Battle Cruiser

Lost Colonies Trilogy #1

by B.V. Larson

One starship will either save Earth or destroy her.A century ago our star erupted, destroying Earth’s wormhole network and closing off trade with her colonized planets. After being out of contact with the younger worlds for so many years, Humanity is shocked when a huge ship appears at the edge of the Solar System. Our outdated navy investigates, both curious and fearful. What they learn from the massive vessel shocks the planet. The lost colonies have survived—but the reunion isn’t going to be a happy one. Our descendants are vastly superior in the art of warfare. Worse, there are other beings undreamed of beyond the human strange, unfathomable…alien. Battle Cruiser Defiant, the first capital ship to darken Earth’s skies, is tasked with exploring new passages to the younger planets. Old Earth must reunite with her children…but can humanity survive the inevitable conflicts? Captain William Sparhawk, determined to follow a path of honor and truthfulness, dares to rise to the challenge.BATTLE CRUISER, the first book of the Lost Colonies Trilogy, is a military science fiction novel by bestselling author B. V. Larson.

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

407 pages, Paperback

First published June 19, 2015

About the author

Brian Larson is an American science fiction and fantasy author

Reviews

[David O'Brien · Rating 1 out of 5]

I randomly chose this book on the basis of the story outline. Unfortunately it wasn't a good choice. The story could have been a good one but the book is ruined by the strangest writing style I've encountered in quite a while. I found it bombastic and artificial with dialogue that sounded like it was written by a stiff-backed Victorian! The archaic, formal style was really off-putting and became more and more annoying as the story progressed. There is also an incredibly juvenile habit of portraying all authority figures as arrogant, pompous and stupid. It grates after the first few and then just becomes predictable, boring and silly. Added to this are frequent leaps in achievement without any sign of effort or narrative. It's almost magical :-) Or just lazy plotting. There is also the inexplicable glossing over of momentous events on Earth such as the murder in one night of 67 of the world's 'leaders'. It was simply brushed aside as a non-event. It felt like the writer was simply too lazy, or rushed, to bother dealing with it. The whole political scene was a bit shallow and under-developed generally.

Another criticism is his ridiculous relationship with Chloe that morphs from nothing to the biggest thing ever without the slightest effort at development. Because, of course, the main character simply had to have a convenient love interest. And their interaction is truly cringe-worthy. Shudderingly artificial and superficial. In fact, in general, the characters, including the narrator/protagonist, are wafer thin and universally unappealing. I did like Zye though.

I bought the next instalment together with this as a special offer. I'll be deleting it. Not for adult readers. As always, nonetheless, respect to the writer.

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have several books waiting for me to review them and move them off the "currently reading shelf". Sadly none have been..."so great I couldn't wait to review them!". I suppose I should be glad none were so bad as to make me hurl them away.

This is another in the recent crop of military science fiction reads where an Earth at peace for a long time is thrown into a conflict where they are out gunned and in trouble.

Here there is another specter looming on the horizon that adds to the "threat of doom", if I tell you what that is however it will be a spoiler...so....you know. I will say you've also seen it before.

The problem for me here is I just didn't get into the world/universe. A stultified earth with a sort of aristocratic feel about the governing bodies, the formal balls, the guardsmen with sabres, the family ashamed because the heir went into the military... It all just wasn't my cup of tea...so to speak.

So not really a bad book and I imagine some of you will like it much more than I do. I doubt I'll follow the series. So while I'm not really interested in the series I still think it gets its head above a 2, barely.

[MightyA · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the Audiobook Audible version, excellently narrated by Edoardo Ballerini. I find the writing smooth, dialogs concise and humorous, plot development gripping, technical information revealed timely, characters interesting, and story easy to follow.

[Ben Stack · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay

An easy read. I found the politics dull. The science marginal and the characters were thin. I'm a fan of capital ship battles and first contact tales, so I stuck this one out. I figure I'm not the target audience. A teen would enjoy this very much.

[Balthasaar · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read alot of Military sci-fi & had seen Larson’s name around so gave this a shot. Now I’m thinking I recognize it from the bargain bin & there might be a reason.

So the protagonist of BattleCruiser is a Mary Sue self-made man whose family is rich and powerful and if that-doesn’t-fit-you-are-correct. He’s the captain of a small starship who is confident and brilliant and honest and patriotic and is honorable b/c he initiates swordfights when there is absolutely no reason or benefit to do so. (See Fountainhead) He’s also the lead detective in his father’s attempted assassination which he also foiled but whose only ‘investigating’ involves trying to date the main suspect & being rude to rich-people because rules-are-for-plebs. All of his enemies are his commanding officers who are drooling moron hypocrites who won’t listen to him and try to literally kill him for speaking truth & doing his job but then change on a dime & can’t stop fawning over him after he dazzles then with his amazingness!

So it’s fan-fic Randian Objectivist wish fulfillment drek & Larson’s got issues. {sad trombone music}
…But wait, there’s more.
So there’s a character representing a long-lost human colony from the star Beta-something? All the people there are clones who are docile and simple and subservient and at one point the protagonist says ‘Yes, Beta’s are rather uncreative, aren’t they’ (Not like Alphas who are also discussed) and it all clicked into place & I smelled the MRA. (be thankful if you don’t know the acronym). I’d bet $$ Larson is one of the sad-puppy Hugo nominees a couple years back. The self-aggrandizing Marty Stu-ness was like a puzzle-piece that brought into focus all the surrounding bullshit.
Like how his crew is superfluous because he solves all the mysteries himself and is better than everybody at whatever their specialization is and he ‘well, actually’s them.
Like how everybody dislikes him because he’s from a rich powerful family (read ‘privileged’) but they all are Wrong because he’s alienated himself from his powerful family (which-does-not-diminish-said-privilege) and all authority figures are stupid cucks who fill the media with fake-news and lies and why-don’t-they-appreciate-me-and-the-giant-battlecruiser(penis)-that-I-brought-them!

But the biggest razzie is for the complicated feels about women & BBWs in particular by way of the Beta woman Ze. She's from a high-gravity planet so is extremely large and stocky but also from a matriarchal culture that forces conformity and punishes independent thought. (what metaphor?) All the characters disparage her amazon size & unfeminine brutish demeanor - but the protagonist also rhapsodizes over her single-minded subservience & loyalty w/some primo ‘noble savage’ notes. These qualities blend to make her both disgusting and yet the perfect woman. Not like those uppity beautiful high-society women who don’t return your sublight communications & whose hands turn into knives to stab you in the heart [this actually happens, because subtly is dead] Did I mention Larson might have issues?

So yeah, I don't think I'll be reading more Larson. Upgraded from 1 star to 2 b/c once the bullshit came into focus it was kinda funny to hate-read ala 'the Room'.

[S.J. Higbee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is fun! William Sparhawk is an interesting protagonist. Rigid and an unbending follower of the rules, he isn’t your average swashbuckling rebel – or is he? When you put him into the context of a stagnating society with his father the head of one of the main political parties who are arguing hard to cut back on the Star Guard who patrol the solar system. William is expected to serve as his father’s intern, ready to position himself as his father’s successor – after all, he had been partly cloned from his father’s genes. Instead, he joins up the Guard, persisting in serving despite the obvious and continued hostility from his superior officers who are convinced he is spying on behalf of his famous father. However, he isn’t – he genuinely believes in the values and purpose of the Guard and the obstacles placed in his way only harden his resolve to continue serving.

And then a particular mission takes a left turn into the weird… Larson is an experienced, skilled writer and it shows. The pacing, character progression and blending of action and explanation of the world works really well. To be honest, for those who like their worldbuilding detailed, this one will feel a bit fractured as we only see it from William’s viewpoint. But I’m fine with that – this is, after all, a trilogy so there is clearly more to come.

The action sequences in space work really well and as the classic fight against all overwhelming odds kicks off, Larson makes it both believable and gripping. I was genuinely relieved when some of the supporting characters also made it through, as I have a hunch that Larson won’t mind too much if a couple of said characters don’t make it through.

As for the romance – I wasn’t quite so invested in it as I didn’t particularly warm to the object of William’s affections. However, that may well be intentional. I’ll find out in the next book – because I’m definitely going to be tracking down the next book in this entertaining series.
9/10

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story was full of recycled tropes and it had scenes that were contrived. The voice of the main character did not make him any more likable. He came across as arrogant. In fact I have a name for him but not one I would put in a review. By the end of the book I had gotten used to the voice and since it did not go in a straight line I kept listening just to see what happened next. This was not a audio book I purchased so the things that made this a three star book did not bother me as much as it would if I had been out money.

[David Blyth · Rating 4 out of 5]

B. V. Larson is a new author for me. I've seen his books on Amazon for a while and not taken the plunge despite some excellent reviews. I'm glad I finally decided to take the plunge. I've read military science fiction for years with authors such as David Weber.
This, the first book of a trilogy, is unashamedly military SF as well as space opera. The character of William Sparhawk is three dimensional - a character I'm looking forward to learning more about in the next two volumes of the trilogy which I will definitely read.
The conflict between his allegiance to House Sparhawk and to the Star Guard is well developed. Many of the tropes of SF are here, anti-ageing drugs used by the ruling houses, political intrigue, underfunded star guard, lost colonies of eath's diaspora, etc. I would recommend this book highly

[Jeff Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Five stars for enjoyment value. Just unabashed space opera with a main hero facing impossible odds.

[William Edmondson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've recently become addicted to these military spaceship kind of sci fi books. I tore through this one in a few days and will probably be binging the series as soon as I find the time. Very similar to Marko Kloos' Frontlines series though this might be the forerunner (both are new to me).

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Long ago, Earth's governments sent out ships to explore and colonize other planets outside our solar system. The Cataclysm occurred, breaking not only the routes and communications channels with these colonists, but also breaking humanities' desire to even consider attempting to communicate with the colonists.

Decades later, Captain Sparhawk is sent to explore an anomalous asteroid. What he and his crew discover is far more than just an asteroid, though, and his report sets off some extremely odd behavior through all kinds of people, including his immediate superior.

I found the book very exciting to read, thrilling me like the times I read Asimov and Heinlein as a young child to mid-teens. And it was easy to read, too, very compelling. The main characters were real enough to come across as real, and the characters that come across as unreal do so for a reason. I was drawn in so much that I finished the book in four days.

I recommend the book highly, no reservations. I look forward to reading more in the series.

[Bluecobras09 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another exiting story by B. V. Larson. 150 years after a Solar Flare destroyed so much of the Earth's technology and the worm holes used to reach Earth's colonies, William Sparhawk, Captain of a pinnace in Earth fleet makes a discovery that Earth fears. While dealing with Star Guard personnel that dislike him because of his father's political views and determination to disban the Star Guard, his ship discovers a massive starship which turns out to be from one of Earth's colony worlds. The discovery has chilling consequences. There are still wormholes to Earth. And they are going to find out that there are others out there that already know of the wormholes, in fact they are already on Earth.

Recommended read.

[Larry B Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Battle Cruiser by B. V. Larson is a military science fiction space opera which will leave you breathless every time you put it down. This fast paced, action packed book is a great example of sci-fi writing at its best.

I really liked the way the author wove a storyline that never let me down. With his ever changing plot twist and turns I had to stay on my toes to keep up. The adventure and intrigue kept me glued to its pages.

B. V. Larson has put together a cast of characters that are both realistic and easy to identify with. The main characters are very heroic but at the same time very down to earth and believable.

I really liked Battle Cruiser by B. V. Larson and highly recommend this book to all readers.

[Chris Gillies · Rating 3 out of 5]

An odd book, with so much potential depth wrt the politics of the planet, and the wider expanse of human space. None of which was touched on more deeply than a surface graze. The love interest of the primary character was just.....odd. It's a relationship that's growth just doesn't make sense.

Anyway, the plotline is good enough, and the battle scenes are well written, and when the drifting hulk of the battle cruiser is discovered, the exploration of the ship grabs the attention. Otherwise, much of the story is abrupt, nonsensical and senseless.

[Country Goose · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hit 86.5% and had to call it quits. The thing that should have clued me in on how this ban plays out was it took until about 10-13 chapters to make me get into the story. The subterfuge is capturing to mybatyention, but the constant added facts and the multiple villains is irritating to me. The characters are vastly immature, and apparently simple-minded. Most of the information clashes with itself. Edoardo the narrator was absolutely amazing though. I could listen to him nonstop, so I'm looking up his other work to follow. I just cannot follow this book any more.

[Lori Niemuth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed emotions...

Despite a good plot with decent characters, this book was spoiled by many instances where the author repeated himself. Whether it was a piece of information integral to the plot or not, Larson has a habit of telling the reader the same thing over and over again. Even if the author had forgotten he told the reader before, this should have been caught in the editing process. If it is the author's "style," ugh! Annoying.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a surprise!
I started listening to this audiobook not expecting much. IIRC I got it on an audible-sale. But I was blown away: It has some minor weaknesses, is sometimes a bit foreseeable. Overall however it's such a great, captivating read that I did something I hadn't done in a long time: I just sat down, doing nothing, just to finish the current chapter.

Really nice. Hooked for parts #2 and #3 of the trilogy.

[Fernando · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's rare I'll bitch about anything even when I'm low starring something. The moment they made it back to earth and this dude had to explain why there was a giant chick with him and what was happening for the 100th time to really shitty people I was out. 75% and I tried. The good bits were not enough.

[John Yanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast-paced ride!

Really enjoyed the concept of lost colonies that grew to challenge and in some cases surpass Earth's technology. The enemy is everywhere and could be anyone.. The characters were believable with intriguing, suspenseful plots and subplots throughout!

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. Ready for the next one.

[Michael Tidd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ever wonder what would happen if Dickens wrote The Expanse?

No? huh. Okay. Well...

Tone in this novel is very odd. First person perspective by itself isn't abnormal, but the archaic customs and behaviors of every character is just too much. The main complaints:

- everyone in authority is the same. Ignores facts, ignores main character, cuts him off, disparages him, hangs up on him. Go on, check. 6 characters do this.
- underlings are almost meaningless. Many characters die that are never named. "Crewmen". And not in a summary of battle, but right there in the scene. Two or three get some lines and development.
- the main character starts with a magical item no one else has, and then lucks into a starship the likes of which Earth has never seen, and a bodyguard that is nigh unbeatable (and knows everything about the enemy). Oh and the princess he wants is falling for him easily, even after he beats the snot out of her guards. Real struggle, this one! Overcoming the odds.

The novel has a weird middle ages vibe, with family houses and inherited titles and decorum and dances. It reads like it could've been penned in the 1800s. Light on science for sci-fi, altho at least the force of propulsion is handled. I can't really move forward with the rest of the series.

[Jim Westcott · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought since I didn't mind Larsons writing in the previous series but hated the protagonist I would give this set a run. Its shorter, I thought, so a lesser gamble. It did work out, I ended up liking this one better than the last. Its shallow, quick moving and buoyant. Larson uses many of the same frameworks from the previous series, it would have been better without... The protagonist is an underdog completely over capable in a hierarchy of incompetent pompous powerful idiots in charge of government and military. Unlike McTurd in the Mercenary series, this protagonist is a good guy who tries to do the right thing even when being gratingly insubordinate because he's doing whatever "by the book"...

Again women of all walks of life throw themselves at the protagonist and he sprays his DNA everywhere he can while trying not to look like a dirtbag... don't know if the target audience is hormonal teens or if Larsen is a sex starved hermit but the sexual content in both series are awkward and gratuitous. If its female its frisky and it wants to swap fluids with main character, human or not...

This series of 3 books the pages turned easily and although there is nothing challenging the reader to think, at least there wasn't the same trouble as the Mercenary series where I had to set it down to take a break.

[HahTse · Rating 3 out of 5]

(German Audiobook version)

Interesting story with a good, if unimaginative, premise.
I liked it well enough to listen through it and continue on with the sequel.

But the characters are just so...flat, really.
The main protagonist is honourable to a fault (in stark contrast to his constantly scheming politician parents), the love interest's main qualification is that she's incredibly beautiful (and the heiress
to a rival house), the sidekicks are a greying/old, potbellied, foul-mouthed - but highly competent - petty officer and a human alien that is blunt and oblivious and thinks herself to be very smart and cunning.

Every single authority person is a blazing idiot, jumping to outrageous conclusions in fractions of a second and then refusing to even consider that they might be wrong. And the one authority person that's actually helpful to the protagonist turns out to be an infiltrator -- which is actually the only twist in this book that caught me by surprise.

3 stars for all those faults, but as I said - the premise is interesting enough to keep me reading.

[Adam Calhoun · Rating 3 out of 5]

Battle Cruiser has one of my favorite premises: a hulking ship is found from an alien civilization. What mysteries await!?

The book is fun and the universe is interesting but the characters are flat and GOD does the author lean on the characters-do-what-the-plot-needs trope. It is frustrating when characters have no motivation other than what the plot demands, are frustrating for the sake of being frustrating.

I would probably read the next one (err, listen to it on audiobook) if it was heavily on sale but I don't know that I could recommend it in good conscious unless you were a fan of this particular scenario.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good start for a book one of a series – the future technology is not too far over your heads to cry foul, the future of mankind makes you wonder if it will really be that bad, and you start daydreaming a bit in a “what if” scenario as if you were right there. I’m ready to read the next title in the series.

I picked this up for free using a Kindle Unlimited borrow vs. its regular price of $3.99: if you like science fiction, I believe you will get a bit more than $3.99 of entertainment value out of this one.

[Ryan Rauber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Military sci-fi action novel. Earth of the future has been cut off from its colonies for over 150 years. Now it discovers that the colonies survived, and even prospered. They have even explored further into the galaxy, and as it turns out, have been among us for some time. As far as military sci-fi goes, I've read better and I've read worse. This book was a little long in the tooth, perhaps since this is being billed as first in a series they're setting us up for additional plot points. But I think overall fans of the genre will be pleased.

[Dale Rosso · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this to be a decent story, it's good paced, interesting enough to keep a reader from putting it aside. Those who like the sci-fi tales of Asimov, Clarke, Sidmak and James White should enjoy this series. I found myself rooting for Sparhawk and his crew through all their tribulations. Having grown up and spending more than 50 years reading the classic science fiction authors, expectations can be high when trying out a new author in the genre but B.V. Larson has meet my expectations and after I finish this series I will try another of his series.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a complete future society built on many different factors like hereditary noble houses, cloneing, routine space travel, nerve implants, life extending medical procedures, and solar system wide almost instantaneous communication.
The story is based around one noble son who decides to be a Star Guard officer instead of entering politics like his father and the trouble he gets into because of his choices. And of course he is the "hero" of his own story.

[MystiqueLaLynx · Rating 1 out of 5]

It starts out on a space ship but then the main character is on his home planet with parents that are anything but good parents- being very political and highly placed in the government. I lost interest when he was "allowed" to go talk to a rival political family. It was just too far outside my life experiences to enjoy the story or the character development. For me unbelievable. Not very science fiction, more political intrigue/ mystery.

[Randall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a Larson fan

Having just discovered this author, I enjoyed every book I've read by him. I have to say that this series is a little more YA than others, but it's still an enthralling read. The characters are not complex but the plot and pacing are still great. If you're looking for a solid story written as a page turned then give this book a try and check out his other series. I'm betting you will find them as enjoyable as I do.