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The Theogony #1
Janissaries
The war with China was over and Lieutenant Shawn ‘Calvin’ Hobbs just wanted his life to go back to normal. The hero of the war, he had a small ream of paperwork to fill out, a deployment with his Navy F-18 squadron to prepare for, and a new girlfriend to spend some quality time with. Life was good.
Until the aliens showed up.
They had a ship and needed to get to their home planet, but didn't have a crew. They had seen Calvin’s unit in action during the war, though, and knew it was the right one for the job. There was just one small problem—a second race of aliens was coming, which would end all life on Earth. Calvin’s platoon might want to do something about that, too.
Having already won a terrestrial war with 30 troops, winning an interstellar war with nothing but a 3,000 year old cruiser should be easy, right?
“Janissaries” initiates “The Theogony,” a trilogy that takes Lieutenant Hobbs and his Special Forces platoon to the stars where they will learn that there’s much more to Earth's history than is written in the history books!
Until the aliens showed up.
They had a ship and needed to get to their home planet, but didn't have a crew. They had seen Calvin’s unit in action during the war, though, and knew it was the right one for the job. There was just one small problem—a second race of aliens was coming, which would end all life on Earth. Calvin’s platoon might want to do something about that, too.
Having already won a terrestrial war with 30 troops, winning an interstellar war with nothing but a 3,000 year old cruiser should be easy, right?
“Janissaries” initiates “The Theogony,” a trilogy that takes Lieutenant Hobbs and his Special Forces platoon to the stars where they will learn that there’s much more to Earth's history than is written in the history books!
407 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 28, 2014
181 people are currently reading
400 people want to read
About the author
Chris Kennedy
138 books164 followersA Webster Award winner and three-time Dragon Award finalist, Chris Kennedy is a Science Fiction/Fantasy author, speaker, and small-press publisher who has written over 50 books and published more than 400 others. Get his free book, “Shattered Crucible,” at his website, https://chriskennedypublishing.com.
Called “fantastic” and “a great speaker,” he has coached hundreds of beginning authors and budding novelists on how to self-publish their stories at a variety of conferences, conventions, and writing guild presentations. He is the author of the award-winning #1 bestseller, “Self-Publishing for Profit: How to Get Your Book Out of Your Head and Into the Stores.”
Chris lives in Coinjock, North Carolina, with his wife. Follow Chris on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ckpublishing/.
Called “fantastic” and “a great speaker,” he has coached hundreds of beginning authors and budding novelists on how to self-publish their stories at a variety of conferences, conventions, and writing guild presentations. He is the author of the award-winning #1 bestseller, “Self-Publishing for Profit: How to Get Your Book Out of Your Head and Into the Stores.”
Chris lives in Coinjock, North Carolina, with his wife. Follow Chris on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ckpublishing/.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
March 30, 2020
Its the classic 'Take Me to Your Leader' story.
Well, it starts out that way at least.
Well, it starts out that way at least.
May 19, 2017
Summary:
First, let me say that none of what I’ll say in this section couldn’t be found on the back copy of the novel. I wanted to provide a spoiler free review, so here goes nothing! This novel carries on in the world of the Occupied Seattle duology with the same cast of characters. The war with China, the Sino American War, was over and Lieutenant Shawn 'Calvin' Hobbs just wanted his life to get back to normal. As the hero of the war, he had a small ream of paperwork to fill out, a deployment with his Navy F-18 squadron to prepare for, and a new girlfriend to spend some quality time with. Life was good, until the aliens showed up.
The aliens had a ship and needed to get to their home planet, but they didn't have a crew. They had seen Calvin's unit in action, though, and knew it was the right one for the job. There was just one small problem--a second race of aliens was coming, which would end all life on Earth. Calvin's platoon might want to do something about that, too.
Having won a terrestrial war with 30 troops, winning an interstellar war with nothing but a 3,000-year-old cruiser should be easy, right?
"Janissaries" initiates "The Theogony," a trilogy that will take Lieutenant Hobbs and his Special Forces platoon to the stars. It will also show them that there’s much more to Earth's history than is written in the history books!
Characters:
In this novel, we see more focus given to Shawn Hobbs with the other characters in the series given secondary status. Given the amount of head hopping in his previous series, I would say there was a lot of improvement here. Even better, Chris Kennedy didn’t sacrifice what made Occupied Seattle Duology awesome. With this change, Hobbs was flushed out, and I felt like I could relate to him as a person. While we see most of the story through Hobb’s eyes, there was still plenty of red shirts and glorious death! Like his previous novels, I was helped by my time in the service, because Chris used his military service color this science fiction military thriller. Here is a brief summary of the main character.
Shawn “Calvin” Hobbs: He is a fighter pilot for the US Navy who becomes an instant war herp/celebrity once he got shot down during the opening salvo of the Sino America War. He got involved with the resistance and ends up leading a small band of disenfranchised troopers in a war against the occupying force. These actions caught the attention of the aliens spying on humanity, and end with him being requested to lead humanities efforts to assist their new alien allies.
Overall, I will give these characters 5 out of 5 Grenades and can’t wait to see where the author takes this character throughout this series!
Plot:
Like most of the military fiction I love to read, this was an action-packed novel. The story is set in the post Sino American War, after China invaded Seattle as a feint to keep the US from honoring our commitment to Taiwan. Immediately after the war ends, aliens make contact with Earth. We find out that most of Earths mythologies are actually aliens who visited humanity in its infancy and those who witnessed it and left told the stories of these “gods” to their people.
The premise was interesting and the set-up was well executed. With my military background, I thought the way the military was portrayed was credible. Well, as much as we could say about futuristic tech! Also, again I’m no aviation savant, so I just went with how convincing the story was. I really loved the premise of this plot, and more importantly I enjoyed how Chris Kennedy executed it. I couldn’t ask for anything more; excellent premise, perfect execution and wonderful pacing! I again give Chris 5 out of 5 Grenades!
World Building:
This is the first book in The Theogony Trilogy, and I’m already hooked. Like in the previous novel in his Occupied Seattle Duology, this world was very flushed out. Unlike before, this series takes the past the world as we know it and into one that’s simply amazing to think about! The changes were believable, and there was no waving of the hands to address the realities of geopolitics at the international level. There would be no panacea for the new world government, as each nation jockeyed for power. Regardless, the novel built on the modern world and made his divergent path extremely plausible. I give the world building 5 out of 5 Grenades.
Description:
Like the previous book, this novel was chalk full of visualization, and you could definitely imagine yourself in this world. Unlike his previous world, he balanced the explanation of the various military minutia with the need to move a story along. There was never a place where I couldn’t picture the scenery and the equipment, which I enjoyed. He was, alas, a little light on the details of what the various characters looked like. And he went overboard on the nicknames, though it was an improvement over the duology. Overall, I give Chris 5 out of 5 grenades in this category!
Narration Quality:
Like the previous novel, this audiobook was excellently executed. The narrator, Craig Good, did an amazing job narrating this book. He didn’t bore you, or make you zone out because of his monotone. His performance didn’t feel robotic, like a machine was reading the novel too me. Instead, it felt like a friend was sitting with me reading an amazing story that he couldn’t put down. This time the way Craig did the voices of the various characters had grown on me and kept me engaged throughout the periods I was listening to this book. He must be growing on me? I give him a 5 out of 5 grenades for his performance.
Overall:
I really loved this book, though that bastard Chris Kennedy kept me up all night because when I hit the 80%-mark I couldn’t stop. But, I mean, who needs sleep right? Like the previous duology, the cover was amazingly invocative. It was a unit patch for the space fighter squadron. I could definitely see this on some swag! The military culture shown in this book was spot on, especially the nicknames, even though the author laid it on a bit thick. Again, with such a compelling story you won’t notice! As for the military equipment, well it was like a Naval Aviators porno, the amount of details given but I was able to skim over these details so I could enjoy the action in this story. As an additional plus, we got to play with his believable small unit tactics with the Ranger platoon and foreign Special Operations guys and gals that were ported into the unit manning the spaceship. Basically, Chris had me hooked from the beginning, and kept it going throughout the whole novel. It’s an amazing adventure, a look into Chris’s twisted imagination, and leaves you wondering at his mental stability! This is a book I would happily recommend, and an author I will definitely read again. Heck, I would even recommend that you buy the novel! But hey, it’s easy to spend someone else’s money!
First, let me say that none of what I’ll say in this section couldn’t be found on the back copy of the novel. I wanted to provide a spoiler free review, so here goes nothing! This novel carries on in the world of the Occupied Seattle duology with the same cast of characters. The war with China, the Sino American War, was over and Lieutenant Shawn 'Calvin' Hobbs just wanted his life to get back to normal. As the hero of the war, he had a small ream of paperwork to fill out, a deployment with his Navy F-18 squadron to prepare for, and a new girlfriend to spend some quality time with. Life was good, until the aliens showed up.
The aliens had a ship and needed to get to their home planet, but they didn't have a crew. They had seen Calvin's unit in action, though, and knew it was the right one for the job. There was just one small problem--a second race of aliens was coming, which would end all life on Earth. Calvin's platoon might want to do something about that, too.
Having won a terrestrial war with 30 troops, winning an interstellar war with nothing but a 3,000-year-old cruiser should be easy, right?
"Janissaries" initiates "The Theogony," a trilogy that will take Lieutenant Hobbs and his Special Forces platoon to the stars. It will also show them that there’s much more to Earth's history than is written in the history books!
Characters:
In this novel, we see more focus given to Shawn Hobbs with the other characters in the series given secondary status. Given the amount of head hopping in his previous series, I would say there was a lot of improvement here. Even better, Chris Kennedy didn’t sacrifice what made Occupied Seattle Duology awesome. With this change, Hobbs was flushed out, and I felt like I could relate to him as a person. While we see most of the story through Hobb’s eyes, there was still plenty of red shirts and glorious death! Like his previous novels, I was helped by my time in the service, because Chris used his military service color this science fiction military thriller. Here is a brief summary of the main character.
Shawn “Calvin” Hobbs: He is a fighter pilot for the US Navy who becomes an instant war herp/celebrity once he got shot down during the opening salvo of the Sino America War. He got involved with the resistance and ends up leading a small band of disenfranchised troopers in a war against the occupying force. These actions caught the attention of the aliens spying on humanity, and end with him being requested to lead humanities efforts to assist their new alien allies.
Overall, I will give these characters 5 out of 5 Grenades and can’t wait to see where the author takes this character throughout this series!
Plot:
Like most of the military fiction I love to read, this was an action-packed novel. The story is set in the post Sino American War, after China invaded Seattle as a feint to keep the US from honoring our commitment to Taiwan. Immediately after the war ends, aliens make contact with Earth. We find out that most of Earths mythologies are actually aliens who visited humanity in its infancy and those who witnessed it and left told the stories of these “gods” to their people.
The premise was interesting and the set-up was well executed. With my military background, I thought the way the military was portrayed was credible. Well, as much as we could say about futuristic tech! Also, again I’m no aviation savant, so I just went with how convincing the story was. I really loved the premise of this plot, and more importantly I enjoyed how Chris Kennedy executed it. I couldn’t ask for anything more; excellent premise, perfect execution and wonderful pacing! I again give Chris 5 out of 5 Grenades!
World Building:
This is the first book in The Theogony Trilogy, and I’m already hooked. Like in the previous novel in his Occupied Seattle Duology, this world was very flushed out. Unlike before, this series takes the past the world as we know it and into one that’s simply amazing to think about! The changes were believable, and there was no waving of the hands to address the realities of geopolitics at the international level. There would be no panacea for the new world government, as each nation jockeyed for power. Regardless, the novel built on the modern world and made his divergent path extremely plausible. I give the world building 5 out of 5 Grenades.
Description:
Like the previous book, this novel was chalk full of visualization, and you could definitely imagine yourself in this world. Unlike his previous world, he balanced the explanation of the various military minutia with the need to move a story along. There was never a place where I couldn’t picture the scenery and the equipment, which I enjoyed. He was, alas, a little light on the details of what the various characters looked like. And he went overboard on the nicknames, though it was an improvement over the duology. Overall, I give Chris 5 out of 5 grenades in this category!
Narration Quality:
Like the previous novel, this audiobook was excellently executed. The narrator, Craig Good, did an amazing job narrating this book. He didn’t bore you, or make you zone out because of his monotone. His performance didn’t feel robotic, like a machine was reading the novel too me. Instead, it felt like a friend was sitting with me reading an amazing story that he couldn’t put down. This time the way Craig did the voices of the various characters had grown on me and kept me engaged throughout the periods I was listening to this book. He must be growing on me? I give him a 5 out of 5 grenades for his performance.
Overall:
I really loved this book, though that bastard Chris Kennedy kept me up all night because when I hit the 80%-mark I couldn’t stop. But, I mean, who needs sleep right? Like the previous duology, the cover was amazingly invocative. It was a unit patch for the space fighter squadron. I could definitely see this on some swag! The military culture shown in this book was spot on, especially the nicknames, even though the author laid it on a bit thick. Again, with such a compelling story you won’t notice! As for the military equipment, well it was like a Naval Aviators porno, the amount of details given but I was able to skim over these details so I could enjoy the action in this story. As an additional plus, we got to play with his believable small unit tactics with the Ranger platoon and foreign Special Operations guys and gals that were ported into the unit manning the spaceship. Basically, Chris had me hooked from the beginning, and kept it going throughout the whole novel. It’s an amazing adventure, a look into Chris’s twisted imagination, and leaves you wondering at his mental stability! This is a book I would happily recommend, and an author I will definitely read again. Heck, I would even recommend that you buy the novel! But hey, it’s easy to spend someone else’s money!
February 8, 2017
Very Good Military Space Opera
Another great military space opera/SF novel from Chris Kennedy ! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
This very good novel begins with a group of alien visitors approaching the government of the United States and requesting a crew to man a starship. The USA had just finished a short World War with China, and suffered some damage and an invasion of Seattle by a Chinese Army.
In response to the request for crew, the president of the United States (much smarter than ANY president during my lifetime) opens crew positions to other countries. In a few short months, a little more than 400 soldiers, sailors, airmen, embarks on an exploration of space. Fights come frequently to the crew as well as death and damage. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Another great military space opera/SF novel from Chris Kennedy ! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
This very good novel begins with a group of alien visitors approaching the government of the United States and requesting a crew to man a starship. The USA had just finished a short World War with China, and suffered some damage and an invasion of Seattle by a Chinese Army.
In response to the request for crew, the president of the United States (much smarter than ANY president during my lifetime) opens crew positions to other countries. In a few short months, a little more than 400 soldiers, sailors, airmen, embarks on an exploration of space. Fights come frequently to the crew as well as death and damage. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
April 11, 2016
wow, I did not know what this book was going to be like, but I decided to give it a crack,
Boy was I pleasantly surprised and pleases I got it as it was awesome and has a good pace
there is always something happening so you just want to keep reading
I have just purchased the 2nd one in the series so I can find out what happens next
Boy was I pleasantly surprised and pleases I got it as it was awesome and has a good pace
there is always something happening so you just want to keep reading
I have just purchased the 2nd one in the series so I can find out what happens next
June 11, 2019
Aliens come looking for a little help
What happens when you are approached by beings claiming to be aliens who are insisting a worse alien race may be looking to invade Earth?
Janissaries follows a Lieutenant Shawn “Calvin” Hobbes, two years after successfully defending the US from the Chinese invasion, after he’s approached by aliens who want the humans’ help getting home. Along the way, they find out some unusual secrets about human history, and how some myths and historic events may have ACTUALLY happened.
A great start to a mil sci-fi series that I’m looking forward to diving further into. I definitely recommend it.
What happens when you are approached by beings claiming to be aliens who are insisting a worse alien race may be looking to invade Earth?
Janissaries follows a Lieutenant Shawn “Calvin” Hobbes, two years after successfully defending the US from the Chinese invasion, after he’s approached by aliens who want the humans’ help getting home. Along the way, they find out some unusual secrets about human history, and how some myths and historic events may have ACTUALLY happened.
A great start to a mil sci-fi series that I’m looking forward to diving further into. I definitely recommend it.
March 23, 2017
This is a light read. I think the author learned a lot from the first two books and this book displays a maturing storytelling style.
The arc is still fairly predictable in that humanity is grabbing some early wins to build up to a more climatic mid series show down.
This book continued the story line of existing characters and continued the somewhat annoying tendency to name/introduce new characters as they die. Its a war story and people die in them, either spend the words to create the character early or keep them as a backstory death.
The addition of the KGB agent to the story and the new races has the potential to set this series apart. New aliens and how they interact are, in my opinion, the key distinction to Sci-Fi space books.
The arc is still fairly predictable in that humanity is grabbing some early wins to build up to a more climatic mid series show down.
This book continued the story line of existing characters and continued the somewhat annoying tendency to name/introduce new characters as they die. Its a war story and people die in them, either spend the words to create the character early or keep them as a backstory death.
The addition of the KGB agent to the story and the new races has the potential to set this series apart. New aliens and how they interact are, in my opinion, the key distinction to Sci-Fi space books.
November 20, 2017
A bit of a choppy start, and having not yet read Calvin's backstory, I felt a bit off my footing.
I enjoyed the story, once it got going, and I hope to see more of the new civilizations. It was hard to remember who died, and the deaths didn't get the emotional punch that often appears in other books.
I'm looking forward to seeing the Russians and Chinese in the next books. I'd like to get more about the characters.
I enjoyed the story, once it got going, and I hope to see more of the new civilizations. It was hard to remember who died, and the deaths didn't get the emotional punch that often appears in other books.
I'm looking forward to seeing the Russians and Chinese in the next books. I'd like to get more about the characters.
May 9, 2018
Good, well developed story with a well though out universe. This is quite clearly intended to be the first of a series as it opened many plot lines and only resolved a couple of them. I will read more of the series as this has gotten me involved in the story. Characters are well developed and though there were a couple tropes hanging out as bait, they merely sucked you in for a look at a deeper character.
July 8, 2018
This is a general review of books 1 to 3 in the series.
These are some of those books that it is a bit hard to rate and review actually. I quite like the story but at the same time it is difficult to overcome that the implementation is not perfect and at time a bit flawed actually.
It is a first contact story. That’s a good start for me already. It is also a story where humanity actually not only learns that they can kick ass but actually gets to do some ass-kicking. My kind of story.
However, the implementation is a bit flawed. The story about aliens asking the human for help to fight for them is quite a bit of a stretch. The aliens, their behavior and their constant withholding of vital information, although the latter gets a bit of an explanation later in the series, is sometimes quite silly. The parts of the story where the humans just goes of helping the aliens by going on various adventures is also bordering on young adult writing.
On the good side it is quite refreshing to read a book series where not every politician is either stupid, egoistic or just total assholes. I know, a honest and intelligent politician is maybe stretching it a bit but I still like it. The heroes are also likable and the adventure and action is quite fun.
I also do like how the author ties these aliens into various historical events and especially to the old mythology of various regions of Earth. Okay, okay, sometimes it is a bit of a stretch but it is still a fun twist.
One thing I would have liked the author to spend more time on are the “surprise moments”. They are not as much wow or elaborated as they could have been. Most of them are just hi-let-me-introduce-you-to-my-buddies-the-aliens and then it is over with. A bit lazy actually.
Still, I had fun reading these books and if more comes out in the same series I’ll probably pick them up.
These are some of those books that it is a bit hard to rate and review actually. I quite like the story but at the same time it is difficult to overcome that the implementation is not perfect and at time a bit flawed actually.
It is a first contact story. That’s a good start for me already. It is also a story where humanity actually not only learns that they can kick ass but actually gets to do some ass-kicking. My kind of story.
However, the implementation is a bit flawed. The story about aliens asking the human for help to fight for them is quite a bit of a stretch. The aliens, their behavior and their constant withholding of vital information, although the latter gets a bit of an explanation later in the series, is sometimes quite silly. The parts of the story where the humans just goes of helping the aliens by going on various adventures is also bordering on young adult writing.
On the good side it is quite refreshing to read a book series where not every politician is either stupid, egoistic or just total assholes. I know, a honest and intelligent politician is maybe stretching it a bit but I still like it. The heroes are also likable and the adventure and action is quite fun.
I also do like how the author ties these aliens into various historical events and especially to the old mythology of various regions of Earth. Okay, okay, sometimes it is a bit of a stretch but it is still a fun twist.
One thing I would have liked the author to spend more time on are the “surprise moments”. They are not as much wow or elaborated as they could have been. Most of them are just hi-let-me-introduce-you-to-my-buddies-the-aliens and then it is over with. A bit lazy actually.
Still, I had fun reading these books and if more comes out in the same series I’ll probably pick them up.
December 19, 2018
excellent reading. One of the better SF books I have read. 3 Aliens on earth contact Lt Hobbs tellling him that a major threats the world and all nations need to unite to try and counter this although it will be difficult. The President is consulted and other allied nations to form a group to go into space and try and locate help. Plenty of Action and Humor. Well worth reading.
December 22, 2019
Swashbuckling space adventure
It gives you the humor and tactical talk of the military, while on a high space adventure. The fast paced action book, is full of nice surprises, and nasty casualties, just like a real war. Thank you for a welcome Christmas diversion from all the regular family life stress of the season. Definately reading the next book too!
It gives you the humor and tactical talk of the military, while on a high space adventure. The fast paced action book, is full of nice surprises, and nasty casualties, just like a real war. Thank you for a welcome Christmas diversion from all the regular family life stress of the season. Definately reading the next book too!
July 3, 2020
My only complaint is the idea that we should ever include other governments in defense of the Earth as presented. And should definitely never allow a single world government to be established unless the US perpetually holds the reins, for the simple fact that, with all it's problems, the US is still light-years better culturally and politically than any other in the world
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 22, 2018
This novel is full of action and adventure, the storyline it's great and the world build is believable. I recommend this novel to everyone that likes a good story of what could happen if we meet the other guys.
February 8, 2025
Military Science Fiction Fans
In the tradition of Heinlein and Niven, this is a rousing tale of alien contacts both friendly and predatory. There’s just enough character development to make it less formulaic. All in all, a fun read
In the tradition of Heinlein and Niven, this is a rousing tale of alien contacts both friendly and predatory. There’s just enough character development to make it less formulaic. All in all, a fun read
April 15, 2018
Pretty good
A few quibbles with how easily the plot got rolling and some handwaving of tech aside, it was an enjoyable action novel and I will be reading more.
A few quibbles with how easily the plot got rolling and some handwaving of tech aside, it was an enjoyable action novel and I will be reading more.
December 30, 2018
This is obviously a YA book. To my mind there were numerous logic faults. Not really my cup of tea. I gave it a three anyways.
March 15, 2019
Very good story, shades of John Ringo's looking glass series. If you liked those, or if you like David Weber's Honor Harrington books, then you're likely to enjoy this series.
December 4, 2019
I like this book, because is very fabulous
December 5, 2019
This book is absoluletly amazing.
January 5, 2020
First Sci-fi book of the year. With a start like this, it's going to be a good year.
July 15, 2020
Janissaries
Excellent book, very well written, with a great story line. An unique twist to a Sci-fi pattern that has been over used.
Excellent book, very well written, with a great story line. An unique twist to a Sci-fi pattern that has been over used.
April 29, 2021
Fantastic book highly recommend to all space enthusiasts.
January 20, 2016
This is a bad book. Don't read it.
Except for the protagonist there are no characters at all. Many names, but no characters, sometimes not even that much. At one point near the end four persons die and the author has the never to make it a production, listing full name and rank four times as if that was supposed to mean something. Three of these names have not been mentioned before, the fourth marginally.
Probably to counteract this lack of supporting characters, we get a main one that is just too much. He is a great pilot and ground soldier. He never sought to lead people, yet he excels in it. Despite never having fought hand to hand, he beats the unbeatable instructor during his first lesson.
All those names use the same vocabulary, react in similar ways and behave in completely unbelievable fashion. A meeting in the White House behaves like an unruly classroom, but the story is supposed to be believable.
Those problems might be forgiven if there were a strong counterpoint in the plot or the action, but both fail miserably. The plot is surprisingly boring, with three action pieces bunched at the end and lots of repetition and inane dialogue before that. The action shows occasional signs of promise but lacks clarity, so never becomes more than mediocre.
So, we have a book with no relatable characters, a boring plot and middling action. What makes the book awful is the lack of research and the xenophobia.
The most of the research failures are small but annoying. The president of Germany appears at one point despite neither having the role nor the power needed in that situation. Most foreign soldiers are addressed by american ranks, except that one Indian to heighten the contrast. In a treaty the countries of the world promise to raise their defense spending to 30% of their GDP (or 20 times the current average). All of those are small, but could have been solved by ten seconds of research. The big problem is in the title itself. Janissaries were slave soldiers, pressed as tithes from conquered nations. Both humans and aliens use that word when talking about Earth and its soldiers, but at no time does one of the cream of the human race (or a politician) point out what that means. It could be a brilliant bit of foreshadowing but past form leads me into the direction of did not do the research.
I was honestly surprised by the racism, because there is not that much to conceal it when it pops up. There is a point while describing the evil aliens where they are compared to the Chinese in a way that can only be described as racist. The technology must not be leaked or stolen, so don't tell the French. The Russians sit in their KGB-headquarters and plot evilly against the West, even as they should have other priorities. The two Japanese names are a ninja and a haiku-spouting samurai respectively. There are other examples and none of it even veiled.
So no characters, a plot bordering on idiotically simple, action that crosses this border and no adventure anywhere in sight, this is a bad book. I was surprised this got published, but the publisher and the author seem to be the same person, which explains so much.
Except for the protagonist there are no characters at all. Many names, but no characters, sometimes not even that much. At one point near the end four persons die and the author has the never to make it a production, listing full name and rank four times as if that was supposed to mean something. Three of these names have not been mentioned before, the fourth marginally.
Probably to counteract this lack of supporting characters, we get a main one that is just too much. He is a great pilot and ground soldier. He never sought to lead people, yet he excels in it. Despite never having fought hand to hand, he beats the unbeatable instructor during his first lesson.
All those names use the same vocabulary, react in similar ways and behave in completely unbelievable fashion. A meeting in the White House behaves like an unruly classroom, but the story is supposed to be believable.
Those problems might be forgiven if there were a strong counterpoint in the plot or the action, but both fail miserably. The plot is surprisingly boring, with three action pieces bunched at the end and lots of repetition and inane dialogue before that. The action shows occasional signs of promise but lacks clarity, so never becomes more than mediocre.
So, we have a book with no relatable characters, a boring plot and middling action. What makes the book awful is the lack of research and the xenophobia.
The most of the research failures are small but annoying. The president of Germany appears at one point despite neither having the role nor the power needed in that situation. Most foreign soldiers are addressed by american ranks, except that one Indian to heighten the contrast. In a treaty the countries of the world promise to raise their defense spending to 30% of their GDP (or 20 times the current average). All of those are small, but could have been solved by ten seconds of research. The big problem is in the title itself. Janissaries were slave soldiers, pressed as tithes from conquered nations. Both humans and aliens use that word when talking about Earth and its soldiers, but at no time does one of the cream of the human race (or a politician) point out what that means. It could be a brilliant bit of foreshadowing but past form leads me into the direction of did not do the research.
I was honestly surprised by the racism, because there is not that much to conceal it when it pops up. There is a point while describing the evil aliens where they are compared to the Chinese in a way that can only be described as racist. The technology must not be leaked or stolen, so don't tell the French. The Russians sit in their KGB-headquarters and plot evilly against the West, even as they should have other priorities. The two Japanese names are a ninja and a haiku-spouting samurai respectively. There are other examples and none of it even veiled.
So no characters, a plot bordering on idiotically simple, action that crosses this border and no adventure anywhere in sight, this is a bad book. I was surprised this got published, but the publisher and the author seem to be the same person, which explains so much.
July 4, 2016
I met Chris Kennedy at InConJunction, a science fiction con in Indianapolis. He seemed like a nice guy so I bought his book. I'm glad I did.
Janissaries is Book 1 of his second series. It opens with a group of aliens who've been observing and protecting Earth for thousands of years approaching Lieutenant Sean Hobbs, USN for help. The alien communication system is down, probably due to hostile action, and the aliens need humans to help crew their ship. Hobbs was approached because of his heroic actions in ending a Chinese invasion of Seattle, Washington. Things get very interesting and complicated from there.
I liked the book, and devoured it, reading it straight through while sitting on a pool deck in a hotel. Having said that, I do have a couple of nits to pick. First, in a lot of scenes I felt people were telling each other stuff they should already know. This could have been handled better by internal dialog. Second, the aliens have a intergalactic communication system, yet the seem strangely uninformed of local stellar politics. This was especially odd since the communication system had just gone down.
These are small flaws. Overall, the book was a full roller-coaster ride without threat of whiplash. I really liked it.
Janissaries is Book 1 of his second series. It opens with a group of aliens who've been observing and protecting Earth for thousands of years approaching Lieutenant Sean Hobbs, USN for help. The alien communication system is down, probably due to hostile action, and the aliens need humans to help crew their ship. Hobbs was approached because of his heroic actions in ending a Chinese invasion of Seattle, Washington. Things get very interesting and complicated from there.
I liked the book, and devoured it, reading it straight through while sitting on a pool deck in a hotel. Having said that, I do have a couple of nits to pick. First, in a lot of scenes I felt people were telling each other stuff they should already know. This could have been handled better by internal dialog. Second, the aliens have a intergalactic communication system, yet the seem strangely uninformed of local stellar politics. This was especially odd since the communication system had just gone down.
These are small flaws. Overall, the book was a full roller-coaster ride without threat of whiplash. I really liked it.
May 18, 2014
Science fiction is not my usual genre but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is a spin-off of the Occupied Seattle series and I was interested in seeing where it would go. The author continues to make the unimaginable become plausible. I love books that keep me interested in what happens next and found myself tuning out the world so that I could "just read one more chapter." I have already downloaded the next book, "When the Gods Aren't Gods" and can't wait to start reading!
Merged review:
Science fiction is not my usual genre but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is a spin-off of the Occupied Seattle series and I was interested in seeing where it would go. The author continues to make the unimaginable become plausible. I love books that keep me interested in what happens next and found myself tuning out the world so that I could "just read one more chapter." I have already downloaded the next book, "When the Gods Aren't Gods" and can't wait to start reading!
Merged review:
Science fiction is not my usual genre but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is a spin-off of the Occupied Seattle series and I was interested in seeing where it would go. The author continues to make the unimaginable become plausible. I love books that keep me interested in what happens next and found myself tuning out the world so that I could "just read one more chapter." I have already downloaded the next book, "When the Gods Aren't Gods" and can't wait to start reading!
December 29, 2014
I stumbled on Janissaries, the first book in Chris Kennedy's THEOGONY series, as a recommendation by Amazon after some other books that I have purchased. The description is kind of up my alley because I like the idea of the Earth fighting to preserve itself from an alien race. So, I dropped a couple of bucks and picked up this self-published story. It gets good reviews at Amazon.
Chris Kennedy has a story that he wants to tell about how the history of the earth is tied into different alien races having impacted us and left traces of them. The problem is that it was incredibly heavy-handed. Instead of having humans gradually piece together that there are other races living amongst us, Navy Lieutenant Shawn “Calvin” Hobbs (yes, Calvin & Hobbs) is contacted by aliens. Three technologically advanced extraterrestrials contact “Calvin,” ... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
Chris Kennedy has a story that he wants to tell about how the history of the earth is tied into different alien races having impacted us and left traces of them. The problem is that it was incredibly heavy-handed. Instead of having humans gradually piece together that there are other races living amongst us, Navy Lieutenant Shawn “Calvin” Hobbs (yes, Calvin & Hobbs) is contacted by aliens. Three technologically advanced extraterrestrials contact “Calvin,” ... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
October 7, 2015
'Janissaries' is an entertaining read that will appeal mainly to fans of military sci-fi that leans toward the "Hollywood action movie" end of the spectrum (which is totally my style). Most of the characters are stock Colonial Marines-style badasses and the easy manner in which the story jumps into itself (basically "Hey, we're aliens and we're here to give you spaceships to fight stuff") clearly establishes the kind of fun (and sometimes silliness) that you're in for, even before you encounter the sassy medibots and other such touches. There are parts where the novel runs long (mostly toward the beginning, when several expository scenes seem to repeat themselves), but even then, the writing is so fast-paced that I blew through it in a few days. I'll probably continue the series. Also, since several references are made to the events of 'Red Tide' (a preceding novel not part of the series), I'm curious to pick that up, too!
September 7, 2016
Good book. World building & adventure well done and you do feel invested in some of the main characters and others are quirky enough that you look forward to getting to know them more. Surprisingly what caught my attention the most was the interactions and reactions of the various countries and I'm interested in how that develops. It lost a star based on the presidents speech to the nation & world towards end of book and the "unrealistic block headed" plan to get he feels is needed. What he did and the way he did it in real world would have everyones backs up (including most in his own country's citizens). Up to this point the political intrigue had been good. [Trying to avoid spoilers.] I'm looking forward to reading the next in series when it comes out.
November 23, 2014
Military fiction meets fantasy in Mr. Kennedy's novel. When aliens approach the U.S. government to warn of a possible alien attack, Shawn "Calvin" Hobbs is put in charge of a special force that is sent into space to fight an interstellar war. The aliens agree to provide the necessary technology, but only if the people of Earth are willing to work together. Can the joint-nations Special Forces platoon accomplish their mission? And, how will the nations of Earth react to becoming a unified planet?
February 26, 2014
I found this book really hard work and drawn out. The first half of the book could have been vastly compressed. You have a chapter where the Navy is brought up to speed. The next chapter is a cut and paste of the first with Navy changed to Airforce then there is the army that need to be told.... Then when they eventually do meet an alien race they have all these advanced weapons and go armed with swords - how daft is that?
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