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The Lightning War #1
Rising Storm
The Lightning Rising Storm
An Epic Tale of Resilience, Betrayal, and Survival Among the Stars
In the distant Hyades Cluster, the small but fiercely independent colony of Polonia Prime holds a alien technology that could reshape the galaxy. But their discovery has made them a target of the ruthless Zenith Caliphate, an unstoppable force armed with stolen secrets and driven by conquest.
Captain Maria Roszak, commanding the destroyer Błyskawica, must lead her crew in a desperate struggle to protect their home. As fragile alliances fray and spies threaten from within, Maria must rally a fractured coalition against overwhelming odds. But survival has a cost, and every decision could tip the balance between freedom and annihilation.
The Lightning Rising Storm is the explosive first chapter in a gripping space opera series. Perfect for fans of Honor Harrington and The Expanse, the war for the Hyades Cluster has only just begun...
An Epic Tale of Resilience, Betrayal, and Survival Among the Stars
In the distant Hyades Cluster, the small but fiercely independent colony of Polonia Prime holds a alien technology that could reshape the galaxy. But their discovery has made them a target of the ruthless Zenith Caliphate, an unstoppable force armed with stolen secrets and driven by conquest.
Captain Maria Roszak, commanding the destroyer Błyskawica, must lead her crew in a desperate struggle to protect their home. As fragile alliances fray and spies threaten from within, Maria must rally a fractured coalition against overwhelming odds. But survival has a cost, and every decision could tip the balance between freedom and annihilation.
The Lightning Rising Storm is the explosive first chapter in a gripping space opera series. Perfect for fans of Honor Harrington and The Expanse, the war for the Hyades Cluster has only just begun...
- GenresScience Fiction
Unknown Binding
First published January 17, 2025
402 people are currently reading
47 people want to read
About the author
Miles Phoenix
16 books3 followersMiles Phoenix is the author of The Lightning War, a thrilling military science fiction series set in a galaxy teetering on the edge of chaos. Growing up in Poland during the fall of Communism, Miles witnessed firsthand the transformative power of resilience and leadership—key themes that drive his storytelling.
Inspired by the works of David Weber and Peter F. Hamilton, Miles combines the strategic depth of military space operas with vivid, character-driven narratives. A passionate student of military history, motorcycling enthusiast, and lover of story-rich computer games, he weaves his diverse interests into immersive tales that explore the human spirit under pressure
.
When he's not writing, Miles enjoys exploring the open road on his motorcycle or diving into immersive gaming worlds.
Follow Miles Phoenix to stay updated on his latest projects and releases.
Inspired by the works of David Weber and Peter F. Hamilton, Miles combines the strategic depth of military space operas with vivid, character-driven narratives. A passionate student of military history, motorcycling enthusiast, and lover of story-rich computer games, he weaves his diverse interests into immersive tales that explore the human spirit under pressure
.
When he's not writing, Miles enjoys exploring the open road on his motorcycle or diving into immersive gaming worlds.
Follow Miles Phoenix to stay updated on his latest projects and releases.
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
August 17, 2025
[16 August 2025]
Warrior porn.
If you're really into military sci-fi, this is for you.
But that's all it is. Battle after battle after battle.
No back story. No character development to speak of. The characters were well enough developed that I did care what happened to them, but only mildly.
The plot was strictly military. Very minor political developments.
Even the battles, except the last one, seemed to me to be rushed and not fully believable.
And the tech/science was nothing new.
I'm not opposed to battles or military sci-fi. I'm a huge fan of the Honorverse. But in Weber's books the battles are very detailed and believable, the characters are fully developed, and the backstory exhaustive.
I don't think I'll bother with any more in this series.
Warrior porn.
If you're really into military sci-fi, this is for you.
But that's all it is. Battle after battle after battle.
No back story. No character development to speak of. The characters were well enough developed that I did care what happened to them, but only mildly.
The plot was strictly military. Very minor political developments.
Even the battles, except the last one, seemed to me to be rushed and not fully believable.
And the tech/science was nothing new.
I'm not opposed to battles or military sci-fi. I'm a huge fan of the Honorverse. But in Weber's books the battles are very detailed and believable, the characters are fully developed, and the backstory exhaustive.
I don't think I'll bother with any more in this series.
April 12, 2025
Great story, but....
I loved the story and the characters! Now for your next book, read a physics basics of space. Space is really really big. 600 kilometers is nothing at the speed they need. You don't have to go all Weber, but a basic view of space being really big and time lines need to be added. In one part what would be weeks was in the next paragraph or sentence. Nothing you can see in space at the speeds needed for actual travel would be visable and the bridge goes in the most protected spot, in the center of the ship. No cracked view ports, that is a weak point on the hull. Have said all that I really enjoyed the book. Bob Slater at bobdaman6 outlook dot com if you want to discuss anything.
I loved the story and the characters! Now for your next book, read a physics basics of space. Space is really really big. 600 kilometers is nothing at the speed they need. You don't have to go all Weber, but a basic view of space being really big and time lines need to be added. In one part what would be weeks was in the next paragraph or sentence. Nothing you can see in space at the speeds needed for actual travel would be visable and the bridge goes in the most protected spot, in the center of the ship. No cracked view ports, that is a weak point on the hull. Have said all that I really enjoyed the book. Bob Slater at bobdaman6 outlook dot com if you want to discuss anything.
February 13, 2025
2.5/5
This doesn't feel like a typical first book in a series. It feels like we skipped past all the parts that would be in a first book. Especially when it comes to world building.
*****anything from here on will contain spoilers***
To start, with such a short length, only 250 pages, time needs to be spent very wisely. There's a newly promoted captain, but very little struggle shown of her adjusting to her new role. Their crew is already a well-oiled machine, so there's no stuggle to get them trained and working together. It feels like we jumped 150 or 200 pages into a novel and missed everything that came before. We see maria get promoted to captain very early, meaning since we were just introduced to her, there was no emotional effect from this promotion for the reader. I think it would have been better to just start her out as captain.
Like i mentioned above, i feel the exact same way about the world building. We're shown a very brief glimpse of the history in the prologue, but again, we're thrown into a situation where the pressure cooker is already about to burst. Further reinforcing the feeling that we jumped into the middle of a book. The struggles i mentioned in the paragraph above could have been easily paired with starting earlier in the story and showing the pressure building as well as showing us more of the world itself.
In the beginning, in the battle with the carrier we're not shown anything about Maria's ship being damaged, but then turn around a few pages later and get internal thoughts about how close they came to dying and how damaged the ship was. I can't stress enough how important the show don't tell principal is. A couple extra paragraphs or pages going more into the details of the battle would have really improved this section. Combine that with the internal thoughts about all the damage and how they almost died would have been phenomenal.
This show don't tell principal would have worked especially well in this section here -*Maria made her way through the room, stopping to share jokes and stories, accepting the occasional good-natured ribbing about her "coffee addiction" with grace.(page 53)*- this would have been a perfect time to inject a few quick facts about the world, retelling past conflicts with the caliphate, characters opinions about the political goings on etc.
The political summit that happens next is generally very well done. I especially commend Miles for the scene between Maria and the Russian admiral. To be honest, the best part of this book is the character interactions and the interpersonal dialog. I especially liked Maria's speech after the battle with the carrier in the mess hall, and even though i complained about the comradery shown a few paragraphs above this one, it was still extremely well written.
In my opinion, one of the most essential parts of a space opera is the politics and the intrigue that accompanies it. This book is relatively light in that aspect. It's definitely present, don't get me wrong, but it's definitely the lite version.
Something else i would like to mention. "Based on intelligence" can not be used as a crutch to explain away things the characters have no way of knowing or suspecting. I'm pointing out specifically the scene where they are exploring the space station after the summit. Around page 85-90. They only found out about the stations' existence 6 hours previous. Even if they had intelligence assets in place to be able to look for information about it and that would be a big "benefit of the doubt" 6 hours is such a short time and is very unrealistic for any actionable information from any intelligence assets to be obtained. This scene would have been better if they didn't know anything.
Something to remember about space, its infinitely big and 99% empty. 122 pages in, and it feels like every combat scene has taken place in some sort of debris or asteroid field. The reality is that few battles would take place in these settings, and it feels like too much clutter in what should mostly be empty space.
Ultimately, it's a simple space opera that's trying to be more than what it is. In order to properly go into all the of the topics and political intricacies this book attempts to do, it needs to be longer and the writting needs to go much more in depth in almost every single topic that it covers. I can't remember if i said this above, but this is definitely Space opera lite.
This doesn't feel like a typical first book in a series. It feels like we skipped past all the parts that would be in a first book. Especially when it comes to world building.
*****anything from here on will contain spoilers***
To start, with such a short length, only 250 pages, time needs to be spent very wisely. There's a newly promoted captain, but very little struggle shown of her adjusting to her new role. Their crew is already a well-oiled machine, so there's no stuggle to get them trained and working together. It feels like we jumped 150 or 200 pages into a novel and missed everything that came before. We see maria get promoted to captain very early, meaning since we were just introduced to her, there was no emotional effect from this promotion for the reader. I think it would have been better to just start her out as captain.
Like i mentioned above, i feel the exact same way about the world building. We're shown a very brief glimpse of the history in the prologue, but again, we're thrown into a situation where the pressure cooker is already about to burst. Further reinforcing the feeling that we jumped into the middle of a book. The struggles i mentioned in the paragraph above could have been easily paired with starting earlier in the story and showing the pressure building as well as showing us more of the world itself.
In the beginning, in the battle with the carrier we're not shown anything about Maria's ship being damaged, but then turn around a few pages later and get internal thoughts about how close they came to dying and how damaged the ship was. I can't stress enough how important the show don't tell principal is. A couple extra paragraphs or pages going more into the details of the battle would have really improved this section. Combine that with the internal thoughts about all the damage and how they almost died would have been phenomenal.
This show don't tell principal would have worked especially well in this section here -*Maria made her way through the room, stopping to share jokes and stories, accepting the occasional good-natured ribbing about her "coffee addiction" with grace.(page 53)*- this would have been a perfect time to inject a few quick facts about the world, retelling past conflicts with the caliphate, characters opinions about the political goings on etc.
The political summit that happens next is generally very well done. I especially commend Miles for the scene between Maria and the Russian admiral. To be honest, the best part of this book is the character interactions and the interpersonal dialog. I especially liked Maria's speech after the battle with the carrier in the mess hall, and even though i complained about the comradery shown a few paragraphs above this one, it was still extremely well written.
In my opinion, one of the most essential parts of a space opera is the politics and the intrigue that accompanies it. This book is relatively light in that aspect. It's definitely present, don't get me wrong, but it's definitely the lite version.
Something else i would like to mention. "Based on intelligence" can not be used as a crutch to explain away things the characters have no way of knowing or suspecting. I'm pointing out specifically the scene where they are exploring the space station after the summit. Around page 85-90. They only found out about the stations' existence 6 hours previous. Even if they had intelligence assets in place to be able to look for information about it and that would be a big "benefit of the doubt" 6 hours is such a short time and is very unrealistic for any actionable information from any intelligence assets to be obtained. This scene would have been better if they didn't know anything.
Something to remember about space, its infinitely big and 99% empty. 122 pages in, and it feels like every combat scene has taken place in some sort of debris or asteroid field. The reality is that few battles would take place in these settings, and it feels like too much clutter in what should mostly be empty space.
Ultimately, it's a simple space opera that's trying to be more than what it is. In order to properly go into all the of the topics and political intricacies this book attempts to do, it needs to be longer and the writting needs to go much more in depth in almost every single topic that it covers. I can't remember if i said this above, but this is definitely Space opera lite.
February 2, 2025
Full disclosure: I received a free copy of this book when the author offered it for free. There were no strings attached and a review was not promised or guaranteed. I owe the author an apology, as I meant to have this review posted earlier, but life got in the way.
This is a good, clean space opera with lots of action. There is no graphic sex, foul language is hardly present, and it is very light on romance. Space opera always has an element of romance, but The Lightning War: Rising Storm is very light on romance which is not necessarily wrong. The names and the culture is very Polish, with Polish names, and Polish food.
I do have a few bits of criticism, but these are very minor, and maybe something that the next book might address. I felt that the officers and enlisted squids should have moved ships and billets more often. Perhaps with more world building these nits that I am picking will be fixed.
I was surprised that the spacers remained on the same ship for so long. Generally, naval officers (and the enlisted squids as well) rotate through different billets, on a variety of ships. This increases their knowledge and skill base, as well as exposing them to different crew sizes.
Naval officers that serve on a destroyer and then go to something larger, such as a cruiser, gain knowledge and experience with personnel management. An officer that remains with the same crew, on the same size ship, lacks the experience offered by changing billets to other types and sizes of ships.
There is apparently no cross-training in this navy accross different types of ships. Even sending officers TAD (Temporary Attached Duty) to different classes of ships would help expand the officer's knowledge base.
An butter bar ensign mostly gets stuck as a division officer first. As they advance in pay grade, they move up the org chart, eventually becoming a department head. Junior officers usually serve tours as deck division officers, damage control assistant, and other billets.
Naval officers generally spend time in a staff billet, usually as a junior lieutenant, and usually in the staff of an admiral, or assigned to a squadron command staff, such a destroyer or cruiser squadron command. After the staff billet, the naval officer generally returns to a ship, this time often as a division officer, and later as a department head.
Prior to gaining command, most naval officers attend a staff or command school and many go on to various military colleges to advance their degrees. Its after going through command, and advanced schooling that the officer, now usually as a commander, to take an Executive Officer billet. After the XO billet, the officer, now likely a full bird captain, goes to another service school, before accepting their first command billet.
This is a good, clean space opera with lots of action. There is no graphic sex, foul language is hardly present, and it is very light on romance. Space opera always has an element of romance, but The Lightning War: Rising Storm is very light on romance which is not necessarily wrong. The names and the culture is very Polish, with Polish names, and Polish food.
I do have a few bits of criticism, but these are very minor, and maybe something that the next book might address. I felt that the officers and enlisted squids should have moved ships and billets more often. Perhaps with more world building these nits that I am picking will be fixed.
I was surprised that the spacers remained on the same ship for so long. Generally, naval officers (and the enlisted squids as well) rotate through different billets, on a variety of ships. This increases their knowledge and skill base, as well as exposing them to different crew sizes.
Naval officers that serve on a destroyer and then go to something larger, such as a cruiser, gain knowledge and experience with personnel management. An officer that remains with the same crew, on the same size ship, lacks the experience offered by changing billets to other types and sizes of ships.
There is apparently no cross-training in this navy accross different types of ships. Even sending officers TAD (Temporary Attached Duty) to different classes of ships would help expand the officer's knowledge base.
An butter bar ensign mostly gets stuck as a division officer first. As they advance in pay grade, they move up the org chart, eventually becoming a department head. Junior officers usually serve tours as deck division officers, damage control assistant, and other billets.
Naval officers generally spend time in a staff billet, usually as a junior lieutenant, and usually in the staff of an admiral, or assigned to a squadron command staff, such a destroyer or cruiser squadron command. After the staff billet, the naval officer generally returns to a ship, this time often as a division officer, and later as a department head.
Prior to gaining command, most naval officers attend a staff or command school and many go on to various military colleges to advance their degrees. Its after going through command, and advanced schooling that the officer, now usually as a commander, to take an Executive Officer billet. After the XO billet, the officer, now likely a full bird captain, goes to another service school, before accepting their first command billet.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 18, 2025
The Lightning War: Rising Storm
Very interesting story, with well developed characters and plot. Tells a story and keeps you wanting to read more.
Thanks to the author for teasing the reader with this tale.
Very interesting story, with well developed characters and plot. Tells a story and keeps you wanting to read more.
Thanks to the author for teasing the reader with this tale.
March 26, 2025
Excellent beginning of the series which may evolve into another epic space opera. Well-thought-out out world, although the amount of information we receive from the author is rather modest and opens the door to much speculation. The characters in the novel are very well written. There is no Mary Sue vibe, and it can be felt, that we’re dealing with actual human beings and not all-powerfull Gods of the Universe.
The plot is interesting and the action moves forward rapidly. Sometimes maybe a bit too rapidly which can be seen as a little flaw (still better than boring parts of text, which are not present in this book). I especially enjoyed the geopolitic (or astropolitic) aspect of the Hyades Cluster which is quite complex and allows the author to lead the action in several directions.
I have to commend the Polish language used in the novel. There are a few places where the author decided to include the native language of Polonia’s Prime citizens and in each case it is used correctly and it fits greatly in the text – it’s quite important for Polish readers (such as myself) because more often than not, such inclusions are simply horrible.
All in all, as a debut novel, “The Lightning War: Rising Storm” is most enjoyable and has the potential to become a part of something much, much bigger.
The plot is interesting and the action moves forward rapidly. Sometimes maybe a bit too rapidly which can be seen as a little flaw (still better than boring parts of text, which are not present in this book). I especially enjoyed the geopolitic (or astropolitic) aspect of the Hyades Cluster which is quite complex and allows the author to lead the action in several directions.
I have to commend the Polish language used in the novel. There are a few places where the author decided to include the native language of Polonia’s Prime citizens and in each case it is used correctly and it fits greatly in the text – it’s quite important for Polish readers (such as myself) because more often than not, such inclusions are simply horrible.
All in all, as a debut novel, “The Lightning War: Rising Storm” is most enjoyable and has the potential to become a part of something much, much bigger.
May 17, 2025
If you want to read a book where about 90% of the content is ship maneuvers and space battles, then this is the book for you. There is little else going on here.
Maria is a flawless commander; no situation is difficult for her, she always has the answer ready. The crew is not even behind. Every time Maria starts issuing an order, the crew is already on it. Why do they even need her?
When they fight the final battle, the author starts to repeat things. It's a new ship design, and the lead engineer tells us about four times in a couple of paragraphs that "they're building something new! We've never seen this before! This is new!" Yes, I heard you the first time.
All in all, this was a disappointing read.
Maria is a flawless commander; no situation is difficult for her, she always has the answer ready. The crew is not even behind. Every time Maria starts issuing an order, the crew is already on it. Why do they even need her?
When they fight the final battle, the author starts to repeat things. It's a new ship design, and the lead engineer tells us about four times in a couple of paragraphs that "they're building something new! We've never seen this before! This is new!" Yes, I heard you the first time.
All in all, this was a disappointing read.
July 31, 2025
The result of many puzzling choices:
1) Poland is one of the three major powers (but other than making many names unpronounceable it didn’t make the story any more interesting.)
2) Much of the book is based on future technology that makes no sense. The author should have brought in a physics whiz to offer suggestions on making it more believable.
3) The battle action isn’t very exciting. Captain Maria has infinite ability to imagine new tactics to win the day, and everyone else is dull and predictable.
4) The author spends almost half of the book telling us what to think about what happened. And the author has a terrible habit of putting phrases - like ‘the moral of the story is…’ - every few pages
1) Poland is one of the three major powers (but other than making many names unpronounceable it didn’t make the story any more interesting.)
2) Much of the book is based on future technology that makes no sense. The author should have brought in a physics whiz to offer suggestions on making it more believable.
3) The battle action isn’t very exciting. Captain Maria has infinite ability to imagine new tactics to win the day, and everyone else is dull and predictable.
4) The author spends almost half of the book telling us what to think about what happened. And the author has a terrible habit of putting phrases - like ‘the moral of the story is…’ - every few pages
March 21, 2025
A thrilling military space opera…
…That chronicles Captain Maria Poszak’s efforts to defend her nation of Polonia Prime against the nefarious Caliphate while contending with dubious allies. The fractious allies engage in espionage and reluctantly cooperate in space battles while working towards a more solid relationship.
I enjoyed the battles and intrigue, though the characters came across as underdeveloped. All of the action takes place aboard starships and space stations with no planet-side scenes. Likewise, while Polonia Prime benefitted from salvaged alien technology, the aliens themselves never make an appearance.
That said, this book is a good, ‘lite’ military space opera.
…That chronicles Captain Maria Poszak’s efforts to defend her nation of Polonia Prime against the nefarious Caliphate while contending with dubious allies. The fractious allies engage in espionage and reluctantly cooperate in space battles while working towards a more solid relationship.
I enjoyed the battles and intrigue, though the characters came across as underdeveloped. All of the action takes place aboard starships and space stations with no planet-side scenes. Likewise, while Polonia Prime benefitted from salvaged alien technology, the aliens themselves never make an appearance.
That said, this book is a good, ‘lite’ military space opera.
November 20, 2025
This is really good and fast paced, if somewhat disorienting because of its focus on Polish culture(?). There is an Anglo Saxon, a Russi Analog, and an evil empire. And of course plucky Poland. The pace is fast, so distraction is not a problem. My only problem is that there are only two men in major positions. And of course the highly unlikely (and de figure) female marine.
All that aside I lmost immediately started the second book.
All that aside I lmost immediately started the second book.
April 16, 2025
Really good sci-fi story, must read for old time sci-fi fans
Real science fiction well supported by characters acting like real people, politicians acting like real politicians (ugh), allies acting more in their own interests, and the evil evil empire trying to take all by any means possible.
Real science fiction well supported by characters acting like real people, politicians acting like real politicians (ugh), allies acting more in their own interests, and the evil evil empire trying to take all by any means possible.
April 17, 2025
Small nation planet makes large impact
This book is about polish descendants and how they established a place in time and history. What's a major Discovery happens this begins to change the impact had by this planet. It's well written! It has a lot of action and a lot of tactful and technological sections that make you want to continue reading.
This book is about polish descendants and how they established a place in time and history. What's a major Discovery happens this begins to change the impact had by this planet. It's well written! It has a lot of action and a lot of tactful and technological sections that make you want to continue reading.
May 18, 2025
Wow! Just ... WOW!
An absolute triumph in the best traditions of Horatio Hornblower, James Tiberius Kirk and Honor Harrington. I can think of no greater heroes for Maria and her crew to join.
Outstanding story. I look forward to more!
An absolute triumph in the best traditions of Horatio Hornblower, James Tiberius Kirk and Honor Harrington. I can think of no greater heroes for Maria and her crew to join.
Outstanding story. I look forward to more!
June 19, 2025
Excellent Storytelling
The characters were engaging and I believed in them. The plot was fast-paced and probable. I read it in one big gulp because I had to find out how it ended!! Great writing throughout!
The characters were engaging and I believed in them. The plot was fast-paced and probable. I read it in one big gulp because I had to find out how it ended!! Great writing throughout!
August 18, 2025
Excellent +++
Very seldom do I encounter a story that can bring tears to my eyes and joy to my heart... This one did and the author can be assured that I I'll be buying more of his books. 🙂
Very seldom do I encounter a story that can bring tears to my eyes and joy to my heart... This one did and the author can be assured that I I'll be buying more of his books. 🙂
March 26, 2025
yup
Is a good read. Service, loss, perseverance, recovery, politics and doers vs sideline jockeys…decent story worth reading…easy recommendations to read
Is a good read. Service, loss, perseverance, recovery, politics and doers vs sideline jockeys…decent story worth reading…easy recommendations to read
June 9, 2025
That's nice mil sci-fi. Characters are good, plot is nice, science is too light, but nice all around.
July 16, 2025
Very easy to fall into, ending was not predictable, enjoyable
July 24, 2025
AI at it’s best
All of it had the feel of being written by AI. It was disjointed and felt like it was bouncing all over the place. Didn’t make me want to reach for the next one.
All of it had the feel of being written by AI. It was disjointed and felt like it was bouncing all over the place. Didn’t make me want to reach for the next one.
July 25, 2025
Good story
This is a fun quick read… Plot is pretty straightforward, but there are characters that you develop affection for and some interesting twists.
This is a fun quick read… Plot is pretty straightforward, but there are characters that you develop affection for and some interesting twists.
September 11, 2025
I didn't really engage with this one. A bit too generic for my tastes and the plot was a bit out dated really.
October 20, 2025
Quite the ScI-Fi Navy read
Excellent story backed up by compelling characters. Lots of action with a string dose of political intrigue.
Excited to start the next book.
Excellent story backed up by compelling characters. Lots of action with a string dose of political intrigue.
Excited to start the next book.
November 13, 2025
2 stars. DNF at 40%. Dull politics and Hand-Wavium science.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews