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The Decline and Fall of the Galactic Empire #2
The Shadow of Cincinnatus
The warlords are gone, save one. Admiral Marius Drake, betrayed and almost killed by the Grand Senate, has seized power for himself in a military coup. Now, as Emperor Marius, Drake can work to restore the once-great Federation to its former glory. But now that the Grand Senate is gone, the Federation is starting to fall apart. The bureaucrats are running rampant, the corporations are demanding new powers, the colonies want freedom and Earth is collapsing into chaos.
Worse, on the borders, a new interstellar power has arisen and is bracing itself for an all-out invasion of Federation space. For the Outsiders, the descendents of those forced to flee centuries ago by the Federation, there will never be a better chance to smash their hatred oppressors, once and for all. To save the Federation, the Outsiders must be defeated – but the Federation may not survive long enough to land the killing blow.
Cincinnatus casts a long shadow ... and those who pick up absolute power may not find it so easy to put it down again.
Worse, on the borders, a new interstellar power has arisen and is bracing itself for an all-out invasion of Federation space. For the Outsiders, the descendents of those forced to flee centuries ago by the Federation, there will never be a better chance to smash their hatred oppressors, once and for all. To save the Federation, the Outsiders must be defeated – but the Federation may not survive long enough to land the killing blow.
Cincinnatus casts a long shadow ... and those who pick up absolute power may not find it so easy to put it down again.
377 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 15, 2014
156 people are currently reading
110 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 8, 2026
The Shadow of Cincinnatus
Well, that was satisfying. Not great, but not bad either. In some respects, you almost knew what was going to happen.
Well, Emperor Marius is going to have his work cut out for himself, what will happen next?
Are the outsiders doomed to lose? Or will the Federation wind up belly up?
It looks like we will need to read book 3 to find out.
Thanks to the author.
Well, that was satisfying. Not great, but not bad either. In some respects, you almost knew what was going to happen.
Well, Emperor Marius is going to have his work cut out for himself, what will happen next?
Are the outsiders doomed to lose? Or will the Federation wind up belly up?
It looks like we will need to read book 3 to find out.
Thanks to the author.
October 25, 2015
This is book two of the “Decline and Fall of the Empire” series. I recently read book one so everything was nice and fresh in my memory for book two. Unlike book one the big fleet battles have been fought; now it is the political fight to save the Federation. Admiral Drake is now Emperor Marius and everything in the Federation is falling apart and a new interstellar power has arisen on the Rim, so war might be imminent. The fifth fleet is now battling the forces on the Rim. It looks as if the problems of the Federation are too great and complicated for anyone to solve.
In this book Nuttall has not only an interesting surface plot but a much deeper plot for those readers who are history and or classic literature buffs. As usual Nuttall has his political commentary running throughout the story. The book is well written and fast paced. Nuttall continues to build his character thought the story. The story also delves into human nature more so than his other books. While reading the book the readers should keep in mind Lord Acton’s famous quote “power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” There was a surprise ending that leaves me anxious to read the next volume in the series. I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. Tim Gerard Reynolds does a good job narrating the book. I am looking forward to book three in the series.
In this book Nuttall has not only an interesting surface plot but a much deeper plot for those readers who are history and or classic literature buffs. As usual Nuttall has his political commentary running throughout the story. The book is well written and fast paced. Nuttall continues to build his character thought the story. The story also delves into human nature more so than his other books. While reading the book the readers should keep in mind Lord Acton’s famous quote “power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” There was a surprise ending that leaves me anxious to read the next volume in the series. I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. Tim Gerard Reynolds does a good job narrating the book. I am looking forward to book three in the series.
November 14, 2017
The Shadow Cincinnatus Review.
Dear Christopher, I am enjoying reading this series very much. Your analysis that power corrupts absolutely is very telling in this series. I love it as it is very true even if people have good intentions to begin with. I highly recommend reading this series to those adults looking for an excellent story with excellent characters. Thanks for the entertainment!
Dear Christopher, I am enjoying reading this series very much. Your analysis that power corrupts absolutely is very telling in this series. I love it as it is very true even if people have good intentions to begin with. I highly recommend reading this series to those adults looking for an excellent story with excellent characters. Thanks for the entertainment!
September 11, 2015
Love Nuttall. The social commentary woven into his plots are thought provoking. I appreciate that his characters are flawed and it's not the trite, all for one, one for all - we'll save you. Rich cast and interesting plot. Very well written. I look forward to reading more of his books and can highly recommend. gbash
March 23, 2015
While I loved the series debut, this one was less interesting as the novelty wore off and the characters' trajectories lacked balanced to some extent; still a page turner and I definitely plan to read the next in the series
April 22, 2015
Solid follow up!
I really found the federation decline fascinating and eerily realistic in terms of the fall of the emperor. More heavily militaristic than the first book but not overdone.
I really found the federation decline fascinating and eerily realistic in terms of the fall of the emperor. More heavily militaristic than the first book but not overdone.
March 5, 2016
Did not see that one coming.
August 14, 2016
A good follow-on to the first book in the series. It spent more time on politics than the last, making it a bit slower, but still quite good.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews