Shadow of the Storm

by Martin J. Dougherty

Lieutenant Commander Simon Crowe has given his life to the Solomani Confederation Navy, and that’s no easy thing in an upstart confederation eclipsed by the massive Third Imperium. But Crowe, like the rest of the Solomani people—descendants of Earth’s original humans—comes from hearty stock. Given command of the patrol frigate Stormshadow, Crowe will be put to the test much sooner than anyone anticipated, even in a region of space where civil war is never more than one ambitious young officer away. When the Zhongguo system exhibits signs of shifting allegiances, Crowe and the Stormshadow are put in a delicate defend the system from itself, defend the Solomani Confederation from the Third Imperium, defend himself against his own unsteady reputation . . . and in the depths of space, where a commander’s quick thinking can mean the difference between war and peace, life and death, Crowe doesn’t have the luxury of a single mistake. Simon Crowe can’t just sit back and watch, he has to plunge himself, his ship, his crew, and his empire, into the very Shadow of the Storm. Traveller game designer and one of the evolving Traveller Universe’s most vocal champions Martin J. Dougherty adds his storytelling talents to a new line of novels based on one of the greatest role-playing games of all time.

Genres: Science Fiction, Role Playing Games

195 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 12, 2014

About the author

Hailing from northeast England, Martin J Dougherty is a professional writer specialising in military history. He has been at times a games designer, an engineer, a self-protection instructor, a teacher and a defence analyst. Martin has published a range of books covering topics as diverse as self-protection, medieval warfare and space flight, and has addressed international conferences on anti-shipping missiles and homeland security issues.

Martin's interests include martial arts and fencing. He has coached Fencing, Ju-Jitsu, Self-Defence and Kickboxing for many years at the University of Sunderland, and has competed to national level as a fencer. As a martial artist he holds black belts in Combat Ju-Jitsu, Nihon Tai-Jitsu and Self-Defence. Martin is a Senior Assessor with the Self-Defence Federation and an IL1 instructor/assessor with the Britsh Federation for Historical Swordplay, specialising in the Military Sabre and the Smallsword.

Reviews

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dougherty has earned his writing chops over the years, so it's good to see another novel by him. Though it's gaming fiction (and at times a little too picaresque), it's generally exciting action adventure that's fun to read. Dougherty also does a terrific job of depicting the Solomani Confederation in all their fascist glory. Since this book kicks off major events in the Solomani Rim, I'd like to see Dougherty continue the story.

[Nate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book almost has no business being this good. You don’t need to know that it’s based on the Traveller RPG.

It stands on its own as solid, military science-fiction and is better than any Honor Harrington book.

It’s not perfect, but then, what is?

It’s not often I read a book and regret that it’s a standalone. I want this to be the first in a series.

[Steven Poore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Essentially, Baen-esque military SF set in the milieu of the OG SF RPG - Traveller's Solomani Rim. Dougherty's writing is brisk and the story leaps from situation to situation quickly enough. The game system doesn't intrude massively in the writing, although Dougherty's swordsmanship does make it into the formal dueling scene. My issue is that the Solomani aren't the most sympathetic of the Traveller cultures (game lore has them as authoritarian, almost fascistic), and I think Dougherty does struggle to imbue some of his characters with likeable personalities. I tend to gravitate to Traveller games that are less formally militaristic too - think Pirates of Drinax. The climactic battle is properly intense however, and great fun to read.

[Caleb Schumann · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful little book that throws you headfirst into the Traveler universe and does an incredible job of it. The characters are all pretty charming and likeable, the story is riddled with intrigue and action and just damned fun throughout, and Mr. Dougherty does an exceptional job in making a totalitarian human supremacist one party state seem not only worth fighting for, but actually quite necessary. I see the Solomani Confederation in quite a new light, now, and I think my understanding of the setting is all the better for it. All in all, a fantastic novel that makes for a quick and easy read and a must-have for anyone looking to explore the literary side of Traveler.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a fan of the Traveller role-playing game universe, so I bought this smallish (under 300 pages, which is usually my lower limit for length) book as a summer beach read thinking it would be a fun trip through that space opera setting. Honestly, this book went above and beyond my expectations. The story was compelling, well written, and hard to put down. Fans of space opera and military space opera will love it. As I stated in the beginning, it is set in the Traveller universe but no prior knowledge of that setting is needed to enjoy this book. My only complaint is there are not more stories in this series by the author!

[Urgewyrm · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic tight SciFi story based in Traveller's Charted Space universe. It's got it all : ship combat, dueling, betrayal, rebellions, and realizing that you're probably rooting for the wrong side the entire time.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very fun read... it was wonderful to see the Traveller universe come to life. Longtime players of the game on which this is based will especially enjoy the details of the starship combat sequences.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in the Traveller RPG universe, I found this novel to be surprisingly entertaining. It gets off to a somewhat slow start, but ramps up midway through and results in a good naval military sci-fi yarn.