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Legacy War #1
Gnosis
A Surprise attack. Technology has allowed humanity to take to the stars. Earth’s first step toward exploring the unknown universe begins with a surge of hope followed by the sting of a surprise attack. Just as their most advanced ship embarks on its maiden voyage, aliens assault the unprepared fleet, making a play for an ancient technology the human race has relied upon for all major advances. This sudden meeting proves humans are not the only sentient beings in the vastness of space and it quickly becomes clear they will need to thwart the plans of their new enemies. If they do not, our first foray into the unknown could well be our last.
190 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 14, 2018
586 people are currently reading
172 people want to read
About the author
John Walker
1,017 books164 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
April 25, 2018
Right off the bat, I’m going to tell you why I gave this book a 3-star rating. It’s has nothing to do with the story, but this book was released in electronic/digital format with atrocious typography! Kindle version was very hard to read due to extra spaces around commas and smashed together words that happened way too often. The author should direct that a reprint be done and send it out to all that had to deal with this lousy publishing work.
Now, back to the story. It’s the first book of what reads like a pretty good new series. Once again, Earth has just now started to reach the stars. While we don’t appear to have settled on the Moon or even attempted to colonize Mars, we’ve built our first faster than light (FTL) starship named the Gnosis. The Gnosis was intended to be an exploration ship roaming the stars beyond our solar system, attempting to find just what is out there. We know that there are aliens in outer space. We’ve known that since finding the Orb, as it’s called. It is an alien device of unknown origin and, right now, of unknown abilities and uses. It seems like a data depository which has grudgingly released some of it’s knowledge for human benefit. Once such knowledge release was the reason the Gnosis now existed. Nothing on Earth was as advanced as the Gnosis. We had our own small fleet of spaceships capable of flying to the edges of our Solar System, but nothing quite as capable as the Gnosis. She wasn’t even fully tested yet so we didn’t even know her full capabilities. The first mission for the Gnosis was to go out beyond our know solar system and return, just a small test to see just how well her FTL engines would work.
Yet, once we were nearing the edge of known space, the Gnosis received an emergency message instructing her to immediately return to Earth at maximum speed. Earth was under attack and needed all the help it could get. So, Captain Desmond Bradford, turned his ship around and cranked her FTL engines to 100%. He was going to get back to defend Earth or tear his ship apart doing so. Earth had been at peace for a relatively long time now. Since the discovery of the Orb and it’s remarkable knowledge, the countries of Earth were calming down and providing for their people. So, the space fleet around Earth were very inexperienced, but still putting up a good fight so far. Earth also had some orbital defense platforms, but they were limited in capability. No one on Earth had expected this surprise attack.
So, the Gnosis quickly arrives back near Earth to find a total mess. Most of Earth’s defenses had been destroyed or were being systematically destroyed. While the attackers only had a few ships, they clearly outclassed Earth’s space fleet. It also appeared that these aliens had come for the Orb. They had already sent a ground force to attack the facility where the Orb was being securely held, but even those defenses were being defeated. But now that the Gnosis had arrived, the battle began to change.
Why were these aliens trying to steal Earth’s Orb? Where had they came from and would they be sending reinforcements. Could the Orb be defended once the Gnosis armored combat Marines landed and made their counterattack? Most of these questions will be answered very soon, but the far reaching question of why the Orb is so valuable that some other civilization would resort to stealing it, will take a long time to answer. So, we have at least three more books to go. That’s very good.
Just to let you know, book two is out, “Lost Systems”, and it’s not plagued with the terrible typography of this first book.
Now, back to the story. It’s the first book of what reads like a pretty good new series. Once again, Earth has just now started to reach the stars. While we don’t appear to have settled on the Moon or even attempted to colonize Mars, we’ve built our first faster than light (FTL) starship named the Gnosis. The Gnosis was intended to be an exploration ship roaming the stars beyond our solar system, attempting to find just what is out there. We know that there are aliens in outer space. We’ve known that since finding the Orb, as it’s called. It is an alien device of unknown origin and, right now, of unknown abilities and uses. It seems like a data depository which has grudgingly released some of it’s knowledge for human benefit. Once such knowledge release was the reason the Gnosis now existed. Nothing on Earth was as advanced as the Gnosis. We had our own small fleet of spaceships capable of flying to the edges of our Solar System, but nothing quite as capable as the Gnosis. She wasn’t even fully tested yet so we didn’t even know her full capabilities. The first mission for the Gnosis was to go out beyond our know solar system and return, just a small test to see just how well her FTL engines would work.
Yet, once we were nearing the edge of known space, the Gnosis received an emergency message instructing her to immediately return to Earth at maximum speed. Earth was under attack and needed all the help it could get. So, Captain Desmond Bradford, turned his ship around and cranked her FTL engines to 100%. He was going to get back to defend Earth or tear his ship apart doing so. Earth had been at peace for a relatively long time now. Since the discovery of the Orb and it’s remarkable knowledge, the countries of Earth were calming down and providing for their people. So, the space fleet around Earth were very inexperienced, but still putting up a good fight so far. Earth also had some orbital defense platforms, but they were limited in capability. No one on Earth had expected this surprise attack.
So, the Gnosis quickly arrives back near Earth to find a total mess. Most of Earth’s defenses had been destroyed or were being systematically destroyed. While the attackers only had a few ships, they clearly outclassed Earth’s space fleet. It also appeared that these aliens had come for the Orb. They had already sent a ground force to attack the facility where the Orb was being securely held, but even those defenses were being defeated. But now that the Gnosis had arrived, the battle began to change.
Why were these aliens trying to steal Earth’s Orb? Where had they came from and would they be sending reinforcements. Could the Orb be defended once the Gnosis armored combat Marines landed and made their counterattack? Most of these questions will be answered very soon, but the far reaching question of why the Orb is so valuable that some other civilization would resort to stealing it, will take a long time to answer. So, we have at least three more books to go. That’s very good.
Just to let you know, book two is out, “Lost Systems”, and it’s not plagued with the terrible typography of this first book.
May 26, 2018
Very poor opening
This was badly written and poorly edited. I bailed after about 6% in. The characters and dialogue are as flat as paint.
The premise is that the Unification Wars ends with a United Earth fleet led by, fully staffed by and apparently produced solely by the U.S. It sounded very close to a planetary conquest by the U.S. Then aliens attack.
Then there's the jump through space, shoot missiles, launch fighters. Enemy ships go boom. Fortresses have no ground troops? There's not much sense of realism to the battle. The U.S. or United Earth fleet whichever, consists of a representative sample of not just the U.S. population but that of the entire planet. There's a female bridge officer and the character with the exotic name of Goring. Wow!
No worse than a lot of these writers. Poor writing, absence of style, no characters worth developing and a murky background. Not my cup of tea.
This was badly written and poorly edited. I bailed after about 6% in. The characters and dialogue are as flat as paint.
The premise is that the Unification Wars ends with a United Earth fleet led by, fully staffed by and apparently produced solely by the U.S. It sounded very close to a planetary conquest by the U.S. Then aliens attack.
Then there's the jump through space, shoot missiles, launch fighters. Enemy ships go boom. Fortresses have no ground troops? There's not much sense of realism to the battle. The U.S. or United Earth fleet whichever, consists of a representative sample of not just the U.S. population but that of the entire planet. There's a female bridge officer and the character with the exotic name of Goring. Wow!
No worse than a lot of these writers. Poor writing, absence of style, no characters worth developing and a murky background. Not my cup of tea.
June 13, 2018
I don’t like to write reviews of books I don’t like. Especially Indy authors as I admire them as a group and want to support them. That being said this was awful. The writing was juvenile. The character motivations were puerile. The dialogue was drab. The timeline was incredibly unrealistic. And the story itself was incredibly unengaging. I will not read the rest of the series. Hopefully this author works with an editor next time and gets some advise.
May 28, 2018
Poor writing
Admittedly, I didn’t make it far so I can’t speak to the story. The writing needs a lot of work.
Admittedly, I didn’t make it far so I can’t speak to the story. The writing needs a lot of work.
May 6, 2018
I received an Advanced Reader Copy from John, and very much enjoyed it. Yes there is some themes that are similar to other books out there, but don’t let that stop you from picking up this book. I will be looking forward to the next book coming out.
February 8, 2021
The author wrote nine books in the series, so you can't fault him for lack of enterprise, and hopefully his writing skill improved as he went. Unfortunately, as other reviewers have mentioned, the writing in this book reads like it came from a teenager who hopes to copy an episode from a Star Trek series. There are punctuation errors and awkward sentences in virtually every paragraph. Combine that with a trite story, and there just isn't anything I'm motivated to continue reading. If Walker works hard to improve his writing standards, he might eventually make a worthwhile author. As of this book, though, he still needs a lot of study and practice.
ETA: I sampled the start of Book 9, and I found some improvement, but not much. Sadly, the same problems were evident. This is a man badly in need of an editor and some basic grammar classes.
ETA: I sampled the start of Book 9, and I found some improvement, but not much. Sadly, the same problems were evident. This is a man badly in need of an editor and some basic grammar classes.
March 20, 2018
I have read the Rise of Mankind series and was looking forward to reading the new series by John Walker. After reading the book I felt a bit disappointed as the book lack the punch and drive of previous series hence the rating. Do not get me wrong the book is a good read on its own and hopefully the second book will drive the series forward. To me John Walker you are suffering in this book from your previous success and high standards.
April 1, 2018
Powerful opportunity after a deadly enemy
Earth and humans are on the rise but behind the curve. A great resource is found and a friend to teach. But is there time? And what about all the other stuff? This has a good strong plot and characters. The action is well put together. It is a good read and I shall be buying it now and not borrowing. I've already purchased the next volume it is that good.
Earth and humans are on the rise but behind the curve. A great resource is found and a friend to teach. But is there time? And what about all the other stuff? This has a good strong plot and characters. The action is well put together. It is a good read and I shall be buying it now and not borrowing. I've already purchased the next volume it is that good.
May 17, 2018
Pretty much what you expect for a space opera. The characters are fairly well defined, and the plot follows an almost standard story line--bad guys are after an ancient artifact of tremendous power, and the good guys are trying to get there first. One problem with GNOSIS: LEGACY WAR BOOK 1, it does not end, it stops--in the middle of efforts to repair battle damage, secure landing parties (yes, their Marines do have boots on the ground, even in deep space) and prepare for a hyperspace link.
March 31, 2018
Good not great
Big fan of the Pike series and this one is similar. I did struggle with it, as the sentence structure seemed off. Didn't like the captain 's name of Desmond. Weak name and there are no TV's in space! Seems like he rushed this story out. I do like the author and will probably read the next one in this new series.
Big fan of the Pike series and this one is similar. I did struggle with it, as the sentence structure seemed off. Didn't like the captain 's name of Desmond. Weak name and there are no TV's in space! Seems like he rushed this story out. I do like the author and will probably read the next one in this new series.
February 13, 2021
A Decent Beginning
Good writing, minus a few missing words, and a plot with direction and a few surprises. Good character development and supporting technology, with a few bits of magic alien intervention. This book ends with a positive slant, and a hopeful advance to the next book in the series.
Good writing, minus a few missing words, and a plot with direction and a few surprises. Good character development and supporting technology, with a few bits of magic alien intervention. This book ends with a positive slant, and a hopeful advance to the next book in the series.
August 25, 2018
Reasonably good read
Not sure what is missing but something. Good action easy read. Maybe a little short on tech information. Like at first earth sounds woefully inadequate next there winning.
Not sure what is missing but something. Good action easy read. Maybe a little short on tech information. Like at first earth sounds woefully inadequate next there winning.
September 13, 2018
Sort of meh
It’s not that I didn’t like the book, but there was no science behind any of the book and the author fell into the trap of creating a love interest between two of the main characters. Maybe the story gets better, but I don’t see myself continuing the series.
It’s not that I didn’t like the book, but there was no science behind any of the book and the author fell into the trap of creating a love interest between two of the main characters. Maybe the story gets better, but I don’t see myself continuing the series.
October 13, 2018
Robert's Review
Good lead into this series. If the tempo and action increase as the characters mature, this could be a solid series. I look forward to the next book and see how the story unfolds.
Good lead into this series. If the tempo and action increase as the characters mature, this could be a solid series. I look forward to the next book and see how the story unfolds.
December 9, 2020
I guess it was a good introduction to the series. My main disappointment was that, although there were several characters introduced. very little background was provided on them. I felt no connection to the characters because the this absence of background. The writing was also quite juvenile.
May 1, 2018
Hypnosis Read
I like this story. The action and the subject matter flow together. Your time is well recompense and enjoyable. I want to follow the series.
I like this story. The action and the subject matter flow together. Your time is well recompense and enjoyable. I want to follow the series.
June 19, 2018
Mediocre at best.
Low effort SF without soul or interesting characters. Nothing to see here move along to better books. Extra words required
Low effort SF without soul or interesting characters. Nothing to see here move along to better books. Extra words required
June 26, 2018
Okay Read
Good escapism military science fiction...this is an okay read character development needs a little work. However, I would recommend it as a good read.
Good escapism military science fiction...this is an okay read character development needs a little work. However, I would recommend it as a good read.
July 4, 2018
This book has the Orb, a supplier of technology, and everyone wants one.
July 5, 2018
Reasonable
O wish authors would use dictionaries, Americanism are bad enough,but murder of the English language is deplorable.Otherwise a passable reaf
O wish authors would use dictionaries, Americanism are bad enough,but murder of the English language is deplorable.Otherwise a passable reaf
November 28, 2018
Advanced Computer from Ancients
Lots of action with an earth that found an ancient data device, the orb, that advances tech tremendously. Unfortunately some aliens want to take it.
Lots of action with an earth that found an ancient data device, the orb, that advances tech tremendously. Unfortunately some aliens want to take it.
January 29, 2019
Very slow
Lots of fighting. No movement of the plot. This should have been a three or four chapter enterprise. Scanning helped.
Lots of fighting. No movement of the plot. This should have been a three or four chapter enterprise. Scanning helped.
February 9, 2019
A whole brand new universe to explore
A great military sci-fi action series in the making.
Thrilling action scenes with great characters.
I look forward to more from this series.
A great military sci-fi action series in the making.
Thrilling action scenes with great characters.
I look forward to more from this series.
March 9, 2019
One punch, two punch now...the game is a foot!
Attempted robbery of Earths most valuable resource, only find out that there are other species out for the same resource!!
Attempted robbery of Earths most valuable resource, only find out that there are other species out for the same resource!!
April 21, 2021
Fun Romp
Good character development with plenty of action. The described technology, while not yet achievable, is believable. I’m looking forward to reading the next book.
Good character development with plenty of action. The described technology, while not yet achievable, is believable. I’m looking forward to reading the next book.
June 24, 2018
if you like battles in space, this is for you. Beyond that, there is an interesting plot, strong and intriguing ideas and a range of worthwhile characters. i would have preferred more exposition and plot development, but this is still an enjoyable introduction to a new series.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews