The Ruins of Anthalas

The Ember War Saga #2

by Richard Fox

An alternate cover edition can be found here.

An ancient holocaust holds the key to humanity's survival.

An ember of mankind endured the Xaros invastion, those who remain are too weak to defeat the alien’s inevitable return. The key to rebuilding Earth’s defenses lies within a cryptic message from a long lost alien race, one deep behind enemy lines. One of the last strike carriers, the Breitenfeld, journeys to the distant world and learns that humanity isn’t the only power interested in the planet's secrets. Do the ruins of Anthalas hold an ancient treasure, or a deadly trap?

THE RUINS OF ANTHALAS is the second book in THE EMBER WAR SAGA, a military sci-fi space opera. If you like David Weber and John Ringo with a touch of Isaac Asimov, then you’ll love this fast-paced and captivating adventure where humanity survives at the edge of a knife.

Join in the epic series today!

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Q&A with Richard Fox

What's in store for the crew of the Breitenfeld?
The war with the Xaros is far from over. In this story we'll meet new enemies, new allies and learn that Marc Ibarra isn't done manipulating the human race. There's plenty of action, intrigue, and scifi adventure, but on a much larger scale as the war grows to include the Alliance that saved humanity from the Xaros invasion.

If this was a movie, what would it be rated?
Still PG-13 for and wartime violence some language.

When can we expect the next adventure?
Book 3 (tentative title BLOOD OF HEROES) will be out around Thanksgiving, 2015.

Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Fiction, Military Fiction, Aliens, Audiobook, Space

451 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 21, 2015

About the author

Richard Fox is a Nebula Award nominated author, and winner of the 2017 Dragon Award for Best Military Science Fiction or Fantasy novel, author of The Ember War Saga, a military science fiction and space opera series, and other novels in the military history, thriller and space opera genres.

He lives in fabulous Las Vegas with his incredible wife and three boys, amazing children bent on anarchy.

He graduated from the United States Military Academy (West Point) much to his surprise and spent ten years on active duty in the United States Army. He deployed on two combat tours to Iraq and received the Combat Action Badge, Bronze Star and Presidential Unit Citation.

The Ember War Saga:
1. The Ember War
2. The Ruins of Anthalas
3. Blood of Heroes
4. Earth Defiant
5. The Gardens of Nibiru
6. Battle of the Void
7. The Siege of Earth
8. The Crucible
9. The Xaros Reckoning

Terran Armored Corps
1. Iron Dragoons
2. The Ibarra Sanction
3. The True Measure
4. A House Divided
5. The Last Aeon
6. Ferrum Corde

Terran Strike Marines
1. The Dotari Salvation
2. Rage of Winter
3. Valdar's Hammer
4. The Beast of Eridu
5. Gott Mit Uns

The Exiled Fleet:
1. Albion Lost
2. The Long March
3. Finest Hour
4. Point of Honor

The Terra Nova Chronicles
1. Terra Nova
2. Bloodlines
3. Wings of Redemption
4. Hale's War

Subscribe to Richard's spam free email list and get free short stories set during the Ember War Saga (and more as they become available) at: http://eepurl.com/bLj1gf

Like him on Facebook (best place to reach him): https://www.facebook.com/Richard-Fox-...

Website: www.richardfoxauthor.com

Reviews

[Trish R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE RUINS OF ANTHALAS

So, they battled the Xaros in the first book and I thought they took care of them, BUT they show up again in book 9 when, according to the books blurb, they finally get all that’s coming to them. Yeah, that’s not gonna happen for me. I can’t read 9 books of battles. I’ll stick with this one with the Xaros that were left to guard Anthalas, the dead Shanishol that had lived there and the Toth, who wanted to kill everyone, just like the Xaros did. Again, one battle after another. (Oh, and the Karigole, who were helping the humans.)

I finished this book and it was a little better than the first one. BUT, I just can’t read the next 7 books. I don’t mind when an author write 2 or 3 or 4 books in a series with cliffhanger-like endings but I can’t read 9. I’ve read as many as 10 to 15 books in a series but they weren’t cliffhangers. Maybe you wouldn’t call them a cliffhanger but they are without endings. LOL, life’s too short.

The heroes were all fabulous. Some were still alive when these two books ended and some had gotten killed.

No sex and no swearing to speak of. And that reminds me, the non-swearing is a real bummer. Whenever I buy a book and it’s downloaded to my iPad I immediately search for fuck, shit, damn, hell and goddammit. If these words aren’t said in terrifying situations then I know it’s just not going to sound right, and it didn’t. It simply isn’t real-life to me. But then, I’m Miss Potty Mouth.

As to the narration: Luke Daniels is simply awesome. His voices are great and his emotions while reading are spectacular.

[Damaged142 · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5

*Spoilers included*


I'm not going to lie, I enjoyed this book a lot. I was worried how the story would progress as the only active plot points were to survive and complete a mission to another planet.

But I have to say, the story is unfolding very nicely. We've gotten a glimpse of the Qu'Resh, the foundation of the alliance, and at the intelligence behind the Xaros.

I would have thought learning more about the Xaros would take away some of their mystique, but Richard did it in a way that answered a handful of questions but raised many more, keeping the mysterious air around them.

We were also introduced to the Toth, once proud members of the alliance, who betrayed them and tried to capture the Qu'resh. I was initially disappointed with them as they just seemed like a generic bad guy faction intent on killing everyone. But this turns out to be false. The Toth overlords have the ability to eat? Drink? The minds of sentient beings and see their memories. Making them a far scarier and interesting foe than I initially believed.

Also, the alliance, in general, is an interesting entity, one I expect to be expanded on in the following books. There's a duality there. As they are technically the good guys, but depending on your point of view, I understand how they can be looked upon negatively as well. They did let billions of humans die to avoid being detected by the Xaros.

Overall, I'm quite pleased with how the series is playing out, it has surpassed my initial expectations.

[Laurence · Rating 1 out of 5]

Where the first was weak with just enough to suggest possible improvement, the second confirmed that the tenuous first was a fluke. DNF at 50%.

[Marti · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good military story with lots of battles and lots of aliens. The characters (at least the human ones) seem real and many are heroic. I was disappointed that the whole alien agenda ended up being completely mysterious and probably won’t be resolved for seven more books.

[Barbara Dunbar · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Ruins of Anthalas

This second book on the Ember War Saga continues with more skirmishes and frightening missions that keep them fighting the Xaros who annihilate intelligent life.

[Gavin Wask · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hale and what is left of his Marines are back alongside Elias and his Armour are back and still working for Captain Valdar on The Breitenfeld. They travel to a planet upon receiving a a cryptic message and find not only the Xaros but also an alien race called the Toth who are literally out for the humans brains!

Hale, Cortaro, Torni and Standish still keep up the good name of the marines, fighting aliens and arguing with each other. They are joined by sharpshooter Bailey, Heavy Gunner Orozco and Medic Yarrow and assisted by Steuben of the Karigole species.

Hale and Durand's relationship has deteriorated but she's still the best pilot out there and as such still works with the marines. And Stacey Ibarra is still on The Crucible representing Earth and trying to negotiate the politics of the station.

Mix in Ibarra's meddling with clones and alliances being formed on The Crucible and Earth might just end up being a major galactic player. Which means a heck of lot of trouble for Hale and the others.

I'm really enjoying this mix of action, humour and interwoven character stories and I'm a sucker for a good marine platoon!

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really Good Space Opera

I liked this book. The storyline is entertaining and the characters believable. In some ways it reminds me of Heinlein, yet in other ways I think of Hubbard.
I Highly Recommend this Series.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like reading a military science fiction series, especially when two or three books are already written. That’s the case when I found “The Ember War” series. I’ve read and reviewed the first book, “The Ember War”, and now I’ve just finished the second. This book pretty much carries on where the previous book left off which is always good.

Having saved what remains of Humanity, they now have to prepare for the next visit by the Xaros. That probably won’t happen in a hundred or more years, but when they came and the Earth had over 7 billion people, that didn’t stop them from almost wiping out every last one. Humanities population is now around 400 or I think that’s the number in the Earth remaining fleet. But, first they need to find something that will help them to fight against the Xaros. That something just might still exist on the planet Anthalas, so the Breitenfeld is going to go exploring.

It seems that the previous occupants of Anthalas were left alone since they were already extinct when the Xaros arrived in their solar system. The Xaros have a strange habit of not doing anything to the remains of ancient civilizations. Earth’s Central Command believes there may be some advanced weapons or other advanced items left behind by the Anthalasians. They decided to send the Breitenfield to have a look; this is recon only and the ship is not to engage in combat if it can be avoided. The Xaros are not currently in the Anthalas system and aren’t expected back anytime soon. The Breitenfield doesn’t want to attract any attention if at all possible; get in, find what’s left, collect it, and get out.

Unfortunately, nothing is ever so easy. The Toth have arrived with the same idea, only they are or were working with the Xaros. The Toth are the sworn enemy of the Karigole, an alien race now allied with humanity. So, now Alliance Marines must not only fight off the Xaros, but the Toth also. This battlefield is getting crowded. Lots of military action. Some characters get taken out with serious wounds and some new characters get introduced. We find out more about Marc Issac’s Granddaughter, Stacy, and she appears to be a key player in all of this story.

I’m already on to the third book since I can’t really find anything more interesting right now. I think you’ll enjoy the series. Some of the characters are beginning to have a history and we’re learning a little more about the leaders in this book. There certainly not very many humans left so they have to find some thing to help them fight off what could be millions of Xaros drones in the next battle for Earth.

[Michael Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Second Full Novel in Ember War Series

If anything, this second novel in the series is even better than the first. I emphasize "novel" because it is a full-length book of 400 or so pages. One weakness of many military space opera writers is a tendency to break the story up into very small chunks. Fox did not fall into that mistake. This is a well-written, full-length book.

After Earth had been exterminated (first book), the million or so survivors start gearing up to fight a second expected battle with the evil Xaros make the twelve year round trip from their nearest base to finish their extermination campaign against humanity (and, it would seem, every intelligent species in our galaxy).

The Artificial Intelligence is now passing along more advanced alien technology from the "Alliance" (of alien civilizations that refuse to surrender and die as the Xaros demand). The AI had previously withheld this information because the "Alliance " feared discovery by the Xaros if too much technology revealed that others had helped humanity.

In this novel, we see some of the hidden abilities of the human race, as well as individual members, begin to emerge. In tandem with the protagonists, we begin to learn more about the various civilizations that survive the destruction of the Xaros. We learn the Xaros have decimated nine tenths of our galaxy. Some characters seem to believe that the Xaros are preparing our galaxy for another race.

We meet another race of enemies, a race that actually consumes the minds and then the bodies of intelligent aliens and humans. We also get some hints that there may be concealed motivations for most, if not every one of the competing civilizations. Quite a few plot twists, hard to see where Fox will go, but I look forward to reading the next book. Highly Recommended

[Jesse Fort · Rating 4 out of 5]

The adventure continues.

In the second book of the Ember Wars saga, we begin to see the full story that was started in the 1st book. New allies emerge, New threats show themselves. Not all is seen yet so more twists are yet to come. The action and pace of this novel are perfect, the story slows down just enough to provide depth. This is an excellent 2nd book in a series that has great promise. 4 1/2 stars. Lose half a star for a few editing and grammatical errors, but again, these did not take away from my enjoyment of this book.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 for the Ruins of Anthalas purely because of the dramatic slow down from the pace of book 1. There are a lot of interesting concepts in this book, that will almost certainly be developed in the series, but there were times when it was hard to follow. I don't think I cared much for the alien mind control and possession at random times. There was an interesting teaser towards the end that we may soon find out what the Xaros are up to and why they want to wipe out all life in the galaxy. Good series so far.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well this second book was far better then the first, in it we see more aliens and battles overall a better book than the first for sure. I loved the new alien allies that we have in this book and that it is not just from a view of earth and the characters are going out of their way to fight for their survival.

[Christopher Toon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exciting romp into the Anthalas system of a long dead alien civilisation with the crew of Breitenfeld. Explosive new information is revealed, and we finally get to meet some of the pivotal alien species! Can't wait for book three!

[Craig Sweeney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Page turners

Glad to have found this author. Incredible imagination, great battles, live the hardware that he used. Good characters. Recommended highly.

[LMW · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent read, will keep a sci-fi buff entertained.

[Roo · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a military sci-fi series goes this is pretty good. Great characters, interesting premise, and enough action to satisfy. What emotional drama is included is ancillary but meaningful.

However, and these needs to be an however, there are a few aspects which either baffle me or irritate me. The first, and biggest one, is the reliance on 'eyeballs' for sensors. The crew are forever needing to keep an eye out for enemies etc, in space. This version of a space navy does not rely on mechanical sensors at all. I know it's part of the schitk relating to the Xaros and hacking computers but come on, its space! How on earth, reasonably, are a crew of humans supposed to eyeball their perimeter to detect any threats? Its space!

Also, the windows and reliance on windows. Its space! Spaceships, especially warships, should not be relying on windows on a bridge or decks or ... it just feels too counter-intuitive. Maybe I've been spoiled with other series for whom sensors and readings on a star system are done by a computer such that this deviation feels too unlikely/too unrealistic.

Anyway, I may or may not continue. It's a great idea, but hmm... is it enough to continue?

[Brook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not much as changed (writing style wise) since the first. The character base is a little better, in that fewer POV's make for a tighter story, but character development has still been left to the wayside and this book doesn't do any better than the first for making me care what happens.

This book tries, to make a connection in the beginning by showing a main character travel to his parents destroyed home to get a keep sake. Showing the devastation of the town and and lives affected by it, almost make one feel a part of the narrative. However, the wooden emotions of the characters, followed by the immediate dropping of the premise and going right back to army (navy?) life, kinda erases what it set up to do.

Overall, this book is slightly better than the first, for cutting back on POV's and focusing on groups of characters more. However, if it had done more of this, it would have been better.

Ultimately, I read it only to finish the book set I got, it was an improvement on the first book, but not by much. I won't be going any further in this series.

[Hal Bullock · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second Ember War book gets much more nuanced. Now it isn't the good guys against the bad guys. Complex agendas come out and you find out that altruism is a thin shell surrounding a splintered Alliance. Another evil race--the Toth--rear their bubble heads as humanity goes to the aid of a doomed fellow race, even as two disparate foces set their sites on the nearly-defenseless Earth. Book 2 is another page-turner leaving you hungry for book 3.

As for my pet peaves, Fox has been better about referring to Cortaro as "Gunny" rather than sergeant, but he calls Sergeant Torni "sarge," which is an Army or Air Force affectation the Marines would NEVER use. On the Navy side, Fox calls the ship's crew to "attention!" when it should be "attention on deck!" Am I the only one who notices this stuff?

[David Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

The saga continues

In The Ruins of Anthalas the saga of the Ember War continues. Humanity has barely survived its first encounter with the Xaros. Before the enemy returns humanity must be prepared. They are not alone. There is a coalition of alien species that has formed to fight the Xaros. Now the crew of the Brietenfeld must explore an abandoned civilization for clues on how to destroy this foe. What they find will only lead to more questions


Richard Fix has written an excellent second book to his series. Once again the pacing is fast, but not breakneck. Our favorite characters are back along with some new favorites. The characters are enjoyable and the writing is great. Check out this series and get ready for a good time.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before you read this one, please note it is the second book of a series. This is not a standalone, and you will need to have read the first book of the series or the characters, scenes, etc. won’t make much sense.

The author picks up where he left off with book one. Without having a spoiler, this one didn’t hold my interest very well as it seemed to plod along at times, and many of the scenes were very predictable. The character development just wasn’t there for me and it seemed very formulaic at times, and this will be the end of the road of the series for me. Luckily, I picked this up for free with my Kindle Unlimited subscription vs. its normal price of $3.99.

[Robert Day · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. continuation of the series, less bumps than book one. Continued the established plotline.

Positives:
A strong plot that is a lot of fun to follow.
The characters are interesting. I liked a lot of the secondary characters. They seemed to have more depth than the primary characters. Some world building. The void battles were enjoyable.

Negatives:
Too short! 75K words is half a book (average SciFy novel is 120K words)
Not enough world building, too much borrowing of historical military names. It actually distracted me and pulled me out of the story.

Over all, I liked the series. It's good, but it could be great.
My 2 cents...

[Jim Kratzok · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story continues

So most of humanity has been wiped out. We're in an alliance with advanced alien beings who have been shaping human progress for over 60 years to prepare them for the invasion which destroyed human life on Earth but left a small pocket of survivors. These survivors are still apparently pawns in an intergalactic war with a species that is bent on wiping out intelligent life wherever it is found.

The actual story is better than my description. I guess I need to get started on the next book to see where this is going.

[Connie Fogg-Bouchard · Rating 5 out of 5]

racing to avoid more loss

the Breitenfield takes its men and woman to planet which holds a piece of mining equipment that can help them produce the mineral to take out the Xaros. the Anthalas have been gone from their planet for years and the Xaros leave the planet alone. however, Hale and his crew find evidence that the planet's occupants did not leave.

fantastic. kinda creepy, but in a good way. read on!!!!!

[Cole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story gets harder to follow. I liked the first two books a lot, it seemed original and unexpected in many instances. After reading the 3rd book, I started losing interest with the involvement of additional characters and species. There were already a good amount of characters involved, it becomes too hard to follow the settings and stories all separated and numerous in my opinion. Good story, but I don't think I will finish the series based on my review.

[James Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the five-star rating system I use:

★★★★★ Great book! Can’t wait to read it again (and I will).
★★★★☆ Good book. I am glad I read this.
★★★☆☆ OK book. Nothing special but not bad.
★★☆☆☆ Not good. Why did I waste my time?
★☆☆☆☆ Lousy. I didn’t finish.

If for whatever reason, I go back and reread a good book, I will change the rating to five-star because I read it again.

[Paul Kingtiger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished the book for the second time around. The minor kinks from the first book are solved here, as we follow our heroes to another system to retrieve and important alien artifact and we meet more alien races. The various races and galactic politics are why I love the series so much as this is where it really starts to kick off.

[Debra Schwitzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Better than a Stargate!

I love this story. I am amazed at Richard Fox's writing. The Ember War was great but The Ruins is just fantastic. The aliens are complex, not one dimensional and the story line is wonderfully rich. I love the characters, especially the marines and the Captain. Read this and introduce yourself to them and a truly enjoyable read!

[Todd Gutschow · Rating 3 out of 5]

General space opera

The second book in the series settles in to what can only be described as “general space opera.” The characters are pretty bland for the most part...but just interesting enough to make the book a success. The series needs a little something more, though. Something to set t apart from most other space operas.

[Bogdan Epure · Rating 4 out of 5]

O continuare acceptabilă primului volum care finalizează fundația pe care presupun că vor construi tot ce se va întâmpla în următoarele cărți. Nu pot spune că m-a captivat sau m-a dezamăgit, dar cu siguranță m-a făcut curios să aflu mai multe. Imediat ce am terminat cartea am sărit la următoarea, chiar în aceeași zi.

[Robin Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

Author develops the plot well and the characters are believable. Not only that but his grasp of the military aspects is v solid. His ability to describe the environments of his characters is really well done. Having read all his books in this series it doesn’t peter out ....strong