpful

Military Syfy, the prime directive , I enjoyed

Syfy has a tradition of starships in a military role and this series of battling with newly discovered aliens is a fine example of that tradition I enjoyed it very much.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Son of Ark Royal rides again

Warspite is Christopher Nuttall's 4th installment in the Ark Royal universe. This time, the British have built a new military spaceship called Warspite and her new young captain and green crew are rushed into service to chaperone a group of ships critical for establishing Her Majesty's primacy over a new star system. Beyond that simple duty, they are testing out new drives for smoother, faster access to the "alien" tramlines. Along the way, they assist another British colony that is on the brink of destruction by both nature and themselves. They also stumble upon a renegade group of Russians who haven't kept up with the rest of the universe, stage a major battle with humans and aliens, violate nearly every rule in the book, and manage to recover some missing and kidnapped British citizens. Whether Warspite's captain ever emerges from the Board of Inquiry for this maiden voyage will be left for the next installment.

The sci-fi elements are minimal with vague references to the physics underlying the faster than light travel speeds. The aliens are unremarkable as well. The notable attraction of this series is the traditional and classical British cultural adherence. From mannerisms to preferences and loyalty to the royalty, the characters are indistinguishable from their counterparts today or 500 years ago. While the entire geopolitical structure of this universe is unchanged from late 20th to early 21st century Earth, all the action takes place off world.

The narration is excellent with a solid range and attention to the 'stiff upper lip' British attitude throughout. This is an enjoyable easy listening with little hard sci-fi to follow closely. The pacing of the tale is consistent and effortless.

4 of 6 people found this review helpful

Please Get A New Narrator

Every male character sounds like a drill sergeant! Always gruff and with rocks in the throat--always shouting, even in normal discourse.

Fair story line, but lacks action. I like the first three books in the series and didn't notice the narrator problems. This is ho-hmm.

4 of 6 people found this review helpful

A little different!

Trying to review this book (hopefully) without spoilers is difficult. For anyone who has finished the previous four then you know how the story was left, and obviously this book has to take a slightly different branch in the overall story. It manages to be a successful continuation of the plot however, and if anything, I think I enjoyed it more! New characters introduced (and some old ones) manage to integrate well into the story without making me overly miss some of the others and giving up on the book (as has happened in some other long series). Long story short, brilliant book, love everything about it, I just wish he would use the same narrator for the Empires Corps series, I'm struggling to adjust to his voice! :p

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

hornblower in space

this is an enjoyable listen. well read and perfectly paced. a future Hornblower romp across space set in a believable setting.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

fantastic book! just as good as the ark royal.

loved this book Christopher g nuttall can really right a good si-fi. recommend that you read the ark royal series first though.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

It follows a very hard act

Not as good as the first three. Also the accents need work if they are to be included. On the whole not a bad story though

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Still VERY anglocentric. Quite enjoyable though.

I liked this book better than the previous "Ark Royal" books. No more aristocracy / royalty nonsense, even if still very angocentric. No more romantic (or sexual) complications. Just more or less straight military Sci-Fi action. A simple to follow storyline and an actual ending in spite of this being a series.

Meh.

Awkward start to a new set of books. If you've been reading since Arkroyle then it shouldn't be enough to put you off the next in series.
Just...meh.

Good. Said John.

It’s another one of those Christopher Nuttall books with a shouty staccato performance by Ralph Lister. There are obvious signs that Mr Nuttall isn’t taking any of this too seriously but it’s joyously rip-roaring stuff. If you liked Ark Royal then this is the best in the series yet.

Good story and narration but...

Please, please I beg of you, don't let the reader attempt any more Scottish accents! He destroys that bit of the story, and makes himself look dreadful.

A good read but not quite up to Ark Royal standard

A solid story with a good narrative, was an enjoyable few hours. I must say that Ark Royal was a hard act to follow, worth a read

A great "boys own" yarn

I really liked this. It's not a cerebral novel by any means. The story is entirely linear and focuses entirely on the military exploits of a British warship exploring unknown sectors of the galaxy. Characterisations are believable with a degree of disbelief suspension and it's always good to have Britain as a leading space-faring nation, teaching the Russians and Chinese a thing or two, by Jove.

The narrator performance is first class, albeit an acquired taste and if you've listened to previous books in the series, you'll just have to accept that all navigation officers talk in the same gravelly tone with a slight speech impediment and all aliens sound like slightly slow adults. A good job nonetheless and a pleasant change from our American friends with their dazzling prose and dancing dialogue.

I won't give it five stars, because it isn't a great work of fiction, but I will read the next in the series and the one after that.