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The Earthborn Trilogy #2
The Exiled Earthborn
In this thrilling second book of the Earthborn trilogy, Lucas and Asha have survived the decimation of Earth at the hands of the invading Xalans and seek safe haven with their enemy’s true foes, the Sorans. They find a lush planet inhabited by a civilization far more advanced than their own, waging a seemingly endless war against a constantly evolving enemy.
The Sorans call the pair of them the “Earthborn” and they’re welcomed as heroes, almost as gods. To an audience of billions, they swear an oath to avenge their fallen planet by aiding the Sorans in their war against Xala. But soon Lucas and Asha find Sora just as dangerous as apocalyptic Earth when they’re targeted by the Fourth Order, a rebel collective who decries them as false prophets and harbingers of further bloodshed.
Their friend and turncoat Xalan scientist Alpha believes he’s located someone who can help them turn the tide of the war for good, stranded on a conquered colony planet. But landing on the new world, Lucas and Asha find themselves hunted by a violent, mysterious beast, known only as the Desecrator, let loose by the Xalans.
Escaping Earth was only the beginning. As Lucas and Asha quickly learn, the universe has worlds and creatures far more dangerous than anything their home planet could have offered, and their continued survival hinges on gaining new allies they never could have imagined.
Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.
The Sorans call the pair of them the “Earthborn” and they’re welcomed as heroes, almost as gods. To an audience of billions, they swear an oath to avenge their fallen planet by aiding the Sorans in their war against Xala. But soon Lucas and Asha find Sora just as dangerous as apocalyptic Earth when they’re targeted by the Fourth Order, a rebel collective who decries them as false prophets and harbingers of further bloodshed.
Their friend and turncoat Xalan scientist Alpha believes he’s located someone who can help them turn the tide of the war for good, stranded on a conquered colony planet. But landing on the new world, Lucas and Asha find themselves hunted by a violent, mysterious beast, known only as the Desecrator, let loose by the Xalans.
Escaping Earth was only the beginning. As Lucas and Asha quickly learn, the universe has worlds and creatures far more dangerous than anything their home planet could have offered, and their continued survival hinges on gaining new allies they never could have imagined.
Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.
334 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 20, 2013
77 people are currently reading
399 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
March 16, 2017
Great simple scifi, but man, I didn't like the very last part of the ending.
November 26, 2021
Wasn't much of a fan of this, albeit free on audible. Pacing seemed off, very much a marvel style 100mph and jumps from one bit to another, and destination to destination too quick for my liking. Enjoyable enough but ultimately forgettable.
June 3, 2020
Would have given it 5 stars but............ After you read it you'll know.
November 1, 2025
I like this book, I like this series. But for some reason I was feeling a little weary of it around the middle and in my update I suggested the story may be somewhat formulaic... which is funny coming from a guy who loves to read Star Trek and Doctor Who.
I think the eye-of-tiger training sessions (with the third group of genetically enhanced super soldiers we meet) was what wore me down.
But even though I didn't connect with the character backgrounds, I did like them and I enjoyed the "adventure" of watching them fight badass aliens.
All set to take a hop, skip and jump into the finale.
I think the eye-of-tiger training sessions (with the third group of genetically enhanced super soldiers we meet) was what wore me down.
But even though I didn't connect with the character backgrounds, I did like them and I enjoyed the "adventure" of watching them fight badass aliens.
All set to take a hop, skip and jump into the finale.
April 14, 2017
Looking forward to #3
August 5, 2016
The second book in the trilogy was unexpectedly better than the first. Much less predictable than I had anticipated. Looking forward to the conclusion.
December 6, 2019
This review is really for the entire trilogy. Overall, not too bad, but kind of a conglomeration of many sci-fi cliches. And every time you turn the page the characters get more and more superhuman powers and eventually it becomes a bit crazy. I think a really good storyteller will focus more on character weaknesses and struggle than just constantly upping the hero factor again and again.
September 13, 2024
The strongest book in the trilogy, I really enjoyed this. It felt like quite a classic sci-fi book without too many characters or complex storylines to keep up with. I enjoyed the big increase in world building and the character development.
March 4, 2017
The adventure continues!
Just as exciting as the first book! This series would make a great movie; lots of action and interesting characters.
Just as exciting as the first book! This series would make a great movie; lots of action and interesting characters.
January 19, 2021
I enjoyed this book as well as The Last Exodus, and was ready to buy more audible credits to start the third book in the Trilogy. But the last 15 minutes ruined it for me. Left me melancholy.
Spoilers ahead
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If you read The Last Exodus, you spent the entire book getting to know three characters really well. At the end and in this second installation, you are introduced to many more characters, who are then picked off, one by one.
I can understand killing some characters. Silo and Mars, I can understand. Even setting up the Soren leader to be revealed as a human, I get. But killing the main character? Really?
Now I don't even think I'll read the third book.
Spoilers ahead
.
.
.
.
If you read The Last Exodus, you spent the entire book getting to know three characters really well. At the end and in this second installation, you are introduced to many more characters, who are then picked off, one by one.
I can understand killing some characters. Silo and Mars, I can understand. Even setting up the Soren leader to be revealed as a human, I get. But killing the main character? Really?
Now I don't even think I'll read the third book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 4, 2016
Good sequel!
After finishing the 1st book on Audible in just a couple days, I wanted to read this 2nd book immediately to find out what happened next. I noticed the cheap price for the Kindle version and jumped on the opportunity. Although I liked this book a lot, it didn't capture me from the start the same way as the 1st book. However, the latter 2/3 of the book is very exciting and the ending is great! I'll be moving on to the 3rd book now, "Sons of Sora". I hope Paul Tassi continues to write more sci-fi!
After finishing the 1st book on Audible in just a couple days, I wanted to read this 2nd book immediately to find out what happened next. I noticed the cheap price for the Kindle version and jumped on the opportunity. Although I liked this book a lot, it didn't capture me from the start the same way as the 1st book. However, the latter 2/3 of the book is very exciting and the ending is great! I'll be moving on to the 3rd book now, "Sons of Sora". I hope Paul Tassi continues to write more sci-fi!
July 7, 2025
DNR
Having gained celebrity status on Sora overnight, wishing to see this millennia old conflict to an end, the Eartborn, Lucas and Asha, join the Soran military. A terrorist attack by a Soran terrorist organization, the 4th order, a mission to a Zoran colony planet to rescue invaluable wartime assets, a turnaround in the terrorist organizations luck and finally a mission to Zora while in exile from Sora. All this and more takes place in "The Exiled Earthborn".
News of Zetta brought back hope to Alfa. Seeing how ostracized he's been by the Soran military and civilian chain of command. Not motivating Zorans to become turncoats at all. The ruling council of Zora being shadows works to show the current majority of Zoran's eugenics centric world view. Chef's kiss.
Most time of the book was spent on building relationships that go nowhere. While Silo's story was emotional and definitely well executed, personally, Mars, prime minister and her daughter didn't garner emotional investment. Prime minister's story possibly served as justification for civil unrest on Sora, however, same result could have been achieved without her being the constant fixture whenever Earthlings were talking with Soran elite. Mars felt like a terrible commanding officer and poor person. His most descriptive word towards the 'love' (notice the quotation marks) towards prime ministers daughter was how good looking and how beautiful she was. Would have expected genetically bred military personnel to be more emotionally detached, like in animated movie "Genocidal Organ".
Conclusion: 2/5. Listened on Audible included in plus catalogue. Narrated by: Victor Bevine. Having finished book one, was looking forwards to protagonists facing a threat on the scale of threatening the continued existence of life on Sora that would justify Lucas and Asha joining the action after having survived the end of one home world. Alternatively, a time skip to follow the grown up Noah. Instead, feels like protagonists were denied mental healthcare and being thrust into an alien environment defaulted to what they knew, led by Asha's confrontation seeking behavior and Lucas following, being afraid to loose her. I hope in the finale readers get to experience a grown up Noah. Terrible value for the length of the book, buying it with USD- 1.96 $/hour ( 24.95 $ / 12 hrs 44 mins ).
Values:
Terrible: >1.66 $/hour
Bad: 1 - 1.66 $/hour
Good: <1 $/hour
Dream: 0.4 - 0.27 $/hour
Stars:
1 - Not worth the resources to reproduce/preserve this title.
2 -Bad
3 -Good
4 - Personally, love it
5 - Recommended to everyone
Having gained celebrity status on Sora overnight, wishing to see this millennia old conflict to an end, the Eartborn, Lucas and Asha, join the Soran military. A terrorist attack by a Soran terrorist organization, the 4th order, a mission to a Zoran colony planet to rescue invaluable wartime assets, a turnaround in the terrorist organizations luck and finally a mission to Zora while in exile from Sora. All this and more takes place in "The Exiled Earthborn".
News of Zetta brought back hope to Alfa. Seeing how ostracized he's been by the Soran military and civilian chain of command. Not motivating Zorans to become turncoats at all. The ruling council of Zora being shadows works to show the current majority of Zoran's eugenics centric world view. Chef's kiss.
Most time of the book was spent on building relationships that go nowhere. While Silo's story was emotional and definitely well executed, personally, Mars, prime minister and her daughter didn't garner emotional investment. Prime minister's story possibly served as justification for civil unrest on Sora, however, same result could have been achieved without her being the constant fixture whenever Earthlings were talking with Soran elite. Mars felt like a terrible commanding officer and poor person. His most descriptive word towards the 'love' (notice the quotation marks) towards prime ministers daughter was how good looking and how beautiful she was. Would have expected genetically bred military personnel to be more emotionally detached, like in animated movie "Genocidal Organ".
Conclusion: 2/5. Listened on Audible included in plus catalogue. Narrated by: Victor Bevine. Having finished book one, was looking forwards to protagonists facing a threat on the scale of threatening the continued existence of life on Sora that would justify Lucas and Asha joining the action after having survived the end of one home world. Alternatively, a time skip to follow the grown up Noah. Instead, feels like protagonists were denied mental healthcare and being thrust into an alien environment defaulted to what they knew, led by Asha's confrontation seeking behavior and Lucas following, being afraid to loose her. I hope in the finale readers get to experience a grown up Noah. Terrible value for the length of the book, buying it with USD- 1.96 $/hour ( 24.95 $ / 12 hrs 44 mins ).
Values:
Terrible: >1.66 $/hour
Bad: 1 - 1.66 $/hour
Good: <1 $/hour
Dream: 0.4 - 0.27 $/hour
Stars:
1 - Not worth the resources to reproduce/preserve this title.
2 -Bad
3 -Good
4 - Personally, love it
5 - Recommended to everyone
March 12, 2021
Ok, I needed something light enough to take my mind off the horror of the world around me. This book and it's predecessor were very good at that. There was some character development and world building and aliens and a war and spaceships. So far so good. But, and this is a recurring annoyance, there are battles fought against impossible odds, again, and again, and again! Why? The characters and the political intrigue are also worth using to flesh out a story. This book is a cage fight with macho warriors dicing each other up and blowing away aliens on a scale not seen since John Carter on Mars. It's all a bit much. Some violence in a war story is important, but less is more. I wanted to spend more time with the politicians, who were delightfully duplicitous, and the children who were growing up on an alien world mostly without their parents.
January 14, 2022
On the whole I really enjoy the series. Some do not like how fast it moves. One criticism is that the book will jump forward to the big events, and that is fair. There is a lot of world and character building that could be added. On the other hand, if you accept that this is a fast moving story which has a lot of fighting in it you will not be disappointed.
The ending of this book is one that leaves most of us unhappy. In hindsight there is a lot of foreshadowing that takes place. Tassi did not give a real spoiler, but the end does fit with an ongoing theme in this book.
The way it ended has me wondering if I want to read the third book. I probably will, but Tassi did himself no favors in how he ended this one if his intent is to hook readers into the next.
The ending of this book is one that leaves most of us unhappy. In hindsight there is a lot of foreshadowing that takes place. Tassi did not give a real spoiler, but the end does fit with an ongoing theme in this book.
The way it ended has me wondering if I want to read the third book. I probably will, but Tassi did himself no favors in how he ended this one if his intent is to hook readers into the next.
September 12, 2023
Disclaimer: I read this book in audiobook format, and that may have affected my opinion of it.
I always say I’m not a sci-fi girl but I may be slowly becoming one. I have quite enjoyed this book, with all the aliens, science mambo jambo, plasma shooters and everything. It was perfect for boring traffic periods, and Alfa, Lukas and Asha made me company through their adventures. I must say, however, that I could do without so many action scenes and with more dialogue-full, intimate ones (but then again, I don’t usually read this genre so...). I couldn't wait to read the next one and dove straight into it. Honestly, it was a surprise I enjoyed this as much.
I always say I’m not a sci-fi girl but I may be slowly becoming one. I have quite enjoyed this book, with all the aliens, science mambo jambo, plasma shooters and everything. It was perfect for boring traffic periods, and Alfa, Lukas and Asha made me company through their adventures. I must say, however, that I could do without so many action scenes and with more dialogue-full, intimate ones (but then again, I don’t usually read this genre so...). I couldn't wait to read the next one and dove straight into it. Honestly, it was a surprise I enjoyed this as much.
June 16, 2021
If you enjoyed the first book, you will enjoy the second. I suggest reading the first book before reading this one.
Parts of the story have small logic gaps or omissions, yet the story is still hard to put down. Unpredictable turns of events mixed with logical outcomes if you are paying attention. One conflict barely has time to finish before another begins which gives the story a good pace. Good use of technology concepts and their influence on people and society as any science fiction story should. Overall an exciting read.
Parts of the story have small logic gaps or omissions, yet the story is still hard to put down. Unpredictable turns of events mixed with logical outcomes if you are paying attention. One conflict barely has time to finish before another begins which gives the story a good pace. Good use of technology concepts and their influence on people and society as any science fiction story should. Overall an exciting read.
February 11, 2022
The second book in the trilogy and a significant improvement on the first book.
The story is still very tropey, but the execution went from merely competent to actually good. The greatest improvement is in the characters, who feel a lot more realized and have proper arcs that they lacked in the previous entry.
The story is a bit overextended, with many things that could've been their own novel or discarded entirely. And the action is still uninteresting to me, though I'm very particular about that, so that might not represent most people's experience.
Looking forward to the final book.
The story is still very tropey, but the execution went from merely competent to actually good. The greatest improvement is in the characters, who feel a lot more realized and have proper arcs that they lacked in the previous entry.
The story is a bit overextended, with many things that could've been their own novel or discarded entirely. And the action is still uninteresting to me, though I'm very particular about that, so that might not represent most people's experience.
Looking forward to the final book.
August 26, 2018
Great Sci-fi adventure!
Excellent read, lots of action, fun to read. The last Earthborn couple seek revenge for the death of Earth! The conquerors resistance movement helps the Earthborn save humanity. But do they all survive the super weapons of the conqueror? Do they save the human race?
Excellent read, lots of action, fun to read. The last Earthborn couple seek revenge for the death of Earth! The conquerors resistance movement helps the Earthborn save humanity. But do they all survive the super weapons of the conqueror? Do they save the human race?
October 14, 2019
I liked this one better than the first. I think because all of it took place off Earth. We got to see Sora. We got to meet multiple Xalan, multiple Sora and another "species?" of human. All the planets were fleshed out well and I enjoyed reading it. This book set the stage well for the next without being a boring transition. On to book three.
June 23, 2021
Loved this sequel to the Last Exodus, maybe even more than the first book in the trilogy. I'm feeling some trepidation about what is to come with the last book as a result of how this book ended, but I am looking forward to it nevertheless.
Also, I did not read the Kindle edition, but I listened to this on Audible, and the narration by Victor Bevine is excellent!
Also, I did not read the Kindle edition, but I listened to this on Audible, and the narration by Victor Bevine is excellent!
March 5, 2018
Lucas, Asha, and the boy Noah are the only survivors of the Earth and a civilization destroyed the Xalans. They escape to the Soran civilization which is also at war with the Xalans. But their troubles are not over.
January 17, 2021
The second book of the trio logo doesn’t hold up to the first, but does move the story forward and has some great moments. The story is less focused than The Last Exodus, and probably tries to cram too much into its telling. The structure of this one was less innovative that The Last Exodus.
February 3, 2022
The second In a series. Space opera genre but this one is more like battle and battle between human like on other planets. Super boring and repetitive. None of the characters were discernible. Same characters as the first book but just fight after fight. Disappointment.
October 6, 2025
It would have been a four starred novel if it weren’t for two things. First, the death of one of the main characters and second, the third novel being about Asha and Lucas’ sons Noah and Eric.
Haven’t started that novel yet, but I dislike the fact that the main character is killed off.
Haven’t started that novel yet, but I dislike the fact that the main character is killed off.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 24, 2018
It's OK, but nothing to write home about. Kind of simplistic and predictable. Decent characters and decent writing, so I did lightly enjoy the book, but not enough to keep reading the series.
September 6, 2020
3.5. Not a bad read. Decent character development and story. Way better than anything on TV.
May 25, 2021
Has some problems with the science, but the relationships and the turns in the storyline are worth it. Listened to the audiobook but got the paperbacks because I loved the series so much.
August 5, 2021
More like a 2.7. I read the first in the series and it was a strong 4. I loved most of this book but once it became bogged down with military strategy, my eyes rolled back into my head.
November 16, 2021
Solid Story good second book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews