When a running battle brings the Fafnir home to earth, it ends with the death of a trusted friend—and a new focus on what comes next for Van and his crew.
The Guild is rotten. It must be changed. It must be healed. But to do that, Van will have to marshal resources on a scale he's never considered, and that means calling in favors from friends.
With the Schegith fleet in training, and the Conoku itching to get back into the fight, Van has a clear plan for what he has to do—which is the one thing he doesn't want to do.
The time for war is here. The time for change is now.
A new leader is needed, and Van will discover if he can take control of Yotov's criminal empire—and save the victims across known space.
"THE TIME FOR JUST FIGHTING BACK IS OVER. NOW, IT'S TIME TO FIGHT TO WIN."
The storyline just keeps getting better and better with each additional book to the series.
Bright Red Line (Backyard Starship Book 22) by J.N. Chaney and Terry Maggert is one of those books that will be considered to be a great science fiction achievement as well as the whole series for all times. This book and series are very well written, the storyline and characters will hold your interest throughout this book as well as the series.
You'll find yourself really enjoying how Van and his team take to action against Yotov, The Equal Grasp, The Firm, and all the other evil cast bent on not only taking control of the known galaxy but are Hell bent on getting their hands on Earth to increase their power and wealth.
Van, Torina, Perry, Netty, Netty-P, Icky, Funboy, Gabby, Rab and all of Van's fellow revolutionists are finally going on the offense and their taking the fight to their enemies through taking the battle against thier assets both physical and financial as well as starting the war against their military structure.
I really have enjoyed reading this book and the other books in this series and hope you will enjoy them as much as I have.
Quotes:
"No one in DC likes complicated. They want to be able to take credit when things go right, point fingers across the aisle when things go wrong, and just play the game the way it's been played for more than two hundred years now."
"The best battles are the ones you win without firing a shot."
"If someone's not being driven by money and power, it's probably driven by sex. The power of space boners is pretty universal."
"Well, in my experience, separating one's head from one's body is usually a good way of ensuring one's compliance."
"Too many people underestimate the power of being underestimated."
"We were open for business. And that meant that Earth was now part of known space."
A fantastic lead up to the ending of the series. This is a series that has been leading up to Earth joining the rest of the galaxy and our heroes big plan is to build a Walmart for super-technology as a way to ease us in.
Another great book in this Series. Glad to see Van is starting to stand up to the evil group Equal Grasp in a more forceful way! I will be sad when this series finally ends. But look forward to the next series in this world as I heard that they plan on revisiting Van and the gang in a few years! :)
It’s time for Van Tudor and his crew to go on the offensive against the Equal Grasp. As you know, the Equal Grasp has been operating on Earth for some time now and their plans are coming to light. Advertising that humans can now be working in outspace after undergoing a simple procedure, the Equal Grasp is enticing a lot of humans to sign up for the trip. Unfortunately, this people are going to get chipped and then be nothing more than computer zombies for whoever will eventually buy them. Of course this later part of the deal isn’t something that is known but Van Tudor has become aware of the Equal Grasp’s overall plan and he’s determined to stop it.
His first problem is how to get the Guild to leave the Solar System. Some how, Yotov has gotten her hooks into the Peacemaker Guild and they are now protecting Earth and the Solar System from everyone except the Equal Grasp. So, Van has to find a way to get them out of the picture. He called upon a Faalaxi Matriarch for whom Van had saved from some very embarrasing family business. She isn’t the goverment for her world but the Faalaxi are Charter Signatories so Van convinces her to invoke a little know article, Section Three of the Charter’s Article Five. This required the Guild to leave the Solar System while an investigation had to take place to proof they need to be there. With this done, Van had to act and he had to do so in a big way.
It wasn’t going to be easy. While the Guild might have left, the Equal Grasp still had assets of their own and they were determined to stop Van his ship, the Fafnir from landing any where on Earth. Well, that worked until it didn’t. Van started calling in some of his well armed friends to include his Mother and Grandmother. Both had very capable ships and knew others who could come along if needed. Icky’s Father showed up with his battleship so that just about settled Van’s access requirements to Earth. Cantullin Station was also well armed and could be used as a stagin site for any actions in the future.
After several attacks by the Equal Grasp and with the ever increasing bounty they were placing on Van, his ships and crew, it was time to start protecting themselves. They also needed a permanent presence on Earth. So Van comes up with a plan. He’s going to build his own spaceport and commerce building right there on the farm in Iowa. It’ll be called “the Nexus” and it will be the beginning of the end of the Equal Grasp. Van had a vision of providing Earth with a slow trickle of new technology to include medical advances, but not so much to overwhelm Earth’s current efforts in these areas. His Nexus was definitely NOT going to introduce some highly lethal alien weapons and start a war on Earth. That was exactly what the Equal Grasp was working on. They wanted humanity to get itself intangled with war so as to not pay much attention to the every larger reduction to the human population. The Equal Grasp was already taking remote and isolated village by force, chipping the people and selling them to the highest bidder. That had to stop.
Van also needs to protect not only the Earth at large, but also this new operation on the farm. He go to the Quiet Room and talks to Dayna Jaskin about a loan to finance his huge plans. She surprisingly says that the bank is open to his ventures and practically gives him a blank check. The funds recover from the elimination of Dohlennz and Helem Gauss resulted in a substantial windfall of monies from their illegal business. Even after paying back those who were harmed, there was still a substantial amount of bonds sitting around that the Quiet Room really didn’t want to deal with. So, using those bonds, Van could buy whatever he wanted. Surprisinly, Van found that a lot of the things he needed, while expensive, were going to be given to him out of respect for what he had done in the past. They also knew that Van Tudor was going to do much, much more in the future and they were going to be with him all the way.
Yet, Van had one large and getting larger problem he had to deal with. Tornia, his wife, was with child/children and she was starting to show quite obviously. Her activities were also slowing down and quite frankly, the Fafnir wasn’t a place to have a baby or babies. So, they both agreed she needed to go back to Helso for a while, at least until the birth of their child/children. That was good until Helso came under attack by the Equal Grasp and their hired mercenaries! Van calls for everyone he knows to help in this fight and he’s going to be there to defend his family even if it kills him.
While all this activity, Earth and Helso, are taking a lot of Van’s time and efforts. He’s also come to the conclusion that he’s going to have to do something about the Peacemaker Guild. It is becoming more and more corrupt and not what it was supposed to be. How he was going to fix that problem will be some thing covered in the next few books, I hope.
Very fast paced action and lots of it. Easy to read and understand what’s going on even thought there are a lot of characters in these books. The next book, “Killing Stroke”, should be just as exciting and is available now on Amazon.
While the Equal Grasp is slowly attempting to be the face of Space for the Earth, Van decides to beat them at their own game and plans to convert his farm into a base for interplanetary commerce. Yotov and the Equal Grasp are of course not happy about this and try to stop them by any means possible... There is plenty of intrigue and suspense as Van decides to be offensive rather than defensive... Politics of course rears its ugly head as well as sabotage and frontal assaults and of course Mr. Forrester making offers for Van to join in with Equal Grasp. Much of this book is set on Earth or the surrounding space as Van executes his plans. A fun and entertaining read leaving you waiting to see what will happen next....
Last few books have left me feeling "what is Van playing at". This time round we start to see some method and progress in his war against the Equal Grasp Rather than minor actions against them, he actually starts to think strategically and looks at what it will take to defeat them as a whole. He doesn't have it all his own way, they fight back as you would expect, but at least this shows some degree of a conclusion is in the future It's a major improvement and one that leaves me looking forward to the next book
Lots more politics here than action, but then it's the crew we love with all the snark and fun. The look of a workaholic is interesting on Van, but it's working while Torina waits out her pregnancy at home with her parents. Things do get dicey, but then Van is a bit of a knight in shining armor.
This particular installment gets kind of philosophical for Van. Feels like things are coming to an end. I think there are a few more books but I'll be sad when this series is over. I'll have to find more Jeffrey Kafer!
There are a lot of errors in this edition. Some seem to be somewhat simple, such as many instances of word order or duplicate words. Others are not so simple. For example, a person of interest in Van's investigations mentioned he had troops below the meeting area. A few moments later, those troops came downstairs. Disappointing, compared to all previous work in this series.
This is the kind of series when a new book comes out, that jumps to the top of my list for next to read. By now you already know the crew and this universe so I won't go into the obvious. However, I will say that this book has a ton of action and humor. Things are REALLY coming together for Van and crew and it's about time! There are some plot holes if you really want to get picky, but assuming you can just enjoy a good sci-fi book, then grab this ASAP.
This series has always had me by the edge of my seat, and I can't put them down. It's a well written space opera that keeps up with its twists and turns and always entertaining to read despite being over 22 books so far.
Things look like they might be coming to a close, which will be nice to read but I will be disappointed when the series ends as its kept me going through my Kindle reading path.
Now, the bad part is waiting for the next book in the series to be released.
Great writing. Loved this installment. Miss having Torina around and her creative input. Wonder how things might have progressed if she’d been there to help set up systems on and around Earth? It’s nice to have old friends help and be brought into the official new beginnings on Earth, plus meeting new characters who I think will become a part of the ongoing story. Can’t wait to read #23
You Always Know When You Cross the Bright Red Line Too Far.
The Tudor Team attempts to bring the Earth into the Known Universe in a peaceful and planned way to avoid overwhelming people or allowing other alien governments from taking control and advantage of the new trade opportunities and 8 billion new customers suddenly made available with mainly Van's efforts to keep things safe for everyone involved on Earth.
22 books so far is a long time. Plenty of time to lose the plot and make mistakes. Fortunately, I continue to be just as enthralled now as I was in the beginning with this complex story. It's so engaging I cried in the last book. I felt hope throughout this one. I continue to be hooked and salivating for the next book.
If you're into this series, know that this recent addition was worth the wait. Good storyline, plenty of details to "keep it real", and all the favorite characters in the "fafnir family". The plot arc is developing beautifully and I look forward to the next installment
Well, Van and the crew have decided that they have to stop sitting on the fence and take control of what is going to happen on earth. But the enemy are not going to just sit around and let Van do what he wants. They attempt to attack the thing that Van and his crew love most.
Van finally lays down the law and declares Earth as open for business, as long as it’s done openly and fairly. This means that the Equal Grasp had better get out of town.
Van and his crew make some audacious moves and change the rules of the game. Earth is ready to take its place among the stars.
I have read twenty one of these wish I had skipped it all. At this point I am skipping three pages at least for the good parts. No longer worth it. There is an amazing idea of worth buried in idiot pants crap. I am heartily sorry for the time lost.
Will Van and the crew be able to get the Nexus up and running? I love the camaraderie between the main characters in the series of books. You never have time to get bored with the story because it moves so fast. I can't wait for the next book to come out. Do yourself a favor and start at the beginning you really will enjoyed the story.
By book 22, if you aren't reading this series, my review isn't going to convince you to do so. Bad things happen; some are very sad. There is graphic violence and a high body. I still love Van and Funboy and Icky and Gabby....ok, I love them all. And the AIs rock!
I hate to say this but some of the last books in this series, for me at least, were starting to get a bit repetitive. This one, and book 21, definitely were not. The author kicked things into high gear with the current storyline and I’m flying through them, enjoying them very much. On to #23!
Aside from the ever expanding universe of DUNE, this series is simply excellent. Great Storyline, lots of action interspersed with tons of humour in a most believable Universe of varied aliens & worlds.
Likely the THE MOST enjoyable series I’ve ever read. Wishing it wouldn’t end
outstanding… I marvel at how consistently great these books are
This series continues to consistently provide HOURS of wit, humor, and sublime cultural references. Twenty two books into the series and I just wish there were more than three left to go!
Keeps getting better and better... I will be seriously sorry when this series ends! All stories should have endings, else they are just soap opera's! I'll bet the ending will be a doizie!
One of my favorites in this series so far. There's moments of tension, moments that made my heart catch, and moments of pride. Van's evolution as a man and growth as a leader has been gradual and very believable! Can't wait for the next one!
A excellent new, highly readable, addition to the series. Van's battle with the evil Equal Grasp continues together with his plan to introduce earth to the galaxy.
I have really e!enjoyed the series. The characters are well rounded and the story is a good one. I am also enjoying the prequel about Vans grand father. Cannot wait for the next books to come out. Please, keep them coming.
Finally getting one up on the evil Equal Grasp. Taking a more aggressive stance suits our heros. But still looking out for Earth's interests and benefits Can't wait for the next installment.
I'm amazed that this author can write so many fantastic novels, I hope that he never stops writing. His books are some of the best Entertainment I have read and worth the time to read them. Thank you for a very fun entertaining read.
This series continuously entertains me very much. I normally don't stay interested in a series longer than three stories, but this one won't let me quit. I eagerly await the next exciting and entertaining publication!!