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Star Cross #1
The Star Cross
Admiral Kurt Vickers is on fleet maneuvers in the Newton System when a heavily damaged Earth light cruiser appears. The captain tells a horrific story. Earth has been invaded, and the defensive fleets in orbit have been annihilated. For decades, humans have been exploring further and further away from Earth and Newton searching for signs of intelligent life. Now that intelligent life has found them and it comes as an invader. The enemy is ruthless, powerful, and has a disdain for human life. Admiral Vickers has his small fleet taskforce and is hopelessly outnumbered. However, even in darkness there is light and Admiral Vickers will do whatever is necessary to free Earth from the invaders, even if he has to travel to the worst hellhole in the galaxy to do it.
342 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 29, 2015
804 people are currently reading
287 people want to read
About the author
Raymond L. Weil
91 books339 followersUSA Today Best Selling Author
I live in Clinton Oklahoma with my wife of 40 years and our cat. I attended college at SWOSU in Weatherford Oklahoma, majoring in Math with minors in Creative Writing and History.
My hobbies include watching soccer, reading, camping, and of course writing. I coached youth soccer for twelve years before moving on and becoming a high school soccer coach for thirteen more. I also enjoy playing with my five grandchildren. I have a very vivid imagination, which sometimes worries my friends. They never know what I am going to say or what I am going to do.
I am an avid reader and have a science fiction / fantasy collection of over two thousand paperbacks. The space program has always fascinated me and I've followed it since its inception. When I was a teenager, I wanted to be an astronaut. Now, I just write about it.
I live in Clinton Oklahoma with my wife of 40 years and our cat. I attended college at SWOSU in Weatherford Oklahoma, majoring in Math with minors in Creative Writing and History.
My hobbies include watching soccer, reading, camping, and of course writing. I coached youth soccer for twelve years before moving on and becoming a high school soccer coach for thirteen more. I also enjoy playing with my five grandchildren. I have a very vivid imagination, which sometimes worries my friends. They never know what I am going to say or what I am going to do.
I am an avid reader and have a science fiction / fantasy collection of over two thousand paperbacks. The space program has always fascinated me and I've followed it since its inception. When I was a teenager, I wanted to be an astronaut. Now, I just write about it.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
December 21, 2016
Pretty good, I look forward to the next one.
December 15, 2015
I would say that this is a good story although I also have to say that I liked the other series that Raymond L. Weil have created a tad more. It is an interesting story. It does however delve into the realm of profiteers and an entire society where you can buy everything from pleasure to mercenaries and battleships. Personally I have always found these stories stretching the realm of credibility a bit.
Having said that, it is a good, although perhaps a wee bit simplistic, adventure story. There are some quite decent space battles which is probably why I quite liked the book despite the profiteer setting. This book is less heavy on the actual science compared to, for instance, Star One. It is more of an old fashioned adventure from the age of pirates but set in the future and on a galactic scale.
The writing is quite good and there are plenty of likable characters in this book as well as some not so likable. Actually, if you discount the privateers, which by definition are the bad guys, there is only one truly self-centered, abysmally unlikable, political, asshole who, luckily, are quickly contained. At least in this book. He still hangs around though so I truly hope that, if he is included in any future books, that he expediently gets his behind slapped.
What I do like about this book is the premise of humans being the wrong guys to fuck with. Yes, we were caught off guard and yes we got the crap beaten out of us but the profiteers have indeed put their foot in a hornets nest and I think (hope) the stage is set for some serious ass-kicking and surprises for the privateers. I quite would like to see the humans applying some human ingenuity to the advanced science that the have purchased as well. I so do like these surprise moments…surprises for the bad guys that is.
It has all the making of a good adventure series and, despite some reservations, I for one would like to see a continuation of this book series.
Having said that, it is a good, although perhaps a wee bit simplistic, adventure story. There are some quite decent space battles which is probably why I quite liked the book despite the profiteer setting. This book is less heavy on the actual science compared to, for instance, Star One. It is more of an old fashioned adventure from the age of pirates but set in the future and on a galactic scale.
The writing is quite good and there are plenty of likable characters in this book as well as some not so likable. Actually, if you discount the privateers, which by definition are the bad guys, there is only one truly self-centered, abysmally unlikable, political, asshole who, luckily, are quickly contained. At least in this book. He still hangs around though so I truly hope that, if he is included in any future books, that he expediently gets his behind slapped.
What I do like about this book is the premise of humans being the wrong guys to fuck with. Yes, we were caught off guard and yes we got the crap beaten out of us but the profiteers have indeed put their foot in a hornets nest and I think (hope) the stage is set for some serious ass-kicking and surprises for the privateers. I quite would like to see the humans applying some human ingenuity to the advanced science that the have purchased as well. I so do like these surprise moments…surprises for the bad guys that is.
It has all the making of a good adventure series and, despite some reservations, I for one would like to see a continuation of this book series.
March 15, 2016
I couldn't get past the awful opening. Before the story begins Earth is attacked by enemies who somehow annihilate two defending fleets. As the first chapter begins the bad guys rehearse their piratical schemes at length and deliver infodumps about the skeevy empire they come from--until a third Earth fleet gets the drop on them and blasts most of them to oblivion. The characters are typecast, the dialogue as klunky as it comes, and the battle choreography is--pretty much nonexistent. I don't have particularly high standards when it comes to military SF, but could tell after the first few pages that I'd just be flipping through most of this to get to the end. So, why bother.
November 21, 2017
Ham-handed melodrama
If you like space opera then this is fine although the characters are awkwardly developed and the author has all the skills of a talented high school student. Only a few typographic errors but one is too many.
If you like space opera then this is fine although the characters are awkwardly developed and the author has all the skills of a talented high school student. Only a few typographic errors but one is too many.
May 16, 2018
Another rousing space adventure from Raymond L. Weil.
This time an alien fleet has come to Earth to collect all Earth's gold and gems plus slaves.
Some were able to escape to an off world location but now they need to figure out out to get rid of the fleet of alien ships.
Battles ensue. A great start to this trilogy
This time an alien fleet has come to Earth to collect all Earth's gold and gems plus slaves.
Some were able to escape to an off world location but now they need to figure out out to get rid of the fleet of alien ships.
Battles ensue. A great start to this trilogy
November 22, 2015
Mr. Weil is one of my very favorite military science fiction authors. He is a prolific writer. I don’t know how many books he’s written, but there is a lot. And they all are well written stories with great characters and interesting plots.
In this book, Earth has finally found out that it’s not all fun and games in the universe. For some reason, Earth has explored the stars to the extent they have colonized another planet almost like Earth. While that planet, Newton, has only about six million Earth transplants, it’s growing daily and will very soon become self sufficient. Earth, meanwhile, is sending out other exploration ships with "happy faces" on them (not really), telling anyone in the universe who will listen that we are here, come visit us! So very naive!
Well, our stupidity bites us in the backside very quickly. The Profiteers arrive and they are not the nice little green men we were expecting. They viciously attack and destroy all of the Earth’s space defense fleet with little trouble. Then they begin dropping nuclear weapons on some of our larger cities, like Washington, D.C., Chicago and a number of foreign capitals. That was just the beginning. Then the Profiteers, led by High Profiteer Creed, demand Earth turn over all its precious metals, especially gold, and other jewels and gems as tribute to their new Masters. The Profiteers were also going to send shuttles to Earth to start rounding up healthy young women and men for the slave markets in Kubitz.
The Profiteers turn out to be your normal run of the mill space pirates that just happen to have found Earth in the far distant backwaters of the universe. They make a living by finding defenseless planets or spaceships and attacking them for their gold and other valuables. They then turn them into credits on the planet Kubitz which happens to be in the middle of a large Empire devoted solely to commerce, legal or illegal.
Earth has quite a lot of growing up to do if it survives this first alien encounter. Fortunately, Admiral Kurt Vickers had a small fleet conducting military exercises around the colony planet Newton. He finds out about the devastating attack on Earth and gathers his meager forces to go find out what they can do to help Earth, if anything. They know they will be outgunned and out shipped from initial reports. He cannot risk getting his fleet destroyed, so he must be very careful if he engages the Profiteers in battle. From that point on, it’s up to Admiral Vickers to figure out how to save Earth from total destruction. He and his ship, the Star Cross, must become educated in the ways of the real universe, and do so, very, very quickly.
I liked this story because it was so simple and straightforward. Most everything that happened, happened like it should with very little unexpected successes or failures. In some books, just when you think the good guys are going to get away with something, some calamity happens to cause a setback. Not so in this book. Admiral Vickers has a plan and he makes it happen. Oh, he does get attacked and he does lose ships and men, but not to the point of completely shutting down all hope for Earth. It’s a good story to read. One of the most amazing things I like about this book is that all the character names are pronounceable. I mean, even the aliens have understandable and pronounceable names. That makes for a quicker reading book in my opinion. I wish more authors would understand that names don’t have to have all be alien all the time.
I think you’ll like this book and I believe this may be just the beginning of a great series. I really hope so.
In this book, Earth has finally found out that it’s not all fun and games in the universe. For some reason, Earth has explored the stars to the extent they have colonized another planet almost like Earth. While that planet, Newton, has only about six million Earth transplants, it’s growing daily and will very soon become self sufficient. Earth, meanwhile, is sending out other exploration ships with "happy faces" on them (not really), telling anyone in the universe who will listen that we are here, come visit us! So very naive!
Well, our stupidity bites us in the backside very quickly. The Profiteers arrive and they are not the nice little green men we were expecting. They viciously attack and destroy all of the Earth’s space defense fleet with little trouble. Then they begin dropping nuclear weapons on some of our larger cities, like Washington, D.C., Chicago and a number of foreign capitals. That was just the beginning. Then the Profiteers, led by High Profiteer Creed, demand Earth turn over all its precious metals, especially gold, and other jewels and gems as tribute to their new Masters. The Profiteers were also going to send shuttles to Earth to start rounding up healthy young women and men for the slave markets in Kubitz.
The Profiteers turn out to be your normal run of the mill space pirates that just happen to have found Earth in the far distant backwaters of the universe. They make a living by finding defenseless planets or spaceships and attacking them for their gold and other valuables. They then turn them into credits on the planet Kubitz which happens to be in the middle of a large Empire devoted solely to commerce, legal or illegal.
Earth has quite a lot of growing up to do if it survives this first alien encounter. Fortunately, Admiral Kurt Vickers had a small fleet conducting military exercises around the colony planet Newton. He finds out about the devastating attack on Earth and gathers his meager forces to go find out what they can do to help Earth, if anything. They know they will be outgunned and out shipped from initial reports. He cannot risk getting his fleet destroyed, so he must be very careful if he engages the Profiteers in battle. From that point on, it’s up to Admiral Vickers to figure out how to save Earth from total destruction. He and his ship, the Star Cross, must become educated in the ways of the real universe, and do so, very, very quickly.
I liked this story because it was so simple and straightforward. Most everything that happened, happened like it should with very little unexpected successes or failures. In some books, just when you think the good guys are going to get away with something, some calamity happens to cause a setback. Not so in this book. Admiral Vickers has a plan and he makes it happen. Oh, he does get attacked and he does lose ships and men, but not to the point of completely shutting down all hope for Earth. It’s a good story to read. One of the most amazing things I like about this book is that all the character names are pronounceable. I mean, even the aliens have understandable and pronounceable names. That makes for a quicker reading book in my opinion. I wish more authors would understand that names don’t have to have all be alien all the time.
I think you’ll like this book and I believe this may be just the beginning of a great series. I really hope so.
October 20, 2017
We would absolutely lose our minds.
This book just didn't do it for me. I found the pace far too slow, the characters only marginally more than two dimensional, the hominid alien races preposterous and the behavior of the humans incomprehensible.
The behavior of the humans in this book bothered me the most. How do you think our species would react if an alien race killed tens of millions of our people, began to enslave the rest, and we had enough technology to fight back? Do you think we would be calm, calculating and determined? Do you think we would refrain from reacting and take our time to get ready to fight back? Would our leaders be rational and show restraint? Would we calmly give them gold and let them take our people? I don't think so.
We would absolutely lose our minds. We would attack and slaughter the enemy at every opportunity, regardless of the cost. We would move to an all out war footing and no resources would be spared. We would attack them on earth, we'd attack their ships and we'd eventually destroy their home worlds. And since, for us, necessity is the mother of invention, we would likely find new and inventive ways to kill them, surprising and disgusting the rest of the galaxy. We would be relentless, till they simply ceased to exist. Don't believe me? Read our history. The behavior of the humans was so incongruous, it was distracting. I kept waiting for real human nature to kick in. It didn't.
This book just didn't do it for me. I found the pace far too slow, the characters only marginally more than two dimensional, the hominid alien races preposterous and the behavior of the humans incomprehensible.
The behavior of the humans in this book bothered me the most. How do you think our species would react if an alien race killed tens of millions of our people, began to enslave the rest, and we had enough technology to fight back? Do you think we would be calm, calculating and determined? Do you think we would refrain from reacting and take our time to get ready to fight back? Would our leaders be rational and show restraint? Would we calmly give them gold and let them take our people? I don't think so.
We would absolutely lose our minds. We would attack and slaughter the enemy at every opportunity, regardless of the cost. We would move to an all out war footing and no resources would be spared. We would attack them on earth, we'd attack their ships and we'd eventually destroy their home worlds. And since, for us, necessity is the mother of invention, we would likely find new and inventive ways to kill them, surprising and disgusting the rest of the galaxy. We would be relentless, till they simply ceased to exist. Don't believe me? Read our history. The behavior of the humans was so incongruous, it was distracting. I kept waiting for real human nature to kick in. It didn't.
June 22, 2017
I wanted to like this book. A fantastic premise and I love a good military science fiction story, but this was more YA Adventure than anything else. The plot had such potential but the writing falls flat and in many places redundant. I kept hoping it would get better, but the story never generated the interest I hoped, which is sad because the author created an amazing vibrant world and and other human like races but they were never explored. I am a Navy Veteran, and I can be nit picky around naval fiction, but I had a very hard time time believing the main protagonist was in any military much less a Fleet Admiral. The dialogue, especially in a military setting, was both unrealistic and uninspired. The characters have such potential, but they all come across as uninteresting and one dimensional and this is a true shame. The minor characters such a Keera or Private Dulcet have the most interesting stories, but they are never fleshed out. The battle scenes are paced far too quickly. There is no suspense and and at no point is the outcome of any conflict in doubt. I am skipping over the rest of the series, I have no reason to believe that the to other books in the series will be any better,
December 24, 2015
Earth finds others in the galaxy
I really think this could be the start of a decent series regarding Earth's place in the universe. Although in this book, the good guys are really good, the aliens are very powerful, and the battles easily won, there is potentially a quality universe to explore. Who are the controllers and how did they become the arbiters in the known universe? How did the Gothan empire develop? Now that Earth is known, are there other planetary us to explore or to ally with us. What about the old and rich civilizations? There are a myriad of stories possible and Weil writes well enough for me to want to know more. This book raises many questions to explore and I hope it gets the chance to grow into a well developed universe with a life of its own. My complaint arises mainly from the obviousness of the love affair and the ease with which Earth buys its own protection. Some of this feels too easy; however if you a building up for more stories from this universe I can see a need for Earth to survive. Fun read and may turn into a great series.
I really think this could be the start of a decent series regarding Earth's place in the universe. Although in this book, the good guys are really good, the aliens are very powerful, and the battles easily won, there is potentially a quality universe to explore. Who are the controllers and how did they become the arbiters in the known universe? How did the Gothan empire develop? Now that Earth is known, are there other planetary us to explore or to ally with us. What about the old and rich civilizations? There are a myriad of stories possible and Weil writes well enough for me to want to know more. This book raises many questions to explore and I hope it gets the chance to grow into a well developed universe with a life of its own. My complaint arises mainly from the obviousness of the love affair and the ease with which Earth buys its own protection. Some of this feels too easy; however if you a building up for more stories from this universe I can see a need for Earth to survive. Fun read and may turn into a great series.
November 18, 2015
The ship Star Cross returns to earth after a severely damaged war ship shows up at Earth's only colony word. What they find is a group of ships in orbit and signs that Earth has sustained a nuclear bombardment. In response Admiral Vickers takes the Star Cross and his small fleet of ships in to a surprise attack. After driving the ships off and meeting with the North American Union president, the admiral finds that the group that attacked are called Profiteers, essentially space pirates and they are here to plunder Earth. But the Profiteers do not plan on giving up on Earth and it's plunder, they will be back. And Admiral Vickers must not only protect his small fleet and Earth's only colony, but must find some way to take back Earth from the Profiteers.
January 7, 2016
This is a fun bit of space opera. It turns out that the galaxy has lots of other civilizations, and they're more than happy to let pirates come to earth, and nuke us for tribute.
But the amounts of gold and treasure they want are ... laughingly small! It's like that Austin Powers scene where the bad guy says he wants "One Million Dollars" and it's below the threshold to make people think it's a problem.
What that does, it makes earth people potentially an instant competitor with the pirates, and gives them a chance to build up and protect themselves.
The space battles show the kind of innovation that sets humans apart from their enemies. We're the crazy ivans of the galaxy, right?
One assumes that the subtitle implies that there will be more. I'm looking forward to it.
But the amounts of gold and treasure they want are ... laughingly small! It's like that Austin Powers scene where the bad guy says he wants "One Million Dollars" and it's below the threshold to make people think it's a problem.
What that does, it makes earth people potentially an instant competitor with the pirates, and gives them a chance to build up and protect themselves.
The space battles show the kind of innovation that sets humans apart from their enemies. We're the crazy ivans of the galaxy, right?
One assumes that the subtitle implies that there will be more. I'm looking forward to it.
June 22, 2016
Hello out there!
Earth found that it was not alone! When an alien fleet appeared out of nowhere, it destroyed the Earth fleet and nuked the Earth!
Earth was now the property of alien pirates. The secondary fleet was returning from the colony world Newton. It took on the enemy fleet but had to retreat.
This book is well written and the characters are well developed. The plot twists are a pleasure to read and make the book exciting. I look forward to a new series with anticipation.
Earth found that it was not alone! When an alien fleet appeared out of nowhere, it destroyed the Earth fleet and nuked the Earth!
Earth was now the property of alien pirates. The secondary fleet was returning from the colony world Newton. It took on the enemy fleet but had to retreat.
This book is well written and the characters are well developed. The plot twists are a pleasure to read and make the book exciting. I look forward to a new series with anticipation.
November 6, 2015
A great start
It was a good start to another series of books from Raymond. Earth was attacked by an new and evil race. It left the earth with only one small group of space ships. We see how they start to fight back to free earth. A great read looking forward to the next book.
It was a good start to another series of books from Raymond. Earth was attacked by an new and evil race. It left the earth with only one small group of space ships. We see how they start to fight back to free earth. A great read looking forward to the next book.
November 6, 2015
Starts slow, but a great read
What a great story. It starts out as a book I have already read, then quickly turns into something else that was a very exciting to read. If you like surprises, you can't go wrong with this book.
What a great story. It starts out as a book I have already read, then quickly turns into something else that was a very exciting to read. If you like surprises, you can't go wrong with this book.
November 16, 2015
Great battle scenes
This book kept me up almost all night reading. I couldn't wait to see what was happening next. Strongly recommend this book and author to anyone that enjoys military science fiction.
This book kept me up almost all night reading. I couldn't wait to see what was happening next. Strongly recommend this book and author to anyone that enjoys military science fiction.
November 18, 2015
Good book. Enjoyed the action sequences. I was disappointed that the characters were so sketchy. The plot was very straight forward with few deviations or plot devices. Good and bad characters were clearly written. Worth the time.
November 23, 2015
Another great start from a fantastic author.
A new series that I hope will continue. Having read everything so far written by this author. I can honestly say that it gets better with new book. Thank you for another fantastic start. A fan
A new series that I hope will continue. Having read everything so far written by this author. I can honestly say that it gets better with new book. Thank you for another fantastic start. A fan
December 9, 2015
A new Space Opera begins with a bang!
Raymond Weil has created a new universe where greed in good! Earth comes under the gun in this great story with lots of well thought out battles. Keep up the great work. Can't wait for the next installment.
Raymond Weil has created a new universe where greed in good! Earth comes under the gun in this great story with lots of well thought out battles. Keep up the great work. Can't wait for the next installment.
December 15, 2015
Very good book
Very enjoyable book. My only concern was the extent of the inclusion of sex and it's associated extensions. May be just me as an old cart but otherwise great book and better ending. Keep up the great efforts.
Very enjoyable book. My only concern was the extent of the inclusion of sex and it's associated extensions. May be just me as an old cart but otherwise great book and better ending. Keep up the great efforts.
November 11, 2015
Great storyline
Definitely enjoyed this book. Keep the storyline going please. I want to know what the future holds for this group of characters as well as the story universe.
Definitely enjoyed this book. Keep the storyline going please. I want to know what the future holds for this group of characters as well as the story universe.
November 16, 2015
Very good.
Stay on the edge of my seat. Read the book instead of watching television. Made for a very relaxing evening
Stay on the edge of my seat. Read the book instead of watching television. Made for a very relaxing evening
November 17, 2015
Great read.
I could no put this book down. Read it in one day. I want more now. So give it 5.
I could no put this book down. Read it in one day. I want more now. So give it 5.
November 24, 2015
Nice light reqd
I always enjoy these sort of books. They are a bit of feel good scifi novel where the day is saved...with some destruction of course
I always enjoy these sort of books. They are a bit of feel good scifi novel where the day is saved...with some destruction of course
December 2, 2015
Good read
Interesting story. What's next, retribution or exploration?
How will the earth with it's propensity for innovation fit in with the galaxy at large?
Interesting story. What's next, retribution or exploration?
How will the earth with it's propensity for innovation fit in with the galaxy at large?
December 13, 2015
A thoroughly enjoyable, well-written story. I'll be reading more of this author, but I would really like to see what happens next in this story.
May 30, 2016
Can't wait for July and the second book. Great tale that combines today's politics with tomorrow's galactic problems.
February 2, 2016
Outstanding
This was an outstanding read the story flowed smoothly and never dragged. I would recommend this book to any Sci Fi reader who likes some intrigue.
This was an outstanding read the story flowed smoothly and never dragged. I would recommend this book to any Sci Fi reader who likes some intrigue.
March 5, 2016
The central idea of the book was very good. The manner in which the author populated the galaxy was new and unique. I enjoyed it.
July 6, 2016
exciting scifi that brings in a new angle
a good page-turner!
a good page-turner!
August 4, 2016
Well written
It was well written and easy to follow. The storyline was well thought out. I'll be waiting for the next installment.
It was well written and easy to follow. The storyline was well thought out. I'll be waiting for the next installment.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews