What do you think?
Rate this book
Lacuna #3
Lacuna: The Spectre of Oblivion
The words of a construct, an artificial mind, ring truer than ever. Humanity has angered a powerful foe and cannot weather the growing storm. The Toralii are coming.
But instead of warships, the Toralii Alliance send an ambassador to the Sol system. The message it brings is a startling, marked departure from all other contact with the species... and one that heralds a shift in the balance of power in the Milky Way, the most significant in hundreds of years.
The Toralii face a larger threat. A something their ships cannot catch, their weapons cannot touch and gravimetric interference cannot stop. The Toralii, for the first time in centuries, know the crushing grip of fear.
The TFR Beijing must face an old enemy, an enemy who has not been idle; an imperfect being whose ambition seems matched only by his capabilities.
Liao's child is born into an era of war and fear, and the spectre of oblivion looms over all mankind.
But instead of warships, the Toralii Alliance send an ambassador to the Sol system. The message it brings is a startling, marked departure from all other contact with the species... and one that heralds a shift in the balance of power in the Milky Way, the most significant in hundreds of years.
The Toralii face a larger threat. A something their ships cannot catch, their weapons cannot touch and gravimetric interference cannot stop. The Toralii, for the first time in centuries, know the crushing grip of fear.
The TFR Beijing must face an old enemy, an enemy who has not been idle; an imperfect being whose ambition seems matched only by his capabilities.
Liao's child is born into an era of war and fear, and the spectre of oblivion looms over all mankind.
- GenresScience Fiction
248 pages, Paperback
First published December 18, 2012
16 people are currently reading
69 people want to read
About the author
David Adams
54 books74 followersI've always been writing in my mind. I have way, way, way too many stories to tell and far too little time to tell them.
I've been involved in Star Trek roleplay-by-emails for a few years, where basically I learned my craft, but it's only last year that I actually started putting these thoughts to paper.
By day I'm a software engineer. But by night I write a little science fiction, a little fantasy, a little humour and comedy, and a little erotica under pen names.
I've been involved in Star Trek roleplay-by-emails for a few years, where basically I learned my craft, but it's only last year that I actually started putting these thoughts to paper.
By day I'm a software engineer. But by night I write a little science fiction, a little fantasy, a little humour and comedy, and a little erotica under pen names.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 31, 2013
With the Lacuna books, you pretty well know what to expect going in. This installment didn't disappoint. I think my biggest problem with this book was that the main character makes some major errors in judgment while being portrayed as pretty darn smart. Without going into plot spoilers, she dismisses a couple of serious events as nothing more than minor problems. In my military experience, good commanders rarely chalk up unexpected events as "oh well" things.
On the up side, I definitely enjoyed the thrill ride provided by this story. I look forward to the next installment!
On the up side, I definitely enjoyed the thrill ride provided by this story. I look forward to the next installment!
July 15, 2017
Surprises never stop.
Impressive ability to surprise and engage the reader. Headed for the next book in the series immediately. Love the characters and feel like I know them.
Impressive ability to surprise and engage the reader. Headed for the next book in the series immediately. Love the characters and feel like I know them.
September 16, 2018
3.5 stars. Something of a redemption of the bad second book, with interesting interplay between various factions and better prose. I suppose I’ll keep reading the series, eventually.
May 11, 2015
A wonderful find!
If I hadn't stumbled on Lacuna, the first book, and downloaded it as a 'freebie' I would have missed some wonderful sci-fi reads from a new author. At least new to me. I have really loved the new writers that I've found this way and David Adams is among them. I am a lifetime fan of sci-fi and the field has so many good new authors that I can't keep up. Laguna is a great series that fills the need for action, military battles, technology breakthroughs but - and this is important - it has true, ongoing plots and characters that you want to get to know and to follow book after book. I enjoy the action/battles/struggles but too often it seems that the characters are there as window dressing for the military battles and detailed plans. This, the stories that are about people, about the wonderful things that humans do and discover as we move to the stars, this is where the heart lives and keeps coming back to. So thanks for sharing. Now, however, pet peeves: Page #s matter! I am miffed when an author doesn't make the effort to include them and even more so when the first book has #s but not the ones,that follow. I laugh when I see an initial description of a book that includes 'Real Page Numbers'! They have become so rare that now they are viewed as some sort of elite delicacy used to whet our reading/purchasing appetite. Unfair! As readers I don't think it's right that we can't simply expect them to be there - just like in a 'real' book. Authors need to man-up on this. Also, books are not cheap, paper or not, and I would like to know that I'm getting my fair share before it ends and I have to buy the next one to keep going. I prefer books that are 300 pages minimum and more. Yes I know page count doesn't equal quality but I do think in this highly competitive field that quality + quantity = reader satisfaction and loyalty. I don't really want a quick read. I want to immerse myself in this author's world and stay awhile before I need to move to the next book. I find it hard to believe there isn't enough material to expand on. Thanks for listening. Keep writing and I'll keep reading.
If I hadn't stumbled on Lacuna, the first book, and downloaded it as a 'freebie' I would have missed some wonderful sci-fi reads from a new author. At least new to me. I have really loved the new writers that I've found this way and David Adams is among them. I am a lifetime fan of sci-fi and the field has so many good new authors that I can't keep up. Laguna is a great series that fills the need for action, military battles, technology breakthroughs but - and this is important - it has true, ongoing plots and characters that you want to get to know and to follow book after book. I enjoy the action/battles/struggles but too often it seems that the characters are there as window dressing for the military battles and detailed plans. This, the stories that are about people, about the wonderful things that humans do and discover as we move to the stars, this is where the heart lives and keeps coming back to. So thanks for sharing. Now, however, pet peeves: Page #s matter! I am miffed when an author doesn't make the effort to include them and even more so when the first book has #s but not the ones,that follow. I laugh when I see an initial description of a book that includes 'Real Page Numbers'! They have become so rare that now they are viewed as some sort of elite delicacy used to whet our reading/purchasing appetite. Unfair! As readers I don't think it's right that we can't simply expect them to be there - just like in a 'real' book. Authors need to man-up on this. Also, books are not cheap, paper or not, and I would like to know that I'm getting my fair share before it ends and I have to buy the next one to keep going. I prefer books that are 300 pages minimum and more. Yes I know page count doesn't equal quality but I do think in this highly competitive field that quality + quantity = reader satisfaction and loyalty. I don't really want a quick read. I want to immerse myself in this author's world and stay awhile before I need to move to the next book. I find it hard to believe there isn't enough material to expand on. Thanks for listening. Keep writing and I'll keep reading.
February 5, 2017
In the "Spectre of Oblivion," author David Adams continues kicking the Lacuna series into high stakes intensity. No matter what the little band of humans do at this point, the Toralii really want to kick their asses. And they have the capability. In the previous novel, with the help of "construct" Ben, an artificial intelligence Commander Melissa Liao and her crew rescued from the sands of Karathi, the ship Beijing obliterated the Alliance's notorious prison and rescued James Gregoire, captain of the Tehran, the other ship and many of its crew. That really pissed off the powerhouse that has policed the known universes for eons. The cat people want to be in charge of the voidwarp drive to prevent singularities, or black holes, a byproduct of haphazard use of the warp drive. Adams weaves throughout his novels the pluses and minuses of imperial conquest and beyond border policing. Whether it's a reference to the empire upon which the sun never sets or U.S. imperial international policy doesn't really matter. His characters and use of other powers and the effect of draconian tactics to keep what they consider peace definitely made me think of all the different perceptions of conflict. Being Australian, he doesn't have the same perspective Americans have come to think of as normal. And that makes this all the cooler. And it's in this installment that the Toralii reach out to the humans. The consequences have everything to do with the title of this particular book. Not good. And for Liao, heartbreaking.
September 12, 2014
I have one more Lacuna to get through and frankly they're just okay. Again, there are plot issues for me such as the lack of research on military protocols. There's no way after a court martial that the main character Liao would be back to active duty so quickly. There is also the factor of the super powerful mechanical being that no one can seem to defeat; including the aliens with their so called advanced technology that is supposed to be superior to what the humans have.
I still can not sympathize with the main character and again I'm not liking the engineer and her constant swearing every other sentence. Both characters come across as abrasive and more than a little rude. Even the dialogue between them was trying and half the time I found myself more than a little bored while reading the story. I have one more Lacuna book to get through and frankly, I do not have hopes of it being much better. The series seems to be mediocre at best which is disappointing because I love science fiction and thought it sounded interesting. The problem is it didn't quite deliver for me overall and that in itself is disappointing as well.
I still can not sympathize with the main character and again I'm not liking the engineer and her constant swearing every other sentence. Both characters come across as abrasive and more than a little rude. Even the dialogue between them was trying and half the time I found myself more than a little bored while reading the story. I have one more Lacuna book to get through and frankly, I do not have hopes of it being much better. The series seems to be mediocre at best which is disappointing because I love science fiction and thought it sounded interesting. The problem is it didn't quite deliver for me overall and that in itself is disappointing as well.
December 2, 2014
It's great reading just like the other books in this series but still I wonder... what happened to Commodore Vong?!
at first I thought I missed a section, so I re-read 10 or so pages... I didn't... so I checked, rechecked and checked again...
I don't know about other versions of this book but I read it in digital version, via the "google books store" but in this version; somewhere further than halfway the book, there is a section missing...
somehow Commodore Vong got killed during his short visit on Ben's derelict spaceship... Cheung got out with her spacesuit full of blood, apparently Vong's blood... but no mention as to what had happened to him...
nevertheless: great book and looking forward to begin reading the next in line "The ashes of humanity" this evening.
keep up the great work mr. Adams! :-)
at first I thought I missed a section, so I re-read 10 or so pages... I didn't... so I checked, rechecked and checked again...
I don't know about other versions of this book but I read it in digital version, via the "google books store" but in this version; somewhere further than halfway the book, there is a section missing...
somehow Commodore Vong got killed during his short visit on Ben's derelict spaceship... Cheung got out with her spacesuit full of blood, apparently Vong's blood... but no mention as to what had happened to him...
nevertheless: great book and looking forward to begin reading the next in line "The ashes of humanity" this evening.
keep up the great work mr. Adams! :-)
June 14, 2013
Good, can't wait for ashes of humanity!
November 16, 2014
Good read, now on to the next one
Good read with a change up ending. Now on to the next book to see what lies in store for us.
Good read with a change up ending. Now on to the next book to see what lies in store for us.
December 26, 2016
Great series
On to the next one. As the saga continues the more I am hooked. Hope thee thrill continues. More to comr
On to the next one. As the saga continues the more I am hooked. Hope thee thrill continues. More to comr
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews