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Earthrise #1
Earth Alone
They came from deep space. They came to destroy us.
Fifty years ago, bloodthirsty aliens devastated the Earth. Most of humanity perished. We fell into darkness.
But now we rise from the ashes. Now we fight back.
Marco Emery was born into the war. After his mother is killed, he joins the Human Defense Force, Earth's ragtag army. Emery must survive basic training, become a soldier, and finally face the aliens in battle.
Against the alien onslaught, Earth stands alone. But we will fight. We will rise. We will win.
Fifty years ago, bloodthirsty aliens devastated the Earth. Most of humanity perished. We fell into darkness.
But now we rise from the ashes. Now we fight back.
Marco Emery was born into the war. After his mother is killed, he joins the Human Defense Force, Earth's ragtag army. Emery must survive basic training, become a soldier, and finally face the aliens in battle.
Against the alien onslaught, Earth stands alone. But we will fight. We will rise. We will win.
368 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 17, 2016
2449 people are currently reading
1902 people want to read
About the author
Daniel Arenson
148 books877 followersDaniel Arenson is a bookworm, proud geek, and USA Today bestselling author of fantasy and science fiction. His novels have sold over a million copies. The Huffington Post has called his writing "full of soul." He's written over forty novels, most of them in five series:
EARTHRISE — They came from deep space. They came to destroy us. Against the alien onslaught, Earth stands alone. But we will fight. We will rise. We will win. Start reading with Earth Alone, the first novel in this military science fiction series.
REQUIEM — Welcome to Requiem, an ancient kingdom whose people can grow wings and scales, breathe fire, and take flight as dragons. Requiem is explored in six trilogies, which can be read in any order. If you're new to Requiem, you can start reading with Requiem's Song (you can download it for free). For fans of dark, gritty fantasy like A Game of Thrones.
MOTH — Discover Moth, a world torn between day and night—its one half drenched in eternal daylight, the other cloaked in endless darkness. For fans of classic fantasy worlds such as Middle Earth and Narnia. Start reading with Moth, the first novel in this epic fantasy saga.
ALIEN HUNTERS — Got trouble with aliens? Call the Alien Hunters. A group of scruffy mercenaries, they'll remove the pest for you. Low rates. No questions asked. Start reading with Alien Hunters, the first book in this space opera series. For fans of Star Wars, Firefly, and Guardians of the Galaxy.
KINGDOMS OF SAND — Enter a world of sand and splendor, a world where gladiators battle in the arena, where legionaries and barbarians fight for glory, and where empires rise and fall.
EARTHRISE — They came from deep space. They came to destroy us. Against the alien onslaught, Earth stands alone. But we will fight. We will rise. We will win. Start reading with Earth Alone, the first novel in this military science fiction series.
REQUIEM — Welcome to Requiem, an ancient kingdom whose people can grow wings and scales, breathe fire, and take flight as dragons. Requiem is explored in six trilogies, which can be read in any order. If you're new to Requiem, you can start reading with Requiem's Song (you can download it for free). For fans of dark, gritty fantasy like A Game of Thrones.
MOTH — Discover Moth, a world torn between day and night—its one half drenched in eternal daylight, the other cloaked in endless darkness. For fans of classic fantasy worlds such as Middle Earth and Narnia. Start reading with Moth, the first novel in this epic fantasy saga.
ALIEN HUNTERS — Got trouble with aliens? Call the Alien Hunters. A group of scruffy mercenaries, they'll remove the pest for you. Low rates. No questions asked. Start reading with Alien Hunters, the first book in this space opera series. For fans of Star Wars, Firefly, and Guardians of the Galaxy.
KINGDOMS OF SAND — Enter a world of sand and splendor, a world where gladiators battle in the arena, where legionaries and barbarians fight for glory, and where empires rise and fall.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 347 reviews
January 6, 2020
Earth Alone
Earthrise, Book 1
By: Daniel Arenson
Narrated by: Jeffrey Kafer
This book is so awesome! The insect like aliens with high intelligence invaded Earth and killed over half of life. Now they invade and attack random areas. At age 18, people enlist or go to prison. This is a story about a group of friends going through boot camp. It is realistic, in many parts, and emotional. Action packed and what teens/young adults would feel and say. This author has his pulse on youth.
The narration is terrific of course with Jeffrey Kafer! Perfect! Heading for book 2!
Earthrise, Book 1
By: Daniel Arenson
Narrated by: Jeffrey Kafer
This book is so awesome! The insect like aliens with high intelligence invaded Earth and killed over half of life. Now they invade and attack random areas. At age 18, people enlist or go to prison. This is a story about a group of friends going through boot camp. It is realistic, in many parts, and emotional. Action packed and what teens/young adults would feel and say. This author has his pulse on youth.
The narration is terrific of course with Jeffrey Kafer! Perfect! Heading for book 2!
August 22, 2016
I found this to be a tiring read from beginning to end. I think it's one of those "it's just me" things though. I found the storyline and characters to be incredibly too juvenile for my preference. I am a fan of Young Adult dystopia/sci-fi etc. but this one just felt a little too YA for me personally. I did manage to finish it, and I'm glad it was offered as a kindleunlimited, but for me it was a draining and unsatisfying read.
April 12, 2018
If you are a military veteran, I think you’ll be able to associate with this story very, very well. It’s really about a young man and some other young people, who are drafted into the Human Defense Forces (HDF). Notice I wrote, Human Defense Forces, not Earth Defense Forces or Army, Navy, Air Force or Marines. These people are mandatorily drafted upon their 18th year to defend humanity against an evil threat from another galaxy. Fifty years ago, the Scolopendra Titanite, better known as Scum, attacked Earth for no known reason other than they were out to exterminate all other species in the galaxy. That surprise attack killed almost sixty percent of the humans on Earth. For the last fifty years, humanity has been fighting back. We managed to drop a nuclear bomb on the Scums home world which told them we would not go away quietly. A kind of stalemate has evolved since then with occasional attacks by the Scum while humanity made repeated attacks against them.
The Scum were similar to Earth centipedes only they stood eight to ten feet tall when rising up. They also had a hard shell that was stronger than steel with razor sharp claws on their top most legs. They also were toxic to humans in every way possible. The Scum could be killed, but not very easily. It was the job of the Human Defense Force to kill Scum or die, preferably the former. Marco Emery was a writer and a librarian, definitely not a soldier. But, he was now eighteen and had to enlist in the HDF or face five years in prison. When your very planet is being attack constantly, you don’t get a choice to take the easy way out. Everyone joined the HDF at eighteen and served for five years.
This story is about Marco’s journey through his initial military in-processing and then through basic training. It is brutal as is all basic training. You have to take a civilian who has been taught from birth that killing and violence is not the way normal people act and turn them into soldiers who kill by instinct! Not an easy task. It is easier in that all humans have a desire at some level to kill Scum, but not all humans embrace violence. Marco does not, but he has seen his own mother killed and eaten by the Scum, so he’s ready to kill his share, still, he’s not ready to be a soldier.
This book will bring back memories of your own in-processing to military life. It writes about the confusion and doubts every young man or woman feels about themselves. Your faced with a strange environment where no one seems to be your friend. Everyone is telling you to do something all the time. You don’t get to sleep, you don’t get to rest and you don’t get to do anything you’ve done in the past. They want you to forget your past. They will break you down and then build you up as a new person, a soldier, ready to kill Scum. The training is tough, very tough, but it’s no where near as bad as the actual fighting. And, after all his training, he’s going to get it tested immediately.
I like the way this writer writes. He has a good grasp on how the military operates. While not everything about his picture of military basic training is entirely accurate, enough of it is that makes you remember what you went through if you had to go through something similar. There is no way anyone can be trained to really know the horrors of war. It is beyond human understanding until they’re in the middle of it. The author did a good job of trying to show just how bad it can get and why you need trained soldiers.
I’m ready to read the next book, Earth Lost and then Earth Rising. I hope they are both as good as this first one.
The Scum were similar to Earth centipedes only they stood eight to ten feet tall when rising up. They also had a hard shell that was stronger than steel with razor sharp claws on their top most legs. They also were toxic to humans in every way possible. The Scum could be killed, but not very easily. It was the job of the Human Defense Force to kill Scum or die, preferably the former. Marco Emery was a writer and a librarian, definitely not a soldier. But, he was now eighteen and had to enlist in the HDF or face five years in prison. When your very planet is being attack constantly, you don’t get a choice to take the easy way out. Everyone joined the HDF at eighteen and served for five years.
This story is about Marco’s journey through his initial military in-processing and then through basic training. It is brutal as is all basic training. You have to take a civilian who has been taught from birth that killing and violence is not the way normal people act and turn them into soldiers who kill by instinct! Not an easy task. It is easier in that all humans have a desire at some level to kill Scum, but not all humans embrace violence. Marco does not, but he has seen his own mother killed and eaten by the Scum, so he’s ready to kill his share, still, he’s not ready to be a soldier.
This book will bring back memories of your own in-processing to military life. It writes about the confusion and doubts every young man or woman feels about themselves. Your faced with a strange environment where no one seems to be your friend. Everyone is telling you to do something all the time. You don’t get to sleep, you don’t get to rest and you don’t get to do anything you’ve done in the past. They want you to forget your past. They will break you down and then build you up as a new person, a soldier, ready to kill Scum. The training is tough, very tough, but it’s no where near as bad as the actual fighting. And, after all his training, he’s going to get it tested immediately.
I like the way this writer writes. He has a good grasp on how the military operates. While not everything about his picture of military basic training is entirely accurate, enough of it is that makes you remember what you went through if you had to go through something similar. There is no way anyone can be trained to really know the horrors of war. It is beyond human understanding until they’re in the middle of it. The author did a good job of trying to show just how bad it can get and why you need trained soldiers.
I’m ready to read the next book, Earth Lost and then Earth Rising. I hope they are both as good as this first one.
November 19, 2016
Reminded me of (in a good way) Starship Troopers.
December 19, 2016
2.5 stars
Read this or listen to the podcast at Book Geeks Uncompromised.
Though the plots may be kinda similar, this is not Ender’s Game. Yeah there are aliens that came to earth and humans went to war with them and humans are now preparing for a huge showdown told in a story that focuses on the main character training for a military career (at least for a few years in the case of Earth Alone). Similarities pretty much end there.
Our main character Marco is a teenager that wants absolutely nothing more than to stay at home and write his novel. He is against the alien Ssum, for the pain they have caused him as well as humanity, but he doesn’t want to fight. He wants to live his life and let those who fight, fight. But when it comes down to defending the ones he loves, he will take anyone down.
In a lot of ways this book seemed like less of a human v. aliens ultimate showdown and more like teenage kid complaining about boot camp (which admittedly did suck) and thinking about two girls (one of whom is his adopted sister) in the shower.
The plot is interesting enough if hugely predictable but the majority of the book is set in a boot camp preparing for war. Without spoilers, one of the best things is how gruesome and scary the tone changed once the finished boot camp. The author did such a good job of showing how scary and different the real world is to boot camp when they actually are in a war situation.
As this story revolves so much around a military and military life, there was a fair amount of sexism in this book, a tooooon of “locker room talk.” This may bother some readers. I got past it because I felt like it was there because it was more just staying true to a type of culture. I don't think the author was trying to have a conversation about sexism so much. That in itself could bother some people though.
What actually bothered me though was the treatment of heterosexuality. It seemed like the author was trying to win brownie points by including a few LGBT characters and this is great and all except for one thing.
One of these characters informs a guy that is interested in her that “she only likes girls.” Less than five minutes later, she has stripped down naked with no prompting from said guy and tells him that he can have sex with her if he wants to. Just like that. There is a very strong impression that this was a “I’m only gay until the right guy comes along” kind of thing
Sorry buddy, that is really and incredibly not how that works. Girls/women that say they are lesbians are usually actually lesbians and not just waiting for you to show up.
I know this is a apocalyptic world and all, but every person in this book has tragic back story. Usually everyone having different character traits for different reasons would be great. But because the book is so short, it feels like every other paragraph someone else is whining about there lives.
Other readers may not be so concerned by this but it really bothered me that we are never given a reason as to why the scum are trying to invade Earth. None. We are told that they are a predatory species and that they are more intelligent than humans.
Okay. So if they are more intelligent than humans that implies that they are not just mindless killing machines so they must have a reason for wanting to wipe out humanity. WHAT IS IT!?!?!
This was overall an okay book. At times it feels like it borrows from other series but the best parts of this book and the best writing was definitely the last few scenes and the actual battle with the scum. This does show some promise for future books. Enough to keep us going for at least one more.
Read this or listen to the podcast at Book Geeks Uncompromised.
Though the plots may be kinda similar, this is not Ender’s Game. Yeah there are aliens that came to earth and humans went to war with them and humans are now preparing for a huge showdown told in a story that focuses on the main character training for a military career (at least for a few years in the case of Earth Alone). Similarities pretty much end there.
Our main character Marco is a teenager that wants absolutely nothing more than to stay at home and write his novel. He is against the alien Ssum, for the pain they have caused him as well as humanity, but he doesn’t want to fight. He wants to live his life and let those who fight, fight. But when it comes down to defending the ones he loves, he will take anyone down.
In a lot of ways this book seemed like less of a human v. aliens ultimate showdown and more like teenage kid complaining about boot camp (which admittedly did suck) and thinking about two girls (one of whom is his adopted sister) in the shower.
The plot is interesting enough if hugely predictable but the majority of the book is set in a boot camp preparing for war. Without spoilers, one of the best things is how gruesome and scary the tone changed once the finished boot camp. The author did such a good job of showing how scary and different the real world is to boot camp when they actually are in a war situation.
As this story revolves so much around a military and military life, there was a fair amount of sexism in this book, a tooooon of “locker room talk.” This may bother some readers. I got past it because I felt like it was there because it was more just staying true to a type of culture. I don't think the author was trying to have a conversation about sexism so much. That in itself could bother some people though.
What actually bothered me though was the treatment of heterosexuality. It seemed like the author was trying to win brownie points by including a few LGBT characters and this is great and all except for one thing.
One of these characters informs a guy that is interested in her that “she only likes girls.” Less than five minutes later, she has stripped down naked with no prompting from said guy and tells him that he can have sex with her if he wants to. Just like that. There is a very strong impression that this was a “I’m only gay until the right guy comes along” kind of thing
Sorry buddy, that is really and incredibly not how that works. Girls/women that say they are lesbians are usually actually lesbians and not just waiting for you to show up.
I know this is a apocalyptic world and all, but every person in this book has tragic back story. Usually everyone having different character traits for different reasons would be great. But because the book is so short, it feels like every other paragraph someone else is whining about there lives.
Other readers may not be so concerned by this but it really bothered me that we are never given a reason as to why the scum are trying to invade Earth. None. We are told that they are a predatory species and that they are more intelligent than humans.
Okay. So if they are more intelligent than humans that implies that they are not just mindless killing machines so they must have a reason for wanting to wipe out humanity. WHAT IS IT!?!?!
This was overall an okay book. At times it feels like it borrows from other series but the best parts of this book and the best writing was definitely the last few scenes and the actual battle with the scum. This does show some promise for future books. Enough to keep us going for at least one more.
April 28, 2021
My rating 3.5
The first part of the series “Earth Alone (Earthrise # 1)” by Daniel Arenson reminds me very much of Robert A. Heinlein’s book “Starship Troopers”. I don’t know if this is an homage to Heinlein’s book but maybe the writer should have deviated a little more from his work. The book is almost identical in some segments, especially, with the main characters. The main character goes to the infantry; his love goes to the commanders, etc. Another thing that bothered me is that for the most part, the books focus on training in the main camp. Lest I be just criticizing the book, the book is fun and well written. My rating of the book would be much higher if only the writer had harnessed his imagination and used the full potential of the idea. I hope the sequels will be a lot more creative. If you like military space opera, then you will like this book.
I honestly was wondering what grade to give this book.
The first part of the series “Earth Alone (Earthrise # 1)” by Daniel Arenson reminds me very much of Robert A. Heinlein’s book “Starship Troopers”. I don’t know if this is an homage to Heinlein’s book but maybe the writer should have deviated a little more from his work. The book is almost identical in some segments, especially, with the main characters. The main character goes to the infantry; his love goes to the commanders, etc. Another thing that bothered me is that for the most part, the books focus on training in the main camp. Lest I be just criticizing the book, the book is fun and well written. My rating of the book would be much higher if only the writer had harnessed his imagination and used the full potential of the idea. I hope the sequels will be a lot more creative. If you like military space opera, then you will like this book.
I honestly was wondering what grade to give this book.
August 23, 2016
Earth Alone had its moments, mostly toward the end, but it seems that many of the recent, new military sci fi novels I’ve been reading lately all seem to be written by authors who feel compelled to prove their military authenticity by being able to write the longest, most detailed, most stereotypical boot camp scenes of all time, and this book is at the top of the list of those types of these books. Essentially, this book is one big boot camp book with a little action thrown in over the last third of the book to justify calling it “military sci fi” so fans might actually like it. Otherwise it’s a waste of time, space, and effort. It just seems to me that after awhile, all boot camps start sounding exactly the same. You’ve got your bad ass drill sergeants, who all have to let their recruits know that they will be known as “God” while they are there, which becomes so damn original. The drill instructors can run 30 km runs one way and 30 km back without sweating while the recruits are dropping to the ground. Again stereotypes. You’ve got the wiseass recruits who refuse to follow the rules and either A) get in trouble themselves, or B) more likely, convince the “good” recruits to stupidly get involved with them for one night and get them in trouble with the authorities. Stereotype. The fighting, brawling, rules breaking. Brilliant. You’ve got the big, dumb, scared man-child scenario. The tough-as-nails, bad ass-but-hot female recruit who will kill you if you look at her twice. Quite often, but not always, the protagonist, the recruit is an intellectual, in our case, one who wants to be a military librarian. Hah! Little does he know. It’s all well and good. Maybe I would be less jaded and more accepting if it weren’t for the fact that about five other military sci fi books I’m reading at about the same time all involve having boot camp scenarios, all with similar stereotypical scenes. I just wonder if these authors just share the same boot camp software with each other and recycle it because none of it is original. It got old a long time ago. Sci fi authors, and military literature authors, have been doing this to death for decades. Since it’s well established that boot camp is hard, difficult, a bonding experience, blah, blah, can’t we just skip over it in a few paragraphs and assume we already know all of this and move on to the real story instead of devoting 60%+ of the book, some 250 pages, to boot camp, which isn’t the damn story, or at least shouldn’t be? I didn’t buy the book to read about boot camp. I bought it to read about the Human Defense Force and battling aliens. I knew basic training was part of it, but I didn’t know it was the bulk of the novel. If I had known that, I wouldn’t have wasted my time. The action, when gotten to, wasn’t that bad. Even boot camp action wasn’t horrible. It’s just it was … boot camp. Again. Over and over. Not badly written. Just written at all. That’s the crime here.
The writing isn’t bad. Four stars for that. The plot is. Two stars for that. Overall? Three stars. Sorry, but I can’t recommend it. Since this is apparently the first in a series, maybe the sequel will be an improvement and I’m willing to give it a try. I’m also willing to bet with fucking boot camp out of the way, the next book has got to be better. So, I’m expecting better from the next book. Nonetheless, for this current book, three stars and not recommended.
The writing isn’t bad. Four stars for that. The plot is. Two stars for that. Overall? Three stars. Sorry, but I can’t recommend it. Since this is apparently the first in a series, maybe the sequel will be an improvement and I’m willing to give it a try. I’m also willing to bet with fucking boot camp out of the way, the next book has got to be better. So, I’m expecting better from the next book. Nonetheless, for this current book, three stars and not recommended.
September 14, 2016
Let me preface this by saying that I normally dislike both sci-fi and military stories. However, I LOVED this one!
It reminded me a lot of Full Metal Jacket, one of the few military films that I like. The sci fi twist made it even better.
I am a huge fan of character driven stories, and that is a big reason why Earth Alone grabbed me. The careful building of the characters made me more invested in them with every page.
Other bonuses include a diverse cast of various genders, world cultures, religions, and races. And for a male author to even further diversify the women in personality type, culture, and conflict was a bigger joy.
While I did kind of chuckle at the male protagonist having feelings for almost every female character, I guess it's understandable with him being an eighteen year old boy. And I cannot imagine having to sort those feelings out in this story's environment!
There was one issue with one interraction between the protagonist and one of the females that simultaneously bugged me and made me think, so since it made me think, and since there's going to be more books to possibly address the matter, I did not deduct a star because I want to see how it goes.
I see other reviewers complaining that the majority of the book takes place in boot camp, but I actually enjoyed it. The story really plunges you into the day to day struggles of the environment and lessons that each character learns. Many books fail at immersing the reader, instead boring them with all the minutiae, but this was not one of them. I really felt like I was there and to give the reader that experience is a rare gift.
So, while this story is mostly a slow burn with a big bang at the end, I feel this setup was necessary for the series since I've already started book 2 and it's so action packed that I'm glad I got to know the characters and am emotionally invested in them. It makes the stakes so much higher.
I highly recommend this book to any fan of character driven stories, no matter their genre preference.
It reminded me a lot of Full Metal Jacket, one of the few military films that I like. The sci fi twist made it even better.
I am a huge fan of character driven stories, and that is a big reason why Earth Alone grabbed me. The careful building of the characters made me more invested in them with every page.
Other bonuses include a diverse cast of various genders, world cultures, religions, and races. And for a male author to even further diversify the women in personality type, culture, and conflict was a bigger joy.
While I did kind of chuckle at the male protagonist having feelings for almost every female character, I guess it's understandable with him being an eighteen year old boy. And I cannot imagine having to sort those feelings out in this story's environment!
There was one issue with one interraction between the protagonist and one of the females that simultaneously bugged me and made me think, so since it made me think, and since there's going to be more books to possibly address the matter, I did not deduct a star because I want to see how it goes.
I see other reviewers complaining that the majority of the book takes place in boot camp, but I actually enjoyed it. The story really plunges you into the day to day struggles of the environment and lessons that each character learns. Many books fail at immersing the reader, instead boring them with all the minutiae, but this was not one of them. I really felt like I was there and to give the reader that experience is a rare gift.
So, while this story is mostly a slow burn with a big bang at the end, I feel this setup was necessary for the series since I've already started book 2 and it's so action packed that I'm glad I got to know the characters and am emotionally invested in them. It makes the stakes so much higher.
I highly recommend this book to any fan of character driven stories, no matter their genre preference.
November 19, 2017
Thankfully it was a fast read because if it was another hundred pages I don't know if I could have hung in there. This is a made for tv version of the first thirty minutes of Starship Troopers. Not Starship Troopers the book, but the movie. Seriously, the influence in this is obvious and blatant. It's like the writer saw the movie one afternoon on the television and thought, "Hey, I can write like that."
The book could be divided up like this -
10% before basic training
80% basic training
10% basic training attacked by giant bugs from space
You can probably see why this wasn't the most exciting book to read. That said, I hope the writer keeps going and perfects the craft a little more. This was a free book with the Kindle Unlimited so if it sounds like your cup of tea then go for it.
The book could be divided up like this -
10% before basic training
80% basic training
10% basic training attacked by giant bugs from space
You can probably see why this wasn't the most exciting book to read. That said, I hope the writer keeps going and perfects the craft a little more. This was a free book with the Kindle Unlimited so if it sounds like your cup of tea then go for it.
September 27, 2016
Military boot camp style book with some sci-fi notion, but more in young adult style. Characters are kids with their problems, a bit of action happens only near the end.
Earth is devastated with over half population killed decades ago and is still being invaded but somehow is also fighting aliens in their system with almost instant communication, yet neither side is willing to do a final blow.
Earth is devastated with over half population killed decades ago and is still being invaded but somehow is also fighting aliens in their system with almost instant communication, yet neither side is willing to do a final blow.
November 6, 2016
I want to share some positive thoughts about this novel before I go on. I love the level of diversity the author brings to the table. We see a drafted Human Defense Force that is doing its damnedest to protect humanity, and they are drafted from all walks of life. We see folks of differing backgrounds and various nationalities who are working together to accomplish a mission. I love this idea and wish we could see more of it, both in fiction and reality. Now the hard part...
Okay, I'm going to be brutally honest here and say that I had to force myself to finish this one. Why? You ask. First and foremost, I felt like I was reading an ever so slightly revised rendition of the Starship Troopers movie; and there were so many things lost in translation between Robert Heinlein's original Starship Troopers and that horrible movie that it literally hurt my brain. Yes, it's fine to reuse tropes but some variety is nice too. (Marco vs Rico, the initial love interest wants to become an officer in the pilot corps while Maco goes on to become an infantryman, the secondary love interest is infantry and the relationship buds out of a boot camp experience, the aliens are faster, smarter and damn near indestructible--like the bugs; and the list goes on)
Something that stuck in my mind as I read the book that was never really explained was the recurring orbital attacks of the Scum. We have a Human Defense Force that was able to nuke their home planet, we have ships in orbit- it seems, and we have these seemingly random Scum attacks that somehow penetrate Earth's defenses, presumably from an orbiting ship that just keeps orbiting while dropping Scum pods. (Why don't we blow the hell out of this orbiting cruiser instead of waiting for these things to keep dropping pods down on our heads?)
Okay, so aside from these problems: I found some of the characters likable, despite their sometimes odd and incongruous character behavior (i.e. the seemingly random emotional outbursts as they pour their hearts out for a few paragraphs to the main character who attentively listens as they open-up and share their experiences before returning to their bad-ass, kill-em all attitudes)
Speaking from the perspective of a former military member; yes, boot camp is hard, and it does break you down, but rarely (almost never) would you see someone open up the way these characters do--and I won't even go down the list of problems I had with their boot camp experience because unless you've actually served, it really is impossible to know what it's like.
Overall, as I said earlier, I had a hard time finishing this one but made it through in order to discover if Marco was going to get a field promotion to officer, like Rico did in Starship Troopers.
Okay, I'm going to be brutally honest here and say that I had to force myself to finish this one. Why? You ask. First and foremost, I felt like I was reading an ever so slightly revised rendition of the Starship Troopers movie; and there were so many things lost in translation between Robert Heinlein's original Starship Troopers and that horrible movie that it literally hurt my brain. Yes, it's fine to reuse tropes but some variety is nice too. (Marco vs Rico, the initial love interest wants to become an officer in the pilot corps while Maco goes on to become an infantryman, the secondary love interest is infantry and the relationship buds out of a boot camp experience, the aliens are faster, smarter and damn near indestructible--like the bugs; and the list goes on)
Something that stuck in my mind as I read the book that was never really explained was the recurring orbital attacks of the Scum. We have a Human Defense Force that was able to nuke their home planet, we have ships in orbit- it seems, and we have these seemingly random Scum attacks that somehow penetrate Earth's defenses, presumably from an orbiting ship that just keeps orbiting while dropping Scum pods. (Why don't we blow the hell out of this orbiting cruiser instead of waiting for these things to keep dropping pods down on our heads?)
Okay, so aside from these problems: I found some of the characters likable, despite their sometimes odd and incongruous character behavior (i.e. the seemingly random emotional outbursts as they pour their hearts out for a few paragraphs to the main character who attentively listens as they open-up and share their experiences before returning to their bad-ass, kill-em all attitudes)
Speaking from the perspective of a former military member; yes, boot camp is hard, and it does break you down, but rarely (almost never) would you see someone open up the way these characters do--and I won't even go down the list of problems I had with their boot camp experience because unless you've actually served, it really is impossible to know what it's like.
Overall, as I said earlier, I had a hard time finishing this one but made it through in order to discover if Marco was going to get a field promotion to officer, like Rico did in Starship Troopers.
July 17, 2016
Interesting start
In this the first book of his series, Daniel introduced us to a young man who sees his mother attacked and killed. We follow him as he and his sister are drafted into the army to fight the alien forces. Their training is hard, but it will need to be, as we will see. The enemy attacks and they lose friends in the battle, but now they will look at taking the war to the enemy.
In this the first book of his series, Daniel introduced us to a young man who sees his mother attacked and killed. We follow him as he and his sister are drafted into the army to fight the alien forces. Their training is hard, but it will need to be, as we will see. The enemy attacks and they lose friends in the battle, but now they will look at taking the war to the enemy.
August 1, 2016
It's difficult to write a military boot camp story. Between the instructors, fellow trainees and the overall reason for the draft, the emotions, interactions, and motivations are exponential. Mr. Arenson does a great job telling the story of one person's experience. Plus, it has an exciting ending. Never a bad thing in this type of novel.
January 31, 2018
I DNF'd this at 58%. The juvenille characters and lack of depth to the story just drove me bonkers.
This story has what I call "pseudo-harem" . Pseudo-harem is when a male character (generally the main) creates non-platonic relationships with several females (3+) with the story building that this male could end up dating/marrying any of these females. This became very apparent when every female character who was given attention to became one where the main character, Mason, would feel affection for.
First, it's Addy, the eleven year old girl who saves him in the first chapter from an alien attack. For some reason she is adopted into his family after her own parents die and she grows up with Mason and is drafted along with him. She's a tomboy but she's sensitive and scared of being in the military, so there is Mason to worm his way in. He sees her like a sister but gets jealous when he sees her kissing other people. Worse, she get's jealous of him being with girls too. So there is girl #1.
The next girl is Kemi, introduced in chapter 2 (the chapters are short, but there is a 7 year time skip). Mason and Kemi seem like a normal high school couple but for some reason Kemi doesn't tell him a really important detail and basically ruins their last day together. . It's incredibly selfish, not what she chooses to do, but how she finally tells Mason. So their relationship ends as Mason is drafted and believes he will never see her again, keeping a photo of her on his person at all times because he still loves her... Who are we kidding, she shows up again later in this book.
The next girl is Lailani de la Rosa, a short but ferocious girl who plans on dying a hero in the military. I really want to be sympathetic for her, she had a really shitty childhood and she's picked herself up by her military bootstraps and is making something of herself. Instead, I just roll my eyes because her sob story is slapped across your face multiple times so Mason looks like an ignorant, naive, asshole and her a frail but feisty woman not to be underestimated. Nope, she just comes off as an unapologetic brat. Still, Mason, who seems to only think about romance (and how shitty boot camp is), feels the need to protect her and help her out.
The last female is Mason's commanding officer, Ensign Ben-Ari, an Israeli who looks super sad because her people have been displaced due to the cataclysm from 50 years ago. Due to Mason's personality as a writer, he sort of fantasizes about her and gives her this weird fantasy backstory. "She is a noble, this guy is her guardian angel, these are her knights, we are her peasants." There is just way too much emphasis on her despite the fact that Mason hasn't even talked to her. But I am sure, by the law of pseudo-harems, that she will be a love interest.
The male characters, on the otherhand, serve as background characters, comedic pauses, and painfully stupid rivalry. There is "Elvis", a fellow recruit who impersonates Elvis, makes up slang, and makes somewhat crude remarks about women. He is the typically side-kick friend type who literally only makes jokes. The story would honestly be better without him. Then there is the Russian who keeps bringing up how much better Russia is and how wonderful his girlfriend is (while he keeps changing the girls' names). He serves the same purpose. The Russian and Elvis make jokes and show the reader that Mason is a sensible guy who respects women, blah blah blah. There is Caveman, a sad person who evidently looks like a caveman but has the heart of a child. He's there to be immature so Mason can defend him.
Then there is Pinky, the male equivalent to Lailani but who became evil instead of good. Honestly, with everything he says or does, he should have washed out of camp the first day they got guns (day 3?) and kept stabbing his gun into Mason's back. Mason says one thing to Pinky (defending Caveman from his bullying) and suddenly they are enemies to the death. The instructors basically let him get away with it too. I get the feeling that he redeems himself, but I honestly just want him to die.
I want them all to die. I want an pod of aliens to drop down on their undisciplined asses and just kill them. Besides having this stupid harem which every female joins, the space military part of it is just garbage. The boot camp itself just comes off as a somewhat bad summer camp. There is very little actual description of the training, at least, it doesn't seem enough. Mason and his pals spend as much time being punished than training. They continue to act like bratty teens instead of soldiers preparing to die. They've lived in this world with aliens for their whole life and they are ridiculously unprepared and naive
The alien aspect of this is also badly planned. The aliens are essentially giant centipedes with far superior intelligence and technology, yet instead of just wiping out the humans, they wage this petty tactic of small attacks to terrorize the humans. They did their first attack that wiped out half the human population, so the humans responded with a nuke, and now they're in a stalemate. Half their population? It would be so easy to kill all of humanity. And they have better tech and int but don't have their own nukes? The only way to kill the centipedes is to use a diamond knife or riddle them with hundreds of thousands of bullets? How has humanity not increased their weapons ability?
The setting itself just doesn't make sense. For instance, Christmas lights are no longer a thing because people don't have the power to light them, but the normal everyday things like coffee shops and stores are still running. Aliens rain down from the sky and release a toxic gas, causing pregnant women to have deformed babies if breathed, so why don't those women either a) stay indoors or underground or b) always wear a gas mask? It's mentioned that many people hide underground and everyone (really, everyone? I doubt that) has a gas mask on their person. So why are women taking risks and having deformed babies? Why don't Mason and Kemi have more caution when they have sex in case Kemi gets pregnant? Why do people live above ground at all? There is such a lack of logic!
Basically, this has cliche characters who follow stupid tropes and fall into plot holes big enough to make Swiss cheese.
This story has what I call "pseudo-harem" . Pseudo-harem is when a male character (generally the main) creates non-platonic relationships with several females (3+) with the story building that this male could end up dating/marrying any of these females. This became very apparent when every female character who was given attention to became one where the main character, Mason, would feel affection for.
First, it's Addy, the eleven year old girl who saves him in the first chapter from an alien attack. For some reason she is adopted into his family after her own parents die and she grows up with Mason and is drafted along with him. She's a tomboy but she's sensitive and scared of being in the military, so there is Mason to worm his way in. He sees her like a sister but gets jealous when he sees her kissing other people. Worse, she get's jealous of him being with girls too. So there is girl #1.
The next girl is Kemi, introduced in chapter 2 (the chapters are short, but there is a 7 year time skip). Mason and Kemi seem like a normal high school couple but for some reason Kemi doesn't tell him a really important detail and basically ruins their last day together. . It's incredibly selfish, not what she chooses to do, but how she finally tells Mason. So their relationship ends as Mason is drafted and believes he will never see her again, keeping a photo of her on his person at all times because he still loves her... Who are we kidding, she shows up again later in this book.
The next girl is Lailani de la Rosa, a short but ferocious girl who plans on dying a hero in the military. I really want to be sympathetic for her, she had a really shitty childhood and she's picked herself up by her military bootstraps and is making something of herself. Instead, I just roll my eyes because her sob story is slapped across your face multiple times so Mason looks like an ignorant, naive, asshole and her a frail but feisty woman not to be underestimated. Nope, she just comes off as an unapologetic brat. Still, Mason, who seems to only think about romance (and how shitty boot camp is), feels the need to protect her and help her out.
The last female is Mason's commanding officer, Ensign Ben-Ari, an Israeli who looks super sad because her people have been displaced due to the cataclysm from 50 years ago. Due to Mason's personality as a writer, he sort of fantasizes about her and gives her this weird fantasy backstory. "She is a noble, this guy is her guardian angel, these are her knights, we are her peasants." There is just way too much emphasis on her despite the fact that Mason hasn't even talked to her. But I am sure, by the law of pseudo-harems, that she will be a love interest.
The male characters, on the otherhand, serve as background characters, comedic pauses, and painfully stupid rivalry. There is "Elvis", a fellow recruit who impersonates Elvis, makes up slang, and makes somewhat crude remarks about women. He is the typically side-kick friend type who literally only makes jokes. The story would honestly be better without him. Then there is the Russian who keeps bringing up how much better Russia is and how wonderful his girlfriend is (while he keeps changing the girls' names). He serves the same purpose. The Russian and Elvis make jokes and show the reader that Mason is a sensible guy who respects women, blah blah blah. There is Caveman, a sad person who evidently looks like a caveman but has the heart of a child. He's there to be immature so Mason can defend him.
Then there is Pinky, the male equivalent to Lailani but who became evil instead of good. Honestly, with everything he says or does, he should have washed out of camp the first day they got guns (day 3?) and kept stabbing his gun into Mason's back. Mason says one thing to Pinky (defending Caveman from his bullying) and suddenly they are enemies to the death. The instructors basically let him get away with it too. I get the feeling that he redeems himself, but I honestly just want him to die.
I want them all to die. I want an pod of aliens to drop down on their undisciplined asses and just kill them. Besides having this stupid harem which every female joins, the space military part of it is just garbage. The boot camp itself just comes off as a somewhat bad summer camp. There is very little actual description of the training, at least, it doesn't seem enough. Mason and his pals spend as much time being punished than training. They continue to act like bratty teens instead of soldiers preparing to die. They've lived in this world with aliens for their whole life and they are ridiculously unprepared and naive
The alien aspect of this is also badly planned. The aliens are essentially giant centipedes with far superior intelligence and technology, yet instead of just wiping out the humans, they wage this petty tactic of small attacks to terrorize the humans. They did their first attack that wiped out half the human population, so the humans responded with a nuke, and now they're in a stalemate. Half their population? It would be so easy to kill all of humanity. And they have better tech and int but don't have their own nukes? The only way to kill the centipedes is to use a diamond knife or riddle them with hundreds of thousands of bullets? How has humanity not increased their weapons ability?
The setting itself just doesn't make sense. For instance, Christmas lights are no longer a thing because people don't have the power to light them, but the normal everyday things like coffee shops and stores are still running. Aliens rain down from the sky and release a toxic gas, causing pregnant women to have deformed babies if breathed, so why don't those women either a) stay indoors or underground or b) always wear a gas mask? It's mentioned that many people hide underground and everyone (really, everyone? I doubt that) has a gas mask on their person. So why are women taking risks and having deformed babies? Why don't Mason and Kemi have more caution when they have sex in case Kemi gets pregnant? Why do people live above ground at all? There is such a lack of logic!
Basically, this has cliche characters who follow stupid tropes and fall into plot holes big enough to make Swiss cheese.
February 17, 2018
This is the first in a rather epic series, but don’t be daunted. Arenson has a lovely free flowing style that is very easy to read (or listen to), making this a thoroughly enjoyable book to just immerse yourself in.
The story follows Marco Emery, at the start, he is a young child who is traumatised by the death of his mother right in front of him by an alien invasion of a species called the Scum.
50yrs ago, the Scum came to Earth and decimated the Earth, wiping out over 60% of the population, until an Earth made starfighter managed to get within range of their planet and dropped a nuke on them, annihilating a huge amount of their population. From there, the Scum stopped the full on attacks, instead, only dropping single 1 alien pods in little clusters of 2 or more to harass and terrify the population.
To try and stop the Aliens, the Scum, humanity has the Human Defence Force, or HDF, churning out massive amounts of cannon fodder on Earth, and for the Starfleet.
Marcus is drafted at 18, however he is not a fighter. He is a librarian, a writer, but if Earth, Humanity, his friends, his Father, himself have any hope of surviving, Marcus must become a Soldier.
This book is a little different to a lot of this style of genre, there is the standard boot camp [Yelling Sgts, drill, PE, breaking the soul to turn you from a human into a killing automaton), but this time around there is a much more human element, Arenson delves into several of the main characters, not just Marcus, but also other members of his unit, from his crazy adopted sister who acts like a psycho, but is scared to death deep down, to the tiny Lailini, whose gun is bigger than she is, and although she is very sweet looking, she is a savage warrior with a death wish, literally, to ‘Cave-man’ who is a huge boy, Neanderthal in appearance but with the gentle heart of a young child. There is the Russian ‘Beast’, the largest of them all, whose arms are bigger than Lailini, who thinks everything is better in Russia, and to round out the crew, an Elvis impersonator – because even in the future, Elvis ain’t dead…
Each of these characters are deeply flawed, and although there are a couple of times that some of them might not have the depth of some books, that is not what this is about. This is a book with some good characters, where the author has shown the human side of those characters rather than just always going for the gung-ho killer that always permeates these types of books, and has given us an interesting story of a broken humanity trying to survive, hang-on and re-build.
One of the really cool bits of this book are the Aliens themselves, Sentient Centipedes that can tower over a man are just awesome, and Arenson does everything possible to make then as gruesome, terrifying and brutal as possible.
Earth Alone is a fantastic start to the series, introducing us to the main characters, and the universe they live in, setting the scene for what is to come. This series is going to be a lot of fun. It has been compared to Starship Troopers a lot, and whilst I can understand that, this also has a real Warhammer 40K feel to It as well for those that know the game/books. Regardless, well worth the read.
The story follows Marco Emery, at the start, he is a young child who is traumatised by the death of his mother right in front of him by an alien invasion of a species called the Scum.
50yrs ago, the Scum came to Earth and decimated the Earth, wiping out over 60% of the population, until an Earth made starfighter managed to get within range of their planet and dropped a nuke on them, annihilating a huge amount of their population. From there, the Scum stopped the full on attacks, instead, only dropping single 1 alien pods in little clusters of 2 or more to harass and terrify the population.
To try and stop the Aliens, the Scum, humanity has the Human Defence Force, or HDF, churning out massive amounts of cannon fodder on Earth, and for the Starfleet.
Marcus is drafted at 18, however he is not a fighter. He is a librarian, a writer, but if Earth, Humanity, his friends, his Father, himself have any hope of surviving, Marcus must become a Soldier.
This book is a little different to a lot of this style of genre, there is the standard boot camp [Yelling Sgts, drill, PE, breaking the soul to turn you from a human into a killing automaton), but this time around there is a much more human element, Arenson delves into several of the main characters, not just Marcus, but also other members of his unit, from his crazy adopted sister who acts like a psycho, but is scared to death deep down, to the tiny Lailini, whose gun is bigger than she is, and although she is very sweet looking, she is a savage warrior with a death wish, literally, to ‘Cave-man’ who is a huge boy, Neanderthal in appearance but with the gentle heart of a young child. There is the Russian ‘Beast’, the largest of them all, whose arms are bigger than Lailini, who thinks everything is better in Russia, and to round out the crew, an Elvis impersonator – because even in the future, Elvis ain’t dead…
Each of these characters are deeply flawed, and although there are a couple of times that some of them might not have the depth of some books, that is not what this is about. This is a book with some good characters, where the author has shown the human side of those characters rather than just always going for the gung-ho killer that always permeates these types of books, and has given us an interesting story of a broken humanity trying to survive, hang-on and re-build.
One of the really cool bits of this book are the Aliens themselves, Sentient Centipedes that can tower over a man are just awesome, and Arenson does everything possible to make then as gruesome, terrifying and brutal as possible.
Earth Alone is a fantastic start to the series, introducing us to the main characters, and the universe they live in, setting the scene for what is to come. This series is going to be a lot of fun. It has been compared to Starship Troopers a lot, and whilst I can understand that, this also has a real Warhammer 40K feel to It as well for those that know the game/books. Regardless, well worth the read.
January 23, 2017
The entire book is about Marco (who would rather be a librarian and a writer), Addy (his adopted sister), the new people they meet, and how they all (or most) survive basic training. From latrine cleaning to weapons training it’s all there. 60% of the world’s population is gone thanks to giant centipede-like aliens, and it’s crucial that the military turn out tough troops ready for what’s ahead.
I wouldn’t say the characters are the most three-dimensional I’ve ever seen, but they do have depth to them. It’s just enough to be able to say that Aronson produced some good characterization, but not enough to make me shed any tears over a character’s tragedy. The basic training doesn’t really bring anything new to the table, but it held my interest.
The biggest problem I have is this: nukes. They’ve already nuked the alien planet once. The author explains that now they’re in a war of attrition, but there’s no reason given for why we haven’t just kept nuking them into the stone age. This isn’t a situation where they have to worry about the global politics of nuking a neighbor. The enemies aren’t humanoid, so there’s no empathy issue to worry about. This is a pretty big plot hole, because without some kind of legitimate explanation, the entire premise of the book is cracked open. Maybe the aliens have a huge fleet that serves as their home now and it’s a lot harder to nuke a fleet than part of a planet. Something like that. As long as there was a reason that made sense I’d be happy, but unless I missed it, it’s just a gaping plot hole.
I haven’t yet decided whether I’m going to read the next volume.
Original review on my site: http://www.errantdreams.com/2017/01/r...
I wouldn’t say the characters are the most three-dimensional I’ve ever seen, but they do have depth to them. It’s just enough to be able to say that Aronson produced some good characterization, but not enough to make me shed any tears over a character’s tragedy. The basic training doesn’t really bring anything new to the table, but it held my interest.
The biggest problem I have is this: nukes. They’ve already nuked the alien planet once. The author explains that now they’re in a war of attrition, but there’s no reason given for why we haven’t just kept nuking them into the stone age. This isn’t a situation where they have to worry about the global politics of nuking a neighbor. The enemies aren’t humanoid, so there’s no empathy issue to worry about. This is a pretty big plot hole, because without some kind of legitimate explanation, the entire premise of the book is cracked open. Maybe the aliens have a huge fleet that serves as their home now and it’s a lot harder to nuke a fleet than part of a planet. Something like that. As long as there was a reason that made sense I’d be happy, but unless I missed it, it’s just a gaping plot hole.
I haven’t yet decided whether I’m going to read the next volume.
Original review on my site: http://www.errantdreams.com/2017/01/r...
April 6, 2017
What a great start to what I know is going to be an addictive, action-packed and thrilling series. The storytelling is fluid, starting at the beginning where the main character Marco loses his mother. Everything revolves around the Alien "Scum" attacks and no one can live a life free of this constant threat. Plus, everyone must serve in the HDF once they're of age, a requirement that sends Marco into a bundle of nerves. The longing these characters feel for home is real. Each of his friends he meets in boot camp has a different story, a different life yet they come together when they need to the most and come out the other end, stronger, wiser, and maybe just a bit more broken, but they're determined to save humanity, even at the cost of never seeing their families again.
Marco is a gentle creature, but threaten what he wants and loves, and you see another side of him. As he goes from apprehension to exhaustion, to love and hate, to adoration and respect, he morphs into a soldier the entire way through, one you'd want at your side in battle any day.
Daniel Arenson makes you like the characters and invest into their lives and outcomes. He also knows how to break your heart and terrify you as everything leads up to the ultimate battle for their lives and nothing short of grit will save them. You root for the platoon, even when certain demise is imminent. Great storytelling that squeezes as it holds on tight and won't let go to the end. Highly recommend it!
Marco is a gentle creature, but threaten what he wants and loves, and you see another side of him. As he goes from apprehension to exhaustion, to love and hate, to adoration and respect, he morphs into a soldier the entire way through, one you'd want at your side in battle any day.
Daniel Arenson makes you like the characters and invest into their lives and outcomes. He also knows how to break your heart and terrify you as everything leads up to the ultimate battle for their lives and nothing short of grit will save them. You root for the platoon, even when certain demise is imminent. Great storytelling that squeezes as it holds on tight and won't let go to the end. Highly recommend it!
May 20, 2017
This book is a difficult one for me to rate. I'm a fan of Arenson's fantasy. It's nothing groundbreaking, but it's fun to read.
This one started out really well with an exciting alien invasion scene. Then it jumped ahead a few years to when the main character joins the military. Based on the cover, I was expecting all kinds of space battles and alien-killing action. Instead, I got a story about boot camp. It took me a while to adjust to this change in the story. I never quite enjoyed the boot camp stuff as much as I would have liked, but I did find I came to care about the characters, so Arenson was doing something right.
The end of the book finally got to the kind of action I was expecting all book, and it didn't disappoint. I was frantically flipping virtual pages toward the end. Arenson's biggest strength is in his action scenes, and that strength showed here. The book ended so well that I'm really excited to see where the series goes from here. I just wish I'd enjoyed the entire book that much.
As a side note, I can see that Arenson has improved dramatically as a writer since some of his earlier stuff. The writing is much smoother, and the characters are written much better. The action at the end worked so well because I really cared about these characters.
Rating: 7.5/10
This one started out really well with an exciting alien invasion scene. Then it jumped ahead a few years to when the main character joins the military. Based on the cover, I was expecting all kinds of space battles and alien-killing action. Instead, I got a story about boot camp. It took me a while to adjust to this change in the story. I never quite enjoyed the boot camp stuff as much as I would have liked, but I did find I came to care about the characters, so Arenson was doing something right.
The end of the book finally got to the kind of action I was expecting all book, and it didn't disappoint. I was frantically flipping virtual pages toward the end. Arenson's biggest strength is in his action scenes, and that strength showed here. The book ended so well that I'm really excited to see where the series goes from here. I just wish I'd enjoyed the entire book that much.
As a side note, I can see that Arenson has improved dramatically as a writer since some of his earlier stuff. The writing is much smoother, and the characters are written much better. The action at the end worked so well because I really cared about these characters.
Rating: 7.5/10
February 26, 2019
I almost cried at the end of this book.
I bought this book in the three book collection. There was never anything boring. The characters were well fleshed out. There was no huge infodump at the beginning. This series is written like Ender's Game but is equally good, if not better. Words flow smoothly and there weren't any grammatical errors. When I got to the end there was a moment of redemption that almost made me cry. I won't spoil it for you.
My only beef with main character is that he likes too many women too fast, and can't make up his mind, even though he's supposed to be a nice guy. Also, isn't that against military regulations?
This is a series about an alien invasion. The aliens aren't cyborgs or androids. This is military science fiction. It takes place on Earth and you must keep reading to find out more about other planets. A book must be great if it moves you, and this is it.
I bought this book in the three book collection. There was never anything boring. The characters were well fleshed out. There was no huge infodump at the beginning. This series is written like Ender's Game but is equally good, if not better. Words flow smoothly and there weren't any grammatical errors. When I got to the end there was a moment of redemption that almost made me cry. I won't spoil it for you.
My only beef with main character is that he likes too many women too fast, and can't make up his mind, even though he's supposed to be a nice guy. Also, isn't that against military regulations?
This is a series about an alien invasion. The aliens aren't cyborgs or androids. This is military science fiction. It takes place on Earth and you must keep reading to find out more about other planets. A book must be great if it moves you, and this is it.
July 12, 2016
OK
This is an OK read and I'll read more of the series. A few things bother me a bit. The soldiers weapons, unlike every semi/full automatic firearm, does not lock open after firing the last round. Not only does the soldier have no idea when his or her magazine is empty or down to the last bullet but the safety concerns are off the chart. An accident looking for a place to happen. Also, "craft" is one of those words spelled the same whether singular or plural. One spacecraft, a fleet of spacecraft. Finally, the entire story line is suspiciously similar to Heinlein's "Starship Troopers." Bugs, protagonist a grunt in the military, girlfriend back home going to the academy to become an officer. (Bugs, Rico, Evanez, hmmm)
This is an OK read and I'll read more of the series. A few things bother me a bit. The soldiers weapons, unlike every semi/full automatic firearm, does not lock open after firing the last round. Not only does the soldier have no idea when his or her magazine is empty or down to the last bullet but the safety concerns are off the chart. An accident looking for a place to happen. Also, "craft" is one of those words spelled the same whether singular or plural. One spacecraft, a fleet of spacecraft. Finally, the entire story line is suspiciously similar to Heinlein's "Starship Troopers." Bugs, protagonist a grunt in the military, girlfriend back home going to the academy to become an officer. (Bugs, Rico, Evanez, hmmm)
December 14, 2016
Do you want to read accounts of all the different ways giant space centipedes can kill people? Do you want to hear current pop culture references even though this book is set 100-200 years in the future? Do you want to hear about how the world is horrible but our teenage boy hero has confusing feelings for three different girls? And one girl is a lesbian but falls in love and sleeps with him anyway because he's special? Yeah, neither did I. Guess I don't have to hunt down the rest of the series.
June 23, 2016
Originally received for free by the author in exchange for an honest review, but I enjoyed it enough to purchase. It does have the feel of Starship Troopers, but much more focused on the characters as people, thoughts, personalities, etc. Easy to slip into the story, kind of a fun read, and held my attention while the story flew. Well done, and I cannot wait to see the next book and where the author is going to go with the story line!
February 10, 2017
Thin characters and a weak plot
I wanted to like this book, but it's hard. The characters were paper thin, and the author felt the need to tell their backstory every time they came on the page. Not to mention that the plot was almost scene-for-scene a retelling of Starship Troopers. This was one I couldn't get behind. I prefer something with more originality. I won't be continuing the series.
I wanted to like this book, but it's hard. The characters were paper thin, and the author felt the need to tell their backstory every time they came on the page. Not to mention that the plot was almost scene-for-scene a retelling of Starship Troopers. This was one I couldn't get behind. I prefer something with more originality. I won't be continuing the series.
July 9, 2016
I can't wait for the next book to come out. This book is sad and exciting all at the same time and it will suck you in from the first chapter.
July 9, 2018
It's a rare book that can soberly discuss a topic, and still be funny as hell.
Earth rise book 1 manages that feat quite well. It's a moving, thought provoking entertaining story that just about anyone could get something from if they read it. It's certainly not the kind of story that everyone would love, I'm not even sure it's something a majority of people would love to read, but it's science fiction, it's a good story, and it's got subplots that touch on relationships, space battles, aliens, military, and even a few that try to teach us about humanity too. I'm not a fan of books that take a point and shove it down your throat, and this book doesn't do that, it simply explores various aspects of what an alien war might be like, focusing primarily on a single soldier who doesn't want to be fighting the aliens, one who would prefer to be home tending to his family's library, but it's also a story about how this soldier steps up and does what is needed regardless of what he wants. It's a sad story, a humorous story, and perhaps, maybe just a bit of an educational story as well.
If you like books that tell a rip roaring good story, you won't want to miss this one. If you like stories that make you think, you won't want to miss this one either, but if you just want to read a good tale about people doing people things, this story might just fit the bill as well.
Earth rise book 1 manages that feat quite well. It's a moving, thought provoking entertaining story that just about anyone could get something from if they read it. It's certainly not the kind of story that everyone would love, I'm not even sure it's something a majority of people would love to read, but it's science fiction, it's a good story, and it's got subplots that touch on relationships, space battles, aliens, military, and even a few that try to teach us about humanity too. I'm not a fan of books that take a point and shove it down your throat, and this book doesn't do that, it simply explores various aspects of what an alien war might be like, focusing primarily on a single soldier who doesn't want to be fighting the aliens, one who would prefer to be home tending to his family's library, but it's also a story about how this soldier steps up and does what is needed regardless of what he wants. It's a sad story, a humorous story, and perhaps, maybe just a bit of an educational story as well.
If you like books that tell a rip roaring good story, you won't want to miss this one. If you like stories that make you think, you won't want to miss this one either, but if you just want to read a good tale about people doing people things, this story might just fit the bill as well.
January 27, 2018
I purchased the first three books of the Earthrise series at a discount recently. I’m reviewing each of the books individually because each has something a little different to offer. Also, because each of them is very much worth its own review.
Earth Alone features boot camp for Marco and his group of comrades and friends. There are some twists and turns, moments of action, of tragedy, suspense, romance and so much more. Arenson has a way with words that makes me want to keep on turning the pages. It’s compelling, descriptive, engaging, thrilling and wonderful.
Earth Alone reminded me of some of my favourite books and movies being merged into a single story. Like some of the best bits of Starship Troopers, Full Metal Jacket, Aliens, the Crimson Worlds Series (by Jay Allen) and the In Her Name series (by Michael R. Hicks) were blended. It makes for a really entertaining reading experience.
Earth Alone features boot camp for Marco and his group of comrades and friends. There are some twists and turns, moments of action, of tragedy, suspense, romance and so much more. Arenson has a way with words that makes me want to keep on turning the pages. It’s compelling, descriptive, engaging, thrilling and wonderful.
Earth Alone reminded me of some of my favourite books and movies being merged into a single story. Like some of the best bits of Starship Troopers, Full Metal Jacket, Aliens, the Crimson Worlds Series (by Jay Allen) and the In Her Name series (by Michael R. Hicks) were blended. It makes for a really entertaining reading experience.
January 7, 2017
Very good military science fiction similar in vein to Starship Troopers
This book is an excellent start to what I am confident is going to be a great series. The author captures the stress, difficulty, and ever present fear of a world at war- in the throes of a fight for survival. The hard reality of military training and the relationships that form in the crucible are well thought out and the main character is really well done.
The only minor dings, and they are small is that the book is sometimes a little too derivative of Starship Troopers, and has one obvious continuity error at the beginning (a magically appearing gas mask).
I can't wait to read another book from this author.
This book is an excellent start to what I am confident is going to be a great series. The author captures the stress, difficulty, and ever present fear of a world at war- in the throes of a fight for survival. The hard reality of military training and the relationships that form in the crucible are well thought out and the main character is really well done.
The only minor dings, and they are small is that the book is sometimes a little too derivative of Starship Troopers, and has one obvious continuity error at the beginning (a magically appearing gas mask).
I can't wait to read another book from this author.
June 30, 2016
I normally don't read much science fiction, but the cover for Earth Alone drew my attention immediately so I picked up the Kindle version when it was released. The book is a quick and enjoyable read that introduces the reader to a small cast of characters just beginning their galaxy-wide struggles against an alien foe. Daniel's descriptions of boot camp and combat, and the camaraderie developed by those who have shared that experience really came across the page for me. I am looking forward the second installment in this series.
March 1, 2018
Some reviewers have criticized this as being too much like Heinlein's "Starship Troopers". Well, yeah, it's sort of like that. But then so is "Forever War", "Frontlines", "Old Man's War", and every other military SF story/series that looks at how ordinary civilians become soldiers.
And this is a lot better than "Starship Troopers". The transition is much more realistic, much more believable, as are the characters.
And this is a lot better than "Starship Troopers". The transition is much more realistic, much more believable, as are the characters.
July 2, 2018
Boots making war with formidable aliens
Follow a platoon of drafted kids training to fight the aliens who have terrorized earth for 50 years. As the recruits mature quickly, they learn important lessons about life - and death. Characters are deftly drawn and situations perilous enough to get your pulse rate up. Would definitely be this author's biggest fan if i could only afford to buy every book he has ever written. Five stars are not enough for this one.
Follow a platoon of drafted kids training to fight the aliens who have terrorized earth for 50 years. As the recruits mature quickly, they learn important lessons about life - and death. Characters are deftly drawn and situations perilous enough to get your pulse rate up. Would definitely be this author's biggest fan if i could only afford to buy every book he has ever written. Five stars are not enough for this one.
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