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Taurian Empire
Discovery
First Contact – Star traveling humans – Pre-industrial aliens Between vacuum leaks, electrical fires, engine overhauls, and primitive aliens that wanted to carve him up like a Christmas turkey, life in the Imperial Navy was never boring. Machinist Mate Nick Barns goes from ship’s mechanic, to bodyguard, to Mission Leader. His only job, keep everyone alive until they are rescued. A task, the primitive Eundai are determined to make difficult. Xeno-sociologist Amanda Rogers' dreams have come true. Humans have finally found an intelligent species. They may be primitives, barely out of their own bronze age. The last thing these Eundai need is to be overwhelmed with human technology. History is filled with examples of primitive cultures being ruined after initial contact. It is her job to make sure that doesn’t happen.
233 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 8, 2017
148 people are currently reading
58 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
September 14, 2019
Many similarities with the previous novel
Reading this book was a strange experience. The two main protagonists, boy and girl, are almost cookie-cutter interchangeable with the two from the previous novel BLACKTHORN. So are many of the descriptions. Once past the beginning, there is a different plot. A plot concerning first contact in a story later tied into DRAKE'S RIFT, book 4 in the loosely knit Taurian Empire series.
Perhaps there is so much time between the writing of the books that Mr. Johnson forgets that he has already used some ideas and characters. Otherwise I am at a loss as the books are not similar enough to be just cut and paste cobbled together stories. Even with the many similarities to BLACKTHORN, this was still an entertaining read.
Reading this book was a strange experience. The two main protagonists, boy and girl, are almost cookie-cutter interchangeable with the two from the previous novel BLACKTHORN. So are many of the descriptions. Once past the beginning, there is a different plot. A plot concerning first contact in a story later tied into DRAKE'S RIFT, book 4 in the loosely knit Taurian Empire series.
Perhaps there is so much time between the writing of the books that Mr. Johnson forgets that he has already used some ideas and characters. Otherwise I am at a loss as the books are not similar enough to be just cut and paste cobbled together stories. Even with the many similarities to BLACKTHORN, this was still an entertaining read.
October 25, 2023
Excellent first encounter.
I truly love how the author Nate Johnson writing is simple to understand unlike others who make you crazy braking your brain to understand what’s going on and he does it beautifully.
The thing is that on Goodreads this is book number two of the trilogy which makes no sense because this one is a First Contract book but on the first book of the trilogy ‘ Drake’s Rift ‘ which is excellent and also written beautifully but is all about a war against the aliens which we supposably first come in contact on book two ‘ Discovery ‘ , maybe the third of the trilogy will make sense of it all ?
About the book it was fun easy and very simple to understand, the author sure knows how to pull you in and keep you there all the way to the ending !
Excellent Narration by Dan Purcell wraps the whole thing into a perfect audio package !
Recommended
Without a doubt,
For all !!!
Oded Ostfeld.
I truly love how the author Nate Johnson writing is simple to understand unlike others who make you crazy braking your brain to understand what’s going on and he does it beautifully.
The thing is that on Goodreads this is book number two of the trilogy which makes no sense because this one is a First Contract book but on the first book of the trilogy ‘ Drake’s Rift ‘ which is excellent and also written beautifully but is all about a war against the aliens which we supposably first come in contact on book two ‘ Discovery ‘ , maybe the third of the trilogy will make sense of it all ?
About the book it was fun easy and very simple to understand, the author sure knows how to pull you in and keep you there all the way to the ending !
Excellent Narration by Dan Purcell wraps the whole thing into a perfect audio package !
Recommended
Without a doubt,
For all !!!
Oded Ostfeld.
December 24, 2017
Very cool
A well written space opera, I guess I'd call it. The characters are fairly crisply written and the aliens are written with respect and given a cultural context that is believable.
No spoilers. Boy meets girl, boy and girl have tiff, boy and girl meet aliens. Then life for boy and girl gets very interesting. I think you'll like this as much as I did.
A well written space opera, I guess I'd call it. The characters are fairly crisply written and the aliens are written with respect and given a cultural context that is believable.
No spoilers. Boy meets girl, boy and girl have tiff, boy and girl meet aliens. Then life for boy and girl gets very interesting. I think you'll like this as much as I did.
August 23, 2017
OK Little Story of A Future First Contact With More Romance Than SciFi
"Discovery (Taurian Empire)," authored by Mr. Nate Johnson, is an ok little (read simplistic) story, of a future first contact theme, heavily laced with romance, and minuscule SciFi.
In a far future, an economy class, Imperial human empire, separated from Earth, numbering roughly eighteen (18) worlds, has discovered the first, sentient alien life, on an Earth-like planet. An Imperial warship makes a rendezvous with a science vessel, its three (3) person team, as they orbit the planet, observing the "Iron Age" aliens below. The science vessel has been experiencing multiple mechanical failures, and the MC, Petty Officer Nick Barns, is temporarily detached, to engage in repairs and make things "shipshape." Barns discovers that a inordinate number of critical systems have failed, indicating sabotage, a beautiful xenobiologist-anthropologist, loses a battle against the cascading mechanical failures, is forced to evacuate all into a survival pod, and makes first contact with the aliens upon touchdown.
Having read an earlier work by the author, "Intrepid," an immature mess of a book, it was pleasurable to find that "Discovery," was a step up. The story is simple, teetering on simplistic, with the whole harlequin romance theme threatening to suffocate the character-driven tale. It reads quickly, in the main fun, with minimal defects. A decent editor and proofreader would help greatly, along with less of the SJW self-righteousness, of the feminist anthropologist, who has just met the aliens, literally an "alien" culture and species, is gung-ho to start a suffragette movement. It is arrogance personified.
"Discovery," is recommended with the caveats and was fully read via Kindle Unlimited.
"Discovery (Taurian Empire)," authored by Mr. Nate Johnson, is an ok little (read simplistic) story, of a future first contact theme, heavily laced with romance, and minuscule SciFi.
In a far future, an economy class, Imperial human empire, separated from Earth, numbering roughly eighteen (18) worlds, has discovered the first, sentient alien life, on an Earth-like planet. An Imperial warship makes a rendezvous with a science vessel, its three (3) person team, as they orbit the planet, observing the "Iron Age" aliens below. The science vessel has been experiencing multiple mechanical failures, and the MC, Petty Officer Nick Barns, is temporarily detached, to engage in repairs and make things "shipshape." Barns discovers that a inordinate number of critical systems have failed, indicating sabotage, a beautiful xenobiologist-anthropologist, loses a battle against the cascading mechanical failures, is forced to evacuate all into a survival pod, and makes first contact with the aliens upon touchdown.
Having read an earlier work by the author, "Intrepid," an immature mess of a book, it was pleasurable to find that "Discovery," was a step up. The story is simple, teetering on simplistic, with the whole harlequin romance theme threatening to suffocate the character-driven tale. It reads quickly, in the main fun, with minimal defects. A decent editor and proofreader would help greatly, along with less of the SJW self-righteousness, of the feminist anthropologist, who has just met the aliens, literally an "alien" culture and species, is gung-ho to start a suffragette movement. It is arrogance personified.
"Discovery," is recommended with the caveats and was fully read via Kindle Unlimited.
November 15, 2017
I liked this book and story. Its a good tale. But, you must disregard a bunch of things scientific and/or science fiction for it to be believable. First, you have to believe that a spaceship as far away from the Earth as this ship was could be there without a ship's pilot/captain and crew. The ship in the story had only 3 people on board and none of them were pilots. Then you have to believe that a ship could be sabotaged by someone pouring a substance on hatch seal. Every space ship I have ever read about had all metal hatches that sealed metal to metal. And in my opinion a rubber seal would very quickly deteriorate just from the cold of space. Then you have to believe that the engineer could pilot a shuttle craft to the ground and then quickly learn the language of the native aliens. Then you have to believe that the foods that the aliens ate would not make the Earth people sick, or kill them. And why didn't the ship or shuttle craft have any types of weapons. They did not know before the reached the ground that the native aliens would not try to kill them all.
If you can believe all of that and some other unexplained things then you'll like the story. It has a rather hokey ending, a nice love story ending.
If you can believe all of that and some other unexplained things then you'll like the story. It has a rather hokey ending, a nice love story ending.
July 14, 2020
Another stand-alone story in the Taurian 'verse ...
The world building is pretty stock; so don't expect anything special here. The characters are pretty two dimensional as well; they have an almost 60's charicature feel to them. Start with the simple, honest man (a navy petty office) who is loyal to a fault and meets a girl way out of his league. Throw them into a situation where the boy can show howmuch of a unsung hero he is and the predictable girl meets boy drama can commence. In this case, ship wreck them on a planet with a primative alien civilization where they must survive until the Empire can come rescue them. Make sure you emphasize that the expected forbidden romance could never happen ... then do it any way. That is not really a bad thing (unless you are looking for something other than pure entertainment); sometimes I want a story where the good guys are good, the bad guys are bad and the boy gets the girl in the end.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
#feeaudiobookcodes #audiobookboom
The world building is pretty stock; so don't expect anything special here. The characters are pretty two dimensional as well; they have an almost 60's charicature feel to them. Start with the simple, honest man (a navy petty office) who is loyal to a fault and meets a girl way out of his league. Throw them into a situation where the boy can show howmuch of a unsung hero he is and the predictable girl meets boy drama can commence. In this case, ship wreck them on a planet with a primative alien civilization where they must survive until the Empire can come rescue them. Make sure you emphasize that the expected forbidden romance could never happen ... then do it any way. That is not really a bad thing (unless you are looking for something other than pure entertainment); sometimes I want a story where the good guys are good, the bad guys are bad and the boy gets the girl in the end.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
#feeaudiobookcodes #audiobookboom
April 5, 2018
A remarkable story of regular men and women stepping up when the need arises
Once again, Nate Johnson has shown that the Navy's Petty Officers are the equal to any Marine Sergeant when the chips are down! Another well written tale of the Taurian Empire! The entire series of standalone novels are well worth the time to read them! This one, Discovery, is a great example of the stories!
Once again, Nate Johnson has shown that the Navy's Petty Officers are the equal to any Marine Sergeant when the chips are down! Another well written tale of the Taurian Empire! The entire series of standalone novels are well worth the time to read them! This one, Discovery, is a great example of the stories!
September 1, 2017
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I am especially honored to have had this book dedicated to me by the author. Thanks,
The story moves at a good pace and has many unexpected twists, a real departure from other reads in this genera. If you have read other books by Nate you will have to agree that they keep on getting better.
Get any of the books in this series and I am sure you will be hooked.
The story moves at a good pace and has many unexpected twists, a real departure from other reads in this genera. If you have read other books by Nate you will have to agree that they keep on getting better.
Get any of the books in this series and I am sure you will be hooked.
January 6, 2020
This is a good read
First, this is the 3rd book I have read by this author. I have come to appreciate how he writes based on some part his life experiences. While not based on battles and enemies, but the idea of a new experience, planet, discovery for his characters give another view in the same universe. I look forward to his next book.
First, this is the 3rd book I have read by this author. I have come to appreciate how he writes based on some part his life experiences. While not based on battles and enemies, but the idea of a new experience, planet, discovery for his characters give another view in the same universe. I look forward to his next book.
March 10, 2022
This was an Audible book from the ‘Included’ catalogue. Not a bad tale, although not outstanding it was entertaining enough. My main gripe was the narration for the audio version. The reader seemed to keep getting stuck on some words, which distracted me from being fully immersed in the story.
On balance it’s worth 3 stars because it didn’t cost me a credit.
On balance it’s worth 3 stars because it didn’t cost me a credit.
January 8, 2024
When his ship is sent to aid a distressed observation vessel, Petty Officer Nick Barns is left to fix the engines. After the ship is further hampered, the crew have to abandon ship and seek refuge on the planet they are studying. Stranded on the planet with a new alien species, the fight for survival begins.
August 6, 2017
This story was not at all what I thought it was going to be. It reminded me very much of several of the old 'Star Trek: Voyager' or 'Next Generation' episodes. By no means was it bad. It just wasn't great and wasn't 'my cuppa', as they say.
October 3, 2017
Interesting scifi story with a couple twists and turns
The writing was decent and the character development was pretty good. It kept me interested to the end. Not a hard core scifi book, more about discovery and interactions between people of different worlds.
The writing was decent and the character development was pretty good. It kept me interested to the end. Not a hard core scifi book, more about discovery and interactions between people of different worlds.
December 25, 2017
Great Standalone
It’s a great and quick read. Same universe as the other novels but with no real major plot connections. Overall it’s the type of book perfect for an afternoon read!
It’s a great and quick read. Same universe as the other novels but with no real major plot connections. Overall it’s the type of book perfect for an afternoon read!
October 5, 2018
I couldn't stop reading
This book reminded me of the old classic science fiction books I would read when I was young. I really enjoyed it. Reminded me of Andre Norton. Wonderful reading experience!
This book reminded me of the old classic science fiction books I would read when I was young. I really enjoyed it. Reminded me of Andre Norton. Wonderful reading experience!
September 19, 2023
New neighbor relations
Good believable lead in and character foundation to read on. Theme and ending as expected. Alternatives to how to not develop prejudices explored. Recommend reading.
Good believable lead in and character foundation to read on. Theme and ending as expected. Alternatives to how to not develop prejudices explored. Recommend reading.
August 7, 2017
Great first contact story
A great story. A mirror of humanity both good and bad. Buck Rodgers meets academic treachery hostile natives and the girl of his dreams.
A great story. A mirror of humanity both good and bad. Buck Rodgers meets academic treachery hostile natives and the girl of his dreams.
April 23, 2018
Great Book!
I loved this book, a first contact story tied up in an old fashioned romance, shades of Harry Harrison, direct ties to H. Beam Piper, it doesn't get any better!
I loved this book, a first contact story tied up in an old fashioned romance, shades of Harry Harrison, direct ties to H. Beam Piper, it doesn't get any better!
November 30, 2018
Simplistic. Fun. Nice twist at the end.
May 31, 2022
.
“…he didn’t even know if they were binary sexually. Maybe there were a dozen different genders.….”
.
“…he didn’t even know if they were binary sexually. Maybe there were a dozen different genders.….”
.
October 6, 2022
Great Story Well Told
This was a fun read. I could not put it down. Good character descriptions and a true adventure tale. Enjoy
This was a fun read. I could not put it down. Good character descriptions and a true adventure tale. Enjoy
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews