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Galactic Mandate: A Radical Cause
The galaxy is in turmoil. The two main powers, the Acolyte Empire and the Clone Defense Force, vie for supremacy.
Caught in between are the weaker Galactic Planetary League and independent planets, pawns to be used and discarded in the greater game. The peace of the galaxy rests on a powder keg…and the fuse is about to be lit.
As the son of the Acolyte Emperor God-Reign, Devante lives a life of power and luxury that few can fathom.
Since childhood, he has devoted his life to one freeing the clone slaves of the CDF and banning the practice of cloning throughout the galaxy. But he is about to uncover a secret that goes to the heart of the empire he loves and serves, one that will set him on a course of vengeance and destruction that will shake the galaxy to its core.
Against this backdrop of war, treachery, and intrigue, Galactic Mandate tells an epic saga of god-emperors and assassins, spies and queens, princesses and slaves.
The lives of all will be irrevocably changed as Devante embraces his destiny—for when empires collide, no one is safe, and there is no place in the galaxy to hide.
Caught in between are the weaker Galactic Planetary League and independent planets, pawns to be used and discarded in the greater game. The peace of the galaxy rests on a powder keg…and the fuse is about to be lit.
As the son of the Acolyte Emperor God-Reign, Devante lives a life of power and luxury that few can fathom.
Since childhood, he has devoted his life to one freeing the clone slaves of the CDF and banning the practice of cloning throughout the galaxy. But he is about to uncover a secret that goes to the heart of the empire he loves and serves, one that will set him on a course of vengeance and destruction that will shake the galaxy to its core.
Against this backdrop of war, treachery, and intrigue, Galactic Mandate tells an epic saga of god-emperors and assassins, spies and queens, princesses and slaves.
The lives of all will be irrevocably changed as Devante embraces his destiny—for when empires collide, no one is safe, and there is no place in the galaxy to hide.
224 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 4, 2018
16 people are currently reading
155 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 25, 2018
I recently met Mr. Richardson at SpoCon (Spokane Science Fiction Convention), so when I saw his book released on Amazon, I picked it up.
The story covers a lot of ground--or space. And it does a lot of hopping from one character to another. This got a bit confusing and at times I lost track of what was going on. It was interesting enough to finish reading. I found the editing a little uneven and a good story editor could help smooth out the rough spots. I suspect there is a sequel or two in the wings.
The story shows a writer with promise and a vision that can encompass galactic scale stories. I look forward to reading subsequent material.
The story covers a lot of ground--or space. And it does a lot of hopping from one character to another. This got a bit confusing and at times I lost track of what was going on. It was interesting enough to finish reading. I found the editing a little uneven and a good story editor could help smooth out the rough spots. I suspect there is a sequel or two in the wings.
The story shows a writer with promise and a vision that can encompass galactic scale stories. I look forward to reading subsequent material.
August 28, 2018
Characters
I actually really liked the characters in the book. There doesn’t seem to be any real lead character, but instead an ensemble on characters each giving their own point of view to the situation they’re put in and the war in general.
Devante is compelling as a prince who is placed in power too soon and doesn’t know how to handle his new found command. Dark Reign plays an excellent military commander who wants nothing more than peace for his people. Skyfall, the clone warrior who manipulates Devante into doing as she wishes. Ninety-six, the sex model clone who escapes his master and finds himself in a world out of his depths. And finally kai, my personal favorite character in the book and his desire to do as his prince demands and be as good a soldier as he can be. The list goes on with characters, but there are the ones I found made the story move forward more than others.
Each and every character feels real in their own way. They’ve all got their own merits and flaws that seriously add to who they are. They act illogically at times, they act based on emotion, and they figure things out and find ways out of predicaments in real ways. The characters really were serious highlights to the book.
My Thoughts on the book in general
There were a lot of good things about this book, but there were some major flaws as well. I’m going to start with what made the book good though, as I like to keep things positive.
The story not having a main protagonist and coming from several POVs works to the books favour. It paints the conflict not as black and white, but instead shows the good and bad choices on both sides. While reading the start of the book I’d expected a clear protagonist so I’d know which side the author wanted me to rout for. Instead, it showed the heinous acts of both sides as well as the good deeds they do. This was a brilliant decision on the authors part. You don’t know which side should win, both have their pros and cons.
The book does a very good job of gripping the reader and keeping their attention. I’d planned on reading maybe sixty pages of the book as it was pretty late when I first started reading, but instead found I couldn’t put it down and read the whole book in one sitting. I can honestly say that I can count the number of books that have that claim on one hand.
As I said before, the characters are well written and have their own distinct personalities.
But, now I have to talk about what brought the book down.
The opening was a little too fast paced with little for the reader to grip onto. The first chapter showed a bunch of delegates and leaders fighting each other, literally with fists and chairs. It could have been a cool scene but I didn’t really have a lot to work from with it.
The first few chapters continue on this way, a lot of fast scenes with little description or backstory. I can imagine some of that was intended to build intrigue, a sort of if you want to know, you’ll have to keep reading. And while it does pick up and give the reader a lot more to hold onto fairly early into the book, I feel the first few chapters being as fast and gripless as they are may make a lot of readers put the book down and not come back.
I did find a lot of cases of telling instead of showing when it came to emotions, which would have helped me visualize what the characters felt a little better. He also had a tendency of using sound effects within the book, saying boom instead of describing the sound, or having characters straight up say hahaha instead of describing the laughter.
I think the only other drawback was some hefty time skips which could have been used to detail the advancement of certain characters and could have been a good chance to build the characters and shape who they would become by the end of the book. It was just a missed opportunity in my opinion.
The Ending
It was a good ending. It answered a lot of questions I had through the book whole keeping several open for the second book. It ended the way the first book in a series should.
Rating out of 10
Though clearly a fist novel from a new author, the story is engaging, the characters are interesting and the setting is pretty damn cool. I give this book a 7/10 I’ll be buying from this author in the future.
I actually really liked the characters in the book. There doesn’t seem to be any real lead character, but instead an ensemble on characters each giving their own point of view to the situation they’re put in and the war in general.
Devante is compelling as a prince who is placed in power too soon and doesn’t know how to handle his new found command. Dark Reign plays an excellent military commander who wants nothing more than peace for his people. Skyfall, the clone warrior who manipulates Devante into doing as she wishes. Ninety-six, the sex model clone who escapes his master and finds himself in a world out of his depths. And finally kai, my personal favorite character in the book and his desire to do as his prince demands and be as good a soldier as he can be. The list goes on with characters, but there are the ones I found made the story move forward more than others.
Each and every character feels real in their own way. They’ve all got their own merits and flaws that seriously add to who they are. They act illogically at times, they act based on emotion, and they figure things out and find ways out of predicaments in real ways. The characters really were serious highlights to the book.
My Thoughts on the book in general
There were a lot of good things about this book, but there were some major flaws as well. I’m going to start with what made the book good though, as I like to keep things positive.
The story not having a main protagonist and coming from several POVs works to the books favour. It paints the conflict not as black and white, but instead shows the good and bad choices on both sides. While reading the start of the book I’d expected a clear protagonist so I’d know which side the author wanted me to rout for. Instead, it showed the heinous acts of both sides as well as the good deeds they do. This was a brilliant decision on the authors part. You don’t know which side should win, both have their pros and cons.
The book does a very good job of gripping the reader and keeping their attention. I’d planned on reading maybe sixty pages of the book as it was pretty late when I first started reading, but instead found I couldn’t put it down and read the whole book in one sitting. I can honestly say that I can count the number of books that have that claim on one hand.
As I said before, the characters are well written and have their own distinct personalities.
But, now I have to talk about what brought the book down.
The opening was a little too fast paced with little for the reader to grip onto. The first chapter showed a bunch of delegates and leaders fighting each other, literally with fists and chairs. It could have been a cool scene but I didn’t really have a lot to work from with it.
The first few chapters continue on this way, a lot of fast scenes with little description or backstory. I can imagine some of that was intended to build intrigue, a sort of if you want to know, you’ll have to keep reading. And while it does pick up and give the reader a lot more to hold onto fairly early into the book, I feel the first few chapters being as fast and gripless as they are may make a lot of readers put the book down and not come back.
I did find a lot of cases of telling instead of showing when it came to emotions, which would have helped me visualize what the characters felt a little better. He also had a tendency of using sound effects within the book, saying boom instead of describing the sound, or having characters straight up say hahaha instead of describing the laughter.
I think the only other drawback was some hefty time skips which could have been used to detail the advancement of certain characters and could have been a good chance to build the characters and shape who they would become by the end of the book. It was just a missed opportunity in my opinion.
The Ending
It was a good ending. It answered a lot of questions I had through the book whole keeping several open for the second book. It ended the way the first book in a series should.
Rating out of 10
Though clearly a fist novel from a new author, the story is engaging, the characters are interesting and the setting is pretty damn cool. I give this book a 7/10 I’ll be buying from this author in the future.
February 16, 2019
In this action-packed space opera where multiple factions are constantly fighting each other and turning traitors as secrets regarding clones are revealed, M.R. Richardson takes his reader on a thrilling adventure, through a futuristic time, on different planets, and around space itself. There was already one Genetics war regarding the fate of clones; will this be another? With the death toll in the hundreds of millions–if not billions?
In this military-esque, Star Wars-feeling novel, we readers are able to see from multiple point of views as a new clone war takes over the universe. We glimpse into the life of Chancellor Judy–the leader of the Clone Defense Force who wishes to keep creating clones and using them; watch as Devante’s life–leader of the Acolytes and sole heir of God-Reign–unfolds before his own eyes; and travel with Ninety-Six, Chancellor Judy’s prized clone. We are also given the viewpoints of Dark Reign, part of the Acolytes, The Keepers, the Machinemen, The Death’s Witness, a Sultan, an assassin named Snapdragon, a clone remarkably on the side of the Acolytes (Skyfall), a prisoner named CJ, and many more. Whatever else can be said about this book, one amazing feat is its ability to show a plethora of starkly contrasting viewpoints, all on different worlds, in different situations, with different beliefs. If you are looking to meet a variety of characters, this is the book for you!
However, regarding those numerous characters and POVs, there was very little in the way of character development. In fact, I practically hated all of the characters. They all seemed to be annoying, fickle creatures who only cared about themselves. Every single one of them was innately unlikable, and I had no idea how or why they decided the choices they made. It seemed as if they changed their minds every other second, with very little thought for consequences or morality.
The dialogue between characters was also somewhat shoddy, seeming to just be a filler for simple plot development. Most characters would utter one or two words in response to another character’s differing views/orders, or would simply flat out faint/cry on the floor. The dialogue revealed how superficial all of the characters were, increasing my distaste for each of them.
Despite having poor character development and thus not connecting much with the story on a personal level, M.R. Richardson did an absolutely amazing job with the number of action-packed events he was able to pack into his novel. It seemed as if every page contained some futuristic brawl or war, utilizing lasers, spaceships, and other technology. With the very short, bitesized chapters, the action definitely pushed me to read faster and faster, as I attempted to keep up with all the battles and changing strategies. One thing that I did not particularly enjoy regarding action events, however, was that the overwhelming amount of action and battles served to desensitize me, pushing me even further from connecting with the novel. Not to mention that there were millions of deaths in the book, and even the important ones were unceremonial.
Overall, this book would be a great read for those who want to simply read about space battles and action. In this respect, the book is very Star Wars-y. I would not advise anyone to read this if they are looking for deep, relatable characters or a strong plot structure, as the plot even seemed fickle to me, paralleling its characters. I will admit that this is not normally the genre that I tend to gravitate towards (I prefer High/Epic Fantasy), so perhaps that was my problem with this novel. It was also difficult for me to remember all of the names of characters and places and government agencies, which also tended to throw me off and I spent more time trying to figure out who was on who’s team than I care to admit!
In this military-esque, Star Wars-feeling novel, we readers are able to see from multiple point of views as a new clone war takes over the universe. We glimpse into the life of Chancellor Judy–the leader of the Clone Defense Force who wishes to keep creating clones and using them; watch as Devante’s life–leader of the Acolytes and sole heir of God-Reign–unfolds before his own eyes; and travel with Ninety-Six, Chancellor Judy’s prized clone. We are also given the viewpoints of Dark Reign, part of the Acolytes, The Keepers, the Machinemen, The Death’s Witness, a Sultan, an assassin named Snapdragon, a clone remarkably on the side of the Acolytes (Skyfall), a prisoner named CJ, and many more. Whatever else can be said about this book, one amazing feat is its ability to show a plethora of starkly contrasting viewpoints, all on different worlds, in different situations, with different beliefs. If you are looking to meet a variety of characters, this is the book for you!
However, regarding those numerous characters and POVs, there was very little in the way of character development. In fact, I practically hated all of the characters. They all seemed to be annoying, fickle creatures who only cared about themselves. Every single one of them was innately unlikable, and I had no idea how or why they decided the choices they made. It seemed as if they changed their minds every other second, with very little thought for consequences or morality.
The dialogue between characters was also somewhat shoddy, seeming to just be a filler for simple plot development. Most characters would utter one or two words in response to another character’s differing views/orders, or would simply flat out faint/cry on the floor. The dialogue revealed how superficial all of the characters were, increasing my distaste for each of them.
Despite having poor character development and thus not connecting much with the story on a personal level, M.R. Richardson did an absolutely amazing job with the number of action-packed events he was able to pack into his novel. It seemed as if every page contained some futuristic brawl or war, utilizing lasers, spaceships, and other technology. With the very short, bitesized chapters, the action definitely pushed me to read faster and faster, as I attempted to keep up with all the battles and changing strategies. One thing that I did not particularly enjoy regarding action events, however, was that the overwhelming amount of action and battles served to desensitize me, pushing me even further from connecting with the novel. Not to mention that there were millions of deaths in the book, and even the important ones were unceremonial.
Overall, this book would be a great read for those who want to simply read about space battles and action. In this respect, the book is very Star Wars-y. I would not advise anyone to read this if they are looking for deep, relatable characters or a strong plot structure, as the plot even seemed fickle to me, paralleling its characters. I will admit that this is not normally the genre that I tend to gravitate towards (I prefer High/Epic Fantasy), so perhaps that was my problem with this novel. It was also difficult for me to remember all of the names of characters and places and government agencies, which also tended to throw me off and I spent more time trying to figure out who was on who’s team than I care to admit!
September 21, 2018
I received this book for free through Voracious Readers Only.
Galactic Mandate: A Radical Cause is a Star Wars-esque epic science fiction story. There's an Empire, there's a clone army, there's strong memorable characters (some with very over-the-top names, which I love) and a lot of action.
There were an awful lot of characters, planets, shifting allegiances, alliances, etc. to keep track of. Some only appeared for a short moment, only to pop up again much later. I had to resort to taking notes and even then didn't feel I fully understood all the different story lines crisscrossing. So much was going on all at once.
It felt like I had jumped into the middle of an ongoing science fiction series, without knowing any of the established lore. But by the end of the book I was starting to get into it, and I am eager to read more in the series.
Galactic Mandate: A Radical Cause is a Star Wars-esque epic science fiction story. There's an Empire, there's a clone army, there's strong memorable characters (some with very over-the-top names, which I love) and a lot of action.
There were an awful lot of characters, planets, shifting allegiances, alliances, etc. to keep track of. Some only appeared for a short moment, only to pop up again much later. I had to resort to taking notes and even then didn't feel I fully understood all the different story lines crisscrossing. So much was going on all at once.
It felt like I had jumped into the middle of an ongoing science fiction series, without knowing any of the established lore. But by the end of the book I was starting to get into it, and I am eager to read more in the series.
September 9, 2018
A really good, gripping story, that engages the reader from the beginning. I found myself changing allegiances as often as some of the characters did and being appalled one moment and impressed the next. I did wonder if this was t he second book in a series as it goes so quickly into action scene after action scene that I felt I could have done with a bit more backstory, but by the end of the book I'd forgotten about that and was really involved with the characters. I felt really bad for Ninety-Six, even though he had a good few years of 'freedom' but I wished there had been more for him. Having feelings for the characters is always, in my view, a sign of a good story. Completely different genre for me, but thoroughly enjoyed.
September 25, 2018
Change is good
I must say, I never claimed to be a sci-fi reader but giving this story a chance was fun. I enjoyed the speed of the story, fast pace and thrilling. If you're a fan of Star Trek or Star Wars, well this is an original intriguing take that hopefully one day holds its own ground.
I must say, I never claimed to be a sci-fi reader but giving this story a chance was fun. I enjoyed the speed of the story, fast pace and thrilling. If you're a fan of Star Trek or Star Wars, well this is an original intriguing take that hopefully one day holds its own ground.
December 4, 2018
Gumbo
Like a good gumbo this is full of many excellent ingredients, ideas that artfully expressed would when creatively combined, be greater as a whole . unfortunately this reader does not find the whole to measure up to the ideas that were found .
Like a good gumbo this is full of many excellent ingredients, ideas that artfully expressed would when creatively combined, be greater as a whole . unfortunately this reader does not find the whole to measure up to the ideas that were found .
June 25, 2020
Galactic Mandate – A Radical Cause is a science fiction book written by author M.R. Richardson, and you can grab yourself a copy on Amazon. This story has a lot going on, powerful factions vying for dominance, clone slaves, and space battles and so much more.
So I was sent a copy of this book by the author for review, and first off I want to apologise for the delays in getting this review up but I’m glad the author was patient with me because this book is so worth talking about and I was grateful both for the opportunity to read it and the chance to tell you all why you should as well.
Now Off the Record hasn’t been doing Book Reviews for as long as some of the other areas we focus on but sometimes you get a submission that’s truly impressive. Galactic Mandate – A Radical Cause is one of those submissions, not only does it avoid many of the issues that first time authors have but manages to pay homage to sci-fi classics without seeming like just another carbon copy.
Since I was young I’ve always enjoyed books which feel rich and expansive and you get that with this book, we see the lives and choices of various different characters. I do feel there was no definitive main character, but I don’t think this necessarily hindered the plot, instead you were able to enjoy the various vignettes without feeling or expecting to get back to a main story or a main character. To use an example, when I first read the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini, I wasn’t super impressed by the POV shifts starting from the second book in the series, Eldest. It was mainly because the first book was written from the perspective of the main character and so you’ve already locked the idea of one main character and one central narrative into your head, so when it did change in the second book I kept waiting for it to return to him, in years since as I’ve matured as a reader I’ve come to enjoy those changes but I do still feel that POV shift need to be handled well, and I feel that M.R Richardson does so incredibly well.
Another difficult to manage but well executed aspect of this book, is the action, it’s not all out from the beginning but instead it’s a well paced blend of conflict and machinations that kept me riveted.
Something I didn’t mind but should warn a potential reader about is the adult content, it’s by no means, over the top, but the comparisons to Game of Thrones are apt, their is a lot of violence, as well as cursing and some sexual content. However while I don’t usually seek these out when reading they added to the rich tapestry of the reality we are presented.
A lot of what makes this book so good is the plot, so I can’t go into much more detail without spoiling anything, but I do thoroughly insist that you check it out because the complex interrelations between characters and factions, the sheer volume of it all is impressive and overall I found the series to be quite engaging. With all that in mind I think this book earns a 4/5.
First Published on: https://offtherecordblog.org/
Off the Record is and always will be a free platform, but if you like what we do here and want to contribute to the production of future content then you can do so by donating to our PayPal or Ko-Fi.
So I was sent a copy of this book by the author for review, and first off I want to apologise for the delays in getting this review up but I’m glad the author was patient with me because this book is so worth talking about and I was grateful both for the opportunity to read it and the chance to tell you all why you should as well.
Now Off the Record hasn’t been doing Book Reviews for as long as some of the other areas we focus on but sometimes you get a submission that’s truly impressive. Galactic Mandate – A Radical Cause is one of those submissions, not only does it avoid many of the issues that first time authors have but manages to pay homage to sci-fi classics without seeming like just another carbon copy.
Since I was young I’ve always enjoyed books which feel rich and expansive and you get that with this book, we see the lives and choices of various different characters. I do feel there was no definitive main character, but I don’t think this necessarily hindered the plot, instead you were able to enjoy the various vignettes without feeling or expecting to get back to a main story or a main character. To use an example, when I first read the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini, I wasn’t super impressed by the POV shifts starting from the second book in the series, Eldest. It was mainly because the first book was written from the perspective of the main character and so you’ve already locked the idea of one main character and one central narrative into your head, so when it did change in the second book I kept waiting for it to return to him, in years since as I’ve matured as a reader I’ve come to enjoy those changes but I do still feel that POV shift need to be handled well, and I feel that M.R Richardson does so incredibly well.
Another difficult to manage but well executed aspect of this book, is the action, it’s not all out from the beginning but instead it’s a well paced blend of conflict and machinations that kept me riveted.
Something I didn’t mind but should warn a potential reader about is the adult content, it’s by no means, over the top, but the comparisons to Game of Thrones are apt, their is a lot of violence, as well as cursing and some sexual content. However while I don’t usually seek these out when reading they added to the rich tapestry of the reality we are presented.
A lot of what makes this book so good is the plot, so I can’t go into much more detail without spoiling anything, but I do thoroughly insist that you check it out because the complex interrelations between characters and factions, the sheer volume of it all is impressive and overall I found the series to be quite engaging. With all that in mind I think this book earns a 4/5.
First Published on: https://offtherecordblog.org/
Off the Record is and always will be a free platform, but if you like what we do here and want to contribute to the production of future content then you can do so by donating to our PayPal or Ko-Fi.
August 4, 2019
A pretty good space opera with a large cast and good action. The plot is a bit complex (and not much character dev), but satisfying overall. If you like pew-pew, this is probably worth your time.
I really appreciate the advanced copy for review!!
I really appreciate the advanced copy for review!!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews