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Ronos #2
Beacon
Now that Mac Narrad knows the truth about the war he knows there is little chance of survival, unless he gets to Ronos. Mac must lead those he can trust to Ronos and keep his newfound power out of General Zinger’s hands while trying to save his friend Lynn Ryder who he was forced to leave behind.
Fighting against an enemy even more duplicitous than he ever thought Mac must escape the front line of the war, search for allies to go to Ronos, and try to figure out where Janelle Stewart has been taken. Humanity is close to extinction. Mac knows how to even the odds but will he be able to make it in time?
Fighting against an enemy even more duplicitous than he ever thought Mac must escape the front line of the war, search for allies to go to Ronos, and try to figure out where Janelle Stewart has been taken. Humanity is close to extinction. Mac knows how to even the odds but will he be able to make it in time?
- GenresScience Fiction
Paperback
First published September 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 6, 2013
Something is lost in translation in this second novel in the series. Perhaps the problem lies in the formality of dialogue. I have noticed that authors who set their work in the future do see our future selves as being that formal. Given the de-evolution of language to this point, I’m not sure that’s such a safe bet.
As with "Catalyst" (the first book in the trilogy), we get a lot of telling and not a lot of showing in "Beacon." Again, Hall writes the “Only man in Passage with an Imp” and again that moniker was used frequently which can get quite annoying for the reader. He is also known as Mr. Smith and I believe at some point that is his de-facto name. Sneed is back and looking within himself without his Imp. He is fully ready to help with whatever is to come. Of course, the driving force and waiting to spring is Mac. He has superhuman powers and is ready to use them to save the human race. Hall laces "Beacon" with promise for the final book in the trilogy but, perhaps in preparation, "Beacon" falls behind "Catalyst" as a novel that would hold my interest. It must be difficult as an author to write this transitional kind of novel preparing for an ultimate end that will tie all of the story lines together.
Hall, once again, makes deeply social commentary through his characters.
The aliens are interesting and the set-up for what’s to come is compelling. If you like sci-fi, read "Catalyst" and then read "Beacon" and then eagerly await the final novel.
As with "Catalyst" (the first book in the trilogy), we get a lot of telling and not a lot of showing in "Beacon." Again, Hall writes the “Only man in Passage with an Imp” and again that moniker was used frequently which can get quite annoying for the reader. He is also known as Mr. Smith and I believe at some point that is his de-facto name. Sneed is back and looking within himself without his Imp. He is fully ready to help with whatever is to come. Of course, the driving force and waiting to spring is Mac. He has superhuman powers and is ready to use them to save the human race. Hall laces "Beacon" with promise for the final book in the trilogy but, perhaps in preparation, "Beacon" falls behind "Catalyst" as a novel that would hold my interest. It must be difficult as an author to write this transitional kind of novel preparing for an ultimate end that will tie all of the story lines together.
Hall, once again, makes deeply social commentary through his characters.
The aliens are interesting and the set-up for what’s to come is compelling. If you like sci-fi, read "Catalyst" and then read "Beacon" and then eagerly await the final novel.
September 19, 2013
This review does reveal some major things about Catalyst's plot, but you really should have read it before reading this review anyway. Fair warning and all that, friends.
Sincerely,
Joshua A. Spotts
Mac Narrad was a young spacer once. He was naïve. He was motivated only by his loyalty to Earth and his dedication to finding his girlfriend who he believed to be taken by the aliens. When he discovered that the destruction of an entire city and the deaths of his family and millions of others were not the result of the aliens, but of the corrupt General Zinger, his whole life changed and so did he.
In the first book, Catalyst, Mac became endowed with superhuman abilities on a mysterious planet called Ronos, the focal point of the Trilogy and the destination of both General Zinger and the alien race the humans are fighting. The second book, Beacon, tells of Mac’s struggle to return and rescue friend he left behind on Ronos while finding a way to deal with the alien menace at the same time. Along the way he recruits some soldiers by giving them his blood which makes them like him. He then sends these people to infiltrate the alien fleet while he returns to his home town, endangering the people there whom he ends up taking to Ronos with him in order to keep them out of General Zinger’s hands. I won’t tell you what happens when he gets to Ronos. You will have to read the book yourself.
Beacon is a well-written book with an intriguing plot, an inspiring hero, and interesting characters. The author, Tyler Rudd Hall, is a skilled story-teller with a very creative mind and a gift for keeping the reader engaged with his stories. He has self-published both Catalyst and Beacon.
There were a few parts in the book that gave away something coming up, but there were still many more surprises scattered throughout. A sci-fi writer by genre, Hall managed to weave enough tension and anticipation into Beacon to make it seem like a mix of sci-fi and thriller.
Many of the characters are either Mac’s enemies or his friends, but there are a few grey characters where the reader is unsure about their allegiance until certain points in the book. These grey characters contribute to the book’s plot tension. There are even times when Mac is forced to work with his enemies. This is a good reflection of reality and makes Mac, despite his superhuman abilities, seem more relatable to the reader. This shows how Hall artfully connects his readers to his characters.
While there are many good things about Beacon, it has its problems. There are some minor grammatical issues. The only major problem is that the dialogue is slightly wooden at a few points. It does not, however, remain wooden for long periods. The other problem with the dialogue is that entire plans are outlined by one person. Hall could have just given a very basic plan via dialogue in several places and then used the unknown details to create anticipation for the reader.
There are also some deep considerations regarding humanity in Beacon. Mac is one of three people with superhuman powers. He weakens himself to give his power to others so that they can help him in his quest. Indeed, he goes through a lot in his quest to save humanity, using his power only when necessary.
General Zinger, however, is Mac’s exact opposite. He is self-obsessed. He wants to use the powers of Ronos in order to create his own superhuman army. He claims he needs to do it to stop the alien invasion, but he has already murdered millions with no qualms, so his motivation is very much in question.
The aliens, as with many sci-fi works, provide an interesting external perspective on humanity. There are a few that do not want to plow through humanity on their quest to Ronos. These few believe that they can reach Ronos peacefully without any more death. The majority of the aliens, however, are devoid of human traits and seem perfectly fine with abducting humans and using their bodies to give them shape on their journey to Ronos.
Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I particularly appreciated the rich, well-fleshed-out characters created by Hall. There were some concepts that I felt were familiar from other things I had read, but I find such things in everything. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a fresh novel in the sci-fi genre or for anyone who appreciates good fiction in general. I gladly give Beacon by Tyler Rudd Hall four out of five stars.
Written by Joshua A. Spotts
Sincerely,
Joshua A. Spotts
Mac Narrad was a young spacer once. He was naïve. He was motivated only by his loyalty to Earth and his dedication to finding his girlfriend who he believed to be taken by the aliens. When he discovered that the destruction of an entire city and the deaths of his family and millions of others were not the result of the aliens, but of the corrupt General Zinger, his whole life changed and so did he.
In the first book, Catalyst, Mac became endowed with superhuman abilities on a mysterious planet called Ronos, the focal point of the Trilogy and the destination of both General Zinger and the alien race the humans are fighting. The second book, Beacon, tells of Mac’s struggle to return and rescue friend he left behind on Ronos while finding a way to deal with the alien menace at the same time. Along the way he recruits some soldiers by giving them his blood which makes them like him. He then sends these people to infiltrate the alien fleet while he returns to his home town, endangering the people there whom he ends up taking to Ronos with him in order to keep them out of General Zinger’s hands. I won’t tell you what happens when he gets to Ronos. You will have to read the book yourself.
Beacon is a well-written book with an intriguing plot, an inspiring hero, and interesting characters. The author, Tyler Rudd Hall, is a skilled story-teller with a very creative mind and a gift for keeping the reader engaged with his stories. He has self-published both Catalyst and Beacon.
There were a few parts in the book that gave away something coming up, but there were still many more surprises scattered throughout. A sci-fi writer by genre, Hall managed to weave enough tension and anticipation into Beacon to make it seem like a mix of sci-fi and thriller.
Many of the characters are either Mac’s enemies or his friends, but there are a few grey characters where the reader is unsure about their allegiance until certain points in the book. These grey characters contribute to the book’s plot tension. There are even times when Mac is forced to work with his enemies. This is a good reflection of reality and makes Mac, despite his superhuman abilities, seem more relatable to the reader. This shows how Hall artfully connects his readers to his characters.
While there are many good things about Beacon, it has its problems. There are some minor grammatical issues. The only major problem is that the dialogue is slightly wooden at a few points. It does not, however, remain wooden for long periods. The other problem with the dialogue is that entire plans are outlined by one person. Hall could have just given a very basic plan via dialogue in several places and then used the unknown details to create anticipation for the reader.
There are also some deep considerations regarding humanity in Beacon. Mac is one of three people with superhuman powers. He weakens himself to give his power to others so that they can help him in his quest. Indeed, he goes through a lot in his quest to save humanity, using his power only when necessary.
General Zinger, however, is Mac’s exact opposite. He is self-obsessed. He wants to use the powers of Ronos in order to create his own superhuman army. He claims he needs to do it to stop the alien invasion, but he has already murdered millions with no qualms, so his motivation is very much in question.
The aliens, as with many sci-fi works, provide an interesting external perspective on humanity. There are a few that do not want to plow through humanity on their quest to Ronos. These few believe that they can reach Ronos peacefully without any more death. The majority of the aliens, however, are devoid of human traits and seem perfectly fine with abducting humans and using their bodies to give them shape on their journey to Ronos.
Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I particularly appreciated the rich, well-fleshed-out characters created by Hall. There were some concepts that I felt were familiar from other things I had read, but I find such things in everything. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a fresh novel in the sci-fi genre or for anyone who appreciates good fiction in general. I gladly give Beacon by Tyler Rudd Hall four out of five stars.
Written by Joshua A. Spotts
February 24, 2017
I won the trilogy of this series in a Goodreads giveaway. What can you say about the middle book in a series of three ? This book continues the story leading to the conclusion and does it well, developing what is a very well crafted story. On to the final chapter.
November 13, 2013
I was very kindly provided with an Kindle copy by the Author, Tyler Rudd Hall following my First Reads Review of the first book in his series (Catalyst).
There was no awkward gapping, and this book started right after the end of the first book. Therefore, there was no change in the main protagonists, but there were some nice additional characters.
It was very nice to see that the same standard of writing was continued, and Tyler should be congratulated. The plot was moved on nicely, and I'm crossing my fingers that Tyler will be kind enough to let me have the final instalment in the Trilogy, as I need to know how the whole thing goes down!
I don't want to add any spoilers, as I'm keen for you to read with no pre-conceived notions, so give a try.
Most ebooks seem to have the odd errors,and I'll be honest with you here, there were a few (not masses: some of which where in fact bug bears) - don't despair it didn't spoil the overall reading experience (my Blog Post #397 in November 2013 will detail them if you're interested). Having said that I am very confident Tyler will put them right as a matter of priority.
Taking into consideration the way the plot linked in with the previous novel, the pace, characterisation and overall reading experience it's 4 Stars from me.
There was no awkward gapping, and this book started right after the end of the first book. Therefore, there was no change in the main protagonists, but there were some nice additional characters.
It was very nice to see that the same standard of writing was continued, and Tyler should be congratulated. The plot was moved on nicely, and I'm crossing my fingers that Tyler will be kind enough to let me have the final instalment in the Trilogy, as I need to know how the whole thing goes down!
I don't want to add any spoilers, as I'm keen for you to read with no pre-conceived notions, so give a try.
Most ebooks seem to have the odd errors,and I'll be honest with you here, there were a few (not masses: some of which where in fact bug bears) - don't despair it didn't spoil the overall reading experience (my Blog Post #397 in November 2013 will detail them if you're interested). Having said that I am very confident Tyler will put them right as a matter of priority.
Taking into consideration the way the plot linked in with the previous novel, the pace, characterisation and overall reading experience it's 4 Stars from me.
May 22, 2014
This is the second book in the series and I did not find it as good as the first book Catalyst. The pace was much slower perhaps since more complex threads were going through the story but it felt more disjointed and it did not flow as well as the first book did. I do not want to give specifics about the story since I would spoil it but it was an okay read but I found the first book much more entertaining and interesting than this one. I was given both books from a Goodreads contest and I really enjoyed the opportunity to read them. Thanks.
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June 20, 2014There is a lot of characters to keep track of and a lot of plot, but the story is unique, interesting and worth the read. Book one must be read first. The plot takes some weird angles that seem illogical, like Dr. Who tends to do, to recover from technical glitches. The author has a strong imagination.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews