A silver pyramid in space ten thousand years old… The secrets of the mysterious New Men… A war like no other… Starship Victory—Earth’s ancient, alien spacecraft—has won a smashing victory against the New Men, driving them from “C” Quadrant. On their way home, Captain Maddox and his crew run into a vast machine trapped inside an ion storm. Maddox doesn’t know it yet, but the meeting isn’t an accident. There’s a traitor aboard ship, implementing a secret plan, threatening to destroy everything Star Watch has achieved against the New Men. Now begins a deadly race as Captain Maddox, the crew and Galyan are pitted against the masters of a centuries-old conspiracy. Human existence lies in the balance. THE LOST DESTROYER is the third book in the LOST STARSHIP SERIES.
I was born in Canada and remember as a small boy crawling in my snow-fort. I closed my eyes, and when I tried to open them, they were frozen shut. I didn't panic, but wiped away the ice crystals, unglued my eyes and kept on building my tunnel. Those were great days! I moved to Central California before seventh grade and couldn't believe I lived in a land where oranges grew on trees and you could pick grapes from the vine.
I used to wonder what I wanted to do with my life, what kind of work specifically. I was miserable not knowing and bordering on desperate. Then one day a friend gave me his typewriter. I began working on a novel. A different person told me it was much easier on a computer, so I bought one and began getting up at 4:30 A.M. each morning before work, writing for three hours. My eyes were unglued once again as the pang of misery left my gut. I knew exactly what I wanted to do: write. So now that's what I do, I write, and write, and write, and I love it.
Each book in this series gets better and better. The author is immensely talented and the storyline brings the fascinating characters to life. I have enjoyed his work so far, and can not wait for the next book in this series. His heroes and villains properly balance between being invincible or pushover. The damsel isn't really helpless, but still needs saving. And the faithful side kick is a perfect compliment to the hero. Wonderfully written!!!!!.
Total popcorn scifi space opera. Maddox, the sly intelligence agent, has to confront a series of problems with his loyal crew and alien destroyer. This series goes on and on, but this is probably the last for me. Easy reading and fun adventure, but the characters are stereotypical 30's heroes, misfits, and women who only pine for the strong man.
This is yet another good adventure in The Lost Starship series. It is fun although fairly light reading. But then, to me, a good adventure story should be fast flowing and not too deep. The book blurb is somewhat of an exaggeration though. A smashing victory? They won by a very thin thread in the last book as far as I remember.
Anyway, the victors start the journey home and, of course, another calamity befalls the crew of Starship Victory. The enemy, by the help of some nasty surprises left by the mysterious professor Ludendorff manages to divert the ship straight into a electrical storm and inside this storm lurks something very big and very very bad. The humans thought the New Men and their star cruisers were bad. Little did they know what was to fall upon them.
In this book the author unravels quite a lot of the story behind the New Men, the conspiracy and plotting that led to the creation of these nefarious evolved humans and the current situation. Naturally Maddox and his friends are forced through one hair raising adventure after another to combat the new threat. Starship Victory does indeed, eventually, get back to Earth just in time for Maddox to face a number of assassination attempts not to mention the possible destruction of the planet Earth. Naturally the arrogant and hugely annoying professor Ludendorff makes his best. even then, to twist events to fit into his own agenda.
As I wrote, it is a good book. Plenty of adventure, twists and revelations. Galyan, Victory’s computer AI, is developing by quite a few orders of magnitude I would say. They also get the weapons in working order although, sadly, they do not really get to use them much. There are some hints thrown around about how much more capable Galyan and consequently Victory have become though. In the end a battle is won but certainly not the war. I have to say that I would not mind seeing another book in this series being published.
This was a very good story. I’ve been following the exploits of Captain Maddox, Star Watch Intelligence, since the very first book. He’s a very strange character. In this book, I finally figured out who he reminds me of, and that is none other than, Sherlock Holmes! Yes, that is exactly how Captain Maddox strikes me in his conversations, especially with Sergeant Riker (Dr. Watson).
Captain Maddox is always trying to figure things out. He discusses his thoughts with Sgt. Riker the same way Sherlock Holmes did in his books even recognizing Sgt. Riker when he makes a unknowingly brilliant statement. I like the banter and I’m now used to Captain Maddox and his mannerisms. At first I was kind of put-off by his arrogance, but I’ve come to see it as part of his character and the reflection that he is part New Man. All New Men are arrogant or at least I get that idea from the authors writing about them.
This book is about saving Earth. There is something out there coming to Earth that is worse than the New Men. Captain Maddox and his crew aboard the Victory must get back to Earth before this new enemy attacks. Warning Earth might not be enough. As it stands, there is no way Earth can survive this new threat. Even if they do, Earth forces would be so decimated that any additional attacks by the New Men would certainly mean the end of Earth.
So, will Captain Maddox once again become a hero? What about this New Man that wants to become the King of all New Men. Will the Starship Victory ever become whole knowing that parts of it have been shut down throughout its six thousand year existence. If you have any liking for the old Sherlock Holmes mysteries, I think you’re going to really like Mr. Holmes in space.
If you like a good sci-fi adventure, this will fill that need. This story is the third book about Captain Maddox and his crew aboard the starship Victory. In this adventure, they witness a planet killer, the Doomsday machine, annihilate whole planet's in the Wahhabi Caliphate system. The Wahhabi Caliphate was founded by a group of Muslims who settled in their own star system. The Doomsday machine is fifty kilometers long, much larger and older than any other starship in existence. Besides the planet's being destroyed with all the people perishing, the Doomsday machine cut through the system's military ships and destroyed any who got close or engaged the spaceship in battle. The starship Victory got away from that star system in time to be safe. Much later in the story, the crew of Victory meet up with this planet killer, but before that there is much spying, meetings with superiors, assassination, betrayals, nuclear explosions, etc. Through it all many questions come up. Is it only toe New Men who are controlling this destructive ship or are there other forces and people behind it all? You'll have to read it to see for yourself. The meetings are boring but the action sequences make up for it. All in all an enjoyable read.
The third entry of author Vaughn Heppner’s Lost Starship science-fiction series opens with the franchise’s eponymous space vessel Victory in an ion storm, in the middle of which someone launches a jumpfighter from the ship. The book tests the loyalties of Professor Ludendorff, with protagonist Captain Maddox inquiring Doctor Dana Rich about her past mutiny against the scientist, who has a fixation on ancient aliens like those who had constructed the Victory. Its crew attempt to return home to Earth to inform their officers of the victories against the New Men in the Tannish and Markus Systems.
In the meantime, aliens are attempting to subdue the Wahhabi Caliphate, the space systems controlled by the Muslim nations of Earth, and the Victory diverts from its earthbound destination, the professor warning about a threat greater than the New Men. Furthermore, New Man agent Kane is undergoing rehabilitation punishment for failing to aid his superiors sufficiently, with another enigmatic group of ancient aliens, the Builders, coming into mention, with their drones attacking the Victory. Kane ultimately frees himself from rehab and plots a commando raid against the Nerva Tower in Monte Carlo, Monaco, on Earth.
Maddox and his crew continue to explore the nooks and crannies of the Victory and ponder over a silver egg-shaped object the professor procures during the novel’s events, with the vessel’s alien artificial intelligence Galyan helping occasionally. When the Captain and his companions finally return to Earth, they receive warning of a doomsday device headed for the planet. A few twists about the professor, and Octavian Nerva, suspected of espionage against Earth, has his tower stormed by marines. The remainder of the story focuses on the battle against the cataclysmic device and its aftermath.
Overall, the third entry of Heppner’s series is on par with its predecessors, which is a good thing as it has plenty of action, mystery, and twists, although again, he could have come up with a more original name for the superhuman antagonists other than “the New Men,” and the various Star Trek television series and movies are an obvious source of inspiration for the science-fiction author. Even so, some of what many consider the highest forms of art are in some cases derivative, so one can definitely excuse the slight unoriginality of the sci-fi series, and those who enjoyed its precursors will definitely find The Lost Destroyer to be an engaging yarn.
The storyline contains an element of the contest between the Sicilian and the dread pirate Robert’s poisoned cup trope. The romantic bits have a sort of telenovela melodrama vibe. The characters are a bit unbelievable, and a bit caricature-ish. The hero is a little too perfect, and the villains, a little too villainous. But it still maintains itself as an entertaining read.
I admit I took a few breaks to get this far. When I came across something more interesting, I’d drop this and read that. Some of those series also got dropped. But the series I finished since I started on book 1 of this series were Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe, the Sun Eater series by Christopher Ruocchio, and The 3 Body Problem by Cixin Liu. But in between (mostly because I was too lazy to find something else), I’d come back and pick up where I left off on this series. Vaughn Heppner is no master of prose. This isn’t one of the great sci-fi works of our time. But it is readable, and enjoyable. I will probably read book 4 (unless something else catches my eye while I’m trying to find it).
Before you start this one, please note it is the third book in the series: you will need to have read the first two or the characters and scenes won’t make much sense. The author picks up where he left off with lots of action. I found this one to be a bit better than #2 in the series, with more realistic scenes and less times saying “bull” with what happens and enjoyed it. I picked this up for free with my Kindle Unlimited subscription vs. its normal price of $5.99, and certainly received more than $5.99 worth of entertainment value out of it. If you liked the first two of the series I’m certain you will like this one, also.
Excellent. A masterpiece of the genre. Characterisations are well detailed so the reader is never left wondering who is speaking or included in the action scenes. Additionally, battles between ships highlight the distance missles or rays have to travel as well as time delays between firing and striking a target. This type of detail makes credible the manoeuvers ships make to target an enemy. I particularly enjoyed the AI input to the story but will say less about this to avoid giving too much away.
Third in a series of space opera books featuring an ancient alien starship, a bold captain, his faithful sidekick, his sweetheart, and an evil scientist, this book delivers entertainment by the page. The captain is trying to get back to Earth to continue the struggle against the New Men (genetically modified superhumans). The New Men want to annihilate the Old Men with planet busting technology. Will they succeed? Tune in next week!
This book holds together without the odd convolutions of the second book. It holds together better as a consistent plot, and kept my interest until the last page.
Better still, this book was more satisfying, as it put some of the story fragments together. Of course it didn't answer all of the questions, but as usual in a book with mysterious elements it answered some things while leaving behind many questions and posing a few new ones! 😁
Another fun SciFi read. The series is nice. This series reminds me of Khan and we learn more about the overall story each book. Each book reminds me of the Harry Dresden series where, in the beginning, each book was a case for the PI Harry Dresden. Each book has been a task the crew had to accomplish within the overall story.
I've OD'd on SciFi, but when I come back in a few weeks I'll be reading the 4th book next.
Book 3 made me realize that there are no characters in this book that are likable. Maddox is a self important prig. The rest are just subservient filler. The archaic use of language and the sloooow developing plot lines make reading this a chore more than an enjoyable last time. These 3 books could have been condensed into 1 and not missed a narrative beat. I will take a break before deciding to continue on this torturous journey.
Very entertaining series reminds me a little of Anne McCaffrey's brain ship books. The action is well paced and keeps the reader engaged. The author has created enough mystery in regards to the protagonist and the "New Men" to keep me hooked and wanting to find out the secrets. I recommend this book for Sci-Fi enthusiasts who need a break from "epic sagas" and just need a quick fix.
Some great twists in the tale... definitely sped through this one and there were some great nuggets left throughout the book to indicate direction. Similar to some of the authors other series that I have liked , but still great concepts. On to the next installment:)
Even bigger and badder ancient ship is found, no one can seem to control it, but the New Men want to Earth is threatened big time. The doctor pulls shady shit, takes over ship to try and do his own thing which isn't really clear. We find out a little more about origin of the New Men. But in the end earth is saved by victory and mattox. 3 deep and I'm really starting to enjoy this series.
I've enjoyed reading this one, but most of the scenes and dialogues are beginning to be repetitive. I'm liking more of Galyan, Valerie and Dana, but not very much of Maddox and Meta. And Riker? What a waste of space. The ending was anti-climactic. The previous two books are better than this one, in my opinion.
More interesting than the last novel in series. Probably because it was more into character development, interactions and continuously muddling through plot events rather than slightly mechanical filling in details of story outline (maybe not comfortable about meeting deadline ). It's always better when an author relaxs into writing the story.
Another excellent instalment in a series that seems to keep getting better as the series goes deeper into the history of a universe filled with different beings.
The reader gets to see the views of characters that we were previously led to dislike, seeing their pov of a war for survival.
I absolutely love this series and this book is the best so far. It has a unique and interesting story, and great characters. It made me laugh and it made me cry. If there is a smart movie producer out there, they will turn this into a movie series.
New men infiltrating earths highest positions, two extinct alien races. But wait, there's more! Another alien race, another alien supership, this one produced a doomsday planet killer. But who controls it??
First time reading this author. I am in love with this series. I accidentally started the series with book 2 but maybe after I get to the end I will go back and read 1 but too engrossed in getting into book 4 to go back now.
Genetically modified super men, alien AI, planet killer weapons; what more could you ask for? How about a crew of humans that doesn't know the word defeat? Subterfuge, twists, and surprises at every turn of the page.
I enjoy the concepts, though the protagonist is a self-centered misogynist and women seem to exist as either objects to be - ugh - ‘used’ or foils to make the men feel superior. I’d never call it cerebral, but aside from the sexism it’s an entertaining series so far with interesting tech.
I really enjoy these books, and they just keep getting better. Heppner does an absolutely great job of taking up the tension as he finds new ways to put the starships crew further off the ledge.
I read this book in between different life time events. It did a great deal to take my mind off of how messy life can be sometimes. I’ll be sure to read the next book in the series.
A good science fiction book with knowable characters. The story line is complicated enough to entertain but the author does stay based in reasonable flow of character development.