Negation Force

Obsidiar Fleet #1

by Anthony James

Negation Force. A planet without power, locked down by an alien war fleet.

The human Confederation has known an unprecedented time of peace, unheard of in a universe where every other species is not only technologically advanced, but also incredibly hostile.

The good times are about to end.

Out on the fringes, the planet Atlantis is attacked by an alien foe remembered only by the oldest members of the Space Corps. These aliens – known as Vraxar – are abominations of flesh and metal, driven to exterminate every other life form in the universe. Now it’s humanity’s turn.

In the ruins of the Tillos military installation, Sergeant Eric McKinney is determined to fight back and find out why the Vraxar have come. Meanwhile, a response fleet is mustered with the intention of facing the enemy head-on. It’s a mission with no hope of success.

As events unfold, it becomes apparent the Vraxar have secrets which give clues to their purpose. The answers are more shocking than anyone could have imagined.

The lives of strangers are intertwined and together they must try and salvage something from this first exchange in a war that will not end until one side is utterly defeated. Luckily, the Tillos base holds secrets of its own…a warship with an exceptionally powerful Obsidiar core is contained within an underground bunker. It is the only hope for Atlantis…

Negation Force is a science fiction action and adventure book which begins The Obsidiar Fleet series.

Author’s Note: this book is set forty years after events in the Survival Wars series. There is no necessity to read the earlier books to enjoy this one.

Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Amazon, Fiction

294 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 23, 2018

About the author

Anthony James spent his youth reading what might now be called classic sci-fi and fantasy books. These days, he spends time in his study with the door locked against rampant and ferocious toddlers, writing books of his own.

That's the third person stuff out of the way.

For anyone who's read any of my books, you'll know that I write action science fiction that pulls no punches and which doesn't cram the good stuff into the last couple of chapters. The action starts early and it doesn't let up. I also take care to mix in plenty of humanity. The characters I write are all distinctly believable, often facing uncaring enemies and overwhelming odds. When they win, it's because they did their best.

Go on. Punch an alien today. Better yet, check out my series of books, each one filled with action, technology, warfare, aliens and against-the-odds survival. Lots of kick-back-and-enjoy weekend or evening reading.

Reviews

[Vedat GURER · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not my kind

The pace and the characters are to swift and detached, I couldn’t continue . The subject beside, the tech description is weak, not to my liking. Some may vote higher for the writing effort of the author, it didn’t grasp me

[Christian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read it completely on a flight a bit to generic to be good.

[Leslie Baptiste · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too many inconsistencies…

A sergeant who cannot think outside the box, a lieutenant who listens to a subordinate that she does not trust, technology like field pack radios which are from the 20th and 21st century, all of these inconsistencies in this book made me give it 83. I am reading this book and going really you can crack the speed of light and you have to carry radio on your back not so much. As far as the characters are concerned I will read the second book and see if they become more favorable in my eyes. Most first books in series are slow I found this one was slow as well, but I believe it has a Knouff merit to read the second book so I am about to dive into it. Read this book with the caveats I mentioned you may enjoy.

[Red Tide]

Rating: minus 5

I rewrite these reviews, because it is fun to aggravate those readers who do not write reviews but feel compelled to comment. I originally recommended Suki Rickey's review, so I will do so again. This book is fairly childish in structure and skill.

A "rogue?" Goodreads tech does not "Allow" me to see other reviews at this point, to remove my last lurker, to see commenter names, sometimes grays out the "like" buttons. 🤔🤔

I closed my pages and removed all but Dr Susan Hamilton. Goodreads will not "Allow" me to remove her and while she posted nothing for more than two years from her friend request, she has not responded to five requests to unfriend me. 🤔

I hope that she is not fascinated by me. I am just not that interesting, as my siblings will attest. 🤗

I begin to believe that if you write a brutal review of a "Proud Boy goes to space book", being a communist suddenly becomes a bad thing. Goodreads could not be that political or could it? 🙂

For more Goodreads, see my review of "Capital Starship", a boom-boom spacey-space book or Powers of the Earth (a Proud Boy goes to space book) and comments from a Claes Rees Jr/cgr710 (a self-identified NeoNazi and US patriot).

To Claes Rees Jr/cgr710
Don't be a numpty. Be a smarty. Come and join the Communist Party. 🤗

It still stuns me that US patriots (Claes Rees Jr, Tucker Carlson and US Republican Party, for example) can openly support Russia's Putin. I assume that Russian money trumps love of country. There is a rumor that Tucker is going to volunteer for the Russian army to help conquer Ukraine. If true, I will concede that it isn't just the money. In any case.

GLORY TO UKRAINE !!! and GLORY TO ITS PEOPLE !!!

This book is bad enough that I did remember it, which surprised me. As usual, I will start with world building. After reading the book, I had no idea what the force structure, size, operational objectives or economic support for this space navy were.

The writer only states that the first set of aliens were beaten by humans. I could not imagine how that happened after reading the total confusion that passed for human naval operations.

The characters are typical of these books. They are hormone driven and obviously confused about their destination or location in every chapter. The new aliens are ridiculous and would be a better fit in a Lovecraftian short story written by a child.

The interactions are reminiscent of school yard altercations. I would look for a trace of genuine emotion but I don't have a powerful enough microscope.

The plot such as it is, was a hot mess. That the tech is sketchy and makes little sense, that should not be a surprise. To a planet that may or not be a fleet base, a return to a system that may or may not be a political center to anywhere or everywhere else without rhyme or reason, sums up the plot.

There are no big ideas but if one had been suggested, there was no writing skill sufficient to explore it. No one who liked the book, would challenge my assessment. If a console game storyline is your taste, this will probably satisfy, otherwise it won't be entertaining.

With these books being so prevalent, it is definitely a publisher decision to degrade critical thinking and the quality of print science fiction. These books can really deaden the imagination. This is not the worst of them, it is just silly.

With the state of low end current science fiction print, I now prefer the streaming services. They all seem to carry some science fiction, which is better written or at least more interesting. Netflix also have a good multinational selection.

Amazon does carry the better writers but the price even for ebooks is steep. It is a better idea to shop at second hand book stores, charity shops or similar sources.

About two years ago, I began using YouTube searches for science fiction. I found many channels devoted to special interests, video essays and documentaries before I stumbled across the book tubers. 😍😍

The book channels host solid reader communities. There you find fellow readers with varied interests and tastes. These communities are fun, thoughtful and excited by all things bookish. I recommend a visit to several book channels for any reader.

My YouTube picks of the moment.
Mia Mulder, Kelly Loves Physics and History, Crecganford, The People Profiles, The Kavernacle, Roomies' Digest, Sabine Hossenfelder, Vlad Vexler, Jake Broe, Jill Bearup, A Cup of Nicole, Ship Happens.

As for Goodreads, please consider treating this site as potentially hostile. 😐

Ominous music begins. 🙂 I minimized my profile information, removed all but the one lurker, screenshot the odd and ugly, closed my pages and accepted that there are no response to queries forthcoming. Ominous music ends. 🙂

Seriously, please protect yourself. May we all find Good Reading. 😊😊

Some of my favorite YouTube channels are.

Some More News, Munecat, Ship Happens, Tom Nicholas, Novara Media, Alize, Atun Shei, TIKHistory, The Juice Media, Brandon F, Chloe Stafler, Military Aviation History, Tara Mooknee, Narrowboat Pirate, Cruising Alba, May Moon Narrowboat, Prime of Midlife, Traveling K, Alt Shift X, Tiny Wee Boat, Boat Time, Cruising the Cut, Natasha's Adventures, Philosophy Tube, Alayna Joy, Engineering with Rosie, Spacedock, Camper Vibe, The Juice Media, With Olivia, Art by Annamarie, Dr Ben Miller, Ryan Chapman, Vlad Vexler, Kelly loves Physics and History, Kings and Generals, Epimetheus, Tulia, Maiorianus, Joe Scott, Sabine Hossenfelder, Maggie May Fish, Lily Alexander, Alice Cappelle 2Cellos, Renegade Cut, Jessie Gender, Second Thought, UA Courage, The Armchair Historian, The Shades of Orange, Hailey in Bookland, Diane Callahan Quotidian Writer, Adult Wednesday Addams, Spark, The Present Past, Paleo Analysis, Joe Blogs, Denys Davydov, Big Think, Kathy's Flog in France, DW Documentaries, France 24, Fiction Beast, Malinda, The Templin Institute, Oculus Imperia, Space Matters, Real Engineering, Linguoer Mechanic, The Mindful Narrowboat, Holly the Cafe Boat, The Piano Boat, Chugging Along, Sciencephile the AI, Swell Entertainment, Make Better Media, Lilly's expat life, Overly Sarcastic Productions, The Kavernacle, What Vivi did next, A Day of Small Things, Book Odyssey, The Gravel Institute, Sarah Z, Big Joel, Mrs Betty Bowers, The Piano Guys, A Life of Lit, Books with Chloe, Morgan Alison Stewart, MWG Studios, Noah Samsen, Three Arrows, Enby Reads, The Roomies' Digest, The Angry Astronaut, Mia Mulder.

I wish you the brightest morning, a fun filled afternoon, an introspective evening, a wonderful night and may we all keep learning.

Hope, much like music, makes us braver.
Vercingetorix

[Suki Rickey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 1

Book 1 had errors throughout and was a fun read. The plot is almost the same as the first series, but with different characters and the author introducing the alien's that invade. The characters are okay so far, but again follows the last series pretty closely. I will read the next book and see how the next book progresses.

[Christopher Bray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Follows on nicely from the previous Arc without having to have read it.

A little confusing for readers of the previous ones as it jumps completely over the Estral - Vraxar war and despite the helius black star having been destroyed the intelligence services somehow know it’s the Vraxar that have shut down Atlantis rather than the Estral.

It doesn’t explain how it is known (that I can remember) but made clear that the Estral were defeated by the Vraxar later in the book.

Other than that it’s an entertaining sci-fi book with space and ground combat, a little bit of politics (quite little) a few John Duggan cameos and sets up a new series nicely.

[More Books Than Time · Rating 3 out of 5]

Negation Force follows the Survival Wars (Crimson Tempest) series about 40 years later. During the earlier war with the Estral the scouting ship found the Estral were busy fighting the Vraxar, now the Vraxar have apparently defeated the Estral and have come for us.

The story is decent with a few engaging characters, notably Lieutenant Cruz, a communication specialist, and Sergeant McKinney, but the overall premise left me cold. I had to force myself to keep reading and finish the book.

[juliette dempsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always another enemy

It's a struggle to survive.
This was a gripping story that I could not put down. Great characters with depth and a believable storyline.Great action packed scenes from start to finish.
I look forward to more.

[James Paterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spaceship wars

Anthony James
It’s been a couple of years since I have read a space travel book with as much interesting reading and a good story line looking forward to reading much more of this authors work

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

Readable but that's it. Weak characters. Technological inconsistencies. Sudden intelligence. Silly dialog. Nothing memorable.

[Jefrois · Rating 1 out of 5]

.
B O R I N G !!!!!!!!!!!!

Standard bllsht.

I COULD NOT FOLLOW ALL THE NAMES AND ACTIONS. No idea what’s happening…one big fight or several ???

“Landings…rooms…doors…doorways…ground…hallways…stairs…elevators…etc…”

WHAT the fok is going on?????

WHATWHATWAHT ?????

This is a bllsht book. It should all be crystal clear to even me with my small brain.

I HATE THIS BOOK.

IS IT JUST GOING TO BE LIKE ALL THE SAME AS THIS BLLSHT?

GOING ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON ????????

????????????

I deleted it and found another way to waste my time. I stopped reading. I no longer care “what happens next.”

I quit.

I stopped.
.
.

[Tim Seabrook · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a good read and had plenty of action for a small band of survivors at a time of invasion. The story was written from the perspectives of several characters and it was clear what was happening throughout.

The pace was fast enough to be enjoyable yet slowed in the right places so that you weren't on a constant run of action. A mixture of space battles and ground fights with enough tech to be interesting but not overwhelming in its complexity or use of abbreviations that are never explained.

Worth the time to read.

[Dominic G. Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crisp, well written Space Opera. Not perhaps a unique story line (but then in this genre what is,) but a great read nonetheless. Some character fleshing out would have helped, and too many characters appeared for only a short space of time. But that's the nature of war I suppose. Anyway, I liked it enough to buy the 2nd book in the series. Anthony's writing style is not too dissimilar to mine, but his is more truncated.

Good start to what is I hope a good series.

[Steve · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn’t really enjoy it. Endlessly running around corridors. Up stairs, down stairs, into rooms, out again, more corridors, up, down, endlessly shooting aliens. Not much story. It’s a shame because I read this author’s “Crimson Tempest” (the first in the ‘Survival Wars’ series) and loved it, rated it five stars. But this one (the first in the ‘Obsidiar Fleet’ series) just rattles on and on and then ends; and not even a decent finale.

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exciting. Non stop. Page turner.

Anthony James is a new author to me, and I enjoyed his fast paced narrative immensely. As a tough military sci-fi novel there’s much to be expected in rough characters with uncompromising attitudes. However, one thing is needed: a change of pace every now and again. Time for the reader to take stock before the next barrage of action.

[Dchamp · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very seldom give 5 Star reviews, but this one deserved it!
If you like Sci-Fi, Anthony James is a great author and spinner of tales.
BUT... don't start with this book, go back and read his Survival Wars books first!
They do tie into this book (and the ones to come).

Great read! Highly recommended!

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Good Start

The story starts strong, with decent plot and character development, including a wide range of supporting cast. Lots of action in the last half of the book. Some of the character deaths seem unnecessary to the storyline, especially when others manage extreme odds and survive. I’m sufficiently interested in the story to continue with the second book.

[Mark Goletto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good beginning

This is a good beginning to what appears to be a rehash of Survival Wars. Anthony James is an excellent author and I hope he is good enough not to do this. Hopefully this series will provide something fresh and I don’t really want to wait 3 or 4 books to see it.

[jospeh jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding! Very much a winning author!the first

Gripping and intense. Packed with everything that makes a book great! Read this, enjoy the writing of an amazing story!Gripping I will have the same thrill!

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you love long, detailed descriptions of battles...

...then Negation Force is for you. It does a pretty good job of that, but I found myself skimming at times, waiting for something to happen.

[Hw Huyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting Story with a Cliffhanger

Good, close to Great, Story but tarnished by a cliffhanger ending. Different enemies fighting to destroy Earth. The Earth legislature stonewalling the militaries plan.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a pacifist I really shouldn't like a book with so much death and destruction in it, but I loved this. I suspect that's because it's set in a universe where faster than light travel is commonplace rather than in the real universe. It also helps that the weapons used are totally imaginary.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Battling on planet

Good guys getting chased by bad guys sums up plot. Too much detail lost me many times and really did not add any thrilling effects to me. Hard at times to figure what was going on and ending was best part of book.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Space Warfare at its best

Mankind has grown soft, 40 years of peace made them easy prey. It was only the actions of a few brave men and women who stopped the invasion of Atlantis. Some of Space Corp were found wanting.

[Mark P. Downey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read, great action

I really enjoyed this book. It is well-paced, and the scene shifts were well done. The characters were believable for the most part. I will definitely read on.

[Linda Rogers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok read nothing special

Typical a couple tough soldiers save the day to fight another day in an inter Galactic alien war. Decent first in series, easy read - lets see what book 2 brings to the table.

[Bea · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little confusing at first because of all the people introduced back to back, and no real length of time spent on them. The story did get better as it went on. Not much back story on anyone, but it's a action packed read.

[GREGG CORDELL · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read.

This was a great read as soon as it started , the storyline was good and you had battles on and in space as well. They came kicked but and got what they were after and then were gone again. Great read. On to the next in this series.

[Larry McClure · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great

I enjoyed this story the more I kept reading. It just got more intense and exciting the more I read. Great story to read and I look forward to the next book in the series.

[ian donner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book one

Good read next please. it is the start of a good series I hope for more in the future well done .