Injection Burn

Dire Earth Duology #1

by Jason M. Hough

Part one of a thrilling action-adventure sci-fi duology featuring indomitable characters, incredible worlds, and plenty of rip-roaring action and thrills!
Skyler Luiken and his ragtag crew of scavengers, scientists, and brawlers have a new mission: a long journey to a distant planet where a race of benevolent aliens are held captive behind a cloud of destructive ships known as the Swarm Blockade. No human ships have ever made it past this impenetrable wall, and Skyler knows not what to anticipate when they reach their destination.
Safe to say that the last thing he expects to find there is a second human ship led by the tough-as-nails Captain Gloria Tsandi. These two crews and their respective captains initially clash, but they will have to learn to work together when their mutual foe closes in around them and begins the outright destruction of their vessels along with any hope of a return to Earth."

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Audiobook, Post Apocalyptic, Space, Aliens, Science Fiction Fantasy

385 pages, Paperback

First published May 30, 2017

About the author

Jason M. Hough (pronounced 'Huff') is the New York Times bestselling author of The Dire Earth Cycle and the near-future spy thriller Zero World. In a former life he was a 3D artist, animator, and game designer (Metal Fatigue, Aliens vs. Predator: Extinction, and many others). He has also worked in the fields of high-performance cluster computing and machine learning.

The Darwin Elevator began life in 2008 as a project for National Novel Writing Month.  The book released on July 30th, 2013 and reached the New York Times Bestseller list the following week. Darwin was Jason’s first published fiction. The subsequent books in that trilogy were released that same summer, along with a prequel novella, The Dire Earth, in 2014.

Jason's latest novel, Zero World, released on August 18th, 2015 from Del Rey Spectra (US) and Titan Books (AUS/NZ). Publishers Weekly called it “a thrilling action rampage that confirms Hough as an important new voice in genre fiction.”

He lives near Seattle, Washington with his wife, two young sons, and a dog named Missbuster.

Reviews

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Complex, suspense-filled and just what I needed to shake up a previous book hangover. Hough is back with a another marvelous scifi adventure, a spin off of the DIRE EARTH CYCLE. I fell in love with Hough's writing in the THE DARWIN ELEVATOR and can't wait to see what happens next in ESCAPE VELOCITY.

I received this ARC copy of Injection Burn from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine - Del Rey. This is my honest and voluntary review. Injection Burn is set for publication May 30, 2017.

My Rating: 4 stars

[Dianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

They're Ba-a-ck! Both the incredibly creative author Jason Hough and Skyler Luiken, space traveler, adventurer, hero and now legend from the past.

Strap your boots, helmet and spacesuit on, adjust your seatbelt and hang on tight as we head at light speed into another suspense-filled adventure into deep space and the Swarm Blockade. INJECTION BURN will keep science fiction fans in hover mode over each page and through every turn of events.

Somewhere in the vastness of outerspace is a friendly world and for Skyler and his crew, it is his destination. Surrounding that world is a mass of warships called the Swarm Blockade and their line has proven impenetrable to human ships and costly in terms of human lives. When he and his crew are at their most vulnerable, the impossible happens. After who knows how long, a second human ship has appeared and the two captains must decide how to trust, work together or even believe what each has to say.

Time is running out as the Swarm attacks relentlessly and Skyler must find a way to defeat their numbers while keeping at least one of their ships weakened but alive in case by some miracle they live to return home. Things are looking bad for our heroes, and any move they make will be dicey at best. But really, since when has Skylar been a by-the-books kind of guy?

Like frosting on a cake, Jason Hough’s spin off from his Dire Earth Cycle series, this next duology is off to a flying start! Non – stop action, its mission impossible to survive, but guts, determination and that human will to survive may even the odds. If not, just remember whose side Skyler and crew are on and hope they find one more trick up their sleeves to buy them time.

If you haven’t stepped into any of Jason Hough’s tales, you have no idea what you are missing as he takes us to the stars and beyond!

I received an ARC edition from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Del Rey

Duology: Dire Earth - Book 1
Publisher: Del Rey (May 30, 2017)
Publication Date: May 30, 2017
ISBN 9780553391312
Genre: SciFi
Print Length: 400 pages
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
For Reviews & More: http://tometender.blogspot.com

[Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book more than I expected to, since I did not care for "The Darwin Elevator" and I am not a fan of military sci fi. While it might have been preferable to have read the other books set in this universe, I managed to enjoy this book without having done so. However, this is definitely not a standalone book because it ends in the middle of the story and you have to read the next book, "Escape Velocity" in order to find out what the outcome is, and there is a lot happening in this book.

The book follows three groups of humans from different centuries who all converge about halfway through the book and wind up in collective opposition to a group of aliens protected by an immense swarm of octopus-like defenders. It's a complicated story involving evil aliens, good (or slightly better) aliens, artificial intelligence, mind transfers, engineered plagues, old rivalries, love triangles (of course), giant scarab beetles, flying seed pods and fancy weapons. I thought it was fun and I will read the next book.

[Chris Berko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alright, here's the deal with Jason Hough and why I have come to admire his writing. His books are very easy to read. The story flows, the action is clearly written and there is always realistic dialogue and well-rounded characters. Okay none of that is too original, I get it, what makes Mr. Hough stand out for me is the way he structures his stories. This is the fifth book of his I've read and just like Zero World and Darwin Elevator, the first 30% percent has all the characters thrown into a gigantic shit-storm blender with lots of shit going wrong. I can remember saying to myself, holy crap where the hell are these stories going, because his beginnings are like other books' finales. THEN, and I don't want to say slow down because the pacing remains swift, but then everyone gets to regroup and deal with whatever was thrown at them, and there is tons of cool technology and gadgets and action and ideas and all forms of coolness until the final 25% which is then always non-stop, big-budget, balls-to-the-wall action. I seriously dig his stuff and look forward to reading book two of this duology and whatever else he puts out in the future.

[Kdawg91 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my kind of read, I am a sucker for military scifi. Mr. Hough knows how to push the right buttons. There is a metric ton of cool guns and tech and boom per page, it moves at a great pace, very well written and super enjoyable.

The world building however...is a bit thin, but the fun factor makes up for it. If you read the Dire Earth books, you will be right at home with this, if NOT...go start there. I personally don't think its totally necessary, but I think why not go for the whole picture.

[Jon Von · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 It's funny to be book that sells itself as a new story when it picks up only months later with the same characters, well, three months and about two thousand years of space hypersleep. Skyler is back to kick ass and grapple with weird alien technologies. The Plague Forge had such a big cliffhanger ending that it seemed like an interesting, but weird, way to end the series. I had written this off for a while, only to find that it was more instant gratification than I expected.

The difference is Hough has largely abandoned the bloated space opera style and chosen to focus on a much faster, more action-oriented story. The melodrama characters turn into sleek versions of themselves who fight aliens with explosions and spaceships. Skyler and Dr Tania are still the great characters built up in the previous books, but if you read this as a stand-alone, it would hardly explain anything. They would mostly be running around saying, "Oh no, evil galaxy destroying aliens!", going pew-pew, and making googly eyes at one another.

The whole B-story is different. The main team had been in hypersleep so long that, in the two thousand years they'd been asleep, humanity had progressed so far in space travel that a distant exploratory team came in contact. Together they have to join up, learn about the good aliens and fight the bad aliens. It's kind of more like a Halo video game to be honest.

There's another huge cliffhanger and I'm for sure reading the sequel. I'll be surprised if Hough can pull off the final book in the series just because he's built up so many things. Are you telling me this Sklyer guy goes from ex-military spaceship scavenger concerned about the economy of space elevator city to going to the future and saving the universe? What a development!

[Mark Gardner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had no expectation when I saw Injection Burn on Netgalley, other than I knew I’d liked Zero World. I wasn’t aware that the Dire Earth duology was a companion series to the Dire Earth Cycle, but at no time reading Injection Burn did I feel like I was missing something.

The para-military vibe from the characters makes this a standard space opera. I kept waiting for the two distinct stories to merge, and I was not disappointed in the payout. There is a surreal plot in book one that I felt out of my element reading, but it pays off in book two.

I’ll give Injection burn four stars.

[Gregoire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deux qualificatifs : spectaculaire et prenant ...

Je conseille vivement de prévoir un bon weekend de lecture parce qu'il s'agit pour un amateur de SF d'un livre impossible à lâcher : tout ou presque est réuni : aliens étranges et agressifs, espace, actions, AI, vaisseaux et un équipage aux caractères bien différenciés et surtout bien trempés

Je dirais que le seul point faible de ce livre et ce pourquoi je ne lui ai pas accordé 5 étoiles, c'est que l'auteur reste dans l'action (et quelle action ! ) mais qu'il manque à mon goût un peu de "sens" En dehors du but honorable de débarrasser l'univers d'une espèce quasi immortelle mais qui ne possède pas encore le système pour voyager plus vite que la lumière, les humains discutent peu de leurs états d'âme (à vrai dire, ils n'en ont guère le temps !) L'auteur nous plonge direct dans son univers et ne s'attarde pas à essayer de nous expliquer le fonctionnement ou l'évolution des techniques à part quelques allusions ici et là C'est à la fois très visuel, dépaysant, mais aussi parfois très frustrant

Cet épisode - après un final à couper le souffle (un final qui démarre dès la première page ...) - s'achève sur un cliffhanger qui laisse le lecteur une nouvelle fois impatient de sauter sur le 2e épisode qui devrait paraître fin juin Je croise les doigts ! Il est déjà en pré-commande

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hough wrote another hard to put down book. My favorite characters from his first trilogy return for this next stage of the dire earth. Adding to the great cast is the crew of the Wildflower. Thrills, chills and utterly amazing adventures follow as “Eve” the artificial intelligence guides them all on a daring rescue mission to save the bBuilder civilization from enslavement and destruction. Fascinating writing mixed with a creative imagination will soon have you turning the pages and staying up way past your bedtime!

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read The Darwin Elevator years ago and don’t remember much of it other than being underwhelmed. I didn’t even realize this was part of the same universe until I was at least a third of the way through it.

I enjoyed this installment far more than the first. The conflict was all external and forced our main characters to band together against a common enemy. I wasn’t necessarily attached to any of the characters—it wouldn’t have fazed me either way if one had died—but the action in space made for a good read regardless.

Eve was the all-seeing computer/advanced alien that had all the moving parts but didn’t share it with the rest of the crew. She caused quite a ruckus and I enjoyed all of the action it caused. This author is great at creating sequences that were fun without dragging on too long.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Injection Burn starts with the three man crew of a space ship from Earth trying to run a blockade and find a missing ship. Then it leaves that crew and goes over to a ship that left Earth thousands of years ago. That is when I realized that this was a spin off from the Dire Earth Cycle and this crew was one I knew from that trilogy. As the action heats up and the two crews come the tension increases. Don't look for a solution to the problems facing both crews. This is like one book divided into two parts. Injection Burn ends with everything up in the air. I enjoyed meeting the characters both new and old and am looking forward to finding out how they solve the problems they are facing. Turns out Earth's survival may depend on their actions.

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this ARC copy of Injection Burn from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine - Del Rey. This is my honest and voluntary review. Injection Burn is set for publication May 30, 2017.

[Harald Koch · Rating 2 out of 5]

I should have known better after reading the first series. Just ... bleah.

[Les · Rating 3 out of 5]

DISCLAIMER: ARC review copy from NetGalley. Scheduled for publication May 30, 2017.

Picking up where the Dire Earth Cycle series left off, Injection Burn is a fast-paced sci-fi adventure in which the author never takes his foot off the gas. It's action from start to finish. It concludes abruptly and leaves the reader poised for the next phase of the adventure.

I'd previously read The Darwin Elevator (which I enjoyed), the first book of Hough's Dire Earth Cycle, but never got around to reading the other books in the series. I didn't let that deter me and, after some research, it sounded like I could approach these new books which are set within the same universe and overall story arc as a standalone series. That's generally true because there are a lot of references to people and events from the Dire Earth Cycle and these are explained in enough detail to get the picture. The story is a continuation of those prior events, with the opening scene of this book set over a thousand years after the close of The Plague Forge (the last book of the Dire Earth Cycle) yet the two timelines merge together rather neatly early on and continue as one thread.

It's got a definite military vibe (even though it's not about a military force as such) mixed with some solid space opera elements and as I mentioned earlier is jam-packed with action. There is tons of explosions, combat and lots cool weapons tech, so no complaints there. The writing style is very "visual" by which I mean that it's very busy with events moving about the place most of the time and the scenes jump around a lot. Sure, the text is descriptive and engrossing and I generally found it easy to see the events in my mind's eye but I did find myself occasionally stumbling if I lost the picture. Combined with the fact that this book is quite light on dialogue, it was a fast read that I devoured easily over a few days. There, however, are a couple of reasons why I didn't find this book all that satisfying in a storytelling sense.

Firstly, there isn't anything significant to impress me, no jaw-dropping moments of revelation or majestic vistas of the cosmos, etc. To be fair, there's a scene early in the book of an alien planet with some strange creatures which isn't too bad, and at the end where we get a look at the alien Builder's besieged homeworld which looks awesome. But overall I was a tad underwhelmed by the world building. Secondly, I didn't respond with any enthusiasm (positively or negatively) to any of the characters. I think the author has scrimped a little in this department and I found them all a little one-dimensional and shallow. I didn't even have a favorite, be it a good guy or bad guy. I ended up not really caring who got killed or not because, apart from the central character, nobody seems to be anything more than a simple pawn, relevant in terms of the action yet insignificant within the bigger story. Maybe they will come into their own in the next book. I guess we'll see. Fixing these areas would make this book really hum and turn it from something just okay into something a lot more satisfying.

As us bookish types sometimes do, I felt a bit lost when the book came to an end. This may sound surprising after what I've just said about it, but I really did want to continue and see it develop into something spectacular. Maybe it will in book two Escape Velocity which is scheduled for release later in the year (due date June 27th at the time of writing).

I'm fairly sure that anybody who has enjoyed Hough's earlier books would find this one similarly enjoyable because it's written well and is certainly easy to read. But for me it lacks a bit of story meat on it's bones.

[John Purvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Injection Burn” eBook was published in 2017 and was written by Jason M. Hough (https://www.jasonhough.com/). Mr. Hough has published six novels with this being the fourth in his “The Dire Earth Cycle”.

I received an ARC of this novel through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this novel as ‘R’ because it contains scenes of Violence and Mature Language. The setting is in the far future. The primary character is Skyler Luiken,

Luiken and his team are sent on a desperate mission to find a ship that has been lost. While testing a new propulsion system, the ship disappeared near a planet where a benevolent race of aliens is being held captive by the Swarm. No human ships have made it through the Swarm’s blockade, and the Swarm desperately wants the human's propulsion technology.

Luiken hopes to sneak past the Swarm blockade, but unexpectedly encounters another ship from Earth. Will they be able to avoid the Swarm and escape? Will those they encounter be friends or foe?

I enjoyed the 5.5 hours I spent reading this 400 page science fiction thriller. The story seemed a little muddled in places, particularly at the beginning. As this is the fourth novel in the series, perhaps it was due to only having read a novella set in this universe and not the first three books in the series. The cover art is OK. I give this novel a 4.3 (rounded down to a 4) out of 5.

Further book reviews I have written can be accessed at https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 1 of the Dire Earth duology, but book 4 of the Dire Earth series, to me this one just missed the mark. My rating should actually read 3.5 stars but Goodreads doesn't allow partial stars. I couldn't bring myself to give it 4 stars though.

The same classic characters are back, but somehow lacked.the chemistry tjey had in the first 3 books. The world building was a bit lacking as well, without the detail of the others. new characters are introduced as well, with Captain Gloria Tsandi, and her crew, but these are not explored very deeply.

I didn't hate this book - in fact, it was a very quick and enjoyable read, but just didn't quite stand up to its predecessors.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Injection Burn is the first book in the Dire Earth Duology by Jason M. Hough. This duology is a continuation of the storyline that started in the Dire Earth Cycle (trilogy). Skyler Luiken and many of the characters from the original trilogy are in this book. They have agreed to help the mysterious "Builders" free their home planet from an aggressive alien species. Because of the limitation of the speed of light, it takes them almost 2000 years realtime to reach their destination. They will be met by an alien blockade and another totally unexpected surprise. An action-packed adventure in this exciting series.

[Tabby Shiflett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-written and action-packed Sci-fi novel, although not quite as fast-paced as the Dire Earth Trilogy that began with The Darwin Elevator. The dialogue is witty and humorous and the characters (both human and alien) are intriguing. The military elements and the savvy tech is described in minute detail, but not in a boring way. I cannot get enough of this author's work. I look forward to anything he writes in the future. For Sci-fi and Sci-fi military fans.

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[Keith Zimmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well done sci-fi novel. Very unpredictable, just when I thought I knew what might happen next at certain points in the book, Mr. Hough throws a curveball and I was surprised at the turn of events several times. Found it very hard to put the book down when I had to go to work. There is a point in every book where you don't want to stop reading, I reached that point after the first couple chapters. I highly recommend it. Looking forward to starting "Escape Velocity" later today.

[Nico · Rating 2 out of 5]

<2.5 stars

This was just okay for me, but it got me out of a little reading slump, so obviously I am eternally grateful. Lots and lots of action (maybe too much of it for my personal tastes), alien enemies, science experiments turned torture, AIs, general space chaos, and some weird time stuff playing a factor. Oh, also a lot of alien robot tentacles toward the end there - but not like that though, get your mind outta the gutter, jeez.

[Sontaranpr · Rating 4 out of 5]

They say no plan survives contact with the enemy. This a is story where no plan survives contact with your allies. Also - humans will screw it up no matter how you think you've covered all the odds.

Half a story as the whole book covers a rather short period of time. At the end all the pieces are in place for the next one.

[Seth · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only bad part of this book is the cover. Oh, and also the asses. Yes, there are a bunch of bad-asses in this book. Kicking alien butt in space. With exactly the right amount of laser beams. The Dire Earth cycle picks back up in an entirely different mode, but with all the same action and fun as the first trilogy.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used to read a lot of sci fi when I was young - Asimov/Dune etc.

Naturally Sci fi has moved on to a different technical level as now set in 3000+ but this was a really enjoyable read.

It had a good pace to it and was a page turner but not a classic. A very solid 4 tending towards 4.5 and plan to read more.

[Hunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

The action in this book is good, but the characters are not very compelling. This is the first book of Hough's that I have read, so I may have missed a large chunk of character development in previous stories, but as it stands the characters all feel fairly one dimensional to me, and I couldn't really bring myself to care about any of them in the end. Still, it's a readable space action story.

[Arizona Spartan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good follow up to the previous books in the Dire Earth series. It's got good characters and builds from the end of the others books with a twist. Once the book gets going it really never lets up and it also has many surprises I didn't see coming despite reading the other series twice.

I'm reading the next one already.

[Etienne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Real good sequel to the first trilogy. Love how the character continue on their journey even with what's happening around them. If you liked the first trilogy you'll definitely want to continue the journey.

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

A continuation of the Dire Earth series and it didn't quite work for me. Felt padded out at times plus, being honest, I much prefer Zero World to the Dire Earth series. Won't stop me reading Escape Velocity and have to admit the cliff hanger ending of this has me intrigued.

Ray Smillie

[Daniel Learn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I put off reading this book for some time so I'm not sure if I just wasn't as invested in the story as when I originally read and got to know the characters or if the story just wasn't as compelling. It was a good read and I made extra time to read it but I preferred the original trilogy.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took a while for me to get my bearings in this book, trying to work out how it fit with the first trilogy. Once I had that sorted I could relax and enjoy it.
I didn’t think it was a strong as the first series, but there is plenty of action balanced with character and some cool concepts.

[Joshua Castleman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh man, the premise of the story was intriguing, but it started WAAAAY too slowly. I gave it about the first quarter of the book, and hardly anything had happened and I couldn't care less about any of the characters yet. Sad day.