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The Obsidian Sector #2
Operation Icarus
Thrust into command, he’s the only one who can stop a rogue officer from destroying the fleet.
After the battle in the Obsidian system, Owen Shaw is unexpectedly thrust into the role of captain of the mighty battleship CSS Resolute. But tensions run high and when another captain goes rogue, the fragile unity of the battlegroup Obsidian is threatened.
In this deadly gambit, alliances crumble, prisoners defect and Captain Shaw faces impossible choices.
He must rally his fractured team to outwit their enemies before war erupts across the stars.
Operation Icarus is a fast-paced military sci-fi novel for fans of Galactica and Voyager . It's the second book in the Obsidian Sector series.
Book 1 Operation Resolute is out now.
Book 3 Operation Aegis will release August 24th
After the battle in the Obsidian system, Owen Shaw is unexpectedly thrust into the role of captain of the mighty battleship CSS Resolute. But tensions run high and when another captain goes rogue, the fragile unity of the battlegroup Obsidian is threatened.
In this deadly gambit, alliances crumble, prisoners defect and Captain Shaw faces impossible choices.
He must rally his fractured team to outwit their enemies before war erupts across the stars.
Operation Icarus is a fast-paced military sci-fi novel for fans of Galactica and Voyager . It's the second book in the Obsidian Sector series.
Book 1 Operation Resolute is out now.
Book 3 Operation Aegis will release August 24th
- GenresScience Fiction
354 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 24, 2025
519 people are currently reading
20 people want to read
About the author
Reece Landon
17 books15 followersHi, my name is Reece Landon, author of fast-paced military science fiction novels. I fell in love with the genre at age 12 when I discovered my father's large collection of Robert Heinlein books. Since then I have devoured every type of Science Fiction I could get my hands on, from the greats of the past to the indie authors writing kickass sci-fi today.
By day, I work in the medical field. By night, I channel my love of epic space adventures into crafting my own stories. If you're a fan of Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica or The Expanse, my books might be for you.
By day, I work in the medical field. By night, I channel my love of epic space adventures into crafting my own stories. If you're a fan of Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica or The Expanse, my books might be for you.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 5, 2026
A very poor second novel in a series I now see isn't for me.
The storyline is nothing new and poorly executed and has been done far better in many novels and TV series.
Although it is set 600 years in the future everything seems strangely early 21st century. The tech, the scientific developments, morals and attitudes, naval organisation and procedures all read like they are taking place today - or more accurately are taking place in the sci-fi of today.
It brings absolutely nothing new to the table.
It was peppered with unrealistic villains consigning underlings to their deaths then making improbable escapes to fight another day and the heroes making 'noob' mistakes or being wrong-footed just to draw the storyline out.
The science is iffy too.
I see it is a four volume series but considering how little the story arc has progressed with each book I have a feeling that there will be many more. I have no desire to read another half a dozen and I doubt they will improve.
The storyline is nothing new and poorly executed and has been done far better in many novels and TV series.
Although it is set 600 years in the future everything seems strangely early 21st century. The tech, the scientific developments, morals and attitudes, naval organisation and procedures all read like they are taking place today - or more accurately are taking place in the sci-fi of today.
It brings absolutely nothing new to the table.
It was peppered with unrealistic villains consigning underlings to their deaths then making improbable escapes to fight another day and the heroes making 'noob' mistakes or being wrong-footed just to draw the storyline out.
The science is iffy too.
I see it is a four volume series but considering how little the story arc has progressed with each book I have a feeling that there will be many more. I have no desire to read another half a dozen and I doubt they will improve.
October 19, 2025
Book two is a fail.
I found book 1 pretty good, though the author should have done some research in some parts of the story.
Book 2 however seems to have gone YA.
Juvenile to the extreme with plot holes and unbelievable scenarios.
I only made it about 20% into book 2 before I had to give up.
I found book 1 pretty good, though the author should have done some research in some parts of the story.
Book 2 however seems to have gone YA.
Juvenile to the extreme with plot holes and unbelievable scenarios.
I only made it about 20% into book 2 before I had to give up.
March 15, 2026
Failure. I really think the author wants to live out some fantasy where he is Shaw and life is ruled by his code of honour. Where he's beyond reproach, and doesn't mind sacrificing lives stupidly just to keep his high moral ground.
Noah is a weak, useless, pathetic character. I don't know whose heart strings the authors wants to tug at so that we'd like this guy but no. He's useless. He, being the weakest member of the 'secret mission squad', decides to gallantly come to the rescue of a lady being accosted by heavily armed mercenaries. You know, the real bad guys in this book - even when he's been instructed to keep a damn low profile. The secret squad eventually make landfall, it's funny:
#Octavia looked worried. “We need to go inside and look for survivors. Someone in those houses might need medical help.”# Note, at this point they have seen zero evidence of anyone alive and they're on a recon mission, nothing else.
#The entry area was empty, but Noah almost stumbled over a small stuffed animal, a little teddy bear, dropped to the ground near the waiting area. He couldn’t resist the urge to pick it up and inspect it. It had been well loved. The pink fur was soft but a bit ruffled, and the tiny blue bowtie was a bit loose. “Noah, don’t linger!” Felix’s sharp voice reminded him. “Don’t get separated from the team.” Startled, Noah stood up, but he couldn’t bring himself to just drop the little bear back to the ground. Instead, he stuffed it into one of the pockets of his overalls, silently vowing to reunite it with its owner one day.#
I couldn't stop my laughter, where does Mr Landon come up with nonsensical knight-in-shining-armour stuff from? Noah is THE MOST USELESS character here.
#“A red bird,” Noah repeated slowly. Could Ben mean a phoenix?#
Meeting the two survivors and one mentions the red bird emblem. Well, Noah, do you really need to question if it's a phoenix? Evidently so.
Burnham seems to be a much better character than the rest of them. Thankfully a better character than his atrocious namesake from Star Trek Discovery. He tells Shaw that he knows who Phoenix is and that he (Phoenix) has an obsession with Shaw. Well Shaw is still pondering who the guy is when every reader already figured it out. Wow.
Shaw has two boarding attempts fail against the Icarus, losing so many soldiers. What does he do? You guessed it, he disables the Icarus and wants to perform a THIRD boarding. Even with an obviously depleted number of soldiers. All he has to do it destroy the ship. He willingly causes damage to his ships just to not destroy the Icarus. Even after Petrea tells him that a lot of the crew were executed and the Icarus is switching sides. All that is treason, no? Shaw wants to give them a "fair trial". Ridiculous. Asinine writing. Shaw now requests low casualties, non-lethal weapons since they're Confed citizens and have rights. How nauseatingly noble. I highly doubt traitors and murderers of this caliber have any rights.
They begin the boarding action without fighter escorts because they chose not to disable the Icarus' point defenses before launching. Are these people fools? They eventually can't find Fitzgerald, so how'd he escape? A shuttle leaves as they enter and the lasers firing obscured it's energy signature. The ship was surrounded by three others. Plus fighters around. So nobody saw a shuttle heading in the opposite direction? Wow.
Next, they perform autopsies on the bridge crew who were shot in the head. They deliberate whether Fitzgerald did it. Are you serious?
Anyway, by the end of the book, Shaw still doesn't figure out who Phoenix really is. How daft is this guy? We have a cliffhanger, more like a small 'hill-hanger', of the secret squad's recorded video going dead after some gunfire. Which, as mentioned, the assailants were missed by...guess who...come on, no, please guess...? NOAH! Who was distracted.
Goodbye to this series.
Noah is a weak, useless, pathetic character. I don't know whose heart strings the authors wants to tug at so that we'd like this guy but no. He's useless. He, being the weakest member of the 'secret mission squad', decides to gallantly come to the rescue of a lady being accosted by heavily armed mercenaries. You know, the real bad guys in this book - even when he's been instructed to keep a damn low profile. The secret squad eventually make landfall, it's funny:
#Octavia looked worried. “We need to go inside and look for survivors. Someone in those houses might need medical help.”# Note, at this point they have seen zero evidence of anyone alive and they're on a recon mission, nothing else.
#The entry area was empty, but Noah almost stumbled over a small stuffed animal, a little teddy bear, dropped to the ground near the waiting area. He couldn’t resist the urge to pick it up and inspect it. It had been well loved. The pink fur was soft but a bit ruffled, and the tiny blue bowtie was a bit loose. “Noah, don’t linger!” Felix’s sharp voice reminded him. “Don’t get separated from the team.” Startled, Noah stood up, but he couldn’t bring himself to just drop the little bear back to the ground. Instead, he stuffed it into one of the pockets of his overalls, silently vowing to reunite it with its owner one day.#
I couldn't stop my laughter, where does Mr Landon come up with nonsensical knight-in-shining-armour stuff from? Noah is THE MOST USELESS character here.
#“A red bird,” Noah repeated slowly. Could Ben mean a phoenix?#
Meeting the two survivors and one mentions the red bird emblem. Well, Noah, do you really need to question if it's a phoenix? Evidently so.
Burnham seems to be a much better character than the rest of them. Thankfully a better character than his atrocious namesake from Star Trek Discovery. He tells Shaw that he knows who Phoenix is and that he (Phoenix) has an obsession with Shaw. Well Shaw is still pondering who the guy is when every reader already figured it out. Wow.
Shaw has two boarding attempts fail against the Icarus, losing so many soldiers. What does he do? You guessed it, he disables the Icarus and wants to perform a THIRD boarding. Even with an obviously depleted number of soldiers. All he has to do it destroy the ship. He willingly causes damage to his ships just to not destroy the Icarus. Even after Petrea tells him that a lot of the crew were executed and the Icarus is switching sides. All that is treason, no? Shaw wants to give them a "fair trial". Ridiculous. Asinine writing. Shaw now requests low casualties, non-lethal weapons since they're Confed citizens and have rights. How nauseatingly noble. I highly doubt traitors and murderers of this caliber have any rights.
They begin the boarding action without fighter escorts because they chose not to disable the Icarus' point defenses before launching. Are these people fools? They eventually can't find Fitzgerald, so how'd he escape? A shuttle leaves as they enter and the lasers firing obscured it's energy signature. The ship was surrounded by three others. Plus fighters around. So nobody saw a shuttle heading in the opposite direction? Wow.
Next, they perform autopsies on the bridge crew who were shot in the head. They deliberate whether Fitzgerald did it. Are you serious?
Anyway, by the end of the book, Shaw still doesn't figure out who Phoenix really is. How daft is this guy? We have a cliffhanger, more like a small 'hill-hanger', of the secret squad's recorded video going dead after some gunfire. Which, as mentioned, the assailants were missed by...guess who...come on, no, please guess...? NOAH! Who was distracted.
Goodbye to this series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 18, 2025
brain dead command mistakes
I won’t spoil it, but just like the previous book where apparently the criminally incompetent Torres in was put in charge of a flagship battleship on a border to an enemy empire.
It turns out that being in obsidian sector just makes everyone dumber.
The boneheaded decisions Shaw makes are laughable at best. It’s almost like he never once considers what the ramifications are for any of his action’s.
I won’t spoil it, but just like the previous book where apparently the criminally incompetent Torres in was put in charge of a flagship battleship on a border to an enemy empire.
It turns out that being in obsidian sector just makes everyone dumber.
The boneheaded decisions Shaw makes are laughable at best. It’s almost like he never once considers what the ramifications are for any of his action’s.
July 13, 2025
amazing second entry
I really enjoyed the first book, but author Reece Landon seems to have really found his footing here. If you are a fan of military science fiction, I highly recommend this series. Can’t wait for book 3!
I really enjoyed the first book, but author Reece Landon seems to have really found his footing here. If you are a fan of military science fiction, I highly recommend this series. Can’t wait for book 3!
June 24, 2025
Operation Icarus picks up right after operation resolution and I really enjoyed this one more then book one. There is plenty of action also it is full of political intrigue and conflict. I like the multi-POV, it gives you a look into every part of the plot that is unfolding. Story more along at a steady pace. I look forward to book 3 next month.
This a new author for me and the reason I got the books is because they were on KU, Well worth reading.
This a new author for me and the reason I got the books is because they were on KU, Well worth reading.
February 18, 2026
This book was kind of short. I think that was due to it being focused on one single thing, the capture of the Space Guard starship *Icarus*! And yes, that means the *Resolute* now commanded by Captain Owen Shaw has to do the capturing since he let this starship get away. As you read in the previous book, Own Shaw just took command of the *Resolute* after a very difficult battle with a mysterious battleship thought to be from the Pendragon Empire, but actually operated by a bunch of pirates.
Owen Shaw has been in this position before, he previously had to take command away from his commanding officer in order to prevent that Captain from firing on a large group of civilians. Of course his actions resulted in a courts-martial, of which he was found not guilty. Still, this did tarnish his reputation and he was assigned to a backwater location, the Obsidian Sector, where nothing ever happened and assigned to the *Resolute* as the XO (Executive Officer).
He found this ship in terrible condition. The Captain was basically retired on duty and didn’t much care for the spit and polish that the military usually demanded. She had a very overly friendly attitude with her crew and they in turn didn’t take their jobs very seriously. To say the ship wasn’t combat ready would be an obvious statement and no one, including her Captain cared! That didn’t set well with Shaw.
So he did set about changing that attitude, but it wasn’t easy. It seemed that his Captain tried to keep him from doing his job by not supporting his battle drills and acting as if they weren’t even necessary. All of that changed when they were attacked. Numerous crewmen and women were lost including the Captain. That’s when Shaw, once again, took over and assumed the Captaincy of the *Resolute*.
Now Captain Shaw was going to gather the rest of the battle group together and see what he had to do the mission that should have done by the former Captain of the *Resolute*. As the *Resolute* was the largest ship in the battle group, the command of that battle group fell to its Captain. Shaw saw no reason to change this since all the three ships were much smaller and less capable and he figured that the Captains of those ships were here for less than stellar reasons.
But when he called them all together, he found that he had a serious problem with one Captain Grigorev of the *Icarus*. He arrived late to the meeting aboard the *Resolute* and demanded that he be given command of the battle group. He followed up his demand with a weapon drawn and fired at Shaw! He didn’t like Shaw on bit and thought him a traitor who got off lucky with his courts-martial. So, not a good way to start a planning session with his fellow Captains.
Of course Shaw had his own security teams react, but here’s where Captain Shaw made his first stupid mistake! He let Grigorev get back to his ship. Then Shaw did something else that was extremely stupid. He sent an away time lead by his Tactical Officer, Lt. Comdr. Petrea, to the *Icarus* without realizing how dangerous Captain Grigorev had become. Its is unfortunate that these mistakes by Captain Shaw resulted in the death of numerous member of his new crew!
And Captain Shaw was going to make more mistakes. The *Icarus* managed to leave the Obsidian Sector and Shaw determined to go after that ship and eliminate it except for the fact that he had allowed his Tactical Officer to be captured and then Shaw refused to just destroy the *Icarus* when he had the chance. Shaw is much to by-the-book even when he is cut off from his Command HQ and operating on his own with no prospects of resupply and an enemy he knows little about. Now he has a rogue Space Force starship he has to worry about plus the loss of numerous crew members has seriously affected the moral of his own ship.
I for one don’t think Captain Owen Shaw is much of a starship Captain. While he does get input from his senior officers aboard the *Resolute*, the tactical plans don’t seem to put together always lack something that they should have thought about. Captain Shaw fights like he doesn’t want to hurt anyone, yet he’s in a war with pirates that are as cut-throat as they come. If Shaw doesn’t wake up and start fighting like he should, he’s soon going to run out of crew men and women.
I hope in the next book, “Operation Aegis”, Owen Shaw shows a little more backbone or these books will get shorter and shorter. Book 3 is now available on Amazon. I’m not in a rush to read it.
==[Note 1 (12/23/2025): I’m no longer associated with Amazon and will no longer provide any links to books from that website. You can usually find books that you like at your usual source.]==
==[Note 2: As of 12/03/2023, this will not be posted on Amazon since I have been banned from posting reviews for some unknown reason. ]==
Owen Shaw has been in this position before, he previously had to take command away from his commanding officer in order to prevent that Captain from firing on a large group of civilians. Of course his actions resulted in a courts-martial, of which he was found not guilty. Still, this did tarnish his reputation and he was assigned to a backwater location, the Obsidian Sector, where nothing ever happened and assigned to the *Resolute* as the XO (Executive Officer).
He found this ship in terrible condition. The Captain was basically retired on duty and didn’t much care for the spit and polish that the military usually demanded. She had a very overly friendly attitude with her crew and they in turn didn’t take their jobs very seriously. To say the ship wasn’t combat ready would be an obvious statement and no one, including her Captain cared! That didn’t set well with Shaw.
So he did set about changing that attitude, but it wasn’t easy. It seemed that his Captain tried to keep him from doing his job by not supporting his battle drills and acting as if they weren’t even necessary. All of that changed when they were attacked. Numerous crewmen and women were lost including the Captain. That’s when Shaw, once again, took over and assumed the Captaincy of the *Resolute*.
Now Captain Shaw was going to gather the rest of the battle group together and see what he had to do the mission that should have done by the former Captain of the *Resolute*. As the *Resolute* was the largest ship in the battle group, the command of that battle group fell to its Captain. Shaw saw no reason to change this since all the three ships were much smaller and less capable and he figured that the Captains of those ships were here for less than stellar reasons.
But when he called them all together, he found that he had a serious problem with one Captain Grigorev of the *Icarus*. He arrived late to the meeting aboard the *Resolute* and demanded that he be given command of the battle group. He followed up his demand with a weapon drawn and fired at Shaw! He didn’t like Shaw on bit and thought him a traitor who got off lucky with his courts-martial. So, not a good way to start a planning session with his fellow Captains.
Of course Shaw had his own security teams react, but here’s where Captain Shaw made his first stupid mistake! He let Grigorev get back to his ship. Then Shaw did something else that was extremely stupid. He sent an away time lead by his Tactical Officer, Lt. Comdr. Petrea, to the *Icarus* without realizing how dangerous Captain Grigorev had become. Its is unfortunate that these mistakes by Captain Shaw resulted in the death of numerous member of his new crew!
And Captain Shaw was going to make more mistakes. The *Icarus* managed to leave the Obsidian Sector and Shaw determined to go after that ship and eliminate it except for the fact that he had allowed his Tactical Officer to be captured and then Shaw refused to just destroy the *Icarus* when he had the chance. Shaw is much to by-the-book even when he is cut off from his Command HQ and operating on his own with no prospects of resupply and an enemy he knows little about. Now he has a rogue Space Force starship he has to worry about plus the loss of numerous crew members has seriously affected the moral of his own ship.
I for one don’t think Captain Owen Shaw is much of a starship Captain. While he does get input from his senior officers aboard the *Resolute*, the tactical plans don’t seem to put together always lack something that they should have thought about. Captain Shaw fights like he doesn’t want to hurt anyone, yet he’s in a war with pirates that are as cut-throat as they come. If Shaw doesn’t wake up and start fighting like he should, he’s soon going to run out of crew men and women.
I hope in the next book, “Operation Aegis”, Owen Shaw shows a little more backbone or these books will get shorter and shorter. Book 3 is now available on Amazon. I’m not in a rush to read it.
==[Note 1 (12/23/2025): I’m no longer associated with Amazon and will no longer provide any links to books from that website. You can usually find books that you like at your usual source.]==
==[Note 2: As of 12/03/2023, this will not be posted on Amazon since I have been banned from posting reviews for some unknown reason. ]==
June 25, 2025
Fast moving and continuing the action from Operation Resolute but feels like light B-level sf not to take seriously and not really fulfilling the premise of the first novel or the universe; too many amateurish scenes that just do not read right - for example, the new villain who enters this book in the beginning is very cartoonish and bombastic, the old villain is just a name, the captain makes (predictable) bad decision after bad decision at least for a while - or at least the author wills him so as the book would have been cut short if he did the correct and obvious thing(s) - and still congratulates himself and while the book kept my interest enough to finish it, not sure that I will read the presumed series finale as by the end of the novel I kind of lost interest in the goings on.
Overall quite disappointing after an early series promise
Overall quite disappointing after an early series promise
January 7, 2026
Haunting yet...
Interesting mix of human needs vs politics. The enemy is a trump, dirty and pathetic, and evil. The good guys not only fight physically but fight a moral battle with themselves.
Interesting mix of human needs vs politics. The enemy is a trump, dirty and pathetic, and evil. The good guys not only fight physically but fight a moral battle with themselves.
July 13, 2025
Excellent
Still a scanner and full of the blood and guts that I so dislike but good enough to keep reading. Unfortunately I'll have to wait until the next one is published. 🙂
Still a scanner and full of the blood and guts that I so dislike but good enough to keep reading. Unfortunately I'll have to wait until the next one is published. 🙂
January 1, 2026
Really enjoyed the story line. The characters come to life and I could feel their emotions rising as the story progressed. Great imaginative writing.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews