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Lucky's Marines #1
Lucky Universe
In a desperate fight against insurmountable odds, mankind’s only hope is a lifer Marine with a violent past he can barely remember and a penchant for picking fights he shouldn’t win.
Ambushed behind enemy lines and left for dead along with a handful of privates so green they actually respect his authority, Lance Cpl. Lucky Lee Savage has to master his inner demons, manage the ambitions of his foul-mouthed AI, and figure out what is tearing a hole in the fabric of space-time before everything goes tits up.
Lucky wouldn’t bet on the universe. One thing he will bet on: Somewhere, somehow, somebody is going to pay for all this. And he is going to be right there to pull the trigger.
Ambushed behind enemy lines and left for dead along with a handful of privates so green they actually respect his authority, Lance Cpl. Lucky Lee Savage has to master his inner demons, manage the ambitions of his foul-mouthed AI, and figure out what is tearing a hole in the fabric of space-time before everything goes tits up.
Lucky wouldn’t bet on the universe. One thing he will bet on: Somewhere, somehow, somebody is going to pay for all this. And he is going to be right there to pull the trigger.
336 pages, Paperback
Published December 27, 2017
1909 people are currently reading
688 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews
August 4, 2024
"“Tango up!” Lucky yelled over all-comm. A moment later he heard the raucous exchange of energy beams and pulse fire. “Covering!” Jiang said. “I’m in!” Dawson replied a second later. “Two at your nine o’clock,” Jiang said. “Covering fire!” yelled Lucky as he rolled out from behind the ore rock he was hiding against. A blast of heat washed over the top of his head, and for the third time in as many minutes he sensed an energy beam slice over his head."
If this is the way you like your space operas, then you have come to the right place.
"It didn’t help he was on the wrong side of the galaxy, jumping with a legion he didn’t know. “Go!” he screamed and pushed clear of the side of the transport, tumbling off in the direction of the yellow-brown Class-D planetoid they had come all this way to dance with. “Not exactly the way they draw up jumps in combat school,” observed Rocky, helpful as always."
We are in the shoes of “Lucky” Savage a future combat marine. Rocky is his A.I. fully meshed and often in conversation with Lucky….not always when he wants conversation.
"“Lucky Savage? No shit?” said Malby. Lucky felt eyes move his way. Murmurs followed. Malby strutted over like a peacock with his ass in the air. “My buddy jumped with you,” he said, looking around to see who else was watching. Lucky changed his opinion instantly. “So you’re the Marine the brass can’t kill,” Malby said with mock admiration, sliding the towel back and forth around his neck."
For those with long memories this is sort of what a combination of what Lara Croft and Sgt. Fury (and his Howling Commandoes) would be like in a future time. Apparently, I can expect a cliffhanger in every episode.
Lucky got his nickname from his amazing survival rate. In his world, when marines are finished, or the mission is completed, they are put in some kind of stasis and kept there until the next mission which may be in another part of the galaxy.
There are a lot of regional powers in Lucky’s universe. "the Empire; the Alliance; the Asiatic Rings: the Cardinal Order, and the Union (where these marines find themselves soon after this tale begins).
Lucky see himself as just a grunt, but he comes with a lot of baggage:
"“They can tune up the tech, but they can’t do much with the meat,” Lucky said, smacking himself on the head. “Ain’t that the truth,” Jiang mumbled. But it wasn’t the truth. The truth was that he remembered more and more every day. He was the opposite of an old man and his fading memories. His grew more vivid with time. The short-term burn of each cycle gave way to the long-term memories he couldn’t forget. When he was younger, he’d wanted the memories. He’d craved them. He’d bragged and boasted. He didn’t get his reputation by accident. He’d list the actions he’d been in. The enemies he’d killed. But somewhere along the way, the wars grew meaningless. The victories hollow. The ground bloodier. Now he wanted to forget. He wanted to forget the wars he’d fought in the blackness of space, in the bowels of space stations, on the ashes of dying planets. Lucky had fought all his life. He’d seen men killed for nothing more than a look. Killed men himself for the same. He’d killed men, women, and children. Burned them alive, drowned them, torn them limb from limb and laughed over their carcasses. He’d been a coward, a liar, a thief, a cheat. He’d cried and begged for mercy. He’d cursed those who asked for it in return. He’d killed enemies in their sleep, as they ran away, as they took a piss. He’d killed friends who got in his way. The universe would be better if he wasn’t in it. But he was."
And these Marines are valuable enough that they are put in stasis and moved to the next mission. Injured or wounded, technology can regenerate parts (as long as the head is intact). A.I and nanobots make the marine a formidable weapon:
"Lucky felt the familiar sensation as his internal nanobots went to work. His skin shimmered and shifted and slid aside as two dozen power-alloy plugs appeared on his arms, legs, and chest. He snapped his combat gear into the exposed plugs with practiced ease, and felt the skin flow back around the bases of the connections as millions of tiny electrical shocks leapt from his skeleton across the armor and back again. The bots felt happy."
There is continual action, with a plot that ranges from authoritarian governments to alien artifacts to neural implants.
"Lucky glanced out of the front cab and realized it was worse. Much worse. An eyeless was right next to the cab’s window. Two more lay only a dozen steps away. He looked down at the destroyed eyeless man on the floorboard, then up at the display column. Aw, hell. He grabbed the man’s bloody head and slammed it up next to the AI sensor, hoping there was enough brain activity still going on in there for the rover to recognize the link with its owner and— The rover’s engine roared to life. He slammed the power column forward, and it lurched ahead."
This episode has a large component of alien artifacts and culture: "He had seen pictures of alien artifacts before, but he’d never imagined he’d actually get to see one with his own eyes. Sure, maybe if you were born in the Empire or the Alliance or the Cardinal Order, this wouldn’t be such a big deal. They dug them up all the time. Even the Asiatic Rings had found them. But out here in the Union? On the edge of the void? Never."
But all the things Lucky has to contend with are not outside of him:
"Lucky glanced back to the kid, who was struggling with his gear. Couldn’t be more than sixteen. “Jiang’s right. Your AI will handle everything for you.” Jiang arched an eyebrow. “I was talking about the dive. It takes decades to fully mesh with your AI.” Lucky paused at that. His AI had been a mess when he’d first gotten it. But by the time he was revived from his deep freeze, it had meshed perfectly. It had saved his life over and over again. His AI was what made him Lucky."
I feel like this book has me falling down a deep hole where I can’t see anything around me and I don’t have any idea how it will end. James is building a very complex universe:
- Complex politics
- Complex alien species
- Complex artifacts
- Complex I.A.
- Complex relationships
- Complex storytelling [with flashbacks, flash forwards(?), dreams, and timeouts] where you aren’t told which Lucky is experiencing and when it took place.
I wish him (and me) luck!
If this is the way you like your space operas, then you have come to the right place.
"It didn’t help he was on the wrong side of the galaxy, jumping with a legion he didn’t know. “Go!” he screamed and pushed clear of the side of the transport, tumbling off in the direction of the yellow-brown Class-D planetoid they had come all this way to dance with. “Not exactly the way they draw up jumps in combat school,” observed Rocky, helpful as always."
We are in the shoes of “Lucky” Savage a future combat marine. Rocky is his A.I. fully meshed and often in conversation with Lucky….not always when he wants conversation.
"“Lucky Savage? No shit?” said Malby. Lucky felt eyes move his way. Murmurs followed. Malby strutted over like a peacock with his ass in the air. “My buddy jumped with you,” he said, looking around to see who else was watching. Lucky changed his opinion instantly. “So you’re the Marine the brass can’t kill,” Malby said with mock admiration, sliding the towel back and forth around his neck."
For those with long memories this is sort of what a combination of what Lara Croft and Sgt. Fury (and his Howling Commandoes) would be like in a future time. Apparently, I can expect a cliffhanger in every episode.
Lucky got his nickname from his amazing survival rate. In his world, when marines are finished, or the mission is completed, they are put in some kind of stasis and kept there until the next mission which may be in another part of the galaxy.
There are a lot of regional powers in Lucky’s universe. "the Empire; the Alliance; the Asiatic Rings: the Cardinal Order, and the Union (where these marines find themselves soon after this tale begins).
Lucky see himself as just a grunt, but he comes with a lot of baggage:
"“They can tune up the tech, but they can’t do much with the meat,” Lucky said, smacking himself on the head. “Ain’t that the truth,” Jiang mumbled. But it wasn’t the truth. The truth was that he remembered more and more every day. He was the opposite of an old man and his fading memories. His grew more vivid with time. The short-term burn of each cycle gave way to the long-term memories he couldn’t forget. When he was younger, he’d wanted the memories. He’d craved them. He’d bragged and boasted. He didn’t get his reputation by accident. He’d list the actions he’d been in. The enemies he’d killed. But somewhere along the way, the wars grew meaningless. The victories hollow. The ground bloodier. Now he wanted to forget. He wanted to forget the wars he’d fought in the blackness of space, in the bowels of space stations, on the ashes of dying planets. Lucky had fought all his life. He’d seen men killed for nothing more than a look. Killed men himself for the same. He’d killed men, women, and children. Burned them alive, drowned them, torn them limb from limb and laughed over their carcasses. He’d been a coward, a liar, a thief, a cheat. He’d cried and begged for mercy. He’d cursed those who asked for it in return. He’d killed enemies in their sleep, as they ran away, as they took a piss. He’d killed friends who got in his way. The universe would be better if he wasn’t in it. But he was."
And these Marines are valuable enough that they are put in stasis and moved to the next mission. Injured or wounded, technology can regenerate parts (as long as the head is intact). A.I and nanobots make the marine a formidable weapon:
"Lucky felt the familiar sensation as his internal nanobots went to work. His skin shimmered and shifted and slid aside as two dozen power-alloy plugs appeared on his arms, legs, and chest. He snapped his combat gear into the exposed plugs with practiced ease, and felt the skin flow back around the bases of the connections as millions of tiny electrical shocks leapt from his skeleton across the armor and back again. The bots felt happy."
There is continual action, with a plot that ranges from authoritarian governments to alien artifacts to neural implants.
"Lucky glanced out of the front cab and realized it was worse. Much worse. An eyeless was right next to the cab’s window. Two more lay only a dozen steps away. He looked down at the destroyed eyeless man on the floorboard, then up at the display column. Aw, hell. He grabbed the man’s bloody head and slammed it up next to the AI sensor, hoping there was enough brain activity still going on in there for the rover to recognize the link with its owner and— The rover’s engine roared to life. He slammed the power column forward, and it lurched ahead."
This episode has a large component of alien artifacts and culture: "He had seen pictures of alien artifacts before, but he’d never imagined he’d actually get to see one with his own eyes. Sure, maybe if you were born in the Empire or the Alliance or the Cardinal Order, this wouldn’t be such a big deal. They dug them up all the time. Even the Asiatic Rings had found them. But out here in the Union? On the edge of the void? Never."
But all the things Lucky has to contend with are not outside of him:
"Lucky glanced back to the kid, who was struggling with his gear. Couldn’t be more than sixteen. “Jiang’s right. Your AI will handle everything for you.” Jiang arched an eyebrow. “I was talking about the dive. It takes decades to fully mesh with your AI.” Lucky paused at that. His AI had been a mess when he’d first gotten it. But by the time he was revived from his deep freeze, it had meshed perfectly. It had saved his life over and over again. His AI was what made him Lucky."
I feel like this book has me falling down a deep hole where I can’t see anything around me and I don’t have any idea how it will end. James is building a very complex universe:
- Complex politics
- Complex alien species
- Complex artifacts
- Complex I.A.
- Complex relationships
- Complex storytelling [with flashbacks, flash forwards(?), dreams, and timeouts] where you aren’t told which Lucky is experiencing and when it took place.
I wish him (and me) luck!
November 19, 2018
Lucky Universe is a fun read if you like military science fiction.
Think of the scenes in Aliens with the Marines. This whole book is like that. The action never lets up and it delivers 10/10. There were a few rough spots in the book but those are forgivable.
Think of the scenes in Aliens with the Marines. This whole book is like that. The action never lets up and it delivers 10/10. There were a few rough spots in the book but those are forgivable.
August 27, 2018
I’ve purchased and read all three of Lucky’s stories and also the prequel “Lucky’s Shot” and even started reading the “classified subject Lee Savage” redacted copy, for government eyes 👀 only.
I’m not even sure how I got it and I look forward to reading through it, even with all the government’s blacked out sentences.
Back to the point.
Lucky’s Universe, as well as the rest of this series, is just what military science fiction is supposed to be. Hard core brutality towards any and all evil alien 👽 entities.
This series can be wrapped up with one word, a word that all sci-fi lovers and nerds will recognize as the single most important word when it comes to action sci-fi. The word that describes Lucky’s universe is “FUN”!
This entire series is just plain fun to read.
Yes it’s bloody, brutal and definitely a hard “R” rating, but even so it was a blast to read. Just plain FUN!
Do yourself a favor if you love sci-fi with nonstop action, great character depth and environments that are off the charts, read this series!
They’re also extremely inexpensive thanks to the author, who obviously cares more about the fans and readers then himself.
Thank you Joshua!
June 10, 2018
Did not finish; totally something that was not my cup of tea
I read 60 per cent of this book and that was enough. For the first thing, I did not like Lucky at all; he was just a smart-assed jerk. But maybe he was supposed to be that way. Anyway, how many times did the Marines get various body parts blown off and had them regenerated? And lastly I just could not follow the whole idea of Union vs Empire, matter vs anti-matter; it was kind of like watching a "Transformer" movie. For the record, I am 70 years old and have read a lot of science fiction in my time, but sorry, this series is not something I will continue reading.
I read 60 per cent of this book and that was enough. For the first thing, I did not like Lucky at all; he was just a smart-assed jerk. But maybe he was supposed to be that way. Anyway, how many times did the Marines get various body parts blown off and had them regenerated? And lastly I just could not follow the whole idea of Union vs Empire, matter vs anti-matter; it was kind of like watching a "Transformer" movie. For the record, I am 70 years old and have read a lot of science fiction in my time, but sorry, this series is not something I will continue reading.
August 12, 2024
Enjoyed the book and it was good enough to buy the second. I found the last third a little confusing to follow however. Looking forward to the next in the series.
June 14, 2018
This is a fun novel about a marine with some serious memory issues—and that’s just the beginning of his problems. Lucky got his nickname because he keeps surviving battle after battle, and campaign after campaign. Some people think he’s charmed, but he doesn’t agree. He just thinks he’s experienced—so experienced in fact that he has developed a better working with the AI in his head than that of any of his fellow marines. The banter between Rocky the AI and Lucky is the best part of the novel. She’s a fun personality and the friction between the two really works. Something else that really works is the high-tech sf infantry tactics. I don’t know how “realistic” they are, but within the confines of the story setting they kept me entertained and easily suspending my disbelief. The support cast also grew on me and I look forward to seeing them again in the sequel. If you’re looking for nonstop action with tons of twists and turns, you could do a heck of a lot worse than Lucky Universe. I will definitely read the sequel.
June 12, 2018
There was plenty of action, which I liked, and the main character, Lucky Savage, was interesting, to say the least. But…I found the story to be confusing and disjointed, it was a bit hard to follow, and I really struggled to finish it. I pretty much figured out what the heck was going on by the ending, at least enough to feel the story was complete. I had high hopes for this series, but at this point, I don’t think I’ll be continuing on. Some readers may love it, but it just didn’t do it for me, even though I generally love military science fiction stories.
March 21, 2018
If this is a space opera , gag the fat lady!
This sucker is a grab your ass and hang on ride! Full throttle action from page one through the epilogue. A Battle hardened group of space marines resist becoming cannon fodder and fight an enemy that is in possession of superior weaponry and alien technology. Not recommended for minions of evangelical flagellation with thin skins.
This sucker is a grab your ass and hang on ride! Full throttle action from page one through the epilogue. A Battle hardened group of space marines resist becoming cannon fodder and fight an enemy that is in possession of superior weaponry and alien technology. Not recommended for minions of evangelical flagellation with thin skins.
April 24, 2018
I Hate/Love This
Another series I received via gift of the author that has dragged me in and made me apart of it. Lucky is truly fracking dangerous and yet I love the guy. This is hearing to front of my must get ASAP list. Thanks again to the author for a truly glorious ride through his imagination.
Another series I received via gift of the author that has dragged me in and made me apart of it. Lucky is truly fracking dangerous and yet I love the guy. This is hearing to front of my must get ASAP list. Thanks again to the author for a truly glorious ride through his imagination.
November 16, 2018
Science Fiction. The fiction was good and even entertaining. The science was a bit sketchy. But, I'm going to read the next book, Lucky Legacy, mostly because I want to pick up on the story line. First, I'm taking a detour back to Richard Parry. Upgrade is out. I'll drop a review of Chromed Upgrade too, but if it is anything like the Tyche series, I'm going to love it!
December 20, 2022
in a blurb it says that is a combination of Starship Troopers and Jason Bourne. I would place it between Halo, Doom and Duke Nukem
February 1, 2022
Back to My favorite genre,
It took me hours getting used to this series,
Everything moves so fast that there is no point getting to know anyone because they all die and get replaced beside Lucky.
Maybe I finally found a book which is better to read then listen to, this way you can maybe change the speed of it all but I’ve been given the whole series which is about 10 books in audio so I’ll run with it hopefully will get used to the author fast action writing style.
Oded Ostfeld.
It took me hours getting used to this series,
Everything moves so fast that there is no point getting to know anyone because they all die and get replaced beside Lucky.
Maybe I finally found a book which is better to read then listen to, this way you can maybe change the speed of it all but I’ve been given the whole series which is about 10 books in audio so I’ll run with it hopefully will get used to the author fast action writing style.
Oded Ostfeld.
April 30, 2020
2 stars is a little harsh, maybe, it likely deserves 2.5. However, I couldn't justify 3.
This is a fast paced action book that answers none of the questions I had while reading it. The characters are flat and 1 dimensional. The environments are bland and not well defined. The tech is illuded to but not explained. The emphasis is on what is happening at the time and not how it came to be or where it's going.
The main character is undeveloped. He has little to no memory and his past is referred to, by others, in vague and cliche terms. "is it true what they say about you?" and the like. Of course, the book never elaborates on what people say and never really answers if it's true. At one point, as a result of some action someone does remake that it is true, or something similar, but this is at the other end of the book and of course it doesn't reference if it is the only thing people say.
The problem is, the main character isn't charismatic, doesn't have a relatable story, isn't "fighting the good fight", or really have any reason for us to want them to win. This is kind of important. The characters doesn't care about his fight, anymore than surviving, until the end of the book where the fight changes. So with no history, no emotional connection, no investment in the main character or his struggle to live, why should I care? The answer is I don't. And for a fast paced book, that is a major problem. If the only thing in the book is the struggle of the main character, and I don't care about the main character, then I don't care about the struggle or the book.
The secondary characters are there in name only. They really didn't need names as they have little characteristics of their own. It was basically "woman", "new guy", and "ass hole".
A few twists and turns are thrown in to make the story a little less than linear, but it's more of a gentle bend in the road, rather than a rollercoaster. You can see them a mile away and produce no excitement.
The narrator, Jeffrey Kafer, was fine. His voice was very matter of fact, but given the material this is kind of all he had to work with.
I don't know if I will continue with this series. I got book 1-3 as a package and I don't like unfinished books, so I may. If so I hope the next book is more developed.
This is a fast paced action book that answers none of the questions I had while reading it. The characters are flat and 1 dimensional. The environments are bland and not well defined. The tech is illuded to but not explained. The emphasis is on what is happening at the time and not how it came to be or where it's going.
The main character is undeveloped. He has little to no memory and his past is referred to, by others, in vague and cliche terms. "is it true what they say about you?" and the like. Of course, the book never elaborates on what people say and never really answers if it's true. At one point, as a result of some action someone does remake that it is true, or something similar, but this is at the other end of the book and of course it doesn't reference if it is the only thing people say.
The problem is, the main character isn't charismatic, doesn't have a relatable story, isn't "fighting the good fight", or really have any reason for us to want them to win. This is kind of important. The characters doesn't care about his fight, anymore than surviving, until the end of the book where the fight changes. So with no history, no emotional connection, no investment in the main character or his struggle to live, why should I care? The answer is I don't. And for a fast paced book, that is a major problem. If the only thing in the book is the struggle of the main character, and I don't care about the main character, then I don't care about the struggle or the book.
The secondary characters are there in name only. They really didn't need names as they have little characteristics of their own. It was basically "woman", "new guy", and "ass hole".
A few twists and turns are thrown in to make the story a little less than linear, but it's more of a gentle bend in the road, rather than a rollercoaster. You can see them a mile away and produce no excitement.
The narrator, Jeffrey Kafer, was fine. His voice was very matter of fact, but given the material this is kind of all he had to work with.
I don't know if I will continue with this series. I got book 1-3 as a package and I don't like unfinished books, so I may. If so I hope the next book is more developed.
August 23, 2018
I didn’t get pulled in by the opening, which introduces us to the alien tech and its effects on Union personnel. The scenes are chaotic and the characters seem over-the-top. However, once the story focused on Lucky it hit its stride. There’s constant combat and excitement and it gets pretty intense. We do see good plot progress on the nature of Lucky’s differences from his compatriots and on the alien technology that’s affecting the Union personnel. However, there isn’t enough context to make the Union entirely make sense. I couldn’t understand why some Union people were mindless puppets of the alien technology (even having gouged out their own eyes), while other personnel seemed normal. I also couldn’t understand how the aliens accomplished certain things (sorry; I’m deliberately being vague to avoid spoilers). It feels as though the author’s choice to focus on Lucky left some of the surrounds unexplained. The relationship between the Union and the aliens confused me.
That said, there’s enough good military sci-fi material in here that I plan to continue reading the series! I particularly enjoyed finding out more about Lucky, his AI, and the Hate. The universe James has created is interesting and his ability to sketch out action and combat is impressive. The fight scenes are fast-paced and intense. I also liked the main characters and look forward to seeing more of them.
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2018/08/r...
That said, there’s enough good military sci-fi material in here that I plan to continue reading the series! I particularly enjoyed finding out more about Lucky, his AI, and the Hate. The universe James has created is interesting and his ability to sketch out action and combat is impressive. The fight scenes are fast-paced and intense. I also liked the main characters and look forward to seeing more of them.
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2018/08/r...
December 11, 2018
Frontier Marines, Nanotechnology, and an IA with a raunchy sense of humour, Oh my!
I am not going to get a Verified Purchase credit for my Amazon.ca review, because I am working from the box set of the first three novels in the “Lucky” series. Still I will be posting reviews separately for Lucky Universe, Lucky Legacy, and Lucky’s Marines
Johsua James’ “Lucky” stories showed up as promotions/advertisements in several emails I received within a short period of time. A prequel to the series was offered for free on the Joshua James web page. A box set containing the first three novels was also mentioned. And somewhere along the line, there was a recommendation by William Keith Jr. So, I actually purchased the box set first, and then downloaded the prequel.
The action was intense as of the first page of Lucky Shot, and also Lucky Universe. Marines equipped with nano machines that could rebuild a broken back or a shot-off leg within minutes, was a bit over the top. Not a deal-breaker, though.
Reviews made comparisons to Starship Troopers and Jason Bourne. To me it felt like The Forever War and Bill the Galactic Hero.
If you want plot summaries, there are lots of them to check out. But the bottom line is, this is a very good series with enough imagination and action that once started, creates an appetite for more.
I am not going to get a Verified Purchase credit for my Amazon.ca review, because I am working from the box set of the first three novels in the “Lucky” series. Still I will be posting reviews separately for Lucky Universe, Lucky Legacy, and Lucky’s Marines
Johsua James’ “Lucky” stories showed up as promotions/advertisements in several emails I received within a short period of time. A prequel to the series was offered for free on the Joshua James web page. A box set containing the first three novels was also mentioned. And somewhere along the line, there was a recommendation by William Keith Jr. So, I actually purchased the box set first, and then downloaded the prequel.
The action was intense as of the first page of Lucky Shot, and also Lucky Universe. Marines equipped with nano machines that could rebuild a broken back or a shot-off leg within minutes, was a bit over the top. Not a deal-breaker, though.
Reviews made comparisons to Starship Troopers and Jason Bourne. To me it felt like The Forever War and Bill the Galactic Hero.
If you want plot summaries, there are lots of them to check out. But the bottom line is, this is a very good series with enough imagination and action that once started, creates an appetite for more.
March 7, 2018
Solid, Fast Paced and Entertaining Space Saga
“Lucky Universe: Lucky’s Marines Book One,” by first time author Mr. Joshua James, is a solid, fast paced and entertaining space saga, of a far future “Frontier Marine,” and his comrades quest to combat an alien invasion of human space, using the humans who discovered their alien tech as avatars or “meat puppets.”
The story moves briskly, with a decent narrative, and doesn’t get bogged down in the weeds of minutiae. “Lance Corporal Luck,” and the few remaining members of his squad, are the only survivors of a planetary insertion on a heretofore tech poor enemy human “Union.” The insertion by the “Empire” goes seriously sideways, as the intel and mission and are totally “FUBAR.”
There are minor blemishes in writing and certain credulity leaps within the storyline, but not glaring enough to take away from a romp of a read. The editing is above par for a new writer. The ending is somewhat muddled, not from being a cliffhanger, but in that it reads a little rushed.
“Lucky Universe,” is recommended and this reader looks forward to Book 2. The book was fully read via Kindle Unlimited.
“Lucky Universe: Lucky’s Marines Book One,” by first time author Mr. Joshua James, is a solid, fast paced and entertaining space saga, of a far future “Frontier Marine,” and his comrades quest to combat an alien invasion of human space, using the humans who discovered their alien tech as avatars or “meat puppets.”
The story moves briskly, with a decent narrative, and doesn’t get bogged down in the weeds of minutiae. “Lance Corporal Luck,” and the few remaining members of his squad, are the only survivors of a planetary insertion on a heretofore tech poor enemy human “Union.” The insertion by the “Empire” goes seriously sideways, as the intel and mission and are totally “FUBAR.”
There are minor blemishes in writing and certain credulity leaps within the storyline, but not glaring enough to take away from a romp of a read. The editing is above par for a new writer. The ending is somewhat muddled, not from being a cliffhanger, but in that it reads a little rushed.
“Lucky Universe,” is recommended and this reader looks forward to Book 2. The book was fully read via Kindle Unlimited.
July 4, 2020
This is the first of Joshua James' novels I've read. Also, I'm a fan of the Military Sci-Fi genre, but just couldn't find my feet with this novel. I've read & enjoyed:
1) The Honor Harrington Novels by David Weber -- this is a great series showing world building at it's finest.
2) The Vatta's War & Vatta's Peace novels by Elizabeth Moon- read them all in 2019.
3) 1st 4 of Starfist series by David Sherman & Dan Cragg really fun & easy reads
4) & I'm in the midst of the Kris Longknife series.
I was really confused, finding no similarities with myself, to use for grounding myself in this, the first 'Lucky's Marines' novel. Yet I preceded through the novel, hoping to find something I liked.
The book begins with a squad of space marines skydiving into a combat zone, as if to say "Hello, here I am...". From there the characters it seems are in a version of the first person shooter game, Doom. This "in your face" opening & the zombie like enemy with eyes torn out really turned me off! The marines have Artificial Intelligence computers implanted in their brains to assist with situational awareness & 'biobots,' -cell sized robots to repair most any wounds received. It seemed a marine got hurt every other page & the author decided to explain the biobots function thoroughly, throughout the first third of the novel. One character got the same foot severed twice, in this book, & with the help of technology, regrown within minutes!
After two firefights in the first part of the novel, things slowed down, & I caught my breath, but by then I was confused & turned off. I was so confused I put it down for a while & came back, but still it made very little sense to me. The Lucky's Universe train went full speed once again, & I couldn't keep up. Sorry Mr. James, I just don't enjoy the rollercoaster ride you've presented here.
1) The Honor Harrington Novels by David Weber -- this is a great series showing world building at it's finest.
2) The Vatta's War & Vatta's Peace novels by Elizabeth Moon- read them all in 2019.
3) 1st 4 of Starfist series by David Sherman & Dan Cragg really fun & easy reads
4) & I'm in the midst of the Kris Longknife series.
I was really confused, finding no similarities with myself, to use for grounding myself in this, the first 'Lucky's Marines' novel. Yet I preceded through the novel, hoping to find something I liked.
The book begins with a squad of space marines skydiving into a combat zone, as if to say "Hello, here I am...". From there the characters it seems are in a version of the first person shooter game, Doom. This "in your face" opening & the zombie like enemy with eyes torn out really turned me off! The marines have Artificial Intelligence computers implanted in their brains to assist with situational awareness & 'biobots,' -cell sized robots to repair most any wounds received. It seemed a marine got hurt every other page & the author decided to explain the biobots function thoroughly, throughout the first third of the novel. One character got the same foot severed twice, in this book, & with the help of technology, regrown within minutes!
After two firefights in the first part of the novel, things slowed down, & I caught my breath, but by then I was confused & turned off. I was so confused I put it down for a while & came back, but still it made very little sense to me. The Lucky's Universe train went full speed once again, & I couldn't keep up. Sorry Mr. James, I just don't enjoy the rollercoaster ride you've presented here.
October 4, 2020
Overview. Lucky Universe exists in a niche and lacks the story elements that I need in my novels.
A Meathead. A plague amongst the military fiction library is the meathead protagonist and Lucky Lee Savage does little to deviate from that. What infuriates me about this archetype is that most authors fumble it's execution; resulting in just another Arnie-clone whose idea of using his head consists purely of ramming it into whatever stands in his way.
Character flaws would've gone a long to remedy this but again they aren't handled well. Flaws only add depth if they make characters do things that others (without that flaw) wouldn't have. Sure Lucky has nightmares and the "hate" but it never impedes on his abilities or moulds the story in any meaningful way.
Lucky, the regular guy. What doesn't help the shallow characterisation is the fact that there is nothing special about Lucky. His two defining traits: the hate and his AI companion are external to himself. Imagine if Tony Stark was only intelligent because of Jarvis, only courageous when wearing his suit and only solved moral quandaries by asking Pepper/Rhodey.
Boring Explosions. Without compelling characters, the plot and it's events are meaningless. The painful truth is that within the medium of the written word, action set-pieces and scenes only carry tension/drama when you care about those involved. I was honestly hoping that one of the rag-tag crew would just die so I could finally feel...something. Reading this novel felt like I was living in a world of grey and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't care about anything that happened.
Misaligned. The two stars instead of my usual one for novels I don't finish is primarily because I realise that there is an respectable audience out there for this book. I'm just not part of that crew.
A Meathead. A plague amongst the military fiction library is the meathead protagonist and Lucky Lee Savage does little to deviate from that. What infuriates me about this archetype is that most authors fumble it's execution; resulting in just another Arnie-clone whose idea of using his head consists purely of ramming it into whatever stands in his way.
Character flaws would've gone a long to remedy this but again they aren't handled well. Flaws only add depth if they make characters do things that others (without that flaw) wouldn't have. Sure Lucky has nightmares and the "hate" but it never impedes on his abilities or moulds the story in any meaningful way.
Lucky, the regular guy. What doesn't help the shallow characterisation is the fact that there is nothing special about Lucky. His two defining traits: the hate and his AI companion are external to himself. Imagine if Tony Stark was only intelligent because of Jarvis, only courageous when wearing his suit and only solved moral quandaries by asking Pepper/Rhodey.
Boring Explosions. Without compelling characters, the plot and it's events are meaningless. The painful truth is that within the medium of the written word, action set-pieces and scenes only carry tension/drama when you care about those involved. I was honestly hoping that one of the rag-tag crew would just die so I could finally feel...something. Reading this novel felt like I was living in a world of grey and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't care about anything that happened.
Misaligned. The two stars instead of my usual one for novels I don't finish is primarily because I realise that there is an respectable audience out there for this book. I'm just not part of that crew.
January 4, 2021
Good but...
I wanted to like this book, I like action, I likes interesting characters, I like inventive storylines, and this book had all that. The problem was twofold. First , since the main character was unemotional so was the story. The MC was a super soldier, and all his team felt no pain, just an itch as their blown off limbs regenerated in seemingly seconds. Everyone went about their job with no fear, no pain, immediate healing, and all of it felt.., unemotional. Even the bad guys were automatons, basically zombies directed by some unknown tech. That’s all a problem. 2nd, while the book was full of action it all amounted to unexplained chaos and an MC that felt what was going to happen and flung his body around so that everything missed him. I wanted to know what was going on around them, but it was all from one mans view and amounted to chaos that somehow seemed to end with hundreds of enemies dead. Was the book good? Many would think so, but if you are reading and picturing the story as it happened, well then, it all amounted to one slaughter after another and the good guys always winning.
I wanted to like this book, I like action, I likes interesting characters, I like inventive storylines, and this book had all that. The problem was twofold. First , since the main character was unemotional so was the story. The MC was a super soldier, and all his team felt no pain, just an itch as their blown off limbs regenerated in seemingly seconds. Everyone went about their job with no fear, no pain, immediate healing, and all of it felt.., unemotional. Even the bad guys were automatons, basically zombies directed by some unknown tech. That’s all a problem. 2nd, while the book was full of action it all amounted to unexplained chaos and an MC that felt what was going to happen and flung his body around so that everything missed him. I wanted to know what was going on around them, but it was all from one mans view and amounted to chaos that somehow seemed to end with hundreds of enemies dead. Was the book good? Many would think so, but if you are reading and picturing the story as it happened, well then, it all amounted to one slaughter after another and the good guys always winning.
March 9, 2020
**** SPOILER ALERT ****
I confess that I read "Lucky At Last: ( Lucky's Marines | Book Nine )" first. I loved it so much that I decided to go back to the start of the series and read them in chronological order.
"Lucky Universe: ( Lucky's Marines | Book One )" is a non stop rollercoaster of a ride as Lucky and krew go from one mishap to another. As per usual James does a superb job of world building and character development while balancing action and exposition on a razor's edge. Speaking of rollercoasters, the author builds up the tension and danger until it h9ts a tipping point and Lucky prevails.
This is my own honest opinion.
I confess that I read "Lucky At Last: ( Lucky's Marines | Book Nine )" first. I loved it so much that I decided to go back to the start of the series and read them in chronological order.
"Lucky Universe: ( Lucky's Marines | Book One )" is a non stop rollercoaster of a ride as Lucky and krew go from one mishap to another. As per usual James does a superb job of world building and character development while balancing action and exposition on a razor's edge. Speaking of rollercoasters, the author builds up the tension and danger until it h9ts a tipping point and Lucky prevails.
This is my own honest opinion.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 8, 2020
The start of this book is totally all action Hollywood blockbuster, unfortunately I think the author was just trying too hard. The main story starts with people being blasted into pieces and ships blowing up everywhere. Everything just got more and more brutal, for example Lucky wants to get a new recruits attention so he smashes his face in, breaking his nose and knocking out teeth. Any story was secondary to the action, the author was definitely trying to write a screenplay rather than a novel.
I found the dialogue and the story quite disjointed and once the author unleashed the paranormal "Hate" I'm afraid I just gave up.
I found the dialogue and the story quite disjointed and once the author unleashed the paranormal "Hate" I'm afraid I just gave up.
April 26, 2020
Somehow I bought this book about a year ago and never read it! Thats not like me at all. Found it in my purchased section without a read tag.
I read this pretty quick, because it was a lot of fun. I have to say that some of the scenes didn't make sense (giant hangers full of ships, but then something got blown so that a wall fell on them?). I found myself disoriented a few times during the fight scenes.
But overall the book had a very satisfying arc, and I really enjoyed that Lucky was special with his AI help, but just normal otherwise.
I read this pretty quick, because it was a lot of fun. I have to say that some of the scenes didn't make sense (giant hangers full of ships, but then something got blown so that a wall fell on them?). I found myself disoriented a few times during the fight scenes.
But overall the book had a very satisfying arc, and I really enjoyed that Lucky was special with his AI help, but just normal otherwise.
March 20, 2019
Fun
Crazy action from the first page on. Some of the action was confusing to me, a lot of it really but it was fast and fun. The real confusion was the motivation or planning of the military leaders. I also got turned around by the aliens overall designs.
The writing isn't bad and the action is crazy. Fun little book and I expect/hope that it will be a fun series.
Crazy action from the first page on. Some of the action was confusing to me, a lot of it really but it was fast and fun. The real confusion was the motivation or planning of the military leaders. I also got turned around by the aliens overall designs.
The writing isn't bad and the action is crazy. Fun little book and I expect/hope that it will be a fun series.
May 1, 2019
Someone else made a comparison to a Transformers movie - I think that's a bit of an insult to the movie. Maybe it's more like a fight scene in one, with more explosions and less plot.
I knew about 3/4 of the way through that I wasn't going to bother with what came after, but, I was still being entertained enough to finish it.
I knew about 3/4 of the way through that I wasn't going to bother with what came after, but, I was still being entertained enough to finish it.
May 2, 2021
Efinitely Lucy’s Universe
Unbelievable, Lucky’s encounters! Empire Marines are hard to kill, but Lucky is more than one notch better. As much as he relies on Rocky, he can still operate when separated. The Da’Hunia are more than matched by a greatly wounded Lucky and a few Marines. Impossible, but impossible to put the book down.
Unbelievable, Lucky’s encounters! Empire Marines are hard to kill, but Lucky is more than one notch better. As much as he relies on Rocky, he can still operate when separated. The Da’Hunia are more than matched by a greatly wounded Lucky and a few Marines. Impossible, but impossible to put the book down.
March 20, 2018
Marine Thriller
once a Jarhead, always a Jarhead. Best reading I had in a while. Being laid up with a bum leg helps with the reading. Can't wait to get the next book. Keep up with the good work.
once a Jarhead, always a Jarhead. Best reading I had in a while. Being laid up with a bum leg helps with the reading. Can't wait to get the next book. Keep up with the good work.
March 24, 2018
Very enjoyable fast-paced book.
I enjoyed this fast-paced book, I did that and could not put it down. I enjoyed the character of lucky and is wisecracking A I. A lot of fun a lot of humor will read the next book.
I enjoyed this fast-paced book, I did that and could not put it down. I enjoyed the character of lucky and is wisecracking A I. A lot of fun a lot of humor will read the next book.
August 30, 2018
Interesting beginning
We find what we think is just another L/Cpl serving in the Marines, but Lucky has a lot of surprises. Some which even he was not aware of. I am sure that the next book will place a few more pieces of the puzzle together for us all.
We find what we think is just another L/Cpl serving in the Marines, but Lucky has a lot of surprises. Some which even he was not aware of. I am sure that the next book will place a few more pieces of the puzzle together for us all.
September 5, 2018
Promising start to the series. Fast paced, interesting story arc
Will definitely read the prequel and sequel and am sure the story will continue to develop well. Well structured and easy to digest
Will definitely read the prequel and sequel and am sure the story will continue to develop well. Well structured and easy to digest
February 15, 2019
Is It Just Me?
Something, something, marines, something, something corridors, something, something folds. Alot of waking up and not understanding what one is seeing. Lots of visions. I couldn't follow any of this. Sorry.
Something, something, marines, something, something corridors, something, something folds. Alot of waking up and not understanding what one is seeing. Lots of visions. I couldn't follow any of this. Sorry.
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