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Dark Empire #1
Shadows Approach
A new planet. A new enemy. Is the end coming for the Kalquorian Empire?
In the aftermath of the Kalquorian civil war and the defeat of the Bi’is invasion fleet, the empire has enjoyed peace. A new Earth has been born. A Kalquorian leads the Galactic Council of Planets. An era of harmony seems assured.
However, new dangers arrive on the horizon. Earth governor Stacy Nichols finds herself at odds with powerful opponents who want Earth II to return to the old ways that led to the demise of their original planet. They’ll do anything to stop her, especially when they discover her newfound romance with Clan Rihep of Kalquor.
After five years and a terrifying encounter with an unknown entity, Clan Piras is finally leaving their spy duties in Bi’is space. Now they must face enemies closer to the families of those they sacrificed while on a secret mission during the Kalquorian civil war.
A new threat to the existence of Kalquor and the entire Galactic Council of Planets arrives in the midst of these challenges, a dark menace unlike anything faced before. One young, inexperienced spyship ensign is all that stands between the galaxy and utter destruction. Can he warn the empire in time…or is it already too late?
In the aftermath of the Kalquorian civil war and the defeat of the Bi’is invasion fleet, the empire has enjoyed peace. A new Earth has been born. A Kalquorian leads the Galactic Council of Planets. An era of harmony seems assured.
However, new dangers arrive on the horizon. Earth governor Stacy Nichols finds herself at odds with powerful opponents who want Earth II to return to the old ways that led to the demise of their original planet. They’ll do anything to stop her, especially when they discover her newfound romance with Clan Rihep of Kalquor.
After five years and a terrifying encounter with an unknown entity, Clan Piras is finally leaving their spy duties in Bi’is space. Now they must face enemies closer to the families of those they sacrificed while on a secret mission during the Kalquorian civil war.
A new threat to the existence of Kalquor and the entire Galactic Council of Planets arrives in the midst of these challenges, a dark menace unlike anything faced before. One young, inexperienced spyship ensign is all that stands between the galaxy and utter destruction. Can he warn the empire in time…or is it already too late?
226 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 4, 2023
About the author
Tracy St. John
70 books487 followersBorn in a small town on the coast of North Carolina to strict parents, Tracy St. John started out as a quiet, shy child. She was typical for her small town: studying hard for good grades, fishing with her dad on Saturdays and attending church on Sundays.
When adolescence kicked in, so did full-on rebellion. School, family and church fell by the wayside as Tracy partied too hard with the wrong people. Somehow surviving her wild-child phase, she pursued several careers before finally settling on video production and writing.
A string of failed relationships prompted her to give up on love…which of course meant fate immediately tossed Mr. Right her way. After only 4 months of dating, she eloped with the love of her life. They just celebrated 14 years of wedded bliss.
Prior to penning her first erotic novel ‘Alien Embrace’, Tracy wrote commercials, television and radio promos, and training films for various government entities.
Tracy St. John now lives in coastal Georgia with her husband and son. She still enjoys fishing, and you’ll often find her haunting train museums with her locomotive-loving son. Besides writing, she also works in video production both in front of and behind the camera. She’s usually cast as the gun-toting bad gal, getting handcuffed in the end. She has no complaints.
When adolescence kicked in, so did full-on rebellion. School, family and church fell by the wayside as Tracy partied too hard with the wrong people. Somehow surviving her wild-child phase, she pursued several careers before finally settling on video production and writing.
A string of failed relationships prompted her to give up on love…which of course meant fate immediately tossed Mr. Right her way. After only 4 months of dating, she eloped with the love of her life. They just celebrated 14 years of wedded bliss.
Prior to penning her first erotic novel ‘Alien Embrace’, Tracy wrote commercials, television and radio promos, and training films for various government entities.
Tracy St. John now lives in coastal Georgia with her husband and son. She still enjoys fishing, and you’ll often find her haunting train museums with her locomotive-loving son. Besides writing, she also works in video production both in front of and behind the camera. She’s usually cast as the gun-toting bad gal, getting handcuffed in the end. She has no complaints.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 8, 2023
Too much and way too little to be good
This isn't your typical klaq book.
First, there are around 8 POV happening in this book, all telling part of this story. Its connected, but disjointed, intriguing, but ultimately flat, and as for the romance, it's a long, long afterthought of this book.
Some spoilers ahead.
We open to old friends clan Pirus. If you weren't a fan of that kinky clan, you're not gonna love this series. They encounter something weird but oddly do little about it and then move to their new assignment protecting Earth 2 from a dark corner but pretty exposed for the most hated admiral in the fleet. Surprise, though, that weird thing came back with them. Oh, and the time spent learning the names of the bridge crew, don't worry about it, they're not important at all to this book, which is depressing because the characters who are, don't seem as interesting.
Next you're introduced to Stacy a 38 year old woman, who is for some reason the leader of new Earth 2. I didn't understand how she got to be leader, and it makes no sense that 50,000 human men from old earth would elect or follow her. We can't even elect a female president, how did a sexually repressed, and patriarchal society do it? It doesn't make sense and seems like a farfetched plot devise.
I think im supposed to like Stacy, but I can't because we barely learn anything about her. This book jumps to so many characters doing so many things, that you don't care about Stacy or her ultra weird and mouthy Imdiko. But I'll get there.
Stacy is reminding the reader that being the leader is hard, and there are people who want her to fail. And the head of security Nobek is hot. That's it, nothing else to see here.
Pirus's clan reaches new Earth and runs into Admiral Tranis...again. These two rightfully hate each other, over a guy. Ok. Nothing is resolved there, or in this book. Pirus's clan will be secretly spying on Earth 2...and living openly on the orbiting station filled with klaqs, the earthers aren't fooled, neither is anyone else. Stuff happens, it's not interesting, just scene setting.
The new spy crew that took over for clan Pirus gets invaded. One low level nobody figures out something is wrong, but whines about how he's scared and wants to to go home. Oh, and don't worry about the Nobek mentioned for him, less than nothing happens.
Back to Stacy or Pirus, it's so hard to keep track because this thing bounces around like a pinball. So I'll sum it up. We see some old friends but it's been so long you won't remember who they are, and based on what they do in the book, you won't care, because it's nothing but popping in for fan service. No one really cares about that weird squid alien from the first chapter except the terrified Dramok stuck on the spy ship, and then some of the characters when Tranis faints but the scene is overshadowed by another butthurt power struggle between Pirus and Tranis. They never seemed concerned about it again. Also NO ONE is checking on the spy ship despite weird squid alien big enough to block out the stars. It's weirdly dismissed for plot, and is glaring the entire book.
Stacy is super thirsty and sleeps with her clan. The writing is good, but there is no emotional connection so it doesn't matter.
Out poor dramok on the spy ship sends a distress message...to his parents...then gets caught, experimented on, and tortured. We learn only 1-5% of klaqs can see the squid shadow things. That's important.
More Earth 2 politics including a lame shuttle tampering for Stacy that doesn't hurt her but is supposed to be a warning. Whatever, she's still thirsty, so off she goes to get some but is caught doing the walk of shame by a female reported we're supposed to hate for doing her job to get ahead. Whatever, Stacy gets away and makes arrangements for her new nobek to lose his job to protect her career.
We see a meeting of the bad earthers who want Earth 2 to be like earth 1. Stacy's political nemesis is in the group no surprise. *yawn*
Our tortured Dramok on the spy ship is saved by an Imdiko...don't bother learning his name, 10 pages and it won't matter. Dramok does something to blow up the ship? I don't know. I'm skimming this book now. He seems dead. The teaser at the end of the book says otherwise, but I don't care, I never recovered from him being whiney.
Stacy calls her mom, who after living generations of male dominated society and sexual repression tells her daughter to blow up her still unexplained political career to get her clan. Then asks if they have handsome older brothers because she's thirsty too. It's cringe. Moving on.
Stacy blows up her career and races into the arms of clan...um something, who cares, besides the nobek the other clanmates aren't important to the story.
Oh no, bad aliens have infiltrated the leaders of the universe. It's the borg by another name. Ugh.
Can't like this book because it never made me care. The next continues Stacy's story. I don't care. I'll pass on this.
Meh, hard pass.
This isn't your typical klaq book.
First, there are around 8 POV happening in this book, all telling part of this story. Its connected, but disjointed, intriguing, but ultimately flat, and as for the romance, it's a long, long afterthought of this book.
Some spoilers ahead.
We open to old friends clan Pirus. If you weren't a fan of that kinky clan, you're not gonna love this series. They encounter something weird but oddly do little about it and then move to their new assignment protecting Earth 2 from a dark corner but pretty exposed for the most hated admiral in the fleet. Surprise, though, that weird thing came back with them. Oh, and the time spent learning the names of the bridge crew, don't worry about it, they're not important at all to this book, which is depressing because the characters who are, don't seem as interesting.
Next you're introduced to Stacy a 38 year old woman, who is for some reason the leader of new Earth 2. I didn't understand how she got to be leader, and it makes no sense that 50,000 human men from old earth would elect or follow her. We can't even elect a female president, how did a sexually repressed, and patriarchal society do it? It doesn't make sense and seems like a farfetched plot devise.
I think im supposed to like Stacy, but I can't because we barely learn anything about her. This book jumps to so many characters doing so many things, that you don't care about Stacy or her ultra weird and mouthy Imdiko. But I'll get there.
Stacy is reminding the reader that being the leader is hard, and there are people who want her to fail. And the head of security Nobek is hot. That's it, nothing else to see here.
Pirus's clan reaches new Earth and runs into Admiral Tranis...again. These two rightfully hate each other, over a guy. Ok. Nothing is resolved there, or in this book. Pirus's clan will be secretly spying on Earth 2...and living openly on the orbiting station filled with klaqs, the earthers aren't fooled, neither is anyone else. Stuff happens, it's not interesting, just scene setting.
The new spy crew that took over for clan Pirus gets invaded. One low level nobody figures out something is wrong, but whines about how he's scared and wants to to go home. Oh, and don't worry about the Nobek mentioned for him, less than nothing happens.
Back to Stacy or Pirus, it's so hard to keep track because this thing bounces around like a pinball. So I'll sum it up. We see some old friends but it's been so long you won't remember who they are, and based on what they do in the book, you won't care, because it's nothing but popping in for fan service. No one really cares about that weird squid alien from the first chapter except the terrified Dramok stuck on the spy ship, and then some of the characters when Tranis faints but the scene is overshadowed by another butthurt power struggle between Pirus and Tranis. They never seemed concerned about it again. Also NO ONE is checking on the spy ship despite weird squid alien big enough to block out the stars. It's weirdly dismissed for plot, and is glaring the entire book.
Stacy is super thirsty and sleeps with her clan. The writing is good, but there is no emotional connection so it doesn't matter.
Out poor dramok on the spy ship sends a distress message...to his parents...then gets caught, experimented on, and tortured. We learn only 1-5% of klaqs can see the squid shadow things. That's important.
More Earth 2 politics including a lame shuttle tampering for Stacy that doesn't hurt her but is supposed to be a warning. Whatever, she's still thirsty, so off she goes to get some but is caught doing the walk of shame by a female reported we're supposed to hate for doing her job to get ahead. Whatever, Stacy gets away and makes arrangements for her new nobek to lose his job to protect her career.
We see a meeting of the bad earthers who want Earth 2 to be like earth 1. Stacy's political nemesis is in the group no surprise. *yawn*
Our tortured Dramok on the spy ship is saved by an Imdiko...don't bother learning his name, 10 pages and it won't matter. Dramok does something to blow up the ship? I don't know. I'm skimming this book now. He seems dead. The teaser at the end of the book says otherwise, but I don't care, I never recovered from him being whiney.
Stacy calls her mom, who after living generations of male dominated society and sexual repression tells her daughter to blow up her still unexplained political career to get her clan. Then asks if they have handsome older brothers because she's thirsty too. It's cringe. Moving on.
Stacy blows up her career and races into the arms of clan...um something, who cares, besides the nobek the other clanmates aren't important to the story.
Oh no, bad aliens have infiltrated the leaders of the universe. It's the borg by another name. Ugh.
Can't like this book because it never made me care. The next continues Stacy's story. I don't care. I'll pass on this.
Meh, hard pass.
August 9, 2023
Too many characters/timelines. There’s 3 different stories going on at once and I found it impossible to connect with any characters as it kept jumping from one to the next. Plus there’s way too much world description and political complexity. I’ve read the connected series and I had no idea what was happening half the time
Dnf
Dnf
September 14, 2023
This author and her Kilquorians are absolutely addictive. I’ve read the series twice and still everything has to wait cause I’m knee deep into the books. I’m hoping with this new spin we will have more dominant driven females to give these men a run for their money. Earth has some great parts too, hopefully she will write about them. What happened to pets?
August 6, 2024
I really enjoyed getting to read more about some of the characters from the Clans of Kalquor series!
Although the storyline moves between multiple points of view, the author masterly weaves these strands together in a compelling and cohesive way.
I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series!
Although the storyline moves between multiple points of view, the author masterly weaves these strands together in a compelling and cohesive way.
I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series!
March 14, 2024
I love this authors books but I am not a fan of stories that jump between scenes. Besides that the story is building and am curious to see what book 2 brings.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews