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Omega War #9
Do No Harm
When Todd’s critically damaged ship dropped out of hyperspace near the Human colony world of Azure, he had no memory of his past. He didn’t know who he was, or even what he was, and the Humans didn’t either. That didn’t stop the colonists of Azure—they took him in, anyway…even though they didn’t understand how he could do some of the things he could do.
Todd and his descendants consider themselves Human—eight armed and water-breathing—but Human, nonetheless. After seventy years living among Humans, Todd’s descendants are going back out into the Union to make their mark—from fifteen-year-old Verne, who’s a little short to be a mercenary, to Harryhausen, who wants to be the most famous PI in the galaxy. Eventually they learn that the rest of the Galactic Union knows them as Wrogul, intelligent octopus-like beings known for science and the ability to perform surgery like no other race can.
These Wrogul do more than just practice medicine, but they still intend to do no harm. Unfortunately, the Humans, whether they have two arms or eight, have powerful enemies... and the Wrogul may have no choice.
Todd and his descendants consider themselves Human—eight armed and water-breathing—but Human, nonetheless. After seventy years living among Humans, Todd’s descendants are going back out into the Union to make their mark—from fifteen-year-old Verne, who’s a little short to be a mercenary, to Harryhausen, who wants to be the most famous PI in the galaxy. Eventually they learn that the rest of the Galactic Union knows them as Wrogul, intelligent octopus-like beings known for science and the ability to perform surgery like no other race can.
These Wrogul do more than just practice medicine, but they still intend to do no harm. Unfortunately, the Humans, whether they have two arms or eight, have powerful enemies... and the Wrogul may have no choice.
517 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 3, 2019
205 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
June 5, 2019
Do No Harm : Book Nine of The Omega War By Robert E. Hampson & Chris Kennedy with Sandra L. Medlock
I obtained this book through the Kindle Unlimited program.
First of all, they are NOT squids, neither the Human Navy type, nor the squishy, squirty version. And neither are they octopi, okay? They are utterly different, being from another planet...somewhere. Not sure where, actually.
They are Wrogal. Now, in knowing that, you know more than the first one we met knows.
Todd is the first one we meet (except for some juveniles in the prologue). His story is the most mysterious; he is an adult, with a wiped memory, who is the sole survivor of a battle-wrecked spacecraft that drifts into the Azure system. Through his story, we discover certain fascinating characteristics of the Wrogal. For one thing, they all seem to be savants, of one sort or another. Todd has the ability to repair machinery, as well as repair damaged people. He is able to communicate without sound to the translators worn by humans. He reproduces asexually, by budding, And he adopts 'Human' as his species.
Next, we meet Verne. All he wants to do is become a mercenary, which he believes to be his right, having identified as a human from his...budding. When his first efforts are foiled, he sets about proving he is worthy. Nobody can repair equipment like Verne, and he is a crackerjack designer as well. CASPer for Wrogal? Why not?
Marinara, our next character, happens to be my favorite. While possessing very little of the true chef talents, I HAVE been captivated from time to time by cooking shows, and Marinara uses ALL of his natural gifts to cook. Nobody can slice and dice like him, and he has the ability to concoct dishes that no one else could conceive; and even if they could, who would dare a ghost-pepper and cardamom sponge cake? I learned, by using my google-fu while reading, that there really DOES exist such a thing as molecular gastronomy, which is one of the areas of study for Marinara. And his love of learning cuisine takes him to meet some amazing people; occasionally, some quite deadly people.
Molina is our next Wrogal, the name a tribute to Alfred Molina, the actor who portrayed the character 'Doc Ock” in the 2004 Spiderman 2 movie. A being on the run, he has become a surgeon for the damaged, who branches out to installing the pinplant technology in humans. And h seems to stay in trouble.
Harryhausen, named after Ray Harryhausen, the stop-action genius, decides he wants the most difficult job in the world. Personally, I believe that to be a domesticator of housecats, Harryhausen settles for Peacemaker. To make it just a bit more difficult, he is paired with a Besquith. And, because sometimes he needs mobility, a trench coat and a hat disguise him perfectly on Earth, blending in with all of the other hard-eyed private eyes from the 1930s who are three feet tall. True to the genre, he walks away from official procedures when the mission requires it.
Here is a lovely, lovely thing: there are three contributors to this book. Chris Kennedy wrote the 'Verne' character, because he is a master of mil s/f. Sandra Medlock wrote the 'Marinara' character, because she knows about things like molecular gastronomy. And the gent who wrote everything else, but especially 'Molina' and about implants in particular, is none other that Robert E Hampson, who just HAPPENS to be working on the real-life applications of that technology. Is that not marvelous?
I obtained this book through the Kindle Unlimited program.
First of all, they are NOT squids, neither the Human Navy type, nor the squishy, squirty version. And neither are they octopi, okay? They are utterly different, being from another planet...somewhere. Not sure where, actually.
They are Wrogal. Now, in knowing that, you know more than the first one we met knows.
Todd is the first one we meet (except for some juveniles in the prologue). His story is the most mysterious; he is an adult, with a wiped memory, who is the sole survivor of a battle-wrecked spacecraft that drifts into the Azure system. Through his story, we discover certain fascinating characteristics of the Wrogal. For one thing, they all seem to be savants, of one sort or another. Todd has the ability to repair machinery, as well as repair damaged people. He is able to communicate without sound to the translators worn by humans. He reproduces asexually, by budding, And he adopts 'Human' as his species.
Next, we meet Verne. All he wants to do is become a mercenary, which he believes to be his right, having identified as a human from his...budding. When his first efforts are foiled, he sets about proving he is worthy. Nobody can repair equipment like Verne, and he is a crackerjack designer as well. CASPer for Wrogal? Why not?
Marinara, our next character, happens to be my favorite. While possessing very little of the true chef talents, I HAVE been captivated from time to time by cooking shows, and Marinara uses ALL of his natural gifts to cook. Nobody can slice and dice like him, and he has the ability to concoct dishes that no one else could conceive; and even if they could, who would dare a ghost-pepper and cardamom sponge cake? I learned, by using my google-fu while reading, that there really DOES exist such a thing as molecular gastronomy, which is one of the areas of study for Marinara. And his love of learning cuisine takes him to meet some amazing people; occasionally, some quite deadly people.
Molina is our next Wrogal, the name a tribute to Alfred Molina, the actor who portrayed the character 'Doc Ock” in the 2004 Spiderman 2 movie. A being on the run, he has become a surgeon for the damaged, who branches out to installing the pinplant technology in humans. And h seems to stay in trouble.
Harryhausen, named after Ray Harryhausen, the stop-action genius, decides he wants the most difficult job in the world. Personally, I believe that to be a domesticator of housecats, Harryhausen settles for Peacemaker. To make it just a bit more difficult, he is paired with a Besquith. And, because sometimes he needs mobility, a trench coat and a hat disguise him perfectly on Earth, blending in with all of the other hard-eyed private eyes from the 1930s who are three feet tall. True to the genre, he walks away from official procedures when the mission requires it.
Here is a lovely, lovely thing: there are three contributors to this book. Chris Kennedy wrote the 'Verne' character, because he is a master of mil s/f. Sandra Medlock wrote the 'Marinara' character, because she knows about things like molecular gastronomy. And the gent who wrote everything else, but especially 'Molina' and about implants in particular, is none other that Robert E Hampson, who just HAPPENS to be working on the real-life applications of that technology. Is that not marvelous?
April 7, 2019
An Incredible Read
This book is simply amazing. With fairly good editing and amazing plot, this book simply keeps the pages turning. This book covers about 70 years, and provides a good amount of background information on many of the more enigmatic characters of the series. With world altering revelations, we find just how important individuals can be against the greater fabric of the universe.
This book is simply amazing. With fairly good editing and amazing plot, this book simply keeps the pages turning. This book covers about 70 years, and provides a good amount of background information on many of the more enigmatic characters of the series. With world altering revelations, we find just how important individuals can be against the greater fabric of the universe.
April 7, 2019
Another “got to read now” book
Holy cow. Did you really go there??? N and G? I figure Asprin is rolling a bit. (In laughter). I love the way you set this up(no spoilers). Your references are spot on and great. Merging the stories? Again. Holy cow. Well done. Each book in the series is getting better and better. I downloaded it last night. 22 hours later(got to sleep a bit) and done.
Holy cow. Did you really go there??? N and G? I figure Asprin is rolling a bit. (In laughter). I love the way you set this up(no spoilers). Your references are spot on and great. Merging the stories? Again. Holy cow. Well done. Each book in the series is getting better and better. I downloaded it last night. 22 hours later(got to sleep a bit) and done.
May 14, 2019
Fantastic
Just when you thought you were all clued up as to what was going on someone sends you a curve ball!
This is a follow up to a short story called Earworm in the colllection Hope is not a strategy, actually its a bit of a prequel as well.
This story tells us about the Wrogul and told from different charachters from that race. Its brilliantly written and amusing and is quite the page turner ! Loveing this series!
Just when you thought you were all clued up as to what was going on someone sends you a curve ball!
This is a follow up to a short story called Earworm in the colllection Hope is not a strategy, actually its a bit of a prequel as well.
This story tells us about the Wrogul and told from different charachters from that race. Its brilliantly written and amusing and is quite the page turner ! Loveing this series!
April 7, 2019
Superb 9th book
This book gives us another view of the current war but it also adds a ton of background info and history,specifically with Wrogul's but also with other stories that we've read. My view of the squids has really changed and it's great to see their perspective in the overreaching story. Book the is nicely setup and I'm sure all the avid fans can't wait to read!
This book gives us another view of the current war but it also adds a ton of background info and history,specifically with Wrogul's but also with other stories that we've read. My view of the squids has really changed and it's great to see their perspective in the overreaching story. Book the is nicely setup and I'm sure all the avid fans can't wait to read!
April 15, 2019
Great Addition - Need next book!
Wow - great book that moved the Omega War storyline, explained more of the Wrogel, kept canon, and was hard to put down! A real page turner that was a fun read! Great addition to the four horsemen universe.
My favorite Wrogel is Verne, but Squidy is a close second...
Wow - great book that moved the Omega War storyline, explained more of the Wrogel, kept canon, and was hard to put down! A real page turner that was a fun read! Great addition to the four horsemen universe.
My favorite Wrogel is Verne, but Squidy is a close second...
May 29, 2019
More fun from The Omega War universe
I have been following The Omega War series for a while now and generally enjoy the stories. This book has the most fun and interesting characters. The Azure Wrogel are great characters in every sense of the word. I hope to see more of them in the future.
I have been following The Omega War series for a while now and generally enjoy the stories. This book has the most fun and interesting characters. The Azure Wrogel are great characters in every sense of the word. I hope to see more of them in the future.
November 12, 2019
One of the most interesting books from this series, the Wrogul are some of the best characters of this world. I liked seeing the progression of the Wrogul from strange alien squids to basically 8 armed humans.
January 25, 2020
Great stories for the 4 horseman universe
Great read looking at some behind the scenes stuff from the rest of the universe. Interesting look at some of the interesting minor characters.
Great read looking at some behind the scenes stuff from the rest of the universe. Interesting look at some of the interesting minor characters.
June 24, 2019
Wrogul!!!
Meet the human branch of the mysterious exotic Wrogul alien family. I enjoyed this look into these fascinating aliens. Hope to see the next chapter in their quest.
Meet the human branch of the mysterious exotic Wrogul alien family. I enjoyed this look into these fascinating aliens. Hope to see the next chapter in their quest.
September 21, 2019
Add the Wroguls to the top of my '4HU Favorite Aliens' list.
October 28, 2019
One of my favorites of this series. I just love the Wrogul's attitude. Excellent characters and a great plot.
December 17, 2019
A great series from a different viewpoint
An offshoot of a galactic species that now thinks of itself as human. An interesting way to fill in details and connect some dots.
An offshoot of a galactic species that now thinks of itself as human. An interesting way to fill in details and connect some dots.
September 24, 2020
Five linked tales of the wrogul from Azure.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews