AMP Messenger

AMP #1

by Stephen Arseneault

In a distant galaxy, Humans are on the run. For a thousand years they have fled from an enemy that is bent on their annihilation. The only real defense is their home, a great station called the Grid with a faster than light drive that is unmatched for speed. Don is a Messenger not a hero. But ordinary men sometimes have a way of rising to a challenge. War is again coming to the Grid and fate will place him smack in the middle. Is Man ready for the 43rd Milgari war? Don Grange doesn't think so!

Genres: Science Fiction, Amazon, Ebooks, Space Opera, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Military Science Fiction

Unknown Binding

First published July 3, 2013

About the author

I came to this planet sixty some odd years ago. After exiting my mother's portal, the doctor slapped me around until I started breathing the oxygen. I'll admit, at the time, I had no idea what I was doing or where I was. Being an infant Human, I was completely reliant on the responsible actions of others. It was a time that I have largely forgotten.

I reside in Central Florida with the wife and children. After thirty years in engineering, my time is now spent chronicling the adventures of fictitious heroes. They are off-world, fighting the good fight. For me? I'm stuck here on this planet in this feeble existence that we Humans are all forced to endure.

So, I ask you this... do you wish to escape the bonds of this surly planet we call Earth? Are you looking for a bit more adventure than what the grocery store has to offer? Do you worry about being enslaved by alien androids or six-eyed alien goats with lasers? Pew, pew, pew!

Yeah, that's what I thought. Asking yourself those questions and getting back an answer is the first hurdle to cross in the race to get off this world. Sounds like you are ready to venture out, to put this place behind you.

So crack open one of my books. Take to the heavens and let me shout this out to those who remain: "Watch out universe! Another Human is on the loose!"


Take care and I hope you have a great day!

Stephen

Reviews

[Michael]

This was a DNF at 48% for me.

Though I love watching it, I'm not really a Sci-Fi reader and this was nowhere near good enough to make me want to read any further.

Thanks for reading

[LMW · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am about 1/4 the way through the book, not sure if I can finish.

To start with, I like the concept. A good author could take this concept and weave many a story through it.I am just not sure if this author is that good.

I will not lament on the lack of actual science as some would, I can live without that. What I am concerned about is the plot, or the shallowness and glaring errors therein. The main character gets stranded, then rescued by the military of the grid, and let in on a serious secret, even though he has not proven himself to be reliable, then just released back into the population? The admiral of the fleet is building two more fleets in secret because of corruption and spies in the general population. Why would any human spy for those seeking to destroy all humans? Why would this admiral allow this rescued flier know all about the secret and let him just walk away?

Also, the main character has a personal nemesis, who he has to turn to to help him salvage his stranded ship. Why not another, why does it have to be the one person he does not like? A bit sophomoric in that plot twist.

I will attempt to read on, but seeing how this is actually the author's second series, not a beginning effort, I do not expect much in the way of improvement.

[Nathan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got so bored I quit reading this thing. The characters get out of their troubles through no fault of their own but luck. Maybe if that happened once, but when it seems like there's a dedicated character to saving these clowns when they get lost in deep space, it just gets boring. There's the kernels of a good story here, but they're lost in the one dimensional characters.

[Sean Bai · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this book for free from a BookBub deal. It was not worth it.

To be fair, I did like the little intro to the world, which is why I gave it two stars instead of one. I liked the idea of Grids, large planetary stations similar to machine planets/colony ships, wandering the galaxy in search of homes.

However, the first chapter fell short. There was too much exposition and telling. The first chapter gave me a short history lesson, mentioned what class of spaceship the main character was in, and what kind of drives the ship had. These were all unimportant pieces of information that had me bored right from the beginning.

Normally, I like technobabble. It's what makes science fiction unique. I like reading something that I don't understand completely, yet that I could understand if I try, that allows me to suspend my disbelief for a moment to enjoy the scientific genius that makes each science fiction book unique.

This was not done well. The technobabble was all spoken through the narrator instead of a scientist or AI, and much of it was at the beginning of the book. You usually want to read them only when necessary, after you've raised the stakes and tension, and introduced the conflict. I do not like being taken out of the story on large scientific rants at the wrong times.

The cover is quite nice, but nowadays, authors are getting smart. They use good covers, and it sometimes masks the weaknesses of the book. This book had so many positive reviews, but the quality of the book does not match the amount of reviews. Each or all books in the series also have the same cover, which is quite a let down for any fans of reading.

I don't know if the worldbuilding could have shone, if not for the excess amount of information thrown at us. It reduced any sort of potential the world had to be unique and imaginative.

It was an infodump of science and history, so I could not finish this book.

[Andy Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weeeeell... what can I say about this? Its an enjoyable, though totally unbelievable romp through space. The writings fine and the pace never let's up, the actions fun and there's an amusing chemistry between the hero and his sidekick - but there's something missing, and it becomes too easy to put down and forget.

The story is just too .... dunno what the word is - comic maybe? Simplistic? - suffice to say nothing bad ever happens to the heroes, they're never in any danger, and even when they're abandoned on a moon and left to starve they don't even suffer hunger pangs. They're never worried, cant stop wisecracking, and, of course, get saved at the last moment. In fact, as the story develops, we discover our heroes are the luckiest two pilots in the universe. Luck, it seems, is the driving force behind this story. If it wasn't for luck, there wouldn't BE a story.

I got this book free somehow, probably as bait to lure me into buying future releases of the series. Unfortunately, that wont be happening. The science is laughable: months pass cooped up in tiny spaceships and no one gets bored, ships accelerate from zero to two hundred times the speed of light with the pilot sitting on his chair wiggling his joystick, hundred year old rust buckets singlehandedly destroy whole fleets of advanced alien battleships using technology based on a few spare spark plugs and inverting the feeds...

I could forgive all that, cos it IS fun, and the writer has skill and imagination, but they just didn't give me a reason to care.

[Daniel Villines · Rating 2 out of 5]

AMP Messenger could have taken place anywhere here on earth as opposed to some distant point in space and time. The science fiction setting was only central to the writer's need to use imaginary nouns with techno-babble names. Otherwise, substitute rival gangs/factions/countries for rival alien species and the plot would not need to be changed. Whether past, present, or future: swords, guns, and blasters are all one in the same. Furthermore, the characters are so thin that re-writing their surroundings to match any point in time would be an easy thing to do.

And therein lies the dissatisfaction with this book. Since fiction should have a purpose beyond having fun with alien races and scripting battle scenes in space. In this instance, we have humanity isolated to a point where our true human nature, devoid of history, could have been explored. Are we inherently cruel and selfish, is a society based on reason obtainable, does history repeat itself even in the absence of history? With AMP Messenger, simply look around you today and that is the society of Arseneault's future. Maybe that simple present-day observation answers those questions, but if so, Arseneault missed an opportunity to explain why he thinks our future will remain unchanged from our present, or more likely, he had no intention of doing anything other than exactly what he did. Either way, there is nothing to learn from this book.

[Doug Hoffman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yet another "science fiction" book that has nothing much to do with science. The science in this book, such as it is, is particularly stupid. If you don't know anything about science don't try to explain such things as star drives and spaceships. Some old time SF books did have really bad science, at least by our modern day standard, but authors like H. G. Wells, Jules Vern and EE Doc Smith were writing before much of what we know today was discovered. Modern SF authors have an obligation to respect science as it is understood. If you cannot do that, either through ignorance or temperament, you should write fantasy, where respect for reality is optional. Science aside, the characters are simplistic, the plot meandering, and the dialogue juvenile. In short, it reads like a 6th graders attempt at a space adventure. This is fine if you are a 6th grader. For anyone more sophisticated, or anyone who actually enjoys SF, this book will be a disappointment.

[MystiqueLaLynx · Rating 1 out of 5]

Repetitive begining

After 3 chapters I still found the characters flat and one dimensional. I wanted to delve into the story of space travel but found I didn't care enough to pick it back up and read it.

[Holly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Booooring!

[Leo · Rating 1 out of 5]

It started out promising, but never came through. Apparently physics works differently in the future and space is just awash with drifting moons. It ends abruptly, which I was actually grateful for.

[Eric Warren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting beginning, but lags.

I have to admit, I stopped about halfway through this book. I thought the beginning was interesting and had some merit, but the story lost me shortly after that as none of the events happening to the main characters seemed to matter and were resolved quickly. I couldn’t find any tension in the story so it was a DNF. Your mileage may vary.

[Red Tide · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thin and bad

The writer breezes over some details of background, so that distances between systems and travel times are not clear. The size and endurance of (long-range?) fighters is not given. Imagine living for five weeks in any current atmospheric craft smaller than a 747, you see my point. The fuel sources and refueling is not mentioned at all.

The empire of the enemy aliens is not described other than the label of ruthless aggressors. What do they look like, how are they organized, how big is their empire, where is it located in the galaxy and how far from the Grid.

The word grid is used so often that I have no idea what he means when he used it. When the G is capitalized, I think he means the human home. Other than that, it's used as a standard reference as in searches, a galactic light year measurement and a reference to all things human. The storytelling would benefit from either a more completely visualized universe or a thesaurus.

The statement that humans fled Earth on giant (moon sized) stations of alien origin (at least the giant drives which came from an alien source and a technology that humans don't understand) is insufficient background to slide into the flow of the story. Who were the aliens, why did they gift humans, why were humans driven from Earth, who drove humans away, why-when-how did the friendly aliens arrive-communicate-leave are the minimum history needed for a decent background. Adding the mechanics of evaluating billions as well as the building of four additional Grids (3 of which are destroyed - no explanation, 1 is lost - again no explanation) would help.

None of the aliens are particularly well described physically or culturally. I've read and enjoyed bad novels just because the aliens were interesting and felt well thought out. The main human character is rather flat and plays computer games during critical moments in the action rather than acting to save himself and his crew of one. His exchanges with his engineer of ten years are as shallow as the relationship. Against that backdrop he comes across as paternalistic.

The other humans would work better if there were more of a context. The entirety of human society is handled in the most simplistic manner, from history and art to politics and the military/navy.

If a fighter can destroy several battleships in an engagement, a society would be foolish to build battleships at all. Just build fighters, cheaper in terms of crew and material. The story seems to be a mix-up and recycling of "Babylon 5" and Star Wars. I liked both stories despite their flaws but not this way.

The writing is dull and the excitement of seeing a force come into being to defend humanity is lost. The process of collecting recruits, material and training as well as a strategic plan is glossed over in paragraphs, not even pages. Pilots conference on an airless moon by exiting their craft and sitting on moon rocks? "Tantric" ore is an unfortunate name for the sought after metal. The leader makes plans without any thought or seeking out allies and maybe vetting former allies, which makes them not plans just reactions.

On the plus side several human characters have names that are not English and there isn't too much overt sexism. The interactions with the blond bombshell are confusing. She is an agent of, wealthy how, involved in fighting the aliens or what. Dull so far, but not particularly offensive which is refreshing. The next volume might be a bit more exciting.

[Ken Finlay · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my teens and twenties I was a keen reader of SF and Fantasy and then I moved on to a wider library. I still read both from time to time but it has been quite a while since I read a space opera that played the game just as it should be – a hero, a small band of warriors and scientists, advanced spaceships and escalating space battles against a mighty enemy.
“AMP Messenger” by Stephen Arseneault has it all in spades!
If you like space opera on a grand scale you'll like it, if, however, you think this kind of thing is juvenile you won't.
It's a very fast read, not overly cluttered with brainy scientific explanations of the technology. It has little or no character development and the plotting is very much geared toward the impossible becoming possible.
I'd normally give some detail as to what happens in the book but I don't need to as you will either love it or hate it.
I loved it – 4 Stars.

[Terrill L. Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of a space age, nonunion, "Fed Ex" sort of speak courier, Don Grange, who makes the most out of opportunity. Through his endeavors, he comes across a stolen technology that came in handy to save his life. After maximizing his use for this technology, him and his partner begins to live the good life until they get a chance to play hero. The Malgari is a race bent on the destruction of the human race. When Don and his partner decides to start attacking Malgari post, Malgari spies begin a covert plot against them that leads to confiscation of their riches and puts them on the run. But through exile, Don finds a way to turn things around.

The author conveniently included the first chapter of the second book, Private War, at the end of Messenger. I will continue to read this series.

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s OK

A decent storyline, one of those where the protagonists (some of them) always survive. Most wins are as a result of technical development which occurs in surprising leaps for the protagonists. Character development is minimal, plot development is progressive. Decision making, however, remains hampered by poor choices which often leads to loss of life and resources. As a serial novel, this first installment draws the reader in and conveniently moves them forward. This book pauses the action at its end, and then tugs the reader forward with an excerpt from the next book.

[James Rocks · Rating 3 out of 5]

I nearly gave up on this book early on but it became more positive as I read further. It was an OK read, my biggest problems with it being like a game. Initially, the hero starts off with a really rubbish craft but over the course of the book continually upgrades it until it's some kind of supership ... like I say it’s OK, it's just a bit, "meh".

I'd probably read another one but not if I had to pay for it.

[Thilo Czech · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captivating writing style, lots of actions.

Reading this story requires strong willpower. Once started, it is difficult to put away. Great story. Too many lucky coincidences are a sign of a fictional story. Also the general physics are a little bit against common theories. But who cares as long its entertaining.

[Gabriel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. Though the science may be ridiculous, it adds more to the book's uniqueness. The idea of faster-than-light travel sounded cool to me, and I decided to read it. The characters are funny, and the progression of the story was easy to follow.

[Cassandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decent, rambling. Characters/plot could be better developed.

[Jack · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Sub-Star Wars space opera/actioner.

[Trevor Corbett · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was free. Didn't finish it. No regrets

[john l wilinski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but glosses over some details.

A very quick read but enjoyable. Total disregard for time. Still in need if more background on the war, and who the enemy is

[Barbara Dunbar · Rating 3 out of 5]

AMP

Lots of action and different alien species but mostly a good old boys club going to war with minimal Intel.

[K O · Rating 5 out of 5]

A huge improvement on the Star Wars type Space opera! The characters are ones you deeply care about, can envision in your imagination, and the Books has you turning every page in anticipation of what is coming next. You feel yourself sitting in the cockpit with them as they fight their battles, struggle for survival, and get into and out of one jam after another. If this is what the future will be like, which knowing humans wouldn’t surprise me, sign me up. I turned the last page and actually felt saddened that my journey was over until I learned there were sequels already written and waiting for me to read and discover! Thank you Mr Arseneault !

[Vic Falconer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Impressive start!

This is well written with good characterizations of the main protagonists, messengers who become the covert leaders of a group ready to fight the Milgari, a race bent on the conquest of all races. Humans have not been on earth for a long time, escaping the Milgari in four colossal moon-sized space ships called Grids. There is only one Grid left and Don and Frig and their small fleet are determined to defend it to the end.

[Dennis Zimmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've come to enjoy sci-fi that goes beyond Star Trek and Star Wars. AMP Messenger made me laugh a lot and I found myself cheering on the main character and his partner. AMP doesn't drag you along chapter by chapter. It makes you want to see what is going to happen next. The cliffhanger doesn't come until the end of the book and then you find yourself wondering why it ended. Now I have to go find the next book just so I don't loose pace.

[Newell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding writing style by Stephen Arseneault. This SciFi book was very well written with a style reminiscent of Heinlein in his early years. This is hard/traditional Science Fiction with a great plot and just the right amount of detail. The only drawback is the somewhat weakending, setting up the next book in the series. Recommended

[Jon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got a third of the way through, but I simply cannot go any further with this. The universe that was initially described seemed to be quite interesting, and stories within it would have been interesting, but this is just a dead story to me. Inconsistencies, flatness, and predictable characters have killed it for me.

[Helen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would like to give it 2.5 stars, but went with 2.
This could have been a much better book if there's was a bit more exploration of the other species living together. It was much too easy in the second half of the book when everything went their way - there should have been more conflict among the team.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fast moving action

Readers will enjoy continuous challenges main character must overcome with luck and ingenuity. Author use of cat/mouse situations adds to readers suspense to see how characters will survive. Good page turner and strong lead in to next book in series. Looking forward to reading it.