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Before the Odyssey #2
Infamy: Before the Odyssey, Book 2
The Bloc war is now in full swing, with Bloc forces having secured holdings across the Pacific, the China Sea, and even as far east as Iran.
The threat that the United States presents, even weakened as it has been by economic turmoil, however, is not one that they can underestimate, and with American production lines already turning out fighter aircraft that are a threat to the Bloc's Type 198 Fighters, the Council finds that it must act.
In Hawaii, Eric Weston and his team are working hard to provide new technical data so that the factories on the mainland can be improved and the new fighters can be built in numbers capable of turning the tide. He knows that the war will not leave him, or his, be... but not even Eric knows just how quickly it is coming to his doorstep.
History is inevitable, just a rolling boulder of time that cannot be stopped, but that will not prevent heroes from trying.
The threat that the United States presents, even weakened as it has been by economic turmoil, however, is not one that they can underestimate, and with American production lines already turning out fighter aircraft that are a threat to the Bloc's Type 198 Fighters, the Council finds that it must act.
In Hawaii, Eric Weston and his team are working hard to provide new technical data so that the factories on the mainland can be improved and the new fighters can be built in numbers capable of turning the tide. He knows that the war will not leave him, or his, be... but not even Eric knows just how quickly it is coming to his doorstep.
History is inevitable, just a rolling boulder of time that cannot be stopped, but that will not prevent heroes from trying.
- GenresScience Fiction
Audible Audio
First published January 29, 2024
239 people are currently reading
54 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
February 9, 2024
I like the story, but I wish that the author would get a proofreader before publishing. I'm not too fond of books that are full of typos and bad punctuation. Words are in different fonts for no apparent reason. The whole thing is a mess. In this day and age there is no justification for sloppy work.
March 24, 2024
Too many errors
The book is fine, albeit devoid of deep story. A short adventure ride. However, what makes it a not so sweet one, is the multitude of grammar and formatting errors. Dear Evan, you are a very talented writer, but for the love of kittens, take the time to proof read your work!
The book is fine, albeit devoid of deep story. A short adventure ride. However, what makes it a not so sweet one, is the multitude of grammar and formatting errors. Dear Evan, you are a very talented writer, but for the love of kittens, take the time to proof read your work!
March 20, 2024
The giant has been awaken
Well it appears that someone forgot what happens when you wake up the sleeping giant. The bloc have not taken this into account.
Well it appears that someone forgot what happens when you wake up the sleeping giant. The bloc have not taken this into account.
February 20, 2024
Readable but mundane and full of errors as always
I really like Evans stories, the tech and science involvement is cool and the story branches are great, perhaps a bit more proof reading and editing would make it a better read.
I really like Evans stories, the tech and science involvement is cool and the story branches are great, perhaps a bit more proof reading and editing would make it a better read.
June 10, 2024
great Story, But..
American officers don't re-up, nor do they have contracts. If they are not on Active Duty nor in the Reserves or National Guard, they are still subject to be recalled to active duty during a declared war. Many old officers and NCO's would probably be volunteering to take over recruiting duty or serve in some administrative position to free up Soldiers, Marines, Air Force, and Navy ratings to fill combat or military support positions.
American military use the NATO phonetic system to identify (Alpha, Bravo, etc.) L is not pronounced ell, but Lima. If an artillery battery is split into separate positions, each gun must be initially given firing information. If firing on a grid location, the grid is identified by eight places (ie, 3249 2796).
As a civilian pilot, the term "flat spin" scares the pıss out of me. A "flat spin" is nearly uncontrollable unless you are at a high enough altitude to do some tricky maneuvering. The idea that a flat spin is controllable to stop at 180° to your original heading is mind-blowing. But if you have a VTOL aircraft, some sort of mass changing or anti-gravity capability and nearly unlimited power - I guess it's just science fiction.
There are some homofone issues and what looks like spell-check errors, but those could be eliminated by a good beta-readers team.
I hope there's a third book (or novella) to connect this to the Odyssey series.
American officers don't re-up, nor do they have contracts. If they are not on Active Duty nor in the Reserves or National Guard, they are still subject to be recalled to active duty during a declared war. Many old officers and NCO's would probably be volunteering to take over recruiting duty or serve in some administrative position to free up Soldiers, Marines, Air Force, and Navy ratings to fill combat or military support positions.
American military use the NATO phonetic system to identify (Alpha, Bravo, etc.) L is not pronounced ell, but Lima. If an artillery battery is split into separate positions, each gun must be initially given firing information. If firing on a grid location, the grid is identified by eight places (ie, 3249 2796).
As a civilian pilot, the term "flat spin" scares the pıss out of me. A "flat spin" is nearly uncontrollable unless you are at a high enough altitude to do some tricky maneuvering. The idea that a flat spin is controllable to stop at 180° to your original heading is mind-blowing. But if you have a VTOL aircraft, some sort of mass changing or anti-gravity capability and nearly unlimited power - I guess it's just science fiction.
There are some homofone issues and what looks like spell-check errors, but those could be eliminated by a good beta-readers team.
I hope there's a third book (or novella) to connect this to the Odyssey series.
April 25, 2024
This book is such an interesting read. Getting to hear the stories before the great Odyssey is fun but also takes everyone back to the Iwo Jima as the kickoff of ww111. The archangels being brought to life in the unordered fashion that birthed them is always a great book. Weston and Steph in the early day is kinda precious to the girl in me but the guys probably find it chest beating worthy so it's a win-win for everyone. The young Steph seemingly uncoordinatedly banging his head on fuselages and antigravity devices is kinda Norman Rockwell appealing. It is so interesting to me how I can be reading along and then out of seemingly nowhere Evan Currie has me on the edge of the most compelling seat as a life and death situation unfolds. He is a patient writer and truly holds out the pinnacle of battle longer than I could dream. It's the perfect timing of "getting into the game" versus "I can't take any more." Thanks for another awesome book EC.
October 28, 2024
An engrossing and exciting read!
Currie spins an I interesting scenario of a surprise war launched against the U.S. and its allies by the so called “Eastern Block” of China, North Korea, India, etc. in this book. The action is often fast and furious. And, sad to say, it’s something that is not entirely far-fetched. It is a feasible future outcome. Action scenes are exciting and very well-written. One can’t help but feel that Currie must have done an HUGE amount of research to get the submarine and fighter pilot sequences right. I’m very impressed! It was a riveting, good-read and it leaves you hoping it will be followed soon by a third book. I purposely waited for the first two books to be out, so I could immediately read the second book after finishing the first. That worked out very well, but now comes the wait for the next one. Oh well, Evan Currie can do no wrong in my opinion. I hope he will grace us with another book in the series another soon!
Currie spins an I interesting scenario of a surprise war launched against the U.S. and its allies by the so called “Eastern Block” of China, North Korea, India, etc. in this book. The action is often fast and furious. And, sad to say, it’s something that is not entirely far-fetched. It is a feasible future outcome. Action scenes are exciting and very well-written. One can’t help but feel that Currie must have done an HUGE amount of research to get the submarine and fighter pilot sequences right. I’m very impressed! It was a riveting, good-read and it leaves you hoping it will be followed soon by a third book. I purposely waited for the first two books to be out, so I could immediately read the second book after finishing the first. That worked out very well, but now comes the wait for the next one. Oh well, Evan Currie can do no wrong in my opinion. I hope he will grace us with another book in the series another soon!
February 9, 2024
oh my gosh!
It ends. Just like that. No warning. Just like the peace in Weston’s world. Wow, I burned through this book faster than a Bloc fighter running from the Arch Angels! I don’t know how long I’m going to have to wait for the next installation, but I guarantee it will be too long. Anyway, we get some insight into how Weston became such a badass. We also got some intel on the early development of the tech we read about later. But most of all, we had a really great and exciting read. Just not long enough!
It ends. Just like that. No warning. Just like the peace in Weston’s world. Wow, I burned through this book faster than a Bloc fighter running from the Arch Angels! I don’t know how long I’m going to have to wait for the next installation, but I guarantee it will be too long. Anyway, we get some insight into how Weston became such a badass. We also got some intel on the early development of the tech we read about later. But most of all, we had a really great and exciting read. Just not long enough!
March 4, 2024
I found the story really annoying with all this build up of the Blocs superior technology that at the end of the day is so easily nullified. The Bloc come across as complete idiots with no tactics in place, e.g., instead of pushing the advantage will chase a single naval vessel to their detriment.
There are so many typos, different fonts, grammatical and spelling errors that it got annoying having to read.
It's really unfortunate because I really enjoyed all this previous books in the Archangel series.
There are so many typos, different fonts, grammatical and spelling errors that it got annoying having to read.
It's really unfortunate because I really enjoyed all this previous books in the Archangel series.
March 19, 2024
Another blockbuster by Evan Currie
As one who has spent his entire professional career of 44 years in the Military ((F-15E pilot) and then working for the DOD, I can only say” WOW”! This series only gets better and the authors grasp of military technology and tactics is spot on. There are a lot of really good new upcoming authors writing military fiction. Kudos to all. But Currie is a head above most of them. Only complaint I had were the many editorial hiccups….lots of misspelling. Eagerly awaiting the next book !
As one who has spent his entire professional career of 44 years in the Military ((F-15E pilot) and then working for the DOD, I can only say” WOW”! This series only gets better and the authors grasp of military technology and tactics is spot on. There are a lot of really good new upcoming authors writing military fiction. Kudos to all. But Currie is a head above most of them. Only complaint I had were the many editorial hiccups….lots of misspelling. Eagerly awaiting the next book !
April 20, 2024
great follow up
The first book started out as a series about what happens when countries decide to take the easy route and back off their defensive and offensive resources, and relegate them to others to fulfill. Which leads to the horrific consequences in this book. I hope “we the people “ are cognizant of where we and the congress is headed now? Short sidedness with our enemies will cost us Trillions in dollars and Hundreds of thousands in our allies lives and eventually in our own sons and daughters!!!!
The first book started out as a series about what happens when countries decide to take the easy route and back off their defensive and offensive resources, and relegate them to others to fulfill. Which leads to the horrific consequences in this book. I hope “we the people “ are cognizant of where we and the congress is headed now? Short sidedness with our enemies will cost us Trillions in dollars and Hundreds of thousands in our allies lives and eventually in our own sons and daughters!!!!
April 29, 2024
GOOD STUFF
The story is tight. It is also entertaining in just the right places. I would suggest the author look up the ranks and positions held by senior officers. There is no Brigadier General of the Marine Corps. There are Brigadier Generals IN the Marine Corps. The Senior Marine, on the joint chiefs of staff, is a four-star general and his title is Commandant of the Marine Corps. Other than little slips like that I’m really enjoying the series. Looking forward to the next one. Get some.
The story is tight. It is also entertaining in just the right places. I would suggest the author look up the ranks and positions held by senior officers. There is no Brigadier General of the Marine Corps. There are Brigadier Generals IN the Marine Corps. The Senior Marine, on the joint chiefs of staff, is a four-star general and his title is Commandant of the Marine Corps. Other than little slips like that I’m really enjoying the series. Looking forward to the next one. Get some.
February 9, 2024
Outstanding prequel
Evan Currie delivers delivers and delivers. This prequel to the Odyssey series shows an excellent grasp of history, science, engineering, politics, strategy and tactics; Currie takes that wraps it up in an excellent story and - damn it - makes me get upset that I have to wait for the next one.
This is a great story, but don’t read the books in chronological order; read Odyssey series first so you can appreciate this one much more.
Evan Currie delivers delivers and delivers. This prequel to the Odyssey series shows an excellent grasp of history, science, engineering, politics, strategy and tactics; Currie takes that wraps it up in an excellent story and - damn it - makes me get upset that I have to wait for the next one.
This is a great story, but don’t read the books in chronological order; read Odyssey series first so you can appreciate this one much more.
March 25, 2024
Good story, mechanically flawed
This review is for books 1 and 2 of the Before Odysseus series. I rate the story line as a 5 but the typos, abuse of capitalization, technical errors, etc. were so distracting that it eroded my enjoyment of the story, thus my rating. I'm an Evan Currie fan and have very much enjoyed his other books, which didn't suffer from these problems. I don't know what happened with these books but I hope it doesn't happen in future books.
This review is for books 1 and 2 of the Before Odysseus series. I rate the story line as a 5 but the typos, abuse of capitalization, technical errors, etc. were so distracting that it eroded my enjoyment of the story, thus my rating. I'm an Evan Currie fan and have very much enjoyed his other books, which didn't suffer from these problems. I don't know what happened with these books but I hope it doesn't happen in future books.
February 8, 2024
Darryl's Review
Great Story of the Archangel's forming & The introduction to some of the Pilots. The action is great the story is great the explanations of the technology is beautiful. The descriptions of the battles & the Losses & Victories seem so realistic. Truly an Incredible read.
Great Story of the Archangel's forming & The introduction to some of the Pilots. The action is great the story is great the explanations of the technology is beautiful. The descriptions of the battles & the Losses & Victories seem so realistic. Truly an Incredible read.
February 9, 2024
Great prequel that fills in a lot of blanks!
When reading a series of books, you often wonder how did they get there. What led up to the events you are now reading. Evan has done a great job filling in those questions. I can only hope he is considering where he left off in this book. There are quite a few years that can be filled in. Great job, Evan!
When reading a series of books, you often wonder how did they get there. What led up to the events you are now reading. Evan has done a great job filling in those questions. I can only hope he is considering where he left off in this book. There are quite a few years that can be filled in. Great job, Evan!
March 1, 2025
Love the universe of these books. I miss being in outer space from the Odyssey series, but it's great to see younger versions of characters here, like Morgan Passer and Steph Michaels. We finally learn how he got the call sign "Crown."
Look forward to the next. Wish Steph's 3rd solo series book had an audio. Alas...
Look forward to the next. Wish Steph's 3rd solo series book had an audio. Alas...
February 1, 2024
Great read
The story was great, but it looks like the final version wasn't loaded as it still has a number of footnotes, presumably left by editors. Get those fixed, and I'll update it to 5 stars.
The story was great, but it looks like the final version wasn't loaded as it still has a number of footnotes, presumably left by editors. Get those fixed, and I'll update it to 5 stars.
February 5, 2024
You lost the momentum that book one created has the war became spiritual ideals of each other’s countries became something HOLY but book become a regular military fiction novel that got dragged down by political realism that book one walk all over.
February 9, 2024
Give much better then you get.
The old saying is "Give them Hell" the present day saying is them much better then you get.
This was a good read as was book 1 will be interesting to see what's next.
The old saying is "Give them Hell" the present day saying is them much better then you get.
This was a good read as was book 1 will be interesting to see what's next.
February 16, 2024
I’ve been waiting for this one.
I’ve been wanting to know more about the archangels for a long time. We finally got what I hope is the first installment.
Well done!
Excellent read! 6 out of five stars!
I’ve been wanting to know more about the archangels for a long time. We finally got what I hope is the first installment.
Well done!
Excellent read! 6 out of five stars!
February 20, 2024
lots and lots of typos and errors.
Poorly produced manuscript. A good story but a trifle long winded in places. I assume there will be more books and I’m looking forward to reading them. I hope they spend more effort on quality.
Poorly produced manuscript. A good story but a trifle long winded in places. I assume there will be more books and I’m looking forward to reading them. I hope they spend more effort on quality.
February 26, 2024
Another good read
A fairly good transition from book one. Currie has a good two or more books to get us to the Odyssey series. That's OK with me as I want to see Weston's covert buddies (from Out of the Black) get weaved into the narrative 😉
A fairly good transition from book one. Currie has a good two or more books to get us to the Odyssey series. That's OK with me as I want to see Weston's covert buddies (from Out of the Black) get weaved into the narrative 😉
March 8, 2024
Great story , Fast Read
There is so much plot to pack in, these could be much longer books, but very enjoyable intro to the Bloc War and the broader universe. Hope Currie, writes at least on about Weston’s Bejing days.
There is so much plot to pack in, these could be much longer books, but very enjoyable intro to the Bloc War and the broader universe. Hope Currie, writes at least on about Weston’s Bejing days.
March 10, 2024
another great read
Evan Currie has done it again. Where does he get his ideas from? I love the interplay being the different factions and people, particularly how the enemy feels and thinks.
Evan Currie has done it again. Where does he get his ideas from? I love the interplay being the different factions and people, particularly how the enemy feels and thinks.
March 24, 2024
Unnerving
If you like this type plot, this book is a must read. The storyline is exciting and very believable. There are several parts that can stop until you find out how the situation is resolved. Can't wait to read book 3.
If you like this type plot, this book is a must read. The storyline is exciting and very believable. There are several parts that can stop until you find out how the situation is resolved. Can't wait to read book 3.
April 12, 2024
Fantastic Continuation Of The Beginning
This book doesn’t lose a single step in comparison to the Odyssey series and I love the gaps that it fills in on the characters that we’ve grown to love.
This book doesn’t lose a single step in comparison to the Odyssey series and I love the gaps that it fills in on the characters that we’ve grown to love.
June 20, 2024
Damn good read
This was an excellent follow-up to the first book. I definitely enjoyed reading this. A very well thought out , well written story. I look forward to the next installment.
This was an excellent follow-up to the first book. I definitely enjoyed reading this. A very well thought out , well written story. I look forward to the next installment.
April 14, 2025
Good story but seriously needs a proofreader. Bloc is sometimes spelled Block. Words are misspelled or in different fonts. This disturbs the flow of the story. If nothing else, ask for a few volunteers.
June 12, 2025
I couldn't stop reading it.
Non stop action with breaks for technology to be explained. Or to change perspective to high-light a different portion of the conflict. You see the inception of the Archangels in each page.
Non stop action with breaks for technology to be explained. Or to change perspective to high-light a different portion of the conflict. You see the inception of the Archangels in each page.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews