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Human Reach #1
Through Struggle, the Stars
In 2139, a network of artificial wormholes has allowed humanity to reach nearby stars, where nations fiercely compete to settle new colony worlds. War is imminent between Earth’s top powers, China and Japan, for reasons that no one entirely understands.
Neil Mercer, a freshly commissioned officer in the United States Space Force, is assigned to shepherd a senior spy on a covert mission that risks drawing America into the conflict. In a story featuring high adventure, interstellar intrigue and some of the most scientifically realistic space combat depicted in fiction, Neil and his comrades must face difficult questions about duty, citizenship and national interest as they struggle to discover why the war threatens to engulf every nation on Earth.
Neil Mercer, a freshly commissioned officer in the United States Space Force, is assigned to shepherd a senior spy on a covert mission that risks drawing America into the conflict. In a story featuring high adventure, interstellar intrigue and some of the most scientifically realistic space combat depicted in fiction, Neil and his comrades must face difficult questions about duty, citizenship and national interest as they struggle to discover why the war threatens to engulf every nation on Earth.
429 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 2011
69 people are currently reading
551 people want to read
About the author
John J. Lumpkin
2 books35 followersAbout the Author
John J. Lumpkin was born in 1973 in San Antonio, Texas, and educated at Texas Christian University, and lately at the University of Colorado at Boulder. A former national security reporter for the Associated Press, his experience includes covering 9-11, walking the halls of CIA headquarters, and racing through Baghdad and Kabul in military convoys. He may also be the only person who has had a drink with both Donald Rumsfeld and Steve-O from Jackass (but, to be clear, not at the same time). Now a writer and teacher, he lives outside of Boulder, Colorado, with his wife Alice and their daughter Charlotte and son Theo. He is working on the third book in the Human Reach series, The Passage of Stars.
John J. Lumpkin was born in 1973 in San Antonio, Texas, and educated at Texas Christian University, and lately at the University of Colorado at Boulder. A former national security reporter for the Associated Press, his experience includes covering 9-11, walking the halls of CIA headquarters, and racing through Baghdad and Kabul in military convoys. He may also be the only person who has had a drink with both Donald Rumsfeld and Steve-O from Jackass (but, to be clear, not at the same time). Now a writer and teacher, he lives outside of Boulder, Colorado, with his wife Alice and their daughter Charlotte and son Theo. He is working on the third book in the Human Reach series, The Passage of Stars.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
September 14, 2021
Not as conservative as the title implies. It is all-military, but it’s the lions-led-by-donkeys variety. It avoids all the grave errors of mil SF: dehumanising the other side, failing to show our protagonists making mistakes, glorifying violence, glorifying leaders.
It is still not cynical enough, even as it shows the imperialism of the American executive and the silly jingoism of more than half the country.
There’s a likeable stodgy moral air to it, maybe Lumpkin’s religion idk.
Recommended to me for its extremely accurate space combat. (Laser frequencies, the rationale for exoskeletons, waste-heat buildup as core tactical problem).
His 2100s are probably not weird enough though. And there are wormholes and some other barely physical conveniences (helium-3 as economical fusion material). Overall it reads as an Exercise, an etude, a slightly hollow extrapolation of a world with some nice archetypes running around inside it.
Many genuinely blamed the Chinese in every respect; to them, America was righteous; if America was in a war, it must be a just war.
It is still not cynical enough, even as it shows the imperialism of the American executive and the silly jingoism of more than half the country.
“I programmed the firing pattern, sent the kinetics into their hull. One hundred and fifty people on the Paltus, right?”
“About that,” Neil nodded.
“They all had mothers and fathers, and my God, Neil, some of them probably had kids! I might have made orphans, just like I was.”
“I helped make them, too.”
“I know,” she said, staring off into space. “We all did. You solved the problem. I fired the weapons. All we can do is fall back on the idea that it’s our duty. We have to trust our officers and commanders, all the way up to the president. All I can tell myself is that it was a necessary act to defend the Constitution and protect the people of the United States. But … I didn’t ever see the people we killed. I suppose that’s different from your experience.”
There’s a likeable stodgy moral air to it, maybe Lumpkin’s religion idk.
“Missile flechettes ripped into the Hangzhou’s CIC, cutting into the weapons consoles and the men and women at them.
Recommended to me for its extremely accurate space combat. (Laser frequencies, the rationale for exoskeletons, waste-heat buildup as core tactical problem).
When the San Jacinto was thrusting – which was most of the time – “down” was toward the drive, giving the ship’s interior a layout like a tower, with multiple, narrow decks. From the crew’s perspective, the ship was perpetually headed up, toward a location above their heads. San Jacinto’s usual cruise thrust was ten milligees and change, enough so something dropped would eventually hit the floor, but below the threshold of providing any sensation of weight?
His 2100s are probably not weird enough though. And there are wormholes and some other barely physical conveniences (helium-3 as economical fusion material). Overall it reads as an Exercise, an etude, a slightly hollow extrapolation of a world with some nice archetypes running around inside it.
January 8, 2013
I was pleasantly surprised by John J. Lumpkin's first novel, Through Struggle, The Stars. I'm normally wary of the sub-genre of
military science fiction
. Many of the more recent titles that I've seen appear on bookshelves aren't very good books at all, titles written by their generally right-wing American authors who were much less interested in the art of writing than they were in creating crude nationalist propaganda. The need for a jihad against Muslims, the amusing fatal decadence inherent in the French (or, more broadly, Europeans), the underhanded cunning of the Chinese, the need for the simpler and more martial mores of the past to replace an immoral liberalism--all these tacks have featured too prominently in too many milSF books I've picked up for me to feel comfortable with the genre. To the author's credit, he did a very good job of avoiding this pitfall of milSF.
Through Struggle, The Stars is set in the starfaring future of 2139, decades after the development and deployment of technologies capable of creating stable wormholes between points in space light-years apart and antimatter-fueled starships capable of transporting wormhole terminuses to distant planetary systems made interstellar travel possible, and after a devastating asteroid impact on Earth gave every countrry capable of mounting interstellar colonization efforts the incentive to do so. Colonies from dozens of different powers are scattered among the nearby stars, different countries' colonies clustering in different areas. China and Japan, apparently the dominant powers on Earth, are also prominent players beyond the Solar System. Of late, these countries have begun to drift towards war. In this dynamic, unsteady environment, newly commissioned American cadet Neil Mercer joins the United States Space Force and catches himself up in the various maneuverings of the United States as it and its leadership bring the United States and its allies into the Sino-Japanese conflict.
To my relief, no one is propagandizing for any country in this novel. Each of the actual and potential combatants have their good sides, but each also has their own flaws. Lumpkin has written a novel where China is probably the biggest power in the world, but it isn't an obviously evil or threatening polity. Military fiction novels where the parties in a conflict are complex are inherently more interesting than ones where contrived conflict is created between Good Guys and the Evil Ones, if only because it makes it possible to sympathize with characters on all side that aren't sockpuppets. Lumpkin deserves to be praised for his even-handedness.
Some of my fellow reviewers have pointed out that the world of 2139 is a world where not much seems to have changed since the early 21st century, politically and otherwise. China is an oligarchy with an expansive sphere of influence on Earth; Britain is an independent American ally outside of an integrated Europe where France seems to be a major player; countries in the global South like Brazil, India, and Mexico seem to be present only in passing, although Iran does make an interesting appearance. Culturally, too, the world of 2139 seems almost too recognizable and contemporary, a certain Hispanicization of the United States aside. These likely anachronisms did stand out to me, although they didn't prevent my enjoyment of the novel.
I also liked the attention that Lumpkin gave to his material universe. Different worlds are not perfectly Earth-like, the colonization of distant exoplanets is a costly venture that isn't universally successful, and attention has been given to the import of the location of different stars in different places. The planetography of some of the worlds visited is paid attention, and the nature of life on said; he even gives multiple explanations for Fermi's paradox. (One of these explanations lies at the root of the Sino-Japanese conflict and the United States' involvement in said.)
The novel is definitely a good first novel, and a worthy one. I'd give it 3.5 stars out of 5. The novel's website points to it being the first novel in a projected series, The Human Reach. I look forward to seeing followups, and to seeing this and other novels on the series on bookshelves. Well done.
I bought my copy of Through Struggle, The Stars from Smashwords for $US 2.99, but the novel is also available from Amazon and other online retailers.
(I was one of four people who reviewed this book for an online challenge. All four are viewable at at
http://james-nicoll.livejournal.com/t...
We all quite liked it.)
Through Struggle, The Stars is set in the starfaring future of 2139, decades after the development and deployment of technologies capable of creating stable wormholes between points in space light-years apart and antimatter-fueled starships capable of transporting wormhole terminuses to distant planetary systems made interstellar travel possible, and after a devastating asteroid impact on Earth gave every countrry capable of mounting interstellar colonization efforts the incentive to do so. Colonies from dozens of different powers are scattered among the nearby stars, different countries' colonies clustering in different areas. China and Japan, apparently the dominant powers on Earth, are also prominent players beyond the Solar System. Of late, these countries have begun to drift towards war. In this dynamic, unsteady environment, newly commissioned American cadet Neil Mercer joins the United States Space Force and catches himself up in the various maneuverings of the United States as it and its leadership bring the United States and its allies into the Sino-Japanese conflict.
To my relief, no one is propagandizing for any country in this novel. Each of the actual and potential combatants have their good sides, but each also has their own flaws. Lumpkin has written a novel where China is probably the biggest power in the world, but it isn't an obviously evil or threatening polity. Military fiction novels where the parties in a conflict are complex are inherently more interesting than ones where contrived conflict is created between Good Guys and the Evil Ones, if only because it makes it possible to sympathize with characters on all side that aren't sockpuppets. Lumpkin deserves to be praised for his even-handedness.
Some of my fellow reviewers have pointed out that the world of 2139 is a world where not much seems to have changed since the early 21st century, politically and otherwise. China is an oligarchy with an expansive sphere of influence on Earth; Britain is an independent American ally outside of an integrated Europe where France seems to be a major player; countries in the global South like Brazil, India, and Mexico seem to be present only in passing, although Iran does make an interesting appearance. Culturally, too, the world of 2139 seems almost too recognizable and contemporary, a certain Hispanicization of the United States aside. These likely anachronisms did stand out to me, although they didn't prevent my enjoyment of the novel.
I also liked the attention that Lumpkin gave to his material universe. Different worlds are not perfectly Earth-like, the colonization of distant exoplanets is a costly venture that isn't universally successful, and attention has been given to the import of the location of different stars in different places. The planetography of some of the worlds visited is paid attention, and the nature of life on said; he even gives multiple explanations for Fermi's paradox. (One of these explanations lies at the root of the Sino-Japanese conflict and the United States' involvement in said.)
The novel is definitely a good first novel, and a worthy one. I'd give it 3.5 stars out of 5. The novel's website points to it being the first novel in a projected series, The Human Reach. I look forward to seeing followups, and to seeing this and other novels on the series on bookshelves. Well done.
I bought my copy of Through Struggle, The Stars from Smashwords for $US 2.99, but the novel is also available from Amazon and other online retailers.
(I was one of four people who reviewed this book for an online challenge. All four are viewable at at
http://james-nicoll.livejournal.com/t...
We all quite liked it.)
May 24, 2017
he tries to bring real sense of reality and war ,but the tech isn't interesting at all .and some of characterization isn't that good
Read
July 8, 2025gute physikalische Darstellung von Weltraumschlachten, alles andere bedürftig
July 15, 2025
Pretty good military SF. This is hard SF with lots of action both in space and on the ground. Some of the characters are perhaps a bit weakly drawn, but the world building is first rate.
Over all, very good for a first book. I went ahead and bought the sequel.
(Side note: This book is available at the usual places. I recommend Smashwords because they give the author a bigger cut and also it avoids the Amazon tax.)
Over all, very good for a first book. I went ahead and bought the sequel.
(Side note: This book is available at the usual places. I recommend Smashwords because they give the author a bigger cut and also it avoids the Amazon tax.)
August 12, 2016
This book excels at describing hard sci-fi space combat and I would highly recommend it for anybody who wants to get an idea what space combat in a realistic universe could look like.
Unfortunately, the rest of the world is less believable. The political vision of the world seems to be more like 50 years into the future with most of the current day power blocks still intact. I found the oppressive Chinese regime especially inappropriate for a vision of a far future earth. The Japanese and Americans get a bit more black and white shades. Likewise, many technological areas asides from space technology (in particular AI) seem curiously under-developed and reduce a bit the technological vision of the world described in the book.
The heroes are ok, although there was nobody exceptionally noteworthy or charismatic to me. The description of the Chinese villains is just sad (power hungry, evil, sadistic, egoistic maniac? check!), which was one of the strongest negative points for me.
In conclusion, read this book if you want to see realistic space combat. Otherwise, it is just an average military sci-fi story.
Unfortunately, the rest of the world is less believable. The political vision of the world seems to be more like 50 years into the future with most of the current day power blocks still intact. I found the oppressive Chinese regime especially inappropriate for a vision of a far future earth. The Japanese and Americans get a bit more black and white shades. Likewise, many technological areas asides from space technology (in particular AI) seem curiously under-developed and reduce a bit the technological vision of the world described in the book.
The heroes are ok, although there was nobody exceptionally noteworthy or charismatic to me. The description of the Chinese villains is just sad (power hungry, evil, sadistic, egoistic maniac? check!), which was one of the strongest negative points for me.
In conclusion, read this book if you want to see realistic space combat. Otherwise, it is just an average military sci-fi story.
September 17, 2011
The characters were a little flat, and the main antagonist was not believable to me, but a lot of good action, pacing, plotting, and scientific accuracy. If you like sci-fi with a harder leaning, it's worth a read.
May 26, 2025
It's a classic tale of a ship at war, with a young man, Neil Mercer, thrown into an escalating crisis. Through tactical intelligence, strategic humility, and a little bit of luck, he manages to offer suggestions to his superiors that keep himself and the tenuous American-Japanese allied forces alive long enough to win the opening stages of the war.
It's a good story, albeit executed in a plodding way. While the true-to-physics space battles are described amazingly well, the plot is solid, and our main character, Neil, is affable enough for the reader to follow, there's a lot in between that bogs the story down.
Specifically for my tastes there simply is too much unnecessary dialog; too much writing around minor character issues which sometimes propel the plot along. Much of the dialog could have easily been condensed into a couple of narrative observations or just left out entirely.
It's not that the conversations were unnatural or poorly written; they simply weren't compelling to me. I think that's where this book might actually shine for other readers, readers who don't mind the small-talk between characters in dialog and see such conversations as insightful, even if they go for a few pages. For me, I prefer to keep things a bit more condensed.
There are a lot of characters having conversations. Overall, they're not bad, if a little flat; Lumpkin gives each character a defining trope (if they are important enough) to follow that he repeats often enough to stick in your mind.
However, with all these characters, the author doesn't do a great job at transitions; he often switches between characters' POVs—especially between those on opposing sides—in the blink of an eye, with no segue, chapter change, or even a dinkus ('* * *'). It can be disconcerting at times when trying to keep up, and I had to back up a few times to make sure I wasn't missing a some plot twist.
While Neil is a good point-of-view character, he's perhaps given too much of that 'too-smart-for-being-young' vibe. Few of the other characters really stand out, or they are stereotypes with twist; most of them exist simply to give Neil either a reason to debate over some quandary or set him up in away to show how smart he is (while still being humble).
The politics of the universe made sense, and the motivations of the off-screen characters, like the President and high-ranking officers were consistent, if a bit cliche. There's a mild plot twist about 3/4 of the way into the book that explained a lot and perhaps would have added a lot more tension in the overall storyline had it been brought up earlier.
But the shining star of the book, by far, were the space battles and the Naval jargon. The language injected a lot of flavor into the meat of the combat scenes, which Lumpkin managed to balance with equal measures of tension and excitement.
Despite my distaste for the profuse small-talk dialog and staccato POV switches, a lot is made up by the the author's great action pieces and the overall world building, just not enough to give it more than three stars.
It's a good story, albeit executed in a plodding way. While the true-to-physics space battles are described amazingly well, the plot is solid, and our main character, Neil, is affable enough for the reader to follow, there's a lot in between that bogs the story down.
Specifically for my tastes there simply is too much unnecessary dialog; too much writing around minor character issues which sometimes propel the plot along. Much of the dialog could have easily been condensed into a couple of narrative observations or just left out entirely.
It's not that the conversations were unnatural or poorly written; they simply weren't compelling to me. I think that's where this book might actually shine for other readers, readers who don't mind the small-talk between characters in dialog and see such conversations as insightful, even if they go for a few pages. For me, I prefer to keep things a bit more condensed.
There are a lot of characters having conversations. Overall, they're not bad, if a little flat; Lumpkin gives each character a defining trope (if they are important enough) to follow that he repeats often enough to stick in your mind.
However, with all these characters, the author doesn't do a great job at transitions; he often switches between characters' POVs—especially between those on opposing sides—in the blink of an eye, with no segue, chapter change, or even a dinkus ('* * *'). It can be disconcerting at times when trying to keep up, and I had to back up a few times to make sure I wasn't missing a some plot twist.
While Neil is a good point-of-view character, he's perhaps given too much of that 'too-smart-for-being-young' vibe. Few of the other characters really stand out, or they are stereotypes with twist; most of them exist simply to give Neil either a reason to debate over some quandary or set him up in away to show how smart he is (while still being humble).
The politics of the universe made sense, and the motivations of the off-screen characters, like the President and high-ranking officers were consistent, if a bit cliche. There's a mild plot twist about 3/4 of the way into the book that explained a lot and perhaps would have added a lot more tension in the overall storyline had it been brought up earlier.
But the shining star of the book, by far, were the space battles and the Naval jargon. The language injected a lot of flavor into the meat of the combat scenes, which Lumpkin managed to balance with equal measures of tension and excitement.
Despite my distaste for the profuse small-talk dialog and staccato POV switches, a lot is made up by the the author's great action pieces and the overall world building, just not enough to give it more than three stars.
October 2, 2022
3/5 liked
Finished with book 1/? in the series.
A decent book with some hard science for space war and space battles.
Disclaimer: My ratings reflect my enjoyment of the book unless stated otherwise. The scale from 1 through 5 is disliked, okay, liked, greatly liked, and loved. The scale is not set with 3 as 'okay' because preserving a normal distribution and "using the whole scale" while reviewing is more important to me than aesthetics (also Goodreads recommends this scale). (webnovels aren't normally distributed, and center closer to 2/5 instead of 3/5. oh well.)
Characters: 2/5 okay
The characters are somehow off. They are varied and they maybe grow, but they really feel dead inside. It is difficult to explain. It feels like major decisions that they make are because the notes sheet for their character says that they are supposed to act that way and not because they are that way. I suppose it is a lack of supporting evidence for their personality. They should be alive in the author's mind, but are not. It's no knock on the author, since this isn't his main job. Also I love the space combat, so this is not the reason I'm reading anyway.
Main character characterization: male, young adult, talented, kind, detached, officer
World: 3/5 liked
There is a great deal of realism in the way the world is set up. The space combat is very satisfying. Ship armaments are novel and believable.
Story: 1-3/5 partially disliked, partially liked
I was here for the space combat. I got it. I also got a lot of story elements driven by mistakes, sometimes mistakes made by the main character. In a character-focused story, this is the norm and is expected. However, in a story like this which seems more about the story of the war and less about having stellar characters that people go on a jouney with, it is rather obtrusive. This leads me to what I dislike: major space battles are won by the enemy making mistakes and the junior officer, the main character, being the one to miraculously spot them and point them out despite being trained as a pilot and not an intelligence officer. It leaves a very bad taste in the mouth. Like seeing a hot dog and biting into it only to find that it's a cattail. It makes what is a fantastic set up for battle into an unexciting exercise. It lacks the impressiveness and edge-of-your-seat qualities of brilliant maneuvers or next-generation weaponry. However, I did like the space combat. Odd, isn't it, to dislike and like. I like it but I dislike that it didn't fulfill its potential.
Overall this is a phenomenal first book for the author, and I selfishly hope that they keep writing so that I can keep reading :)
Finished with book 1/? in the series.
A decent book with some hard science for space war and space battles.
Disclaimer: My ratings reflect my enjoyment of the book unless stated otherwise. The scale from 1 through 5 is disliked, okay, liked, greatly liked, and loved. The scale is not set with 3 as 'okay' because preserving a normal distribution and "using the whole scale" while reviewing is more important to me than aesthetics (also Goodreads recommends this scale). (webnovels aren't normally distributed, and center closer to 2/5 instead of 3/5. oh well.)
Characters: 2/5 okay
The characters are somehow off. They are varied and they maybe grow, but they really feel dead inside. It is difficult to explain. It feels like major decisions that they make are because the notes sheet for their character says that they are supposed to act that way and not because they are that way. I suppose it is a lack of supporting evidence for their personality. They should be alive in the author's mind, but are not. It's no knock on the author, since this isn't his main job. Also I love the space combat, so this is not the reason I'm reading anyway.
Main character characterization: male, young adult, talented, kind, detached, officer
World: 3/5 liked
There is a great deal of realism in the way the world is set up. The space combat is very satisfying. Ship armaments are novel and believable.
Story: 1-3/5 partially disliked, partially liked
I was here for the space combat. I got it. I also got a lot of story elements driven by mistakes, sometimes mistakes made by the main character. In a character-focused story, this is the norm and is expected. However, in a story like this which seems more about the story of the war and less about having stellar characters that people go on a jouney with, it is rather obtrusive. This leads me to what I dislike: major space battles are won by the enemy making mistakes and the junior officer, the main character, being the one to miraculously spot them and point them out despite being trained as a pilot and not an intelligence officer. It leaves a very bad taste in the mouth. Like seeing a hot dog and biting into it only to find that it's a cattail. It makes what is a fantastic set up for battle into an unexciting exercise. It lacks the impressiveness and edge-of-your-seat qualities of brilliant maneuvers or next-generation weaponry. However, I did like the space combat. Odd, isn't it, to dislike and like. I like it but I dislike that it didn't fulfill its potential.
Overall this is a phenomenal first book for the author, and I selfishly hope that they keep writing so that I can keep reading :)
June 23, 2025
➡️ Plot:
The story follows Neil Mercer, a young US Space Force officer, who becomes involved in a covert mission in the midst of an impending conflict between terrestrial powers (China, called Hans, and Japan, Sakis) who have exported their rivalries into space. The plot is not bad, but it's almost an excuse for action (which I don't mind).
However, the novel is heavy on long-winded dialogue, too often irrelevant to the main plot. There are long conversations on side issues that slow down the pace and at times took me out of the story.
➡️ Characters:
The main character is too cool and a bit grey, and the characters in general are a bit flat. The decisions of the protagonist and antagonists seem dictated more by plot necessity than by a well-defined personality. The Chinese antagonists struck me as archetypes, which is at odds with the overall attempt at realism.
➡️ Setting:
What disappointed me most is that, despite being set in 2139 and with humanity colonising planets in other star systems, the society and politics are the same as today. The power blocs, international relations and even the tensions seem to have been copied from the 21st century. Very little imagination on the part of the author in this field. He has moved the date up by more than a century in order to have ships and wormholes, because it was impossible for it to happen any other way in a decade or two, but he's kept the world on pause.
➡️ Final:
I found the ending a bit forced, a bit deux-ex-machina, and with a small part of it being narrated after the event because the protagonist was unconscious. Personally, it bothers me when the climax of the story happens ‘off-camera’ and the reader finds out what's important afterwards. But I was hooked until the end, so it's good.
➡️ The best:
The realism of the space combat and the technical approach are the highlights. If you like well-grounded space battles and military science fiction without propaganda or Manichaeism, you'll find gold here.
In short, a novel with brutal technical realism, magnificent, that proves that you can do hard, very hard science fiction, that makes a fool of ‘The Expanse’ at this point, keeping the action spectacular and exciting. Perfect if you're looking for militaristic realism in space, but may disappoint if you're expecting depth of character or a bolder vision of the future.
The story follows Neil Mercer, a young US Space Force officer, who becomes involved in a covert mission in the midst of an impending conflict between terrestrial powers (China, called Hans, and Japan, Sakis) who have exported their rivalries into space. The plot is not bad, but it's almost an excuse for action (which I don't mind).
However, the novel is heavy on long-winded dialogue, too often irrelevant to the main plot. There are long conversations on side issues that slow down the pace and at times took me out of the story.
➡️ Characters:
The main character is too cool and a bit grey, and the characters in general are a bit flat. The decisions of the protagonist and antagonists seem dictated more by plot necessity than by a well-defined personality. The Chinese antagonists struck me as archetypes, which is at odds with the overall attempt at realism.
➡️ Setting:
What disappointed me most is that, despite being set in 2139 and with humanity colonising planets in other star systems, the society and politics are the same as today. The power blocs, international relations and even the tensions seem to have been copied from the 21st century. Very little imagination on the part of the author in this field. He has moved the date up by more than a century in order to have ships and wormholes, because it was impossible for it to happen any other way in a decade or two, but he's kept the world on pause.
➡️ Final:
I found the ending a bit forced, a bit deux-ex-machina, and with a small part of it being narrated after the event because the protagonist was unconscious. Personally, it bothers me when the climax of the story happens ‘off-camera’ and the reader finds out what's important afterwards. But I was hooked until the end, so it's good.
➡️ The best:
The realism of the space combat and the technical approach are the highlights. If you like well-grounded space battles and military science fiction without propaganda or Manichaeism, you'll find gold here.
In short, a novel with brutal technical realism, magnificent, that proves that you can do hard, very hard science fiction, that makes a fool of ‘The Expanse’ at this point, keeping the action spectacular and exciting. Perfect if you're looking for militaristic realism in space, but may disappoint if you're expecting depth of character or a bolder vision of the future.
September 17, 2024
I wanted to read more books with a focus on hard sci fi space battles. This book came up on a Reddit thread and I gave it a shot. This is Tom Clancy in space (Or at least what I would imagine Tom Clancy to be since I never read a book of his) which is both bad and good. The good was the battles. The tactics and thought process of it all was tons of fun. The main character Neil would give a breakdown on what is happening and factors that need to come into play. It could easily read as endless exposition but the author, John Lumpkin, does a good job maintaining the intensity. It also helps that in space, so many things can go wrong and one mistake can lead to instant death. Now for the bad, the characters. It is hard to write soldiers in a meaningful way. Often, their frame of minds are very similar which is understandable based on their training but that doesn't matter. The characters were flat for the most part and some character development was in place, for the most part, no one was different by the end. Maybe a little jaded but still soldiers. Would read if you really want to experience more hard sci fi space battles.
August 5, 2023
I read this book on a lark, because of recommendations I found online. I was blown away by this hard scifi story. The author did a lot of work getting as many of the details right and keeping the fantasy at minimal levels. The book is also well written from a military perspective, with a lot of considerations on how a war would function in a hard scifi space setting. This also makes the battle scenes quite tense and gripping. The character development suffers a bit, but the main character, Neil, is written enjoyably and grows over the course of the book.
This is a must read for fans of military scifi.
I am fascinated by how a first time author could publish something so good and yet get so little recognition. The third book in the series has yet to be released, despite 10 years passing since the sequel.
This is a must read for fans of military scifi.
I am fascinated by how a first time author could publish something so good and yet get so little recognition. The third book in the series has yet to be released, despite 10 years passing since the sequel.
November 13, 2025
This is a well thought out Hard Military Sci Fi ...Thriller that has the feeling of present 2lst century geo politics time travelled into the future. Its intelligent and thought provoking, the space combat is detailed, brutal, tactical and realistic, it feels like a Tom Clancy thriller mixed with The Expanse but on a larger more fleet command scale.
If you haved played the game Nebulous Fleet Command its like that but more realism, ships flip and burn change vectors and wait for missiles that can take up to 20 minutes to be in range.
If you like The Expanse, Honor Harrington, Theft of Fire, The Dread Empire Falls Trilogy or The Lost Fleet youll love this
If you haved played the game Nebulous Fleet Command its like that but more realism, ships flip and burn change vectors and wait for missiles that can take up to 20 minutes to be in range.
If you like The Expanse, Honor Harrington, Theft of Fire, The Dread Empire Falls Trilogy or The Lost Fleet youll love this
April 6, 2018
Wow.
What a fantastic read. Someone did their science homework before writing this book. I picked it up around noon and was done with it in a few hours, because its a GOOD book.
Great level of hard sci-fi. Incredible detail of military tactics, both from ground/sea/space and the whole involvement of intelligence in warfare.
I cannot recommend this book enough and really hope John continues the trend. I've already burned thru the first half of the Desert of the Stars... the writing is that good.
What a fantastic read. Someone did their science homework before writing this book. I picked it up around noon and was done with it in a few hours, because its a GOOD book.
Great level of hard sci-fi. Incredible detail of military tactics, both from ground/sea/space and the whole involvement of intelligence in warfare.
I cannot recommend this book enough and really hope John continues the trend. I've already burned thru the first half of the Desert of the Stars... the writing is that good.
September 15, 2017
I voluntarily reviewed an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review
This is a world of the future. A world where America isn't a major superpower anymore, but a minor player in a bigger world. It is also a world where America doesn't like her position and has taken certain actions which have led to a war between herself and the other powers that be. The story is full of political intrigue, war, death, revenge, personal courage, and retribution. A very very interesting read
This is a world of the future. A world where America isn't a major superpower anymore, but a minor player in a bigger world. It is also a world where America doesn't like her position and has taken certain actions which have led to a war between herself and the other powers that be. The story is full of political intrigue, war, death, revenge, personal courage, and retribution. A very very interesting read
June 2, 2025
Human geopolitics writ across the stars
A clever military sci-fi adventure, with daring space combat, and reads like a spy thriller set in a future where space colonization is in full swing. Amidst a frenzy of colonization, nations race to plant colonies. interstellar cold war looms. Fast-paced and deeply interesting, recommend for any fans of the Expanse, but without the aliens.
A clever military sci-fi adventure, with daring space combat, and reads like a spy thriller set in a future where space colonization is in full swing. Amidst a frenzy of colonization, nations race to plant colonies. interstellar cold war looms. Fast-paced and deeply interesting, recommend for any fans of the Expanse, but without the aliens.
December 2, 2025
110 years from now, Humanity has spread to a handful of worlds connected via a wormhole network, unfortunately Nationalistic tensions on earth spill over and a conflagration occurs. Our protagonist gets thrust into the role of Intel Officer and goes on some adventures.
I enjoyed it for what it is and will read further editions of the Human Reach series.
I enjoyed it for what it is and will read further editions of the Human Reach series.
July 6, 2023
These books aren’t for everyone, but they are definitely for me. The author gives the reader a satisfying trip trough a very realistic and thoughtful presentation of near-future humanity. Perfect for Atomic Rockets nerds, or fans of The Expanse that want rock-hard scifi space combat.
May 5, 2020
One of the better Hard-science fiction novels I have read.
June 2, 2023
Solid military sci-fi with just enough familiarity to ensure that the exotic elements of realistic space combat aren't lost on the reader.
July 23, 2025
Sometimes hard to follow the technical speak but an engaging tale.
February 19, 2025
I bought this book to support the makers of Enderal, a free game (with rather good writing, by the way). Little did I guess what a nice gem I would be discovering. Very solid military sci-fi. The story is engaging, and the politics and situations feel truly feasible. I look forward to reading the sequel!
January 14, 2013
Through Struggle, The Stars is Lumpkin’s first novel, and wow is it good. His next book, The Desert of Stars, is due out early this year, and I’m putting it on my “to buy” list. I purchased Through Struggle based on a series of reviews by other writers. As a reader of military SF, and as somebody currently working on a space opera set on another star system, it’s right up my alley.
The novel is set in the year 2139, and stars Neil Mercer and Rand Castillo, two very junior American officers on their first off-planet posting. Neil is an Ensign on a US destroyer, Rand a Second Lieutenant assigned to a ground-based aerospace artillery unit. In Lumpkin’s world, the US has become a second-tier power, with Japan and China being the world’s first tier nations. When the latter two nations go to war, the first war in space in decades, the US at first officially tries neutrality, but quickly gets sucked in, fighting with the Japanese against China.
I have several quibbles about the book, which I’ll just comment on here. First, the US and most militaries have adopted naval ranks for their space fleets. Although a Navy man myself, I felt this needed a bit of explanation. Second, India is conspicuously absent from the geopolitical situation, which as one of the world’s top two countries by population felt odd. Lastly, Neil, who has already killed dozens in a space battle, becomes squeamish about killing at a too-convenient-for-the-author point of the book.
But those are quibbles. I loved this book! Lumpkin goes to extraordinary lengths to make his space battles as realistic as possible. The only piece of handwavium on evidence are artificial wormholes, but even those are created by sending conventional ships travelling slower than light out ahead. Fuel, weapons, speeds, the ability to detect fleets at stupendous distances, all of this is kept at a realistic level.
What I also love are the characters. Many space operas use as their lead characters Admirals or other senior officers. Here, we see things at the deckplate level. Also, in many space operas, battles always go to plan, at least for the good guys. Not so in Through Struggle. There’s one space battle in particular that reminds me of an American battle during the Guadalcanal campaign. I suspect Lumpkin read Neptune’s Inferno, as did I. In fact, he may be setting up for a rerun of the Guadacanal campaign, with the US playing the Japanese role.
In short, Through Struggle, The Stars is highly recommended.
The novel is set in the year 2139, and stars Neil Mercer and Rand Castillo, two very junior American officers on their first off-planet posting. Neil is an Ensign on a US destroyer, Rand a Second Lieutenant assigned to a ground-based aerospace artillery unit. In Lumpkin’s world, the US has become a second-tier power, with Japan and China being the world’s first tier nations. When the latter two nations go to war, the first war in space in decades, the US at first officially tries neutrality, but quickly gets sucked in, fighting with the Japanese against China.
I have several quibbles about the book, which I’ll just comment on here. First, the US and most militaries have adopted naval ranks for their space fleets. Although a Navy man myself, I felt this needed a bit of explanation. Second, India is conspicuously absent from the geopolitical situation, which as one of the world’s top two countries by population felt odd. Lastly, Neil, who has already killed dozens in a space battle, becomes squeamish about killing at a too-convenient-for-the-author point of the book.
But those are quibbles. I loved this book! Lumpkin goes to extraordinary lengths to make his space battles as realistic as possible. The only piece of handwavium on evidence are artificial wormholes, but even those are created by sending conventional ships travelling slower than light out ahead. Fuel, weapons, speeds, the ability to detect fleets at stupendous distances, all of this is kept at a realistic level.
What I also love are the characters. Many space operas use as their lead characters Admirals or other senior officers. Here, we see things at the deckplate level. Also, in many space operas, battles always go to plan, at least for the good guys. Not so in Through Struggle. There’s one space battle in particular that reminds me of an American battle during the Guadalcanal campaign. I suspect Lumpkin read Neptune’s Inferno, as did I. In fact, he may be setting up for a rerun of the Guadacanal campaign, with the US playing the Japanese role.
In short, Through Struggle, The Stars is highly recommended.
October 31, 2013
A decent stab at Tom Clancy in space, I guess. Military sf isn't really my thing but I fancied giving this one a go. Lumpkin has some interesting ideas about how a war might be waged between nations on Earth who have spread into space.
I've never written a novel, and almost certainly never will, so I'm worried this might come across the wrong way but in many ways the prose felt very 'amateurish' for want of a better word. Lumpkin is certainly not shy about resorting to cliché when the feeling takes him. I particularly noticed it during the attempts to introduce a bit of 'romance' to the proceedings. Also, the constant, sometimes jarring changes of point-of-view character really bothered me. A character who has been in a supporting role through the bulk of the book suddenly gets a point of view chapter about two thirds of the way though. Captain Thorne is basically just a background character for most of the book, barring two separate paragraphs where we are suddenly privy to her innermost thoughts. I appreciate that the author is working on a very big stage and wants to keep us informed of everything that is going on, but in my opinion this would have been a much stronger book if it was just Neil Mercer's story and he found other more creative ways of bringing the actions of the other players into focus.
On the other hand Lumpkin is very good at describing action, and fortunately there is plenty of that in this story. He also brings in a quite intriguing 'greater mystery' at play in the universe of the story that does have me tempted to read the next volume just to see where that goes.
I've never written a novel, and almost certainly never will, so I'm worried this might come across the wrong way but in many ways the prose felt very 'amateurish' for want of a better word. Lumpkin is certainly not shy about resorting to cliché when the feeling takes him. I particularly noticed it during the attempts to introduce a bit of 'romance' to the proceedings. Also, the constant, sometimes jarring changes of point-of-view character really bothered me. A character who has been in a supporting role through the bulk of the book suddenly gets a point of view chapter about two thirds of the way though. Captain Thorne is basically just a background character for most of the book, barring two separate paragraphs where we are suddenly privy to her innermost thoughts. I appreciate that the author is working on a very big stage and wants to keep us informed of everything that is going on, but in my opinion this would have been a much stronger book if it was just Neil Mercer's story and he found other more creative ways of bringing the actions of the other players into focus.
On the other hand Lumpkin is very good at describing action, and fortunately there is plenty of that in this story. He also brings in a quite intriguing 'greater mystery' at play in the universe of the story that does have me tempted to read the next volume just to see where that goes.
September 29, 2018
I enjoyed this book a lot.
Now, in some ways it is a typical new officer begins his career in the (fill in: army, navy, air force, space force) in a time of conflict and matures into an unusually competent leader/officer whose actions have an impact on the war beyond what one would expect from an officer of his junior rank. What makes the book better than most is it's decent grasp of military matters, and most especially its "hard science" backdrop. There are no magical FTL drives, "inertial compensators", force shields, disintigration beams, etc, etc. Yes, there are wormholes that allow interstellar travel, but other than that necessity, the physics involved in the world is all understandable and comports with our current understanding of physical laws. Additionally, there is a unique but believeable political and economic world that serves as the backdrop to the diplomatic, military, and intelligence collection maneuvers that complement the purely military engagements. All together, the book has action and engaging characters but depth as well. I'm looking forward to a sequel.
Now, in some ways it is a typical new officer begins his career in the (fill in: army, navy, air force, space force) in a time of conflict and matures into an unusually competent leader/officer whose actions have an impact on the war beyond what one would expect from an officer of his junior rank. What makes the book better than most is it's decent grasp of military matters, and most especially its "hard science" backdrop. There are no magical FTL drives, "inertial compensators", force shields, disintigration beams, etc, etc. Yes, there are wormholes that allow interstellar travel, but other than that necessity, the physics involved in the world is all understandable and comports with our current understanding of physical laws. Additionally, there is a unique but believeable political and economic world that serves as the backdrop to the diplomatic, military, and intelligence collection maneuvers that complement the purely military engagements. All together, the book has action and engaging characters but depth as well. I'm looking forward to a sequel.
August 4, 2013
This novel is fantastic! I rate it 5 full megatons. The science is accurate, but not all absorbing. His technical knowledge is impressive, yet he never allows the science to dominate the plot. Through Struggle, The Stars is a gripping story with well developed characters who face moral quandaries along with mortal combat.
The story deals with two young officers and a covert agent as they are swept up in the whirlwind of war. Neil Mercer is an ensign in the Space Force (Navy) who gets caught up in an intelligence mission. Donovan is a spook who's doing his best to serve his country. Rand is an Army officer fighting enemy forces that have overrun his unit. Add the delicious villain, Agent Li, and the stage is set for action and intrigue. The space battles are thrilling! I hope John Lumpkin has enough books plotted for Ens. Neil Mercer's rise to admiral.
The story deals with two young officers and a covert agent as they are swept up in the whirlwind of war. Neil Mercer is an ensign in the Space Force (Navy) who gets caught up in an intelligence mission. Donovan is a spook who's doing his best to serve his country. Rand is an Army officer fighting enemy forces that have overrun his unit. Add the delicious villain, Agent Li, and the stage is set for action and intrigue. The space battles are thrilling! I hope John Lumpkin has enough books plotted for Ens. Neil Mercer's rise to admiral.
December 23, 2011
Not a perfect novel, but a very good novel. Throw David Weber and Tom Clancy into the blender, add some moral ambiguity, and then turn it on. What comes out might look a little like this novel. There are several really good space battles, heightened by the fact that the space drives have much lower accelerations than we are use to seeing in military science fiction (cruising speed is generally about 1/10 G or less, though I think a lot of the war ships can hit 1 G for short spurts). Rather than slow the action down, Lumpkin uses the slow pace of some of the battles to build tension.
All in all, I can't wait for the next book and I will be buying it.
All in all, I can't wait for the next book and I will be buying it.
April 5, 2012
Well written military science fiction. Some of the moral dilemmas presented distinguish this book from most military science fiction. Has well worked-out settings, and interesting technical detail -- not overdone, but nicely integrated into the action.
Some of the characters seem a slightly flat (except for at least one of the villains, who tends to be something of a caricature). Perhaps further character development may come in future books (apparently this is intended as the first in a series).
Some of the characters seem a slightly flat (except for at least one of the villains, who tends to be something of a caricature). Perhaps further character development may come in future books (apparently this is intended as the first in a series).
August 5, 2011
The detail of the world he created simultaneously blew me away, and drew me in. It's a bit like taking the engineering pr0n of "The Hunt for Red October", getting it drunk with Firefly and the latest Battlestar Galactica, and recording all the best bits at the end of the night.
I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I can't wait to see the movie. (Hell, I'd love to write it!)
I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I can't wait to see the movie. (Hell, I'd love to write it!)
February 24, 2013
Don't be put off by the fact that this is self published. It's as error-free as it is brilliantly conceived. Excellent worldbuilding combined with a gripping plot of intrigue and moral ambiguity make this a must for fans of Jack Campbell (John G. Hemry), Weber and Ian Douglas (William H. Keith).
I'm very much looking forward to buying the next in the series.
I'm very much looking forward to buying the next in the series.
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