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Ark Royal #2
The Nelson Touch
Ark Royal – the Royal Navy’s outdated space carrier – has won a smashing victory against the enigmatic aliens, capturing one of their starships and returning to Earth. Now, Admiral Theodore Smith and his crew are assigned to command a fleet charged with making a deep-penetration raid into alien territory, a fleet made up of carriers from four different nations.
But with a crewman who isn't what he seems, untested pilots and international friction – and a new and dangerous alien plan - can Ted and his crew survive their mission ... or will they die, alone and unremarked, hundreds of light years from home?
But with a crewman who isn't what he seems, untested pilots and international friction – and a new and dangerous alien plan - can Ted and his crew survive their mission ... or will they die, alone and unremarked, hundreds of light years from home?
497 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 21, 2014
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506 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 105 reviews
May 8, 2014
While "Ark Royal" was a somewhat predictable, old fashioned navies-in-space book with some bad vibes from the author leaking out, this book is sort of disgusting.
Let me give you the short version:
Every woman is a shrew. Except those who are sexy and/or submissive. Journalists are the lowest of the low. Military men are awesome. Exposition is a must. Aliens are a mistery. Dialog is clunky. Aliens will magically develop or not develop whatever ability or tactic the author needs at any given point in the story. Character development consists on assigning a characteristic to a name. This one is a former drunk. This one fucks. This one is a pilot. That one is a woman. This one nags. That other one is another woman, and what do you mean you can't tell her apart from the previous one? She has a name!
Depressingly bad, and ugly.
Will not read the rest of the series, which the author is threatening to split into another book happening at the same time as this one.
Let me give you the short version:
Every woman is a shrew. Except those who are sexy and/or submissive. Journalists are the lowest of the low. Military men are awesome. Exposition is a must. Aliens are a mistery. Dialog is clunky. Aliens will magically develop or not develop whatever ability or tactic the author needs at any given point in the story. Character development consists on assigning a characteristic to a name. This one is a former drunk. This one fucks. This one is a pilot. That one is a woman. This one nags. That other one is another woman, and what do you mean you can't tell her apart from the previous one? She has a name!
Depressingly bad, and ugly.
Will not read the rest of the series, which the author is threatening to split into another book happening at the same time as this one.
July 17, 2014
The Nelson Touch, Christopher Nuttall’s sequel to Ark Royal, picks up a few months after the Ark Royal ends. The Ark Royal, the previously outdated space fighter carrier that is suddenly humanity’s last hope, and her crew are preparing to launch a mission into the heart of enemy space. Theodore Smith, the captain of the Ark Royal, has been promoted to admiral and now leads a multinational fleet in a strike deep into enemy territory. The Nelson Touch focuses on all of the characters from Ark Royal, with the addition of Henry. Henry is the prince of England and has enlisted to be a fighter pilot under a false name. Obviously his cover is known to the upper echelons of the Navy and Ted is told before the mission departs. As the story starts Henry plays no role, but his character gains progress as the mission progresses.
The Ark Royal’s mission is to occupy an alien world and cause as much damage, as well as finding out as much as possible, before they are chased off by a larger force. For the first time we see ground action between the aliens and humans, as well as a prolonged look at their established colonies. As in the first book in the series the action in The Nelson Touch is not concentrated very well. There isn’t an ultimate crescendo where the stakes become higher and higher, while our attachment to the characters grow. There’s a fair amount of danger, but throughout the series no characters are really injured, so when I was reading the book I never felt worried.
The Nelson Touch is basically divided into two parts. The first part takes place before the mission even leaves Earth’s orbit and consists mostly of what seemed to me like bookkeeping with the different character’s relationships. One has marital problems that are explored, another deals with his upbringing in the aristocracy. I understand that these arcs are used to build the characters, but they don’t seem that convincing. For the first thirty percent of the book I really only wanted the story to get a move on and amount to something. Once the mission starts the fleet is thrown into a constant state of danger. The level of danger never really wavers, and to me it felt like the level of tension was always the same. Nuttall could benefit from managing tension a little better. Ramping up the tension to a crescendo, then letting off a little tension to give the reader a break, before building it up again. A flat line doesn’t have the same impact as curves; in terms of plot as in so many other things.
Overall the characters are well done, though some are similar they do have their unique aspects. Nuttall set himself up well with characters that are in different parts of the same journey, and thus can relate to one another. Likewise, the story, though not stellar in it’s pacing, isn’t bad. There’s plenty of action and there are consequences to each character's decisions. I will certainly read the conclusion to this series, but I don’t feel any inclinations to read it right away. The Nelson Touch was decent, but nothing special.
P.S. I think it would have been appropriate, even expected, in a book about naval battles named after Nelson that his tactics would be used. Sadly they were not.
The Ark Royal’s mission is to occupy an alien world and cause as much damage, as well as finding out as much as possible, before they are chased off by a larger force. For the first time we see ground action between the aliens and humans, as well as a prolonged look at their established colonies. As in the first book in the series the action in The Nelson Touch is not concentrated very well. There isn’t an ultimate crescendo where the stakes become higher and higher, while our attachment to the characters grow. There’s a fair amount of danger, but throughout the series no characters are really injured, so when I was reading the book I never felt worried.
The Nelson Touch is basically divided into two parts. The first part takes place before the mission even leaves Earth’s orbit and consists mostly of what seemed to me like bookkeeping with the different character’s relationships. One has marital problems that are explored, another deals with his upbringing in the aristocracy. I understand that these arcs are used to build the characters, but they don’t seem that convincing. For the first thirty percent of the book I really only wanted the story to get a move on and amount to something. Once the mission starts the fleet is thrown into a constant state of danger. The level of danger never really wavers, and to me it felt like the level of tension was always the same. Nuttall could benefit from managing tension a little better. Ramping up the tension to a crescendo, then letting off a little tension to give the reader a break, before building it up again. A flat line doesn’t have the same impact as curves; in terms of plot as in so many other things.
Overall the characters are well done, though some are similar they do have their unique aspects. Nuttall set himself up well with characters that are in different parts of the same journey, and thus can relate to one another. Likewise, the story, though not stellar in it’s pacing, isn’t bad. There’s plenty of action and there are consequences to each character's decisions. I will certainly read the conclusion to this series, but I don’t feel any inclinations to read it right away. The Nelson Touch was decent, but nothing special.
P.S. I think it would have been appropriate, even expected, in a book about naval battles named after Nelson that his tactics would be used. Sadly they were not.
March 29, 2014
The Nelson Touch continues the story started in Ark Royal. As you can see from my review of Ark Royal I thought it was a great book. This book is a worthy sequel. It has many of the same, likable, characters and they are of course as well done as in the previous book.
As the book blurb states, this time we follow the old carrier Ark Royal when she and a small fleet goes on the offensive in order to try to divert the aliens attention from Earth. Quite a bit of the book deals with various interpersonal relations. These parts are not my favorite parts and if I should criticize something it would be that I could do with a bit less of that. The “crewman who isn’t what he seems” helps make some of these parts interesting though. Speaking of said crewman, that part was not what I thought it would be. I was afraid that part of the story would be something completely different and more negative. Obviously I cannot divulge much without spoiling the book though. The book blurb also talks about “international friction” but there really was not too much of that in the book, which I am thankful for.
Naturally there is a good chunk of action in the book as well. As with the previous book these parts are well done and as believable as one can ask from a science fiction book. I do have a bit of a gripe with the idea of capturing a planet and start to dig in with the knowledge that they, with almost certainty, would have to abandon it rather shortly. The entire mission was supposed to be a raid and not an invasion after all. Normally one would have thought that they would just grab everything of interest and get out of there? That bit felt a bit less well thought through even though it was well written. That is a minor issue though.
The book ends in a, not too surprising, cliffhanger. I hate cliffhangers! Okay, okay, as I wrote it is not a surprising one and it does not cut the story in half. The book ends the story in a reasonable place but still…grumble grumble. Anyway, this is yet another really good book from Mr. Nuttall and I will certainly pick up the next one (which I would have done also without the cliffhanger of course :-)).
As the book blurb states, this time we follow the old carrier Ark Royal when she and a small fleet goes on the offensive in order to try to divert the aliens attention from Earth. Quite a bit of the book deals with various interpersonal relations. These parts are not my favorite parts and if I should criticize something it would be that I could do with a bit less of that. The “crewman who isn’t what he seems” helps make some of these parts interesting though. Speaking of said crewman, that part was not what I thought it would be. I was afraid that part of the story would be something completely different and more negative. Obviously I cannot divulge much without spoiling the book though. The book blurb also talks about “international friction” but there really was not too much of that in the book, which I am thankful for.
Naturally there is a good chunk of action in the book as well. As with the previous book these parts are well done and as believable as one can ask from a science fiction book. I do have a bit of a gripe with the idea of capturing a planet and start to dig in with the knowledge that they, with almost certainty, would have to abandon it rather shortly. The entire mission was supposed to be a raid and not an invasion after all. Normally one would have thought that they would just grab everything of interest and get out of there? That bit felt a bit less well thought through even though it was well written. That is a minor issue though.
The book ends in a, not too surprising, cliffhanger. I hate cliffhangers! Okay, okay, as I wrote it is not a surprising one and it does not cut the story in half. The book ends the story in a reasonable place but still…grumble grumble. Anyway, this is yet another really good book from Mr. Nuttall and I will certainly pick up the next one (which I would have done also without the cliffhanger of course :-)).
June 19, 2019
This could be a great exercise in world building, but it comes off as sketchy (in the literal, not the pejorative sense) with a lot of "Well, okay I guess."
It also (though I may be over-interpreting) feels like author is expressing some strong feels about the British monarchy and aristocracy in an almost defensive manner, as well as some fairly flat, arguably sexist depictions of women.
I normally am very forgiving of handwavy tech and physics in sci-fi (I hate folks who ramble about why something was inaccurate due to random physics), but there are some pretty egregious oversights/consistency issues in this series. In particular the distances and time involved in space travel that are more than a little eyebrow raising, given the effort that goes into explaining the interstellar aspects of getting around (tramlines and a 'puller' drive) but in system its handwaved that they can get around in mere minutes and hours at sublight speeds between planets and moons....
Anyways, there's a halfway decent "mind-candy" military sci-fi story buried in here, but its muddled with flat characters, overused tropes, and generally ham fisted plot maneuvering, such as it is.
I'll keep progressing in the hopes that the author improves with time, and I have just enough interest to want to know what happens next.
It also (though I may be over-interpreting) feels like author is expressing some strong feels about the British monarchy and aristocracy in an almost defensive manner, as well as some fairly flat, arguably sexist depictions of women.
I normally am very forgiving of handwavy tech and physics in sci-fi (I hate folks who ramble about why something was inaccurate due to random physics), but there are some pretty egregious oversights/consistency issues in this series. In particular the distances and time involved in space travel that are more than a little eyebrow raising, given the effort that goes into explaining the interstellar aspects of getting around (tramlines and a 'puller' drive) but in system its handwaved that they can get around in mere minutes and hours at sublight speeds between planets and moons....
Anyways, there's a halfway decent "mind-candy" military sci-fi story buried in here, but its muddled with flat characters, overused tropes, and generally ham fisted plot maneuvering, such as it is.
I'll keep progressing in the hopes that the author improves with time, and I have just enough interest to want to know what happens next.
October 24, 2025
No Maturity Here
Although the story isn’t terrible. I find the slow pace and sophomoric dialogue to be too boring. I was hoping for some maturity in this second book but I haven’t found it. I’m afraid I need to give up on this series.
Although the story isn’t terrible. I find the slow pace and sophomoric dialogue to be too boring. I was hoping for some maturity in this second book but I haven’t found it. I’m afraid I need to give up on this series.
April 28, 2014
From My Newsletter Number 71:
This review is on The Nelson Touch, Ark Royal II, written by Christopher G. Nuttall. It is the second book in the series.
The story begins eleven months after the first book ended. Admiral Sir Theodore Smith has been promoted for his past victories against the aliens and is returning to his flagship, Ark Royal, after a long round of ceremonies, speeches and dinners for the Royal Navy. This time, he is no longer in command of his ship, but rather is the commander of a new starfleet of multinational modern carriers and other starships.
Captain James Fitzwilliam is now in command of the Ark Royal. He must prove himself equal to the task in the battles to come. The Earth Defense Command has decided to go on the offensive and strike the aliens in their own space territory. The problem is Earth forces know very little about alien-controlled space or about the aliens themselves. They refuse to talk to humans or negotiate on the war.
The EDF identifies a likely alien target and Admiral Smith leads the large fighting force toward the enemy. Since the Royal Navy is in charge of this strike force, they call this mission, Operation Nelson. Not everyone will make it back.
This story adds another element to the plotline by creating a number of new characters including a brash fighter pilot named Charles Augustus who is not who he seems. This causes some personnel problems aboard the Ark Royal and will have a major impact in the future war with the aliens.
I give this book four stars because I continue to like the story, the action scenes and the characters. I am glad the author decided to continue the series. The story is entertaining, interesting and well written. The author concludes this book with a surprise ending together with “A question for my readers.” I look forward to reading the third book in the series.
This review is on The Nelson Touch, Ark Royal II, written by Christopher G. Nuttall. It is the second book in the series.
The story begins eleven months after the first book ended. Admiral Sir Theodore Smith has been promoted for his past victories against the aliens and is returning to his flagship, Ark Royal, after a long round of ceremonies, speeches and dinners for the Royal Navy. This time, he is no longer in command of his ship, but rather is the commander of a new starfleet of multinational modern carriers and other starships.
Captain James Fitzwilliam is now in command of the Ark Royal. He must prove himself equal to the task in the battles to come. The Earth Defense Command has decided to go on the offensive and strike the aliens in their own space territory. The problem is Earth forces know very little about alien-controlled space or about the aliens themselves. They refuse to talk to humans or negotiate on the war.
The EDF identifies a likely alien target and Admiral Smith leads the large fighting force toward the enemy. Since the Royal Navy is in charge of this strike force, they call this mission, Operation Nelson. Not everyone will make it back.
This story adds another element to the plotline by creating a number of new characters including a brash fighter pilot named Charles Augustus who is not who he seems. This causes some personnel problems aboard the Ark Royal and will have a major impact in the future war with the aliens.
I give this book four stars because I continue to like the story, the action scenes and the characters. I am glad the author decided to continue the series. The story is entertaining, interesting and well written. The author concludes this book with a surprise ending together with “A question for my readers.” I look forward to reading the third book in the series.
September 20, 2014
This is the second book in the Ark Royal series. The story begins eleven months after the first book ends. Captain Smith has been promoted to Admiral and is now in charge of the fleet with Ark Royal servings as his flagship. James Fitzwilliam has been promoted to Captain and is now the captain of the Ark Royal. The Earth Defense Command has decided to go on the offensive and strike the aliens in their own space territory.
The book is divided into two parts. The first part takes place before the mission leaves earth orbit and mostly deals with relationships of the crewmembers. The second part deals with the Mission with the fleet in constant state of danger. Admiral Smith leads the large fighting force on the mission called “Operation Nelson”.
The story adds another element to the plot line and creates a number of new characters including a fighter pilot named Charles Augustus. He causes some personnel problems that will impact the future. The story is interesting, entertaining and better written than book one of the series but still needs to reduce the repetition. There is lots of action, suspense and battles and ends in a cliffhanger. This I assume is to get you to buy book three of the series. I read this as an audio book downloaded from Audible. Ralph Lister has done a good job narrating the series.
The book is divided into two parts. The first part takes place before the mission leaves earth orbit and mostly deals with relationships of the crewmembers. The second part deals with the Mission with the fleet in constant state of danger. Admiral Smith leads the large fighting force on the mission called “Operation Nelson”.
The story adds another element to the plot line and creates a number of new characters including a fighter pilot named Charles Augustus. He causes some personnel problems that will impact the future. The story is interesting, entertaining and better written than book one of the series but still needs to reduce the repetition. There is lots of action, suspense and battles and ends in a cliffhanger. This I assume is to get you to buy book three of the series. I read this as an audio book downloaded from Audible. Ralph Lister has done a good job narrating the series.
March 24, 2017
Fine sequel
Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Nelson Touch (Ark Royal Book 2) (Kindle Edition)
There are already well over 600 reviews. Many of them very good reviews. I understand that book sales hinge on both the rating and the number of reviews so here is another to encourage the author and maybe help sales. And make no mistake about it. This author should be encouraged. His books are the best independently published works I have read to date. This sequel continues with the war between humans and the truly inscrutable aliens whose behavior is, so far, incomprehensible to humans. As in ARK ROYAL, the military scifi action is believable and moves along at a nice pace. A particularly interesting new character is introduced and familiar characters continue to be developed. The politics of earth as presented in this book are also very believable. Nuttall has become one of my favorite contemporary scifi writers along with David Drake, David Weber, Eric Flint, and William Dietz. As some negative reviews note, the writing is not perfect. I expect that with more experience, Mr. Nuttall's work will become more polished. Please keep at it Mr. Nuttall.
Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Nelson Touch (Ark Royal Book 2) (Kindle Edition)
There are already well over 600 reviews. Many of them very good reviews. I understand that book sales hinge on both the rating and the number of reviews so here is another to encourage the author and maybe help sales. And make no mistake about it. This author should be encouraged. His books are the best independently published works I have read to date. This sequel continues with the war between humans and the truly inscrutable aliens whose behavior is, so far, incomprehensible to humans. As in ARK ROYAL, the military scifi action is believable and moves along at a nice pace. A particularly interesting new character is introduced and familiar characters continue to be developed. The politics of earth as presented in this book are also very believable. Nuttall has become one of my favorite contemporary scifi writers along with David Drake, David Weber, Eric Flint, and William Dietz. As some negative reviews note, the writing is not perfect. I expect that with more experience, Mr. Nuttall's work will become more polished. Please keep at it Mr. Nuttall.
June 6, 2016
he isn't any good,is he .
May 5, 2018
Bad buy, read free
The writing is poor and I don't think that editing would make much of a difference. The characters are weak and the dialogue anemic. There is no discernible plot because there are no characters worth learning about.
The aristocracy worship is funny. About a third of the book is dedicated to the woes of being a prince and the torment visited upon the mobility by the media. The Admiralty makes an alias for the prince, trains him to fly a fighter and then spends an unusual amount of worry that it will cause a scandal. It feels like a Diana tribute site with flight suits.
Another third of the book is dedicated to all the sex that happens aboard a British carrier. That no sex is allowed is constantly repeated, usually just after a sex scene. A middle aged officer has regular sex with a subordinate and worries after every encounter, whether his wife is having an affair. Then he worries about his children's schooling (not their happiness), the governess, finances and finally the immorality of his own affair. We are constantly reminded he is old enough to be the father of many of his female pilots and especially the one he's sleeping with. This may be the perviest treatment of sex, ever. Lastly every woman is rated on their competence by the degree of their hotness.
The military situation is the driver for what plot there is. Unfortunately, human society is a continuation of the present with interstellar colonies. That wouldn't be bad if time was spent describing the populations, production, commerce, and number of colonies. The size of human territory is also not discussed. There is no sense of distances, so time of travel has no relevance.
The tech is funny. I'll let someone else challenge it in detail. The military organization is funny. There are few frigates and they don't screen the carriers very well. Fighters chasing bombers are fine but having to chase torpedoes is stupid. The campaigns are pointless. The battles make little sense.
The book seems an ode to the swashbuckling fighter pilots, the Royal Navy ascendant and the British monarchy reborn. That would still be acceptable despite flat characters if the rest of the writing was not so sub par. It is sub par though, so there's no point to the book.
The writing is poor and I don't think that editing would make much of a difference. The characters are weak and the dialogue anemic. There is no discernible plot because there are no characters worth learning about.
The aristocracy worship is funny. About a third of the book is dedicated to the woes of being a prince and the torment visited upon the mobility by the media. The Admiralty makes an alias for the prince, trains him to fly a fighter and then spends an unusual amount of worry that it will cause a scandal. It feels like a Diana tribute site with flight suits.
Another third of the book is dedicated to all the sex that happens aboard a British carrier. That no sex is allowed is constantly repeated, usually just after a sex scene. A middle aged officer has regular sex with a subordinate and worries after every encounter, whether his wife is having an affair. Then he worries about his children's schooling (not their happiness), the governess, finances and finally the immorality of his own affair. We are constantly reminded he is old enough to be the father of many of his female pilots and especially the one he's sleeping with. This may be the perviest treatment of sex, ever. Lastly every woman is rated on their competence by the degree of their hotness.
The military situation is the driver for what plot there is. Unfortunately, human society is a continuation of the present with interstellar colonies. That wouldn't be bad if time was spent describing the populations, production, commerce, and number of colonies. The size of human territory is also not discussed. There is no sense of distances, so time of travel has no relevance.
The tech is funny. I'll let someone else challenge it in detail. The military organization is funny. There are few frigates and they don't screen the carriers very well. Fighters chasing bombers are fine but having to chase torpedoes is stupid. The campaigns are pointless. The battles make little sense.
The book seems an ode to the swashbuckling fighter pilots, the Royal Navy ascendant and the British monarchy reborn. That would still be acceptable despite flat characters if the rest of the writing was not so sub par. It is sub par though, so there's no point to the book.
July 3, 2022
This series is looking very compatible to me, I love the combination of realistic military setting and action, romance and character drama, and the aliens are just so damn mysterious and interesting!
There's a subplot on this about a Prince who joined the military as a starfighter pilot under a false name after he had his face changed with future techno babble (like cosmetic surgery but way easier and more effective) because he wanted to earn titles and glory and respect for himself, a life essentially. It reminded me a little bit of Prince Harry and no doubt was the authors inspiration. This subplot was very interesting and tied well into the main narrative, it was great character drama and the author leveraged it to it's full potential within this story and I enjoyed it very much. I love the characters of this universe and the rawness of them, I love how the sex scenes aren't too gratuitous (but gratuitous enough) and also convey deep character meaning, they aren't just there for fan service but both enjoyment and be introspective, to dive deeper into character.
The aliens are just so damn creepy, mysterious and interesting! I love how different they are from humans and that thought was put into their strange biology, for instance they are an aquatically developed species that *can* travel on land and have very different reproductive and social norms to humans, just for starters. I won't go further into it in a review.
The cliffhanger this ended on is going to drive me insane I wanted to finish one of the other two audiobooks I am in the middle of but nooooooooooo the next books is going to get in the way.
Thoroughly enjoying this series and it looks to be going in a direction I like.
There's a subplot on this about a Prince who joined the military as a starfighter pilot under a false name after he had his face changed with future techno babble (like cosmetic surgery but way easier and more effective) because he wanted to earn titles and glory and respect for himself, a life essentially. It reminded me a little bit of Prince Harry and no doubt was the authors inspiration. This subplot was very interesting and tied well into the main narrative, it was great character drama and the author leveraged it to it's full potential within this story and I enjoyed it very much. I love the characters of this universe and the rawness of them, I love how the sex scenes aren't too gratuitous (but gratuitous enough) and also convey deep character meaning, they aren't just there for fan service but both enjoyment and be introspective, to dive deeper into character.
The aliens are just so damn creepy, mysterious and interesting! I love how different they are from humans and that thought was put into their strange biology, for instance they are an aquatically developed species that *can* travel on land and have very different reproductive and social norms to humans, just for starters. I won't go further into it in a review.
The cliffhanger this ended on is going to drive me insane I wanted to finish one of the other two audiobooks I am in the middle of but nooooooooooo the next books is going to get in the way.
Thoroughly enjoying this series and it looks to be going in a direction I like.
February 12, 2023
Starts with an anachronism, goes down from there
I picked up The Nelson Touch because the aliens in Ark Royal seemed like they might be interesting and I was hoping the second book might pick up a bit from the first. I was sadly disappointed. Although there is a little more insight into the aliens in The Nelson Touch, the storylines are still mostly focused on human melodrama with an awful lot of repetitive detail. (Got really sick of the zillion discussions of how sleep deprived these people are - well, duh, often true for active duty military.) The worst part for me is that the book has a huge anachronism in it that is actually a major plot driver. The first born son of the King of England (who is the SECOND born child) enlists as a fighter pilot and much angst ensues because as everyone knows, as the first born SON he will take the crown if his father dies. Nuh-uh! The British Law of Primogeniture has recently changed (about time!) and sorry, Mr. Nuttall, but the prince's sister would be next in line in the 24th century if there is even a crown to wear by then. So, that whole story line becomes a big bust. OK, the book was published a few years before the law changed, but I think a good sci-fi writer needs to be able to project out the future just a little better than this and this one was definitely predictable.
Once again, the women characters are cardboard cutouts and the men aren't really that interesting either. Once again, Ralph Lister did a good job with narration, but this just wasn't a very engaging story. And, once again, we STILL don't know much about these aliens.
I'm done with this series.
I picked up The Nelson Touch because the aliens in Ark Royal seemed like they might be interesting and I was hoping the second book might pick up a bit from the first. I was sadly disappointed. Although there is a little more insight into the aliens in The Nelson Touch, the storylines are still mostly focused on human melodrama with an awful lot of repetitive detail. (Got really sick of the zillion discussions of how sleep deprived these people are - well, duh, often true for active duty military.) The worst part for me is that the book has a huge anachronism in it that is actually a major plot driver. The first born son of the King of England (who is the SECOND born child) enlists as a fighter pilot and much angst ensues because as everyone knows, as the first born SON he will take the crown if his father dies. Nuh-uh! The British Law of Primogeniture has recently changed (about time!) and sorry, Mr. Nuttall, but the prince's sister would be next in line in the 24th century if there is even a crown to wear by then. So, that whole story line becomes a big bust. OK, the book was published a few years before the law changed, but I think a good sci-fi writer needs to be able to project out the future just a little better than this and this one was definitely predictable.
Once again, the women characters are cardboard cutouts and the men aren't really that interesting either. Once again, Ralph Lister did a good job with narration, but this just wasn't a very engaging story. And, once again, we STILL don't know much about these aliens.
I'm done with this series.
November 19, 2018
Pretty much the same as the first book, except bigger, more epic, more massive, more desperate, more everything.
Characteres are great, most of the crew are old faces from the first book but we are also introduced to few new characters. Few go through the book unchanged by the alien contact...
The book takes quite a while to get going but once it picks up the speed t never lets go. It has a good tempo of action and storytelling. Action sequences are realistic (or at least as realistic as space action can be) and characters feel like humans dealing with human problems and emotions.
Seeing this is second book on 13 book series tells me the war is going to be pretty long one, but I don't have war fatigue, at least not quite yet.
Characteres are great, most of the crew are old faces from the first book but we are also introduced to few new characters. Few go through the book unchanged by the alien contact...
The book takes quite a while to get going but once it picks up the speed t never lets go. It has a good tempo of action and storytelling. Action sequences are realistic (or at least as realistic as space action can be) and characters feel like humans dealing with human problems and emotions.
Seeing this is second book on 13 book series tells me the war is going to be pretty long one, but I don't have war fatigue, at least not quite yet.
September 20, 2017
Before you begin this book, please make sure you read the first book in the series titled “Ark Royal” or this one might not make too much sense as it is the second book in the series.
The author picks up right where he left off with the aging star carrier, the aliens continue the attack, and he continues to get you into the minds of his characters that makes you feel like you are right in the middle of the action. Similar to the first novel, I appreciate how the futuristic technology isn’t described in a way to overwhelm you – the average Joe can wrap his arms around it.
If you enjoyed the first book in the series I believe you will enjoy this one more.
The author picks up right where he left off with the aging star carrier, the aliens continue the attack, and he continues to get you into the minds of his characters that makes you feel like you are right in the middle of the action. Similar to the first novel, I appreciate how the futuristic technology isn’t described in a way to overwhelm you – the average Joe can wrap his arms around it.
If you enjoyed the first book in the series I believe you will enjoy this one more.
March 3, 2023
3.5 stars
This feels like a large improvement from the previous book. However, some problems are still present.
There is an issue with repetition, with some phrases being repeated within the same small paragraph or at the beginning of the following one.
However, like I said, it's a large improvement over the previous, I actually felt a connection to the characters and felt emotionally invested throughout the book.
If this quality remains the same throughout the series, I'll be very excited to see where the story goes.
This feels like a large improvement from the previous book. However, some problems are still present.
There is an issue with repetition, with some phrases being repeated within the same small paragraph or at the beginning of the following one.
However, like I said, it's a large improvement over the previous, I actually felt a connection to the characters and felt emotionally invested throughout the book.
If this quality remains the same throughout the series, I'll be very excited to see where the story goes.
February 16, 2018
The plot follows directly on from book 1 in the series - ARK ROYAL. Earth governments put together a multinational task force to strike back at the mysterious aliens.
Again the action in this book is analogous to WW2 carrier based fleet battles, seen through the eyes of some commanders from Ark Royal plus some new characters.
Set against the navy style battles there are family stories and sexual encounters heightened by the risks of war.
Another enjoyable action take.
Again the action in this book is analogous to WW2 carrier based fleet battles, seen through the eyes of some commanders from Ark Royal plus some new characters.
Set against the navy style battles there are family stories and sexual encounters heightened by the risks of war.
Another enjoyable action take.
December 30, 2018
The adventure continues.
Unimaginative, predictive. Humanity heroes destroy one alien fleet after another, somehow managing without getting bored.
Instead of character development the reader gets prince Henly. If you're a big fan of rotten monarchies, this is for you.
Every half a page of so, somebody grits his/her teeth.
Explanations are repeated over and again. We're reminded the starfighters are faster than starships 10+ times. The first book is recapped over and over.
Unimaginative, predictive. Humanity heroes destroy one alien fleet after another, somehow managing without getting bored.
Instead of character development the reader gets prince Henly. If you're a big fan of rotten monarchies, this is for you.
Every half a page of so, somebody grits his/her teeth.
Explanations are repeated over and again. We're reminded the starfighters are faster than starships 10+ times. The first book is recapped over and over.
June 30, 2021
Better character dev and more balance
This is a trilogy about humanity survival from a British naval tradition view. That assumes several bits of knowledge on the part of the reader. It's entertaining and it's a fairly quick read. The characters are within the tradition and are fun. The portrayal of the drunkard becoming the hero is challenging but also just real enough to meet and match the world as we know it.
This is a trilogy about humanity survival from a British naval tradition view. That assumes several bits of knowledge on the part of the reader. It's entertaining and it's a fairly quick read. The characters are within the tradition and are fun. The portrayal of the drunkard becoming the hero is challenging but also just real enough to meet and match the world as we know it.
September 7, 2017
The series keeps getting better!
This is the third book in the series and I liked it just as much, if not more, than the first two. We now have an international space fleet and we are taking the war to the aliens. Unfortunately while our fleet was searching for the aliens, the aliens were attacking Earth! I can't wait to read book four.
This is the third book in the series and I liked it just as much, if not more, than the first two. We now have an international space fleet and we are taking the war to the aliens. Unfortunately while our fleet was searching for the aliens, the aliens were attacking Earth! I can't wait to read book four.
August 2, 2020
Actually I didn't finish but if you click on didn't finish it doesn't give you a way to explain. No action. I love military sci-fi and I enjoy shoot 'em up, lots of maneuvering, good guys bad guys interstellar "westerns" etc.
I loved the first book in this series but I was 1/4 of the way through and lots of talk. Blah blah blah. I gave up
I loved the first book in this series but I was 1/4 of the way through and lots of talk. Blah blah blah. I gave up
November 19, 2024
This book kept my interest, but wasn't as exciting or suspenseful as the first book of the series, "Ark Royal". It's not that the Captain is now an Admiral or that some of the officers are on other ships, that's an evolution that's understandable. The climax just doesn't compare to book #1, which would be hard to beat. This one is just, okay.
July 10, 2017
Getting better! There are a few niggling irritations w.r.t. some of the characters but overall I enjoyed this one! Still I'd give it a 3.5 star rating if Goodreads would provide a more granular point system.
December 27, 2017
Gripping story
The admiral took the fight to the enemy. The enemy was not idle while his fleet was away from Earth. Then there is the Crown Prince who proved himself using a nom de guerre only to be lost in battle. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
The admiral took the fight to the enemy. The enemy was not idle while his fleet was away from Earth. Then there is the Crown Prince who proved himself using a nom de guerre only to be lost in battle. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
January 2, 2020
Enjoying Series
Enjoyed series. Looking forward to next book. Interesting developments with aliens. Christopher Nuttall writes very well and I look forward to reading other books by him.
Enjoyed series. Looking forward to next book. Interesting developments with aliens. Christopher Nuttall writes very well and I look forward to reading other books by him.
July 26, 2023
The aliens continue to be enigmatic and Ark Royal blows them into next week. Another solid outing for the Royal Space Navy. An interesting new character turns up. I wonder how long they will survive. Looking forward to the next installment.
May 5, 2024
Want a grand military series?
C.G. Neutral has written a series that brings war into real breathtaking battle sequences, nonstop realism from the ships command structure, the seamen plus the ground Pounders. I'm very hooked on this authors skills!
C.G. Neutral has written a series that brings war into real breathtaking battle sequences, nonstop realism from the ships command structure, the seamen plus the ground Pounders. I'm very hooked on this authors skills!
March 14, 2017
Must read series for my spring reading!
Christopher Nuttall The Nelson Touch has made Ark Royal a must read series for spring reading list. I recommend oy.
Christopher Nuttall The Nelson Touch has made Ark Royal a must read series for spring reading list. I recommend oy.
May 12, 2017
Great story
Another great installment in a a great series, moving on to number three and here are seven more random words
Another great installment in a a great series, moving on to number three and here are seven more random words
January 17, 2019
👍
I'll keep reading as long as he keeps on writing sci-fi like this. I really enjoy the human interest he puts into his characters.
I'll keep reading as long as he keeps on writing sci-fi like this. I really enjoy the human interest he puts into his characters.
April 15, 2019
I did enjoy this book, it’s a continuation for Admiral Smith. Who goes from drunk to hero with good character development. Good space battles so will continue with this series.
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