Book Review – Debt of Loyalty

(See all my Book Reviews and Author Interviews) – Christopher G. Nuttall is the author of more than 100 novels. Debt of Loyalty was published in 2020 and is the second book in his Ember of War series. This is the 2nd book I completed in 2023.

I received an ARC of this book through https://www.netgalley.com with the expectation of delivering a fair and honest review. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! Due to some violence and mature language, I categorize this novel as R. The primary character is Admiral Lady Katherine Falcone.

The Commonwealth has been engulfed in a civil war. Falcone had to make a hard decision as civil war became inevitable. Should she stay loyal to the King and the colony worlds or remain with the Tyre Navy and her family. She has sided with King Hadrian and has enabled his escape from Tyre.

The planet Caledonia has become the rebel stronghold and has allied with a handful of colony worlds against the Commonwealth parliament.

Falcone had to make a hard decision as civil war became inevitable. Should she stay loyal to the King and the colony worlds, or remain with the Tyre Navy and her family.

Falcone is given command of the King’s fleet and engages the Tyre forces. They skirmish, but the big battle will be in Tyre space. The plan is risky, but if the war is not taken to Tyre, Caledonia will fall under attack. Falcone wants to win the engagement and bring the civil war to an end. She may have to settle for striking a hard blow and withdrawing in defeat.

I enjoyed the 10.5+ hours I spent reading this 401-page science fiction novel. With this book, I have read six excellent books by Mr. Nuttall. The others are The Oncoming Storm, Falcone Strike, Cursed Command, The Hyperspace Trap, and Debt of Honor. While this novel can be read stand-alone, the novels listed above, except for The Hyperspace Trap should be read first. I enjoy ‘space opera’ stories, and Debt of Loyalty is one of the best. The plot is laced with action, politics, and intrigue. I like the cover art chosen for this novel. I give this novel a rating of 5 out of 5.

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

Book Review: “Archangel One”

(See all my Book Reviews) – Author Evan Currie (http://evancurrie.ca) published the novel “Archangel One” in 2019. Mr. Currie has published more than 30 novels. This is the first of a new “Archangel One” series.

I received an ARC of this novel through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this novel as ‘PG’. The story is set in the far future. While Commander Stephen Michaels is the primary character, there are many others who are key to the story. 

Humans have achieved an uneasy truce with the Empire. There is no doubt that the war with the Empire will resume, it is just a question of when. 

Michaels is leading the Archangel Squadron. The Archangels, now reformed with new ships and tactics, are given a new mission.  To gather intelligence on the Empire they take on the role of pirates. That gives them both the chance to inflict damage on the Empire and to make new allies. 

I enjoyed the 6+ hours I spent reading this 268-page Science Fiction Space-Opera. While this is a separate series, it continues the events in Currie’s “Odysseus One” series. While this novel reads well on its own, I do recommend reading the six novels in the “Odysseus One” series first. Many of the characters are also in those novels. This is the 5th novel of Mr. Currie’s I have read. I have to say that they all have been enjoyable. I do like the selected cover art. I give this novel a 4 out of 5.

You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

Book Review: “Sheppard’s Quest”

Book Reviews – “Sheppard’s Quest” eBook was published in 2018 and was written by Gary Caplan. Mr. Caplan has published seven novels. This is the third in his “The Alliance of Worlds ” series.

I received an ARC of this novel through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this novel as ‘G’. The story is set in the far future. The primary character is Alliance fleet officer Robert Sheppard.

When new allies, the Talcon, ask for assistance, Sheppard attempts to help them out. He and his ship are on the way to confront the Varlons. While in route he has the time to follow up on the Talcon request and investigate why animals are mysteriously disappearing from their Starcity ship. Before long, Sheppard and his task force join their allies in a confrontation with the Varlons.

I thought the 5.5 hours I spent reading this 239-page science fiction novel were interesting. This is supposed to primarily be a space opera tale of military confrontation in space. There was some of that, but this certainly wasn’t “The Lost Fleet”. For me, the story kept going in too many directions: the mystery of the lost animals, the confrontation with the Varlons, and the mysticism of the Star Knights. This book does read pretty well as a stand-alone novel even though it is the third book in a series. In summary, this novel was close, but not quite there yet. The cover art is OK, but I think a better image could have been chosen. I give this novel a 3.4 (rounded down to a 3) out of 5.

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).