What do you think?
Rate this book
The Phoenix Conspiracy #3
The Phoenix Crisis
A storm is brewing. Eager war fleets patrol the edges of human space, waiting.
The leaders of the Phoenix Conspiracy are poised to usher in The Hour of Ascension. And it is up to Calvin to expose the conspiracy before the Empire collapses in a firestorm of civil war.
Deadly isotome weapons remain at large, forces across every border are arming for war, and now even the monarchy itself is threatened by the chaos. From the blood-soaked soil of Renora, where the very strength of the Empire is tested, to the political maneuverings of the Imperial Assembly, the stability that once safeguarded human-kind is now merely a memory.
Meanwhile the deadliest assassin in the galaxy lurks in the shadows, ready to change the course of history—if his god wills it. And Shen's life hangs by a thread.
The leaders of the Phoenix Conspiracy are poised to usher in The Hour of Ascension. And it is up to Calvin to expose the conspiracy before the Empire collapses in a firestorm of civil war.
Deadly isotome weapons remain at large, forces across every border are arming for war, and now even the monarchy itself is threatened by the chaos. From the blood-soaked soil of Renora, where the very strength of the Empire is tested, to the political maneuverings of the Imperial Assembly, the stability that once safeguarded human-kind is now merely a memory.
Meanwhile the deadliest assassin in the galaxy lurks in the shadows, ready to change the course of history—if his god wills it. And Shen's life hangs by a thread.
359 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 23, 2012
70 people are currently reading
259 people want to read
About the author
Richard L. Sanders
9 books84 followersI’m a 26 year old law student with a B.S. in Economics from the University of Utah. I grew up on Star Wars and Star Trek and all of that fun stuff. I’ve been writing stories since I was able to hold a pencil and have always loved escaping into books. In the real world I enjoy the beautiful outdoors (camping, hiking, climbing, swimming, all of that) and have recently gotten into skiing. I also love a good game of chess every now and then.
I cite Orson Scott Card and J.K. Rowling as my primary influences, however there are others (Roddenberry, etc.) who’ve clearly influenced me and the list of those deserving credit is, I’m sure, far longer than I could possibly guess.
Copied from http://www.richardlsanders.com/
I cite Orson Scott Card and J.K. Rowling as my primary influences, however there are others (Roddenberry, etc.) who’ve clearly influenced me and the list of those deserving credit is, I’m sure, far longer than I could possibly guess.
Copied from http://www.richardlsanders.com/
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
September 26, 2019
Strong lasting quality
Normally I do not like series..after being burned several times because ones I had invested hours into reading were never completed. This series has grabbed my attention and won't let go. It keeps the pressure on and the action is strong/descriptive. I love the subplots that slip in when you think you found a slow moment. Read it. You won't regret it.
Normally I do not like series..after being burned several times because ones I had invested hours into reading were never completed. This series has grabbed my attention and won't let go. It keeps the pressure on and the action is strong/descriptive. I love the subplots that slip in when you think you found a slow moment. Read it. You won't regret it.
March 14, 2018
Freedom then fight for their lives!
Another action pack sitting on the edge your seat read! Very suspenseful thriller! Great read for preteens, teens, young adults, men and yes women too! Now I'm of to book 3 can't wait to see what will happen next!
Another action pack sitting on the edge your seat read! Very suspenseful thriller! Great read for preteens, teens, young adults, men and yes women too! Now I'm of to book 3 can't wait to see what will happen next!
February 18, 2018
Book 3
Book 3 was a fun read and had errors throughout. The plot has become increasingly dire and intense with book 3. The overall characters have grown and evolved well and I look forward to book 4.
Book 3 was a fun read and had errors throughout. The plot has become increasingly dire and intense with book 3. The overall characters have grown and evolved well and I look forward to book 4.
October 7, 2019
Intense and exciting
Well written continuation of the imaginative story of political intrigue and galactic battles between humans and multiple species in a distant future. Great read.
Well written continuation of the imaginative story of political intrigue and galactic battles between humans and multiple species in a distant future. Great read.
December 13, 2019
ROse
I enjoyed this continuing saga. Reading what the characters have been up to and following their conflicting encounters has been an amazing experience. Can't wait to see what happens next.
I enjoyed this continuing saga. Reading what the characters have been up to and following their conflicting encounters has been an amazing experience. Can't wait to see what happens next.
February 3, 2020
Great SciFi battle
The story really keeps you on the edge of your seat. Excellent story line and characters. A little fighting, a little girl watching, a little more fighting, with humor thrown in here and there. Good job! Would recommend this easily.
The story really keeps you on the edge of your seat. Excellent story line and characters. A little fighting, a little girl watching, a little more fighting, with humor thrown in here and there. Good job! Would recommend this easily.
December 24, 2020
Layers of conspiracy.
A sort of military thriller/ sci fi. A powerful human empire is being faced with enemies within and without. In some ways this is like ww1 , nobody feels any commitment to peace or diplomacy.
A sort of military thriller/ sci fi. A powerful human empire is being faced with enemies within and without. In some ways this is like ww1 , nobody feels any commitment to peace or diplomacy.
December 30, 2019
Another great addition to the series
The Saga continues to unfold while in the background pressure and tension continue to build and uncertainty expands. The game is changing.
The Saga continues to unfold while in the background pressure and tension continue to build and uncertainty expands. The game is changing.
July 7, 2020
Brilliant
July 27, 2020
Reading more and more as this story progresses.
The pace never lessens, edge of seat most of the time.
The pace never lessens, edge of seat most of the time.
February 28, 2013
The Phoenix Crisis, Richard L. Sanders
With his ship in tatters and his crew worked to the brink of exhaustion, Lieutenant Commander Calvin Cross is forced to make a difficult choice as the Nighthawk limps through alteredspace. Does he do as asked and rendezvous with Raiden, his scrupulous contact in the Organisation responsible for resisting the elusive Phoenix Ring, or does he meet with Princess Kalila Akira as his duty to the Empire demands? Both have requested that he meets with them urgently and both claim that the fate of the Empire is in their hands.
But even as Calvin struggles to decide, he knows that he doesn’t have much time. The situation on Renora is worsening by the day and the death toll is rapidly climbing into the millions as its people starve and rebel against the King’s relief troops, blaming them for the situation befalling them. Calvin knows that the conflict is all part of the Phoenix Ring’s grand scheme to destabilise the throne however, which, as a human terrorist attack on a Rotham world causes interstellar outrage, could prove the downfall of the Empire as it needs a strong king now more than it ever has.
Written with pages packed full of action and intrigue, The Phoenix Crisis is Richard L. Sanders’ best novel yet and is certainly the best instalment of The Phoenix Conspiracy series to date. It is exciting right from the off and Sanders does a great job in describing the seriousness of the conspiracy that Calvin is so desperately trying to expose, which adds an urgency to the book knowing that so many lives are at stake just for a small number of peoples’ political gain.
I would certainly recommend reading The Phoenix Crisis to any fan of science fiction then, and would recommend that you give the overall series a go if you haven’t already (beginning with The Phoenix Conspiracy).
With his ship in tatters and his crew worked to the brink of exhaustion, Lieutenant Commander Calvin Cross is forced to make a difficult choice as the Nighthawk limps through alteredspace. Does he do as asked and rendezvous with Raiden, his scrupulous contact in the Organisation responsible for resisting the elusive Phoenix Ring, or does he meet with Princess Kalila Akira as his duty to the Empire demands? Both have requested that he meets with them urgently and both claim that the fate of the Empire is in their hands.
But even as Calvin struggles to decide, he knows that he doesn’t have much time. The situation on Renora is worsening by the day and the death toll is rapidly climbing into the millions as its people starve and rebel against the King’s relief troops, blaming them for the situation befalling them. Calvin knows that the conflict is all part of the Phoenix Ring’s grand scheme to destabilise the throne however, which, as a human terrorist attack on a Rotham world causes interstellar outrage, could prove the downfall of the Empire as it needs a strong king now more than it ever has.
Written with pages packed full of action and intrigue, The Phoenix Crisis is Richard L. Sanders’ best novel yet and is certainly the best instalment of The Phoenix Conspiracy series to date. It is exciting right from the off and Sanders does a great job in describing the seriousness of the conspiracy that Calvin is so desperately trying to expose, which adds an urgency to the book knowing that so many lives are at stake just for a small number of peoples’ political gain.
I would certainly recommend reading The Phoenix Crisis to any fan of science fiction then, and would recommend that you give the overall series a go if you haven’t already (beginning with The Phoenix Conspiracy).
August 28, 2015
This is the third book in The Phoenix Conspiracy series. I am hooked on it because of the strong blend of science-fiction/mystery and the straight-forward writing style.
Captain Calvin Cross of the renegade stealth ship, the Nighthawk, is torn between choosing a meeting with Raidan of the obscure Organisation or Princess Kalila, and he can only choose one of them because the rendezvous for each meeting is too far apart. Both profess to have vital information that needs to be divulged to Calvin personally.
The Phoenix Crisis ventures outside of the comfort zone of the Nighthawk and successfully manages to keep the plot structure consistent. I initially wasn’t very interested in the new characters: Zane, Blackmoth, or the other characters of the Phoenix Ring. However, their parts in the overall story grew in significance and did recapture my imagination. And although I think Captain Nimoux’s deductions are a bit too coincidental, I do like the idea of a renowned intelligence operative and wanted him in more after his last scene. Despite these minor flaws, I was enthralled to see a reopening of thrilling action scenes and complex sub-investigations that relate to ships in the previous stories. The final four or five chapters are nothing short of sensational, and are very well written. The darker element in this series continues to return, which I also like.
Overall, this third book is a tremendous continuation of the series, and rounds up the factions and plots very clearly. The mystery, action, realistic characters, and excitement make this series a must for science-fiction space-opera fans. I will be reading The Phoenix War!
Captain Calvin Cross of the renegade stealth ship, the Nighthawk, is torn between choosing a meeting with Raidan of the obscure Organisation or Princess Kalila, and he can only choose one of them because the rendezvous for each meeting is too far apart. Both profess to have vital information that needs to be divulged to Calvin personally.
The Phoenix Crisis ventures outside of the comfort zone of the Nighthawk and successfully manages to keep the plot structure consistent. I initially wasn’t very interested in the new characters: Zane, Blackmoth, or the other characters of the Phoenix Ring. However, their parts in the overall story grew in significance and did recapture my imagination. And although I think Captain Nimoux’s deductions are a bit too coincidental, I do like the idea of a renowned intelligence operative and wanted him in more after his last scene. Despite these minor flaws, I was enthralled to see a reopening of thrilling action scenes and complex sub-investigations that relate to ships in the previous stories. The final four or five chapters are nothing short of sensational, and are very well written. The darker element in this series continues to return, which I also like.
Overall, this third book is a tremendous continuation of the series, and rounds up the factions and plots very clearly. The mystery, action, realistic characters, and excitement make this series a must for science-fiction space-opera fans. I will be reading The Phoenix War!
January 24, 2016
Better than the last book, but there are so many minor grammatical errors, spelling mistakes etc. which gets a bit wearing after a while. I'm pleased to see that some of the corrections I'd reported via the kindle edition have now been marked as 'processed'. Hopefully some of these will make it into a future edition so that new readers won't have so many mistakes to wade through.
I'm really enjoying the plot in these books, but my biggest gripe is that the author seems to drag out the story lot by re-telling what's just happened in the thoughts of the characters (generally Calvin cross) without actually adding any new conclusions of insights. It's like the singing in Lord Of The Rings; After a while you just start skipping over it.
I'm really enjoying the plot in these books, but my biggest gripe is that the author seems to drag out the story lot by re-telling what's just happened in the thoughts of the characters (generally Calvin cross) without actually adding any new conclusions of insights. It's like the singing in Lord Of The Rings; After a while you just start skipping over it.
February 8, 2013
Another fantastic entry in the Phoenix series. Crisis makes significant stylistic changes from the previous two books and proves that Sanders can adapt. Crisis is a fast-paced action novel that builds off of the story set up in the previous two books. Sanders excels at building his characters and resolving long-standing questions in a way that makes it clear he knows where the series is going. The Phoenix series is definitely a story worth telling. I'm excited to read the next two books in the series and see where Calvin's story ends.
September 30, 2013
This is the third book in Richard L.Sanders' Phoenix series, and like the previous two my biggest complaint is that he really needs a good editor to go through the work before publishing; the spelling and grammar mistakes get annoying after a while. But beyond that the story is still interesting and is starting to add layers to the conspiracy at the heart of the story. It is a fairly light fun read, similar to what you would find with a Star Trek or Star Wars novel; there is nothing here that is truly mind blowing or unique to the sci-fi genre, but still worth a read.
July 31, 2014
This is a short review. The book is well written, the story captivates you right until the end then a massive plot turn happens out of the blue. This doesn't normally bother me, but with this particular series it happens all too often.
I've already bought book #4 the Pheonix War, if it doesn't have an ending to the current story I'll stop reading - you can only have so many plot turns before you start thinking the books you read before were a waste of time.
I've already bought book #4 the Pheonix War, if it doesn't have an ending to the current story I'll stop reading - you can only have so many plot turns before you start thinking the books you read before were a waste of time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 19, 2013
Summary: Another chaotic, fast and furious, but very enjoyable space opera romp.
Plotline: One layer of conspiracy is pealed away to reveal another below ... need to wait for the next book.
Premise: A bit unbelievable, but ok.
Writing: Chaotic, but entertaining
Ending: Good, but another book to come thats not written yet. Damn.
Pace: Fasty and furious
Plotline: One layer of conspiracy is pealed away to reveal another below ... need to wait for the next book.
Premise: A bit unbelievable, but ok.
Writing: Chaotic, but entertaining
Ending: Good, but another book to come thats not written yet. Damn.
Pace: Fasty and furious
June 13, 2013
A continuation of excellent world-building by Richard Sanders, the inevitable CONclusion failed to materialize, the setup of the ending did not follow, our hero ignored obvious resources and situations that would have brought the story to a satisfactory conclusion.
I was upset by the non-ending as though the author was trying to milk this story for another volume (or more).
I was upset by the non-ending as though the author was trying to milk this story for another volume (or more).
October 7, 2013
The third book in the series that just keeps getting better and shows no sign of slowing down. This book was heavier on the political action then on actual space combat but still had me sitting on the edge of my seat wondering that was coming next.
I highly recommend this series to anyone.
I highly recommend this series to anyone.
January 19, 2016
Far too wordy and dragged on
This iteration in the series was far to wordy and dragged on. Several time the reader is disengaged because of no relevant backfill for irrelevant character development.
This iteration in the series was far to wordy and dragged on. Several time the reader is disengaged because of no relevant backfill for irrelevant character development.
December 16, 2013
Sanders weaves a compelling tale, creates compelling characters, and knows how to make a cliff hanger for the next novel. Well worth reading.
August 12, 2014
spelling and grammatical errors are distracting but the story is addicting.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews