Earth Two. A new home for the survivors of the fleet, the men and women who battled against seemingly insurmountable odds to survive the assault of the First Imperium and to destroy the homicidal Regent, the artificial intelligence committed to their destruction.
They have prospered in the years since their arrival, adapting the technology of the First Imperium to build a new and prosperous republic. But as the fear of the First Imperium recedes, cracks have begun to appear, conflicts looming that threaten to destroy all they have worked to achieve.
There are rivalries between the clones known as Tanks and the NBs, naturally born humans - disputes driven by envy, resentment. And on the fringe of the new society, the enhanced genetic hybrids known as Mules are feared by both groups, though they continue to decipher First Imperium technology for the benefit of all.
But there is a far greater threat lurking in deep space, for the Regent was one of two, and its copy activated automatically upon its destruction. It has been planning, exploring, building vast fleets of new warships, and now it is ready to strike at a divided republic, to accomplish what the Regent failed to do. It is ruthlessly single-minded, existing for a single purpose. And that purpose is vengeance.
This forth audiobook of the series felt like 10 hours of waist. This whole audiobook could have done in three hours, it could have been added to the last book of the series, it kind of felt like that the author tried to push an extra audiobook on us for no other reason but profit. I hope that I’m wrong because now that I’m moving to the last audiobook of this series I’m hoping for a great ending the famous Jay Allan kind of ending which give you a total satisfaction.
I must recommend this book if you already finished the first 3 books of this series but I recommend with reservations.
With the defeat of the First Imperium Regent, the remaining survivors of Fleet Admiral Terrance Compton’s fleet had thought they would at last be at peace. They had settled on a beautiful world (Earth Two) that was once a safe haven for the Ancients. The Ancients were the race of pre-humans who were ultimately responsible for the First Imperium and the Regent. Through their complacency, they had allowed the Regent too much control until it decided it didn’t need the humans any more. So it wiped them out. Admiral Compton’s people had found a way to successfully destroy the Regent and any remaining rogue First Imperium squadrons. They then settled on Earth Two and began to build a new civilization.
Thirty years have passed since the death of Fleet Admiral Terrance Compton. Thirty years of relative peace except for the now internal struggles of a fledgling society that seems bent on destroying itself. Former Admiral Max Harmon was elected the first President of this new society and he had maintained control for all those thirty years gradually giving up more and more of his powers to the Assembly. Now he has decided that he needs to step down. Some of the policies he has enacted were not received favorably and he has lost a lot of backing. He’s decided to have free elections in six months. He does not expect to be re-elected.
Unfortunately, Earth Two is heading down the same path as the original Earth civilization. There are three distinct groups now, each with their own agenda. The NBs or Natural Borns are the original “Pilgrims” of this society. They were the original crew that survived the struggle to get here. They and their children are the majority, but not enough to support a planet-wide population on their own. So, they chose to begin cloning new humans. These clones or Tanks (due to their method of birth) were created quickly and then eased the burden of providing new bodies for industrial purposes and military purposes. Earth Two realized that the galaxy was a dangerous place so they didn’t let their space fleet just die away. They modernized new ships to operate with smaller crews, but still be very, very lethal starships. Then the Tanks got hit with a strange virus or Plague. It only affected a small percentage of them, but when it did, the diagnosis was also fatal. This plague did not effect NBs.
The third group of humans were also “created” by Dr. Cutter and Dr. Ana Zhukov. These beings were unique in that they were the product of gene splicing using genetic material of the Ancients and that of Dr. Cutter and other scientist of the original crew. These people grew rapidly just like the clones and soon were joining the rest of the population of Earth Two. They had one failing though and that was their inability to procreate. Initially, this set them apart from the rest of humanity on Earth Two and they were given the term “Mules” which over time became their accepted designation. Fortunately for the “Mules”, they were superior to NBs or the Tanks. Their intellectual and physical abilities were much greater than either of those two groups and they did not hide that fact. NBs and to some extent the Tanks were afraid of these “super” humans, so much so that they placed a Prohibition on any further creation beyond the original 116 Mules.
So, each of these groups has some grievances against the current government. President Max Harmon has tried to be fair to all which has failed. Now he has decided that it’s someone else’s turn to govern, but he doesn’t know who can hold this world together. Then, one of the Earth Two scout ships has found something that changes everything on Earth Two. The First Imperium might not have been completely destroyed. Thirty years of peace for Earth Two is about to end.
Good story and it doesn’t end here. I’m not sure why the author didn’t just start another series although there is a lot of references to the characters and actions of the original refugees. Some of those warriors are still around. I guess through genetic enhancements, aging has been pushed back so people like Admiral Erika West can still be on active duty even though she’s well into her sixties. Same for Max Harmon and many other who you’ll still read about in this book. There’s even some references to the fact that Fleet Admiral Compton could still be alive today if he hadn’t been killed in the last battle. Anyway, good book and looking forward to the next one in this series.
Before you start this title, please realize it is a spinoff / continuation of a much longer series by the author. You need to read Marines: Crimson Worlds I first, and all of the other books in that series, as well all of the titles in the Crimson Worlds Refugees series, or this episode won’t make much sense with the background story and characters.
If you were a fan of the Crimson Worlds series as well as the Crimson Worlds Refugees series, I believe you will like this new installment to the continuing saga. The story begins thirty years in the future from where the Refugees series ended. It started off a little slow and dark for me as the author was laying the groundwork for a new set of characters. However, he quickly picked up the pace and had me immersed. I’m ready for the next installment.
I picked this up for $4.99 in the Kindle version: if you have enjoyed previous episodes of the Crimson Worlds series, you will certainly get more than $4.99 worth of entertainment value out of this one.
One of my favorite and scariest episodes of the 1963 sci-fi series, "The Outer Limits," was "The Architects of Fear." A group of elite scientists concluded that the nations of the world needed a common enemy to unite them and hopefully prevent a world war. Well, those scientists created a biological enemy from space from one of their fellow comrades. In Jay Allan's novel, The enemy is not biological but a highly technical machine, produced by man. Of course the plots are different but the premise remains the same; in order to bring different types of humans together it takes a threat from beyond the stars to hopefully bring humanity together. "Can it really work," was the question asked by the tv episode "Allan" who was transformed into the alien. My fellow readers, we'll just have to wait and see Mr. Allen's answer to this question. Nuff said!!!
Thirty years after the defeat of the First Imperium's robotic Regent troubles arise in deep space and at home on Earth 2. Can the republic created by the survivors of the fleet survive when faced with "new" enemies both within and without? Great story telling, character development and action makes this book a required read for any and all fans of Jay Allen.
I enjoyed the continued story line of the lost fleet, left behind in the Imperium realm. You get to know all the new people of Earth II and feel the tension of the different factions as the fight among themselves. But the true trouble is yet to be found!
Jay does something most authors can't or won't. His books are as rich in detail at the end of the book as they are at the beginning. To do that in a long series is even rarer. The other great thing is his refusal to use cliches and god leaps, i.e. "Then a miracle occurs " to further his plots and story lines.
In the previous books, humans challenged the Artificial Intelligence known as the Regent which they created. Although the Regent was destroyed, unknown to the humans, the Regent had provided for such an outcome. It’s name is Vengeance and it was designed to eliminate all surviving humans. These books are well written with amazing details and insight.
I liked the direction this thread has taken and I look forward to where it will take us next. The genetic engineering is a cool new technology being introduced that gives us some Spock type of moments that made this fresh and not just a rehash of old stories.
Book 4 was a fun read and had errors throughout. The overall plot was developed well and the characters have new problems to solve. The time gap was different and introduced new characters for book 4. I overall liked the book, but it has a lot of repetitive information given. I look forward to book 5 and to see how it develops.
Nice extension into a new series from Refugees. Really looking forward to seeing where it goes. I especially enjoyed the mule characters and hope they get expanded story lines in the next books.
Leadership skills all contribute to a Ribbeting adventure. Good to see the old leaders haven't lost their edge and lust for battle and command. Great to the younger generation stepping up to cement their place in history by deeds and action.
So it's now 30 years since Earth 2 was colonized. The normal birth population has been enhanced by adding tank grown clones and custom blend combinations of human and empirium DNA to create an advanced super race, not everything goes as planned.
The Refugees series is an awesome cotinuation of Crimson Worlds. It's interesting to see the advances made using the technology of the old ones. I really enjoyed the tip of the hat to Azimov, as well ( the mules).
I am enjoying the continued story line of the people of Earth 2, that have been left behind the lines in the Imperium realm. You get to know all the new people of Earth II and feel the tension of the different factions as the fight among themselves. But the true trouble is yet to be found!
The elements that made the first three books in the series interesting to me changed and with the mystery of the enemy they were fighting basically gone I'm pretty much done with this series. The writing is still excellent; I'm just interested in a different story.
You wouldn't be on book 4 of this series if you hadn't already read the Crimson Worlds series and the other three Crimson Worlds Refugees books, so you know how good it is.
There are a lot of typos. Aggravatingly so, to the point I just stopped reporting them.
Slow start made me question carrying on. Glad I did! Story and plots picked up. Parts a bit predictable but the main line progressed and kept it all together. Can't wait to move onto number 5.
The story line wads well composed, the end of the storyline made you realize that danger lurks in the shadowers and another adventure lays in the future.