Battlespace

The Legacy Trilogy #2

by Ian Douglas

When called to do battle many light years from home, the 1st Marine Interstellar Expeditionary Unit rose to the challenge -- and now thousands of enslaved humans have been freed from the alien yoke. But Earth is twenty-one years older than the home planet they originally left, and the Marines need time to retrain and readjust -- time they do not have, due to the bizzare disappearance of a detachment of their brothers- and sisters-in-arms. It is a mystery, but there is a starting an ancient wormhole threading through the Sirius system. Whatever waits on the other side must be confronted, with stealth, with force, and without fear -- be it an ancient enemy or a devastating new threat. The Marines are heading into the perilous unknown . . . and what transpires there could reshape the universe for millennia to come.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Space Opera, Military Science Fiction, Audiobook, Fantasy, Military Fiction

Audiobook

First published January 31, 2006

About the author

Ian Douglas is a pseudonym used by William H. Keith Jr..

Reviews

[Dirk Grobbelaar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tattered shreds of dreams clung to his awareness, already slipping away into emptiness. There were dreams of falling, of flame and battle and death in the night, and of an endless, empty gulf between the stars…

Bad guys flying golden spaceships? Stargates? The Hunters Of The Dawn? Yes please!

Battlespace is the second book in The Legacy Trilogy (which, again, is the second of three trilogies comprising the Marines In Space series). I haven’t been reading the trilogies in order (I jumped right into Legacy and it’s working out fine for me). In fact, these books are so loosely linked you can probably read each as a standalone in any case.

The novel doesn’t get off to the quickest start, given the fact that this is Military Sci-Fi through-and-through. The reason, of course, is because the author incorporates a lot of detail regarding preparation and planning of operations, as well as training, into his story, before actual deployment. Not too much harm done, though, and once things got going, I was glued to the pages. The nice thing about this particular instalment was that there wasn’t a lot of violence action just for violence’s action’s sake’; everything is planned and executed within context of the story, giving it an edge (of some gravitas) compared to some of the lesser restrained works out there, in this specific genre. The author clearly knows what he’s on about. What’s more: the characters are fairly endearing for the most part, even though the point of view shifts too often to ensure complete character development (the story is told from perspectives ranging from high rank (strategic) to medium rank (tactical) to, well, grunt-level (down and dirty)).

In the end Battlespace was pretty much exactly what I expected. A solid Military Science Fiction novel, with no real surprises. Competently executed, rather than spectacularly, but fans of the genre should find much to enjoy here. I especially enjoyed the way the author weaves some mythology elements into his story (in this case: the “Nommo”). It’s a visual enough novel, with some elements of wonder.

In closing:
I always enjoy stories that address the Fermi Paradox. In this instance the author postulates that there is nobody there because everyone is exterminated. This isn’t new; many, many authors have come up with this concept, but Douglas does link it directly to Fermi’s Paradox:

“Where the hell is everyone?”
The Predatory Survivors Hypothesis simply stated that, in Darwinian terms, one possible survival strategy for any intelligent species was to eliminate all possible competition. If, at some point in the history of galactic civilization, some one species that had evolved to sentience through this strategy had developed star travel, it might continue with that strategy, finding and destroying races of beings that might one day challenge it.

3.5 stars – rounded up

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have really enjoyed this set of 3 trilogys, this book marks the 1/2 way point through the books. Very well written military SiFi. good plot and story flow. the writer has a very good feel for the military mindset. Recommended

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book picks up "basically" where the first book in the series leaves off and continues to tell us of the marines and their actions as humans move out into space.

Told in a "universe" where humans (and the races they make contact with) have "near light speed" drives. Thus they deal with the relative effects of multi-year voyages and a high fraction of light speed. Thus our protagonist gets back to Earth in what seems like a year or so (thanks to the effects of light speed and cryogenic sleep) but 20 years have passed.

The world is totally different...they can understand most of the language, the people seem like they're from another planet....

or is it the Marines?

So....the powers that be launch the Marines off on another voyage.

This is a good book. The Earth is frustrating. The Brass and their actions are also frustrating and the Marines are pretty true to actual service-people (okay I was Army, but this is science fiction. I just mean they are believable).

I can recommend this one and also the one before it. Enjoy. These are good military action in space books. Some will find them a bit simplistic and I'm not sure how well they will please the reader looking for a "truly hard science fiction" read. That said, a touch of space opera, a touch of Gung Ho, some good action and a contact with alien race story all in one.

[Ric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jumped right to this after finishing book 1 in the series on Scribd. I enjoyed the geeky approach to the genre, where each weapon, vehicle, armament, even strategy, is explained in gory technical minutiae. The science fictional elements are also quite engaging - the numina or some form of mental internet, the gateway built on two rotating black holes, the link to ancient Sumerian records of alien enslavers, the aliens and their environs, none glossed over and each treated with OCD-like attention to detail. Perhaps, I am just easily entertained, because the rest of the narrative is a gung-ho, testosterone-laced romp through space battles promoting the glory of Marines and all things Marine-diose. This aspect of the novel made its narrative predictable, one knew as sure as one can shout 'Hoorah!' who would win out in the end.

I would have to classify the Legacy Trilogy as a guilty-pleasure series, one that I should dislike on principle, but still absolutely enjoy. It feeds that inner geek. Recommended for those who enjoy military SF, though the military part of the story is pretty linear and derivative, and of course for any SF geek.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book in the Legacy Trilogy by Ian Douglas. This is another great example of Military Science Fiction. In this one the Marines are once again called upon to deploy to another star system. They have just returned from a 20 year deployment (objective time). They are sent on another deployment to investigate the possible destruction of another Marine spaceship by what is probably a Hunter's Of The Dawn ship. When they arrive at their destination, which is the star Sirius, they find a "Star Gate" inhabited by another race, the N'mah, who have also visited Earth in it's distant past. They inform the Earth command that the star gate is in fact controlled by the Hunter's Of The Dawn and they know that the Earth has survived their last attack thousands of years ago. The Marines engage the Hunter's spaceship and they mush try to capture or destroy it and they must try to destroy the star gate to prevent the Hunter's from attacking Earth. This one is action packed and I recommend it to fans of Military Science Fiction and fans of Ian Douglas.

[elidemelnibone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alors que la terre traverse encore une période troublée par des catastrophes écologiques et des conflits armés, je ré-embarque avec les Marines, direction Sirius (ouf je n'ai pas à passer par la mise en hibernation), et c'est un premier contact avec les Alien N'Mah, ça chauffe avant de discuter. Il y a aussi le passage d'où menacent les mystérieux Xul, destructeurs de civilisations. J'aime bien ce mélange d'action militaire (même si c'est techniquement compliqué et je ne comprends pas tout en anglais) et l'élargissement de l'espace où évoluent les humains, ainsi que les rencontres avec les Alien. Je vais passer sans pause au livre 3 de cette trilogie.

[Gilles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Battlespace, le deuxième livre de la trilogie "The Legacy trilogy", une série de science-fiction militaire, par le talentueux Ian Douglas, pseudonyme de William H. Keith. Suite à des découvertes archéologiques, une expédition est envoyée vers Sirius, un voyage d'environ 10 ans. Lors de son arrivée, elle découvre ce qui ressemble à une immense artefact, qui pourrait être un genre de porte des étoiles. Quelque temps après, un vaisseau imposant sort de l'artefact et semble se diriger vers le vaisseau terrien. Puis..., on perd la communication avec le vaisseau terrien.
On prépare une flotte de secours, mais on a peu d'espoir de trouver des survivants, surtout après 20 ans de délai, mais les corporations et les gouvernements salivent en pensant aux technologies avancées qu'ils pourraient trouver.
Après l'entrainement de rigueur, c'est le départ. Mais, à leur arrivée, ils sont attaqués. La technologie des assaillants est avancée, mais, heureusement, leurs tactiques militaires ne sont pas des plus efficaces.

On découvre une nouvelle race extraterrestre et, bien sûr, les marines sont mis à contribution ainsi que les vaisseaux de guerre et leurs chasseurs.
De l'action à revendre et on ajoute le space opera à la science-fiction militaire. L'auteur sait raconter une histoire et a le talent de nous présenter la technologie utilisée de façon plausible.
Pour les amateurs de space opera et de science-fiction militaire.
J'ai beaucoup aimé.

[Harmen de Jong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ergens bij Sirius zweeft een groot rad, een ruimtestation. Het is opgebouwd uit resten van zwarte gaten. Het is door iemand gebouwd om zonder tijdverlies naar alle plekken in het universum te kunnen reizen, mits er maar een tegenstation is. De eerste menselijke expeditie wordt door een goudkleurig ruimteschip vernietigd. Een tweede expeditie start, maar nu met meer schepen en mariniers. Het blijkt dat het station bewoont is, en natuurlijk ontbrandt er een strijd, die in een impasse eindigt. Er wordt vrede gesloten met het bewonende ras. Zij blijken de nazaten van van het ras dat als laatste de aarde bezocht. Ook zij zijn vernietigd door de 'Jagers van het begin'. Deze jagers gebruiken het station nog steeds, zij speuren actief naar alle rassen die ruimtevaart ontwikkelen en vernietigen deze. Er komt er één door de poort, de menselijke vloot ziet kans dit schip te vernietigen.
Aardig is hoe beschreven wordt dat de computers geheel met de hersenen vervlochten raken. Ook kunstmatige intelligenties zijn heel gewoon. Een ander probleem dat aangepakt moet worden, is dat van het tijdverschil. Ruimtevaarders die terugkomen, kennen de aarde nauwelijks meer. Er ontstaat een derde categorie burgers met geprotocolleerde spraak.

[BobA707 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: Hard core military SF, the marines vs aliens with space flight thrown in, politics and corporate greed etc. All good stuff with the good guys coming through. Coming of age as well. Friendly aliens and nasty aliens

Plotline: Pretty straight forward plot with the marines doing what they are supposed to

Premise: Lots of interesting concepts, with a major technology imbalance (humans being the wrong side)

Writing: Not bad the reader is right their in the action

Ending: All good

Pace: Never a dull moment!

[Riley Rabuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another love letter to the Marine Corps, but this one wasted less time and sunk deeper into philosophical topics facing active duty service members today. This includes losing touch with society, human life vs a mission, and fighting a misunderstood enemy just to name a few.

[Josephine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting not spectacular a nice read.

[Whiskeyjack · Rating 2 out of 5]

More of the same, both the good and the bad.

[Kasey Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

5

[Ricardo F · Rating 4 out of 5]

The combat was not as good as the first, fairly limited and occurring in an unusual environment that limited the action. It was nice to continue the story of John Garroway and 1MEU.

[Chidi Okonkwo · Rating 4 out of 5]

All right, I've already written lengthy reviews for Book 1 and Book 3 in this Trilogy [I purchased all of them from Borders Bookstore some time ago, long before they shut down]. And out of the three books, this was the one that I enjoyed the least. Yes, it was very well written and the author honors his character's legacy by continuing to follow the lineage of the Garroways, a military family.

The concepts of relativistic time-passage in space due to traveling at extremely high velocities across the disparate Star Systems is explored in a unique way. And when Marine Officer Garroway and his crew return from an interstellar mission, [which took place previously in Book 1], they suddenly become "young-looking-old-people": the Earth has aged for over 20 years, so their civilian peers are much older and there are a host of new technologies, new governments, new trends and the like. The returning US Marines feel like foreigners in their own land, amidst a culture that has literally left them behind. Fights ensue between them and civilians when they are off duty, while they struggle to fit into the thriving modern society. Thus, when the option for another mission to Battlespace arrives on the scene, the Marines are quite content to head out into the depths of stars, feeling like they have nothing to loose, and nothing left behind that they really cherish that much.

Fans of Hard Core Military sci fi will enjoy this book, which could almost be categorized as a sci fi thriller per the suspense initiated by the author, as he shrouds the unknown alien enemy until the last quarter of the book - although I felt that the pacing was a bit sluggish, and I desired a bit more character development. Anyway, it is still a story worth adding to your collection, especially if you enjoy rather patriotic tales with a lot of technical descriptions for the speculative quantum theories and advanced gadgets utilized by the Space Marines.

[Zachary Wagoner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Battlespace, is the second book of the Legacy Trilogy. It can also be thought of as being the fifth book of the Marines series, written by Ian Douglas. This book continues with several characters we know from Star Corps and adds a few more who have ties to lineages of Marines going back to the Heritage Trilogy.

The Marines have returned to Earth after their victory over the alien An. Having spent over 20 years away, the men and women of the MIEU find themselves out of place at home. Fortunately (for us, the readers) there is trouble in the Sirius system. A ship sent to explore the system disappeared after discovering a star gate and a technologically advanced space ship. Thus, with the Earth wanting answers, the Marines are sent on another 20 year round trip out from Earth.

As seen in the previous books, we get to continue following the actions of Marines who have ancestors in the previous trilogy. Garroway, Warhurst, and Ramsey. They are joined by some new characters sporting familiar surnames. Alexander, whose ancestor was an archaeologist in the previous series. There is also Lee, who shares common ancestors with John Garroway. Part of the joy of this series is finding the links these characters have with previous characters.

Now, the recommendation. If you have read the previous books, then continuing with this one is a must. If you have not, I suggest starting way back with Semper Mars and working your way here. Doing so will net you a more enjoyable reading experience than hopping in at the middle. However, if you do pick this up and don't want to read what comes before, there won't be much problem in following what is going on in the story. This one is a good read.

[Andreas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is book two of the sequel trilogy to the exciting Heritage Trilogy. Set a hundred years further in the future, the books flesh out the backstory significantly and satisfyingly. The Marine Corps focused action remains, improved if anything. Douglas (a pen name for William H. Keith) writes about battles, troops and equipment with a gritty and realistic tone.

Battlespace

After a ten year voyage back to Earth, the Marines are sent out again. Their twenty year absence has led to significant problems interacting with society, somewhat similar to what happens in Haldeman’s “The Forever War“. This time, the mission involves securing an alien stargate in the Sirius system, thought to be used by the “Hunters of the Dawn”, a very advanced race that destroys any life that could threaten it. At the gate, the Marines encounter another race, the Oannans/N’mah, which has been fleeing from and fighting the Hunters of the Dawn for millenia. After initial violence due to misunderstading, an alliance is formed.

While the “Marines rule” theme in these books can sometimes be a bit heavy handed, this is quality military SciFi. The back story, only hinted at in the Heritage Trilogy, is fully fleshed out and well imagined.

http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=650

[Darrell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tossed up on giving two or three stars for this book. I have generally liked these series so far but this book was certainly the least interesting of them with the first half being rather boring. Mostly just too much of the same old same old back on Earth. A century has passed and the exact same issues are still being used as the background on why Earth is becoming a mess. Its getting old and not being handled as well as it had been in earlier books in the series.
The last third of the story did lift , with contact made at the destination for the Marine Expeditionary Force. Some decent limited space engagement and marine landing with some non-violent resolution avenues thrown in. So I was ready to dive into the next book at the end.

[Steven Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was another interesting book in this series. I like how the author blends ancient mythology with aliens. Some of the religious nut jobs might not like the suggestion that it was aliens, not some all-powerful deity that gave civilization to man. The idea that an alien species tinkered with the humans genome, resulting in Homo Sapiens, rather than evolution or creation is bound to piss off both camps of beliefs.

[Kevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Seriously, why do these cool setups have to be weighed down by Douglas’ unrestrained love for all things green? These books thrive on science and warfare but not on characters, unfortunately. These books follow a single family across the centuries, but all of the descendants are pretty interchangeable, to be honest. I like how intergalactic this series is getting though. The wormhole stuff is neat, and I like the new amphibious aliens.

[Calisto · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again, entertaining, but lacking in depth. There is a lot of time spent on the science and the political aspects, but as interesting as they are, the lack of character development becomes glaringly obvious and a definite weakness in the overall story. So I'd call this space opera lite. It's like cotton candy, fun, but lacking any substance.

[Ralph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very exciting continuation of the series. The first part of the book was a little slow but the last two-thirds or so was excellent and had plenty of twists to keep the pages turning.

[Ralph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very exciting continuation of the series. The first part of the book was a little slow but the last two-thirds or so was excellent and had plenty of twists to keep the pages turning.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story just keeps getting better and better

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

urggggghhhhhhh so damn good!

[Amloid Mesa · Rating 3 out of 5]

not as good
as the first but still good series

[James Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book 2 in the series. A bit more technical than the first but still really action packed with great sci fi!

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second in the series from a King of military science fiction. Good pace, great narrative, and a compelling continuing story line that emotionally invests you in the characters.

[Chuck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good. This is the second time I've read it. Good action without being too technical.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I look forward to book 3.