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Blood on the Stars #2
Call to Arms
Call to Arms: Blood on the Stars II
War. The word spreads throughout the Confederation…the long-expected Union invasion has come. The enemy is strong, their fleets larger and more powerful than intelligence reports had predicted. They have broken through the forward defenses, sent the Confederation’s proud fleets into an ignominious retreat.
Captain Tyler Barron and the crew of the battleship Dauntless are lightyears from the front lines, at Archellia, waiting for their damaged battleship to be repaired. Their ship is only just operational, but there is no time. The Confederation forces need every reinforcement they can get, and Barron and his survivors board their vessel…and rush to the battle lines.
When they get there, they encounter nothing but fleeing ships and shattered fleets. The Confederation is losing the war, falling back steadily, yielding system after system to the invaders. The Union fleets continue inexorably forward, seemingly immune to the supply constraints that have bogged down past invasions. Dauntless finds herself trapped, cut off from the rest of the fleet along with another Confed battleship, and a trio of small escort vessels…deep behind the rapidly moving front lines.
Barron must make a choice. Pull back, try to find a way to get around the enemy and rejoin the fleet. Or press on, strike deep behind the enemy advance, an almost suicidal thrust toward the Union’s main logistical supply base…and the one way Tyler Barron can think of to buy the fleet the time it needs to regroup. To survive.
Blood on the Stars Reading Order
Book 1: Duel in the Dark
Book 2: Call to Arms
Book 3: Ruins of Empire (coming Spring 2017)
War. The word spreads throughout the Confederation…the long-expected Union invasion has come. The enemy is strong, their fleets larger and more powerful than intelligence reports had predicted. They have broken through the forward defenses, sent the Confederation’s proud fleets into an ignominious retreat.
Captain Tyler Barron and the crew of the battleship Dauntless are lightyears from the front lines, at Archellia, waiting for their damaged battleship to be repaired. Their ship is only just operational, but there is no time. The Confederation forces need every reinforcement they can get, and Barron and his survivors board their vessel…and rush to the battle lines.
When they get there, they encounter nothing but fleeing ships and shattered fleets. The Confederation is losing the war, falling back steadily, yielding system after system to the invaders. The Union fleets continue inexorably forward, seemingly immune to the supply constraints that have bogged down past invasions. Dauntless finds herself trapped, cut off from the rest of the fleet along with another Confed battleship, and a trio of small escort vessels…deep behind the rapidly moving front lines.
Barron must make a choice. Pull back, try to find a way to get around the enemy and rejoin the fleet. Or press on, strike deep behind the enemy advance, an almost suicidal thrust toward the Union’s main logistical supply base…and the one way Tyler Barron can think of to buy the fleet the time it needs to regroup. To survive.
Blood on the Stars Reading Order
Book 1: Duel in the Dark
Book 2: Call to Arms
Book 3: Ruins of Empire (coming Spring 2017)
442 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 27, 2017
1856 people are currently reading
471 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 155 reviews
June 6, 2018
Call to Arms follows up Duel in the Dark with few surprises or literary merits. Dauntless has spent weeks in dock being repaired. Meanwhile, the war against the Union is going poorly, as seemingly endless waves of battleships and fighters pour out of the wormholes. The Confederation is forced backwards, from one stand after another.
Dauntless rendezvouses at the scene of the last battle, and with the help of the Intrepid, a friendly battleship hiding in a dust cloud, destroys a major supply convoy and finds a major clue to the strategic situation in a captured database. The Union's impossible offensive is being supported by a massive secret mobile supply base. The two Confederate battleships must launch a desperate assault to stem the tide of enemy reinforcements.
Call to Arms has all the flaws of the first book in the series, and few new charms. Aside from a gesture that logistics matter (which honestly is appreciated), the war is Midway in Space. Characters are two dimensional, with the addition of a required fighter pilot rivalry, and a "good" spymaster who usurps the constitution because that's what survival needs. The Union are the USSR in space, except they all have French names (wow, much creativity).
I guess my biggest problem with this series, aside from the generally average writing, is how much the spacecraft seem to run on the will of the captain. The main battery is broken, until it's really vital to get a shot. The interceptors will take 20 minutes to prep for launch, but you can do it in 10 if you try hard enough. Engines and guns are pushed to 110% charge, with no sense that these are delicate machines that are being burnt out for a tactical advantage. I want to sit Allan down with a copy of Shattered Sword and explain that this what heroism looks like, under the parameter's you've sketched.
Is there a way to leave an ebook at the beach?
Dauntless rendezvouses at the scene of the last battle, and with the help of the Intrepid, a friendly battleship hiding in a dust cloud, destroys a major supply convoy and finds a major clue to the strategic situation in a captured database. The Union's impossible offensive is being supported by a massive secret mobile supply base. The two Confederate battleships must launch a desperate assault to stem the tide of enemy reinforcements.
Call to Arms has all the flaws of the first book in the series, and few new charms. Aside from a gesture that logistics matter (which honestly is appreciated), the war is Midway in Space. Characters are two dimensional, with the addition of a required fighter pilot rivalry, and a "good" spymaster who usurps the constitution because that's what survival needs. The Union are the USSR in space, except they all have French names (wow, much creativity).
I guess my biggest problem with this series, aside from the generally average writing, is how much the spacecraft seem to run on the will of the captain. The main battery is broken, until it's really vital to get a shot. The interceptors will take 20 minutes to prep for launch, but you can do it in 10 if you try hard enough. Engines and guns are pushed to 110% charge, with no sense that these are delicate machines that are being burnt out for a tactical advantage. I want to sit Allan down with a copy of Shattered Sword and explain that this what heroism looks like, under the parameter's you've sketched.
Is there a way to leave an ebook at the beach?
November 6, 2019
From start to finish this is a giant roller coaster of a space battle. It rarely slows down and is very absorbing. I thought that I would be exhausted in reading something that was just traveling with one plot line and that being battle, but it is actually very well paced and even though I had read book one a l while ago, i fell straight back into this pretty quickly.
it is a bit Buck Rogers in terms of the good guys and their pilots, very stereotypical characters, but hey, it's a lot of fun.
it is a bit Buck Rogers in terms of the good guys and their pilots, very stereotypical characters, but hey, it's a lot of fun.
November 19, 2019
Labs turpinājums un laba izklaide speisoperas žanrā. Nedaudz tikai traucēja atkārtošanās - pirmajā grāmatā ļoti daudz līdzīgu notikumu (kaujas, kaujas un nemitīgas kaujas, kur grūti kaut ko jaunu izdomāt).
January 17, 2018
If I were to title this review it would be: "Call to Arms -- Whatever it Takes, Part 2".
I can look beyond the formula the author has established here (both in the way the story is structured and how each successive engagement plays out), but the repetitive nature ingrains itself in other ways. Certain phrases continually crop up. The one that sneaks in, on both sides of the conflict is "Whatever it takes." It is repeated by pilots, captains, engineers. Over and over again.
In addition to this admittedly nit-picky criticism is the lack of character depth and development. Granted, this is sci-fi mil-fic. It's about engagements and strategies. However, what makes the reader get involved in the conflict are the people. Too many of the mildly important characters (Admirals Winston and Striker, for instance) are one-dimensional. Even the hero (Tyler Barron) seems a bit one-note. Even when the author tries to inject a bit of depth in the midst of a climatic battle, it falls a bit short.
The lone character development in the novel is a silly pilot rivalry between two aces. In the end, they patch up their differences. Both their rivalry and their resolution are a mystery. It is supposed to serve as character development, but only manages to enforce the feeling that the author is more plot-oriented than a master of characters and their role in engaging a reader.
I will not read the last book in the series. I will try another author, hoping to find what I'm looking for.
I can look beyond the formula the author has established here (both in the way the story is structured and how each successive engagement plays out), but the repetitive nature ingrains itself in other ways. Certain phrases continually crop up. The one that sneaks in, on both sides of the conflict is "Whatever it takes." It is repeated by pilots, captains, engineers. Over and over again.
In addition to this admittedly nit-picky criticism is the lack of character depth and development. Granted, this is sci-fi mil-fic. It's about engagements and strategies. However, what makes the reader get involved in the conflict are the people. Too many of the mildly important characters (Admirals Winston and Striker, for instance) are one-dimensional. Even the hero (Tyler Barron) seems a bit one-note. Even when the author tries to inject a bit of depth in the midst of a climatic battle, it falls a bit short.
The lone character development in the novel is a silly pilot rivalry between two aces. In the end, they patch up their differences. Both their rivalry and their resolution are a mystery. It is supposed to serve as character development, but only manages to enforce the feeling that the author is more plot-oriented than a master of characters and their role in engaging a reader.
I will not read the last book in the series. I will try another author, hoping to find what I'm looking for.
March 15, 2017
Well, here’s the second book in this series and it just keeps getting better. I knew Jay Allan was a prolific writer and he’s proven that he’s without a doubt one of the best military science fiction writers I read. If you pickup one of his books, better be ready for a long journey. And, it it’s got a battle or war in it, be ready to be worn out! I am again, just worn out! This book goes from one battle to another with the Confederation Battleship, the Dauntless and it Captain, Captain Taylor Barron. We also get to meet a new battleship Captain, Sara Eaton of the Intrepid. Her battleship was with the Confederation main fleet when it met up with the Union Fleet in the Arcturon System.
Things did not go well for the Confederation fleet. While they were massed as were the Union fleet, the Union had some how managed to collect far more ships than Confederation intelligence has estimated. The Confederation was outnumbered roughly four to one in capital ships. It was going to be one heck of a battle. Admiral Winston was leading the Confederation and he was an old school Admiral who fought along side Admiral Rance Barron who is considered one of the greatest war heroes of the Confederation. Admiral Winston only hoped he was half as good as his mentor. This battle would tell and could mean the end to the Confederation if they lost.
Meanwhile, the Dauntless, has finally been repaired and re-outfitted and they have orders to rendezvous with the main fleet and support the coming battle. They don’t believe they can make it in time since they are so far back. Just coming from their own major battle, Captain Barron isn’t all that excited about getting into battle again, only because he deeply feels the loss of his former crewmen and women from the last battle. Still, orders are orders and he must comply with all haste.
How the Dauntless and the intrepid manage to get together is just a happen stance of a brutal war. But, they do get together and behind enemy lines. What they do there will go down in the annals of history of the Confederation and be read about for centuries to come. Yet, the Confederation must survive if there’s to be any history written. Right now, their chances of survival is not great. Something has got to change or this war will be lost pretty quickly.
I really like the battle scenes written by Mr. Allan. He can put a reader right in the Captain’s chair. That’s why I’m so worn out after reading his books. I do note that he gives a lot of credit to the battleships Engineers which is very appropriate. These men and women are far down in the ships belly making things work like they should. They live next to two atomic bombs all the time, yet it doesn’t seem to affect them except. When something goes wrong, they are the first to respond and fix it. Captain Barron’s Chief Engineer, Commander Fritz is a supreme engineer that knows her ship like no other. She can almost fix the impossible and time after time, keeps the Dauntless in the battle fighting back. Without this engineer and her magnificent team, the Dauntless would have been destroyed time and again. The Captain of the Dauntless and all of his crew owe their lives to the Engineers, but the Captain is probably the only one that really understands why. I don’t know how Commander Fritz is going to be rewarded, but she obviously should and will be promoted, but how do you do that knowing you might lose the most valuable weapon your battleship has?
Now, I have to wait for the next book. It says it’s coming in the Spring of 2017. So maybe my wait won’t be long.
Things did not go well for the Confederation fleet. While they were massed as were the Union fleet, the Union had some how managed to collect far more ships than Confederation intelligence has estimated. The Confederation was outnumbered roughly four to one in capital ships. It was going to be one heck of a battle. Admiral Winston was leading the Confederation and he was an old school Admiral who fought along side Admiral Rance Barron who is considered one of the greatest war heroes of the Confederation. Admiral Winston only hoped he was half as good as his mentor. This battle would tell and could mean the end to the Confederation if they lost.
Meanwhile, the Dauntless, has finally been repaired and re-outfitted and they have orders to rendezvous with the main fleet and support the coming battle. They don’t believe they can make it in time since they are so far back. Just coming from their own major battle, Captain Barron isn’t all that excited about getting into battle again, only because he deeply feels the loss of his former crewmen and women from the last battle. Still, orders are orders and he must comply with all haste.
How the Dauntless and the intrepid manage to get together is just a happen stance of a brutal war. But, they do get together and behind enemy lines. What they do there will go down in the annals of history of the Confederation and be read about for centuries to come. Yet, the Confederation must survive if there’s to be any history written. Right now, their chances of survival is not great. Something has got to change or this war will be lost pretty quickly.
I really like the battle scenes written by Mr. Allan. He can put a reader right in the Captain’s chair. That’s why I’m so worn out after reading his books. I do note that he gives a lot of credit to the battleships Engineers which is very appropriate. These men and women are far down in the ships belly making things work like they should. They live next to two atomic bombs all the time, yet it doesn’t seem to affect them except. When something goes wrong, they are the first to respond and fix it. Captain Barron’s Chief Engineer, Commander Fritz is a supreme engineer that knows her ship like no other. She can almost fix the impossible and time after time, keeps the Dauntless in the battle fighting back. Without this engineer and her magnificent team, the Dauntless would have been destroyed time and again. The Captain of the Dauntless and all of his crew owe their lives to the Engineers, but the Captain is probably the only one that really understands why. I don’t know how Commander Fritz is going to be rewarded, but she obviously should and will be promoted, but how do you do that knowing you might lose the most valuable weapon your battleship has?
Now, I have to wait for the next book. It says it’s coming in the Spring of 2017. So maybe my wait won’t be long.
May 11, 2017
Were to begin? This second book in the series adds many characters, unfortunately those that aren't Admirals or Captains are merely caricatures instead. There is lots of action as always with Jay Allan and the pacing and drama are well structured if a bit predictable.
I did have a lot of problems with the details of the naval battles. This almost felt like Allan set the pace and then let someone else fill in the details. He hasn't made such amateurish mistakes previously. If a ship is trying to evade a torpedo, the quickest and most effective evasive maneuver would be to translate on the z-axis (up or down) not try and move lengthwise, or even try a turn. If there are escorts designed for anti-fighter roles, why aren't they ever used against fighters? If fighter-bombers must fly a fixed path and the primary weapon is a particle beam, why not aim it in the direction of the bombers? (It sure couldn't hurt.) While it was generally fun to read, the total disregard for realistic tactics was a strain. In this universe, that seems so overly focused on battleship versus battleship slug-fests, I would go in with a couple destroyer squadrons or even a cruiser as tender to a dozen PT / gun boats and torpedo the hell out of everyone. It just calls for too great a suspension of disbelief.
I did have a lot of problems with the details of the naval battles. This almost felt like Allan set the pace and then let someone else fill in the details. He hasn't made such amateurish mistakes previously. If a ship is trying to evade a torpedo, the quickest and most effective evasive maneuver would be to translate on the z-axis (up or down) not try and move lengthwise, or even try a turn. If there are escorts designed for anti-fighter roles, why aren't they ever used against fighters? If fighter-bombers must fly a fixed path and the primary weapon is a particle beam, why not aim it in the direction of the bombers? (It sure couldn't hurt.) While it was generally fun to read, the total disregard for realistic tactics was a strain. In this universe, that seems so overly focused on battleship versus battleship slug-fests, I would go in with a couple destroyer squadrons or even a cruiser as tender to a dozen PT / gun boats and torpedo the hell out of everyone. It just calls for too great a suspension of disbelief.
January 19, 2018
Almost interestingI
I was hoping for something along the lines of Honor Harrington. Instead this is more of a 1940's kind of science fiction adventure book.
Mankind is all American?, I guess. All the surnames are strong Anglo-Saxon names with no Kowalski, Singh, Li, Mugabe or such to break the flow of this action packed (?) novel. Women get more respect than the novels of seventy years ago but there is an undercurrent of them taking the back seat in every key part of the story. They also seem to be missing in any power roles.
If you reduce the book to a military adventure to spend some pre-nap hours with and ignore the above or the silliness of the battleship-carriers and fighters as the primary weapon system, you might be entertained.
I was hoping for something along the lines of Honor Harrington. Instead this is more of a 1940's kind of science fiction adventure book.
Mankind is all American?, I guess. All the surnames are strong Anglo-Saxon names with no Kowalski, Singh, Li, Mugabe or such to break the flow of this action packed (?) novel. Women get more respect than the novels of seventy years ago but there is an undercurrent of them taking the back seat in every key part of the story. They also seem to be missing in any power roles.
If you reduce the book to a military adventure to spend some pre-nap hours with and ignore the above or the silliness of the battleship-carriers and fighters as the primary weapon system, you might be entertained.
May 11, 2020
The Confederation has made a serious mistake. They knew war was coming with the Union star clusters but they grossly underestimated the strength of the Union star fleet. They go into battle with better pilots and fighters but they are seriously out numbered.
Meanwhile Captain Tyler Barron is struggling to get his massive flagship repaired after a victorious but costly battle with a single invading battle ship that was testing the fighting ability of the Confederation. His ship’s victory over the invader saved the Confederation from fighting a massive war on two fronts. Now he must get his damaged ship repaired and to the front to fight a desperate battle to turn the invaders around and to totally defeat them or his Confederation of planets face death and destruction while being conquered.
As they arrive at the front they realize the fight is more desperate than they imagined and the Confederation is already almost nearly defeated. Captain Barron thinks he sees a way to possibly save the Confederation but it's a risky and dangerous decision. He sees no other alternative so he has to risk his ship and all of the crew in the effort to win……
Jay Allen is one of the best new Sci-Fi authors that I have found. I love military Sci-Fi and Jay has proven to me to be capable of writing some great books that are enjoyable and full of action. This book is very good and it is the second book of this series that I have read. I like this book and I found it entertaining and I could not stop reading it. I rated it at 5 stars. I can't wait for the next book from this author.
I do want to point out that this is the longest book written by Jay Allan. It is almost 396 pages long with continuous action. It is well written and I recommend it to you as a good military Sci-Fi story. If you are looking for a good story and love military Sci-Fi then this is a book you will enjoy reading!
This is part of a very good series and it is worth reading and enjoying the story.
Meanwhile Captain Tyler Barron is struggling to get his massive flagship repaired after a victorious but costly battle with a single invading battle ship that was testing the fighting ability of the Confederation. His ship’s victory over the invader saved the Confederation from fighting a massive war on two fronts. Now he must get his damaged ship repaired and to the front to fight a desperate battle to turn the invaders around and to totally defeat them or his Confederation of planets face death and destruction while being conquered.
As they arrive at the front they realize the fight is more desperate than they imagined and the Confederation is already almost nearly defeated. Captain Barron thinks he sees a way to possibly save the Confederation but it's a risky and dangerous decision. He sees no other alternative so he has to risk his ship and all of the crew in the effort to win……
Jay Allen is one of the best new Sci-Fi authors that I have found. I love military Sci-Fi and Jay has proven to me to be capable of writing some great books that are enjoyable and full of action. This book is very good and it is the second book of this series that I have read. I like this book and I found it entertaining and I could not stop reading it. I rated it at 5 stars. I can't wait for the next book from this author.
I do want to point out that this is the longest book written by Jay Allan. It is almost 396 pages long with continuous action. It is well written and I recommend it to you as a good military Sci-Fi story. If you are looking for a good story and love military Sci-Fi then this is a book you will enjoy reading!
This is part of a very good series and it is worth reading and enjoying the story.
April 14, 2020
3.5 Stars
The emotional impact of this book is high. There are near impossible challenges and heroes to fight through them. We even get a glimpse into the enemy's mind and find that some of them are admirable. Good stuff.
Now for the not-so-good. The portrayal of leadership is severely flawed. Captain Barron's go-to style is to constantly call his officers and shout at them to do the impossible. When they give him estimates, he insists they deliver in half the time... It's just sad. Any officer that acts that way is simply asking their subordinates to pad their future estimates. It's not a good idea to create a culture where it is acceptable, nay necessary, to lie to the captain.
The engineering descriptions are laughable. Apparently, in this far distant future, distributed power systems are not a thing, even for critical systems. What of batteries, super-conducting capacitors, micro-turbine generators, networked power-hubs with triple redundancy? Oh, and my favorite... let's remove the safeties and turn everything up to 110%. Fear not, there are never any consequences. And while we're flying around with the gravity compensators off, at twelve G's, let forget that this would kill a normal human being. (10Gs for 60 seconds is deadly. Even with pressure suits, 6 gravities rapidly results in unconsciousness.)
And what of the tactics? A moon-sized supply station with a two turrets at the poles. Remove one and then use the line of sight problem... after all you have two ships. But why bother? The station is not mobile. Have these people not heard of kinetic bombardment? Why get into weapons range when you could interdict the cargo vessels at long-range and send in the big rocks?
There're a million other minor irritants for those with real-world experience, but the core of the story is good enough to overcome the negatives.
The emotional impact of this book is high. There are near impossible challenges and heroes to fight through them. We even get a glimpse into the enemy's mind and find that some of them are admirable. Good stuff.
Now for the not-so-good. The portrayal of leadership is severely flawed. Captain Barron's go-to style is to constantly call his officers and shout at them to do the impossible. When they give him estimates, he insists they deliver in half the time... It's just sad. Any officer that acts that way is simply asking their subordinates to pad their future estimates. It's not a good idea to create a culture where it is acceptable, nay necessary, to lie to the captain.
The engineering descriptions are laughable. Apparently, in this far distant future, distributed power systems are not a thing, even for critical systems. What of batteries, super-conducting capacitors, micro-turbine generators, networked power-hubs with triple redundancy? Oh, and my favorite... let's remove the safeties and turn everything up to 110%. Fear not, there are never any consequences. And while we're flying around with the gravity compensators off, at twelve G's, let forget that this would kill a normal human being. (10Gs for 60 seconds is deadly. Even with pressure suits, 6 gravities rapidly results in unconsciousness.)
And what of the tactics? A moon-sized supply station with a two turrets at the poles. Remove one and then use the line of sight problem... after all you have two ships. But why bother? The station is not mobile. Have these people not heard of kinetic bombardment? Why get into weapons range when you could interdict the cargo vessels at long-range and send in the big rocks?
There're a million other minor irritants for those with real-world experience, but the core of the story is good enough to overcome the negatives.
July 5, 2019
Spend your time and money elsewhere
I had Duel in the Dark sitting on my bookshelf for a long time as it had been recommended by quite a few people. The plot was okay. Enough to look past the major flaws imho and get the second book. This is the end of my journey though, I have run out of fuel to my fun fighter.
My issues with the mechanics:
All science fiction needs to have a suspension of disbelief somewhere in the story. Unfortunately for this series there are too many inconsistencies. For space war fare the battles sure take a one dimensional turn. Straight at each other and repeat. If you were hoping for space battles a la Jack Campbell and his Dauntless, Captain Barron is not Captain Greary. Likewise if you were hoping for anything resembling say ‘Spinward Fringe’ series also nope. The physics and speed of these engagements are too inconsistent.
As far as character development...I got sick of hearing how great everyone was in the first book. I relate that world building is challenging especially when trying to establish a new series but it is entirely too convenient that all the good pilots, engineers, exec, commanders are all on one ship, which happens to be the ship we follow.
The author does have some good ideas but needs more help in developing them. Don’t spoon feed me how great Barron is over and over again. Show me through plot through tragedy and adversity, don’t tell me how the ship has the most loyal and bestest crew ever...show me through the course of the books so I make the realization.
I am disappointed and had hoped things would get better for book 3 but I doubt it after reading some of the more critical reviews.
If only Barron could bail out Allen.
I had Duel in the Dark sitting on my bookshelf for a long time as it had been recommended by quite a few people. The plot was okay. Enough to look past the major flaws imho and get the second book. This is the end of my journey though, I have run out of fuel to my fun fighter.
My issues with the mechanics:
All science fiction needs to have a suspension of disbelief somewhere in the story. Unfortunately for this series there are too many inconsistencies. For space war fare the battles sure take a one dimensional turn. Straight at each other and repeat. If you were hoping for space battles a la Jack Campbell and his Dauntless, Captain Barron is not Captain Greary. Likewise if you were hoping for anything resembling say ‘Spinward Fringe’ series also nope. The physics and speed of these engagements are too inconsistent.
As far as character development...I got sick of hearing how great everyone was in the first book. I relate that world building is challenging especially when trying to establish a new series but it is entirely too convenient that all the good pilots, engineers, exec, commanders are all on one ship, which happens to be the ship we follow.
The author does have some good ideas but needs more help in developing them. Don’t spoon feed me how great Barron is over and over again. Show me through plot through tragedy and adversity, don’t tell me how the ship has the most loyal and bestest crew ever...show me through the course of the books so I make the realization.
I am disappointed and had hoped things would get better for book 3 but I doubt it after reading some of the more critical reviews.
If only Barron could bail out Allen.
October 14, 2020
If you are a fan of galactic warfare and running space battles 'Call to Arms' is for you. The Union (i.e. the bad guys) have launched an all out attack on the Confederates (the good guys, bless 'em!). The Confederates have beaten back the Union three times in the past century, but this time the Union is battering its way through sector after sector and, by sheer weight of numbers is on the verge of destroying the battered and reduced Confederate fleet.
Time is what the Confederates need, they know they have the manufacturing superiority to resupply but it can't happen overnight.
Captain Tyler Barron has gotten his battleship Dauntless battle ready in record time after his adventures in book one ('Duel in the Dark') - and is plunged right back into the thick of battle against seemingly impossible odds.
There's the same lack of characterisation as in the first book (for example, two fighter pilots really don't like each other but neither can remember why) and a somewhat laboured attempt to explain the economics of war - I failed economics exams many years ago in heroic fashion and even I realised that the reasoning was a gross over-simplification.
That said - the book is mostly a series of space battles, a couple of skirmishes, but mostly a slugfest as fleets and individual ships hammer each other.
Jay Allan is a great adventure writer, one who is at his best in the thick of the action.
Time is what the Confederates need, they know they have the manufacturing superiority to resupply but it can't happen overnight.
Captain Tyler Barron has gotten his battleship Dauntless battle ready in record time after his adventures in book one ('Duel in the Dark') - and is plunged right back into the thick of battle against seemingly impossible odds.
There's the same lack of characterisation as in the first book (for example, two fighter pilots really don't like each other but neither can remember why) and a somewhat laboured attempt to explain the economics of war - I failed economics exams many years ago in heroic fashion and even I realised that the reasoning was a gross over-simplification.
That said - the book is mostly a series of space battles, a couple of skirmishes, but mostly a slugfest as fleets and individual ships hammer each other.
Jay Allan is a great adventure writer, one who is at his best in the thick of the action.
May 19, 2019
At last, an author who violates "the two-ship rule." There seems to be an unwritten rule in modern story telling that there could be only one warship that is the star of the show/story/movie, if the story takes place on a ship.
Let's start with recent TV show "The Last Ship." Since everything is about USS Nathan James, no other ships could be operating in tandem. See the latter half of Season 3 and the first half of Season 5 - where other ships in the fleet are destroyed.
Then there was Battlestar Galatica. Half way through season 2, another battlestar emerges and joins the human survivors only to be destroyed in a suicidal charge.
My last example: Star Trek Voyager Season 6; the Federation starship USS Voyager is stuck in the Delta Quadrant. Suddenly, they come across another Federation starship only for the USS Equinox to be destroyed in a suicidal charge.
Allan defies this by having both battleships Dauntless and the guest starring Intrepid both survive the battle. I was waiting for a death ride by the captain of the Intrepid but that never happened.
The only other thing I did not like in the first book and this one is that Allan switches POVs between the protagonists and the villains. He almost makes the villains likable, almost coming more than 3D characters.
Let's start with recent TV show "The Last Ship." Since everything is about USS Nathan James, no other ships could be operating in tandem. See the latter half of Season 3 and the first half of Season 5 - where other ships in the fleet are destroyed.
Then there was Battlestar Galatica. Half way through season 2, another battlestar emerges and joins the human survivors only to be destroyed in a suicidal charge.
My last example: Star Trek Voyager Season 6; the Federation starship USS Voyager is stuck in the Delta Quadrant. Suddenly, they come across another Federation starship only for the USS Equinox to be destroyed in a suicidal charge.
Allan defies this by having both battleships Dauntless and the guest starring Intrepid both survive the battle. I was waiting for a death ride by the captain of the Intrepid but that never happened.
The only other thing I did not like in the first book and this one is that Allan switches POVs between the protagonists and the villains. He almost makes the villains likable, almost coming more than 3D characters.
April 1, 2020
Still holding on to 4 stars...
There a lot of strengths to this series. The first 2 books take place in a galaxy rebuilding itself from a former advanced society. There’s a lot of potential with this. The author has done a good job creating the opposing societies. However, the dialog can get a bit lengthy. A lot of the characters are overly “good”...they lack the grit of real personal conflict. The main character captain is way too soft...a real military leader wouldn’t be so informal and casual or he’d be thought of as weak. The battle scenes are predictable but fun. But one thing the author doesn’t do well...when dealing with fleet actions the support ships play a very important role. It seems the author forgets this. For instance, one of the support ships in book 2 was described as a (destroyer)...a ship that is primarily there to support the capital ships against fighters. Yet, every time the capital ships were attacked by fighters there absolutely no mention of this support ship. You’d think that the ship would have “at least” brought down a few attacking bombers. There’s more of this kind of stuff...so there’s some work to be done here...but for now, the series is still 4 stars. I hope the author improves on some of these things in subsequent books.
There a lot of strengths to this series. The first 2 books take place in a galaxy rebuilding itself from a former advanced society. There’s a lot of potential with this. The author has done a good job creating the opposing societies. However, the dialog can get a bit lengthy. A lot of the characters are overly “good”...they lack the grit of real personal conflict. The main character captain is way too soft...a real military leader wouldn’t be so informal and casual or he’d be thought of as weak. The battle scenes are predictable but fun. But one thing the author doesn’t do well...when dealing with fleet actions the support ships play a very important role. It seems the author forgets this. For instance, one of the support ships in book 2 was described as a (destroyer)...a ship that is primarily there to support the capital ships against fighters. Yet, every time the capital ships were attacked by fighters there absolutely no mention of this support ship. You’d think that the ship would have “at least” brought down a few attacking bombers. There’s more of this kind of stuff...so there’s some work to be done here...but for now, the series is still 4 stars. I hope the author improves on some of these things in subsequent books.
September 30, 2017
VolumeTwo of the Series Maintains Quality of Volume One
So often I find that the second volume of a series drops off considerably in quality from the first volume. Happily, that was not true here.
There are, however, significant differences. One of the things that made volume one so appealing was the tight framing. Unlike the usual massive space opera, it was tightly focused on two ships, and two commanders, both given depth of character development, and both given believable personalities. While (no surprise) the good guys won, it was an even match between equally talented foes.
Not so this time around. In Call to Arms, all of the bad guys are cartoon characters, either pure evil, or so flat as to have no real character at all. In place of a credible foe, we are given two well worn substitutes: an incredibly powerful inanimate object, and a situation stacked impossibly against the good guys (here, they face a vastly larger fleet).
Despite these very real differences, the reader is drawn to the story. The battle scenes are well done, the personalities of the good guys get developed further, and there is a very well-done subplot about one character who goes on a long solo quest.
Definitely will continue on to read Volume Three.....right now.
So often I find that the second volume of a series drops off considerably in quality from the first volume. Happily, that was not true here.
There are, however, significant differences. One of the things that made volume one so appealing was the tight framing. Unlike the usual massive space opera, it was tightly focused on two ships, and two commanders, both given depth of character development, and both given believable personalities. While (no surprise) the good guys won, it was an even match between equally talented foes.
Not so this time around. In Call to Arms, all of the bad guys are cartoon characters, either pure evil, or so flat as to have no real character at all. In place of a credible foe, we are given two well worn substitutes: an incredibly powerful inanimate object, and a situation stacked impossibly against the good guys (here, they face a vastly larger fleet).
Despite these very real differences, the reader is drawn to the story. The battle scenes are well done, the personalities of the good guys get developed further, and there is a very well-done subplot about one character who goes on a long solo quest.
Definitely will continue on to read Volume Three.....right now.
September 24, 2019
Meh
A good read. Allan keeps the action going sequentially and is particularly good in portraying his version of space wars consisting mostly of parrying battles between fighter pilots and mega ship captains. The author intersperses the excitement of his narrative—usually one on one space fighters or large ship duels, to enter in his brand if morality. We constantly hear of the death toll along with the endemic guilt of war as seen through the eyes of the admiral who sends them into conflict as well as through the eyes of the individual combatants themselves.This is a constant theme becoming trite, almost petty, with its serial repetition which only served to break up a suspenseful segment.
You can really take this book and put its plot in any era or any battle, or any war. It is certainly strange that many sci-fi writers take such a dystopian view of the future. You would think mankind would evolve into an enlightened, peaceful species? My conclusion is that this is not a sci-fi book or sci-fi adventure but a book of war as this author interprets a space war. Kind of disappointing really.
A good read. Allan keeps the action going sequentially and is particularly good in portraying his version of space wars consisting mostly of parrying battles between fighter pilots and mega ship captains. The author intersperses the excitement of his narrative—usually one on one space fighters or large ship duels, to enter in his brand if morality. We constantly hear of the death toll along with the endemic guilt of war as seen through the eyes of the admiral who sends them into conflict as well as through the eyes of the individual combatants themselves.This is a constant theme becoming trite, almost petty, with its serial repetition which only served to break up a suspenseful segment.
You can really take this book and put its plot in any era or any battle, or any war. It is certainly strange that many sci-fi writers take such a dystopian view of the future. You would think mankind would evolve into an enlightened, peaceful species? My conclusion is that this is not a sci-fi book or sci-fi adventure but a book of war as this author interprets a space war. Kind of disappointing really.
February 24, 2018
This book starts shortly after the end of Duel in the Dark so you will want to read them in order to get the best enjoyment from this book. Because of the time spent in world building in the first book, there is less time spent on that in this book, though it does continue the perspective shifting format of the first book. Because this book moves on to the war with the Union, there are chapters told from the perspectives of various Union-based characters.
As with the first book, this one centers on Captain Tyler Barron and his ship the Dauntless, but he is joined by another ship and captain for much of the book and there are also chapters told from other personnel. If possible, this book has even more space battle than the first book, but it doesn't neglect the personalities and emotions of the characters.
I could barely put it down and immediately checked out the third book in the series to keep the excitement going.
As with the first book, this one centers on Captain Tyler Barron and his ship the Dauntless, but he is joined by another ship and captain for much of the book and there are also chapters told from other personnel. If possible, this book has even more space battle than the first book, but it doesn't neglect the personalities and emotions of the characters.
I could barely put it down and immediately checked out the third book in the series to keep the excitement going.
May 4, 2020
Compelling and brutal
Blood on the Stars series books One and Two, set in the far distant future, involve three multiple world governments at war. The Alliance is always at war, a military society formed after a successful armed uprising of slaves determined to never live in slavery again. Therefore, they actively seek to take control all adjacent worlds. The Confederation resembles current Western democracies. They go to war when they must and seem able to convert all their wealth and manufacturing abilities to a war effort when required. The third government is the Union is a totalitarian regime that rules its worlds through intimidation and torture, maybe rather like the old Soviet Union under Stalin.
The truly compelling part is all three governments and the multi-galactic worlds they rule are all human. We have no aliens to help separate the reader from the brutality of war.
Blood on the Stars series books One and Two, set in the far distant future, involve three multiple world governments at war. The Alliance is always at war, a military society formed after a successful armed uprising of slaves determined to never live in slavery again. Therefore, they actively seek to take control all adjacent worlds. The Confederation resembles current Western democracies. They go to war when they must and seem able to convert all their wealth and manufacturing abilities to a war effort when required. The third government is the Union is a totalitarian regime that rules its worlds through intimidation and torture, maybe rather like the old Soviet Union under Stalin.
The truly compelling part is all three governments and the multi-galactic worlds they rule are all human. We have no aliens to help separate the reader from the brutality of war.
November 9, 2021
Okay, I'm a girl that grew up starship enterprise adventures, that and lost in space, and it's annoying robot and Mr Smith, so a intergalactic space battle is nothing new. It's just the characters and places that I acknowledge are different to the crew of the Enterprise.
Yeah, but to read about a battle, compared to watching it on a television set is a different thing altogether. The author has to be a master wordsmith, to have totally engaged in the battle, routing for your guys to score that next hit, or dodge an incoming plasma missile. Just to be in the seat, along with pilots, as they dive and weave, to avoid being hit, but still be able to deliver their payload where it will do the most damage.
Yeah, this author has you smelling the burnt out wires in the missile ridden ship, ( or maybe it's the meal you had cooking, burning whilst you read just one more page)
I enjoyed this tale, and will look for more in this series.
Yeah, but to read about a battle, compared to watching it on a television set is a different thing altogether. The author has to be a master wordsmith, to have totally engaged in the battle, routing for your guys to score that next hit, or dodge an incoming plasma missile. Just to be in the seat, along with pilots, as they dive and weave, to avoid being hit, but still be able to deliver their payload where it will do the most damage.
Yeah, this author has you smelling the burnt out wires in the missile ridden ship, ( or maybe it's the meal you had cooking, burning whilst you read just one more page)
I enjoyed this tale, and will look for more in this series.
September 22, 2017
Before you pick this one up to read, please note it is book #2 of a series: you need to have read book one first or this one won’t make much sense to you.
Without having a spoiler, the author picks up right where he left off with book one in the continuing war. The battle scenes are realistic, and the author paints the picture as if you are right there in the middle of things. What I like most about this series is you really feel as if you know the characters, and feel the raw emotion of the costs of war as you lose friends and loved ones. I stayed up late one night to finish this one, as I didn’t want to leave it or walk away to finish another day.
The Kindle version of this title is $4.99 – if you enjoyed book one, you will certainly receive more than $4.99 worth of entertainment value out of this one.
Without having a spoiler, the author picks up right where he left off with book one in the continuing war. The battle scenes are realistic, and the author paints the picture as if you are right there in the middle of things. What I like most about this series is you really feel as if you know the characters, and feel the raw emotion of the costs of war as you lose friends and loved ones. I stayed up late one night to finish this one, as I didn’t want to leave it or walk away to finish another day.
The Kindle version of this title is $4.99 – if you enjoyed book one, you will certainly receive more than $4.99 worth of entertainment value out of this one.
May 16, 2018
I really want to like this book. I enjoyed the first one enough that I bought the rest of the series. But dang, I've picked up and put this book down three times now and I just can't will myself to keep reading or finish it.
The characters are VERY flat and tropey, unnecessary conflict is introduced for seemingly no reason (think Top Gun but in space), and battle scenes that should be exciting feel like they drag on and on and on. Maybe it's the fact that the POV of the Alliance was at least interesting in the first book and served as a nice change of pace from the Confederate POV, but that's all we get in book two and it's incredibly dry.
I feel like this book should be 100 pages shorter and maybe then it would be easier to get through, but unfortunately I have to give it 1 star as I don't think I can finish it (or the rest of the series).
The characters are VERY flat and tropey, unnecessary conflict is introduced for seemingly no reason (think Top Gun but in space), and battle scenes that should be exciting feel like they drag on and on and on. Maybe it's the fact that the POV of the Alliance was at least interesting in the first book and served as a nice change of pace from the Confederate POV, but that's all we get in book two and it's incredibly dry.
I feel like this book should be 100 pages shorter and maybe then it would be easier to get through, but unfortunately I have to give it 1 star as I don't think I can finish it (or the rest of the series).
October 18, 2017
I enjoyed this book more than the previous one. The characters were interesting and the story was more focused.
One of the criticisms I had with the first book, was when you looked carefully at the big space battles the numbers and distances didn’t always add up. This book was better, but there were still instances when the times and distances didn’t add up.
Also although I like a good space battle, I think this author does tend to overdo them. Back in the 18th/19th Century, the measure of a great General or Admiral was the size of their Butcher’s Bill. I think this author seems to use the same gauge when writing about battles and seems to delight in mass slaughter.
I was tempted to give this book 4 stars but in the end decided 3 was more appropriate.
One of the criticisms I had with the first book, was when you looked carefully at the big space battles the numbers and distances didn’t always add up. This book was better, but there were still instances when the times and distances didn’t add up.
Also although I like a good space battle, I think this author does tend to overdo them. Back in the 18th/19th Century, the measure of a great General or Admiral was the size of their Butcher’s Bill. I think this author seems to use the same gauge when writing about battles and seems to delight in mass slaughter.
I was tempted to give this book 4 stars but in the end decided 3 was more appropriate.
April 24, 2018
Following on the heels of the entertaining but unimaginative first novel in this series is a slightly less entertaining, slightly less imaginative second novel. There is *slightly* more character development in this novel, but only slightly, and they generally respond exactly as you'd expect them too. There is an attempt to bring in some grander conflict (geopolitical turmoil, is the Confederacy as good as it says, rule of law, etc) but it generally doesn't last long, and the characters confess to inner turmoil only to have it vanish in a wave of pragmatism one paragraph later.
All in all, about on par with the first book. Nothing incredibly new or exciting here, but a decent enough read if you have the time and are looking for something mindless.
All in all, about on par with the first book. Nothing incredibly new or exciting here, but a decent enough read if you have the time and are looking for something mindless.
July 5, 2018
War and adventure in a ScFi setting
Really well paced and nicely written big conflict story told through many small details, following people and families over time. It feels like a good Updating of CS Forrester’s Horatio Hornblower classic novels of Britain’s Navy and the Napoleonic wars to an interstellar future.
While Jay Allen seems more formulaic and repetitive then CS Forrester, his narrative moves right along and is quite engaging with a good mix of dialogue, stage-setting narrative and description.
Although not exactly Nobel Prize winning literature, nor the Power and depth CJ Cherry, it is nonetheless an excellent war adventure story set in a reasonably well-realized and not totally improbable future.
Really well paced and nicely written big conflict story told through many small details, following people and families over time. It feels like a good Updating of CS Forrester’s Horatio Hornblower classic novels of Britain’s Navy and the Napoleonic wars to an interstellar future.
While Jay Allen seems more formulaic and repetitive then CS Forrester, his narrative moves right along and is quite engaging with a good mix of dialogue, stage-setting narrative and description.
Although not exactly Nobel Prize winning literature, nor the Power and depth CJ Cherry, it is nonetheless an excellent war adventure story set in a reasonably well-realized and not totally improbable future.
October 17, 2019
Science was never my best subject. When I read science fiction I am wide open to various theories and descriptions as long as they appear somewhat sensible. What I am looking for is to be thoroughly entertained. And this series, Blood on the Stars by Jay Allan, I find to be gripping. The action is slam-bang all the way through the first two volumes. The action, taking place on a star-ship with a thousand people manning their posts, cannot help but be centered on less than a dozen characters. There is growth in the first two books with the main character, and a couple of the secondary characters as well. I’m looking forward to the third book and suspect I’m in for the long haul of a least fourteen. Volumes. This series is really, really good!
November 10, 2020
Another in a ‘long’ line of stellar sci-fi ‘MUST READS!’
Anyone into the Sci-Fi genera already knows that Jay Allen books are by far the very best out there. That they are priced as they are is a huge gift to readers looking for the very best. A ‘Call to Arms’ is a complete package in Sci-Fi story telling as Allen brings to real life the continuing saga of Capt. Barrón and the men and women that serve under his command. Allen’s characterizations of the warriors are quite simply superbly woven together into this ‘must-read’ Sci-Fi book of war. This is yet another in a long list of Allen books that are almost impossible to set down until finished! I highly recommend this book to readers of all ages and both genders!
Anyone into the Sci-Fi genera already knows that Jay Allen books are by far the very best out there. That they are priced as they are is a huge gift to readers looking for the very best. A ‘Call to Arms’ is a complete package in Sci-Fi story telling as Allen brings to real life the continuing saga of Capt. Barrón and the men and women that serve under his command. Allen’s characterizations of the warriors are quite simply superbly woven together into this ‘must-read’ Sci-Fi book of war. This is yet another in a long list of Allen books that are almost impossible to set down until finished! I highly recommend this book to readers of all ages and both genders!
May 13, 2017
The famous Captain Tyler Barron and crew must once again cut short their refit to travel back to the far side of the Confederation because the Union has finally invaded. Again, the battleship CFS Dauntless is barely operational.
So back into battles they go. But this time they are not alone. They partner up with another Confederation battleship this time. With the unconventional, rule-breaking methods of Barron they fight against impossible odds
I give this one 5 stars. It has some of the same kind of errors as the first one, but the chapters all start with the correct information. So the errors are minor.
So back into battles they go. But this time they are not alone. They partner up with another Confederation battleship this time. With the unconventional, rule-breaking methods of Barron they fight against impossible odds
I give this one 5 stars. It has some of the same kind of errors as the first one, but the chapters all start with the correct information. So the errors are minor.
January 20, 2022
Repetative and boring
Reading the first book, it was a fairly pleasant surprise, better than anticipated for a military sci-fi, I liked the stereotyped different federations, but a bit annoyed by the lengthy descriptions of space fight. This book? Boring endless repetition of how fragile and how long recharge time there’s on the primary guns compared to the secondary, how the primary character feels of his enemy in the last book.
I should probably have read the entire book, but I couldn’t, it was really poor, unimaginative space fighting in a US of A lifestyle superiority and flag-waving. Repetative & annoying.
Reading the first book, it was a fairly pleasant surprise, better than anticipated for a military sci-fi, I liked the stereotyped different federations, but a bit annoyed by the lengthy descriptions of space fight. This book? Boring endless repetition of how fragile and how long recharge time there’s on the primary guns compared to the secondary, how the primary character feels of his enemy in the last book.
I should probably have read the entire book, but I couldn’t, it was really poor, unimaginative space fighting in a US of A lifestyle superiority and flag-waving. Repetative & annoying.
July 2, 2017
Read this book
It is very seldom that I find it hard to put a novel down. I can't say that for this installment of Blood on the Stars. The characters in this book are so life like, that any military man or woman would be proud to serve with them. The feeling of comradarie is very intense along with the description of the battle in the stars. I really enjoyed this novel more than I thought I would and I will recommend this author to anyone who will listen to me. Great job Mr. Allen!
It is very seldom that I find it hard to put a novel down. I can't say that for this installment of Blood on the Stars. The characters in this book are so life like, that any military man or woman would be proud to serve with them. The feeling of comradarie is very intense along with the description of the battle in the stars. I really enjoyed this novel more than I thought I would and I will recommend this author to anyone who will listen to me. Great job Mr. Allen!
January 10, 2018
This picks up several months after the events from "Dual in the Dark". As the story goes it's pretty familiar formula that any reader will recognize and yeah it's more science fantasy than science fiction.
The action is pretty good and there are a few moments where it can get pretty intense. Fans from Weber's Honorverse might enjoy it, my only detractors are there is a bit of repetition (fragility of the main guns, defend the BB at all costs (and why),
If you read the first book you'll know what I mean. And if you liked the first book you'll probably like this one as well.
The action is pretty good and there are a few moments where it can get pretty intense. Fans from Weber's Honorverse might enjoy it, my only detractors are there is a bit of repetition (fragility of the main guns, defend the BB at all costs (and why),
If you read the first book you'll know what I mean. And if you liked the first book you'll probably like this one as well.
February 8, 2018
Fun sci-fi space opera. Lots of action. Characters are likeable, but not really fleshed out. On the edge of your seat action. Hard to find clean, not foul-mouthed adventure books, but Jay Allan delivers.
Good cliffhanger as I can't wait to see what becomes of the Union pilot rescued by the Confederation. I had really wished Katrine Rigellus had come over to the other side in his previous book. She was such a great captain. Maybe this time the pilot will convert and become a central character.
Good cliffhanger as I can't wait to see what becomes of the Union pilot rescued by the Confederation. I had really wished Katrine Rigellus had come over to the other side in his previous book. She was such a great captain. Maybe this time the pilot will convert and become a central character.
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