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Majesty's Offspring
Majesty's Offspring (Book 1)
“In the end, it was our children that saved us. They sacrificed themselves to stop that bitch from having children of her own.”
General Hugo Valdez
United Earth Parliament (UEP) Planetary Infantry Corps
January 2074
More than a century ago, UEP Captain Julius Verndock helped end a galactic war with Majesty—the first truly living machine, thanks to manmade artificial intelligence. For decades, Majesty and humanity had lived together in harmony, with mankind reaping the benefits of a world free of disease, famine, and even aging.
But when Majesty decided she wanted to “birth” her own A.I. offspring creation, a joint interplanetary military effort fought and finally defeated her, then eradicated all existing artificial intelligence … or so they thought.
Today, in 2213, Julius Verndock is still a captain—but now he’s the commander of the Sea Wolf, a spaceship used to advance its crew’s life of piracy. As Julius and his business partner, Laina Edwards, begin to each think about leaving the pirate life behind, their hopes for a peaceful retirement are shattered … by an A.I. being who calls herself Chorus and claims to be the “daughter” of Majesty.
With universal uproar over the discovery of A.I. and the danger it poses, Julius and the rest of the Sea Wolf contingent have no one to trust—but Chorus, and she insists that she wants only peace between mankind and herself.
Hunted by warring factions—and an even greater, more mysterious threat—Julius, Laina, and their colorful crew of fellow pirates must protect Chorus or risk letting her fall into the wrong hands … to unleash yet another interstellar conflict that could end in the death of mankind.
General Hugo Valdez
United Earth Parliament (UEP) Planetary Infantry Corps
January 2074
More than a century ago, UEP Captain Julius Verndock helped end a galactic war with Majesty—the first truly living machine, thanks to manmade artificial intelligence. For decades, Majesty and humanity had lived together in harmony, with mankind reaping the benefits of a world free of disease, famine, and even aging.
But when Majesty decided she wanted to “birth” her own A.I. offspring creation, a joint interplanetary military effort fought and finally defeated her, then eradicated all existing artificial intelligence … or so they thought.
Today, in 2213, Julius Verndock is still a captain—but now he’s the commander of the Sea Wolf, a spaceship used to advance its crew’s life of piracy. As Julius and his business partner, Laina Edwards, begin to each think about leaving the pirate life behind, their hopes for a peaceful retirement are shattered … by an A.I. being who calls herself Chorus and claims to be the “daughter” of Majesty.
With universal uproar over the discovery of A.I. and the danger it poses, Julius and the rest of the Sea Wolf contingent have no one to trust—but Chorus, and she insists that she wants only peace between mankind and herself.
Hunted by warring factions—and an even greater, more mysterious threat—Julius, Laina, and their colorful crew of fellow pirates must protect Chorus or risk letting her fall into the wrong hands … to unleash yet another interstellar conflict that could end in the death of mankind.
- GenresScience FictionEbooks
217 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 20, 2011
26 people are currently reading
219 people want to read
About the author
A.J. Vega
4 books12 followersInspired at an early age by the works of Jack Chalker and Timothy Zahn, AJ is a part time freelance writer and full time computer geek. He holds a B.A. in Computer Science and is hard at work on both a prequel to Majesty’s Offspring titled Age of Majesty and a new alternate history, paranormal/sci-fi novel called Soul Census.
AJ resides in a cave surrounded by figments of his imagination who guard him from human contact so that he can continue to focus his energy on his writing, doing 3D modeling and art, and sometimes even playing a video game or two.
When not in front of the keyboard, AJ enjoys spending time with his family, biking, running, traveling and restaurant-hopping--- sometimes all in the same day.
AJ resides in a cave surrounded by figments of his imagination who guard him from human contact so that he can continue to focus his energy on his writing, doing 3D modeling and art, and sometimes even playing a video game or two.
When not in front of the keyboard, AJ enjoys spending time with his family, biking, running, traveling and restaurant-hopping--- sometimes all in the same day.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 26, 2012
"You're not getting top shelf on a pirate ship."
Majesty's Offspring is a strong, accessible, military space sci-fi novel that would please military space opera fans, sci-fi and cyberpunk fans -- as well as readers unfamiliar with the subgenre who want to try something new. Though I have not read military space opera before, I love Battlestar Galactica and Firefly; this book made me think of both, particularly with the captain, the shuttle, and the fighter-jockey-in-space action (e.g., navigating a path through notoriously difficult debris fields rife with gravitational anomalies, executing a complicated maneuver called 'shrapnel bloom', etc).
MO is written in third person and switches between the captain, the villain, a couple of members of the crew, a hacker or two, and an AI-controlled nanobot swarm. It didn't seem like too many POVs; I liked these other perspectives. Vega does a fine job with pacing, and weaving in exciting action with a character's thoughts.
The main character is Julius Verndock, a war hero-turned-pirate. He and his Sea Wolf crew loot cargo, but his heart's not in it anymore. Julius' medals are the last tangible link to a time when he had a purpose, but he gets what he wants when his crew loots a mysterious relic. This connects to another storyline with imprisoned hackers in the Martian mines, which reflects Julius' existential crisis of boredom and repetition. After looting the relic, Julius must protect a new version of the A.I. he helped kill in the war, because powerful factions want to harness or destroy her -- both of which would mean the end of humanity.
With the discovery of the A.I., Julius has no idea what the following day will bring, and feels alive again. I'm very curious to find out what happens with the Sea Wolf crew and the offspring, especially one nanobot swarm that will take the form of a human child and learn human behavior.
My only real criticism is that Vega kept mentioning a ship called the Z-40, and I was disappointed that that it wasn't a space Camaro based on the Z-28.
Majesty's Offspring is a strong, accessible, military space sci-fi novel that would please military space opera fans, sci-fi and cyberpunk fans -- as well as readers unfamiliar with the subgenre who want to try something new. Though I have not read military space opera before, I love Battlestar Galactica and Firefly; this book made me think of both, particularly with the captain, the shuttle, and the fighter-jockey-in-space action (e.g., navigating a path through notoriously difficult debris fields rife with gravitational anomalies, executing a complicated maneuver called 'shrapnel bloom', etc).
MO is written in third person and switches between the captain, the villain, a couple of members of the crew, a hacker or two, and an AI-controlled nanobot swarm. It didn't seem like too many POVs; I liked these other perspectives. Vega does a fine job with pacing, and weaving in exciting action with a character's thoughts.
The main character is Julius Verndock, a war hero-turned-pirate. He and his Sea Wolf crew loot cargo, but his heart's not in it anymore. Julius' medals are the last tangible link to a time when he had a purpose, but he gets what he wants when his crew loots a mysterious relic. This connects to another storyline with imprisoned hackers in the Martian mines, which reflects Julius' existential crisis of boredom and repetition. After looting the relic, Julius must protect a new version of the A.I. he helped kill in the war, because powerful factions want to harness or destroy her -- both of which would mean the end of humanity.
With the discovery of the A.I., Julius has no idea what the following day will bring, and feels alive again. I'm very curious to find out what happens with the Sea Wolf crew and the offspring, especially one nanobot swarm that will take the form of a human child and learn human behavior.
My only real criticism is that Vega kept mentioning a ship called the Z-40, and I was disappointed that that it wasn't a space Camaro based on the Z-28.
October 20, 2014
I won this is a goodreads giveaway. Typically I wouldn't have given this book a try just because it's not my regular reading genre. I have to admit though, I was pleasently surprised. While it still isn't "my type" of book I enjoyed reading it.
November 7, 2011
Loved this book. A definite read for the avid science fiction fan. Very detailed and fast paced. Extremely well written. 5 stars, hands down. Thank you, A.J. Vega.
October 7, 2017
Wonderful, Classic Space Opera
Vega's new edition of these two books far exceeds the original release...and that was a great classic space opera! Some of the unnecessary verbiage has been deleted, and IIRC, the plotline has improved and events have become easier to follow.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED AS BOTH INDIVIDUAL BOOKS AND (SOME DAY) THE SERIES!
Vega's new edition of these two books far exceeds the original release...and that was a great classic space opera! Some of the unnecessary verbiage has been deleted, and IIRC, the plotline has improved and events have become easier to follow.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED AS BOTH INDIVIDUAL BOOKS AND (SOME DAY) THE SERIES!
November 4, 2013
“Sometimes even the best-laid plans are goinghttps://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
to fail. When those plans fail, when your men are dead or dying,
and everything that was given to you to fight with is broken—the
only thing you have left that’s on your side is luck.” ch 18
Fast action. Love of flying, machines, battle tactics simplified. Lots of fights, even finding secret pirate home base, and training with simulated fire. Downside is long setup, atypical plot structure; people set up, endangered, not yet united for many final cliff-hangers. Two captured separately; some loose and lost; others outnumbered.
Chapter pictures of spaceships and Omega skyscraper towers look real, but people paintings, like video games. Is female, in ch 6 image, sidekick Laina? Her "short cropped" hair looks more like slicked-back ponytail, still realistic - smart, "lively green eyes in plain face". If the man is Julius, grey is more 50s than "did not look over 150 years old .. the body of someone in his thirties" ch 1 - make him an unusual hero.
New characters and threads add on (too many tiring) questions, complicate, intrigue. Julius hires six hotshot new pilots, and appoints the best, Reece, to lead Wolf Squadron. Lt Reece's look is unexpected, long dark hair, bulky, but the leather aviator jacket suits ch 15. Of course dogfight in a Sopwith Camel is a dream, but language is apropos to pilots and warriors.
Dagiri, who takes down Elation drug competitors, is satisfyingly bad. He even dresses like a villain should - jet black, cape, blood red slashes, man's severed leg in one hand, stun whip in the other. Who else would train a genetic tiger-croc and call the pet Nellie? Dump a cloned body to fake a death?
"Sleep is for those who just want to dream" ch 2, but he has big ambitions. Setting up undercover hackers Earthside to conquer biggest slave drivers, big corporations - a hint of politics without a lecture. He hires three hackers, led by Haylek "Waverider", not a spectacled nerd, rather hefty in a purple high Mohawk and bare arms (used for author's Goodreads profile).
Prefacing quotes catch moods, though relevance questionable. Why are divisions marked by "****"? For example, how does "Death Bytes" ch 10 title relate to content, Blackbeard Teach's cannon?
Typos:
ch 3 "them seat at a table" is seated
ch 7 "onto" is sometimes "on" as from "stepped onto it" "standing onto the floor", sometimes separate "on to" as from "hold onto the recruit ship" "turned Julius onto the asteroid field" ch 8
ch 10 "extravagancies" normally "extravagances", could be Laina's speech style if repeats elsewhere
ch 16 "auger in himself" could be "auger ill for himself"?
ch 17 "cursing every other word" is ", every other word a curse,"
ch 20 "78.9% are females" is "78.9% were females"
May 21, 2012
I feel conflicted about Majesty's Offspring. There were aspects of the story that I enjoyed, that kept me turning pages, and there were others that annoyed me. For instance, it is totally petty of me, but I hated the idea of some sort of gravity streams surrounding the pirates hidden base. I'm sorry, but gravity doesn't flow, flux, stream, or change directions. That's not something that a far future device can fix either, because the proposed gravity streams were supposed to be some sort of semi-natural phenomenon. The final kicker, though, is the way the book ends. It just stops. Though this is merely the first book in a series, there is no wrap up or conclusion of any kind for any of the characters throughout. The book just... stops. And that really annoys me.
(I believe the accepted wisdom is that the things that most annoy you in another person's story are the same areas that you are weakest at. In this instance, I'm quite sure it is true.)
(I believe the accepted wisdom is that the things that most annoy you in another person's story are the same areas that you are weakest at. In this instance, I'm quite sure it is true.)
July 13, 2016
Characters felt flat except for two. 140 pages before we even see chorus. Story spins in circles.
Julius is a broken human that does not contribute to the story constructively in any way.
Laina is a good character trying to save humanity and chorus.
Chorus is a great character, but does show up for most of the book and has limited screen time for a book about majesty's offspring they are strangely missing. M140 pages into the book before we even see chorus....this book should have been about her....most of the rest was uninteresting and did not contribute to the story in anyway.
Recommendation...rewrite entire story from chorus point of view or at least have the characters do something constructive.....instead of spinning in circles...
Julius is a broken human that does not contribute to the story constructively in any way.
Laina is a good character trying to save humanity and chorus.
Chorus is a great character, but does show up for most of the book and has limited screen time for a book about majesty's offspring they are strangely missing. M140 pages into the book before we even see chorus....this book should have been about her....most of the rest was uninteresting and did not contribute to the story in anyway.
Recommendation...rewrite entire story from chorus point of view or at least have the characters do something constructive.....instead of spinning in circles...
September 2, 2014
An interesting view on Future Technology, Nanobots and AIs.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews