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Merkiaari Wars #1-3
Merkiaari Wars Series #1-3
Humanity has been ravaged by alien war. Will the next encounter spell the end of mankind?3 books and 1,200+ pages of alien invasion and interstellar action. Over 250 five-star ratings on Goodreads!
In the far future, nanotechnology will be all that keeps us alive in a brutal war with the Merkiaari. Into this war-torn galaxy a courageous Marine, an alien geneticist, and a broken hero will unite in common cause...
The Merkiaari Wars Books 1-3 includes the first three installments in an epic space opera about space exploration and alien invasion. If you enjoy military science fiction stories that mix philosophy with political intrigue, then you'll love Mark Cooper's unequivocal masterpiece. Pick up this box set, and you'll get a free two-chapter preview of Operation Breakout (book 4).
Buy The Merkiaari Wars Books 1-3 and start reading today! Author InterviewQ - What inspired you to write The Merkiaari Wars?A - I love science fiction and space opera. I can never read enough futuristic war novels about galactic empires! I always write books that I would read myself. When people ask me about other author's novels, I tell them to try the books I love. Books like C J Cherryh's Chanur series. I absolutely devoured them. Did you know my aliens, the Shan, were inspired by Chanur? I love the idea of cat-like aliens. My space battles are David Weber's fault. I could never get enough of Honor Harrington. And lastly, I couldn't possibly ignore his collaborations with John Ringo. John’s Empire of Man series is EPIC!Q - What order should I read the books in?A - Although each book in the series "could" be read as a standalone book, I don't recommend it. Each one is intricately woven into the overall story arc and linked to the plots of the previous novels. I'd suggest the following Hard Duty- What Price Honour- Operation Oracle- Operation Breakout- Incursion (TBA)Q - So, why should readers give these books a try?A - Because the Merkiaari Wars series is a fast and fun story full of interstellar action that takes no prisoners! Each of the books is packed with futuristic space battles or ground warfare with high stakes -- mankind's extinction. Ultimately, readers who enjoy lightning-fast pacing about space exploration and alien invasion in a far future time will love the series.The Merkiaari Wars Series eBook Space Opera books- Alien Invasion- Space Exploration novels- Genetic Engineering- Galactic Empire Series- Military Thriller- First Contact books- Space Marine- Space Fleet
In the far future, nanotechnology will be all that keeps us alive in a brutal war with the Merkiaari. Into this war-torn galaxy a courageous Marine, an alien geneticist, and a broken hero will unite in common cause...
The Merkiaari Wars Books 1-3 includes the first three installments in an epic space opera about space exploration and alien invasion. If you enjoy military science fiction stories that mix philosophy with political intrigue, then you'll love Mark Cooper's unequivocal masterpiece. Pick up this box set, and you'll get a free two-chapter preview of Operation Breakout (book 4).
Buy The Merkiaari Wars Books 1-3 and start reading today! Author InterviewQ - What inspired you to write The Merkiaari Wars?A - I love science fiction and space opera. I can never read enough futuristic war novels about galactic empires! I always write books that I would read myself. When people ask me about other author's novels, I tell them to try the books I love. Books like C J Cherryh's Chanur series. I absolutely devoured them. Did you know my aliens, the Shan, were inspired by Chanur? I love the idea of cat-like aliens. My space battles are David Weber's fault. I could never get enough of Honor Harrington. And lastly, I couldn't possibly ignore his collaborations with John Ringo. John’s Empire of Man series is EPIC!Q - What order should I read the books in?A - Although each book in the series "could" be read as a standalone book, I don't recommend it. Each one is intricately woven into the overall story arc and linked to the plots of the previous novels. I'd suggest the following Hard Duty- What Price Honour- Operation Oracle- Operation Breakout- Incursion (TBA)Q - So, why should readers give these books a try?A - Because the Merkiaari Wars series is a fast and fun story full of interstellar action that takes no prisoners! Each of the books is packed with futuristic space battles or ground warfare with high stakes -- mankind's extinction. Ultimately, readers who enjoy lightning-fast pacing about space exploration and alien invasion in a far future time will love the series.The Merkiaari Wars Series eBook Space Opera books- Alien Invasion- Space Exploration novels- Genetic Engineering- Galactic Empire Series- Military Thriller- First Contact books- Space Marine- Space Fleet
1309 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2013
131 people are currently reading
266 people want to read
About the author
Mark E. Cooper
26 books245 followersIncursion: Merkiaari Wars 5 is out now (11/11/2016) http://www.impulsebooks.co.uk/incursion/
Mark E. Cooper lives alone in a small town in the south of England, where he writes most mornings and evenings. His background is in mechanical engineering where he spent over thirty years working for Ford. He loves reading about strong female characters and can often be found laughing to himself as he listens to a book on his iPod.
His hobbies include driving his cobra--a V12 monster he built with his best friend--reading fantasy and sci-fi, and maintaining his blog at http://www.impulsebooks.co.uk/markcoo...
He is now the author of more than eight titles in the genres he loves to read.
Mark E. Cooper lives alone in a small town in the south of England, where he writes most mornings and evenings. His background is in mechanical engineering where he spent over thirty years working for Ford. He loves reading about strong female characters and can often be found laughing to himself as he listens to a book on his iPod.
His hobbies include driving his cobra--a V12 monster he built with his best friend--reading fantasy and sci-fi, and maintaining his blog at http://www.impulsebooks.co.uk/markcoo...
He is now the author of more than eight titles in the genres he loves to read.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
December 30, 2015
This is kind of a mixed bag of really trope laden crap, mediocre military sci-fi, fun action and adventure, and interesting alien first contact. There were points in this collection where I was fully invested and couldn't want to see what happens next, and other points that were just so cliche it almost physically hurt. On the balance, I enjoyed the series, especially the first book with its fun first contact story. It slid down hill from there as it started to fetishize boring super soldiers who everyone apparently hates, despite them saving human civilization with their superman abilities. Apparently, a serious threat of extermination isn't enough to make people not be freaked out by a very small handful of people with a few military upgrades.
I would almost give this collection 4 stars its fun action/adventure mindset and fun first contact story (especially in the first book), but you have to wade through trope laden crap and sloppy world building to get there. There is nothing all that deep here. There are no particularly good ideas. The aliens vary between being basically human (appearances aside), and hilariously evil. The military SF part is not bad, but it isn't much better than mediocre. If you are looking for mindless humans vs aliens SF, this won't treat you wrong. If you are looking for anything more, look elsewhere.
I would almost give this collection 4 stars its fun action/adventure mindset and fun first contact story (especially in the first book), but you have to wade through trope laden crap and sloppy world building to get there. There is nothing all that deep here. There are no particularly good ideas. The aliens vary between being basically human (appearances aside), and hilariously evil. The military SF part is not bad, but it isn't much better than mediocre. If you are looking for mindless humans vs aliens SF, this won't treat you wrong. If you are looking for anything more, look elsewhere.
August 10, 2016
The series begins years after the devastating Merkiaari invasion that caused the loss of billions of lives on 80 worlds. The Merkiaari were finally forced to retreat, but the losses were staggering. Humanity survived and forged on. Now they are exploring, but the lessons of the Merkiaari have made them very cautious.
While humans are out there exploring, General Burgton has been constantly assessing everything happening in the human-occupied corner of the galaxy. Convinced the Merkiaari will return in 5 years, he is doing everything he can to make sure humans are ready.
Book 1, Hard Duty, begins with the story of first contact with the Shan. As a people, the Shan have the right balance of alien- and human-like characteristics to engage my interest. Tei’Varyk and Shima are two of several Shan characters that stood out. Shima’s story, in particular, I found to be quite touching.
While humans are first reaching out to their new allies, the Shan are attacked by the Merkiaari. So, it turns out General Burgton had good cause to be worried.
Book 2, What Price Honour, takes up General Burgton’s cause. After the first war, the number of Vipers was limited to 100 because the cyborg supersoliders were feared by the unenhanced humans. After the Merkiaari attack on the Shan, the need for Burgton’s Vipers has never been more evident. What Price Honour shows us the very human side of Vipers. The story of the transformation of Gina Fuentez to Viper and her subsequent role in defending the Shan world against the Merkiaari is riveting.
Book 3, Operation Oracle, takes General Burgton’s plan to defend humanity to new heights. Burgton will do absolutely anything to make sure the Merkiaari don’t succeed and AI is his solution. But getting an AI to the Viper base planet Snake Home will become a challenging task. Gina and Viper Eric Penleigh take on the mission. The mission is quite the adventure, but unlike other Viper missions, they are lacking a lot of critical details about the objective. They will have to wing it and the end result will not be what they were expecting.
41 hours and 32 minutes. That’s the run time for the audiobook narration of Merkiaari Wars 1-3. I listened to every minute of it. And wished there was more.
It’s kind of like a TV series with a continuing story. As the series continues, story lines are resolved, but more story lines keep going. For that reason, I recommend reading the series in order. There will be cliffhangers, so if you are reading book by book, be prepared to groan, especially at the end of book 1.
At first, I would have described the construction of this story as blocky. Chunks of seemingly unrelated story lines strung together. Interesting story lines, but still, unrelated. By the time I got to book two, the blockiness seemed to smooth out a bit. I’m through book three now, and there is still a story line from book 1 (planet Thurston) that does not seem to have anything to do with the rest of the series, but maybe it will make sense in the next book. And I am in it for at least one more book. Maybe more. It appears that there at least 5 books planned. Again, maybe more. I really enjoyed the narration by Mikael Naramore, so I will most likely stick with the audiobooks too.
Merkiaari Wars is military and space exploration scifi. There are many very likeable characters that I was drawn to. The excellent development of these characters make an enjoyable story out of what, otherwise, could have been a dry war story. Shima and Gina a very engaging heroines. Heroines is exactly what they are. They, and several others, will rise to personal greatness under very difficult situations. I look forward to seeing what happens to them in future installments.
There is a lot of action. And much of the action is very violent. I’m just warning you. Violence happens in a war though, and so it is be expected.
In Merkiaari Wars, humanity is united in the fight against the Merkiaari (mostly). So, on the good guys side, intrigue is not a big part of the story. On the Merkiarri side, however, there is some dissension in the ranks and the power structure invites intrigue. There is much more to be told of the Merkiaari. More to look forward to.
If you are looking for amazing characters, non-stop action, in a combination of military and space exploration scifi, I recommend you pick up and read or listen to Merkiarri Wars.
Originally posted at Whiskey With My Book.
While humans are out there exploring, General Burgton has been constantly assessing everything happening in the human-occupied corner of the galaxy. Convinced the Merkiaari will return in 5 years, he is doing everything he can to make sure humans are ready.
Book 1, Hard Duty, begins with the story of first contact with the Shan. As a people, the Shan have the right balance of alien- and human-like characteristics to engage my interest. Tei’Varyk and Shima are two of several Shan characters that stood out. Shima’s story, in particular, I found to be quite touching.
While humans are first reaching out to their new allies, the Shan are attacked by the Merkiaari. So, it turns out General Burgton had good cause to be worried.
Book 2, What Price Honour, takes up General Burgton’s cause. After the first war, the number of Vipers was limited to 100 because the cyborg supersoliders were feared by the unenhanced humans. After the Merkiaari attack on the Shan, the need for Burgton’s Vipers has never been more evident. What Price Honour shows us the very human side of Vipers. The story of the transformation of Gina Fuentez to Viper and her subsequent role in defending the Shan world against the Merkiaari is riveting.
Book 3, Operation Oracle, takes General Burgton’s plan to defend humanity to new heights. Burgton will do absolutely anything to make sure the Merkiaari don’t succeed and AI is his solution. But getting an AI to the Viper base planet Snake Home will become a challenging task. Gina and Viper Eric Penleigh take on the mission. The mission is quite the adventure, but unlike other Viper missions, they are lacking a lot of critical details about the objective. They will have to wing it and the end result will not be what they were expecting.
41 hours and 32 minutes. That’s the run time for the audiobook narration of Merkiaari Wars 1-3. I listened to every minute of it. And wished there was more.
It’s kind of like a TV series with a continuing story. As the series continues, story lines are resolved, but more story lines keep going. For that reason, I recommend reading the series in order. There will be cliffhangers, so if you are reading book by book, be prepared to groan, especially at the end of book 1.
At first, I would have described the construction of this story as blocky. Chunks of seemingly unrelated story lines strung together. Interesting story lines, but still, unrelated. By the time I got to book two, the blockiness seemed to smooth out a bit. I’m through book three now, and there is still a story line from book 1 (planet Thurston) that does not seem to have anything to do with the rest of the series, but maybe it will make sense in the next book. And I am in it for at least one more book. Maybe more. It appears that there at least 5 books planned. Again, maybe more. I really enjoyed the narration by Mikael Naramore, so I will most likely stick with the audiobooks too.
Merkiaari Wars is military and space exploration scifi. There are many very likeable characters that I was drawn to. The excellent development of these characters make an enjoyable story out of what, otherwise, could have been a dry war story. Shima and Gina a very engaging heroines. Heroines is exactly what they are. They, and several others, will rise to personal greatness under very difficult situations. I look forward to seeing what happens to them in future installments.
There is a lot of action. And much of the action is very violent. I’m just warning you. Violence happens in a war though, and so it is be expected.
In Merkiaari Wars, humanity is united in the fight against the Merkiaari (mostly). So, on the good guys side, intrigue is not a big part of the story. On the Merkiarri side, however, there is some dissension in the ranks and the power structure invites intrigue. There is much more to be told of the Merkiaari. More to look forward to.
If you are looking for amazing characters, non-stop action, in a combination of military and space exploration scifi, I recommend you pick up and read or listen to Merkiarri Wars.
Originally posted at Whiskey With My Book.
June 18, 2018
The first book in this collection is a bit rough. The universe and conflict in it is great. Then there’s issues with the pacing that can bog the book down a little too much on occasion. So it doesn’t flow as smoothly as the others. Books 2 and 3 though, they find the pace that they’re searching for and continue fleshing out the world and the conflicts in it. So it’s improving throughout the trilogy.
April 3, 2021
Keep in mind – this review is of Merkiaari Wars (Books 1-3), but was experienced through the audio book on Audible. Listening to a book has been my chosen way of enjoying others’ fiction for a few years now, mainly because of how jealously I covet my sit-down time (any time I CAN sit down, I want to be WRITING, so when I can’t sit because I’m running errands or commuting, I can “read” without feeling like I’m losing that writing time.) I’m aware that this distorts my impression of a book, because the narrator has interjected himself between the reader and the author, but I’ve chosen to live with that possible distortion. (If the author has taken some time with the narrator, it IS possible that the narrator’s performance is closer to the author’s intent than what I might interpret reading it with my own eyes and relative ignorance.)
Following there may be a minor spoiler or two, but I really don’t give away too much.
When I picked Merkiaari Wars, I didn’t pay enough attention to the subgenre. I caught that an alien species is encountered, knew there would be different planets, space travel and combat, and some variety of alien culture. I did encounter those elements, and at the beginning felt I had made the right choice.
The start of the trilogy (books 1-3 are Hard Duty, What Price Honour, and Operation Oracle) feels like an Alien Encounter-Fantasy-Drama (I know that’s not a genre – humor me.) We’re introduced to the Shan , who are a feline sort of species. I like the way the author develops this race and its culture. In the book we spend some time with the Shan, and with the human explorers who are spying on their new potential allies until contact is finally made. This is followed very quickly by a devastating invasion of the Shan system by the Merkiaari, who have attacked both the Shan and Humanity before.
- AND THEN
The story shifts totally away from the Shan system and into military scifi, dealing with normal humans. Lots of weapons techno-babble that held no interest for me at first, mainly because (as I said) I picked the book because of the alien encounter at the start – my fault for not looking further to see what I was getting into, but it means it took me longer to adjust to the new tone so I could fully appreciate it. I kept wondering why the author abandoned the Shan storyline and went to all this unrelated covert military ops. Well, it IS related, but I was sucked into it before the story finally returned to the Shan.
Somewhere in the third book we begin to see things from a third viewpoint – that of the Merkiaari. And at the end we’re left with a couple of cliffhangers (there are at least two other books beyond these three), and I’m sorely tempted to dive into both, but it will be a while, as I am sworn to NOT get tied up in a series – I’m supposed to be experiencing several different authors. But I will return to this series – it’s too good not to know what happens next.
Following there may be a minor spoiler or two, but I really don’t give away too much.
When I picked Merkiaari Wars, I didn’t pay enough attention to the subgenre. I caught that an alien species is encountered, knew there would be different planets, space travel and combat, and some variety of alien culture. I did encounter those elements, and at the beginning felt I had made the right choice.
The start of the trilogy (books 1-3 are Hard Duty, What Price Honour, and Operation Oracle) feels like an Alien Encounter-Fantasy-Drama (I know that’s not a genre – humor me.) We’re introduced to the Shan , who are a feline sort of species. I like the way the author develops this race and its culture. In the book we spend some time with the Shan, and with the human explorers who are spying on their new potential allies until contact is finally made. This is followed very quickly by a devastating invasion of the Shan system by the Merkiaari, who have attacked both the Shan and Humanity before.
- AND THEN
The story shifts totally away from the Shan system and into military scifi, dealing with normal humans. Lots of weapons techno-babble that held no interest for me at first, mainly because (as I said) I picked the book because of the alien encounter at the start – my fault for not looking further to see what I was getting into, but it means it took me longer to adjust to the new tone so I could fully appreciate it. I kept wondering why the author abandoned the Shan storyline and went to all this unrelated covert military ops. Well, it IS related, but I was sucked into it before the story finally returned to the Shan.
Somewhere in the third book we begin to see things from a third viewpoint – that of the Merkiaari. And at the end we’re left with a couple of cliffhangers (there are at least two other books beyond these three), and I’m sorely tempted to dive into both, but it will be a while, as I am sworn to NOT get tied up in a series – I’m supposed to be experiencing several different authors. But I will return to this series – it’s too good not to know what happens next.
May 21, 2020
Hard Duty: Merkiaari Wars, Book 1
What Price Honour, Book 2
Operation Oracle, Book 3
Operation Breakout Book 4
Incursion: Book 5
At the time I read these Book 6 not released yet!
Do NOT buy this book! Buying this book means you will definitely end up buying the rest of the series. And when you do that, you will not be able to rest until you have completely finished these page turners! You will be hopelessly caught up in the Merkiaari universe and you will enjoy every minute of it (-: An incredible space opera that is truly epic in breadth, width, and scope. All joking aside, one thing I do love about this series is that each book has a true, satisfying ending. You do not have to buy each subsequent book to find out what happens. No marketing gimmicks here. But you will end up buying them anyway because you will miss the universe and characters this author has so elegantly created.
What Price Honour, Book 2
Operation Oracle, Book 3
Operation Breakout Book 4
Incursion: Book 5
At the time I read these Book 6 not released yet!
Do NOT buy this book! Buying this book means you will definitely end up buying the rest of the series. And when you do that, you will not be able to rest until you have completely finished these page turners! You will be hopelessly caught up in the Merkiaari universe and you will enjoy every minute of it (-: An incredible space opera that is truly epic in breadth, width, and scope. All joking aside, one thing I do love about this series is that each book has a true, satisfying ending. You do not have to buy each subsequent book to find out what happens. No marketing gimmicks here. But you will end up buying them anyway because you will miss the universe and characters this author has so elegantly created.
September 17, 2017
Another masterful collaboration from Mark and Mikael.
The story and narrator work very well together and 3 books in 1 go is an excellent deal.
If bought as a whisper sync then this is one of the deals of the decade for its size and quality.
The people , alien life , and others come alive as your not long in being caught up with the fate of the characters even the usual bad aliens.
The fight for survival in a world where even the heroes in this case Vipers and the aliens fight for recognition and the respect from their peers bring a level to the storytelling that will im sure make you an instant fan. The popularity of this series will bring you into a world which will have many more books im sure.
The story and narrator work very well together and 3 books in 1 go is an excellent deal.
If bought as a whisper sync then this is one of the deals of the decade for its size and quality.
The people , alien life , and others come alive as your not long in being caught up with the fate of the characters even the usual bad aliens.
The fight for survival in a world where even the heroes in this case Vipers and the aliens fight for recognition and the respect from their peers bring a level to the storytelling that will im sure make you an instant fan. The popularity of this series will bring you into a world which will have many more books im sure.
September 20, 2017
This may be the longest series I have read all at one time.41 hours or so.I enjoyed it for the most part.I liked the relationships built by the humans and the Shan.Sebastian was also an interesting character.It was interesting to see the way the attitudes in the first book carried over and some were changed by the last book.I am glad to see that there are two more books in this series!Mikael Narramore was a terrific narrator.He got all the voices just right.“I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.”
April 20, 2018
A very good read. Good plot and likeable characters. As a trilogy, I expected more closure then I received from Book 3. I was disappointed. I haven't checked, but it's pretty obvious there's more - or at least the author's intention is to write more.
November 14, 2015
Book 1 - 4 star
Book 2 - 3 star
Book 3 - 4 star
The stories told here are set upon the backdrop of a war between the human colonised worlds and an alien race they encounter, the Merkiaari (or ‘Merki’ as they are often colloquially called). The main war was centuries ago, when the Merki attacked without warning, as the humans tried to make contact. Humans lost billions of people and several planets before beating back the Merki. Now the Merki haven’t been heard from for a while but remain a constant threat hanging over the humans. Out there somewhere, likely to come back eventually. Now the humans come across another alien race. Will this one be as violent as the last?
Despite the name “the Merkiaari Wars Series”, the Merki don’t actually feature prominently for most of the books. They are that ever constant threat, but rarely seen. It is only really the end of the second book that really sees a large amount of interaction with them.
Book One (Hard Duty) covers the meeting of humans with the Shan and how that goes. It follows starship ASN Canada and its crew and they investigate and learn about the Shan. The Shan are an interesting alien race and are well described, with their appearance, actions, culture etc. given in great detail. This is an interesting and enjoyable “meeting of cultures” type book. It5 is a great setup and promises some interesting things to come. It ends with a cliffhanger that probably would have made me pick up the next book if I didn’t already have it.
Then we come to Book Two (What Price Honour). For the longest time it doesn’t feel like a sequel, simply another story in the same universe. It takes until nearly 2/3 through the book before the storyline from the first book actually comes into play and the stories dovetail. Because of this very few of the characters from the first book are seen in this one, and when they are they play bit parts at most. Book 2 focuses on a couple of soldiers as they are recruited and trained for the an elite fighting force called The Vipers, the 501st Infantry Regiment (not sure if this is the reason Cooper chose to call them the 501st, but the 501st is the designation of the regiment of stormtroopers that Darth Vader has with him at all times). The Vipers are a hybrid human-nanotech super solider, developed to fight the Merki – not dissimilar to the soldiers in Scalzi’s Old Man’s War series.
Because of the large shift in storyline between books 1 and 2 it felt like Cooper got bored with his Shan storyline and thought “I want to tell a space marine story”. It would have been better to weave the two stories – ASN Canada and the Shan, the Vipers story – across the two books, rather than having them as two discrete stories. Eventually they do dovetails as the Vipers are called in to the Shan world.
Book Three (Operation Oracle) wraps up the ending of the Shan world story reasonably quickly, before following the main Viper characters from book 2 onto a new story. Again the focus on the book 2 characters, with book 1 people relegated to minor parts, and the fact that Cooper wraps up the Shan fairly quickly (although a small story is carried through the book at points), makes me think Cooper changed him mind about the direction of the books after finishing book 1. Which is a shame, because it enjoyed where book 1 went.
Book 3 has a different feel again to the first two. Although it follows familiar characters the story itself is mostly completely unrelated to the first books. This is not a problem per se. just something to be aware of it you are expecting direct sequels.
Book three also adds in a couple of chapters from a Merki point of view. The first time this happens is very earlier in the book and adds very little, especially as it happens only the once during the actual storyline. The second (and final) time we get a Merki POV is right at the end, as a kind of epilogue (although not the epilogue as there is one of those). This fleshes out the Merki a lot and really adds to the story. It’s the first really look into their worlds, cultures and thought processes and it’s a really great addition.
This ending, plus the epilogue, set up the 4th book really well. However, based on how the 2nd and 3rd books followed up on their previous books I do wonder if the ending of the 3rd will be dealt with properly or just brushed away if the author decides he as a different idea.
In the end the stories are interesting and enjoyable. The writing is good (improvement in writing is seen across the book). It just seems that the direction of the series is all over the place.
---
Mikael Naramore does well with the narration. He is easy to follow, carried the emotions and mood well and distinguishes characters. When the Vipers internal computer talks to them he applies a little bit of vocal distortion. It works really well for what it is, and adds to the book, but is thankfully used sparingly. If it has been used too much it would have been a problem.
----
This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of audiobookblast dot com.
Book 2 - 3 star
Book 3 - 4 star
The stories told here are set upon the backdrop of a war between the human colonised worlds and an alien race they encounter, the Merkiaari (or ‘Merki’ as they are often colloquially called). The main war was centuries ago, when the Merki attacked without warning, as the humans tried to make contact. Humans lost billions of people and several planets before beating back the Merki. Now the Merki haven’t been heard from for a while but remain a constant threat hanging over the humans. Out there somewhere, likely to come back eventually. Now the humans come across another alien race. Will this one be as violent as the last?
Despite the name “the Merkiaari Wars Series”, the Merki don’t actually feature prominently for most of the books. They are that ever constant threat, but rarely seen. It is only really the end of the second book that really sees a large amount of interaction with them.
Book One (Hard Duty) covers the meeting of humans with the Shan and how that goes. It follows starship ASN Canada and its crew and they investigate and learn about the Shan. The Shan are an interesting alien race and are well described, with their appearance, actions, culture etc. given in great detail. This is an interesting and enjoyable “meeting of cultures” type book. It5 is a great setup and promises some interesting things to come. It ends with a cliffhanger that probably would have made me pick up the next book if I didn’t already have it.
Then we come to Book Two (What Price Honour). For the longest time it doesn’t feel like a sequel, simply another story in the same universe. It takes until nearly 2/3 through the book before the storyline from the first book actually comes into play and the stories dovetail. Because of this very few of the characters from the first book are seen in this one, and when they are they play bit parts at most. Book 2 focuses on a couple of soldiers as they are recruited and trained for the an elite fighting force called The Vipers, the 501st Infantry Regiment (not sure if this is the reason Cooper chose to call them the 501st, but the 501st is the designation of the regiment of stormtroopers that Darth Vader has with him at all times). The Vipers are a hybrid human-nanotech super solider, developed to fight the Merki – not dissimilar to the soldiers in Scalzi’s Old Man’s War series.
Because of the large shift in storyline between books 1 and 2 it felt like Cooper got bored with his Shan storyline and thought “I want to tell a space marine story”. It would have been better to weave the two stories – ASN Canada and the Shan, the Vipers story – across the two books, rather than having them as two discrete stories. Eventually they do dovetails as the Vipers are called in to the Shan world.
Book Three (Operation Oracle) wraps up the ending of the Shan world story reasonably quickly, before following the main Viper characters from book 2 onto a new story. Again the focus on the book 2 characters, with book 1 people relegated to minor parts, and the fact that Cooper wraps up the Shan fairly quickly (although a small story is carried through the book at points), makes me think Cooper changed him mind about the direction of the books after finishing book 1. Which is a shame, because it enjoyed where book 1 went.
Book 3 has a different feel again to the first two. Although it follows familiar characters the story itself is mostly completely unrelated to the first books. This is not a problem per se. just something to be aware of it you are expecting direct sequels.
Book three also adds in a couple of chapters from a Merki point of view. The first time this happens is very earlier in the book and adds very little, especially as it happens only the once during the actual storyline. The second (and final) time we get a Merki POV is right at the end, as a kind of epilogue (although not the epilogue as there is one of those). This fleshes out the Merki a lot and really adds to the story. It’s the first really look into their worlds, cultures and thought processes and it’s a really great addition.
This ending, plus the epilogue, set up the 4th book really well. However, based on how the 2nd and 3rd books followed up on their previous books I do wonder if the ending of the 3rd will be dealt with properly or just brushed away if the author decides he as a different idea.
In the end the stories are interesting and enjoyable. The writing is good (improvement in writing is seen across the book). It just seems that the direction of the series is all over the place.
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Mikael Naramore does well with the narration. He is easy to follow, carried the emotions and mood well and distinguishes characters. When the Vipers internal computer talks to them he applies a little bit of vocal distortion. It works really well for what it is, and adds to the book, but is thankfully used sparingly. If it has been used too much it would have been a problem.
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This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of audiobookblast dot com.
February 19, 2019
Nice work.
March 23, 2017
I loved books 1-3. Book 1 started out pretty good and the story continued to get better and better. I found it hard to stop listening to at the end of my day. Looking forward to book 4 now and eventually book 5. I'd definitely listen to other stories by this author. The narrator did a fantastic job as well with all the different voices! Excellent series!
November 26, 2015
This review is for the AUDIOBOOK version of title
The audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com.
200 years after the long spanning war with the Merkiaari (an evil alien race that seem to kill without reason or distinction), Captain Colgan discovers a new race of cat-like people called the Shan. The decision is made to initiate first contact and a team of specialists is sent over. But are the Shan friendly, or will a new war ensue?
This is a compilation of the first three books from the Merkiaari Wars series and without spoiling too much, the first book deals with first contact with the Shan, the second book with war and the last book is a bit of the aftermath and a salvage mission.
The focus of the story keeps shifting between several protagonists allowing us to experience their viewpoints (including several alien ones).
While each book is self contained none of them wrap up the story (not even the 3rd book), making you want to keep going to the next in the series.
The story told is very interesting and mostly enjoyable. My main gripe is about the pacing, at times the story felt riddled with details and the plot slowed to a crawl, on other times I felt the story derailed completely and wished it would get back on track. In my opinion shortening the books a bit could have helped here (since sometimes less is more).
The narration by Mikael Naramore is nothing short of excellent, his voice is clear and he adds some effects when narrating the computer dialogue which I thought was a nice touch. He acts out the book which is something I personally enjoy immensely.
To summarize - An enjoyable story despite some pacing issues, still very much recommended.
The audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com.
200 years after the long spanning war with the Merkiaari (an evil alien race that seem to kill without reason or distinction), Captain Colgan discovers a new race of cat-like people called the Shan. The decision is made to initiate first contact and a team of specialists is sent over. But are the Shan friendly, or will a new war ensue?
This is a compilation of the first three books from the Merkiaari Wars series and without spoiling too much, the first book deals with first contact with the Shan, the second book with war and the last book is a bit of the aftermath and a salvage mission.
The focus of the story keeps shifting between several protagonists allowing us to experience their viewpoints (including several alien ones).
While each book is self contained none of them wrap up the story (not even the 3rd book), making you want to keep going to the next in the series.
The story told is very interesting and mostly enjoyable. My main gripe is about the pacing, at times the story felt riddled with details and the plot slowed to a crawl, on other times I felt the story derailed completely and wished it would get back on track. In my opinion shortening the books a bit could have helped here (since sometimes less is more).
The narration by Mikael Naramore is nothing short of excellent, his voice is clear and he adds some effects when narrating the computer dialogue which I thought was a nice touch. He acts out the book which is something I personally enjoy immensely.
To summarize - An enjoyable story despite some pacing issues, still very much recommended.
January 6, 2017
This was an odd feeling trilogy. First - it IS a Trilogy... perhaps in the truest sense of the word. Each of these three books could be read and enjoyed completely isolated from the others and the reader would not feel like the missed anything...
but reading them through one and then 2 and then 3... is very good. But do not expect to move from book 1 to book 2 and carry your context with you. This writer does not do little flashback scenarios to bring the last book into the current one. He writes his book - and it just happens to have some of the same characters - at different times and engrossed in different projects than what ever came before in Book one (or two if you happen to be reading book 3)...
Its a great ride.
The one thing to know is that many of the characters are very Marine... there is a military flavor for much of the book (s). I do not much care for the military obsession.. but I really enjoyed these books and so - even if you think you dont much care for military action... you might want to give it a try - its definitely worth your time.
Great story!
Well written.
Great reader (for the audio version - which is what I listened to).
Recommended!
but reading them through one and then 2 and then 3... is very good. But do not expect to move from book 1 to book 2 and carry your context with you. This writer does not do little flashback scenarios to bring the last book into the current one. He writes his book - and it just happens to have some of the same characters - at different times and engrossed in different projects than what ever came before in Book one (or two if you happen to be reading book 3)...
Its a great ride.
The one thing to know is that many of the characters are very Marine... there is a military flavor for much of the book (s). I do not much care for the military obsession.. but I really enjoyed these books and so - even if you think you dont much care for military action... you might want to give it a try - its definitely worth your time.
Great story!
Well written.
Great reader (for the audio version - which is what I listened to).
Recommended!
December 29, 2014
Got this series cheap on book bub. Military SF. Humans have expanded in the universe, and have first contact with an alien race, the Merkiaari, that tries to destroy them. Humans developa cyber soldier that allows them to beat back the aliens. 200 yrs go by, the cyber soldiers, Vipers, are reduced to a skeleton force that carry out special ops against priates and other criminal elements. After turning inward and rebulding destroyed human worlds, the Alliance, starts exploring the universe again. First contact is make with a cat-like sentient race of aliens. the Shan. Just as contact is made, the Merkiaari, swoop down on the Sahn worlds and start beating the crap out of them. The Shan's new allies, the Alliance, promises to help defend them and the Vipers are trhown into the breach. Interesting, first contact story. Nice military SF of the GI Joe variety. I'd read other books in the series.
October 17, 2015
This collection of the first 3 books in the series was a very enjoyable listen. Narration was excellent. There is no single main character but is a story of many people and places at war with alien invaders. There are good guys, bad guys and guys that your not quite sure of. The world the author created contains love, laughter, tears, violence, despair and hope. The action was steady, becoming frenzied at times and kept my interest throughout despite the collection being 40 hours long. When finished I still wanted more. The last book naturally ends in a cliff hanger that will make you want to get the next one to see what happens to the newest character introduced into the story.
"This audio book was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com."
"This audio book was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com."
November 3, 2015
Just finished the audible edition of around 41.5 hours. A really good listen. No boring minutes but a couple of boring moments. For instance, I found hearing about the difference between the current rifle and the previous model used 200 years ago a bit slow. Otherwise it moved at a good clip.
Cooper has a way of describing aliens in such a way that I found myself emphasizing with even the ones I shouldn't be.
600 years from now politics is still politics.
Over the past 50 years I've read a bit of science fiction. I've read some dross and I've read some really good stuff. This falls toward the good stuff end of the spectrum.
Cooper has a way of describing aliens in such a way that I found myself emphasizing with even the ones I shouldn't be.
600 years from now politics is still politics.
Over the past 50 years I've read a bit of science fiction. I've read some dross and I've read some really good stuff. This falls toward the good stuff end of the spectrum.
May 19, 2016
Merkiaari Wars Series: Book 1 - 3 by Mark E. Cooper is a collection of the first 3 books of a great sci-fi / space opera series. I was hooked after reading his tag line in the Amazon description, "Humanity has been ravaged by alien war. Will the next encounter spell the end of mankind?"
If you buy this series be prepared to dedicate a lot of time to it, you will not be able to put it down. I usually read one book in a series and then wait a month or two before reading the next. Once I started this series, I could not stop until I had finished all three and ordered book 4.
I highly recommend Merkiaari Wars Series: Book 1-3 by Mark E. Cooper and be prepared to be hooked.
If you buy this series be prepared to dedicate a lot of time to it, you will not be able to put it down. I usually read one book in a series and then wait a month or two before reading the next. Once I started this series, I could not stop until I had finished all three and ordered book 4.
I highly recommend Merkiaari Wars Series: Book 1-3 by Mark E. Cooper and be prepared to be hooked.
January 11, 2016
SIMPLY OUTSTANDING
With leaps which take his stories light-years beyond his peers, Mark writes beautifully detailed, well thought out themes and his characters are richly hewn from the immense planets he creates.
This book reveals in embryo the writer as a superb writer, a frontier leaping author with much to disclose over his long career.
Thought provoking, a backdrop to one of the many futures of humankind, elaborately descriptive and full of immense genius…
Do not miss the opportunity to dip into the depths of superb science fiction!
With leaps which take his stories light-years beyond his peers, Mark writes beautifully detailed, well thought out themes and his characters are richly hewn from the immense planets he creates.
This book reveals in embryo the writer as a superb writer, a frontier leaping author with much to disclose over his long career.
Thought provoking, a backdrop to one of the many futures of humankind, elaborately descriptive and full of immense genius…
Do not miss the opportunity to dip into the depths of superb science fiction!
January 8, 2017
I enjoy nearly all genres of literature and this series is a fine example of SF. however I do prefer fully self-contained books without cliff-hanger endings. This is purely a personal preference and does not reflect critically on the books as they are in a series.
The premise and context of the characters and stories is exciting and well orchestrated, and makes me want more... The character development is excellent as it deepens over time, as is the case whenever one gets to know and understand a friend, colleague or adversary.
The premise and context of the characters and stories is exciting and well orchestrated, and makes me want more... The character development is excellent as it deepens over time, as is the case whenever one gets to know and understand a friend, colleague or adversary.
February 8, 2017
Parts of it were ok.
July 30, 2015
Great intro to interesting universe
The three books comprising this omnibus show an intriguing future where man is confronted by a powerful foe and need to adapt their approach to survive and hopefully overcome. FTL space travel, advanced genetics, AI, nanotechnology are among the advanced sciences along a some alien races and exotic worlds the author reveals to the enjoyment of this reader. I'm looking forward to future stories in this series.
The three books comprising this omnibus show an intriguing future where man is confronted by a powerful foe and need to adapt their approach to survive and hopefully overcome. FTL space travel, advanced genetics, AI, nanotechnology are among the advanced sciences along a some alien races and exotic worlds the author reveals to the enjoyment of this reader. I'm looking forward to future stories in this series.
November 13, 2017
one of the best scifi books that I've read/listened to in a long long time. The action is legitimate and the strong female leads were such a nice change to the usual trope. The voice acting in the audiobook was amazing.
This is a rare case of me buying the next book in the series because it was so good, I have so many books I normally just switch to a new one but this story has been so fantastic to read and to listen to while I walk that I had to keep it going
recommended 10/10
This is a rare case of me buying the next book in the series because it was so good, I have so many books I normally just switch to a new one but this story has been so fantastic to read and to listen to while I walk that I had to keep it going
recommended 10/10
January 3, 2019
A kind of wandering trilogy of linked experiences in a story but not really a solid story.
Three books that only feel connected because some of the characters move from book to book but it really feels disjointed and lacking.
The characters aren't that interesting. The story isn't that compelling, especially by the third book. It's not quite boring but it's just not that great either.
Given the choice, I'd like the time spent reading it back.
Three books that only feel connected because some of the characters move from book to book but it really feels disjointed and lacking.
The characters aren't that interesting. The story isn't that compelling, especially by the third book. It's not quite boring but it's just not that great either.
Given the choice, I'd like the time spent reading it back.
October 9, 2016
Overall a good read
I found the first of the first book slow as the stage was set, but muscled through it based on a friends recommendation.
The reward was a solid, pleasurable read that has me wanting to continue the series. Enjoyable enough that is has interfered with my getting work done from the office.
I have purchased the fourth book and look forward to starting it.
I found the first of the first book slow as the stage was set, but muscled through it based on a friends recommendation.
The reward was a solid, pleasurable read that has me wanting to continue the series. Enjoyable enough that is has interfered with my getting work done from the office.
I have purchased the fourth book and look forward to starting it.
June 1, 2014
Truth in words and deeds
A very good read,for sour.A story of life,in the world of planets for good or bad and the help of the human A1 's in a cold bloody war, which life has no mining or will it?
A very good read,for sour.A story of life,in the world of planets for good or bad and the help of the human A1 's in a cold bloody war, which life has no mining or will it?
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September 7, 2014Trop de longueurs ... les trois tomes auraient pu être condensés en un seul volume et ce serait devenu passionnant Là je n'ai pu m'empêcher de sauter des passages entiers de blabla répétitif Des humains et des ET très stéréotypés
December 1, 2014
Mermaids Warrs
To me the strength of the book was the way he introduced the different elements of the book. It was easy to care what happened. The characters were well developed, both good and bad. The suspense built throughout the book
To me the strength of the book was the way he introduced the different elements of the book. It was easy to care what happened. The characters were well developed, both good and bad. The suspense built throughout the book
August 3, 2016
Interesting story, though I see a lot of echoes of other novels. I guess that's just a fact, there's nothing new under the sun! However, I did enjoy the storyline and I'm looking forward to the next set.
January 12, 2021
Exquisite books with an incredible universe. I've read loads of space based Sci fi and fantasy after these and nothing else gives the same fix I need for interesting concepts and space special forces. Re read a few times now and love going back every time.
February 5, 2014
Great sci-fi series ! Really enjoyed it !
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