A Different Perspective

April #4

by Mackey Chandler

Despite winning a war against one of the world's super powers, and undertaking a mission to Earth to try to demonstrate their independence, April and her new nation still find their freedom tenuous. There are shortages and hostility, and machinations against them behind the scenes. Their small technological lead on the Earthies is about the only advantage they have besides courage and sheer nerve. But they are attracting the right sort of people, and if pressed, they still are capable of bold action. Home is growing physically and maturing. So is April.

Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Amazon, Space, Military Fiction

425 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 15, 2013

About the author

Mackey (Mac') Chandler is retired to Rochester Michigan from a working life that spanned a large number of occupations. Mold maker, aerospace machinist, plumber, mechanic and dozen more as well as owning several businesses. This life experience and travel show in the depth and variety of his writing.
A life long time reader of Science Fiction, the authors at Baen's Bar and their evening chat room motivated him to try his own hand at writing. His first effort was a short story titled "Common Ground" which sold to the short-lived Jim Baen's Universe.
His personal favorite book is "The Mote in God's Eye" by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. Other favorite authors include Michael Z. Williamson and C.J.Cherryh.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent!

[Chrissy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Right Sort of People

This is the fourth book in a continuing series and you need to read the previous books in order to understand this one. The story ends at a natural break but the narrative continues in the next books. This series also connects up in the future with another series, Family Law. The current reading order for the two series is listed on this post.

After returning from their previous adventures Home feels a little precarious. Everyone seems to be against them and getting the support they need is difficult. This book is mainly about getting the right kind of support and building up their ranks of inhabitants with the skills that they need to make Home safe. It seems in recent times Home has become the go-to place for the disenfranchised to escape to.

There is quite a lot of focus on the new people and them settling in. I like how they show the way they see Home from the outside and in doing so have Home’s ways explained to us as well as them. This has rapidly become an ensemble series with so many different characters that are important to the plot and the ‘feel’ of Home. Expanding onto the moon by Heather has also increased the number of people we meet in this book and enhances the sphere of influence of the three main characters, April, Jeff and Heather.

I really enjoyed this book and it has got me excited to see where the plot goes next. I’m sorry if my reviews are getting repetitive, but I just can’t seem to take a break from this universe!

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable continuation in the 'April' universe with continuations in several of the established story arcs as well as the introduction of several new and interesting characters.

The 'Patriots Coup' story arc is one of the main focuses in this installment, with a few of my previous story niggles being addressed to some degree.

We at last get a glimpse into how the orbital strike against China is weighing on Jeff's mind which is used as a vehicle to also move the relationship between Heather, Jeff and April forward a step without falling into the trap of any graphical depictions.

We also encounter several 'Earthie' teens and how they and their parents fare with the adjustment from USNA culture to Home and Spacer culture.

In sum total, although the book doesn't introduce much in the way of new story arcs, what it does do is draw together a lot of the pre-existing elements and fuses them into the larger story elements so that they are not lost into the sidelines as the universe moves forwards. In some ways you could argue that this book has a reasonable degree of filler material, however the pacing of the book, the fleshing out of existing characters and the introduction of new characters has been done in a way that flows fairly naturally.

Having said all these positive things about the book, I am a little sad to have to bash on it a bit here. Sadly the elements I have to bash on are much of the same as in the previous installments. Grammar and punctuation are still a problem, however the spelling does seem to be better this time. A couple of the scene jumps were a little jarring or overly short, but balancing quick scene switches is a hard thing to do right and I am inclined to give the author a fair degree of slack on that point.

I am happy to say that this book does scrape in at a four star rating for me, if only barely, in large part because of how much more unified this book felt in comparison to the previous three and the improvement in the spelling. I am still holding out hope that the author can get on-point with the grammar and punctuation in future books as I will then have to give serious consideration as to whether they will pass my 'Five star criteria' of having a lasting impact upon me.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent adventure, flowing directly from previous volumes in this series.
USNA and the PRC of Earth pushes Home further away, through stubborn stupidity and reckless conspiracies, violence and assasinations.
So too are there many and complex nuances in what it takes to build a new form of civilization.
Most definitely NOT strictly a YA adventure. Although Home does get a teacher for youths, so those of us unfamiliar with the details of living in a constructed metal island under microgravity are eased into the process. Modern wonders are revealed in each page.
Each April series book has been a rich source of technical, social, and political commentary. Showing by example, and not just dialogue.

The moon is transforming as well, keep reading until the end!

[Terry Gero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book with alot of intrigue, most of it taking place in space this time not earth. I like the way it's moving back into space and to L2 to keep the M3 safe. Always wondered the details of it from the later Family Law books referring to the move. I'm starting to feel this author writes alot like the style of Heinlein of whom I think I've read every book maybe twice.
Again though, I must critique the lack of editing and this was THE WORST EDITING OF THE SERIES! Really, I finally gave up making edit notes in the margins after the first third of the book, it was so frustrating. I couldn't read the story relaxed with it like that. So I said to myself the hell with it, and read on.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the human bits and the plot

As I said, I love the human bits and plot. The characters are well rounded and interesting. I loved reading about how new earthies react to Home and the interesting ways kids become entrepreneurs, and especially love how many things we take for granted on earth are expensive, cheaper, or adapted on home.

I know this is more ‘science’ fiction than just fiction but I do have a hard time with the excessive descriptions of technology. I suppose many readers love this from this author. Personally, I would prefer fewer engine descriptions and more of the above, not that I want this to change from science-fiction to drama…

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're even the slightest fan of Scifi, or even ifyou're not, if you're a fan of military or political intrigue stories, then you need to read this series. This installment in the series is simply amazing, and you'll find it a real treat if you're a scifi fan, or even a casual space story reader, you should enjoy this one thoroughly.
Top notch storytelling here, and despite the many minor typos that crop up during the story, there's nothing here that prevents pure enjoyment here. Great stuff here folks.

[Marty Taft · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good reading and well developed

Lots of action mixed with all the extra details of real life. Showcases the struggle to make a good government. As seems typical for science fiction, it takes a negative view of God and religion, blaming those institutions for most problems and conflicts of today. Very sad.
Overall, I have enjoyed the April stories, a lot of insightful thought on a lot of subjects is displayed by the author who is clearly a brilliant man. The stories read in a manner that really draws me In, indeed, I can hardly put them down.

[Jimmy Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good one!

I like the way free people are depicted in session. I love the idea of voluntary taxes and the ability to vote. Would it work with a larger population? This is an excellent book, with enough strange ideas for a government to ban it. Heaven forbid that a population that can think.

[Jim Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good story!I

One definition of insanity is doing the same thing each time and expecting different results. To keep attacking a small group that kicks your butt each time, that qualifies.

[M.A.SPRIGGS · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read

A fun and imaginative series. I love the world building and the detailed life set in the future described in these books. While Earth continues to be a problem Home are continuing to build their technology and community. Highly recommend.

[Rodney Madden · Rating 5 out of 5]

I keep coming back.

Sometimes I move on from a series and that's it. They can right more books, but for me I'm done with the story. This one keeps me coming back to see what's next.

[Scott Shjefte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited, read with the Alexa audio assist application. Home satelite gets attacked and moved. Action is significant on Earth and in Space. Training and Trading for newbies occur.

[Thomas Merrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoy this series.

The story is getting better as the series continues. The editing is better than the previous books. If you've enjoyed this series you'll enjoy this book.

[Wilbur G. Lloyd, Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

LET breakout

What ever happened to the Spaniards and the Pope and his Cardinals? Do you ever talk about them? I want to know what happened.

[Ursula Fricke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the style of writing with the different POVs very much, made for a fast-paced reading.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Tony Hinde · Rating 3 out of 5]

At this point I'm skimming over the minutia of engineering, day-to-day living, and politics. The third of the book that I actually read was good.

[marion dillon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A arousing space adventure.

I love the character building of April through the whole series, also a blend of strong co-characters to round out the story. Well done.

[Red Tide · Rating 1 out of 5]

Kinda silly

An adolescent making decisions affecting thousands of adults with no question has been a constant occurrence in this series. Unless this was supposed to be a young adult series, I'm at a loss to understand how I'm to believe the series has any plausibility.

Hey author, would it kill you to cool the racist terminology? Orientals are rugs. Calling a well heeled Japanese gentleman, who is a stranger "papa san" doesn't work in the real world.

"Oriental gentlemen" again, "Papasan", the North American superpower (which no longer even works in the present), the inability of characters to recognize Chinese from Japanese ethnicity, the continued understatement of the infrastructure damage and population loss from the previous destruction of communications, the probable dissolution of the North American union, the continued marginalization of the European powers, etc. Makes further reading a lost cause.

I can see how the universe of the second series came into being. To be honest the writing is poor but the lack of editing is killing. I got to see enough of how he built his universe to bid it a not-so-fond farewell. I gave the author a big pass in his other series and I'm going back to a more clinical criticism in my reviews. The flaws are never corrected, the oversights are never addressed and the more comprehensive review might encourage more care and growth from the writer.

[Tony Hisgett · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an OK read, actually that’s not fair as I liked it, but I had several problems with the book. First I enjoy following a particular character through a series but in this book April is very much a bit part player. This not to say I didn’t enjoy some of the other characters but I would have preferred April to have been more prominent, after all the series is named after her.

A more series concern was for much of the book it didn’t feel like a coherent story, rather a series of small stories and incidents collected together in a vaguely non-random order. It wasn’t until close to the end of the book that a few of these storylines come together and as every most of the others are just left ‘hanging’, waiting until the next book.

The one are where the book has improved over the earlier ones in the series, is that the ultra long descriptions have become shorter.

[Dietrich Liebert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read

Full of political theories and opinions, often a bit far- fetched. Good action when it happens ( the previous books in this series had more). Good YA SF, with the emphasis on fiction. I should not like it - I liked the earlier D Weber HH books until they became loaded with philosophy, personal suffering and exaggerated military hardware (millions of missiles?) - but this is much easier reading. The book is better edited than the earlier books in this series. I have bought the next one already.

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story telling in book four of the series is greatly improved. Like the rest of the "April" series; this is in dire need of good copy edit.

Instead of just focusing on April, Heather and Jeff, this story adds the perspective of many other characters. It helps to fill in the universe quite well. Overall there is more depth added all around.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice continuation of the series. Moves along quickly and keeps the reader interested. This book has a thread which explores a family fresh from the USNA coming to live on the space station and the adjustments they have to make. It is well integrated with the story and gives an opportunity to explore more situations.

[Aleea J. Brewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Better and better

Lunar Monarchy is going strong. China doing bad things, getting caught then punished. Patriot Party more devious and desperate for success. President learning people are lying to her. But wait, there's more!