Veranthos Gambit

by John Walker

325 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 6, 2026

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name.

Reviews

[Fred Barnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

APPLYING FOR ACCEPTANCE TO THE VERANTHOS PACT AS A NEW SPECIES IS EVERYTHING BUT EASY

6/19/26 Review:
⭐⭐⭐1/2

Veranthos Gambit (Old Colony Book 2) by John Walker is a challenging book to read in this series with way too much sci-fi tech and not enough action, interaction between the cast, and conversations between the characters which is not the usual way John Walker's books are. This first book in this series caught my interest right off the get go. This second book was just the opposite and when my interest was spiked with the action, the long sci-fi technical language and engineering talk came into the works along with the customs and actions of the aliens movements flooded in and just about put me to sleep.

The main characters are pretty easy to follow from the first book into the second but with all the characters both human and alien, it would be nice if John would have included a list of the cast with a small description to keep them straight for the reader. The storyline is one that is easy to get into and draws you into the cast to see how a group of three hundred elderly humans on a planet that is full of surprises including the EFFECT that is taking years or decades of the colony's residents leaving them feeling, looking, and acting decades younger. The interaction between the humans of the new colony Elysium and the Veranthos Pact members are intriguing but lacking dialogue that was left out for the tech which took up way too much of the pages.

That being said, I have all the hope in the world that the third book will be more of what the first book was and more along the line of how John Walker usually writes. I have been a fan of John Walker's books for years and plan to continue with this series as well as look forward to the release of the next book.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finally just gave up. I was pretty on board with the first book, which I enjoyed a lot. But damn, how many times do we have to mention their hands. I get why, and its a great concept. It just gets too far in the weeds. I want more lore, not pages of descriptions of hand placement.

Just gave up on it all.

[Stephen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not finish, too much waffle

[Mark Andersen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dazed and Confused

While the premise of the story was good it was so convoluted that I spent most of this novel trying to figure out what was happening, when it was happening, and who was involved. Characters were not introduced but thrust into the story. Timelines were very confusing. I spent most of my time trying to figure out if it was the next day, next week or several months down the road. Not a good follow-up to the first book in my opinion.

[Charles Gross · Rating 3 out of 5]

Critique

A glossary of characters is needed as too many confuse the story. Also, the dialog is clumsy to follow between characters. Too many times are tactile feelings repeated, I get it the first time... Both humans and aliens alike have excellent senses. That tactile sensitivity is repeated as a redundant theme and is distracting to the story line.

[Jerrel H. Sorensen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Can’t AI write better SciFi?

I have just finished Old Colony books 1 & 2. My impression is that either these volumes were AI generated or the manuscripts never, ever saw a drop of red ink from an editor’s pen.
Not only are there multiple gaps in the story line’s continuity but the writing style dramatically switches voice for no apparent narrative reason. The incomprehensible word salads have been discussed by other reviewers. There are also writing stylistic inconsistencies e.g. sometimes a starship’s name is italicized sometimes not. Sometimes capitalized, sometimes not. One can get a headache just trying to parse out what the heck is going on. That is jut one example. There also seems to be random words dropped into sentences that make no sense.
As you can tell I am frustrated and disappointed. The overall quality of these manuscripts are pretty bad. That being said, I did read both of these “books” to the end. Albeit skipping multiple sections just to finish. There were enough interest plot features to make me want to find out what happened next. However I will not read any more of these so called books. My final advice is for Mr. John Walker to tell his AI to spring for the cash and hire a competent editor.😎

[Terry Lund · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Enjoyable Read

After reading book 1 I was invested in the story and the characters. I found book 2 to be suspenseful although there are quite a few technical sections which had me a bit lost. While the story’s setting is in the future and involves space travel and other civilizations, I enjoyed the storyline and the ‘earth-born’ main characters. I will look forward to the next installment. John Walker (and this genre) are new to me and I must say I am enjoying the journey!

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read!

If you enjoy hard sc/fi, heavy on the science and mechanics, you will most likely enjoy this series. There are several relationships building in this book, more so than the first, but the form they are taking isn't romantic, they are those of co-workers, friends, and trust.
It will be interesting to see where the author takes the story from here.
The premise is intriguing, the characters familiar, yet not completely.
Start with the first book.
If you are a fan of this genre, you are sure to be entertained.

[Doug Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad

Great premise: send old people to new worlds to check for viability before committing better resources. That part is great. The knock on these two books is the gaps in the story. On one page the investigate an ancient technology. Next page there is a name for the beings who made it and it is being powered up. Other jumps in the story as well. Advice to the author: go slower. Step by step. Be like Otis.

[W H Nicholls · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do feel I have been conned into getting the two books as Amazon read it as two books in the series, there are obviously more. I tend to wait till a box set comes out now it looks like I will be getting more books singly. That aside I felt I was getting lost with the plot on this one where they effectively hoodwink a ship from under the enemy's nose and doing some sabotage on the way. There is a lot going on with the story and there is more to come

[Frank Kelso · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clever military syFy well worth reading.

An overcrowded planet sent lottery winners to a new planet where survival was measured in months. The plan was to prepare it for those who followed. When the pioneers didn't die, but flourished, the home planet decided they wanted it back. Who willingly gives away paradise?????

[Saint Vitas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting three species working together

the banter was a bit difficult to understand. what can three hundred earthers accomplish seems to be a lot. I enjoyed the earth woman grasping the complex interactions of diplomacy by watching the tells of the de!egates. That is a useful super power.

[Paul Lockwood · Rating 2 out of 5]

A big disappointment compared to the first book. The plot just barely creeps along (good guys steal a spaceship and disrupt the bad guys’ occupation of a planet) and the author fills many chapters with pages-long conversations that are unnecessary. Too bad; other than the dramatic plot twist, the first book had some good ideas and the plot moved along nicely.

[Trana Mathews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sci-fi

Interesting plot and developments which happen along the way. With various races participating with the human colonists, the author goes into great detail about hand and face movements but doesn't always give definition. He often used the term "read the room" without further explanation.

[Linda Michel · Rating 5 out of 5]

happy

finished two books in this series. both good with characters you want to win or survive. I don't see a third book, hopefully it will be out soon to finish this series. read if you find it.

[Janet Faircloth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finding Galactic Life

I was enthralled by the intricacies of verbal, sign and attitudes used to convey overt and subtle communications.
Also, the understanding between very different beings just by being well versed in their Professions.

[Cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great second book

Walker yet again brings a good read to the tablet. As many know the second book is usually about development of up coming plots and story paths. Old colony book 2 did plenty of that. I am looking forward to the rest of the series.

[Ircel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the first volume, but I just could not follow where the author was going with the second one. I kept thinking that I must have skipped a large part of the text that explained more about the characters and the plot, but that was not true. Still a great idea, but this volume was just boring.

[Paul Cowan · Rating 3 out of 5]

a few things out of place

Good story but it ignores some things. If everyone is getting younger then there would be children. The focus left the colony and went to alien affairs. The goal after finding the gate generatot was to find a gste to esrth but that was forgotten.

[Lynne C. Newman · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting book how humanity integrates and can change interstellar hosts

I enjoyed the book, but sometimes the technical aspect of it overcame the book itself. The characters were well defined, but Sometimes overshadowed but the technical aspects

[Carolyn M Machold · Rating 3 out of 5]

Verbage

Too much obscure talking. Needed a synopsis at the beginning. A refresher would have been better. Hope 3 is better. Tedious read.

[Lynn Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

very interesting series

Genuinely different from the usual space opera, lots of interesting facets to the characters and the story. Looking forward to book 3

[Stephen Kunin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked book one and start of book two. Walker edged into way too much techno babble for me and lessened the enjoyment of book.

[David Smevik · Rating 2 out of 5]

After enjoying the 1st book, this 2nd book was a disappointment. As stated in other reviews a list of characters would be helpful. The dialog is vague at best and hard to follow.

[Margaret M Romanelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loving Old Colony series

I enjoy science fiction but not gore. I am impressed by how much occurs within the books but it all makes sense. Can't wait for the next one

[PJP · Rating 2 out of 5]

way to complicated a read

Too much tech talk. Not enough story about the old colony which is what made the first book so interesting

[Maya Morikawa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not interesting

Enjoyed the first book,but the second,decently carrying, on but boring.
Characters already good and basic story ok,but too much semi technical stuff.

[Norman Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 1 drew me in. Book 2 lost me at spots ok read but not looking for book 3.

[Matthew Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun

Good book looking forward to reading the rest of the books it's sci-fi and fun I like otis hope u like it

[Roberto · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unreadable.