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Siobhan Dunmoore #1
No Honor in Death
Siobhan Dunmoore was not having a good war. She's had more ships shot out from under her by the invading Shrehari Empire than any other officer in the Fleet. Some called her overly aggressive. Others simply called her reckless. What the enemy called her was something else altogether. That she gave the Shrehari a good drubbing along the way didn't matter in the least, because not all her enemies wore an Imperial uniform. A reputation for bad luck was pretty much the only reputation she had left.
Sailing yet another ruined starship home after a near defeat, she wanted nothing more than a long, long rest, because this time, she had escaped by the thinnest of bluffs. Unfortunately, the Admiralty had other ideas. The frigate Stingray was known as the unluckiest ship in the Fleet and her Captain had just been removed in disgrace for cowardice. Some in the Admiralty would dearly love to retire the old warhorse. After all, she was the last of her type left in service, and perhaps it was time to break up the jinx permanently, along with the crew. But in the midst of an interstellar war, every ship that could fight was needed.
In short order, Dunmoore went from staring down the Empire's finest on the bridge of a wrecked battleship to taking on a demoralized, semi-mutinous crew, scheming Admirals and a deadly mystery. Stingray's bad luck wasn't just superstition gone rampant. Between a crew that won't talk, political enemies who want her gone, and her personal demons, she's got her hands full. Taking the frigate into battle under those conditions would seem foolish to anyone else, but Dunmoore was never one to shrink from a good fight. Failure was not an option, and defeat not an acceptable alternative, for there was no honor in death. She would redeem herself and her ship or be damned for all eternity.
Sailing yet another ruined starship home after a near defeat, she wanted nothing more than a long, long rest, because this time, she had escaped by the thinnest of bluffs. Unfortunately, the Admiralty had other ideas. The frigate Stingray was known as the unluckiest ship in the Fleet and her Captain had just been removed in disgrace for cowardice. Some in the Admiralty would dearly love to retire the old warhorse. After all, she was the last of her type left in service, and perhaps it was time to break up the jinx permanently, along with the crew. But in the midst of an interstellar war, every ship that could fight was needed.
In short order, Dunmoore went from staring down the Empire's finest on the bridge of a wrecked battleship to taking on a demoralized, semi-mutinous crew, scheming Admirals and a deadly mystery. Stingray's bad luck wasn't just superstition gone rampant. Between a crew that won't talk, political enemies who want her gone, and her personal demons, she's got her hands full. Taking the frigate into battle under those conditions would seem foolish to anyone else, but Dunmoore was never one to shrink from a good fight. Failure was not an option, and defeat not an acceptable alternative, for there was no honor in death. She would redeem herself and her ship or be damned for all eternity.
402 pages, Unknown Binding
First published October 20, 2014
287 people are currently reading
677 people want to read
About the author
Eric Thomson
39 books129 followersEric Thomson is my pen name. I'm a former Canadian soldier who spent more years in uniform than he expected, serving in both the Regular Army (Infantry) and the Army Reserve (Armoured Corps). I spent several years as an Information Technology executive for the Canadian government before leaving the bowels of the demented bureaucracy to become a full-time author.
I've been a voracious reader of science-fiction, military fiction and history all my life, assiduously devouring the recommended Army reading list in my younger days and still occasionally returning to the classics for inspiration. Several years ago, I put my fingers to the keyboard and started writing my own military sci-fi, with a definite space opera slant, using many of my own experiences as a soldier as an inspiration for my stories and characters. When I'm not writing fiction, I indulge in my other passions: photography, hiking and scuba diving, all of which I've shared with my wife, who likes to call herself my #1 fan, for more than thirty years.
I've been a voracious reader of science-fiction, military fiction and history all my life, assiduously devouring the recommended Army reading list in my younger days and still occasionally returning to the classics for inspiration. Several years ago, I put my fingers to the keyboard and started writing my own military sci-fi, with a definite space opera slant, using many of my own experiences as a soldier as an inspiration for my stories and characters. When I'm not writing fiction, I indulge in my other passions: photography, hiking and scuba diving, all of which I've shared with my wife, who likes to call herself my #1 fan, for more than thirty years.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 124 reviews
October 22, 2017
in the middle of the book ,lifting my eyes to the sky ,putting the reader down
What the hell am I doing,What the hell am I wasting my life on
What the hell am I doing,What the hell am I wasting my life on
February 8, 2017
A space opera heroine is born
I award No Honor in Death 4.5 stars. Not 5 stars for literature. It isn't. Nor 5 stars for world building. It isn't, except the world inside the Stingray, the jinxed and well past its prime frigate upon which the action develops.
No, these stars are for Siobhan Dunmoore, the fiesty commander who is handed the jinx and asked to take it in harm's way. A naval officer with agency and big ones. Not boobs; the other kind, or so us men like to think.
I award No Honor in Death 4.5 stars. Not 5 stars for literature. It isn't. Nor 5 stars for world building. It isn't, except the world inside the Stingray, the jinxed and well past its prime frigate upon which the action develops.
No, these stars are for Siobhan Dunmoore, the fiesty commander who is handed the jinx and asked to take it in harm's way. A naval officer with agency and big ones. Not boobs; the other kind, or so us men like to think.
February 7, 2017
A good story with warfare, intrigue and mystery in equal helpings . Another reader compared it to the Honor Harrington stories by David Weber but I liked this book more. The main character was more interesting and had more depth, the authors' universe is much more interesting, and I thought the story itself was more imaginative, as was the alien adversary, even if he was a bit "Klingon". Yes, it's Hornblower in outer space and it has been done before (though the latter is true of almost all fiction) but that doesn't make it any less of a good story. The writing is sound and the occasional sudden POV switching in mid-chapter wasn't too distracting, and certainly didn't spoil my enjoyment of a very entertaining novel.
June 18, 2016
There is nothing at all original in this book, it is another re-hash of Forester inspired navies in space. Even the alien enemy was a thinly veiled 'Klingon' clone. With that said, this story was well constructed, evenly paced and with moderately developed characters. It was also surprisingly free of the editing errors and omissions I am so used to seeing from independent authors. What a refreshing change. In the end it is a fun read even if it is entirely predictable.
February 7, 2017
Strong Female Lead, No Romance!
Fantastic read. Gripping to the end. I enjoy reading a story about a strong female character without the need to involve romance. She is a strong woman in her own right who battles her demons and external problems with valour and grace. Highly recommended!
Fantastic read. Gripping to the end. I enjoy reading a story about a strong female character without the need to involve romance. She is a strong woman in her own right who battles her demons and external problems with valour and grace. Highly recommended!
November 5, 2014
Very good !
Anyone who enjoys reading sci-fi military action will love this book. It has all the ingredients for a great story. A strong female starship captain, intriguing support characters, mystery covert ops, enemy alien military space fleets and non stop action. Do yourself a favor and read this well written book!
Anyone who enjoys reading sci-fi military action will love this book. It has all the ingredients for a great story. A strong female starship captain, intriguing support characters, mystery covert ops, enemy alien military space fleets and non stop action. Do yourself a favor and read this well written book!
June 21, 2024
Honor Harrington: But Better
This is not a perfect book, there are a handful of grammatical errors and a few mix-ups like applying mister to already established female characters. But honestly, that's my only complaint.
This book has some of my favorite depictions of space battles that I have read in recent memory. However, like HH, it is a mixture of political games, intrigue, and mystery for basically the first 60% of the book. If you want action focused and less of an over arcing storyline, then this isn't the book for you. But if you like those things then you will love this book.
Eric's writing style here is top notch, constantly keeping you engaged and interested with the story.
I don't want to compare it to HH too much, but where HH is brought down by Webers tendency to drone on and on with page after page of exposition dumps, none of that is seen here.
And the ending? *chefs kiss*
After what a disaster the last book I reviewed was, this was a nice refresher.
This is not a perfect book, there are a handful of grammatical errors and a few mix-ups like applying mister to already established female characters. But honestly, that's my only complaint.
This book has some of my favorite depictions of space battles that I have read in recent memory. However, like HH, it is a mixture of political games, intrigue, and mystery for basically the first 60% of the book. If you want action focused and less of an over arcing storyline, then this isn't the book for you. But if you like those things then you will love this book.
Eric's writing style here is top notch, constantly keeping you engaged and interested with the story.
I don't want to compare it to HH too much, but where HH is brought down by Webers tendency to drone on and on with page after page of exposition dumps, none of that is seen here.
And the ending? *chefs kiss*
After what a disaster the last book I reviewed was, this was a nice refresher.
August 5, 2024
No Shame in Copying
At a superficial level, No Honor in Death is an Age of Sail story that takes hardworking Captain Dunmoore and dumps her onto the navy’s worse vessel. Straighten your posture as her nationalism restores the crew’s pride and wins over the miscreants. Just in time too, as they’ll boldly sacrifice themselves for King and Country. This combination of a well-worn outline and the author’s former army background delivers entertainment and a realistic cast. Unfortunately, the author set the story in space, and the actual result feels like what happens when kids play with both GI Joes and Transformers: a poor remix of better stories.
The cold open is a climactic ramming scene where Dunmoore attempts to ram her crippled battleship against a superior foe. The enemy notices, retreats into FTL, and calls our protagonist to congratulate her fighting spirit. This is Star Trek-style nonsense at its worst. Start with the lazy copy-paste of the reductive “proud warrior” Klingon species, and then cry at the technological incoherency. Dunmoore is in the middle of a clash of battleships. What did they do, call the Captain on her cell phone? How does an enemy target their comms receiver, and if they weren’t jammed, why didn’t they send missiles instead of messages? How did the alleged crippled battleship still have antennas to receive these transmissions? Star Trek was a budget-constrained visual drama. It needed these cheap, nonsensical shortcuts to create character drama. No Honor in Death has none of these limitations and reflects the shallow acquisition of other ideas.
The prologue lowered the bar, and the author still managed to disappoint. Having introduced FTL transmissions, he didn’t recognize that Age of Sail stories relied on the slow communications of the 1800s. Those sailing the Carribean possessed great agency as it would take months to contact Europe. Dunmoore can call her Admiral in twenty minutes. Such technology turns bold decision-making into recklessness at best and plot contrivances at worst. The setting of a stellar war is also executed terribly — Dunmoore commands the navy’s worse because they lack hulls after five years of warfare. Yet instead of preventing a D-Day, she’s off on independent action raiding meaningless merchant convoys. It all culminates in a showdown filled with sacrifice tropes and personal tragedy, and our protagonist is celebrated as the next coming of Nelson. Yet the shallow copy-paste effort failed to provide a heroic context: there was neither a ticking bomb nor enemy action to thwart. Instead, Dunmoore is a glory hound.
No Honor in Death fails at all aspects of a military science-fiction novel. Militarily, it fails to set the politics between two stellar nations and trips over characterizing a weary war-torn naval service. Scientifically, the author never establishes requisite limitations. Ships travel as fast as the plot demands. Then they suddenly fly faster when ‘redlining’ the engine. Apparently, instead of regularly pushing their equipment to the limit, soldiers would prefer dramatic timing. Even the writing is amateur. Often, after our protagonist berates a subordinate, the author will immediately switch to the subordinate’s viewpoint and tell you what they think. The maxim “Show Don’t Tell” cries in a corner. At best No Honor in Death is a homage to more creative authors, and despite a host of sins, there is something enjoyable enough to tempt me into reading the next novel. Unfortunately, I can’t seem to articulate that positive quality.
Not Recommended, with many reservations.
Series Overall Spoiler-Free Thoughts
★★☆☆☆ No Honor in Death (Siobhan Dunmoore #1)
★★☆☆☆ The Path of Duty (Siobhan Dunmoore #2)
★☆☆☆☆ Like Stars in Heaven (Siobhan Dunmoore #3)
As a self-serious military science-fiction series, Siobhan Dunmoore fails to deliver a stellar war. The author shamelessly copies better works without understanding the deep worldbuilding beneath, and his amateur writing tells you exactly what characters think. While each ingredient is inoffensive, the whole is less than the sum of the parts.
★☆☆☆☆ - Not Recommended
At a superficial level, No Honor in Death is an Age of Sail story that takes hardworking Captain Dunmoore and dumps her onto the navy’s worse vessel. Straighten your posture as her nationalism restores the crew’s pride and wins over the miscreants. Just in time too, as they’ll boldly sacrifice themselves for King and Country. This combination of a well-worn outline and the author’s former army background delivers entertainment and a realistic cast. Unfortunately, the author set the story in space, and the actual result feels like what happens when kids play with both GI Joes and Transformers: a poor remix of better stories.
The cold open is a climactic ramming scene where Dunmoore attempts to ram her crippled battleship against a superior foe. The enemy notices, retreats into FTL, and calls our protagonist to congratulate her fighting spirit. This is Star Trek-style nonsense at its worst. Start with the lazy copy-paste of the reductive “proud warrior” Klingon species, and then cry at the technological incoherency. Dunmoore is in the middle of a clash of battleships. What did they do, call the Captain on her cell phone? How does an enemy target their comms receiver, and if they weren’t jammed, why didn’t they send missiles instead of messages? How did the alleged crippled battleship still have antennas to receive these transmissions? Star Trek was a budget-constrained visual drama. It needed these cheap, nonsensical shortcuts to create character drama. No Honor in Death has none of these limitations and reflects the shallow acquisition of other ideas.
The prologue lowered the bar, and the author still managed to disappoint. Having introduced FTL transmissions, he didn’t recognize that Age of Sail stories relied on the slow communications of the 1800s. Those sailing the Carribean possessed great agency as it would take months to contact Europe. Dunmoore can call her Admiral in twenty minutes. Such technology turns bold decision-making into recklessness at best and plot contrivances at worst. The setting of a stellar war is also executed terribly — Dunmoore commands the navy’s worse because they lack hulls after five years of warfare. Yet instead of preventing a D-Day, she’s off on independent action raiding meaningless merchant convoys. It all culminates in a showdown filled with sacrifice tropes and personal tragedy, and our protagonist is celebrated as the next coming of Nelson. Yet the shallow copy-paste effort failed to provide a heroic context: there was neither a ticking bomb nor enemy action to thwart. Instead, Dunmoore is a glory hound.
No Honor in Death fails at all aspects of a military science-fiction novel. Militarily, it fails to set the politics between two stellar nations and trips over characterizing a weary war-torn naval service. Scientifically, the author never establishes requisite limitations. Ships travel as fast as the plot demands. Then they suddenly fly faster when ‘redlining’ the engine. Apparently, instead of regularly pushing their equipment to the limit, soldiers would prefer dramatic timing. Even the writing is amateur. Often, after our protagonist berates a subordinate, the author will immediately switch to the subordinate’s viewpoint and tell you what they think. The maxim “Show Don’t Tell” cries in a corner. At best No Honor in Death is a homage to more creative authors, and despite a host of sins, there is something enjoyable enough to tempt me into reading the next novel. Unfortunately, I can’t seem to articulate that positive quality.
Not Recommended, with many reservations.
Series Overall Spoiler-Free Thoughts
★★☆☆☆ No Honor in Death (Siobhan Dunmoore #1)
★★☆☆☆ The Path of Duty (Siobhan Dunmoore #2)
★☆☆☆☆ Like Stars in Heaven (Siobhan Dunmoore #3)
As a self-serious military science-fiction series, Siobhan Dunmoore fails to deliver a stellar war. The author shamelessly copies better works without understanding the deep worldbuilding beneath, and his amateur writing tells you exactly what characters think. While each ingredient is inoffensive, the whole is less than the sum of the parts.
★☆☆☆☆ - Not Recommended
February 5, 2019
Very much enjoyed this.
Siobhan Dunmoore is a solid, well rounded character, almost broken from her last bit of action, she is given command of the frigate Stingray. At the end of its life, having its previous captain arrested for cowardice the Stingray is at the lowest ebb. At a time where humans are at war with the Shrehari, every ship is needed, so Dunmoore takes her obsolete ship and unknown crew into danger.
Space battles, politics, treachery, intrigue its all here. The Shrehari are a bit Klingon like and hard not to see a bit of the famous Honor Harrington in Dunmoore, but I’ve read the Honor Harrington books and I genuinely thought this was as good, if not better.
Siobhan Dunmoore is a solid, well rounded character, almost broken from her last bit of action, she is given command of the frigate Stingray. At the end of its life, having its previous captain arrested for cowardice the Stingray is at the lowest ebb. At a time where humans are at war with the Shrehari, every ship is needed, so Dunmoore takes her obsolete ship and unknown crew into danger.
Space battles, politics, treachery, intrigue its all here. The Shrehari are a bit Klingon like and hard not to see a bit of the famous Honor Harrington in Dunmoore, but I’ve read the Honor Harrington books and I genuinely thought this was as good, if not better.
July 26, 2017
This was an enjoyable military/Scifi. I am looking forward to checking out the rest of the series.
Note I listened to an audiobook presentation so character spelling doesn’t count.
If you like Star Trek, you should definitely give this series a try. I should indicate that any similarities to Star Trek are very loosely based since the only things that were truly similar were certain points where there was lucky escapes. Instead of Star Trek’s science vessel, Stingray is a military ship.
Humans are in a war against the Shrehari. We offered them peace and they looked down at us lesser beings and declared war, but they are finding that it is quite difficult to defeat us.
Siohban Dunmoore was first officer on the Victoria Regina when her friend and Captain is killed during a battle against one of the Shrehari’s most powerful commanders, Brical of Tolvikash. With so much damage to the ship, Siobhan takes command and decides to ram her ship into the Shrehari’s destroyer rather than wait to destroyed by the next blast. Since the Shrehari also sustained damage, Brical decides to leave rather than blast the Victoria Regina one final time. He even hails the ship and acknowledges the now deceased Captain and Siohban as worthy adversaries.
Upon returning to the nearest space station, Siohban is given the command of the Stingray. The other admirals wanted to decommission the “jinxed” ship and reassign her crew, but Admiral Negira is a supporter of Siobhan and her unorthodox fighting abilities and gives her the ship.
But Siobhan has her work cut out for her. The former captain, a woman who was a classmate of Siobhan, was given the command for her family connections rather then her abilities to command a ship. Her crew has been demoralized and since the former captain is up on charges, the crew fears retribution if they answer any of Siobhan’s many, many questions of how the ship was run, including the First Officer Gregor Pushkin, who had hoped that he would be given the command. At first she thinks they are simply evasive once she finds out that the former captain ignored the distress call of the Victoria Regina and the crew doesn’t want to admit that they turned away and let Siobhan’s crew die but there might be much more going on.
Not only is there no cohesiveness to the crew, someone is trying to make sure her ship can’t make her deadline to arrive at the border. Siobhan pulls out the stop to get the ship ready and get the crew back into fighting shape, and they begin to hesitantly hope for future of Stingray.
When they are ready, she takes them into enemy territory. Knowing that the Shrehari are very regimented in their tactics, she is looking for a caravan of soldiers and supplies. She stalks it like a jungle cat on prey waiting for it to come out of its hyperjump, but she isn’t the only one stalking. Commander Brical knows that the sneaky humans will use their stringent protocols against them and he is stalking the caravan as well waiting for someone to take a shot.
I enjoyed watching the Stingray’s crew come together and learn to trust their new captain to keep them safe both from the dangers of the Shrehari as well as their own navy. I also liked that as we met Siobhan and spent time with Brical, these two might have been friends if they were not at war. There was a lot of similarity between the human navy and the Shrehari. The privileged getting commands when they haven’t earn them. Their own navy putting spies on the ship. Brical also fought against his own Admirals against their need to use a rule book at all times. He tries to get them to see that the humans are very creative in their fighting and that they humans will win the war unless the Shrehari can out strategize them.
I enjoyed the audiobook. Eric Michael Summerer did a great job of providing different voices to everyone and you could easily follow who was talking. It could have used some special effects though. I am sure they could have found starship sound effect buttons somewhere.
I am interested to see what happens now that the crew is behind Siobhan.
Note I listened to an audiobook presentation so character spelling doesn’t count.
If you like Star Trek, you should definitely give this series a try. I should indicate that any similarities to Star Trek are very loosely based since the only things that were truly similar were certain points where there was lucky escapes. Instead of Star Trek’s science vessel, Stingray is a military ship.
Humans are in a war against the Shrehari. We offered them peace and they looked down at us lesser beings and declared war, but they are finding that it is quite difficult to defeat us.
Siohban Dunmoore was first officer on the Victoria Regina when her friend and Captain is killed during a battle against one of the Shrehari’s most powerful commanders, Brical of Tolvikash. With so much damage to the ship, Siobhan takes command and decides to ram her ship into the Shrehari’s destroyer rather than wait to destroyed by the next blast. Since the Shrehari also sustained damage, Brical decides to leave rather than blast the Victoria Regina one final time. He even hails the ship and acknowledges the now deceased Captain and Siohban as worthy adversaries.
Upon returning to the nearest space station, Siohban is given the command of the Stingray. The other admirals wanted to decommission the “jinxed” ship and reassign her crew, but Admiral Negira is a supporter of Siobhan and her unorthodox fighting abilities and gives her the ship.
But Siobhan has her work cut out for her. The former captain, a woman who was a classmate of Siobhan, was given the command for her family connections rather then her abilities to command a ship. Her crew has been demoralized and since the former captain is up on charges, the crew fears retribution if they answer any of Siobhan’s many, many questions of how the ship was run, including the First Officer Gregor Pushkin, who had hoped that he would be given the command. At first she thinks they are simply evasive once she finds out that the former captain ignored the distress call of the Victoria Regina and the crew doesn’t want to admit that they turned away and let Siobhan’s crew die but there might be much more going on.
Not only is there no cohesiveness to the crew, someone is trying to make sure her ship can’t make her deadline to arrive at the border. Siobhan pulls out the stop to get the ship ready and get the crew back into fighting shape, and they begin to hesitantly hope for future of Stingray.
When they are ready, she takes them into enemy territory. Knowing that the Shrehari are very regimented in their tactics, she is looking for a caravan of soldiers and supplies. She stalks it like a jungle cat on prey waiting for it to come out of its hyperjump, but she isn’t the only one stalking. Commander Brical knows that the sneaky humans will use their stringent protocols against them and he is stalking the caravan as well waiting for someone to take a shot.
I enjoyed watching the Stingray’s crew come together and learn to trust their new captain to keep them safe both from the dangers of the Shrehari as well as their own navy. I also liked that as we met Siobhan and spent time with Brical, these two might have been friends if they were not at war. There was a lot of similarity between the human navy and the Shrehari. The privileged getting commands when they haven’t earn them. Their own navy putting spies on the ship. Brical also fought against his own Admirals against their need to use a rule book at all times. He tries to get them to see that the humans are very creative in their fighting and that they humans will win the war unless the Shrehari can out strategize them.
I enjoyed the audiobook. Eric Michael Summerer did a great job of providing different voices to everyone and you could easily follow who was talking. It could have used some special effects though. I am sure they could have found starship sound effect buttons somewhere.
I am interested to see what happens now that the crew is behind Siobhan.
November 10, 2019
This book has been sitting on my to-read shelf for quite a while. Well, I finally got around to read it and I’m really happy that I did. This book is, to me at least, simply great.
Strong competent hero not taking any shit, check. Good characters around her, check. Excellent writing, check. Good and realistic in-space ship action, check. A good and competent foe, check. I can probably check off a few other boxes as well but you get the idea.
It’s the kind of story that I like. A very likable female captain get assigned to a ship with a crew of misfits and disillusioned people by a corrupted and incompetent admiralty. Well not all of the admiralty is corrupted and useless as it turns out. Anyway, our hero’s ass-kicking starts well before the ship even encounters the real enemy.
A lot of this book is about how Dunmoore takes command of the ship and kicks the crew into shape. Well, the ones that gets the message at least. Some don’t and are … kicked a bit harder.
I cannot help but think of the Honor Harrington series by David Weber when I review this book. This book is indeed in the same style as the Harrington ones, at least the first ones in that series, before David Weber fell into a severe case of word diarrhea and a lot of his books where more dialogue than action. Perhaps more important though, this book can take that comparison with excellence.
Normally I do not like books that contains a lot of political shenanigans and incompetent officers and this book does indeed have its fair share of that. However, it’s well done. The focus is on Dunmoore and her crew. Yes, she’s screwed by the previously mentioned [censored] but it’s kind of in the background. The story is about how she goes of and does her stuff and, well no spoilers, but the ending and the fate of these [censored] are quite satisfactory actually.
The book has a good balance between dialogue, background story and action, and the action is quite good. It’s mostly in-space action which I like. And it’s realistic (as realistic as a military sci-fi novel can be) and very well done.
This author has definitely ended up on my top ten list of authors to watch out for. I’ve also read the first two books in his Ashes of Empire series and they are quite good although this series is my favorite so far. He has another series going, Decker’s War, which is more a marine series as far as I understand it. That’s not my favorite genre but I’ll probably give it a go anyway.
Needless to say, I’ve already started to read the second book in the series.
Strong competent hero not taking any shit, check. Good characters around her, check. Excellent writing, check. Good and realistic in-space ship action, check. A good and competent foe, check. I can probably check off a few other boxes as well but you get the idea.
It’s the kind of story that I like. A very likable female captain get assigned to a ship with a crew of misfits and disillusioned people by a corrupted and incompetent admiralty. Well not all of the admiralty is corrupted and useless as it turns out. Anyway, our hero’s ass-kicking starts well before the ship even encounters the real enemy.
A lot of this book is about how Dunmoore takes command of the ship and kicks the crew into shape. Well, the ones that gets the message at least. Some don’t and are … kicked a bit harder.
I cannot help but think of the Honor Harrington series by David Weber when I review this book. This book is indeed in the same style as the Harrington ones, at least the first ones in that series, before David Weber fell into a severe case of word diarrhea and a lot of his books where more dialogue than action. Perhaps more important though, this book can take that comparison with excellence.
Normally I do not like books that contains a lot of political shenanigans and incompetent officers and this book does indeed have its fair share of that. However, it’s well done. The focus is on Dunmoore and her crew. Yes, she’s screwed by the previously mentioned [censored] but it’s kind of in the background. The story is about how she goes of and does her stuff and, well no spoilers, but the ending and the fate of these [censored] are quite satisfactory actually.
The book has a good balance between dialogue, background story and action, and the action is quite good. It’s mostly in-space action which I like. And it’s realistic (as realistic as a military sci-fi novel can be) and very well done.
This author has definitely ended up on my top ten list of authors to watch out for. I’ve also read the first two books in his Ashes of Empire series and they are quite good although this series is my favorite so far. He has another series going, Decker’s War, which is more a marine series as far as I understand it. That’s not my favorite genre but I’ll probably give it a go anyway.
Needless to say, I’ve already started to read the second book in the series.
March 20, 2021
I am a fan of space opera and military sci-fi. I have been looking through the indie publishers for new series to try. I came across this book and author. While it sounded like a Honor Harrington clone, I thought I’d give it a shot.
The book is essentially dull. Commander Dunmoore is a brooding mess who is always planning and yet has time to do a lot of paperwork. Her crew aboard the Stingray are a bunch of misfits she eventually woos to her side. There is mystery, espionage and an honorable adversary waiting for her to return. None of it really works.
Some of the scenes are pulled straight out of Star Trek. Really. Take a look at the final battle. It isn’t inspired, but whole chunks used directly. Terminology used harkens back to wooden sailing ships. Even the evil empire Klingon analogs use the term “sail” to mean ship leaving doc. It become a bit silly and tiring.
The author doesn’t understand physics. Anti-matter as an energy source is not fusion. Those two types of energy release do not mix. Asteroid fields ala Star Wars can not exist, as the rocks would pulverize themselves quickly. The Chief can maneuver the ship with hyper precision with a set of simple controls and display.
I ended up skimming through the last third to learn the who-done-it part of the story. I didn’t care about the characters, the ship or any of the subplots that occurred. It isn’t a series that I care to continue.
The book is essentially dull. Commander Dunmoore is a brooding mess who is always planning and yet has time to do a lot of paperwork. Her crew aboard the Stingray are a bunch of misfits she eventually woos to her side. There is mystery, espionage and an honorable adversary waiting for her to return. None of it really works.
Some of the scenes are pulled straight out of Star Trek. Really. Take a look at the final battle. It isn’t inspired, but whole chunks used directly. Terminology used harkens back to wooden sailing ships. Even the evil empire Klingon analogs use the term “sail” to mean ship leaving doc. It become a bit silly and tiring.
The author doesn’t understand physics. Anti-matter as an energy source is not fusion. Those two types of energy release do not mix. Asteroid fields ala Star Wars can not exist, as the rocks would pulverize themselves quickly. The Chief can maneuver the ship with hyper precision with a set of simple controls and display.
I ended up skimming through the last third to learn the who-done-it part of the story. I didn’t care about the characters, the ship or any of the subplots that occurred. It isn’t a series that I care to continue.
May 4, 2022
This is not a bad book, per se, rather its most egregious crime is that it lacks a single original idea or character. Also, when you find yourself bored during an "intense" encounter between space battle ships... yeah, you know things are not great. The technology is poorly explained and... boring.
Further, I would like to say that No Honor in Death bears its inspiration on its sleeve, but that would necessitate association this book with the word inspiration, and I can't have that.
This blatantly copies Star Trek, and not in any good or engaging way. The human space flotilla is "Starfleet". The captain calls her first officer "Number One". The Shrehari are a watered down, dumbed down version of the Klingons - battle lust, and honor, and all. Oh, and their conglomeration of planets is the "Empire".
The plot took too long to get going. By the time we got to the war in this military science fiction novel, I didn't care and was bored, bored, bored.
Oh, if I have to read one more time how awesomely awesome Siobhan Dunmoore is, I shall surely projectile vomit all over my laptop.
To summarize, I'm not impressed with Eric Thomson. I'm not planning on continuing with the series.
Further, I would like to say that No Honor in Death bears its inspiration on its sleeve, but that would necessitate association this book with the word inspiration, and I can't have that.
This blatantly copies Star Trek, and not in any good or engaging way. The human space flotilla is "Starfleet". The captain calls her first officer "Number One". The Shrehari are a watered down, dumbed down version of the Klingons - battle lust, and honor, and all. Oh, and their conglomeration of planets is the "Empire".
The plot took too long to get going. By the time we got to the war in this military science fiction novel, I didn't care and was bored, bored, bored.
Oh, if I have to read one more time how awesomely awesome Siobhan Dunmoore is, I shall surely projectile vomit all over my laptop.
To summarize, I'm not impressed with Eric Thomson. I'm not planning on continuing with the series.
February 21, 2018
In SF generally, and MilSF in particular, there is a spectrum. On one end is David Weber, who never met an info dump that he didn't like. On the other is authors like Elizabeth Moon and Jack Campbell, who try to get on with the story with a minimum of fuss. Generally, I'm ok with pretty much any point on the spectrum (though upon re-reading, blatant tech-porn can get tiresome), but in a review, one should be clear about the nature of the book.
This book has minimal exposition by MilSF standards, especially that of a scientific or technical nature. In fact, much of the technology is vague hand-wavium. This will please some readers and disappoint others.
Interestingly, the beginning of the story has several blatant parallels to David Weber's On Basilisk Station, though the overall setting is very different and the main plot elements quickly and decisively diverge.
Overall, I found it an excellent read and look forward to seeing more from this author.
This book has minimal exposition by MilSF standards, especially that of a scientific or technical nature. In fact, much of the technology is vague hand-wavium. This will please some readers and disappoint others.
Interestingly, the beginning of the story has several blatant parallels to David Weber's On Basilisk Station, though the overall setting is very different and the main plot elements quickly and decisively diverge.
Overall, I found it an excellent read and look forward to seeing more from this author.
October 28, 2014
This was a great military science fiction read. It reminded me a lot of the early Honour Harrington books, but without the extended, tedious techno geek chapters. It was character driven and well written with enough action and mystery to keep it interesting. There was still a bit of hard sci-fi but in my opinion, just the right amount to keep the focus on the story without getting overly detailed. I really hope there will be more books to come that centre around the main character. I really want more!
March 3, 2017
Very enjoyable throw back novel! No thinly veiled tedious political commentary, no gender role commentary or idiotic use of the female pronoun for every character - just fun characters, a villain you can't help but root for, and a world I'm looking forward to exploring. It's fairly reminiscent of Weber's early Honor Harrington novels, which are in turn the descendants of Horatio Hornblower. Highly recommended!
October 24, 2017
Was a bit slow and overly mysterious at first, but quickly became very hard to put down. I loved the characters, especially captain Siobhan and found the story structure to be similar to that of Honor Harrington. Another amazing military sci-fi series. There was a bit less world building and technical terminology but similar perspective changes between the different sides of the war. Absolutely amazing. Can’t wait to read #2!
May 19, 2018
Fantastic!
The novel was a mix of military science fiction, thriller and conspiracy. I really liked how the story went, the technology wasn't described it did show decent world building on the background of the alien race and humanity. The two side are corrupt and good people fight the war for those in power, the novel could be read as a standalone story, but I plan to read book 2.
The novel was a mix of military science fiction, thriller and conspiracy. I really liked how the story went, the technology wasn't described it did show decent world building on the background of the alien race and humanity. The two side are corrupt and good people fight the war for those in power, the novel could be read as a standalone story, but I plan to read book 2.
December 16, 2018
Holy mackerel.
This book hit nearly every button for me: a well-crafted space opera world, a haunted, bitter, badass heroine matching wits with an equally brilliant, honorable, and side-splittingly hilarious antagonist, fast-paced, complex action sequences, and plenty of political intrigue. I gambled and bought the full series based on the blurb, and had I known it would be this good, I would have happily paid double.
This book hit nearly every button for me: a well-crafted space opera world, a haunted, bitter, badass heroine matching wits with an equally brilliant, honorable, and side-splittingly hilarious antagonist, fast-paced, complex action sequences, and plenty of political intrigue. I gambled and bought the full series based on the blurb, and had I known it would be this good, I would have happily paid double.
March 10, 2020
Awesome
I chose this book just for the Title, I was hooked in the first few lines, as I got further and further into the book I knew I wouldn't put it down until the end. Political machinations, Infighting, and that was just the dysfunctional crew bring in the Enemy who are facing similar issues.
Two Captains both against the odds and each other.
I look forward to the the rest of the series. Would be nice to see if they meet in battle again
I chose this book just for the Title, I was hooked in the first few lines, as I got further and further into the book I knew I wouldn't put it down until the end. Political machinations, Infighting, and that was just the dysfunctional crew bring in the Enemy who are facing similar issues.
Two Captains both against the odds and each other.
I look forward to the the rest of the series. Would be nice to see if they meet in battle again
April 30, 2021
I bought this book because I had read the "Ashes of Empire" series by the same author and liked it. Having read this book it is clear that the author has developed in the 5 years between this book and those. This book contained overwrought prose, implausible actions, physics errors and a stupid vainglorious main character. It was still fairly entertaining, so I will give it 2 stars, but should I find a time machine in the future I will go back and not buy this book.
June 26, 2017
Eh, a bit meh. Standard military sf, really. A bit light on the world building and the characterisation was pretty thin. I read on amazon that this was favourably compared to Honor Harrington, and frankly, it really didn't to me.
I think I'd pick up the next one if it was on sale, but certainly not one I'm desperate to find out what happened next. "OK" just about sums it up for me
I think I'd pick up the next one if it was on sale, but certainly not one I'm desperate to find out what happened next. "OK" just about sums it up for me
March 7, 2018
Good
A good read, fast moving, connected. The storyline follows logically and characters developed as the story unfolded. The characters are rich in detail and are relevant to the story premise.
A good read, fast moving, connected. The storyline follows logically and characters developed as the story unfolded. The characters are rich in detail and are relevant to the story premise.
June 13, 2020
Great military sci-fi
I have been looking for a good military sci-fi novel for a while. Eric Thomson delivered. Good plot, great pace and very relatable characters all work together to make this a nail-biting read.
I have been looking for a good military sci-fi novel for a while. Eric Thomson delivered. Good plot, great pace and very relatable characters all work together to make this a nail-biting read.
June 17, 2020
A good space Navy book
Excellent naval commanders matching wits. Despicable behavior by a ship captain and intrigues within the fleet. A good comparison of 2 fleets on the opposite sides of the war.
Excellent naval commanders matching wits. Despicable behavior by a ship captain and intrigues within the fleet. A good comparison of 2 fleets on the opposite sides of the war.
October 14, 2020
Excellent Read
Well put together and and enjoyable to read - in fact the only thing that lets it down is that strange chauvinistic North Americanism of addressing both sexes in their navies as sir and mister - in the real world it is Sir and Ma’am.
Well put together and and enjoyable to read - in fact the only thing that lets it down is that strange chauvinistic North Americanism of addressing both sexes in their navies as sir and mister - in the real world it is Sir and Ma’am.
June 27, 2021
Very Entertaining and Enjoyable
If you are a Star Trek fan or love military space novels, you must read
this book. It's very captivating and involves mystery, intregue and corruption at Nava Command. Well worth the read!
If you are a Star Trek fan or love military space novels, you must read
this book. It's very captivating and involves mystery, intregue and corruption at Nava Command. Well worth the read!
January 9, 2022
Along the lines of Honor Harrington series - enjoyable read.
Couldn't stop reading. Takes you through several rollercoaster rides before a nail biting conclusion. Looking forward to the next book.
Couldn't stop reading. Takes you through several rollercoaster rides before a nail biting conclusion. Looking forward to the next book.
January 22, 2017
Love it
Highly recommended, good SF Space Opera oozing of every page. Lets just say life is hard and harsh if you have to fight the enemy within as much as the one on the line!
Highly recommended, good SF Space Opera oozing of every page. Lets just say life is hard and harsh if you have to fight the enemy within as much as the one on the line!
April 13, 2019
Absolutely loved this book, a great read, with great characters and plenty of action. Have already ordered the next two in the series. Will follow till the end.
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