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Adventures of the Starship Satori #8
Embers of War
The alien Naga have reached out to contact humanity and a response is required. Rather than invite trouble by allowing the warrior race to send more ships to Earth, the decision is made to detach a delegation to the Naga homeworld. Dan Wynn will command the newly restored starship Independence on its maiden flight.
Meanwhile, the Satori will carry a group of humans to the ruined world of Dust. The only remnants of the race which built the Satori still rest there, and Earth desperately needs any technological edge it can acquire.
But an ancient force is moving between the stars again for the first time in a millennium. As this old enemy of both Naga and Human alike prepares to reveal itself, neither race will ever see the universe the same way again!
Meanwhile, the Satori will carry a group of humans to the ruined world of Dust. The only remnants of the race which built the Satori still rest there, and Earth desperately needs any technological edge it can acquire.
But an ancient force is moving between the stars again for the first time in a millennium. As this old enemy of both Naga and Human alike prepares to reveal itself, neither race will ever see the universe the same way again!
- GenresScience Fiction
207 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 12, 2017
288 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
About the author
Kevin O. McLaughlin
177 books138 followersWhen not practicing hobbies which include sailing, constructing medieval armor, and swinging swords at his friends, Kevin McLaughlin can usually be found in his Boston home. Kevin’s award-winning short fiction is now available in digital form at all major ebook retailers. He writes fantasy in settings both historical and contemporary, and science fiction in both the near and distant future.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
January 28, 2019
Good series
The satori saga has gotten so much better over time. Looking forward to how the rest of the story plays out.
The satori saga has gotten so much better over time. Looking forward to how the rest of the story plays out.
November 28, 2018
It’s been a few months since I was reading this series. It ended with the Earth in pretty big trouble from an alien species called the Naga. These creatures were an advanced war-fighting civilization that we first encountered in the starship Satori’s initial ventures into space. We’ve seen some crew members of the Satori captured by the Naga, although in one instance, it turned out pretty well. Dan was the original pilot of the Satori while being confined to a wheel chair. During his capture by the Naga, he was subjected to some pretty intense torture as well as incredible pleasures. The device they used on him was also healing his broken spine to the point that he has now gained complete use of his legs.
Dan is now the Captain of the Independence, the Earth’s second starship after the Satori. It is a captured Naga battlecruiser that has been heavily modified by humans. His ship is just now finishing readiness tests and appears to be ready for mission. He soon gets one resulting from a surprising quantum call from Naga Command telling Gaurl, the former Naga vessel Captain, to report in and head back to the home planet. Before replying, Dan contacts General Hereford and asks him what he should say in return. After consulting with the President, they tell Dan he should try and negotiate a peaceful approach to friendly relations with the Naga. They want him to offer to return the Naga battlecruiser and the Naga prisoners they are holding. Dan doesn’t think the “peaceful” approach is going to work because he knows the Naga only act from a position of strength. So he fashions his response in that manner. This results in his mission to the Naga homeworld to return the Naga prisoners, but not the warship.
In the meantime, the Satori, commanded by Beth, has been assigned their own mission. Now that Earth has been to deep space via the Satori, they’ve found that it’s not a friendly environment. So, they feel that they must setup a colony somewhere to preserve humanity. With Earth not having much of a defense right now, one serious attack by the Naga, could wipeout all humanity. The Satori has been ordered to take a colony group plus all their equipment and land them on Dust! That is the original planet the Satori visited and found to be extremely hostile. It is a desert planet made that way by the Naga. The Naga had engineered a creature called the “ratzards” whose blood was just a viral as their bite. Once their blood came in contact with water, it turned the water into some kind of oily sludge. That sludge now had contaminated all the water on Dust which therefore resulted in a desert and desolate planet.
Yet, Earth Command wanted to build a colony there of all places. They believed a colony situated deep in one of the tunnels could survive and keep humanity alive while they developed the planet. The crew of the Satori had already placed an anti-agent in the sludge oceans that appears to be working. Upon arriving back over Dust, the Satori finds that about 30% of the planets oceans are now water instead of the sludge. The anti-agent is eating and destroying the viral containment allowing clouds to be formed and some actual green vegetation to grow. Still, the tunnel that has been identified for the colony was the same tunnel that was infested with giant centipede-like creatures, both young and old. These creatures are very tough, strong and very hard to kill. So, it’s going to be a big problem to clean out this tunnel if they have moved back into their old nesting grounds.
So, both ships are off on their respective mission seemingly in different parts of the galaxy. But, nothing seems to be surprising in this book. There is another alien species roaming the same space as both the humans and Naga. These creatures are unknown to either group, but they are known to be enemies of the Naga. It is believed that the Satori was built by this species a long time ago. {This seems kind of far fetched since the Satori was easily converted to a human occupied starship given what these mysterious aliens turn out to be.} It is also soon found out that these new aliens don’t like anyone and after wiping out the Naga, are going to do the same to Earth and humanity.
Very exciting book with lots of fighting. It gets kind of depressing since every time Earth sends a starship on a mission, it’s found almost never up to the task. We’re always lacking in advanced technology and have no clue as to what is going on in the galaxy as a whole. This story isn’t over so you need to keep reading this book to understand what comes next.
Dan is now the Captain of the Independence, the Earth’s second starship after the Satori. It is a captured Naga battlecruiser that has been heavily modified by humans. His ship is just now finishing readiness tests and appears to be ready for mission. He soon gets one resulting from a surprising quantum call from Naga Command telling Gaurl, the former Naga vessel Captain, to report in and head back to the home planet. Before replying, Dan contacts General Hereford and asks him what he should say in return. After consulting with the President, they tell Dan he should try and negotiate a peaceful approach to friendly relations with the Naga. They want him to offer to return the Naga battlecruiser and the Naga prisoners they are holding. Dan doesn’t think the “peaceful” approach is going to work because he knows the Naga only act from a position of strength. So he fashions his response in that manner. This results in his mission to the Naga homeworld to return the Naga prisoners, but not the warship.
In the meantime, the Satori, commanded by Beth, has been assigned their own mission. Now that Earth has been to deep space via the Satori, they’ve found that it’s not a friendly environment. So, they feel that they must setup a colony somewhere to preserve humanity. With Earth not having much of a defense right now, one serious attack by the Naga, could wipeout all humanity. The Satori has been ordered to take a colony group plus all their equipment and land them on Dust! That is the original planet the Satori visited and found to be extremely hostile. It is a desert planet made that way by the Naga. The Naga had engineered a creature called the “ratzards” whose blood was just a viral as their bite. Once their blood came in contact with water, it turned the water into some kind of oily sludge. That sludge now had contaminated all the water on Dust which therefore resulted in a desert and desolate planet.
Yet, Earth Command wanted to build a colony there of all places. They believed a colony situated deep in one of the tunnels could survive and keep humanity alive while they developed the planet. The crew of the Satori had already placed an anti-agent in the sludge oceans that appears to be working. Upon arriving back over Dust, the Satori finds that about 30% of the planets oceans are now water instead of the sludge. The anti-agent is eating and destroying the viral containment allowing clouds to be formed and some actual green vegetation to grow. Still, the tunnel that has been identified for the colony was the same tunnel that was infested with giant centipede-like creatures, both young and old. These creatures are very tough, strong and very hard to kill. So, it’s going to be a big problem to clean out this tunnel if they have moved back into their old nesting grounds.
So, both ships are off on their respective mission seemingly in different parts of the galaxy. But, nothing seems to be surprising in this book. There is another alien species roaming the same space as both the humans and Naga. These creatures are unknown to either group, but they are known to be enemies of the Naga. It is believed that the Satori was built by this species a long time ago. {This seems kind of far fetched since the Satori was easily converted to a human occupied starship given what these mysterious aliens turn out to be.} It is also soon found out that these new aliens don’t like anyone and after wiping out the Naga, are going to do the same to Earth and humanity.
Very exciting book with lots of fighting. It gets kind of depressing since every time Earth sends a starship on a mission, it’s found almost never up to the task. We’re always lacking in advanced technology and have no clue as to what is going on in the galaxy as a whole. This story isn’t over so you need to keep reading this book to understand what comes next.
April 12, 2019
For Teens and YA
I am torn where this series is concerned! This was better than the previous book but I’m considering whether it’s worth continuing. The author states that his readers wanted him to concentrate on one or two characters which seems strange as the most successful sci-fi franchises (e.g. Star Trek etc.) all depend on
team interactions! Splitting backwards and forwards between characters is annoying. I’m also getting fed up with their ships being shot up around them (in particular Satori!) and yet they can still fight far superior (undamaged) vessels and win! We still don’t have an international crew either. The other, unknown, star faring race is pretty obvious before the denouement too. I have decided that the readership who will like this most are the teens and YA. Mature readers will probably feel as I do, especially non Americans! I’ll give it 4 stars for the younger audience but only 2-3 stars for others!
I am torn where this series is concerned! This was better than the previous book but I’m considering whether it’s worth continuing. The author states that his readers wanted him to concentrate on one or two characters which seems strange as the most successful sci-fi franchises (e.g. Star Trek etc.) all depend on
team interactions! Splitting backwards and forwards between characters is annoying. I’m also getting fed up with their ships being shot up around them (in particular Satori!) and yet they can still fight far superior (undamaged) vessels and win! We still don’t have an international crew either. The other, unknown, star faring race is pretty obvious before the denouement too. I have decided that the readership who will like this most are the teens and YA. Mature readers will probably feel as I do, especially non Americans! I’ll give it 4 stars for the younger audience but only 2-3 stars for others!
March 11, 2020
Bet you saw this coming
So Beth takes the Satori and goes her way. Dan takes the independence and goes his way. They both meet up at Naga home world fighting the Kiktschkikuk (think how a cicada would say it's own name). We learn a few new stunts about the star drive, and decide who our real friends are, and who our enemies are. A little philosophy about slave culture, and what constitutes honorable conduct and self sacrifice for the good of all. We learn a little crocodile humor, and we end up feeling good about ourselves like king Pyrrhus at the battle of Heraclea. Again, this five is for the story telling. It's not for the science, it's not for the tactical ingenuity, and it's not for the quality of editing. It's for the imaginative situations that our characters find themselves confronted by, and how they stumble their way out of them.
So Beth takes the Satori and goes her way. Dan takes the independence and goes his way. They both meet up at Naga home world fighting the Kiktschkikuk (think how a cicada would say it's own name). We learn a few new stunts about the star drive, and decide who our real friends are, and who our enemies are. A little philosophy about slave culture, and what constitutes honorable conduct and self sacrifice for the good of all. We learn a little crocodile humor, and we end up feeling good about ourselves like king Pyrrhus at the battle of Heraclea. Again, this five is for the story telling. It's not for the science, it's not for the tactical ingenuity, and it's not for the quality of editing. It's for the imaginative situations that our characters find themselves confronted by, and how they stumble their way out of them.
May 31, 2019
What a great book. Here it is, 3:00 AM again and still hungry for more. This series is a great addition to my space opera collection. I have a problem downloading the free 1st book to my Kindle app, but now I need to find book 8. Keep up the great writing. I like the way the storyline flows from one book to the next.
What a great book. Here it is, 3:00AM and still hungry for more. This series is a great addition to my space opera collection. I am happy the books are a little longer, but you've said it's been addressed. Keep up the great work.
What a great book. Here it is, 3:00AM and still hungry for more. This series is a great addition to my space opera collection. I am happy the books are a little longer, but you've said it's been addressed. Keep up the great work.
June 2, 2021
So exciting that I could hardly stand it!
This story kept me on the edge of my seat and biting my fingernails!! (I wanted to bite my toenails too, but luckily I couldn’t reach them!). Awesome plot, fantastic characters! This book left be begging fir more. Going to start the next book in the series immediately! Read this book and this series. You WILL be very glad you did! :)
This story kept me on the edge of my seat and biting my fingernails!! (I wanted to bite my toenails too, but luckily I couldn’t reach them!). Awesome plot, fantastic characters! This book left be begging fir more. Going to start the next book in the series immediately! Read this book and this series. You WILL be very glad you did! :)
April 4, 2019
Rescue and diplomacy gets dangerous
The Santori key crew are split to man acquired ships and sent on assignment...Dan to oversee rebuild of Independence, and Beth takes the Santori to Dust to set up the colonists. Alien attacks disrupt the missions. Edge of seat installment. Read them all!!
The Santori key crew are split to man acquired ships and sent on assignment...Dan to oversee rebuild of Independence, and Beth takes the Santori to Dust to set up the colonists. Alien attacks disrupt the missions. Edge of seat installment. Read them all!!
June 5, 2020
Review of Book 8: Embers of War, (Adventures of the Starship Satori Book 8
Great book like the other seven! I like the characters and story lines. Once again I came to the ending too soon. Either I'm reading too fast or each book is getting shorter, can't figure? I think if you read this book, you will want to read all of the series.
Great book like the other seven! I like the characters and story lines. Once again I came to the ending too soon. Either I'm reading too fast or each book is getting shorter, can't figure? I think if you read this book, you will want to read all of the series.
August 16, 2018
Just exciting
The space adventures continue. Such good character development to bad a lot get picked off. Not to sound to stupid but I felt great grief at their demise. Sort of like a neighbor or coworker.
The space adventures continue. Such good character development to bad a lot get picked off. Not to sound to stupid but I felt great grief at their demise. Sort of like a neighbor or coworker.
November 1, 2018
Yet another great read excellent job nonstop action which keeps you turning each page wondering what happens next. Great writing definitely a page turner keeps you wanting more. Will be reading the next book.
March 10, 2019
Total space war
Come on you apes,do you want to live forever. Kill the bugs.
Great addition to the series.. Lots of action and adventure. I love that a shared enemy allows the human and aliens to find common ground.
I look forward to more from this series😁
Come on you apes,do you want to live forever. Kill the bugs.
Great addition to the series.. Lots of action and adventure. I love that a shared enemy allows the human and aliens to find common ground.
I look forward to more from this series😁
April 11, 2019
Great sci-fi pulp
Action, plot twists, excellent space battles, enemies becoming allies against a far stronger foe - all make this a classic pulp sci-fi book! Doesn't address any 'issues' of current culture, just pure escapism. Can't wait to see the exr book!
Action, plot twists, excellent space battles, enemies becoming allies against a far stronger foe - all make this a classic pulp sci-fi book! Doesn't address any 'issues' of current culture, just pure escapism. Can't wait to see the exr book!
May 23, 2019
Space opera at its best
The entire series is non stop action a and plenty of hard science also. I'ld put on a par with Niven's known space or Doc Smith's Lensman series. Very well thought out and put together.
The entire series is non stop action a and plenty of hard science also. I'ld put on a par with Niven's known space or Doc Smith's Lensman series. Very well thought out and put together.
October 23, 2019
Love this series.
I cant say enough good about this series. The battles, the characters, the fast pace, and the emotions. Everything you get when the person writing the book isnt just an author, but an amazing storyteller!
I cant say enough good about this series. The battles, the characters, the fast pace, and the emotions. Everything you get when the person writing the book isnt just an author, but an amazing storyteller!
June 4, 2020
Space Opera action at its best
Although i love the characters its good to increase the space action and with a few good bits about the origins of Satori coming go thw fore and a few brilliant scenes with the Naga made this a non stop read. Well enjoyed and on to the next one
Although i love the characters its good to increase the space action and with a few good bits about the origins of Satori coming go thw fore and a few brilliant scenes with the Naga made this a non stop read. Well enjoyed and on to the next one
March 12, 2019
Great space opera! Love the characters & fast-paced action.
February 26, 2018
Good story
A good readable science fiction story just as the rest of the series but definitely just a bit on the short side.
A good readable science fiction story just as the rest of the series but definitely just a bit on the short side.
April 10, 2018
can't wait for the next thrilling part.
April 27, 2018
This story and its characters are really starting to take form. There were some non-sequitur elements and pacing that hardly let you take a break. Over all it was an enjoyable read.
August 18, 2018
so many ups an downs then you are sent sideways what a book can't wait for the next thrilling part.
April 18, 2019
Can't get enough of these brilliant books.
May 7, 2019
Another Good Story
Well, the series continues to expand. The people of Earth have received a temporary reprieve from total annihilation and now have as strong ally.
Well, the series continues to expand. The people of Earth have received a temporary reprieve from total annihilation and now have as strong ally.
July 28, 2019
Another winner
Story continues with some great battles in space.
Ready for the next one! Maybe. Kevin can add an emotional eminent between some characters
!
Story continues with some great battles in space.
Ready for the next one! Maybe. Kevin can add an emotional eminent between some characters
!
July 31, 2019
Awesome
I love this series. The characters are so real. They are fast moving and keep you on the edge of your seat
I love this series. The characters are so real. They are fast moving and keep you on the edge of your seat
August 19, 2020
What a great story!
Outstanding continuation to the series. Enemies and allies are going to make a great story. Highly recommend this series to anyone. Really enjoyed this episode.
Outstanding continuation to the series. Enemies and allies are going to make a great story. Highly recommend this series to anyone. Really enjoyed this episode.
May 22, 2024
Satisfying read
Another great read in the Satori series. The story processes at a fast pace with characters you root for. I can hardly wait for the next book.
Another great read in the Satori series. The story processes at a fast pace with characters you root for. I can hardly wait for the next book.
September 25, 2024
More shoot-em-up adventures for the crew of the Starship Satori as they battle against a new, and more deadly foe.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews