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Apex #1
Apex
An epic space adventure, Aer-ki Jyr’s Apex is a breathless race to the ultimate prize, with the very fate of the stars hanging in the balance.A new dawn is coming . . .It’s been eons since Humans controlled the universe. Defeated by a mysterious enemy, the downfall of Humanity brought about a virtual dark age. Culture and technology stagnated in their absence. But now, trade is once again flourishing as Human artifacts resurface throughout the galaxy, resurrecting long forgotten advancements.And one such discovery might very well alter the course of the future forever.From the author of the epic Star Force Origin series, Aer-ki Jyr’s impressive galactic world-building is on full display in this stand-alone space opera adventure reminiscent of Ryk Brown, Christopher Nuttall, B.V. Larson, and Evan Currie.
329 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 5, 2013
49 people are currently reading
397 people want to read
About the author
Aer-ki Jyr
241 books264 followersAer-ki Jyr is one of the top 20 science fiction authors on Amazon due to his extremely long and ongoing space opera epic STAR FORCE, one of the longest military science fiction series ever written.
Check out his website and forum at www.aerkijyr.com
Check out his website and forum at www.aerkijyr.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
August 19, 2016
Juvenile sci-fi full of what I have no doubt is projection from the author. It reads as a full on circle jerk for humanity and presents a teenagers view on relationships and women. The overall world is interesting enough but the writers bland technical writing style brings nothing to it. This book presents the only human as incredibly intelligent, powerful, the only hope for the galaxy, attractive to every alien species, witty, and so on and so forth as the author builds up this being too be everything they likely are not. Someone else could do far better writing this same universe. Due to the technical and inanely straightforward writing style that permeates through to every single overly logical thinking character this was fortunately easy to blaze through. Not recommended.
March 27, 2015
*Disclaimer - I'm a Harper Voyager Super Reader, which means that I am occasionally given early access to books for reviewing purposes. I'm not compensated in any way, other than the pleasure of reading stuff that the general public hasn't been given access to yet.*
It’s been eons since humans controlled the universe. Defeated by a mysterious enemy, the downfall of humanity brought about a virtual dark age, with culture and technology stagnating in its absence. But now, trade is once again flourishing as human artifacts resurface throughout the galaxy, resurrecting long forgotten advancements.
And one such discovery might very well alter the course of the future forever.
Apex is set in the far far far far faaaaaaaar intergalactic future, to when humans are now extinct and beings whom we’d consider aliens are the sole inhabitants.
The novel opens from the POV of a female alien by the name of Jalia, whom I liked a lot. She’s spunky (but not overly so), independent, and sensible. She was my favorite character throughout the book, and I wish the author would have spent more time with her. Jalia is a Junta, (no not a military coup) a species which I'm guessing is bipedal and has a tail at her bottom as well as tails on her head (instead of hair).
I'm not going to lie, the details were hard to conceptualize. The aliens, the technology, the spaceships, etc. It was all difficult to follow in the beginning. For example, in the first few paragraphs it isn’t obvious that Jalia is an alien until notice that she's described as petite and red-skinned, and then you get to her fleshy tail... similarly I experienced some confusion as to what a Junta is lots of explaining which dragged but clearly was necessary (i.e. wtf is a “headtail”). Otherwise, I really enjoyed the 1st quarter of the story. We are introduced to the "world", that there is intergalactic travel, Jalia is captain of a freighter ship and she carries stuff around for merchants. She is an oddity, in that most Junta don't leave their planet and if they do leave it's because they are either servants or sexual slaves. We get to meet some other aliens, and explore the space ferry that Jalia and her ship are on. Then the action picks up, there's fighting and that's when Jalia runs into the Cres (another alien species) and their human "artifact".
Now, this human artifact is a really big deal. Apparently, up until about 16,000 years ago Human beings were THE dominant species of the entire galaxy. They had the best technology, the best weapons, the best ships, and essentially policed the galaxy. Everyone deferred to them because they were so superior in every way. Until a mysterious enemy appeared, warred with the humans and killed them all off. Once the humans and their awesome technology and authority were gone, the galaxy descended into a kind of dark ages with lots of infighting among the various species and collapse of civilization. No other species was as advanced as the humans, so now everyone goes nuts over human findings because even the smallest bit of technology is a HUGE advantage over everyone else.
This is where the Cres come in. They had found some human artifacts on a planet, and word got out so now mercenary groups are chasing after them to get to this precious cargo. They run into Jalia and she decides to help them escape, and of course she gets tangled up in their mess and they all become fugitives.
So far so good until
Some things I did not like:
- There is quite the condescending tone towards the mass of alien species in comparison to humans. Humans are seen as just blow-you-mind amazing, and everyone in the entire galaxy and beyond wants to get their hands on human stuff because it's way better than they are and better than they could ever hope to be.
- Poorly fleshed out characters - I didn’t get a sense of who the characters were, what they’d do versus what they wouldn’t do or their moral compass. People died, but it didn't’ matter because i couldn’t tell one Cres from the other. Even
- Lots of fighting and killing, but there was no real sense of real danger to our main characters because .
- bad explaining. The physics, spaceship specs, all way above my head (and I have a master's degree, I'm no dummy). I don’t even know why the author bothered to include so much detail about light-speed and how the ships traveled and photons and all that because IT’S IMAGINARY. It’s Science Fiction, as long as it’s somewhat plausible it’s all good. No one is going to go to NASA and fact check to see if it’s correct or not because that technology does not currently exist. Trying to pore through the explanations really threw me off and slowed the pace of the story.
- I don’t like how , it was very disturbing to me and had a nasty aftertaste of neocolonialism (or, whatever future colonialism would be called). Like, we’re really supposed to believe that humans are such a dominant species in aaaall of space that our absence leaves the galaxy in shambles? We’re so perfect that we mold other alien races in our own image? And such physical specimens that aliens (who by the way have never seen a human before, neither real life or even an image of one) find us to be physically attractive - but it doesn’t matter because by then we’ve evolved beyond such “petty” urges. I also find it hard to believe that so many eons and eons in the future anyone would have such Western ideas of self, surely by then there would have been some cultural exchanges even within our own species.
Despite those short-comings, it was a lively read. I enjoyed it, even though I probably won't follow any subsequent books. Clearly I'm not the target audience, but if you enjoy space adventures, if you're a guy, if you're into training the mind and body to maximize performance, or all of the above, you'll probably love Apex.
It’s been eons since humans controlled the universe. Defeated by a mysterious enemy, the downfall of humanity brought about a virtual dark age, with culture and technology stagnating in its absence. But now, trade is once again flourishing as human artifacts resurface throughout the galaxy, resurrecting long forgotten advancements.
And one such discovery might very well alter the course of the future forever.
Apex is set in the far far far far faaaaaaaar intergalactic future, to when humans are now extinct and beings whom we’d consider aliens are the sole inhabitants.
The novel opens from the POV of a female alien by the name of Jalia, whom I liked a lot. She’s spunky (but not overly so), independent, and sensible. She was my favorite character throughout the book, and I wish the author would have spent more time with her. Jalia is a Junta, (no not a military coup) a species which I'm guessing is bipedal and has a tail at her bottom as well as tails on her head (instead of hair).
I'm not going to lie, the details were hard to conceptualize. The aliens, the technology, the spaceships, etc. It was all difficult to follow in the beginning. For example, in the first few paragraphs it isn’t obvious that Jalia is an alien until notice that she's described as petite and red-skinned, and then you get to her fleshy tail... similarly I experienced some confusion as to what a Junta is lots of explaining which dragged but clearly was necessary (i.e. wtf is a “headtail”). Otherwise, I really enjoyed the 1st quarter of the story. We are introduced to the "world", that there is intergalactic travel, Jalia is captain of a freighter ship and she carries stuff around for merchants. She is an oddity, in that most Junta don't leave their planet and if they do leave it's because they are either servants or sexual slaves. We get to meet some other aliens, and explore the space ferry that Jalia and her ship are on. Then the action picks up, there's fighting and that's when Jalia runs into the Cres (another alien species) and their human "artifact".
Now, this human artifact is a really big deal. Apparently, up until about 16,000 years ago Human beings were THE dominant species of the entire galaxy. They had the best technology, the best weapons, the best ships, and essentially policed the galaxy. Everyone deferred to them because they were so superior in every way. Until a mysterious enemy appeared, warred with the humans and killed them all off. Once the humans and their awesome technology and authority were gone, the galaxy descended into a kind of dark ages with lots of infighting among the various species and collapse of civilization. No other species was as advanced as the humans, so now everyone goes nuts over human findings because even the smallest bit of technology is a HUGE advantage over everyone else.
This is where the Cres come in. They had found some human artifacts on a planet, and word got out so now mercenary groups are chasing after them to get to this precious cargo. They run into Jalia and she decides to help them escape, and of course she gets tangled up in their mess and they all become fugitives.
So far so good until
Some things I did not like:
- There is quite the condescending tone towards the mass of alien species in comparison to humans. Humans are seen as just blow-you-mind amazing, and everyone in the entire galaxy and beyond wants to get their hands on human stuff because it's way better than they are and better than they could ever hope to be.
- Poorly fleshed out characters - I didn’t get a sense of who the characters were, what they’d do versus what they wouldn’t do or their moral compass. People died, but it didn't’ matter because i couldn’t tell one Cres from the other. Even
- Lots of fighting and killing, but there was no real sense of real danger to our main characters because .
- bad explaining. The physics, spaceship specs, all way above my head (and I have a master's degree, I'm no dummy). I don’t even know why the author bothered to include so much detail about light-speed and how the ships traveled and photons and all that because IT’S IMAGINARY. It’s Science Fiction, as long as it’s somewhat plausible it’s all good. No one is going to go to NASA and fact check to see if it’s correct or not because that technology does not currently exist. Trying to pore through the explanations really threw me off and slowed the pace of the story.
- I don’t like how , it was very disturbing to me and had a nasty aftertaste of neocolonialism (or, whatever future colonialism would be called). Like, we’re really supposed to believe that humans are such a dominant species in aaaall of space that our absence leaves the galaxy in shambles? We’re so perfect that we mold other alien races in our own image? And such physical specimens that aliens (who by the way have never seen a human before, neither real life or even an image of one) find us to be physically attractive - but it doesn’t matter because by then we’ve evolved beyond such “petty” urges. I also find it hard to believe that so many eons and eons in the future anyone would have such Western ideas of self, surely by then there would have been some cultural exchanges even within our own species.
Despite those short-comings, it was a lively read. I enjoyed it, even though I probably won't follow any subsequent books. Clearly I'm not the target audience, but if you enjoy space adventures, if you're a guy, if you're into training the mind and body to maximize performance, or all of the above, you'll probably love Apex.
November 7, 2013
I was pleasantly surprised by this novel, it has a compelling and intriguing plot. A great deal of imagination and creativity is evident and the author has set a great stage for what promises to be an excellent series. I eagerly await the next installment! My only real criticism is that the book could do with a better editor. Other than that, great work.
July 5, 2015
While Apex does some interesting things—like presenting a post-humanity galaxy—it just doesn't have enough to make it a winner. I found the characters to be annoying, the plot relatively predictable, and the writing to be unexceptional. There's nothing bad about the book, but it just doesn't stand out in many ways.
One of the most interesting things that I found irritated me in this book was .
One of the most interesting things that I found irritated me in this book was .
December 11, 2013
Good story. I looked forward to reading this book each evening and to finding out what was happening with the main character Jalia. I was a little disappointed when the viewpoint switched from Jalia to Riax about 3/4 of the way through. Jalia and Riax are both complex characters but I found Jalia to be a little more interesting. I hope her story continues in the next book in the series. One very slight drawback is that there were a few grammar and editing problems and a few made-up words ("panickly"--say what?). Compared to other independently published books I've read, though, the editing was very good.
July 16, 2016
I really enjoyed this book until Riax showed up. As soon as someone called him "smoking hot" I knew it was all downhill from here. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed the book overall but it seemed liked Riax had an answer for every problem and was condescending 99.9 % of the time to everyone. If all humans were like that I can see why the enemy wanted to bring down the human empire! All the other characters/races of aliens were pretty intriguing (when they weren't falling all over themselves to please Riax). I'd consider reading more books by this author and would read a sequel if Riax was more relatable. That's my two cents worth.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 21, 2016
I liked it. Actually, I thought it was awesome. I'm really glad to hear the story is going to continue.
I've never read a story about humans like this and found it fascinating and kind of inspiring.
Great story.
I've never read a story about humans like this and found it fascinating and kind of inspiring.
Great story.
March 22, 2019
Two stars for some neat SF concepts, including ones I don't agree with but which are kind of interesting anyway. Other than that: unappealing characters (irritating and incredibly condescending main character whom all the other characters find unbearably attractive, one or two okay characters, and forgettable and barely distinguishable remaining characters), only somewhat passable prose/writing style (I actually like tech info dumps from other authors, but at least half of the ones here fell flat), and issues with grammar (no idea how the frequent comma splices and occasional missing commas got past an editor).
February 1, 2020
Like the Aliens
I liked the aliens and the idea of genetically designed aliens. There was too much detail about the mechanics of engines and fighting. I almost dumped the book, but I wanted to so where the plot was going. The main female alien was very likable I would like more about her.
I liked the aliens and the idea of genetically designed aliens. There was too much detail about the mechanics of engines and fighting. I almost dumped the book, but I wanted to so where the plot was going. The main female alien was very likable I would like more about her.
February 8, 2020
Entertaining
An entertaining book involving alien cultures searching for old advanced tech of a previous extinct culture. A loner space cargo pilot is involved in protecting and transporting a mysterious ancient artifact. Lots of action with an unexpected twist in the plot. I look cowed to future episodes
An entertaining book involving alien cultures searching for old advanced tech of a previous extinct culture. A loner space cargo pilot is involved in protecting and transporting a mysterious ancient artifact. Lots of action with an unexpected twist in the plot. I look cowed to future episodes
August 31, 2020
E Excellent new start for a good series Very creative and interesting really want to know where the remaining Advanced humans are after the battle 1200 years ago 12,000 years ago The great series
I really enjoyed this new series and hope that it will continue if I'm number of books for continuing saga I highly recommend these books they're very well written And thought provoking
I really enjoyed this new series and hope that it will continue if I'm number of books for continuing saga I highly recommend these books they're very well written And thought provoking
July 23, 2021
Awesome Again!!
This is the second time reading this book. The first being over 5 years ago.
It was very good and thuroghly as enjoyable as the Star Force series that I have been following from the very beginning.
I wonder now, as I did the first time I read this book, will it continue following the conclusion of the Star Force Universe?
This is the second time reading this book. The first being over 5 years ago.
It was very good and thuroghly as enjoyable as the Star Force series that I have been following from the very beginning.
I wonder now, as I did the first time I read this book, will it continue following the conclusion of the Star Force Universe?
January 24, 2020
Excellent story!
Really enjoyed the technology used for gravitics in their ships. Haven't came across anything like it before which always makes it refreshing! Cool racial building so far and I look forward to reading more by this author.
Really enjoyed the technology used for gravitics in their ships. Haven't came across anything like it before which always makes it refreshing! Cool racial building so far and I look forward to reading more by this author.
February 7, 2020
Very good sci-fi
I enjoyed the action. The plot line grows on you and you begin thinking of what could be. What is next? Where will the story go? What happened to the human empire? Will the empire be reestablished? Will the ancient enemy be defeated?
I enjoyed the action. The plot line grows on you and you begin thinking of what could be. What is next? Where will the story go? What happened to the human empire? Will the empire be reestablished? Will the ancient enemy be defeated?
February 27, 2020
Great stand-alone story!
I liked that it was vaguely in the Star Force universe, or was it?..I also liked that the Author kept the story moving. It is helpful to have read at least some of the Authors Star Force series. I would like continuation of this story line.
I liked that it was vaguely in the Star Force universe, or was it?..I also liked that the Author kept the story moving. It is helpful to have read at least some of the Authors Star Force series. I would like continuation of this story line.
August 30, 2021
A new universe spanning adventure!!! Looking forward to the solution of an enemy that appears to be undefeatable!
New enemies, new times, over powering foes! I very much like the challenge as the author has set it up for this storyline!
New enemies, new times, over powering foes! I very much like the challenge as the author has set it up for this storyline!
October 12, 2021
Amazing Story!
I loved this book, and am looking forward to the rest of the story! I have read all of the available Star Force books, and loved every word of the series. Thank you for engaging my inner nerd!
I loved this book, and am looking forward to the rest of the story! I have read all of the available Star Force books, and loved every word of the series. Thank you for engaging my inner nerd!
April 23, 2024
Fabulous Read
I love the way this author describes and builds his worlds, providing enough detail to draw in the reader. This is a great read and I can’t wait for the next book in the series.
I love the way this author describes and builds his worlds, providing enough detail to draw in the reader. This is a great read and I can’t wait for the next book in the series.
May 14, 2018
Not quite Star Force.
Sort of a proto Star Force, set in an alternate universe.
A lot of the same ideas. Most in a less developed form.
Sort of a proto Star Force, set in an alternate universe.
A lot of the same ideas. Most in a less developed form.
January 31, 2020
Interesting characters
Very reminiscent of Star Force, yet a good start to a new series. I'm looking forward to seeing how it proceeds.
Very reminiscent of Star Force, yet a good start to a new series. I'm looking forward to seeing how it proceeds.
February 24, 2020
Enjoyed the book When I put it down couldn't t wait to pick back up. Looking for a continuation..
September 22, 2020
Great Story
I really enjoyed this story. Wonderful detail and a richness of character building and description. Creativity and imagination at its best. I want more!
I really enjoyed this story. Wonderful detail and a richness of character building and description. Creativity and imagination at its best. I want more!
January 5, 2021
Ready for the next in the series! :-)
November 5, 2021
great first book, hopefully there is more in the future.
August 31, 2023
Great story telling
Amazing description of everything that happened in the book. Makes it super easy to visualize all things into existence. A very good read.
Amazing description of everything that happened in the book. Makes it super easy to visualize all things into existence. A very good read.
December 9, 2023
Good space opera. Interesting characters. Not really a cliffhanger ending, but it is left open for a sequel.
April 6, 2015
I don't quite understand what the fuss is about this book, but apparently the serial novellas or shares some creative DNA with its popular?
The writing is somewhat clunky, with odd adverb usage, overly baroque descriptions of technology with pretensions of scientific rigor but no actual rigor to be found. The characters are mostly flat, though the first viewpoint character is interesting enough. An entire species seems to have interchangeable members, in the sense that none of them are distinguishable. The info dumps that litter the narrative are like something from the slush pile of Galaxy mag, circa the mid fifties. The biggest disappointment is dropping the initial viewpoint character to focus on the revived human, who is one of the most egregious examples of an author stand-in I've seen in a long time.
There's a kernel of interesting world building at the heart of the book though, which sadly is not examined well. The idea of the defeated human race being the universe's "ancient race" was intriguing enough that I got the book, but it, and the idea of Apex species is handled poorly enough that the whole thing collapsed into something that reads like the fiction excerpts from a 90s pen and paper RPG. The litany of 'don'ts' this book indulges in are fairly long: imaginary units of time and distance that are poorly conceived and inconsistently deployed, little or no internal life for characters, derivative world building that squanders a good initial conceit and a lack of clarity in narration, plot and characterization.
Not terrible, but not recommended unless you like a very specific type of science fiction. Better versions of this kind of thing exist.
The writing is somewhat clunky, with odd adverb usage, overly baroque descriptions of technology with pretensions of scientific rigor but no actual rigor to be found. The characters are mostly flat, though the first viewpoint character is interesting enough. An entire species seems to have interchangeable members, in the sense that none of them are distinguishable. The info dumps that litter the narrative are like something from the slush pile of Galaxy mag, circa the mid fifties. The biggest disappointment is dropping the initial viewpoint character to focus on the revived human, who is one of the most egregious examples of an author stand-in I've seen in a long time.
There's a kernel of interesting world building at the heart of the book though, which sadly is not examined well. The idea of the defeated human race being the universe's "ancient race" was intriguing enough that I got the book, but it, and the idea of Apex species is handled poorly enough that the whole thing collapsed into something that reads like the fiction excerpts from a 90s pen and paper RPG. The litany of 'don'ts' this book indulges in are fairly long: imaginary units of time and distance that are poorly conceived and inconsistently deployed, little or no internal life for characters, derivative world building that squanders a good initial conceit and a lack of clarity in narration, plot and characterization.
Not terrible, but not recommended unless you like a very specific type of science fiction. Better versions of this kind of thing exist.
April 5, 2015
f you love Science Fiction that goes into a lot of technical detail you will love Apex. I am not that into the technical so for me it made for a slow reading. This is also book one in a series so it had a lot of ground to cover. The goal of getting the human to Cres territory was met but that still left a lot hanging.
Apex required quite a lot of world building and back story. Most of the time it did not slow the plot down. There is one important part for the back story that is still unknown but it is key to the direction future books need to follow.
The characters are interesting but not as well drawn as they might have been. All the technical detail, back story and world building interfered with character development
.
I found the plot to be unique. Humans were wiped out many years ago but now one has been found in a stasis pod. Much of Apex revolves around how important he is and his actions after awakening.
Aer-ki-Jyr has been writing for years. Much of that was fan fiction and self-published books. Apex is his first main stream book. Unlike many first published novels it does not suffer from poor writing. The writing from those previous years is apparent as the story flows in a very organized and well written way.
I will be looking for the next book in the series. I really want to know how much difference the last human left can make in the universe.
Apex required quite a lot of world building and back story. Most of the time it did not slow the plot down. There is one important part for the back story that is still unknown but it is key to the direction future books need to follow.
The characters are interesting but not as well drawn as they might have been. All the technical detail, back story and world building interfered with character development
.
I found the plot to be unique. Humans were wiped out many years ago but now one has been found in a stasis pod. Much of Apex revolves around how important he is and his actions after awakening.
Aer-ki-Jyr has been writing for years. Much of that was fan fiction and self-published books. Apex is his first main stream book. Unlike many first published novels it does not suffer from poor writing. The writing from those previous years is apparent as the story flows in a very organized and well written way.
I will be looking for the next book in the series. I really want to know how much difference the last human left can make in the universe.
April 10, 2015
Space opera/melodramatic and ehhhhhhh.
Very much a soft science fiction space opera. Telepathy, made up physics, colorful lasers, random magic at the speed of plot. Interbreedable aliens and so on. Better than anything I could write but still very ehhhhhh. Save your money I would say.
Very much a soft science fiction space opera. Telepathy, made up physics, colorful lasers, random magic at the speed of plot. Interbreedable aliens and so on. Better than anything I could write but still very ehhhhhh. Save your money I would say.
October 14, 2016
A really good read can't wait for the next book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews