Following are the reviews of the first 3 books in the Ixan series by Scott Bartlett, all in one excellent series that you just can’t miss. If you were a fan of Battlestar, you will love this series, with good characters, great ships, and just good fun Sci-Fi, it is well worth the listen.
Supercarrier – The Ixan Prophecies #1
This really reminded me of the reboot of the Battlestar Galactica series, although, with a few extra alien races. It is like the UHF are the Cylons – they have been taken over and gone bad, led by an evil leader, and the Providence (or Galactica) is the only thing that can stand in their way. They even have a lone senator trying to rally support for their cause. Now don’t get me wrong, because this is not a bad thing, ‘Supercarrier’ is a fantastic book, especially if you like a good story, with some brilliant characters and just good old fashioned Sci-Fi.
Although not what I would call hard Sci-Fi, or really full-on, this story does have a lot of plots and a lot of action.
The Human race had the first interstellar war a while ago, and won thanks to an Alien called Ocharium, who gave them Darktech, which allowed them to improve their weapons, open their own wormholes, all sorts of fun things. This allowed them to defeat a race called the Ixa. Only the Humans have Darktech, and they have kind of lorded it over the galaxy for a while. The other races, the Wingers, and the Gok, do not like the Humans as they consider themselves oppressed by Humanity. There are also the Fins, a very intelligent race who are also very perceptive, it's almost like they have prescience or an incredible intuition they can strategically and tactically see things so well. The Fins live with the Wingers, so are closely aligned.
When a deliberate incident happens, setting off a chain of events, the galaxy is basically plunged into war, with the Wingers taking the opportunity to attack their oppressors.
In the middle of all of this is the Providence, the last of the Supercarriers, the only ship without Darktech, and therefore vulnerable to manipulation by alien misdoings.
This is not just a book with an incredible amount of spectacular space combat, but also a rather intriguing political thriller as 5 different races all clash for power, and some have multiple factions within, the humans being the prime example.
As the galaxy soon tears itself apart, Captain Keyes and his crew must try and save humanity, protect the Providence, and protect those that are too weak to protect themselves. Cue Disgraced Lieutenant Husher (which I have to point out was Admiral Adama’s callsign in Battlestar!!) the son of an alleged traitor who collaborated with the Ixa in the first war. He has just been stripped of his Captaincy for making an ethical decision and has joined Keyes.
To be honest, there were a couple of times I did cringe at some of the characters, the dialogue and the level of ‘heroism’ displayed by some of the main characters, but again, if you look past this, and just go with it, and enjoy this for what it is, this is actually a really fun read. And although the characters are a little overdone in some parts, for the most part, they are pretty good.
Overall, I really enjoyed this (huge fan of BSG, so of course I was going to!), it had an outstanding story, and although I have been a bit critical, the story really is very clever, Bartlett has managed to string together multiple plots without losing any (I'm into the second book and he is still tying them together nicely), and the quality of his space combat is exceptional. The political intrigue is also sensational.
I am already into the second book “Juggernaut”, which is better than this one, taking the core work done in ‘Supercarrier’ and building on it. This is a great start to the series, if you are a BSG fan you will love it, but moreover, it is just a lot of fun, and who doesn’t like a good sci fi adventure with Supercarriers, Aliens and Tech Galore!!
Juggernaut – The Ixan Prophecies #2
This is a really brilliant series that is a lot of fun, and a really exciting and interesting read.
I said in my review of ‘Supercarrier – Part 1’, that I thought this series had a lot of similarities to the reboot of BattleStar Galactica, and I still stick with that.
I also had a few comments about the quality of the dialogue in my review of ‘Supercarrier’, and it is was good to note that there was a subtle change in ‘Juggernaut’, that the characters matured, keeping their overall tone, but not quite as overdone as they were in the first book. This was definitely a better book.
The remnants of Humanity, fighting for their lives against hopeless odds, being pounded around the galaxy, looking for various bits and pieces to try and save themselves.
Only in this instance, there are multiple alien races. And thankfully some of them have decided to become allies with the humans.
In this particular episode, the President of the humans is basically in league with the Darktech industry, and so sets about trying to help them. As a result, she makes some horrendous decisions, and policy that leads to worse decisions.
UHF acts in a way that is beyond criminal, turning on their once allies, and in the middle of this Keyes decides he can stand for it no longer.
This is where other comparisons to BSG come in, the true integrity and moral fibre of the characters and crew of the Providence. Keyes in particular has so much in common with Adama, the two could be mirror images of each other. And it's what makes this series such a good read, the depth and character strength of each of the main characters that draws you to them, makes you follow them, and want to read the story into the late hours of the night.
‘Juggernaut’ is an exceptional sequel to ‘Supercarrier’, picking up almost straight away after the events of the first book. The characters are more developed and stronger in ‘Juggernaut’, the Author having had the chance to get to know them a bit more, and thus getting to explore them more in ‘Juggernaut’.
This also goes for the Aliens, and the Main Alien characters, in ‘Juggernaut’, we get a much greater in-depth view of both Fesky and Ek, but we also get to know more about Piper, the Tumbran from the short story ‘Traitor’, as well as the Gok. The aliens are a highlight of the series, each of them being so unique, bringing something rather amazing to the table. The individual Main characters are also wonderfully brilliant adding something special to the story.
The other thing that is touched on in this story thanks to the Aliens is the concept of discrimination. It's something that Bartlett does with a few issues, using his work to highlight these issues without making it either obvious, but it allows it to be a discussion point for readers. It is wonderfully clever.
Bartlett has subtly touched on a few topics in this series, such as mental health, discrimination etc, and it is very clever, letting you enjoy the series, and if you want, ponder these greater issues as well. It is a series that leaves you thinking after about some of the bigger issues in life and that is always a good thing.
Overall this is a brilliant sequel to an epic series and if you have read the first, then you have to read this!
I'm already into the 3rd book.
Reckoning – The Ixan Prophecies #3
The Ixan Prophecies have been revealed for what they are, and it appears that the Ixa are going to crush everybody and anybody regardless of their species.
The crew of the Providence are desperately trying to rally support for their cause in one final hope, bringing all the last hopes of the galaxy together to face off against the Ixa.
Of course, the Ixa are now lead by Baxa, the super AI that actually has an agenda.
‘Reckoning’ is a full-on book, in which it just all unleashes. As with ‘Juggernaut’, ‘Reckoning’ has again improved with the quality of the characters, the dialogue and the overall writing, Bartlett really got into the characters in this one.
‘Reckoning’ again delves into human emotions and human psychology, looking at different aspects of vengeance, PTSD, loss, sorrow and as it crashes towards the end Hope. It is fascinating reading the different aspects of what is happening to the Main characters, both alien and human alike. Bartlett has obviously done a lot of research, and taken his influences from different characters, creating some brilliant mains and even secondary characters along the way.
Again, I found that there were a lot of similarities to other Sci-Fi sources, as if Bartlett has been a keen student, and taken all the best material to produce his Key Character Keyes (sorry, couldn’t resist), as well as to develop the other major characters, and wrap it into this extraordinary adventure.
Bartlett uses the final book to wrap up all of his major and minor characters, Keyes, Husher, both Junior and Senior, Caine, Fesky, Ek, Piper, the list is huge. But he has not only provided them with their own storyline, he has done so in a non-convoluted manner, unravelling each of the plots and closing them cleanly, bringing the story to a thrilling and climactic close that is just outstanding.
It is important to note that if you have not read the short story ‘Traitor’, that it is probably worth reading it BEFORE you read ‘Reckoning’ as there are things in ‘Reckoning’ that make a lot more sense if you have read ‘Traitor’. And ‘Traitor’ is just a great read anyway!
There is no holding back in ‘Reckoning’, and Bartlett is not afraid to unload on his main characters, and it is great to see an Author who does not believe in the invulnerability clause for their main characters. This not only made the story that much more entertaining and gripping, as you did not know what was going to happen at any time, but it also added a level of realism to the story.
‘Reckoning’ is about the reckoning of the human race, of the individual characters, of the various alien races, and of the galaxy as a whole, there are numerous meanings to this title, and thus, this book is incredibly well done when you dig into the various plots and unravel all of it.
Whilst at the surface, it may appear to be just a ‘Softer’ Mil Sci-Fi or Space Opera, there are a lot of deeper meanings for the characters and the future of the galaxy that can be pulled from this story, discrimination, working together for the greater good, peace, resource management, hope, and many more.
It is a book and a series that actually leaves you thinking for a bit after you finish it, something that is always a bonus.
This is a truly epic series, and if you have read parts 1 and 2, you must read the final chapter. If you haven’t read this series, then get on board as this is Space Opera at its best and shouldn’t be missed by any fan.
The Narration for all three books has been done exceptionally well, Mark Boyett is a wonderful Narrator, with a very nice voice to listen to, making it easy to just sit and listen to this series for hours on each. He has a very clean and clear speaking voice, so that you can understand him easily, and he produces wonderful voices for each of the characters, human and alien alike. He also does a brilliant job of individualising the male and female roles, so much so, that you can easily tell who is who, without being told. Boyett, gets right into the story as well, you can feel the emotion in his voice. He is an outstanding Narrator, and this makes a much better listen than it does a read.