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Space Knight #1
Space Knight
In a universe where technology and magic co-exist, Nicholas Lyons desires one thing: to serve his queen as a Space Knight in the Royal Trident Forces. But when his final mission as an Academy cadet goes horribly wrong, Nicholas discovers he possesses illegal magical abilities that grant him power far beyond that of a normal man, knight, or mage.
When a clandestine assignment lands Nicholas on the worst starship in the kingdom’s fleet, he finds a motley crew of warriors hiding their own terrible secret. Death and betrayal lurk around every corner, and Nicholas finds himself torn between his loyalties to his new crew, or the oath he swore to his queen.
And death no matter which choice he makes.
When a clandestine assignment lands Nicholas on the worst starship in the kingdom’s fleet, he finds a motley crew of warriors hiding their own terrible secret. Death and betrayal lurk around every corner, and Nicholas finds himself torn between his loyalties to his new crew, or the oath he swore to his queen.
And death no matter which choice he makes.
782 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 10, 2017
902 people are currently reading
528 people want to read
About the author
Michael-Scott Earle
76 books1,588 followersNYT and USA Today bestseller of fiction. Top 100 Amazon best selling author.
You can buy my novels on my website. www.michaelscottearle.com
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I DON'T ANSWER QUESTIONS ON GOODREADS ANYMORE. IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION, JOIN MY FACEBOOK GROUP OR MAILING LIST.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 123 reviews
December 13, 2017
There are so many things wrong with this book that I find it difficult to decide what to start with.
For one thing, it's written at a grade 6 level. The grammar and word choice left me shaking my head every other paragraph. I find it troubling that some people are reviewing it as being a brilliant, 5 star worthy novel. This is a 2-star book at best, if only by virtue of the spelling and grammar mistakes the author makes throughout it.
The dialogue is also hilariously BAD. It's as if the characters were part of a children's sock puppet show, and no apparent effort was made by the author to even try to portray them as "real" people. They come across as shallow, cliche versions of D&D builds, completely lacking personalities. They are also, apparently, incapable of simple logic, and their attempts at social interaction are just .. weird. It's almost as if the author were a child trying to write a dialogue between adults, having never really had a serious conversation himself.
Another glaring issue is that the author treats female characters (few as they are) as nothing more than sex objects for the main character to admire/desire. Their descriptions almost always revolve around sexualizing them to the fullest possible extent, and any interaction with the main character will, without fail, involve him checking out their cleavages, or otherwise thinking about how hot and desirable they are. They - naturally - all enjoy wearing either very tight fitting, or skimpy outfits, and various scenes are worked into the novel that involve them walking around in towels, etc., adding zero value to the story.
On to the main character, Nicholas. He's painfully naive. Inhumanly so. No one who has gone though the equivalent of an elite military college, and survived an actual combat situation could be this oblivious to even the simplest realities of the world around him. His thought process is so simplistic as to remind me of a sock puppet more so than a human being.
The story is incredibly predictable, and really serves as the death knell to an already troubled novel. The plot twists can be seen coming a mile away, but as the main character behaves as a child, he's always taken completely by surprise. What I found particularly hilarious, is that when pushed into a tight spot, the author will actually take the time to write a lengthy monologue, describing Nick's mental process for finding the best solution to his predicament. Let's just say that problem solving ain't Nick's strong suit, OK?
I once again must stress that it feels as if a child were writing this story, with no real experience as to how the real world works, or as to how adult interactions flow.
Save yourselves some time and skip this book. Better yet, skip this author.
For one thing, it's written at a grade 6 level. The grammar and word choice left me shaking my head every other paragraph. I find it troubling that some people are reviewing it as being a brilliant, 5 star worthy novel. This is a 2-star book at best, if only by virtue of the spelling and grammar mistakes the author makes throughout it.
The dialogue is also hilariously BAD. It's as if the characters were part of a children's sock puppet show, and no apparent effort was made by the author to even try to portray them as "real" people. They come across as shallow, cliche versions of D&D builds, completely lacking personalities. They are also, apparently, incapable of simple logic, and their attempts at social interaction are just .. weird. It's almost as if the author were a child trying to write a dialogue between adults, having never really had a serious conversation himself.
Another glaring issue is that the author treats female characters (few as they are) as nothing more than sex objects for the main character to admire/desire. Their descriptions almost always revolve around sexualizing them to the fullest possible extent, and any interaction with the main character will, without fail, involve him checking out their cleavages, or otherwise thinking about how hot and desirable they are. They - naturally - all enjoy wearing either very tight fitting, or skimpy outfits, and various scenes are worked into the novel that involve them walking around in towels, etc., adding zero value to the story.
On to the main character, Nicholas. He's painfully naive. Inhumanly so. No one who has gone though the equivalent of an elite military college, and survived an actual combat situation could be this oblivious to even the simplest realities of the world around him. His thought process is so simplistic as to remind me of a sock puppet more so than a human being.
The story is incredibly predictable, and really serves as the death knell to an already troubled novel. The plot twists can be seen coming a mile away, but as the main character behaves as a child, he's always taken completely by surprise. What I found particularly hilarious, is that when pushed into a tight spot, the author will actually take the time to write a lengthy monologue, describing Nick's mental process for finding the best solution to his predicament. Let's just say that problem solving ain't Nick's strong suit, OK?
I once again must stress that it feels as if a child were writing this story, with no real experience as to how the real world works, or as to how adult interactions flow.
Save yourselves some time and skip this book. Better yet, skip this author.
March 3, 2021
I haven't completed the book yet, and I'm not sure if I will. Others said it before, but I'll repeat it again. The book has a pretty interesting start but it rapidly declines with cliches and a predictable plot. Without spoiling too much, the protagonist is your basic semi-overpowered and super naive character. He is absurdly naive, to the point it's ridiculous. And the whole plot really lacks ingenuity. That basically wraps up the main issue I have with Space Knight. Otherwise, it's not that bad of a book/audiobook. With a good narrator, an audiobook is very forgiving in regard to spelling and grammar. In short, I don't know if there's a huge problem with the spelling or grammar like some says. I do know that this author uses simple, or simpler, writing, which I am totally fine with. As for the part about the girls/women/ladies being sex toys or objects of desires, that's simply the way this author writes his books and he's targeting audience who enjoys that. I think I read somewhere about he started writing because he wanted an "Adult" version of some other book. In a sense, no point reading any of this author's book if you have an issue with this. Overall, it's not good but it's not that bad either. It has some interesting elements. It has a few game elements, like numericalized items and a knight oriented class system. It blended magic and technology together and resulted in a fun rune system. Overall, I have to say that it's not one of MSE's best work. Maybe I'll finish listening to the rest of it some other time but definitely not now. You can only take so much cliches and predictable aggravating plotlines.
September 30, 2017
Interesting beginning, poor follow through
The bad things:
This book hooked me from the beginning, mostly because I was curious why the main character was such a bad ass. I was expecting some kind of secret dark past or the like.
Instead, I found that he was incredibly OP... For seemingly no reason.
In general, I like reading books with OP characters with interesting goals and back stories. The problem is, the main character, along with every other characters, are cookie cutter archetypes. The MC doesn't have any kind of memorable past. We know that he's graduating from an academy that normally only accepts rich people. We know that he's a poor Outlander with a father who died mysteriously in service to the Crown and a mother who's struggling to make ends meat.
And that is literally all there is to the MC. His *history* dictates all of his motivations. Moreover, he has no character growth over the entire novel. He starts off an excellent fighter, not freezing at all during his first ever real life battle and feeling fairly little remorse over any fallen comrades. At the same time, he's gullible and falls right into the plot of a stereotypical villain that blackmails him.
None of the characters have any kind of unique personality. You have the crazy berserker, the sadistic assassin, the beautiful nurse, etc. All female characters seem to exist only to be beautiful and the MC essentially can't look at a single woman without checking her body out/thinking about asking her out. When his classmate dies, his one regret is that he never asked her out!
Finally, the plot armor is absurdly strong for the MC and his allies. They face ridiculous odds and end up totally fine. Unfortunately, most of the time the odds are so crazy that they're just impossible. No matter how good of a fighter a character is, they can't take on the impossible.
Good things:
The grammar in the book was good, though the prose was fairly simplistic. No serious problems, so that's a star.
The world itself was interesting, and I feel like the author has a lot of interesting plans to explore it further.
To the author who might read this, keep writing. This book did hook me initially and I thought it had a lot of potential. Please just try to make better, non-archetypal characters with better motivations than, "to help out mom!" or "to serve the queen" who they've never met.
The bad things:
This book hooked me from the beginning, mostly because I was curious why the main character was such a bad ass. I was expecting some kind of secret dark past or the like.
Instead, I found that he was incredibly OP... For seemingly no reason.
In general, I like reading books with OP characters with interesting goals and back stories. The problem is, the main character, along with every other characters, are cookie cutter archetypes. The MC doesn't have any kind of memorable past. We know that he's graduating from an academy that normally only accepts rich people. We know that he's a poor Outlander with a father who died mysteriously in service to the Crown and a mother who's struggling to make ends meat.
And that is literally all there is to the MC. His *history* dictates all of his motivations. Moreover, he has no character growth over the entire novel. He starts off an excellent fighter, not freezing at all during his first ever real life battle and feeling fairly little remorse over any fallen comrades. At the same time, he's gullible and falls right into the plot of a stereotypical villain that blackmails him.
None of the characters have any kind of unique personality. You have the crazy berserker, the sadistic assassin, the beautiful nurse, etc. All female characters seem to exist only to be beautiful and the MC essentially can't look at a single woman without checking her body out/thinking about asking her out. When his classmate dies, his one regret is that he never asked her out!
Finally, the plot armor is absurdly strong for the MC and his allies. They face ridiculous odds and end up totally fine. Unfortunately, most of the time the odds are so crazy that they're just impossible. No matter how good of a fighter a character is, they can't take on the impossible.
Good things:
The grammar in the book was good, though the prose was fairly simplistic. No serious problems, so that's a star.
The world itself was interesting, and I feel like the author has a lot of interesting plans to explore it further.
To the author who might read this, keep writing. This book did hook me initially and I thought it had a lot of potential. Please just try to make better, non-archetypal characters with better motivations than, "to help out mom!" or "to serve the queen" who they've never met.
Read
March 17, 2025DNF 23%
September 28, 2017
Reads like an author's first book from high school
I'm sorry, but I feel that reading this book was a waste of time. However, I think that some of the characters and dialog show promise for the future.
1. The book read more like a role-playing game than a science fantasy book. The weapon descriptions kept saying things like "+5% base damage." The worst was an axe that had an increase in damage proportional to the damage the axe had sustained. IMHO, this is a bad magic system for a book like this is supposed to be.
2. I kept expecting that this was all going to be a VR game story like Sword Art Online.
3. The main character was too skilled. He was fresh from the academy and was fighting at an extremely skilled level.
4. The friendships seemed wooden.
5. The world building was pretty bad. I wouldn't have done this bad for a single-night RPG. The tech is built on magic and this is being taxed so that the military is unable to equip itself. Their military is financed by looting aliens who conveniently attack in leveled rifts so it reads like a video game.
At .99 it might have been acceptable mind-candy. At 4.99 I feel like I've been ripped off. I will read nothing else from either of the authors.
I'm sorry, but I feel that reading this book was a waste of time. However, I think that some of the characters and dialog show promise for the future.
1. The book read more like a role-playing game than a science fantasy book. The weapon descriptions kept saying things like "+5% base damage." The worst was an axe that had an increase in damage proportional to the damage the axe had sustained. IMHO, this is a bad magic system for a book like this is supposed to be.
2. I kept expecting that this was all going to be a VR game story like Sword Art Online.
3. The main character was too skilled. He was fresh from the academy and was fighting at an extremely skilled level.
4. The friendships seemed wooden.
5. The world building was pretty bad. I wouldn't have done this bad for a single-night RPG. The tech is built on magic and this is being taxed so that the military is unable to equip itself. Their military is financed by looting aliens who conveniently attack in leveled rifts so it reads like a video game.
At .99 it might have been acceptable mind-candy. At 4.99 I feel like I've been ripped off. I will read nothing else from either of the authors.
October 6, 2017
This was a bit of a slog to get through, especially as a LitRPG.
Nothing is believable. Why would such a secretive crew welcome a new member that's clearly looking for information on the crew. What about this 06:00 daily timeframe of reporting that is required. Or the fact that you have a novice who's apparently the best fighter, tactician and strategist around, able to take everything and anything and come out on top.
There's also a lot of inconsistencies within the book. At the end, he's got his sword working again inside the Bulwark? Interesting. Zac conveniently knows something every time we need the plot to advance? And let's not forget that Nick literally gets saved by the Deus Ex Machina at the end...
With the number of editors listed in the back, someone should've caught at least a few of these. Just do a better job of editing and most of the above would go away.
I'll probably pick up the next, since at least the premise is interesting, but if similar issues are present, I don't think I'll pi k it up.
Nothing is believable. Why would such a secretive crew welcome a new member that's clearly looking for information on the crew. What about this 06:00 daily timeframe of reporting that is required. Or the fact that you have a novice who's apparently the best fighter, tactician and strategist around, able to take everything and anything and come out on top.
There's also a lot of inconsistencies within the book. At the end, he's got his sword working again inside the Bulwark? Interesting. Zac conveniently knows something every time we need the plot to advance? And let's not forget that Nick literally gets saved by the Deus Ex Machina at the end...
With the number of editors listed in the back, someone should've caught at least a few of these. Just do a better job of editing and most of the above would go away.
I'll probably pick up the next, since at least the premise is interesting, but if similar issues are present, I don't think I'll pi k it up.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 6, 2018
First: This is a LitRpg. It doesn't say so on the cover and it bends a lot of the rules (for the better), but quite a bit of the stat and videogame inspired elements are there. I picked this up because I thought the idea of knights in space would be interesting and it does treat the trope rather well, even if there isn't anything really groundbreaking involved. The character interaction can sometimes be a little stretched - our hero is the best at everything they try and the other characters seem to quickly get on the sidekick for life bandwagon. A quick fun read.
December 24, 2017
Meh
If you are two or so you might enjoy this completely predictable peace of drivel. The story arc is fairly flat and you can see every slight turn coming from a couple years away. Bad editing, dropped words, the usual. Good luck, but don't quit your day job.
If you are two or so you might enjoy this completely predictable peace of drivel. The story arc is fairly flat and you can see every slight turn coming from a couple years away. Bad editing, dropped words, the usual. Good luck, but don't quit your day job.
June 11, 2018
Pretty much perfect balance of character & action
This is a very well written book that perfectly satisfies a medieval-space theme.
Lyons, the main protagonist, is like-able but imperfect. He is gullible but trying to do the right thing.
The action starts just as he is graduating from "space knight" school, when things go horribly wrong with his graduating class, and he is one of the few survivors.
He has mysterious powers, but they are muted and flawed, and often a disadvantage. And he has to discover them and learn how to control them, which is an ongoing process.
The LitRPG aspects are constrained to a game-mechanic style explanation of gear / loot found during his adventures. This is embedded in the environment as part of the government controlled access to powerful runic devices, which includes restricting less advanced knights to less powerful gear.
The background motivation of supporting his mother suffering a disadvantaged lifestyle, and the mysterious death of his father who was purported to be a great space knight, but died in action and was always working off the books missions so received no acclaim, are both well-trodden tropes, but they work well here and aren't over explained.
The main plot arc in this first story, turning down a plumb assignment and instead getting assigned to the "worst ship possible", then discovering the worst ship might actually be the best ship, is solid. The crew is of course a collection of misfits who somehow fit together into awesomeness. Powerful political figures tricking/coercing Lyons into spying on the ship and its crew is a good way to start filling out the world without turning into boring exposition.
Some of the main characters individually sound very derivative of characters in other novels, including several series set in the Warhammer 40k universe. Not sure if this was intentional or coincidental.
Delivers solidly on showing not telling.
Lyons never meets a woman he doesn't think is beautiful and a possible romantic partner.
Going back for more right away.
This is a very well written book that perfectly satisfies a medieval-space theme.
Lyons, the main protagonist, is like-able but imperfect. He is gullible but trying to do the right thing.
The action starts just as he is graduating from "space knight" school, when things go horribly wrong with his graduating class, and he is one of the few survivors.
He has mysterious powers, but they are muted and flawed, and often a disadvantage. And he has to discover them and learn how to control them, which is an ongoing process.
The LitRPG aspects are constrained to a game-mechanic style explanation of gear / loot found during his adventures. This is embedded in the environment as part of the government controlled access to powerful runic devices, which includes restricting less advanced knights to less powerful gear.
The background motivation of supporting his mother suffering a disadvantaged lifestyle, and the mysterious death of his father who was purported to be a great space knight, but died in action and was always working off the books missions so received no acclaim, are both well-trodden tropes, but they work well here and aren't over explained.
The main plot arc in this first story, turning down a plumb assignment and instead getting assigned to the "worst ship possible", then discovering the worst ship might actually be the best ship, is solid. The crew is of course a collection of misfits who somehow fit together into awesomeness. Powerful political figures tricking/coercing Lyons into spying on the ship and its crew is a good way to start filling out the world without turning into boring exposition.
Some of the main characters individually sound very derivative of characters in other novels, including several series set in the Warhammer 40k universe. Not sure if this was intentional or coincidental.
Delivers solidly on showing not telling.
Lyons never meets a woman he doesn't think is beautiful and a possible romantic partner.
Going back for more right away.
October 3, 2017
Entertaining story - but pitfalls abound
I downloaded this book from kindle unlimited because I was running out of things to read. I had visited this page a couple if times but each visit decided against the book due to the extreme overselling of the story on this page. Usually when someone tries so hard to hype up the product it is because it is lacking.
Luckily this book is not one of those cases. I recommend toning down the summary and sales pitch for the second book.
Also note to the authors, amazon does notify about new releases and saying they never do is false and deliberately misleading. While I have no reason to defend nor attack Amazon or the authors, deliberately misleading anyone to sign up for your mailing list doesn't float, and actually that would be something Squire Nick Lyons would be against I think.
On to the plot and setting:
I was a bit confused at the beginning-the mishmash of LitRPG elements with RL left me a lost but the well written Narrative didn't leave me over encumbered. My readings speed wasn't affected. I want to know more about this magic and tech- it wasn't explained in this book but I will still pick up the sequels when released. As far as action- it is a satisfying romp.
A major pitfall is the amount of beautiful women on the ship and how the main character has attracted the attention of all of them, and 2/3rds of them are nobles who are supposed go be stuck up to 'Outlanders'. Unfortunately it is a trend among many authors in LitRPG and scifi (BV Larson comes to mind) that the main character is extremely desirable by beautiful women and ends up with a harem or women just throwing themselves at them. I was gratified that it didn't happen for Nick Lyons ...yet.
Here's to hoping the author doesn't succumb to such romance novel tendencies in the sequel.
Overall I give it a 4/5 stars.
I downloaded this book from kindle unlimited because I was running out of things to read. I had visited this page a couple if times but each visit decided against the book due to the extreme overselling of the story on this page. Usually when someone tries so hard to hype up the product it is because it is lacking.
Luckily this book is not one of those cases. I recommend toning down the summary and sales pitch for the second book.
Also note to the authors, amazon does notify about new releases and saying they never do is false and deliberately misleading. While I have no reason to defend nor attack Amazon or the authors, deliberately misleading anyone to sign up for your mailing list doesn't float, and actually that would be something Squire Nick Lyons would be against I think.
On to the plot and setting:
I was a bit confused at the beginning-the mishmash of LitRPG elements with RL left me a lost but the well written Narrative didn't leave me over encumbered. My readings speed wasn't affected. I want to know more about this magic and tech- it wasn't explained in this book but I will still pick up the sequels when released. As far as action- it is a satisfying romp.
A major pitfall is the amount of beautiful women on the ship and how the main character has attracted the attention of all of them, and 2/3rds of them are nobles who are supposed go be stuck up to 'Outlanders'. Unfortunately it is a trend among many authors in LitRPG and scifi (BV Larson comes to mind) that the main character is extremely desirable by beautiful women and ends up with a harem or women just throwing themselves at them. I was gratified that it didn't happen for Nick Lyons ...yet.
Here's to hoping the author doesn't succumb to such romance novel tendencies in the sequel.
Overall I give it a 4/5 stars.
May 16, 2019
I will quickly admit this book has the unfortunate disadvantage of being read by me after I read Ascend Online (months after but still) and so my mind immediately compared the two to some degree. However, the premise is reasonable, the characters intriguing tho forced and the writing flowed moderately well.
Unfortunately again, this fell into the category of overplaying it’s foreshadowing which tends to be a pet peeve of mine. I don’t need an author to dumb down the characters and plot lines in order to make me wonder about the morals of characters or the future scenes. I found there was a tendency to restate the possible evils over and over, make our hero incredibly naive and therefore almost childlike, and even toss in some random unnecessary interactions that I’m assuming were supposed to be “romantic possibilities” but that ultimately just felt forced and awkward.
This isn’t to say it was an awful read. It was an easy distraction and while I wouldn’t run out to grab the rest of the series I also wouldn’t advise others against it. I suspect if I hadn’t been swept off my feet so recently with Ascend Online I might have had lower expectations and may speak differently here.
Basically this is a crossover between a gamer style story and a syfy. There is a syfy feel and I believe the intention is more realism than a fantasy gamer style; however, it appeared to me to cross that fine line on occasion with the addition of “attack bonuses” and the like on weapons and equipment.
Unfortunately again, this fell into the category of overplaying it’s foreshadowing which tends to be a pet peeve of mine. I don’t need an author to dumb down the characters and plot lines in order to make me wonder about the morals of characters or the future scenes. I found there was a tendency to restate the possible evils over and over, make our hero incredibly naive and therefore almost childlike, and even toss in some random unnecessary interactions that I’m assuming were supposed to be “romantic possibilities” but that ultimately just felt forced and awkward.
This isn’t to say it was an awful read. It was an easy distraction and while I wouldn’t run out to grab the rest of the series I also wouldn’t advise others against it. I suspect if I hadn’t been swept off my feet so recently with Ascend Online I might have had lower expectations and may speak differently here.
Basically this is a crossover between a gamer style story and a syfy. There is a syfy feel and I believe the intention is more realism than a fantasy gamer style; however, it appeared to me to cross that fine line on occasion with the addition of “attack bonuses” and the like on weapons and equipment.
September 20, 2017
Excellent YA coming of age story.
We first meet Nicholas Lyons (Nick or Nicky) as a cadet of the RTF on his last training assignment before graduating as a Squire. Something goes wrong with the exercise and Nick is the only fighter who survives. I say this as he saves another cadet who did nothing but cower behind anyone who could save him! Ludas Barnes is the son of a duke and a sneaky little rodent. Somehow he takes on the part of the hero and takes the plum appointment that should have been Nicks. In trying to get his assignment changed Nick falls fouls of Duke Barnes but is too naive to see the man for what he is. He believes that he has an assignment from his Queen through the Duke. So he finds himself on the Stalwart, a ship made up of old ship parts and considered the worst ship in the fleet. According to the Duke and his minion Sorcerer Polgar, the crew of Stalwart are insurrectionists and rebels. Nick realises that this is not true and he begins to doubt his mission but Polgar has threatened his mother and nick has no choice but to continue.
There are some good strong characters who grab your attention such as Moses, Olav, Leith, Elle, Zac and Casey; and dont let's forget the other squires! I admit that I couldn't help but become somewhat frustrated at Nick's naiveté but the action more than made up for that. So, this is a welcome to the Stalwart the worst (best) ship in the fleet. Looking forward to the next installment!
We first meet Nicholas Lyons (Nick or Nicky) as a cadet of the RTF on his last training assignment before graduating as a Squire. Something goes wrong with the exercise and Nick is the only fighter who survives. I say this as he saves another cadet who did nothing but cower behind anyone who could save him! Ludas Barnes is the son of a duke and a sneaky little rodent. Somehow he takes on the part of the hero and takes the plum appointment that should have been Nicks. In trying to get his assignment changed Nick falls fouls of Duke Barnes but is too naive to see the man for what he is. He believes that he has an assignment from his Queen through the Duke. So he finds himself on the Stalwart, a ship made up of old ship parts and considered the worst ship in the fleet. According to the Duke and his minion Sorcerer Polgar, the crew of Stalwart are insurrectionists and rebels. Nick realises that this is not true and he begins to doubt his mission but Polgar has threatened his mother and nick has no choice but to continue.
There are some good strong characters who grab your attention such as Moses, Olav, Leith, Elle, Zac and Casey; and dont let's forget the other squires! I admit that I couldn't help but become somewhat frustrated at Nick's naiveté but the action more than made up for that. So, this is a welcome to the Stalwart the worst (best) ship in the fleet. Looking forward to the next installment!
May 16, 2019
So its in that 3 star range, but it doesn't quite make it. I finished it and I don't regret reading it but I feel kinda cheated or unfulfilled when it was done. Also, I may or may not read the next one. Not going to run out and get it, but if I'm bored and need something to read I could pick it up.
The story really just got stale by the end, especially since the MC takes way to long to start questioning his mission. Really MSE should of made the government officials more likable and the crew less likable, so the reader kinda questions who is the bad guy. But the way it is, you realize who the bad guys are before the story really gets rolling.
I mean people don't normally read MSE books for the depth but still this one is shallower than his other books by far. The least enjoyable part is the main character. He is really just a piece of shit to be honest; he is very simple minded, horny like a teenager, he gets angry at everyone (RAGE!), and mostly just very unlikable.
Most of the other complaints just come to MSE's writing style, he treats his readers like idiots, he doesn't let you use your imagination and pretty much spells out everything for you. IE, their is one scene far into the book where the MC thinks "I need to get closer to the crew so that the will disclose their secrets." and I'm like "No, duh". Most of of his books are like that and it really get annoying because its basically just pointless words.
The story really just got stale by the end, especially since the MC takes way to long to start questioning his mission. Really MSE should of made the government officials more likable and the crew less likable, so the reader kinda questions who is the bad guy. But the way it is, you realize who the bad guys are before the story really gets rolling.
I mean people don't normally read MSE books for the depth but still this one is shallower than his other books by far. The least enjoyable part is the main character. He is really just a piece of shit to be honest; he is very simple minded, horny like a teenager, he gets angry at everyone (RAGE!), and mostly just very unlikable.
Most of the other complaints just come to MSE's writing style, he treats his readers like idiots, he doesn't let you use your imagination and pretty much spells out everything for you. IE, their is one scene far into the book where the MC thinks "I need to get closer to the crew so that the will disclose their secrets." and I'm like "No, duh". Most of of his books are like that and it really get annoying because its basically just pointless words.
March 19, 2020
This book really didn't live up to the standard set by Michael Scott Earle's (MSE from here on out) other books. It wasn't awful by any means, it was just rushed.
The book opens well enough, introducing an interesting new world, magic system and protagonist. But the moment the protagonist gets on board the starship and the main plot kicks in, the story starts rushing to get as much accomplished in as small a space as possible. Unfortunately, the story arc that happens aboard this ship requires us to believe in the protagonist's emotional attachments and selling the audience on a moral decision about characters aboard this starship that we are just never given the chance to know well enough.
One of the main reasons why MSE stands out above the author authors writing fantasy/sci-fi geared at adult men and with a polygamy twist is that unlike other authors, MSE takes the time to create good characters and build up strong attachments between those characters. It makes eventual relationships and other actions based on those relationships more believable when both characters are fleshed out and we have seen the reasons for their emotional attachment unfold.
Overall this book just wasn't as good, but I have faith in this author so I'll keep reading for now.
The book opens well enough, introducing an interesting new world, magic system and protagonist. But the moment the protagonist gets on board the starship and the main plot kicks in, the story starts rushing to get as much accomplished in as small a space as possible. Unfortunately, the story arc that happens aboard this ship requires us to believe in the protagonist's emotional attachments and selling the audience on a moral decision about characters aboard this starship that we are just never given the chance to know well enough.
One of the main reasons why MSE stands out above the author authors writing fantasy/sci-fi geared at adult men and with a polygamy twist is that unlike other authors, MSE takes the time to create good characters and build up strong attachments between those characters. It makes eventual relationships and other actions based on those relationships more believable when both characters are fleshed out and we have seen the reasons for their emotional attachment unfold.
Overall this book just wasn't as good, but I have faith in this author so I'll keep reading for now.
September 15, 2017
Good story,o
Not so good editing. Zac had his helmet removed twice in one paragraph. He never put it back on to have it taken off the second time. He sees a fellow crewmember naked and goes from looking at her to magically turning around after she is dressed. Also she didn't seem to be the slightest bit shocked or worried to find a man she barely knows standing in her room as she exits the shower. The entire scene added nothing to the story and was not needed. At one point the MC was chocking an enemy from behind with manicals. This enemy unlocked the manicals and takes a strike to the face from the MC without ever turning around.
Something else that didn't fit, for some reason with his low level gear he was always able to beat stronger better equipped enemies with ease. I lost count of the number of enemies he cut in half of beheaded in one swing.
I did enjoy the overall story though. I just wish more time had been taken to polish this story up.
I can only recommend this book to those that don't mind such errors as are listed above.
Not so good editing. Zac had his helmet removed twice in one paragraph. He never put it back on to have it taken off the second time. He sees a fellow crewmember naked and goes from looking at her to magically turning around after she is dressed. Also she didn't seem to be the slightest bit shocked or worried to find a man she barely knows standing in her room as she exits the shower. The entire scene added nothing to the story and was not needed. At one point the MC was chocking an enemy from behind with manicals. This enemy unlocked the manicals and takes a strike to the face from the MC without ever turning around.
Something else that didn't fit, for some reason with his low level gear he was always able to beat stronger better equipped enemies with ease. I lost count of the number of enemies he cut in half of beheaded in one swing.
I did enjoy the overall story though. I just wish more time had been taken to polish this story up.
I can only recommend this book to those that don't mind such errors as are listed above.
February 14, 2018
Let me start by saying Michael-Scott Earle has become my Favorite wordsmith for 2018. You know the DUDE is a TRUE storyteller when you blaze through 500+ pages in less than a day. I usually can do a book a day, maybe 400 pages. (HONESTY Note...my wife and I are baby boomers, both disabled and mobility is main problem. General TV plainly SUCKS big time, so we read).
This is a Space Opera...main character wants to become a Space Knight, like his father. His goal to serve his Queen and support his widowed mother. Sounds like so many other stories. But this yarn has Nick at the Academy where his finals is a real dilly. And our story takes off like an LPG aimed right between your eyes.
NO SPOILERS here...nothing “seems” to go right for Nick...but it really does. Earle is a master at world building, creating endearing characters, and plotting out the wickedest, most bizarre, convoluted story lines I have ever read. AMEN.
This is a narly read concocted by a master. It’s a double HOOT and a HOLLER...I can tell ya.
This is a Space Opera...main character wants to become a Space Knight, like his father. His goal to serve his Queen and support his widowed mother. Sounds like so many other stories. But this yarn has Nick at the Academy where his finals is a real dilly. And our story takes off like an LPG aimed right between your eyes.
NO SPOILERS here...nothing “seems” to go right for Nick...but it really does. Earle is a master at world building, creating endearing characters, and plotting out the wickedest, most bizarre, convoluted story lines I have ever read. AMEN.
This is a narly read concocted by a master. It’s a double HOOT and a HOLLER...I can tell ya.
August 18, 2018
Good book. The plot and writing are very simplistic and predictable. The protagonist irks me to the point of wanting to quit the series. Your typical overpowered protagonist with huge upside, he's popular with the ladies, he's great at fighting, he's a good leader, he has super unique abilities and a mysterious father...the book reads much like a cliche RPG. Which since this is a LitRPG style book it's not bad. The overt sexualization of the women and the harem following is a bit much.
If MSE wrote the protagonist as well as he did his side characters this book would be so much better. His side characters are all very likeable, and I prefer them to the meat head protagonist. Love the actions scenes and there.are.so.many. Which is great makes for a fun read. The weapon and magic systems are amazing. Love it.
This book feels like a good action movie. You didn't come to see character development or world building. You came to see the protagonist and his merry men blow shit up. And this book blows a ton of shit up. For that 3 stars.
If MSE wrote the protagonist as well as he did his side characters this book would be so much better. His side characters are all very likeable, and I prefer them to the meat head protagonist. Love the actions scenes and there.are.so.many. Which is great makes for a fun read. The weapon and magic systems are amazing. Love it.
This book feels like a good action movie. You didn't come to see character development or world building. You came to see the protagonist and his merry men blow shit up. And this book blows a ton of shit up. For that 3 stars.
August 3, 2020
I hate to leave bad reviews, but I did not enjoy this book and would not recommend it. I picked this up based on the description. Spaceships? Check. Magic? Sure, why the heck not. I listened to this as an audiobook, and the narrator was fine but the story was just not engaging at all. There were big sections where the protagonist was describing the stats of magical weapons like he was reading the stats from a video game, the protagonist makes dumb choice after dumb choice all while naively and remorselessly chopping people to death with his magic long sword. And the other characters are bland and hollow. Blah. I will not read any more in this series, and will probably avoid this author. Not for me, and I am not sure who it is for. It’s like a video game tie-in novel that doesn’t tie in to an actual video game. It follows a plot that at least makes some kind of sense, and the action scenes are reasonably clear, but with the characters and setting it does not come together in a way that worked for me.
September 17, 2017
Space Knight is
"Knights of the Round Table set in a space, but much bloodier. ....Warhammer 40k, but with more heart. ...Star Wars, but without the midi-chlorians."
Yup, that manufacturer's blurb pretty much sums up the feel of this book, and if you found it appealing it's pretty much a "lock" that you'll love this book. It's a great tale, with wonderful universe-building by the authors (high tech and powerful magic on a grand "space opera" scale), and with a hero, Nicholas Lyons, who starts out in a fairly straightforward manner simply wanting to serve his queen as a Space Knight, but who then goes through all sorts of trouble and develops "magical abilities that grant him power far beyond that of a normal man, knight, or mage." Add to that a great supporting cast of characters and a wonderful plot full of thrills and adventure. The result is something that is frankly pretty special. Highly recommended.
"Knights of the Round Table set in a space, but much bloodier. ....Warhammer 40k, but with more heart. ...Star Wars, but without the midi-chlorians."
Yup, that manufacturer's blurb pretty much sums up the feel of this book, and if you found it appealing it's pretty much a "lock" that you'll love this book. It's a great tale, with wonderful universe-building by the authors (high tech and powerful magic on a grand "space opera" scale), and with a hero, Nicholas Lyons, who starts out in a fairly straightforward manner simply wanting to serve his queen as a Space Knight, but who then goes through all sorts of trouble and develops "magical abilities that grant him power far beyond that of a normal man, knight, or mage." Add to that a great supporting cast of characters and a wonderful plot full of thrills and adventure. The result is something that is frankly pretty special. Highly recommended.
February 19, 2020
Starts fine, with decent world building an a good enough hook for the story, but what ensues is characters taking turns holding the Idiot Ball, making incredibly stupid decisions to advance the plot.
Like, let's have a complete rookie infiltrate a place, then force one-way contact on him to literally ring (like a cell phone) at inopportune moments, outside the appointed time. There's no way that will get him caught! Hur dur!
Oh, you have a big mission coming up. Here's the briefing. LOL I DIDN'T READ IT HAHAHA!
Or, tell the rookie "you will investigate NOW and figure out a whole conspiracy IN TWO DAYS or I'LL GO AFTER YOUR MOTHER!" MWAHAHA-EVIL-LAUGH!
You are assigned to a different mission... LOL NOT IF I JUST IGNORE YOU AND RUN AFTER THE OTHER GROUP (IN PLAIN SIGHT OF EVERYONE)! HA HA HA I'M A STEALTH GENIUS!
I didn't finish the book. Some potential here for a decent story, but I couldn't suspend my disbelief any more.
Like, let's have a complete rookie infiltrate a place, then force one-way contact on him to literally ring (like a cell phone) at inopportune moments, outside the appointed time. There's no way that will get him caught! Hur dur!
Oh, you have a big mission coming up. Here's the briefing. LOL I DIDN'T READ IT HAHAHA!
Or, tell the rookie "you will investigate NOW and figure out a whole conspiracy IN TWO DAYS or I'LL GO AFTER YOUR MOTHER!" MWAHAHA-EVIL-LAUGH!
You are assigned to a different mission... LOL NOT IF I JUST IGNORE YOU AND RUN AFTER THE OTHER GROUP (IN PLAIN SIGHT OF EVERYONE)! HA HA HA I'M A STEALTH GENIUS!
I didn't finish the book. Some potential here for a decent story, but I couldn't suspend my disbelief any more.
November 15, 2017
Strange but Good
Hmm. Cross Shadowrun with Warhammer 40K, then add in a bit of “Master and Commander”, finishing with a pinch of SF LitRPG, and you’re gonna get something like this. On the upside it’s new and interesting, well conceived and edited, and not stat-padded (especially character stats). In the downside it faltered a bit out of the gate, most of the characters and action have little depth, and the protagonist is one of the most naive kids that I’ve ever seen. (I mean... wow.) Having said that, it’s also the first book in the series, so things are still coming together.
Bottom line: a good KU book with a story type you probably haven’t seen before, and so worth a read. I’m going to hit book #2 and see if things improve, and to see if the crew kills the hero. (No, really.)
Hmm. Cross Shadowrun with Warhammer 40K, then add in a bit of “Master and Commander”, finishing with a pinch of SF LitRPG, and you’re gonna get something like this. On the upside it’s new and interesting, well conceived and edited, and not stat-padded (especially character stats). In the downside it faltered a bit out of the gate, most of the characters and action have little depth, and the protagonist is one of the most naive kids that I’ve ever seen. (I mean... wow.) Having said that, it’s also the first book in the series, so things are still coming together.
Bottom line: a good KU book with a story type you probably haven’t seen before, and so worth a read. I’m going to hit book #2 and see if things improve, and to see if the crew kills the hero. (No, really.)
August 9, 2018
Wow! Fast paced action that grabs you and dosent let you go. We follow Nick as he graduates as a squire into the RTF (Royal Trident Forces). Nick becomes a hero when a training mission goes wrong. Hoping to get a preferred assignment, he is instead placed on the worst ship in the fleet. Nick soon finds himself questioning who he is, and where his loyalties lie. I loved this book! The characters had heart, and were relatable, while the world feels lived in filled with history and lore. I enjoyed the balanced blend of Sci-fi and Fantasy, and the way the diffrent magic systems worked. I loved the Rune-tech, this was well thought out and fun! The way this book ended left me craving more, and I look forward to many more books in this series!
February 5, 2019
I kept waiting for the main character to figure out he was a character in an RPG.
Not badly written, with a predictable story arc, this book sounds like the plot for a role playing game. The knights earn kingdom points for the loot they steal from the aliens, their weapons have damage points assigned, and can only be used by certain class of character.
Between the archetypal characters, the shallow emotions of the characters (lots of killing without caring, lots of worry by Nick about his mother, but he never even calls her before he leaves for space, etc.) and the ridiculously unreal game like rules of the world, I would only recommend this to die-hard RPG fans, and no once over the age of 14.
Not badly written, with a predictable story arc, this book sounds like the plot for a role playing game. The knights earn kingdom points for the loot they steal from the aliens, their weapons have damage points assigned, and can only be used by certain class of character.
Between the archetypal characters, the shallow emotions of the characters (lots of killing without caring, lots of worry by Nick about his mother, but he never even calls her before he leaves for space, etc.) and the ridiculously unreal game like rules of the world, I would only recommend this to die-hard RPG fans, and no once over the age of 14.
January 31, 2022
Well well...I wanted this book to be good but it wasn't!
I gave up after around 3/4 of the book.
Why? first let's start by what is good and made me read 3/4 of the story.
Pros:
+ Easy to ready and enjoyable.
+ Fast-paced.
+Lot of mysteries.
Cons:
- Shallow
- Not consistent
- Main character incredibly single minded almost stupide
- Others characters are stereotypes: Extremely loyal for no reason; All women are gorgeous, etc.
- Too many repetitions from the main character
- Mysteries pile up but never unfold and usually it means that there is nothing behind.
I will never know As I did not finish the book.
I hope this comment will help other readers and may be the author :)
I gave up after around 3/4 of the book.
Why? first let's start by what is good and made me read 3/4 of the story.
Pros:
+ Easy to ready and enjoyable.
+ Fast-paced.
+Lot of mysteries.
Cons:
- Shallow
- Not consistent
- Main character incredibly single minded almost stupide
- Others characters are stereotypes: Extremely loyal for no reason; All women are gorgeous, etc.
- Too many repetitions from the main character
- Mysteries pile up but never unfold and usually it means that there is nothing behind.
I will never know As I did not finish the book.
I hope this comment will help other readers and may be the author :)
October 18, 2018
Mediocre at best. The nearly non stop action sequences were mildly and mindlessly entertaining, but the book had zero depth. It was utterly predictable and had no character development. I wouldn’t be surprised if the author was an 8th grader as the female characters were all the same. They all looked like Victoria Secret models who wore nothing but skin tight outfits and were each attracted to the main character, Nick. Nick, in turn, spent the entire book describing their perfect bodies and hoping to hook up with them, during those moments in the book where he wasn’t killing aliens or other enemies.
December 30, 2018
Put this book down at 55% First MSE book I haven't finished
Where, Oh where did writers get the idea that they have to turn the tension & anxiety up to 11?
So many of the "Problems" that ratchet up the Tension in this book are so forced and artificial.
It's such an interesting world build, but sadly the authors don't believe in it, because the keep upping the ante, even when it's not their turn.
This book had so many little problems that I could have never noticed singularly, but taken all together they create a dissonance that not only destroy suspension of disbelief, but my ability to care what happens next.
Where, Oh where did writers get the idea that they have to turn the tension & anxiety up to 11?
So many of the "Problems" that ratchet up the Tension in this book are so forced and artificial.
It's such an interesting world build, but sadly the authors don't believe in it, because the keep upping the ante, even when it's not their turn.
This book had so many little problems that I could have never noticed singularly, but taken all together they create a dissonance that not only destroy suspension of disbelief, but my ability to care what happens next.
October 26, 2017
Good, but not great
It was by no means a bad book.
I enjoyed the characters, the universe, and how the story played out.
I took off one star because there are just enough grammar mistakes to throw me off and make me unhappy. There's not a lot, just enough.
I took off the other star because I was expecting something a bit more complex? Mature? Based on another novel by one of the authors, The Destroyer series, I was expecting something a bit more...
Again, not a bad book, I was just personally expecting more. Maybe the next book will fill my cup more than 3/5ths.
It was by no means a bad book.
I enjoyed the characters, the universe, and how the story played out.
I took off one star because there are just enough grammar mistakes to throw me off and make me unhappy. There's not a lot, just enough.
I took off the other star because I was expecting something a bit more complex? Mature? Based on another novel by one of the authors, The Destroyer series, I was expecting something a bit more...
Again, not a bad book, I was just personally expecting more. Maybe the next book will fill my cup more than 3/5ths.
April 19, 2018
It's the first book in the series and it shows promise but little else. I have been unable identify with any of the main characters. I think the author has spent very little time developing the universe as there is very little meat in the stories about the universe the story is taking place in.
So if you wanted a Magic/Science universe to lose yourself in then this is not that series. This is nothing more the a young man's journey from one fight scene to another without a framework to hand it on.
So if you wanted a Magic/Science universe to lose yourself in then this is not that series. This is nothing more the a young man's journey from one fight scene to another without a framework to hand it on.
November 13, 2017
Another Good Book
I Loved the premise of the RuneTech and Knights and Squires and the Medevile(SP?)LOL theme. The only thing I didn't like about the book was it's Cover Art, which has always been a Personal Peeve with me that Cover Art shows a Character or something and there is NOTHING like it in the book. If the Cover was of Nick, that wasn't a Long Sword and I Just Think that anyone who does the Cover Art for a Book SHOULD HAVE TO READ IT FIRST.
I Loved the premise of the RuneTech and Knights and Squires and the Medevile(SP?)LOL theme. The only thing I didn't like about the book was it's Cover Art, which has always been a Personal Peeve with me that Cover Art shows a Character or something and there is NOTHING like it in the book. If the Cover was of Nick, that wasn't a Long Sword and I Just Think that anyone who does the Cover Art for a Book SHOULD HAVE TO READ IT FIRST.
November 24, 2017
This was a pretty good Sci-Fi/Fantasy blending with just a touch of LITRPG in the form of it's gear system and a general tone similar to, if a few shades lighter than, the Warhammer 40k books.
If your willing to overlook some character and plot issues it's a fun read with a lot of colorful characters and interesting concepts. But your going to have to suffer through some head scratching character decisions along the way. If you can do that, this is a fun book.
If your willing to overlook some character and plot issues it's a fun read with a lot of colorful characters and interesting concepts. But your going to have to suffer through some head scratching character decisions along the way. If you can do that, this is a fun book.
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