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Empire's Corps #5
The Outcast
When Sameena’s brother accidentally annoys a religious leader on her homeworld, her entire family is targeted for elimination. Forced to flee to save her life, Sameena stows away on a trader starship and is eventually welcomed into the crew, embracing their very different culture and making a new life for herself amongst the stars.
But the Galactic Empire is starting the final descent into chaos and her new home is on the verge of collapse, while secretive forces are maneuvering to take advantage of the Empire’s collapse. If Sameena cannot find a way to keep some small part of civilization intact, the galaxy will crash into a new dark age that will last far longer than a thousand years.
But the Galactic Empire is starting the final descent into chaos and her new home is on the verge of collapse, while secretive forces are maneuvering to take advantage of the Empire’s collapse. If Sameena cannot find a way to keep some small part of civilization intact, the galaxy will crash into a new dark age that will last far longer than a thousand years.
533 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 2013
184 people are currently reading
241 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
March 26, 2015
This is book number five in the Empire series. In the prior four books we have watched the Empire collapse. We have been following a company of marines that were stationed on the planet Avalon on the rim of known space.
This book could be a standalone book as it has deviated from the prior books in the series and goes into a side story. This book focuses on a space trader struggling to survive as interstellar trade slowly grinds to a halt, threatening to bring down civilization once and for all.
Our protagonist Sameena was forced to flee her home planet because her brother accidentally annoyed a religious leader and her entire family was targeted for elimination. Women on this planet were not allowed an education, to be in public without a male escort and marriages were arranged. Technology was not allowed on the planet.
Sameena stows away on a trader starship and eventually becomes part of the crew. Sameena and the trader ship are trying to survive as the universe collapses into chaos. Sameena had a natural instinct for trade and foresaw trade potential in the collapse of the Empire. Sameena married James Cook an Imperial Navy Commander after the Empire abandons the Navy in the sector. I found the story of Sameena most interesting and It was great that Nuttall brought Sameena and her trader group together with Avalon and its people.
Nuttall’s writing has improved with each book. This book reminds me a bit of a series I read a few years ago by Elizabeth Moon called Vatta’s War series. I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. Jeffrey Kafer narrated the book.
This book could be a standalone book as it has deviated from the prior books in the series and goes into a side story. This book focuses on a space trader struggling to survive as interstellar trade slowly grinds to a halt, threatening to bring down civilization once and for all.
Our protagonist Sameena was forced to flee her home planet because her brother accidentally annoyed a religious leader and her entire family was targeted for elimination. Women on this planet were not allowed an education, to be in public without a male escort and marriages were arranged. Technology was not allowed on the planet.
Sameena stows away on a trader starship and eventually becomes part of the crew. Sameena and the trader ship are trying to survive as the universe collapses into chaos. Sameena had a natural instinct for trade and foresaw trade potential in the collapse of the Empire. Sameena married James Cook an Imperial Navy Commander after the Empire abandons the Navy in the sector. I found the story of Sameena most interesting and It was great that Nuttall brought Sameena and her trader group together with Avalon and its people.
Nuttall’s writing has improved with each book. This book reminds me a bit of a series I read a few years ago by Elizabeth Moon called Vatta’s War series. I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. Jeffrey Kafer narrated the book.
March 12, 2014
Good space opera
but you need to filter out the political ranting. it isn't too bad in the books, but the afterwords are filled with it. here he makes the completely unsubstantiated statement that the primary output of governments is paperwork...that the only thing they really care about is ensuring their jobs remain in place. cynical nonsense. he pretends that so.show we'd be better off with no gov? his depiction in the book doesn't make that look very savory. so...read the book...it is pretty decent space opera. but skip the afterword, because he tries to sound like he has all the answers, but he doesn't back it up with facts or research.
but you need to filter out the political ranting. it isn't too bad in the books, but the afterwords are filled with it. here he makes the completely unsubstantiated statement that the primary output of governments is paperwork...that the only thing they really care about is ensuring their jobs remain in place. cynical nonsense. he pretends that so.show we'd be better off with no gov? his depiction in the book doesn't make that look very savory. so...read the book...it is pretty decent space opera. but skip the afterword, because he tries to sound like he has all the answers, but he doesn't back it up with facts or research.
December 15, 2014
Very good!
May 22, 2017
This was an entertaining book. I like the author's practice of alternating between his main story line: books chronicling the experiences of the Terran Marine's on Avalon, and other stories amidst the Terran Empire's fall. The Outcast describes the experiences of a young female refugee from a world governed by radical Islamists who sets up a trading Empire which cushions her sector from the impact of the Empire's fall and withdrawal from the Rim.
I personally make a point of not reading the introductions to each chapter and the epilogue in which the author's gets on his personal soap box and spouts his conservative viewpoint. I suppose it is a symptom of the current state of the world that many conservatives view government as universally bad while at the same time glorifying military service and free enterprise. But once you ignore these constant jeremiads of the state of the fictitious Empire, which I suppose reflects the author's view of the state of the world in the here and now, The Empire Corps series makes for an entertaining read. I will add the next book in the series to my to be read list. Cheers
Jason
I personally make a point of not reading the introductions to each chapter and the epilogue in which the author's gets on his personal soap box and spouts his conservative viewpoint. I suppose it is a symptom of the current state of the world that many conservatives view government as universally bad while at the same time glorifying military service and free enterprise. But once you ignore these constant jeremiads of the state of the fictitious Empire, which I suppose reflects the author's view of the state of the world in the here and now, The Empire Corps series makes for an entertaining read. I will add the next book in the series to my to be read list. Cheers
Jason
March 8, 2024
*** MINOR SPOILERS ***
This is my least favourite of the Nuttall stories I've read. It focusses on a young girl Sameena who escapes from the oppressive world that follows strict Muslim teaching to prevent girls from any sought of life other that marrying who they are told to and keep house. She escapes by stowing away on a freighter and luckily for her is allowed to stay and become one of the crew. The story follows her progression as she attempts to build up her own trading empire.
My problem with the overall story is that it tries to cover too much ground in a relatively small number of pages. This means that incidents the Nuttall would usual use to build tension (ship being hijacked, battles on outside world, attempted kidnapping) are all over and one with quickly, usually in a single chapter.
Hoping the next instalment is back to Nuttall's best.
This is my least favourite of the Nuttall stories I've read. It focusses on a young girl Sameena who escapes from the oppressive world that follows strict Muslim teaching to prevent girls from any sought of life other that marrying who they are told to and keep house. She escapes by stowing away on a freighter and luckily for her is allowed to stay and become one of the crew. The story follows her progression as she attempts to build up her own trading empire.
My problem with the overall story is that it tries to cover too much ground in a relatively small number of pages. This means that incidents the Nuttall would usual use to build tension (ship being hijacked, battles on outside world, attempted kidnapping) are all over and one with quickly, usually in a single chapter.
Hoping the next instalment is back to Nuttall's best.
September 16, 2017
This is one of my favorite books in this series. I had some doubts because it did feature Marines as the main characters, but I should have known better and trusted the author.
Great sense of adventure as well as a coming-of-age story of a young woman who flees an oppressive planet. I like that we see Sameena as she grows into a woman and then into a woman of command authority.
Some parts were easy to predict, but there were some good surprises as well.
Great sense of adventure as well as a coming-of-age story of a young woman who flees an oppressive planet. I like that we see Sameena as she grows into a woman and then into a woman of command authority.
Some parts were easy to predict, but there were some good surprises as well.
January 31, 2021
Great Story
Brilliant story of Girl Power for someone with the background of women given no power at all forced into making her way out of a planet ruled by so called religious fanatics just as Al Qaeda or Isis is doing to this planet now. with the help of her adopted family and her.own initiative she helps to create a better world for all. s
Brilliant story of Girl Power for someone with the background of women given no power at all forced into making her way out of a planet ruled by so called religious fanatics just as Al Qaeda or Isis is doing to this planet now. with the help of her adopted family and her.own initiative she helps to create a better world for all. s
March 29, 2022
The last one for me
I enjoyed the tale that was spun in this book, but Mr Nutall’s rape fantasies, lack of military knowledge, and nonsensical political ramblings at the head of each chapter and at the end of the book have combined into a total show stopper for me.
This could be a great series if someone else were writing it.
I enjoyed the tale that was spun in this book, but Mr Nutall’s rape fantasies, lack of military knowledge, and nonsensical political ramblings at the head of each chapter and at the end of the book have combined into a total show stopper for me.
This could be a great series if someone else were writing it.
April 28, 2023
rockstar
Wow…Nuttall continues to surprise…which should be no surprise in itself. His grasp of economics, politics, and hard reality are matched only by superb story telling. Should be required reading in every class, home, company and legislature in the world.
Wow…Nuttall continues to surprise…which should be no surprise in itself. His grasp of economics, politics, and hard reality are matched only by superb story telling. Should be required reading in every class, home, company and legislature in the world.
August 10, 2023
An interesting diversion
A great story setting up another component to work with Avalon. Well thought out Development of a trading culture to be an effective bridge for society from the Empire to it's successor.
A great story setting up another component to work with Avalon. Well thought out Development of a trading culture to be an effective bridge for society from the Empire to it's successor.
November 6, 2017
Can't go wrong with Nuttall.
June 28, 2018
Possibly my favorite book in the series. I wish the other books were about Sameena.
February 5, 2024
I really like this series, and seeing it from another view was really cool.
December 19, 2024
The story was great, however, the racist political views made this a difficult read.
September 9, 2014
This is one of the books in this book series where the author decided to just jump out of the main plot almost entirely and write a book about a different set of persons in The Empire’s Corps universe. There are no marines in this book, well except for a retired one, and except for a short tie in at the end it has nothing whatsoever to do with the struggles of the Commonwealth and Avalon. I am still sitting on the fence as to whether I like this somewhat disrupted storyline or not. Normally I do not like when an author goes off like that but these books are really good so I feel I cannot complain too much.
Anyway, in this book we follow Sameena after, as the book blurb states, some of the religious leaders of her planet got a grudge against her family. As a matter of fact the entire planet is governed by the worst kind of fanatical Islamists who try to keep their population in total ignorance. It is of course not made better by the fact that they consider females to be not much more than slaves that should do as they are told and nothing more. Thus Sameena is in for quite a bit of surprises and difficulties when she gradually discovers how much of her life that have been a lie and has to adapt to a free society. I am not sure what I expected after reading the book blurb but I think I expected something else. This would not be the first time this author have surprised me a bit though. So far it has never been in a bad way.
A lot of the book deals with Sameena growing into this trader society that rather quickly more or less adopts her. This fairly non-military story with its trading, trader contracts, buying and selling of ships and merchandize is normally little bit out of my comfort zone for science fiction but I have to say that I found it to be enjoyable reading nevertheless. As usual Mr. Nuttal makes the characters interesting and makes you care about them or at least care about what is going to happen next. His writing is a reasonable mix between providing details and advancing the story and although I am more of a military sci-fi person I still liked these parts of the book.
Luckily, from my point of view at least, it is not all about building a trading empire. Sameena have to crack a few eggs while doing so and the necessity for backing herself up with some military hardware soon becomes evident. During the later parts of the book the action escalates quite rapidly and eventually the previously mentioned Islamist fanatics (lunatics) creeps back into the story. Lets just say that the solution to that little problem is not obtained via diplomatic channels.
On the whole a very good book. I could pick a few books by Mr. Nuttall that I liked even more but this one is still a very enjoyable book and, as usual, I am looking forward to when I start to read the next book by this author.
Anyway, in this book we follow Sameena after, as the book blurb states, some of the religious leaders of her planet got a grudge against her family. As a matter of fact the entire planet is governed by the worst kind of fanatical Islamists who try to keep their population in total ignorance. It is of course not made better by the fact that they consider females to be not much more than slaves that should do as they are told and nothing more. Thus Sameena is in for quite a bit of surprises and difficulties when she gradually discovers how much of her life that have been a lie and has to adapt to a free society. I am not sure what I expected after reading the book blurb but I think I expected something else. This would not be the first time this author have surprised me a bit though. So far it has never been in a bad way.
A lot of the book deals with Sameena growing into this trader society that rather quickly more or less adopts her. This fairly non-military story with its trading, trader contracts, buying and selling of ships and merchandize is normally little bit out of my comfort zone for science fiction but I have to say that I found it to be enjoyable reading nevertheless. As usual Mr. Nuttal makes the characters interesting and makes you care about them or at least care about what is going to happen next. His writing is a reasonable mix between providing details and advancing the story and although I am more of a military sci-fi person I still liked these parts of the book.
Luckily, from my point of view at least, it is not all about building a trading empire. Sameena have to crack a few eggs while doing so and the necessity for backing herself up with some military hardware soon becomes evident. During the later parts of the book the action escalates quite rapidly and eventually the previously mentioned Islamist fanatics (lunatics) creeps back into the story. Lets just say that the solution to that little problem is not obtained via diplomatic channels.
On the whole a very good book. I could pick a few books by Mr. Nuttall that I liked even more but this one is still a very enjoyable book and, as usual, I am looking forward to when I start to read the next book by this author.
July 21, 2013
With his fifth in the "The Empire's Corps" series, Christopher G. Nuttall takes a unique approach to his apparent continued analysis of economic collapse on a galactic scale. Earth is a repository of 80 billion human beings and totally dependent on the rest of the universe for its manufacturing and food production. The wall-to-wall humanity won't last long without a continued connection to its far-flung worlds and corporate-controlled distribution system. However, there's trouble and quite a bit of it. This installment is the story of Sameena, a girl whose trader father taught her all about being a merchant and the power of knowing the parties of a sale and how each benefits. She applies her knowledge as soon as she's forced to stow away on a freighter departing her backward planet. Sameena is muslim, her world a bastion of believers who cherish the "true" Islam. For her that meant women are to be seen under veils and not heard. Her brother's questioning of authority gets her family arrested by the authorities, and Sameena's fast thinking serves her well as she escapes and befriends a spacer family. She doesn't know much about the outside world, but she learns quickly. And her fortunes change as she figures out how things work. Nuttall uses the story as an economics primer, starting each chapter with an excerpt of a book written by a historian that analyzes the events that led to the decline of the empire. Sameena sees opportunity in the decline. The system is failing, people are losing their livelihood and descent into barbarism is a distinct possibility if the trade networks disappear. She decides to replace them with a more free-trading system. The controlled system under the all-powerful Senate was rife with corruption and lack of competition, setting up the current disaster. The story doesn't slow down and the characters continue to evolve. Sameena is the most multi-dimensional. Her education is the reader's. Her success and scrapes with disaster feel very close to home. By the end, I was hoping she'd pull something out of the hat.
March 19, 2015
This is a well written story that is part of the Empire’s Corps series but also not. This is the second time that the author has written a book that is in the same universe but not following the main characters in the series and just like the previous one it’s a great read. This time the main character is a young girl of Middle Eastern descent who escapes her traditional home world one step ahead of being executed for something her brother said, only to find herself adopted by the roving traders that conduct interstellar business. The parallels to several things going on in current events are there if you are looking for them and it was nice to see a well written character from a different cultural and ethnic background. I’m just glad that I was a latecomer to the series or I might have gone crazy with the side books out of the main storyline.
April 8, 2015
Another stand-alone, off the main storyline addition to the series. This one tracks the rise of a new sort of political entity in the wake of the collapse of the Empire, a trade empire. We follow a young girl who escapes from an oppressive religious colony planet and begins to build a trade empire of her own, eventually. I liked it as a tale of a heroine who makes it on the strength of her intellect and capability, and who finds (rather to her surprise) that she's the focus of rather a lot of people's admiration and respect. For all I tend to start these off-main-series novels with a healthy dose of skepticism, I've enjoyed them greatly, sometimes even more than the main series novels.
August 24, 2013
Really enjoying this series, Simple space opera, old school, with a modern political perspective. Somehow I would bet I'm at the opposite side of the political spectrum from the author but he does present a valid point of view. When not preaching his political views (beginning of each chapter disguised as a economic/history text) he builds well thought out, interesting characters. His presentation of a young Muslim woman I think was very believable.
August 27, 2013
Fantastic book! Told from a civilian perspective instead of a military one. In the flavor of the Nathan Lowell series Quarter Share this book tells of Nuttall's universe from a merchant's perspective. A great shift from the conventional military space opera but still has the same formula making it a familiar style with a twist.
Definitely recommend reading.
Definitely recommend reading.
April 2, 2014
Reminded me a lot of Elizabeth Moon's Vatta's War series - starts with Trading in Danger.
started_finish_later
November 9, 2014read about half and I quite like it too - the one complaint so far is that here the story is more removed from the main series and the book reads like a standalone that accidentally shares the same universe; things may change though of course
July 26, 2014
Not the main characters this time. But good none the less.
December 15, 2014
Great story continues, with an ending that makes you want to read the next book.
March 19, 2015
Again just amazing
May 5, 2015
Another great story!
I continue to enjoy this series. Each book is strong on its own. I'm interested to see how the plot lines merge.
I continue to enjoy this series. Each book is strong on its own. I'm interested to see how the plot lines merge.
August 14, 2015
entertaining
April 1, 2021
So far my favorite in the series. I think the author finally wrote a book in which one of the main female characters didn't get raped
April 23, 2016
A mishmash of political and religious soap-boxing. Only stuck with it because it's all I had at the time.
January 13, 2016
Very good series. I really like this author
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews