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Perseverance Andrews #2
The Courage of the Commonwealth
For how long can you play from behind before hope fades away?
From the opening attack of the conflict, the Royal Navy of the Inter-Planetary Commonwealth has been outnumbered. Unlike their enemies, who had been preparing for this war for years, the Commonwealth was caught flat-footed. Given enough time, the economic strength of the Commonwealth should prevail, but their enemies attack relentlessly.
The Royal Navy hopes not for victory, but for survival. Hampered by the near-complete failure of their intelligence agencies, time and again they are pushed to the very brink. Innovative approaches and the heroic sacrifices of ships and crews prevent disaster.
Every time it seems as though the Royal Navy might be able to reach parity, the aggression of their enemies pushes the goal out of reach. The daunting cost of men and material keeps climbing. Yet, in the midst of this savage conflict, the relationship between Perseverance and Saint John Powell deepens.
Just as the Royal Navy introduces a technological wrinkle that gives them a much-needed advantage, their enemies introduce a new type of warship. Bigger and more heavily armed than any vessels before, these battleships have the potential to blast through the Commonwealth’s defenses. It will take every bit of the Royal Navy’s (and Perseverance’s) grit and ingenuity to stave off defeat.
Just when the Royal Navy thinks it has weathered the storm, another tempest brews. Saint John Powell is standing in the way of an enemy force twice his strength. The best he and his people can do is slow the enemy and cause as much damage as possible before they themselves are destroyed.
How many times can you cheat death before the odds catchup to you?
From the opening attack of the conflict, the Royal Navy of the Inter-Planetary Commonwealth has been outnumbered. Unlike their enemies, who had been preparing for this war for years, the Commonwealth was caught flat-footed. Given enough time, the economic strength of the Commonwealth should prevail, but their enemies attack relentlessly.
The Royal Navy hopes not for victory, but for survival. Hampered by the near-complete failure of their intelligence agencies, time and again they are pushed to the very brink. Innovative approaches and the heroic sacrifices of ships and crews prevent disaster.
Every time it seems as though the Royal Navy might be able to reach parity, the aggression of their enemies pushes the goal out of reach. The daunting cost of men and material keeps climbing. Yet, in the midst of this savage conflict, the relationship between Perseverance and Saint John Powell deepens.
Just as the Royal Navy introduces a technological wrinkle that gives them a much-needed advantage, their enemies introduce a new type of warship. Bigger and more heavily armed than any vessels before, these battleships have the potential to blast through the Commonwealth’s defenses. It will take every bit of the Royal Navy’s (and Perseverance’s) grit and ingenuity to stave off defeat.
Just when the Royal Navy thinks it has weathered the storm, another tempest brews. Saint John Powell is standing in the way of an enemy force twice his strength. The best he and his people can do is slow the enemy and cause as much damage as possible before they themselves are destroyed.
How many times can you cheat death before the odds catchup to you?
294 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 1, 2023
About the author
John Spearman
46 books53 followersJohn Spearman is an award-winning author. In the past, he served a Latin teacher and coach at a prestigious New England boarding school. Before joining the world of academia, Spearman had been a sales and marketing executive for 25 years.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 19, 2023
Perseverance Book 2
Gotta love politics in all its forms. The Commonwealth is still short shipped, their enemies forcing battles and attrition upon them. No clear relief in sight.
Ah well, so far so good !
Gotta love politics in all its forms. The Commonwealth is still short shipped, their enemies forcing battles and attrition upon them. No clear relief in sight.
Ah well, so far so good !
August 2, 2023
This is awesome military science fiction.
This is one of the best military science fiction books I have ever read. Israel is the only country that has had a woman in command in time of war. The rest of humanity could learn from her example.
This is one of the best military science fiction books I have ever read. Israel is the only country that has had a woman in command in time of war. The rest of humanity could learn from her example.
August 6, 2024
Exciting, entertaining and enjoyable book!!!!
Congratulations to John Spearman for this book in this amazing series. It’s extremely hard to find such an interesting and exciting author who not only writes intelligently but also provides top rated plots, characters and excitement in the stories.
Congratulations to John Spearman for this book in this amazing series. It’s extremely hard to find such an interesting and exciting author who not only writes intelligently but also provides top rated plots, characters and excitement in the stories.
July 18, 2023
Excellent work
I enjoyed this series, and could not put it down. Cudos to the author. Well written and keeps you wanting to read more.
I enjoyed this series, and could not put it down. Cudos to the author. Well written and keeps you wanting to read more.
February 11, 2024
Well thought out story of Galactic warfare with heroic encounters that demonstrate the highest level human performance.
I enjoyed the personal stories of the principal figures. The description of the weaponry and tactics was exciting. I look forward to reading the next book in this series.
I enjoyed the personal stories of the principal figures. The description of the weaponry and tactics was exciting. I look forward to reading the next book in this series.
June 25, 2026
3.5 stars
The second book in the series addresses some of the flaws in the first book while maintaining most of its strengths.
The characters are stronger and more sympathetic, though there are still only a very few who are more than background cutouts. And this time, there's no extended and unnecessary prolog to delay the start of the story.
The plot is again good, though I think the economy of the Commonwealth doesn't make a great deal of strength. If you start off below parity, have a higher build rate, and have a positive loss ratio in almost all the battles, things should start to get easier, not harder. Also, while I do like the focus on the main characters not getting a free pass through the dangers of battle, there comes a point where their survival seems really unlikely.
The technology has some interesting bits, and some of the innovations on both sides seem sensible, but again, the more detail the author provides, the less anything makes sense. As a salient example, the missile guidance hacks that much of the story depends are are the kinds of things that were mostly figured out more than 50 years ago. It's not reasonable that any navy in the far future would have missiles that are as stupid as these.
Also, after the first few dozen times people are lost to explosive decompression or blast effects, it seems like somebody might figure out that these can be substantially mitigated by reducing the air pressure in ships. Heck, even in the 18th century, on wooden warships, there was a concept of clearing for action.
All that said, if you take the technology presented by the author at face value, the resulting battles are solid and interesting. And the feel of military culture is very well handled. I actually might have enjoyed this book more than the first book in the series, but I was willing to give that book more grace, as it was establishing an environment and story. This book gets less grace, because the lessons of the first book weren't learned.
But it was still fun to read.
The second book in the series addresses some of the flaws in the first book while maintaining most of its strengths.
The characters are stronger and more sympathetic, though there are still only a very few who are more than background cutouts. And this time, there's no extended and unnecessary prolog to delay the start of the story.
The plot is again good, though I think the economy of the Commonwealth doesn't make a great deal of strength. If you start off below parity, have a higher build rate, and have a positive loss ratio in almost all the battles, things should start to get easier, not harder. Also, while I do like the focus on the main characters not getting a free pass through the dangers of battle, there comes a point where their survival seems really unlikely.
The technology has some interesting bits, and some of the innovations on both sides seem sensible, but again, the more detail the author provides, the less anything makes sense. As a salient example, the missile guidance hacks that much of the story depends are are the kinds of things that were mostly figured out more than 50 years ago. It's not reasonable that any navy in the far future would have missiles that are as stupid as these.
Also, after the first few dozen times people are lost to explosive decompression or blast effects, it seems like somebody might figure out that these can be substantially mitigated by reducing the air pressure in ships. Heck, even in the 18th century, on wooden warships, there was a concept of clearing for action.
All that said, if you take the technology presented by the author at face value, the resulting battles are solid and interesting. And the feel of military culture is very well handled. I actually might have enjoyed this book more than the first book in the series, but I was willing to give that book more grace, as it was establishing an environment and story. This book gets less grace, because the lessons of the first book weren't learned.
But it was still fun to read.
January 12, 2024
With the first book I was quite willing to accept the rather weak tactics and unimaginative use of weapons, as it sort of set a baseline that could be built on.
However I really was hoping for something more than just charging at the enemy and putting up with the loss of ships and numerous deaths. It doesn't help that the missile defence systems are appalling and every battle stars with an analysis of how many enemy missiles are going to get through and destroy ships, Why haven’t they done something about it?
It’s the lack of imagination that really irritates me, surely by now they could have come up with some cheap specialised ships that aren’t designed to do everything, but could have enormous number of anti missile missiles or a an actual mobile missile platform capable of only firing off one large batch of anti-ship missiles before being left behind. Also why haven’t space stations got any defences? It’s just so frustrating.
There was a slight electronic innovation towards the end of the book, but it was not nearly enough.
My irritation made look even more closely at the battles and more and more inconsistencies appeared. Perhaps I have read too many SciFi novels, but the author definitely hasn’t read enough.
Also more insight into the political and social ramifications in the Russian and Chinese worlds would have greatly added to the story. Having a totalitarian war based economy for decade after decade and thousands of there naval personnel being killed, must surely have consequences.
At times I was so annoyed I would have only given one star, but there is still enough in the story to keep me interested. If possible I would have given 1.5 stars.
However I really was hoping for something more than just charging at the enemy and putting up with the loss of ships and numerous deaths. It doesn't help that the missile defence systems are appalling and every battle stars with an analysis of how many enemy missiles are going to get through and destroy ships, Why haven’t they done something about it?
It’s the lack of imagination that really irritates me, surely by now they could have come up with some cheap specialised ships that aren’t designed to do everything, but could have enormous number of anti missile missiles or a an actual mobile missile platform capable of only firing off one large batch of anti-ship missiles before being left behind. Also why haven’t space stations got any defences? It’s just so frustrating.
There was a slight electronic innovation towards the end of the book, but it was not nearly enough.
My irritation made look even more closely at the battles and more and more inconsistencies appeared. Perhaps I have read too many SciFi novels, but the author definitely hasn’t read enough.
Also more insight into the political and social ramifications in the Russian and Chinese worlds would have greatly added to the story. Having a totalitarian war based economy for decade after decade and thousands of there naval personnel being killed, must surely have consequences.
At times I was so annoyed I would have only given one star, but there is still enough in the story to keep me interested. If possible I would have given 1.5 stars.
February 27, 2024
continuing forward
From a slow start to this series it has continued with great storyline and character development. I am truly looking forward to seeing what’s next. Even moments when you think you know where it is going, the story keeps you wondering and reading.
From a slow start to this series it has continued with great storyline and character development. I am truly looking forward to seeing what’s next. Even moments when you think you know where it is going, the story keeps you wondering and reading.
May 6, 2023
3.0
It may be a four but I am so ticked off by the cliffhanger I am not even sure I will read the next.
It may be a four but I am so ticked off by the cliffhanger I am not even sure I will read the next.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews