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Tour of the Merrimack #6
The Twice and Future Caesar
The U.S.S. Merrimack space battleship was on the galaxy’s edge, patrolling the Perseid arm. Rumor said it had become home to an underground subversive faction of the Roman Empire—the followers of Romulus. The United States was not an ally of Rome, favoring neither Caesar Numa nor the fallen Romulus, who had declared war on the U.S. two years ago and caused great devastation before his defeat. Then the Merrimack suffered an unprovoked attack by what seemed to be a Roman ship. Was it an unexpected move by Numa, or the opening salvo by the forces of Romulus?
The Twice and Future Caesar is the sixth installment of the hard-hitting military science fiction series set in a future when Earth's Terran Empire and the Roman Palatine Empire vie for control of the galaxy.
The Twice and Future Caesar is the sixth installment of the hard-hitting military science fiction series set in a future when Earth's Terran Empire and the Roman Palatine Empire vie for control of the galaxy.
362 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 4, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
March 10, 2022
The concluding volume to the series is apt, bringing the series full circle. In the first installment The Myriad, the ending has a surprising twist. Basically, the Myriad, via wormholes that distorted time, were/are a civilization from 10 billion years ago. They did have primitive space travel (e.g., no FTL) and were able to access the wormholes, which brought them into our timeline. Meanwhile, (again, first volume), the Roman empire lost most of its military assets to the Hive and formed an alliance with the USA to defend humanity. John Farragut and the Merrimack headed out to the Deep to find the origin of the Hive; along the way, they discovered the Myriad.
At the end of the book, with the Hive advancing on the Myriad, a small ship was sent from Myriad to their homeworld (now a dead planet for billions of years, but the wormhole takes you back 10 billion years to when it still thrived) to warn them of the Hive. Farragut tried to stop it, worried that that such an event might change history/evoke an alternative time line. The small ship got through and yes, things did change. This 'new' time line constituted the next 4 volumes in the series. The Twice and Future Caesar however takes another one. In this time line, the megalomaniac Romulus, the son of Caesar, who succumbed to nanites that made him see his dead father (he basically killed him), and who made a bid for becoming Caesar, is secreted off by his followers and they attempt to cure him. They do, in away, by making him a patterner. He, and his loyal pirates from the last book, devise a scheme to travel through the wormhole around Myriad to go back in time; not 10 billion years, but just 5 or so. The goal-- prevent the mistakes that lead to his downfall.
Ok, lots of time paradoxes here, and Meluch made me scratch my head a few times. In any case, the story line reverts back to the ending of the first volume, but this time, the small ship does not get through. So, we are back to the original time line but this time with the megalomaniac Romulus 'knowing' about what will happen and hoping to change the outcome. Yet, what he knows is really from the other timeline, which is not quite the same as this one...
I thought this read like an encore of sorts. The Roman patterner Augustus is still alive and aboard the Merrimack, and Calli is still the XO. Some of the marines from the first volume are now alive again, and some not. The taboo love affair between Kelly Blue and her CO is still hanging and the Hive is still causing serious problems everywhere. So Meluch decided to end the series as something of a homage to the series as a whole via a nifty time paradox. I really loved this aspect. Unfortunately, her pacing is way off with this one, going from bat out hell crazy to the rather mundane and slow; rinse and repeat. Yes, this one brings some closure to the series (but not too much-- there is room for another sequel) and revisits some of the main characters once again. Rather melancholy really, but if you have got this far in the series, this one is a must 3.5 stars, rounding down.
At the end of the book, with the Hive advancing on the Myriad, a small ship was sent from Myriad to their homeworld (now a dead planet for billions of years, but the wormhole takes you back 10 billion years to when it still thrived) to warn them of the Hive. Farragut tried to stop it, worried that that such an event might change history/evoke an alternative time line. The small ship got through and yes, things did change. This 'new' time line constituted the next 4 volumes in the series. The Twice and Future Caesar however takes another one. In this time line, the megalomaniac Romulus, the son of Caesar, who succumbed to nanites that made him see his dead father (he basically killed him), and who made a bid for becoming Caesar, is secreted off by his followers and they attempt to cure him. They do, in away, by making him a patterner. He, and his loyal pirates from the last book, devise a scheme to travel through the wormhole around Myriad to go back in time; not 10 billion years, but just 5 or so. The goal-- prevent the mistakes that lead to his downfall.
Ok, lots of time paradoxes here, and Meluch made me scratch my head a few times. In any case, the story line reverts back to the ending of the first volume, but this time, the small ship does not get through. So, we are back to the original time line but this time with the megalomaniac Romulus 'knowing' about what will happen and hoping to change the outcome. Yet, what he knows is really from the other timeline, which is not quite the same as this one...
I thought this read like an encore of sorts. The Roman patterner Augustus is still alive and aboard the Merrimack, and Calli is still the XO. Some of the marines from the first volume are now alive again, and some not. The taboo love affair between Kelly Blue and her CO is still hanging and the Hive is still causing serious problems everywhere. So Meluch decided to end the series as something of a homage to the series as a whole via a nifty time paradox. I really loved this aspect. Unfortunately, her pacing is way off with this one, going from bat out hell crazy to the rather mundane and slow; rinse and repeat. Yes, this one brings some closure to the series (but not too much-- there is room for another sequel) and revisits some of the main characters once again. Rather melancholy really, but if you have got this far in the series, this one is a must 3.5 stars, rounding down.
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August 12, 2015I think it is fair to say that if you enjoy the others in this series, there's a good chance you'll enjoy this, even if your recognize some of Meluch's favorite oft-repeated tics. I would definitely say, do not begin the series with this book. Even though Meluch took care to furnish bits of background, I don't think any of the emotional freight was conveyed through those bits.
Basically it's more space opera pitting the US space empire against the Roman (which has split) and the gorgons are back. In the very first pages, we get a reprise of a critical situation in the very first book, that led to a breathtakingly amazing moment. Well, it turns out we're not done with that moment; the image of a moebius turns up more than once.
As always, I pretty much banged my way through, glued to the pages, until the end. A couple of disappointments but maybe such things will be addressed in future books. Meanwhile one of my favorite characters is back, and I'll be interested to see what happens with Numa.
Basically it's more space opera pitting the US space empire against the Roman (which has split) and the gorgons are back. In the very first pages, we get a reprise of a critical situation in the very first book, that led to a breathtakingly amazing moment. Well, it turns out we're not done with that moment; the image of a moebius turns up more than once.
As always, I pretty much banged my way through, glued to the pages, until the end. A couple of disappointments but maybe such things will be addressed in future books. Meanwhile one of my favorite characters is back, and I'll be interested to see what happens with Numa.
March 6, 2019
Simultaneously infuriating and entertaining. The book lost at least one star for the endless rehashing of Kerry Blue's charms alone.
November 8, 2015
Fun, well-written military space opera. A spacefaring Roman Empire vs. the Good ol’ U.S. of A., with enough arrogance and rhetoric between them to fill the galaxy. The hive aliens don’t stand a chance, really.
This sixth book jumps in with both feet, and I’m not sure it would make any sense to someone who hasn’t read the rest of the series. It’s nearly as much fun as the earlier books, and has many of the same strengths and weaknesses.
Romulus has been resurrected, stronger and crazier than ever, and he decides he wants a do-over. He has his eye on a little incident with the Merrimack and a wormhole, that happened at the very end of the first book….
If you were as fascinated by that ending as I was, then this book will be of particular interest to you.
Problems: Romulus is still a ridiculous, improbable villain. Everything to do with Kerry Blue is still absolutely cringe-inducing. I still don’t like any of the plots concerning John Farragut’s little brother’s wild overreaction to his overbearing family.
But there was plenty that I enjoyed. Nice action scenes, and you have to love a space ship which has working dogs aboard. Some beloved characters have returned to the forefront.
This made me want to go back re-read the first book. Maybe the second one, too.
This sixth book jumps in with both feet, and I’m not sure it would make any sense to someone who hasn’t read the rest of the series. It’s nearly as much fun as the earlier books, and has many of the same strengths and weaknesses.
Romulus has been resurrected, stronger and crazier than ever, and he decides he wants a do-over. He has his eye on a little incident with the Merrimack and a wormhole, that happened at the very end of the first book….
If you were as fascinated by that ending as I was, then this book will be of particular interest to you.
Problems: Romulus is still a ridiculous, improbable villain. Everything to do with Kerry Blue is still absolutely cringe-inducing. I still don’t like any of the plots concerning John Farragut’s little brother’s wild overreaction to his overbearing family.
But there was plenty that I enjoyed. Nice action scenes, and you have to love a space ship which has working dogs aboard. Some beloved characters have returned to the forefront.
This made me want to go back re-read the first book. Maybe the second one, too.
September 19, 2015
Ms. Meluch uses the term Mobius strip to characterize her Merrimack novels; more accurately that should read "a whole basketful of Mobius strips". Timelines twist and change and diverge and history rarely, sometimes, repeats itself. The tangles can get so mind-bending, you just have to stop trying to figure out who did what to whom in which timeline and just enjoy the damn story.
The characters are what drives Meluch's fiction. Farragut, Steele, Kerry Blue...all these are people you root for and love to see tormented by their internal and external demons. In "The Twice and Future Caesar" she changes the timeline again, and plotlines you thought were resolved are now unresolved, and vice versa, which makes for a fresh read, charged with suspense. If you've followed the series, you'll understand how much things have changed; someone dropping in at this novel to start their Meluch journey won't have a clue that things are different now. And that doesn't matter, because TTAFC is a rollicking good read.
If I had to quibble, I would say the characters felt a little flat this time (except for Kerry Blue, who's always a treat) and the resolution happened very quickly toward the very end. It didn't have quite the same impact as others in the series.
Having said that, I wholly recommend the book to anyone, either a Merrimack fan or someone just starting the tour.
The characters are what drives Meluch's fiction. Farragut, Steele, Kerry Blue...all these are people you root for and love to see tormented by their internal and external demons. In "The Twice and Future Caesar" she changes the timeline again, and plotlines you thought were resolved are now unresolved, and vice versa, which makes for a fresh read, charged with suspense. If you've followed the series, you'll understand how much things have changed; someone dropping in at this novel to start their Meluch journey won't have a clue that things are different now. And that doesn't matter, because TTAFC is a rollicking good read.
If I had to quibble, I would say the characters felt a little flat this time (except for Kerry Blue, who's always a treat) and the resolution happened very quickly toward the very end. It didn't have quite the same impact as others in the series.
Having said that, I wholly recommend the book to anyone, either a Merrimack fan or someone just starting the tour.
February 21, 2018
I practically binged on the first five books in this series and then I waited many months to finally pick this one up. I knew I would enjoy it, but... it was last book phobia setting in. I anticipate and want the story, but at the same time, once I've read it, I have to say good-bye to a well-liked series. #ReaderProblems
So yes, The Twice and Future Caesar is the sixth and final book of the Tour of the Merrimack military space opera series. It is set a few centuries into the future and has an alternate history where the Roman Empire never fell, but merely submersed until it had regained enough might to compete with the US for supremacy of the galaxy.
This final book explored time travel and the paradox of what happens when a person leaps through time and thus, alters history. Twice and Future Caesar begins with a prologue which reminds the reader of events that took place at the very end of book one- when a traveler through a time wormhole started a parallel time for everyone and no one realizes that history was on a different path until that moment. But, somehow, a once Caesar Romulus whom his followers manage to steal his comatose body and revive him, learns of this wormhole anomaly and he decides to go back and change history so that he doesn't get destroyed, his lover Claudia is not dead, and he gets Rome and defeats the US.
The rest of the book becomes a retelling of the keypoints that occur in books two through five just within a new parallel time and interesting alterations in the past because of what having Romulus make his leap in the future caused.
I think I could have kissed the evil, crazy megalomaniac Romulus for doing this if for no other reason than he gave me more of the sneering brilliant Roman, Augustus, and John Farragut as captain again fighting the alien flesh eating aliens, conspiring Romans, and all the gang on Merrimack brought back together. Another thing I liked, though still wouldn't claim to love, was that in this parallel time, Captain John Farragut's prodigal brother, Nox, still resents his brother and envies his fame, and yes, makes choices that are heartbreaking, but in this time, he is very young and falls under the manipulations of a clever man out for his own ends. I felt pity more than exasperation with Nox and he pays for his choices in an appropriate way.
Things get dire and exciting. Lots of fighting and action, some relationships built or furthered along. There is the tension and back and forth between the US and Rome, but also civil war within Rome between Caesar Numa and the challenger Romulus. It was a great way to finish out the series though, my one niggle, was that in the end, I wanted more of a wrap up for the fall out from the last great confrontation and battle. Maybe it was meant to leave the door open for the possibility of more, I don't know. At least the main threads were addressed.
The narrator, John Glouchevitch, was stellar as he has been all along with this series. I'm pretty sure that he made a decent sci-fi series even better and helped me picture the characters, the plot, and the setting so much more intensely and vitally.
All in all, I am sad to be done with the series. I will likely revisit the series because I enjoyed it so much and I can heartily recommend it to military space opera lovers who enjoy colorful characters and exciting fight action.
My thanks to Brilliance Audio for the opportunity to listen to this book in exchange for an honest review.
So yes, The Twice and Future Caesar is the sixth and final book of the Tour of the Merrimack military space opera series. It is set a few centuries into the future and has an alternate history where the Roman Empire never fell, but merely submersed until it had regained enough might to compete with the US for supremacy of the galaxy.
This final book explored time travel and the paradox of what happens when a person leaps through time and thus, alters history. Twice and Future Caesar begins with a prologue which reminds the reader of events that took place at the very end of book one- when a traveler through a time wormhole started a parallel time for everyone and no one realizes that history was on a different path until that moment. But, somehow, a once Caesar Romulus whom his followers manage to steal his comatose body and revive him, learns of this wormhole anomaly and he decides to go back and change history so that he doesn't get destroyed, his lover Claudia is not dead, and he gets Rome and defeats the US.
The rest of the book becomes a retelling of the keypoints that occur in books two through five just within a new parallel time and interesting alterations in the past because of what having Romulus make his leap in the future caused.
I think I could have kissed the evil, crazy megalomaniac Romulus for doing this if for no other reason than he gave me more of the sneering brilliant Roman, Augustus, and John Farragut as captain again fighting the alien flesh eating aliens, conspiring Romans, and all the gang on Merrimack brought back together. Another thing I liked, though still wouldn't claim to love, was that in this parallel time, Captain John Farragut's prodigal brother, Nox, still resents his brother and envies his fame, and yes, makes choices that are heartbreaking, but in this time, he is very young and falls under the manipulations of a clever man out for his own ends. I felt pity more than exasperation with Nox and he pays for his choices in an appropriate way.
Things get dire and exciting. Lots of fighting and action, some relationships built or furthered along. There is the tension and back and forth between the US and Rome, but also civil war within Rome between Caesar Numa and the challenger Romulus. It was a great way to finish out the series though, my one niggle, was that in the end, I wanted more of a wrap up for the fall out from the last great confrontation and battle. Maybe it was meant to leave the door open for the possibility of more, I don't know. At least the main threads were addressed.
The narrator, John Glouchevitch, was stellar as he has been all along with this series. I'm pretty sure that he made a decent sci-fi series even better and helped me picture the characters, the plot, and the setting so much more intensely and vitally.
All in all, I am sad to be done with the series. I will likely revisit the series because I enjoyed it so much and I can heartily recommend it to military space opera lovers who enjoy colorful characters and exciting fight action.
My thanks to Brilliance Audio for the opportunity to listen to this book in exchange for an honest review.
September 10, 2018
I really enjoyed this book. It makes me want to go back and read the previous books in the series. Playing with time is a very interesting way to write a sequel.
It had been a while since I read a good hard science fiction novel. Science fiction is my first reading love. At about 15, I wanted to participate in dinner time conversation with my older sister and parents, so I started reading what they did-- lots of SF and fantasy. It changed my life; made me feel a little nerdy and smart. I started acting smart and actually did my homework. It also got me to take more science and math classes which was so good for my brain development and future.
It was great fun to be reminded how much I love this kind of book. I definitely prefer it over ordinary modern fiction.
It had been a while since I read a good hard science fiction novel. Science fiction is my first reading love. At about 15, I wanted to participate in dinner time conversation with my older sister and parents, so I started reading what they did-- lots of SF and fantasy. It changed my life; made me feel a little nerdy and smart. I started acting smart and actually did my homework. It also got me to take more science and math classes which was so good for my brain development and future.
It was great fun to be reminded how much I love this kind of book. I definitely prefer it over ordinary modern fiction.
April 17, 2017
The way they beat Romulus in the end was pretty freakin' stupid and ridiculous. The way they got the harmonic was pretty stupid too. Ah well. I wonder if this is the actual final book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 22, 2023
Twice and Future Caesar is interesting in that, like its predecessors, it is a page turner and you can't help but be drawn into the story. Yet, despite this, by the time the last page is turned I am left feeling the whole thing was rather unnecessary. The story concluded much more properly back with Strength and Honor, the last two books of the series feel like an unnecessary cash grab. This book is certainly an improvement on The Ninth Circle, which felt rather void and pointless, but ultimately the book's greatest weakness is that it didn't need to be written in the first place.
The strength of the novel will be obvious to anyone who has read the rest of the series. Meluch excels at creating a compulsively readable world with a story filled with twists and turns as well as memorable characters - and memorable characters in science fiction are so rare as to be almost an oxymoron. The villain of the story, Romulus, is one of the most detestable, vile, and infuriating antagonists I remember coming across, and about 80% of the statement is meant as a compliment. He really is the type of villain a reader loves to hate, but at times it does feel like his plans succeed merely because the story requires it rather than flowing from any internally consistent logic.
I appreciate, conceptually, the appeal of bringing the larger story back to where it began at the Myriad. Without giving too much away, however, the way it was done, has real problems from a storytelling perspective if you've read and cared about the books written after The Myriad. What may seem like a masterstroke on a white board can result in something alienating to a fan.
Despite its flaws I enjoyed reading it and would recommend it. It was great to see Captain Farragut and Augusts swap insults again, it was fun seeing more battles and schemes, even if the book never quite gives the story the conclusion the reader probably wanted or deserved. If you enjoyed the other books in the series you owe it to yourself to pick this one up, just be prepared that things are, for better or worse, a little different this time out.
The strength of the novel will be obvious to anyone who has read the rest of the series. Meluch excels at creating a compulsively readable world with a story filled with twists and turns as well as memorable characters - and memorable characters in science fiction are so rare as to be almost an oxymoron. The villain of the story, Romulus, is one of the most detestable, vile, and infuriating antagonists I remember coming across, and about 80% of the statement is meant as a compliment. He really is the type of villain a reader loves to hate, but at times it does feel like his plans succeed merely because the story requires it rather than flowing from any internally consistent logic.
I appreciate, conceptually, the appeal of bringing the larger story back to where it began at the Myriad. Without giving too much away, however, the way it was done, has real problems from a storytelling perspective if you've read and cared about the books written after The Myriad. What may seem like a masterstroke on a white board can result in something alienating to a fan.
Despite its flaws I enjoyed reading it and would recommend it. It was great to see Captain Farragut and Augusts swap insults again, it was fun seeing more battles and schemes, even if the book never quite gives the story the conclusion the reader probably wanted or deserved. If you enjoyed the other books in the series you owe it to yourself to pick this one up, just be prepared that things are, for better or worse, a little different this time out.
April 30, 2019
I picked this book up for $1 at a Dollar Tree. I don't know what to think. I admit I haven't read any of the other books in the series, so I'm not sure, beyond the brief and ludicrous explanation in this book, why there seems to be a Roman Empire and a United States of America in space. The sad attempts at Latin are really terrible -there may be fewer than a thousand of us in this world with any real fluency in Latin, but even a Latin student should have been able to correct the problems here. Anyway, there is some very good writing, and some interesting ideas, but . . . well . . . to quote the review of Wealhtheow on Goodreads: "Simultaneously infuriating and entertaining. The book lost at least one star for the endless rehashing of Kerry Blue's charms alone." Seriously. What is with the endless attempts to eroticize and romanticize the character of Kerry Blue . . . badly . . . ?
July 6, 2025
Definitely an interesting book. Other reviewers have mentioned the kind of stilted writing style. It was a little hard at first, but it really became part of the style of the book quickly and became part of the charm. The story moves FAST, and it changes direction several times in seemingly opposite directions. While I didn't love it, I did like it and found that I was surprisingly invested into several of the characters and found it very easy to love the "good guys" and hate the villains and to get worked up some at the overwhelming odds being thrown at them. (That said, it did wrap up VERY quickly albiet fairly cleanly). Tempted to read others in the series (since this is the 6th), but it does stand on its own, but they are pretty hard to find without buying them online which I don't think I'll do.
March 31, 2021
We wrap back around to the issue of divergent timelines that was created back in the first novel. A satisfying continuation. More, please...
January 14, 2023
I *really* like how this book split everything apart and tied it together.
August 5, 2023
Struggled through the first quarter or so, and it all just seemed wooden and rote. Couldn’t get into it, DNF.
March 25, 2025
A quick and fun read, not completely fucked by time travel nonsense.
March 12, 2017
It was confusing, disheartening and dark- but I did enjoy it once I got to the end! I love Meluch's books. I wish she could publish more often, she leaves me wanting. I would definitely NOT start the series with this book but it is a must read.
August 25, 2016
There are books that stretch out your mind, that make you see things in an empathetic fashion, and engage your imagination. These books can be compared to a fine meal, each course meant to engage your senses.
But occasionally you just want a Big Mac®. An unwholesome, albeit tasty sandwich, with questionable 'cheese' slices, re-hydrated onion bits, shredded iceberg lettuce, dripping with special sauce. With fries. And a Coke®. Super Sized®.
The Merrimack series has everything you want from grand, pulpy space adventure; A kick-ass space battleship, a charismatic Captain from middle America, fighter flying space marines with swords, an adversarial empire that is Rome reborn, its Caesar a half mad, sister loving narcissist. A race of insectiod aliens whom are driven by subspace signals to find, and consume, everything that is edible (which is, mostly, everything).
Add an embedded Roman intelligence officer with a problematic hardware/software upgrade. And time travel. And alternate dimensions, as well as some semi plausible 'treknobabble'...
Freshman level sex humor. Essentially, Star Trek, written by Edmond Hamilton, if he were a post-pubescent teen.
Former Caesar Romulus, who was believed comatose and whose body under detainment by the current Caesar, Numa, has been revived & liberated by loyalists. Romulus, wishing to revive his dead sister, as well as the glory that was his rule, sees his only option is to take an advanced stealth craft, and enter a wormhole that brings him back in time four years, in which his former self is still alive, as well as his sister.
Of course, every thing that has happened to the other characters has been, rebooted. Again. For the third time in this series that spans ten years. Another scene invokes a pivotal moment from the first Chris Pine 'Star Trek' reboot...
In Rebecca M. Meluch defense, I've really missed Augustus.
I will consume these books in a matter of days, two or three, given my druthers.
A different kind of satisfying, but satisfying nonetheless. F-U-N, with a capital 'F'...
Unapologetically, The tales of the space battleship "Merrimack" will remain on my shelves, and will probably bear multiple re-readings.
But occasionally you just want a Big Mac®. An unwholesome, albeit tasty sandwich, with questionable 'cheese' slices, re-hydrated onion bits, shredded iceberg lettuce, dripping with special sauce. With fries. And a Coke®. Super Sized®.
The Merrimack series has everything you want from grand, pulpy space adventure; A kick-ass space battleship, a charismatic Captain from middle America, fighter flying space marines with swords, an adversarial empire that is Rome reborn, its Caesar a half mad, sister loving narcissist. A race of insectiod aliens whom are driven by subspace signals to find, and consume, everything that is edible (which is, mostly, everything).
Add an embedded Roman intelligence officer with a problematic hardware/software upgrade. And time travel. And alternate dimensions, as well as some semi plausible 'treknobabble'...
Freshman level sex humor. Essentially, Star Trek, written by Edmond Hamilton, if he were a post-pubescent teen.
Former Caesar Romulus, who was believed comatose and whose body under detainment by the current Caesar, Numa, has been revived & liberated by loyalists. Romulus, wishing to revive his dead sister, as well as the glory that was his rule, sees his only option is to take an advanced stealth craft, and enter a wormhole that brings him back in time four years, in which his former self is still alive, as well as his sister.
Of course, every thing that has happened to the other characters has been, rebooted. Again. For the third time in this series that spans ten years. Another scene invokes a pivotal moment from the first Chris Pine 'Star Trek' reboot...
In Rebecca M. Meluch defense, I've really missed Augustus.
I will consume these books in a matter of days, two or three, given my druthers.
A different kind of satisfying, but satisfying nonetheless. F-U-N, with a capital 'F'...
Unapologetically, The tales of the space battleship "Merrimack" will remain on my shelves, and will probably bear multiple re-readings.
October 7, 2016
The end (to my knowledge) of the Tour of the Merrimack series delivered on most counts. Meluch's strength has never been the science in science fiction, but she can, and does, create engaging characters and who often deliver sharp, witty dialogue between said characters.
Having read one of Meluch's non-series books I spotted her tendency towards certain tropes. A little gray when looking at her "villians", a bad boy we're supposed to root for and like (shades of Desslar and Char Aznable), and a fast paced tale. I decided if she's going to repeat her writing, I'd stick with the series where I first discovered her because of how much I enjoy the characters.
And spoilers (spoiler space coming
Meluch hits the cosmic reset button again via the use of time travel. Romulus goes back five years in time to try to save Claudia and take over the Roman Empire before it ends up submitting to U.S. subjugation (more of a rite of surrender than an actual battle). To do this he uses his knowledge of the future and brings the Hive in to destroy worlds, including the Earth.
But, this is hitting the reset button as created an alternate timeline/universe per the patterener Augustus. Yes, the time travel brings back Augustus and his exchanges with Captain John Farragut. Hell, this was some of my favorite stuff in the first book (in particular) so yes its a cheat, but Yea!
Daring do, Marine battles on Earth, on board ship, and in Marine fighters in the skies of Earth and in space. Romulus is certainly insane, and Meluch does a decent job of showing it.
Meluch leaves just enough plot threads hanging for the series to continue if the publisher wishes to.
Having read one of Meluch's non-series books I spotted her tendency towards certain tropes. A little gray when looking at her "villians", a bad boy we're supposed to root for and like (shades of Desslar and Char Aznable), and a fast paced tale. I decided if she's going to repeat her writing, I'd stick with the series where I first discovered her because of how much I enjoy the characters.
And spoilers (spoiler space coming
Meluch hits the cosmic reset button again via the use of time travel. Romulus goes back five years in time to try to save Claudia and take over the Roman Empire before it ends up submitting to U.S. subjugation (more of a rite of surrender than an actual battle). To do this he uses his knowledge of the future and brings the Hive in to destroy worlds, including the Earth.
But, this is hitting the reset button as created an alternate timeline/universe per the patterener Augustus. Yes, the time travel brings back Augustus and his exchanges with Captain John Farragut. Hell, this was some of my favorite stuff in the first book (in particular) so yes its a cheat, but Yea!
Daring do, Marine battles on Earth, on board ship, and in Marine fighters in the skies of Earth and in space. Romulus is certainly insane, and Meluch does a decent job of showing it.
Meluch leaves just enough plot threads hanging for the series to continue if the publisher wishes to.
April 17, 2016
So back again with time travel. In fact the author has reset the universe back to the way things were at the start of the series. All of the character growth has reset and this time things might not work out the way they did before for good or ill. That should bother me but the fact that it was done by the VILLAIN keeps it from being detrimental. In fact it sets the stakes as the villain tries to rewrite history and succeeds throughout most of the novel.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 9, 2016
another view on time travel ripples, arrogance defeating itself, and great action drives the Merrimack across the arms of the known world, fighting Romulus and the Hive. Interesting how time ripples affect the most malleable, human emotions and how that plays out.
November 13, 2015
Another 'fun' installment of the Tour, folding back on itself in a time travel/parallel universe sort of way.
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