The Freedom Fleet

Freedom Fleet #1

by Daniel Arenson

What if WWII were fought in space?

In 1944, a secret Nazi experiment split the universe in two. In our universe, we won. Hitler died. Freedom prevailed. But in a parallel universe, the Nazis discovered the atom bomb first... and conquered the world. The light of freedom perished, and the Nazi shadow spread across Earth, the solar system, and the stars.

In 2207, a portal opens between our two universes. One universe of freedom. One of tyranny. And through this portal flies the Weltraumwaffe, the space fleet of the Third Reich.

James King was enjoying his retirement. He once commanded the Freedom Fleet, an armada of starships tasked with defending Earth. In his fifty years of service, Admiral King fought many battles. But he never faced anything like this.

He is old. Tired. Battle-worn. But he must don the uniform again. He must lead the Freedom Fleet once more. Or the shadows of our past will swallow us all.

WWII rages again. This time in space. The Freedom Fleet will face off against the Weltraumwaffe. Freedom or tyranny—only one can win.

503 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 17, 2024

About the author

Daniel Arenson is a bookworm, proud geek, and USA Today bestselling author of fantasy and science fiction. His novels have sold over a million copies. The Huffington Post has called his writing "full of soul." He's written over forty novels, most of them in five series:

EARTHRISE — They came from deep space. They came to destroy us. Against the alien onslaught, Earth stands alone. But we will fight. We will rise. We will win. Start reading with Earth Alone, the first novel in this military science fiction series.

REQUIEM — Welcome to Requiem, an ancient kingdom whose people can grow wings and scales, breathe fire, and take flight as dragons. Requiem is explored in six trilogies, which can be read in any order. If you're new to Requiem, you can start reading with Requiem's Song (you can download it for free). For fans of dark, gritty fantasy like A Game of Thrones.

MOTH — Discover Moth, a world torn between day and night—its one half drenched in eternal daylight, the other cloaked in endless darkness. For fans of classic fantasy worlds such as Middle Earth and Narnia. Start reading with Moth, the first novel in this epic fantasy saga.

ALIEN HUNTERS — Got trouble with aliens? Call the Alien Hunters. A group of scruffy mercenaries, they'll remove the pest for you. Low rates. No questions asked. Start reading with Alien Hunters, the first book in this space opera series. For fans of Star Wars, Firefly, and Guardians of the Galaxy.

KINGDOMS OF SAND — Enter a world of sand and splendor, a world where gladiators battle in the arena, where legionaries and barbarians fight for glory, and where empires rise and fall.

Reviews

[Kristjan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise was pretty good ... an alternative history/mil-scifi/space opera where Nazi Germany wins WWII in an alternate universe ... and I thought the narration was pretty decent given the material he had to work with ... but this book just don't work for me. First ... way too much passive descriptive blocks and not nearly enough doing. This is aggravated by an obvious disconnect to many of the topics so described ... speaking as a former naval pilot and engineer ... very little of the story made sense to me, making the required suspension of disbelief all the more difficult. Even more so was the feeling that most of the story was just deus ex machina. But I can usually gut through that ... what made this a DNF was the excessive focus on the bad guy Nazis where the almost ghoulish treatment of their thoughts and behavior seemed specifically designed to induce complete disgust on the part of the reader ... It worked :-(

I was given this free advance review/listener copy (ARC) audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

#TheFreedomFleet #FreeAudiobookCodes

[Michael Keller · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a parallel universe the Nazis won World War II.

Opening a gateway from the universe of the Nazi Fatherworld, Earth was attacked by crack troops raised from birth to wage war against the weak and infirm. From a world where only strict Aryan bloodlines were allowed to survive. Trained from birth to hate weakness and suppress any urge to pity lesser lifeforms, the army of the Fatherworld overwhelmed the forces of Earth in a lightning blitzkrieg.
The forces of Earth resisted the Aryan attack. Lead by the forces of the Starship Freedom, although the Freedom was lost in the war against the Rah. Her forces still survived under the leadership of Admiral James King. Millions are lost in the first days. Many millions more will die unless the Earth's forces can hold against the pitiless German doppelgangers.

All the great characters we learned to admire in the Starship Freedom series are back in fighting form. A bit older and slower, but still strong capable warriors, our favorite characters can lead the fight against the pitiless Nazi forces. Great characters, a strong storyline told by a master, this is a great read!

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audiobook: This was my first experience with this author's work, and I was captivated by the story. From the opening paragraphs until the end, it was hard to drag myself away from the audiobook. I was fascinated by the premise of an alternative world crossing a portal to correct the path that our world once took. My attention was enthralled by all the battle scenes. I admired James King and his compatriots. I am looking forward to the next book in the series. I was entertained by Bobby Garrison's narration, and his performance enhanced the story's entertainment. I was given a copy of the audiobook. I volunteered, without financial gain, to post this review which reflected my honest opinions regarding this audiobook.

[MR GEOFFREY W FABRON · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book a lot more but found it just grating. The premise was really interesting but the characters were just so stereotypical and one dimensional. The heroes were a cross between superman, Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon, jumping through space between star fighters despite being old. The Nazi's were really nasty which is not un unreasonable extrapolation but still felt too back and white compared to the good guys.
I nearly finished this first book but just could find the effort to complete the last 10% since I had already decided to skip any more in the series.
This may be for you but it wasn't for me. Sorry Daniel!

[David Gallatin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Cardboard characters

The protagonist is a cutout of every military sci fi hero ever written. Because the author never served the 'hero' looks silly at times because he frequently mistakes honor for duty and vice versa, something an actual admiral with many decades of service would never do. As prime example: King refuses to take the rejuvex drug that would effectively make him 10 years younger, claiming it's not honorable. Horse hockey! It's his duty to be the most effective leader possible. It's his duty to take that drug. He needs to worry about performing his duty to the utmost. His honor will then take care of itself.

[Ken Durham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was interrupted for a few months after starting the book, so really it didn’t take a full year to read.

The author, Daniel Arenson, is a unique writer of Sci-fi. Freedom Fleet starts the series with an old adversary from our real world in the 1930-40’s. So the reality of doppelgängers is superimposed into the story as two timelines in two universes. The breakthrough comes when the “bad guys,” learn to wormhole jump. Then we read the reenactment of good verse evil.

That’s it for this review. I am looking forward to reading book 2 in the new year.

[Shanna Tidwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book but I need to know what comes next. It was a wild ride. Makes me wonder how people can really be this cruel. I mean history shows they can but an entire planet of evil people? Hurts my head & heart.

I do think the constant reminder of age was a bit much though.

Narration by Bobby Garrison was excellent. He does accents so well. I was very impressed!

[Jon Stonecash · Rating 2 out of 5]

As much as I love military space opera, I did not love this book. The premise of Nazis in space is intriguing, but the execution of the story consistently annoyed me. The prose is purple and the plot is contrived. The physics of the story is laughable. Officers wearing swords on a spaceship bridge, give me a break. I gave up after 60%.

[Rick Riccobono · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Freedom Fleet

Seven years and Admiral King is fighting again. Not aliens but Germans of the 23 rd century. Same customs as Hitler. Kill the weak. King is old but resilient and he will keeps fighting for his own cause.

[Trevor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Retired admiral James King is forced out of retirement when a portal from a parallel earth opens and a Nazi war machine comes through. Throwing the universe into chaos, King and his allies must defeat the threat or be wiped out.

[Carol Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reminds me of Indiana Jones - in space. Or Han Solo might be more apt. Great action. A rollicking space opera. I dropped it a star because there is a fair amount of swearing. Usually the D word. I received a free copy, with no obligation.

[Mr N Hartley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not too bad

I enjoyed the start and middle but felt it became a bit stilted in the last third. A bit too Flash Gordon for me.

[Phil Karras · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping!
So gripping I had to put it down, but never for long. If you don't like war stories that grab & pull you in I suggest you skip this series. Otherwise, join The Freedom Fleet.

[Eric Prater · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!

Great read by an author at the top of his game, interesting concept, evil Nazi's return, kind of bombastic at times but a grim fun read.

[Leanne Hardy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slightly annoying references to the Rah series and repeating certain things about who the characters are etc shame because the actual story was good not as action as the Rag series but I enjoyed it