Wraithkin

The Kin Wars Saga #1

by Jason Córdova

Fate is a cruel, fickle mistress.Torn away from his one true love, Gabriel Espinoza will burn the galaxy to get her back. But doing so first means joining the enigmatic Wraith Corps, where he is thrust to the forefront of a terrible war against an alien threat. The only path to saving her is over the dead bodies of the invaders—if he survives.Light-years away, his brother, Special Agent Andrew Espinoza, is recruited by a clandestine intelligence agency known only as Project Jericho. He must go deep undercover to find a dangerous threat to the Dominion of Man and eliminate it before it’s too late.One brother fights to save his love, another to defend his nation, and both to save human civilization.

Genres: Science Fiction

381 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 15, 2016

About the author

Bestselling author Jason Cordova is both a John W. Campbell Award and Dragon Award finalist (though not in the same year). He is the author of Mountain of Fire and Monster Hunter Memoirs: Fever (w/ Larry Correia), and editor of Chicks in Tank Tops and Dancing with Destruction.

Along the way, he has had novels published in multiple languages around the world, been featured in over 40 anthologies, and has penned over two dozen novels across many genres, including YA, horror, science fiction, and urban fantasy.

A history nerd, he is a Navy veteran, former teacher, and is currently an Associate Editor at Baen Books.

Reviews

[Jonathan Koan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, I absolutely LOVED this book! It was an absolute breeze of a read. It has elements of military science fiction, space opera, and a great romance subplot. I would describe the book as Halo meets Timothy Zahn's Cobra series mixed with some Star Wars Prequel Political elements.

First of all, Jason has a writing style that just works so well for me. I really enjoyed "Monster Hunter Fever" and absolutely loved "Mountain of Fire". Jason's writing is very straightforward, and when descriptors are needed he includes them, and when they aren't he just lets the story play out. As a result, the book just reads so fast.

I really enjoyed the political elements with Andrew Espinoza, who goes undercover in this book. That is really a subplot and I'm sure Andrew's story will be continued in future books, but it was a ton of fun here. Really reminded me of stuff in the Star Wars universe.

I also loved the main Wraith storyline with Gabriel Espinoza. It felt very military accurate while also being adapted for a sci-fi worldbuilding. The training sequence did not take too long, and all of the action sequences were nearly perfectly paced in the story.

Jason also explores some deep themes here, regarding eugenics and classism and the nature of political power. Each of these ideas is explored well without becoming preachy or cliche. It felt like a very natural part of the story.

I really like the worldbuilding Jason has set up here. Its easy enough to understand but complex enough to feel lived in. And I was very impressed at the way Jason slowly revealed information about the worldbuilding. Rather than throwing a lot of exposition at the reader, its slowly introduced in a very organic way that I loved. This is a great template for worldbuilding!

The romance in the book is mostly relegated to the beginning of the book, although there is a payoff for that storyline later in the book. I saw where that story was going, but also was pleasantly surprised at some of the choices Jason made.

My minor criticisms are that there should have been 1 more chapter featuring Andrew that would have really made his storyline have a good stopping point, as it felt like it had the most severe drop off in the book. Also, the book varies from being very appropriate in one chapter to SUPER R-rated in the next...mostly for language and adult...things happening. Could have been toned down a bit personally.

Overall, I did LOVE the book. It was so much fun, and was one of the best reading experiences I've had all year. Just a delightful book. Looking forward to reading book 2 next month. 9.5 out of 10! Well done Jason Cordova!

[William Webb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book. That is all.

[Scott Sammons · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hot garbage.

Not badly written, rather well edited, but absolutely not worth reading for me. This story uses juvenile dialogue throughout and is lacking in character development and worldbuilding. Author is now on my personal do not download at any price list. It would take a new series with great reviews from friends that I trust to get me to ever try again.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Good start to a series. Overall an entertaining and enjoyable listen. The story starts out a little slow and it took me a while to become really interested and be completely pulled in. Once I was, it had my full attention and kept it until the end. Once the story was over I was ready to start the next book in the series .

A society were you are judged by being "Perfect" or an" Imperfect". The classification of "Imperfect" has life altering effects for both the person labeled and their entire family.

Even though the story is predictable in some areas it is still complex enough with enough twists to make it a good solid story. Now that the basics of the conflict have been established, further additions to the series should be really good. That ending was unexpected. Not a cliffhanger really but almost. It will definitely make things more interesting. What about the rest of the Wraith's that were with Gabriel will the same offer be given to them?

Political intrigue, action, suspense, an alien war and loyalty to duty and family.

Interesting cast of characters. Of coarse the best characters are those Wraith's fighting alongside Gabriel. Even though it adds intrigue and mystery to the overall story the sections dealing with the political aspects of the story were much less interesting and I just wanted to get back to the Wraith's.

Rob Saladino did a good job with the narration. Nice voice. Easy to listen to for long periods of time. Clearly spoken with a nice even pace. Really good character voices. He was able to bring the characters and story to life. Several mispronounced words throughout the book. Which pulls you out of the story every time you hear one. Overall though very enjoyable.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator or publisher.

[Jeremy Campbell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was unfortunately disappointed by this book. I think there is an interesting premise here with a potentially interesting main character but this feels more like an outline of the book. The world, the story and the characters needed to be fleshed out so much more. There are so many things you learn while reading that would’ve been more impactful if you knew certain pieces of information beforehand. For one thing we learn that there are basically castes and humans are either a Perfect or an Imperfect based off of genetics. Imperfects, obviously have less social status, are not allowed to have children and are essentially a lower form of life in the eyes of humanity. We also learn there is an empire and there’s a tiny bit of political plot line but because the political system is never really explained the plot makes no sense. There are two characters trying to pass a law to limit the powers of the emperor. I’m not sure how you would by law limit the powers of the emperor and it isn’t explained.
The main character wants to escape his planet and live with his fiancé only to find out her ship was shot down and he eventually joins the Wraiths who are in a sense cannon fodder with super suits. Again, I wish there was more here like training sequences, explanations of what the armor can do or the weapons can do. We get some training scenes but it just feels short changed. Many action scenes seem to happen but without a lot of set up (one character sacrifices himself but it’s not obvious why he does but then it’s on to the next scene).
In the end, I wish this book was about 100 pages longer and slowed down a bit to give us a chance to embrace this world and this story.

[J.R. Handley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary:
First, let me say that none of what I’ll say in this section couldn’t be found on the back copy of the novel. I wanted to provide a spoiler free review, so here goes nothing! In a nut shell, this is a book about family, no matter what. The Espinoza’s believe that in the end, family is all that remains. It was a theme throughout the book and was very believable, the author executed this well. There was also an underlying theme of loyalty to country versus loyalty towards one’s own interests. It became increasingly clear that the author felt that duty above all was key, which fit nicely into the world he created.

Fundamentally, Gabriel Espinoza’s story arc is about his man’s undying love for the woman of his dreams. While I wouldn’t call it a traditional love story, Gabriel’s love for his fiancée is one of the driving forces of this novel. She is the be all, end all, of his existence and the impetus for his story arc. When he fails a genetic purity test, they decide to head off to the outer planets where the discrimination is less onerous and the laws are less strict. The hope was that they could remain in peace, but that wasn’t meant to be. War loomed on the horizon! But seriously, would we have it any other way.

The final character arc was for Andrew Espinoza, a clandestine government operative for The Dominion of Man. His arc was a bit more complicated, and left me wondering throughout the book which path he’d take. He’s torn between his duty to his Emperor and his familial loyalties. During the course of the book Andrew must infiltrate a rich and powerful clan to determine if they are plotting against the Dominion of Man, but while undercover he discovers something far darker and more dangerous is lurking in the shadows. All of this ties in with the rest of his family, but I couldn’t explain it without putting out spoilers. If Andrew interests you, read [Wraithkin]!

In the end, one brother must save himself; the other must save the universe. But can either survive long enough to achieve their goal? Well, read the book and find out!

Characters:
The two main characters are Gabriel and Andrew Espinoza, who are both citizens in the Dominion of Man.

Andrew Espinoza: I found that I liked Andrew a lot, I could relate to him – he would fit with many of the grunts I served with. Hard when he needed to be, but able to be one of the guys when things were calm. I can’t speak to his time as a spook, but his characters were certainly believable. If he showed up on my door step, I’d drink a beer with him no problem. I can’t describe him, other than shorter and stronger than his peers from other planets, which left me filling in my thoughts on his looks. I would have preferred a better description of him; however, it didn’t keep me from reading the rest of the book. He was insanely loyal to his Emperor, which seemed odd since his nation was actively discriminating and discarding his younger brother and others like him. That part was hard to swallow, but I get the impression that it will be addressed in books two and beyond. Overall, the character was very well rounded and I liked him

Gabriel Espinoza: I initially disliked this character – I saw him as a spoiled brat. As he grew I came to at least understand him. His woe is me approach didn’t last too long enough to make me throw my iPod, where I read with the Kindle App. That’s a plus! Again, as with his older brother, I don’t have a firm handle on what he looks like. I prefer to be able to visualize him, but if that’s my biggest complaint we’re okay. As for his believability, I never quite bought his obsessive loyalty to the Emperor and the system that was actively discriminating against him for his genetic impurities. It felt off, hollow somehow. Maybe it will become a thing in book two, answering the question once and for all? I can say that I will buy his books to find out! One good thing in his favor was that he was a sympathetic character. He lost his whole world when the genetic test said he wasn’t “Perfect” and it had to suck to be forced to open your eyes and see the harsh reality of the world around you. It made him well rounded, but again…I didn’t particularly like him.

Plot:
This was an action-packed novel, it never really lagged for me. I read it from start to finish in one setting because I couldn’t put it down. I believed that the tactics worked for the novel, the action was believable and the story flowed seamlessly from one plot point to another. [Wraithkin] was easy to follow, and I was never confused by what was going on. The only real part of the plot which I didn’t quite buy was the obsessive loyalty, despite the foul treatment from the system. I would like to think I would rise up and be an agent of change, rather than just accept the status quo. Who knows, either way it was a part of the plot that didn’t hit the sweet spot for me.

Worldbuilding:
I found the worldbuilding to be well done, there were parts I didn’t like but it was believable. I desperately wanted the citizens to rise up against the system of Perfects vs Imperfects, but it was unfulfilled. Who knows, maybe the author wanted us to hate that part of the Dominion? I could envision myself in this world, but I’d probably be kicking the applecart over in a hundred million ways. The only part I couldn’t buy was the obsessive loyalty to the Emperor. I know, I sound like a broken record but that’s the thing that I just couldn’t accept.

Description:
Other than the lack of descriptions of how people looked, the rest of the world was very easy to visualize. This one section the author got right!

Overall:
I think that the easiest way for me to explain my thoughts, is to tell you how I received the novel. I was given a free ARC (advanced reader copy) eBook a week before the novel went live. In return, I was to post an honest review on Amazon for the author on the day it launched. I loved it, gave it 4 out of 5 Stripes because he hooked me. I went on to buy a copy, because I liked it enough that I wanted to support the author. It’s an amazing romp through Jason Cordova’s sick and twisted imagination, and I found I was a fan. In all honesty, this is a book I would happily recommend. Heck, I would even recommend that you buy the novel! Some novel’s I’ve known to only like enough to check out from the library versus buying it. Or I’ll suggest you read it in KU where you’re not out too much cash. Not the case with Cordova’s world.

[Abram Cordell · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 73%. Yeah this was bad.

First - we spent the opening almost quarter of the book with one of the main characters coping with being an “imperfect” when he had spent his whole life as a “perfect.” This caste system the author created was so basic, both in naming conventions and in execution that it was eyerollingly bad. Seriously, JK Rowlings “mudblood” concept looked like it was written by Walt Whitman in comparison to this.

Second - the language. Nothing drags me out of a Sf/fantasy story quicker than anachronistic language. So I am to believe that this story, which takes place 800+ years in the future, does not use the same word for hospital (they used some other bogus made up word) and yet they still use omelette, MacGyver(?!?!), Zulu, “balls up” and countless other 2015 military/drill sergeant slang taken from pop culture? Cringe. I know it’s hard to create a world and the language to go along with it, but if your going to use 20th century language and have really lame technology do us all a favor - just set it in the 20th century.

Final - the audiobook narrator. I know audiobook narration is costly and I appreciate the author splurging on this, but wow this was one for the bad record books. The amount of mispronunciations in this one was crazy. Some of the highlights:

- The mech pilot was floating is a vicious liquid (not viscous)
- you could hear the laminations of the officers (not lamentations)
- the army had a higher morality rate than the wraiths (mortality - or maybe they were just more upstanding?)

[Nathan Balyeat · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the book starts a bit slowly, around a third of the way through the story really starts to pick up the action and pacing to keep the pages turning. Cordova writes action really well and has a good grasp of how to place humor appropriate to his characters into the story at the right time.

I couldn't give him full marks because the societal background sometimes feels like it's a sketch where the societal organization exists solely to drive the plot, rather than the plot fitting within a fully fleshed out world.

But, the book was fun and if you like military sci Fi with some intrigue, you will like this.

I am looking forward to more from the author and this series.

[Christopher Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

For the Emperor

This book was a very enjoyable read. With superb world building and great character development, this is a great beginning to what I hope will be a superb series. With good editing and strong writing i was able to stay drawn into the world the author had built, making for a fast pace that left me wanting more.
When a simple routine test changes his life, Gabe is forced to make a terrible choice. After joining the Emperors "wraiths", an elite force, he is offered the chance to strike back at the aliens who took the love of his life. He will face impossible odds and be required to give his all in his mission of vengeance.

[PJ Lea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imperfect.

"Sanity should be left at the door, along with your coat. Thank you for understanding."
The Dominion, where having imperfect genes sentences you to a life of being "less" than the Perfects, looked down upon, being unable to procreate. From these come the Wraith, whose only criteria are that you must be imperfect and you must be insane.
A brutal story, death, destruction and what men will do for love and family. 5 star.

[Simon Cairns · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.3 / 5 half decent book. The main character and his squad were good. Some very good action and battle scenes. I don’t think the author did a very good job of conveying the passing of time in the book. It seemed like days but was over 2 years.

I didn’t really like the undercover brother story line, I thought it was boring. I’m guessing there’s a payoff in later books.

Still a fairly enjoyable and very quick read.

[Ann Zdunczyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!!

So much going on and the society is so wrong no one should be considered an Imperfect. Even the so called Perfects are not perfect, they are power hungry and greedy! To me the only ones that are perfect are the so called Imperfect. They are loyal and become family. I hate the people had to die but I can’t wait to read more!!!

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, another great scifi book I can highly recommend to those who like spaceships, aliens, battle suits (yeah, they don't call them mechs, but ...) If you're even slightly interested in military scifi, you'll enjoy this book, but don't take my word for it, go get yourself a copy and find out firsthand.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imaginative story with interesting characters. You get it all with this one: romance (though not overly done), friendship, spies, a government you're not sure if it's good or bad (probably a bit of both), lots of brutal battles. While I enjoyed it, I haven't decided if I will continue the series. There are so many books I want to read and I can't read them all. I'll set this one aside for now.

[Cisca Small · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one. There is a good balance between military and human in it. A bit for every reader. Spys, politics, and even a bit of romance.

Just be aware, this author doesn't follow the "you can't kill a character" school of thought. He can be a murderous bastard to his characters.

[kevin dake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Top notch

Awesome, exciting, hard to put down, great characters. Looking forward to the rest of the series. I'm a vet, your writings touched places long forgoten

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very fun Military Science Fiction outing with genetically "imperfects" suited up into high tech armor with lots of action abounding.

[Michael C. Chesterman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read, no really, read it!

Great fundamental social structure, plot, character developement, multiple levels of background story, action, layers. I can't wait for book 2!

[brian edward galloway · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

Well written with an immersive story and good characters that support each other through out the hell they go through

[John Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those that like Starship Troopers, this has a very similar feel to it, but there is a lot more political intrigue that takes place as well. Andrew Espinoza is an undercover spy, working to expose his employer and the political games he is playing. Gabriel Espinoza has just been found genetically impure, an Imperfect, and so he can no longer marry his life-long love, Sofie. Planning to elope together, she goes to join a distant colony planet, but before Gabe can join her, aliens attack the colony. Fearing he will never see her again, Gabe joins the ranks of the Wraiths, a heavily armed and armoured suit unit who only take Imperfect humans as members.
Andrew discovers the Laird he works for seems to be planning a coup, and that the alien attacks might have something to do with it. Gabriel, meanwhile, has ended up the de-facto commander of the Wraiths on the ship they are on, and orders it to the planet Sofie might still be alive on.
I am looking forward to the next book in the series, as I really want to know what's going to happen next.

[Dawn Paris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could say that Wraithkin explores classic sci fi questions about humanity, identity, and anxiety about technology, and I would be telling the truth. But Wraithkin is also a darned good read. Part spy novel, part military sf, and part political intrigue, Wraithkin melds its storylines into a cohesive epic. Oh, and it has explosions. And riotous, messy battles. Now isn't that fun?

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.”
This is a campy and predictable space opera that drags just a little at the beginning. The plot is a bit predictable and the characters tad two dimensional but it has what you look for in an entertaining yarn.
If you are looking for rocking action, here you are.

[Joey Calvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

All Hail the space pope!

I thought this book was pretty good. For me, it started slow but picked up speed quickly. The main character is both complex and likeable, the universe is well developed and some of the backstory was good.
All in all worth the download.

[Rob Saladino · Rating 5 out of 5]

NOW AVAILABLE IN AUDIO-BOOK FORMAT!

[Michael Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful, Complex Tale Begins Here! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED MILITARY SPACE OPERA

Jason Cordovan writes a wonderful, but complex tale of an interstellar society split between genetically pure "Perfects" and mutated "Imperfects" who failed the complex genetic testing and are relegated to the edges of society and denied the "right" to reproduce or hold most jobs.

Three young men reach adulthood. Brothers, one becomes a planetary representative; one becomes a secret agent of the Emperor; the last fails his genetic test. He is forced to notify his fiancé that they can never marry. His plans for life are destroyed, as are their plans...

This bifurcated society becomes the setting for the tale, as the Emperor is being actively undermined by the nobility, and external enemies wait for an opportunity to strike. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED AS: WONDRRFUL MILITARY/ DYNASTIC SPACE OPERA EPIC