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The fog of war clouds everything. Enemies lurk in the shadows, within the very fleet sworn to protect United Earth. Conspiracies and murder abound, and in the background…. The stalled alien invasion lurks.

The Golgothic ship has burrowed deep into the core of Saturn’s moon Titan, whose mass slowly but inexorably increases. The Dolmasi, once allies of United Earth in the Second Swarm War, now attack us, unhinged and without reason. And all the while, Admiral Shelby Proctor works to answer the most urgent questions of all: what was a piece of the old ISS Victory doing inside the Golgothic ship? And was it Captain Tim Granger’s voice that whispered from the doomed ship, “Shelby, they’re coming?”

And … are they the Swarm? If they are, God help us all.

370 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 13, 2017

1317 people are currently reading
317 people want to read

About the author

Nick Webb

73 books349 followers
Nick became a scientist so that he could build starships. Unfortunately, his ship is taking longer to build than he'd hoped, so fictional starships will have to do for now. When he's not adding to his starship collection, you can find him tweeting and facebooking about Nasa, science, space, SciFi, and quoting Star Trek II.

He lives in Alabama with his wife, 2 kids, and 3 motorcycles.


Note: This author also writes books under the name of Endi Webb

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5 stars
1,016 (43%)
4 stars
887 (37%)
3 stars
374 (15%)
2 stars
62 (2%)
1 star
9 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews
78 reviews
November 7, 2017
If the "Independence" was bad, this one is even worse. We again get the "hero that is not trusted by his superiors" and the "people fight amongst themselves while a bigger threat looms large" plot points. We finally get to understand some of the plots, but the way Webb solves the "treat from within" problem is thoroughly disappointing. And the interludes with the sick sister are so bad and annoying.
Sure, it all ties up by the end, but, of course, it all ends with some more of the same 2 overused "untrusted hero" and "internal fighting" plots.
While the first trilogy was non-stop action, this set of books looks like an author trying too hard to do and failing at something that he's not good at: build up characters and offer something more than SF action.
While I couldn't put down the first 3 books, these new books are an exercice in frustation. Don't know if I care enough to actually finish this series.
Profile Image for Jas.
1,026 reviews
October 1, 2017
Defiance continues the epic saga of the Legacy Fleet series, which centres on Humanities fight against the deadly ‘Swarm’. This is the 5th in the main series, but there is now the Kindle World spin-offs as well delving into multiple different aspects of the story.
In Defiance, Shelby Proctor has been re-instated as an ‘Active’ Admiral aboard the Independence, alongside Ballsy, who is no longer flying fighters, but is the Captain of the ship. At the start of this book, and as the story moves forward, there are just so many things happening within the Universe that the survival of Humanity is looking kind of bleak. A strange race has done something to the moon of Titan, the Dolmassi are at war again, Granger has returned from the grave, impossibly, with a message that they are coming, and to top it all off, it appears that members of the highest ranks of the Military and Government are acting like they are under the influence of the Swarm again. And this is just the political side, there is all the actual full blown heart pounding ship-to-ship combat that Webb interweaves throughout these books so well also.
This is why Nick Webb’s books are just so good, they aren’t just fleets smashing each other, these are intelligent well thought out thrilling Sci-Fi, and because of his field of study, Nick is able to bring such a high degree of realism to the story with the technology and the Science, making his stories truly gripping reads. Defiance (and the Legacy Fleet series as a whole), has something for everyone, creative and outstanding tech, thrilling, clever and in-depth storylines, and exceptional characters with believable, real dialogue that makes you feel you are there with them.
This is also an engaging and stimulating read, cleverly laid out with various early parts of the story leaving you wondering what this part of the story, or that little paragraph are doing in certain parts of the book, right up until some pivotal moment, when it all happens, and so much clicks into place you actually have to stop for a minute and just let it all fall into place, the sheer genius of the story telling, and the outstanding writing ability to put together the story in this fashion, to create such anticipation and tension and then create such stunning effects as a result. Nick Webb is a truly gifted writer, there is no arguing with that.
For those that are after some epic starship combat, Defiance (and the Legacy series as a whole), has some of the most amazing battle scenes in the genre, and the descriptions from fighter craft through to massive capital class ships is just spectacular.
One of the highlights of the series though is the character writing. Given that Webb is so good at developing the story, providing such outstanding tech, and the stunning combat scenes, it is no surprise that his Character work is equally as exceptional. From the older Shelby, who has seen everything now, having been a junior officer in the earlier Swarm war decades before, to ‘Batship’, the son of Ballsy, determined to be better than the father he despises, but desperately tries to emulate every time he is in a ship, or simulator. Each of Webb’s Characters are beautifully crafted, with creative and clever back stories (such as Lt Qwerty, and how he actually got such a weird name), that you become very attached to each of them, following their triumphs and their tragedies.
Of course the other highlight are all the Easter Eggs. Nick loves references to every TV, Movie and Book that he has loved over the years, and it is hilarious the way they pop up in the book, or are blurted out by characters (often at the most inappropriate times) This just adds a good laugh to the book, making it just that bit more special.
Defiance is a very aptly named title for the book, for it is only Shelby’s ‘Defiance’ that has any hope of saving humanity now, especially with all of the odds stacked against her.
This is such a superb book in what is possibly one of the best series in this genre – if you haven't read this yet, or the series, go and buy it!
Profile Image for Linda.
757 reviews18 followers
November 22, 2019
Okay so I guess every president is a jackass in this series? Gotcha. But...seriously? They all feel like the same person with different names. But then, I suppose that's politics for you. Crooked politicians always looking for a vote by providing a picture-perfect exterior while harboring something nasty inside of them. It is what it is. But it doesn't mean I have to LIKE it.

Anyway, Defiance. This will be a short and simple review, as this book is still more or less the same as the equally rated predecessors in the series. I'm thankful to not have been forced into another time-hop again, and instead this takes place a couple of weeks later. But boy oh boy, the politics of this thing can often be nauseating. Such crookedness. The story definitely still feels messy, bouncing all over the place with scenes and action, and the specific mannerisms of characters. People showing up at convenient places without you really knowing how or why.

Fortunately, though, the inner story was still more or less engaging with some spicy new developments and revelations. Though I have to admit, I legit rolled my eyes at the moon thing. I seriously was like, did he just go there? Yeah. He went there. Oof. Anyway, there's new characters that you find yourself wondering about, forgetting about, or getting fixated on, whichever applies to you. But it sure was fun reading of them doing curious things that stir your interest and gets you thinking about their motivations. I liked several of the character moments and interactions, much of it being humorous and entertaining. Even some of the classic characters have their new shining moments, particularly Rayna, who almost even feels like a completely different character than she was at the beginning. But alas, given the 30 year time-jump, people can change.

Anyway, Defiance was entertaining enough. I like Defiance as a ship too. Very cool features. Onward and upward to the next book...
171 reviews2 followers
December 1, 2019
This is the 5th book of the series - the original series was three books but later on the author decided to create three more books! The book is "OK" enough that I finished it and went on to the 6th. The amount of corrupt politics gets a bit tiring and all the real problems keep coming from corrupt humans - it seems a bit over used, at least from my perspective. Having enjoyed the first three books of the original trilogy I found the "second trilogy" a bit forced. Kind of like half-baked sequel. Having said all that I went onto book six.
5 reviews2 followers
December 2, 2019
This book was interesting, and sometimes slow. It gets interesting, but isn’t suitable for people starting to read the series. I didn’t like the character dialogue and confusing plot at times, but I liked this book overall. I would recommend this book to people who like sci-fi, action, and adventure.
64 reviews
December 9, 2019
Becoming increasingly difficult to be believed

Yes, I understand that this is science fiction but it still works best if there is some level of credibility. The bad guys have come to the point of incredulity. Makes it difficult to look forward to the next book.
Profile Image for Jim.
1,229 reviews50 followers
September 12, 2017
Admiral Shelby Proctor is back with the Integrated Defense Force of United Earth. She had been retired but was called back to find out what was going on with the Dolmasi race. It appeared that they were on the warpath again for some unknown reason. Earth and the Dolmasi had a tentative peace agreement after the destruction of the Swarm. That destruction was largely due to the sacrifice of Captain Tim Granger who took his ship and crew threw a blackhole with several anti-matter bombs in an attempt to close the passage that the Swarm had been using. It seemed to have worked because the Swarm hadn’t returned. Of course the Swarm worked through other races by mentally influencing them to do their bidding. The Dolmasi was one of the principle races used by the Swarm in their fight against the humans.

Shelby is now aboard the ISS Independence which is actually Captained by Captain Volz. Why an Admiral is aboard a starship that is not part of a larger fleet is very interesting. You’d think that there would be a least two or more ships around the ISS Independence to make it an actual fleet that an Admiral could command. But, that’s not the case and it even gets worse. Earth’s Admirals are kind of strange.

Admiral Mullins, CENTCOM Bolivar, got himself positioned as the CEO of Shovik-Orion Industries. This is the largest military-industrial business in the entire galaxy. They make most of the hardware for Earth’s military forces. They also supply most all of the technical support for those weapons systems they field. To say the Earth military relies heavily on Shovik-Orion is a vast understatement. Of course, there are so many obvious conflicts of interest for the Admiral to be in this position that it’s unimaginable how he thinks he can continue in that position. So, the Admiral has just decided to ignore that conflict of interest and assumes what he’s doing is in the best interest of Earth and of course, himself.

Then there’s the former President of United Earth. She was a dynamo who was always developing things mostly for her military. One of those things was the anti-matter bomb which Tim Granger took with him aboard the ISS Victory. Now that bomb has fallen into the hands of Admiral Mullins and the current President who intend to use it to stir up the Dolmasi by adding a meta-space shunt to the anti-matter bomb. The current President thinks he’s in charge, but he’s actually oblivious to Admiral Mullins' empire-building plans. He doesn’t know that Admiral Mullins also plans to release one of his anti-matter bombs with the meta-space shunt over Earth. That will definitely attract the Dolmasi and that could cause the Earth Defense Forces all kinds of trouble.

It’s up to Admiral Shelby Proctor and her new “invisible” ship, the ISS Defiance to stop all this madness and get focused on the return of the Swarm. This is an interesting read, but I’m not so sure why Admiral Proctor is still involved in anything since she’s definitely not commanding anything but a single ship. She’s also a little pre-occupied with thoughts of Tim Granger always hoping that he will someday return. Ain’t going to happen…or is it?
Profile Image for Steven Brown.
396 reviews9 followers
June 26, 2020
For those that love a good sci-fi semi military romp.

This was a series started to read years ago then put it away to wait for the next book only to keep on reading others series. This book seires was one of my first military sci fi exsperance. Now I see it as more of a decent sci fi with a soft miliatry backing. Meaning the miltary is there but specifics are soft.

This book is an interesting read but is a bit confusing with a couple scenes with dialog that feels forced or off. However for the most part the story does pull you along. To be if not .perfect read a fun one time read at the very least.

This series does hit the reader in the fells. The first three books are a soil trilogy. So far books 4 and 5 are not bad but a bit confusing so many moving parts that it is hard for it to go smoothly.

I enjoyed the humor, relationships, and adventure. Some of the characters are strong, but some fall flat and pull the story off balanced. The main human antagonist and the leader he deals with sticks out like a sore thumb, and feels pointless.

That said I have enjoyed the seires and will finish it off with book 6. Depending on how it goes I will more than like save the seires for another read through in a few years.
Profile Image for Michael  Keller.
935 reviews10 followers
August 28, 2017
Another exciting addition to the Legacy Fleet series!

Nick Webb has scored again in his fifth book in the Legacy Fleet series. Admiral Shelby Proctor, former Fleet Admiral of the entire Integrated Defense Force of United Earth and its fifty-six worlds, Companion to the Hero of Earth Tim Granger, PhD in experimental biology with an emphasis in xenobiology, so-called Motherkiller by the Skiohra race, bane of the Swarm, and champion of the senior’s division badminton league at Oxford Novum University on Britannia, as she is described by the author. The Admiral, commanding ISS Independence, returns to action, and there is plenty of that!

As usual, the action is carefully sculpted and beautifully described. The characters are familiar and comfortable, like slipping into well worn jeans and a t-shirt after a long day at work. We know them, who they like, what they'll do in a sticky situation and how they respond to the unknown.

If you love a good space opera, this is sci-fi at it's best!
Profile Image for The Void Reader.
323 reviews4 followers
November 11, 2024
**Book Review: "Defiance" by Nick Webb**

"Defiance" by Nick Webb is a thrilling space opera that grips you from the very first page. Action-packed and brimming with excitement, it delivers everything you could want from a high-stakes adventure in the cosmos.

The narrative is fast-paced, with epic battles and strategic maneuvers that keep you on the edge of your seat. Webb masterfully weaves a tale of courage and defiance against overwhelming odds, creating a story that resonates with fans of space operas.

The characters are well-developed and relatable, each bringing their unique strengths and vulnerabilities to the forefront. Their interactions and growth throughout the story add depth to the plot, making it an engaging read.

If you're looking for a book that combines intense action with rich storytelling, "Defiance" is a must-read. It's a fantastic addition to the space opera genre and will leave you eagerly anticipating the next installment.

Happy reading! 📚🚀
Profile Image for Andrés Óskarsson.
1 review
April 1, 2022
I'm becoming increasingly annoyed by how many the book problems are almost entirely a result of poor or complete lack of communication between the top brass, and the sheer stupidity of leaders. Everyone demands proof from the good guys, but the bad guys can say whatever they want and they're believed, it's infuriating.
I'm 5 books in, that says something, i like the story, but this has been an ever present issue that has boiled over at the end of Defiance, and it's a shame i won't be continuing as i'm assuming the next book marks the end of this story, but i just can't handle it anymore.
Profile Image for Sean.
15 reviews1 follower
May 6, 2018
This book was a mess. I can't even be bothered to go through all the problems which include major plot holes introduced in the start and ignored later in the book.

The rest of the books before this one had small issues but were for the most part well edited and had little problems. I don't know what happened with this book but after this one, I have no interests to read the next if it ever comes out.
4 reviews
December 11, 2019
Good read with frustrating characters

A good, quick read, full of fast-paced action. However, some plots are predictable and the character development is quite frustrating. Supposedly smart people in power being utterly incompetent and so easily persuaded towards stupid decisions. But that is easily overlooked as it allows for the story to keep advancing. My own frustrations aside, still a well written story line.
40 reviews1 follower
October 2, 2020
Hang on tight, y'all ...

... Cuz you're in for a ride with this book!! Admiral Shelby Procter is at the top of her A-game in this one, and of course, so are my other favorite characters ... Ballsy, Rayna and Batshit. You get your typical battles in this story, but you'll also get a deeper, more personal look into their psyches. So looking forward to the next (and, sadly last) installment of the Legacy series!



Profile Image for Mick Bird.
821 reviews11 followers
August 17, 2017
Excellent read

There is a lot of plot twists in one. Admiral Proctor, as problems both with a enemy force attacking and her own side. Granger is still out there can he help once again? I am looking forward to seeing what happens next, hoping to see the rat Oppenheimer get what he deserves.
115 reviews3 followers
February 11, 2019
I'm continuing to enjoy the evolving characters and story line of this series. The plots (conspiracies) within the plot liven things up, but which characters are the good guys/gals is never in doubt. The reader equipped with a rather elastic ability to suspend disbelief regarding some of the plot elements will find the story more appealing. I'm moving on to the next installment immediately.
Profile Image for Jim Kratzok.
1,070 reviews3 followers
July 14, 2020
Can it get any crazier?

The story is getting very busy! Good people are dying, characters I've enjoyed. I can see how that is sometimes necessary but I hope it's for more than just moving the story along. The corruption and stupidity in higher levels of government would be unbelievable except this year is 2020 and nothing surprises me any more.
Profile Image for Dan Fulghum.
32 reviews5 followers
August 29, 2017
Defiance

The book was a little slow, however, it did have the twists and turns I expect of Webb. Admiral Proctor takes on a new ship and a not so new enemy. The government she deals with reminds some of our own.
53 reviews
November 19, 2017
Traitor in Comand

The best book in the series and best story line action pack,supple way the star characters think and come to right answers. Looking forward to the next book in the series and hopefully not the last story.
Profile Image for Rob Roy.
1,555 reviews31 followers
February 12, 2018
The fifth book in a trilogy. Ok, got out of hand. While the story continues, this volume is very complex, and who the enemy is is unfathonable until the end. Non-stop action follows through the book.
25 reviews
March 3, 2018
Space battles, politicians doing bad

Another great story in this series. Battle action, human emotion and leaders committing crimes against heroes. Love the characters, could lose the bad language. Ready for the next saga.
Profile Image for Harry L Skinner.
193 reviews2 followers
December 4, 2018
Great series

Most series like this, eventually have plot problems somewhere along the way. This series seems to get better with each book. Thanks to the author for sharing his excellent writing skills and imagination.
1,183 reviews17 followers
September 23, 2021
very good series, intricate plots

Very intriguing series, a lot going on, interesting character development. Light Shelby Proctor in the last series, enjoy her in this one. Good book read it.
Profile Image for Tammi.
203 reviews1 follower
April 10, 2024
I love the premise of these books, but the backstabbing, scheming, manipulations, and intrigues in this book are really too much. Still, I love the premise of the story and they are well written so I'll keep going. Just hope I can keep my own anxiousness in check!
Profile Image for John Allen Koenig III.
2 reviews
August 18, 2017
A lot of fun

We learn a little more about the other aliens and we get to see how Earth is dealing with the alien(s) threat. Can't wait to see how things conclude in book 6!
Author 5 books1 follower
September 8, 2017
Enjoyed thoroughly

This book is good and I love the characters, sometimes the plot seems to meander between reveals though. Buy it anyway.
1,281 reviews9 followers
September 17, 2017
Awesome!

Can't wait. For next one! The whole series just rocks! Bringing back Tim was really cool. Need more books like this!
Profile Image for Jerome K Lund.
23 reviews
September 20, 2017
Awesome

Another great read just like the other books. I can't wait for book 6 to come out. Very exciting and riveting.
Profile Image for Michael.
7 reviews
September 24, 2017
Book 5

Great addition to the series, we see the return of old characters and proctor getting anew ship. Super excited to see what happens next.
Profile Image for Giuseppe Turitto.
58 reviews1 follower
October 1, 2017
The Swarm is back and with vengeance

A book that couldn't stop reading just to see how everything will evolve. The Swarm is back but after many twists and turns
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