What do you think?
Rate this book
The Gray Wars #1
When The Stars Fade: The Gray Wars: Volume 1
It’s the year 2236, and humanity can’t catch a break.
While we’re licking our wounds from a bloody civil war, two alien armadas stumble into the Solar System fighting one of their own. At odds are the fearsome Boxti Horde and their ancient enemies, the Nangolani.
Naturally, we can’t resist picking sides and joining the fight, but after several crushing defeats, we’re forced to open Pandora’s Box to win the A top-secret special forces program.
Meanwhile, a hotshot starfighter has his mettle tested when the war separates him from his best friend and favorite wingman.
Tech-savvy and full of action, humor, and intrigue, When The Stars Fade is the first in a six-book series, The Gray Wars .
While we’re licking our wounds from a bloody civil war, two alien armadas stumble into the Solar System fighting one of their own. At odds are the fearsome Boxti Horde and their ancient enemies, the Nangolani.
Naturally, we can’t resist picking sides and joining the fight, but after several crushing defeats, we’re forced to open Pandora’s Box to win the A top-secret special forces program.
Meanwhile, a hotshot starfighter has his mettle tested when the war separates him from his best friend and favorite wingman.
Tech-savvy and full of action, humor, and intrigue, When The Stars Fade is the first in a six-book series, The Gray Wars .
- GenresScience Fiction
352 pages, Paperback
First published August 11, 2015
6 people are currently reading
237 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 15, 2017
This book is truly one of a kind. The author does a beautiful job of making all the characters flow together. Being a veteran I can honestly say the military aspects of this book are spot on. All the smart remarks they have toward each other, the way they all seem bonded as if they were blood and the general feel is perfect. The writing is amazing, some books I can't even get through because how it's written but I didn't have a single problem with this book. I absolutely loved this book, I will reccomend it to all my active duty friends as well as my veteran friends and maybe some of my civilian friends lol might help them understand the military mindset. All in all I would read this book over again in the future.
February 22, 2018
I received a free copy via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.
This is a brilliant military space opera which left me wanting more.
The characters are full of depth and the action just kept on coming.
I cannot wait until the next book in the series.
This is a brilliant military space opera which left me wanting more.
The characters are full of depth and the action just kept on coming.
I cannot wait until the next book in the series.
May 25, 2020
The Good:
I have to say that Adam Korenman knows how to build a world that's familiar and yet strange at the same time. There are touching moments, a lot of action, and the book doesn't stop until it's done.
The Bad:
There are a lot of characters and it can be overwhelming to keep track of them. The book also starts out a bit rough, but by the time you're less than a third of the way through, it pulls together.
The Summary:
If you enjoy military based books, this could certainly be one that pulls you in. This book was first released in 2013 and since then only one other book in the series has been published (2017). That makes me a little nervous for how long it will be before all 6 books in the series will be completed. Still, it's a good read and one that, even though military books aren't my thing, I ended up enjoying.
I have to say that Adam Korenman knows how to build a world that's familiar and yet strange at the same time. There are touching moments, a lot of action, and the book doesn't stop until it's done.
The Bad:
There are a lot of characters and it can be overwhelming to keep track of them. The book also starts out a bit rough, but by the time you're less than a third of the way through, it pulls together.
The Summary:
If you enjoy military based books, this could certainly be one that pulls you in. This book was first released in 2013 and since then only one other book in the series has been published (2017). That makes me a little nervous for how long it will be before all 6 books in the series will be completed. Still, it's a good read and one that, even though military books aren't my thing, I ended up enjoying.
February 18, 2018
Excellent set-up to the whole series, to which I look forward. Realism of the dialogue and character interactions are the greatest strengths.
January 8, 2014
This review was originally posted at Fanboy Comics.
I actually feel this merits a 3.5 star rating, but none of the sites allow for half stars.
In 2236 humanity has mastered several forms of faster-than-light interstellar travel and colonized four galaxy systems with at least a dozen moons and planets; however, the young Federation government has still not found proof of whether other intelligent life forms exist in the universe. On October 12 the answer arrives with a big reveal when two alien armadas enter the air space over the human colony of Terra. The human race must decide if isolationism is the best policy or if they should intervene in an interstellar war beyond their understanding.
Adam Korenman’s debut novel, When the Stars Fade, is the beginning of a sci-fi epic that promises to have immense scope. Multiple storylines are introduced that gradually begin to intertwine, and there is plenty of material to explore in future books. Unfortunately for me, the huge number of storylines presented in WTSF kept me continually off-balance as I read, because I felt like I was reading a literary equivalent of a pinball machine, bouncing from narrative to narrative. There are alien invasions/attacks, betrayals, political insurrections, secret military experiments to create super soldiers, etc. While each was interesting, I never got quite enough from each one to fully commit to the amazing, new world Korenman had created, and I wasn’t sure who I should root for in the intergalactic wheeling and dealing. I think the book might have worked slightly better for me if some of the plots had been weeded out and saved for later installments in the series.
This novel also has a huge cast of characters, which left me reeling as I tried to remember who everyone was when they cropped up again. While many of the characters, such as Josh, do amazing things, I never felt emotionally invested in their stories. As a result, I felt a little cold about their fates beyond hoping that humanity would somehow find a way to survive the alien threat.
Where Korenman excels in the novel is his world building and intense action sequences that draw on his personal military experience. I created images of his various human colonies and the battleships in my head based on his descriptions, and I wanted to see more of how things worked before the alien threat arrived. While his science behind Blue Space and the other types of interstellar travel may not have been completely accurate, I didn’t care, as I soaked up information about science and technology beyond my experiences. The various battles and military maneuvers, including the amazing training exercise Kronos, kept me similarly engaged, and I could almost envision myself at the heart of the action. I would particularly like to see the Kronos training exercise done in a movie or TV show, because the entire atmosphere lends itself well to a heart-racing action show.
Overall, When the Stars Fade is a great start to what I hope is a long-running epic, but it needs a few tweaks to reach true greatness. Korenman’s world is amazing; it just needs to be peopled with more fully fleshed characters to make it to its full potential. The ending left me wondering where things will go next, though, and I hope to see more of Korenman’s work in the future.
I actually feel this merits a 3.5 star rating, but none of the sites allow for half stars.
In 2236 humanity has mastered several forms of faster-than-light interstellar travel and colonized four galaxy systems with at least a dozen moons and planets; however, the young Federation government has still not found proof of whether other intelligent life forms exist in the universe. On October 12 the answer arrives with a big reveal when two alien armadas enter the air space over the human colony of Terra. The human race must decide if isolationism is the best policy or if they should intervene in an interstellar war beyond their understanding.
Adam Korenman’s debut novel, When the Stars Fade, is the beginning of a sci-fi epic that promises to have immense scope. Multiple storylines are introduced that gradually begin to intertwine, and there is plenty of material to explore in future books. Unfortunately for me, the huge number of storylines presented in WTSF kept me continually off-balance as I read, because I felt like I was reading a literary equivalent of a pinball machine, bouncing from narrative to narrative. There are alien invasions/attacks, betrayals, political insurrections, secret military experiments to create super soldiers, etc. While each was interesting, I never got quite enough from each one to fully commit to the amazing, new world Korenman had created, and I wasn’t sure who I should root for in the intergalactic wheeling and dealing. I think the book might have worked slightly better for me if some of the plots had been weeded out and saved for later installments in the series.
This novel also has a huge cast of characters, which left me reeling as I tried to remember who everyone was when they cropped up again. While many of the characters, such as Josh, do amazing things, I never felt emotionally invested in their stories. As a result, I felt a little cold about their fates beyond hoping that humanity would somehow find a way to survive the alien threat.
Where Korenman excels in the novel is his world building and intense action sequences that draw on his personal military experience. I created images of his various human colonies and the battleships in my head based on his descriptions, and I wanted to see more of how things worked before the alien threat arrived. While his science behind Blue Space and the other types of interstellar travel may not have been completely accurate, I didn’t care, as I soaked up information about science and technology beyond my experiences. The various battles and military maneuvers, including the amazing training exercise Kronos, kept me similarly engaged, and I could almost envision myself at the heart of the action. I would particularly like to see the Kronos training exercise done in a movie or TV show, because the entire atmosphere lends itself well to a heart-racing action show.
Overall, When the Stars Fade is a great start to what I hope is a long-running epic, but it needs a few tweaks to reach true greatness. Korenman’s world is amazing; it just needs to be peopled with more fully fleshed characters to make it to its full potential. The ending left me wondering where things will go next, though, and I hope to see more of Korenman’s work in the future.
December 9, 2015
This review was originally posted at Fanboy Comics.
I had the opportunity to review the first version of Adam Korenman’s When the Stars Fade back in 2014, and when I was invited to read the California Coldblood edition, I jumped at the chance to see how the raw nugget of an excellent sci-fic epic had been honed. All of the potential that I saw in the original shines, and the plot is tightened to create a more digestible piece for readers to process and appreciate. The series has also been converted from a trilogy to a hexology, so the epic has room to breathe a little more and explore some plot points that were almost footnotes in the first version due to the sheer scope of the ambitious storyline.
On October 12, 2236, humanity found proof of other intelligent life in the universe in the most dramatic way possible: an alien invasion of the air space over Terra, a human colony. Humanity is thrown into a struggle between the Boxti, an insectoid alien race that exists only to enslave and incorporate other species into their empire, and the Nangolani, the epitome of SF movies’ littl,e grey men. The Federation Government also faces conflict from within, thanks to old resentments from the previous handling of the Mars colony. Plus, a scientist’s life mission may come to fruition only because of the new threat from the stars.
One of my major quibbles with the original version of When the Stars Fade was a lack of attachment or serious development of the immense cast. While there are still a huge number of characters presented in the new edition, Korenman worked to flesh out each individual enough to be distinct. While I still didn’t identify immediately with the various cast members, they stand out in my mind more clearly. These versions are much simpler to identify in my mind, and I’m definitely becoming a Josh fan!
The various storylines flow better with the pruned version, as well, since the core pieces have been polished and cut. The most essential parts are present with the extraneous bits gone. While I missed some of the drama from the military exercises on Kronos, the updated version is just as riveting. (I still would love to see a movie or TV version of the Kronos stuff at the very least.) Don’t get me wrong: When the Stars Fade is still an immense tale of epic proportions that hits upon many of the most beloved aspects of great sci-fi. I just found it easier to follow with the more concentrated plot and better defined cast.
I think that California Coldblood Books' version of When the Stars Fade will become one of those sci-fi stories that fans love and discuss long after the final pages have been turned. Korenman’s vision has been beautifully realized in a way that will reach anyone who loves space battles, alien encounters, dicey science experiments, and political intrigue. If you haven’t given it a try, I highly recommend it . . . you may just find a new favorite tale to stretch your imagination.
5 Mysterious Injections out of 5
When The Stars Fade is available in bookstores and through virtually any online outlet.
I had the opportunity to review the first version of Adam Korenman’s When the Stars Fade back in 2014, and when I was invited to read the California Coldblood edition, I jumped at the chance to see how the raw nugget of an excellent sci-fic epic had been honed. All of the potential that I saw in the original shines, and the plot is tightened to create a more digestible piece for readers to process and appreciate. The series has also been converted from a trilogy to a hexology, so the epic has room to breathe a little more and explore some plot points that were almost footnotes in the first version due to the sheer scope of the ambitious storyline.
On October 12, 2236, humanity found proof of other intelligent life in the universe in the most dramatic way possible: an alien invasion of the air space over Terra, a human colony. Humanity is thrown into a struggle between the Boxti, an insectoid alien race that exists only to enslave and incorporate other species into their empire, and the Nangolani, the epitome of SF movies’ littl,e grey men. The Federation Government also faces conflict from within, thanks to old resentments from the previous handling of the Mars colony. Plus, a scientist’s life mission may come to fruition only because of the new threat from the stars.
One of my major quibbles with the original version of When the Stars Fade was a lack of attachment or serious development of the immense cast. While there are still a huge number of characters presented in the new edition, Korenman worked to flesh out each individual enough to be distinct. While I still didn’t identify immediately with the various cast members, they stand out in my mind more clearly. These versions are much simpler to identify in my mind, and I’m definitely becoming a Josh fan!
The various storylines flow better with the pruned version, as well, since the core pieces have been polished and cut. The most essential parts are present with the extraneous bits gone. While I missed some of the drama from the military exercises on Kronos, the updated version is just as riveting. (I still would love to see a movie or TV version of the Kronos stuff at the very least.) Don’t get me wrong: When the Stars Fade is still an immense tale of epic proportions that hits upon many of the most beloved aspects of great sci-fi. I just found it easier to follow with the more concentrated plot and better defined cast.
I think that California Coldblood Books' version of When the Stars Fade will become one of those sci-fi stories that fans love and discuss long after the final pages have been turned. Korenman’s vision has been beautifully realized in a way that will reach anyone who loves space battles, alien encounters, dicey science experiments, and political intrigue. If you haven’t given it a try, I highly recommend it . . . you may just find a new favorite tale to stretch your imagination.
5 Mysterious Injections out of 5
When The Stars Fade is available in bookstores and through virtually any online outlet.
February 13, 2017
A strong first book in this series. Korenman does a fine job setting the stage in the 23rd century. Earth has prospered, colonized other planets, and, with a type of warp drive, pushed out into the galaxy. In the process of all these advancements, humanity maintains it's combative nature and experienced a Martian revolt. The revolt, put down a decade before, still sits poorly with many of the Martian fighters and our story includes the opening salvo of a strong counterstrike by the rebels.
In the midst of this, all-too-human drama, we are violently introduced to our first alien contact. Two opposing fleets bent on destroying one another appear near earth. Accidental hostile contact with one fleet ends with a de facto alliance with the other. From there the true combat begins.
Korenman manages to maintain the interest of the readers despite leap-frogging from one character to another. He does an admirable job describing both a "grunts" life on the battlefield as well as a fighter pilot at the stick, and a politician at the lectern. While doing a good job with the combatants... he lapses a bit when it comes to the internal "human" conflict with the Martian rebels. He doesn't provide enough of a backstory for us to understand why these soldiers would go through all the trouble of staging another uprising a full decade after the last one was crushed. Perhaps he gets to that in the sequels.
Anyhow, I thought it was a good read and would have no problem continuing with the series!
In the midst of this, all-too-human drama, we are violently introduced to our first alien contact. Two opposing fleets bent on destroying one another appear near earth. Accidental hostile contact with one fleet ends with a de facto alliance with the other. From there the true combat begins.
Korenman manages to maintain the interest of the readers despite leap-frogging from one character to another. He does an admirable job describing both a "grunts" life on the battlefield as well as a fighter pilot at the stick, and a politician at the lectern. While doing a good job with the combatants... he lapses a bit when it comes to the internal "human" conflict with the Martian rebels. He doesn't provide enough of a backstory for us to understand why these soldiers would go through all the trouble of staging another uprising a full decade after the last one was crushed. Perhaps he gets to that in the sequels.
Anyhow, I thought it was a good read and would have no problem continuing with the series!
January 6, 2014
Full disclosure: Adam's a friend of mine.
Adam draws on a lot of venerable sources for his crackling debut novel, including Heinlein and Card, but there's an unexpected influence that colors the proceedings: the detailed ass-kickery of the late Tom Clancy. If you've ever wanted to read a sci-fi riff on RED STORM RISING, pick up this book, a steal for $5.99 on Amazon. (I think he's holding a 99-cent special now. Highway robbery for such an rad read.)
Korenman, a soldier himself, writes about military culture with confidence and authority. There are shades of Ronald Moore's BATTLESTAR GALACTICA in here, too, with a pair of flyboys who get their mettle tested when a far more advanced species shows up on our doorstep spoiling for a fight. There's also a delightful storyline about a platoon of wargamers who get tapped for an experimental program that's part Steve Rogers Super Soldier, part ENDER'S GAME, and part STARSHIP TROOPERS. (Adam's take on the concept of power armor is one for the ages.) I've always loved stories about soldiers who have to make the transition from one mode of service to another, and in this storyline, Korenman ably captures the mental gymnastics required of a bunch of grunts who have to make a rapid transition to special forces. Awesome.
I could go on at length, and I will on CC2K, but there's invention on every page of this sprawling war epic. Highly recommended.
Adam draws on a lot of venerable sources for his crackling debut novel, including Heinlein and Card, but there's an unexpected influence that colors the proceedings: the detailed ass-kickery of the late Tom Clancy. If you've ever wanted to read a sci-fi riff on RED STORM RISING, pick up this book, a steal for $5.99 on Amazon. (I think he's holding a 99-cent special now. Highway robbery for such an rad read.)
Korenman, a soldier himself, writes about military culture with confidence and authority. There are shades of Ronald Moore's BATTLESTAR GALACTICA in here, too, with a pair of flyboys who get their mettle tested when a far more advanced species shows up on our doorstep spoiling for a fight. There's also a delightful storyline about a platoon of wargamers who get tapped for an experimental program that's part Steve Rogers Super Soldier, part ENDER'S GAME, and part STARSHIP TROOPERS. (Adam's take on the concept of power armor is one for the ages.) I've always loved stories about soldiers who have to make the transition from one mode of service to another, and in this storyline, Korenman ably captures the mental gymnastics required of a bunch of grunts who have to make a rapid transition to special forces. Awesome.
I could go on at length, and I will on CC2K, but there's invention on every page of this sprawling war epic. Highly recommended.
April 4, 2014
I give this one a 3 but it’s really in the 3.5 range. I picked this up on sale for 1.99 and I think that’s about where this one should be priced. At 5.99, I think the author needs to invest more back into the work compared to what is available from other authors. Several other established series I read come back less expensive then this first effort.
Detractors: If you are OCD and get hung up in things that a good proofreader/editor would clean up; this book is not for you. Several instances of double words, words flipped in sentences, and names are flipped. I also think in some cases the author could have done a better job in not naming characters so similar.
Positives: There is some good character development, you see progression throughout the book, and as a desperate battle progresses, you see the toll paid by the characters. The tech is future advanced and the author doesn’t try to explain how it works, just that it does, and moves along. Several eBooks I’ve read where the author wants to play scientist and justify the tech working.
Neutral: The Red Hammer chapters should have been expanded. That plot feels crammed in when it could have been left out completely to focus on the non Earth plots or should have been greatly expanded upon as I felt it was far too lightly touched on given the events taking place.
The author has room for revision on this book and plenty of source material to expand on into the next books of the series.
Detractors: If you are OCD and get hung up in things that a good proofreader/editor would clean up; this book is not for you. Several instances of double words, words flipped in sentences, and names are flipped. I also think in some cases the author could have done a better job in not naming characters so similar.
Positives: There is some good character development, you see progression throughout the book, and as a desperate battle progresses, you see the toll paid by the characters. The tech is future advanced and the author doesn’t try to explain how it works, just that it does, and moves along. Several eBooks I’ve read where the author wants to play scientist and justify the tech working.
Neutral: The Red Hammer chapters should have been expanded. That plot feels crammed in when it could have been left out completely to focus on the non Earth plots or should have been greatly expanded upon as I felt it was far too lightly touched on given the events taking place.
The author has room for revision on this book and plenty of source material to expand on into the next books of the series.
February 2, 2016
This rollicking scifi epic starts a touch scattered but ends strong; I'd recommend it to any fan of military science fiction who wants to experience the work of a skilled first time novelist bursting with ideas.
Set in a star spanning human empire, 'When the Stars Fade' follows a well written cast of characters prosecuting an unexpected three part alien war while guerilla action on earth threatens the future of the human government. The prose skips from climactic space battles to political intrigue to a dirty, brutal ground war between underequipped trainees and a polyglot horde of dozens of alien species. Personally, I thought Korenman was at his best when immersed in the 'grunt's eye' view of the action and I hope future books in the series will feature more of this.
As I mentioned, the plot take some time to get going and -at times- I felt a little distracted by the number of viewpoint characters/narrative threads but overall I recommend the book and am looking forward to reading the sequel(s).
Set in a star spanning human empire, 'When the Stars Fade' follows a well written cast of characters prosecuting an unexpected three part alien war while guerilla action on earth threatens the future of the human government. The prose skips from climactic space battles to political intrigue to a dirty, brutal ground war between underequipped trainees and a polyglot horde of dozens of alien species. Personally, I thought Korenman was at his best when immersed in the 'grunt's eye' view of the action and I hope future books in the series will feature more of this.
As I mentioned, the plot take some time to get going and -at times- I felt a little distracted by the number of viewpoint characters/narrative threads but overall I recommend the book and am looking forward to reading the sequel(s).
February 6, 2017
Excellently crafted! Korenman creates a future for humanity that is rich in detail and depth. The action sequences, of which there are many, are vividly described so that the reader gets an upfront view of all the carnage. Although I am versed in multiple character viewpoints storytelling, I did still find the combination of intense action and intense change in narrator to be tiring at times. Sometimes just because I wanted to know what happened to Josh or Cameron, and I didn't want to wait to read through some other guy's perspective. Overall, I loved the book, and I am eager to read the next installment! This book definitely leaves you wanting more.
June 20, 2014
So, I have mixed feelings about this book - overall I liked it and want to see the next part. Humanity meets an alien race; in fact, it meets two that are at war. The plot develops well, and I almost like the characters [well, those that survive all the way to the end of the book , that is :-(]. I didn't see that much "bad physics" (it is sci fi after all), but I thought some passages are not connected to the main plot and serve no useful purpose in the book.
But I AM looking forward for the sequence since many plot lines are unfinished.
But I AM looking forward for the sequence since many plot lines are unfinished.
April 5, 2014
The Gray Wars.....
A beleaguered Earth, an ally that have their own internal issues, an enemy that appears unstoppable and a maniacal human insurgent who doesn't care how much of mankind he kills in order to achieve power.
When The Stars Fade is a military interstellar action blockbuster that seldom pauses from ground battles to fleets fighting a genocidal enemy. The few pauses intertwine attempts political intrigue and treachery with attempts at protecting mankind from extinction. A tense, suspenseful read......pick it up, you will put it down with great difficulty.
A beleaguered Earth, an ally that have their own internal issues, an enemy that appears unstoppable and a maniacal human insurgent who doesn't care how much of mankind he kills in order to achieve power.
When The Stars Fade is a military interstellar action blockbuster that seldom pauses from ground battles to fleets fighting a genocidal enemy. The few pauses intertwine attempts political intrigue and treachery with attempts at protecting mankind from extinction. A tense, suspenseful read......pick it up, you will put it down with great difficulty.
November 30, 2016
Good story, but
The author needs to review what he learned in English classes or find a better editor. There are more than the usual errors. Some words are not even used correctly in the sentence. All that being said, the storyline was thoughtfully expressed.
I do plan to purchase the next book in this series. I'm pretty much hooked on the story. I will just hope the writer at least opens a dictionary and uses the correct word. Three stars for errors, not the story.
The author needs to review what he learned in English classes or find a better editor. There are more than the usual errors. Some words are not even used correctly in the sentence. All that being said, the storyline was thoughtfully expressed.
I do plan to purchase the next book in this series. I'm pretty much hooked on the story. I will just hope the writer at least opens a dictionary and uses the correct word. Three stars for errors, not the story.
August 2, 2016
Reminded me of the Halo book series based on the video game. A well developed interwoven story line with awesome attention to detail around the military aspects. Technology level was believable. Character development was nicely done and believable. Overall I would say an excellent story and look forward to the next book!
October 1, 2014
Good read
The story is exciting and I would recommend to anyone who likes war stories. Earth battles the aliens and finds a friendly race from the stars that has been visiting us for hundreds of years. Lots of twists.
The story is exciting and I would recommend to anyone who likes war stories. Earth battles the aliens and finds a friendly race from the stars that has been visiting us for hundreds of years. Lots of twists.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews