Who are the Celestials? Captain Jace Hughes is about to embark on a crusade against the greatest enemy any human has ever faced. The Celestials are unrivaled in their brutality, technology, and strength. But the former captain of the Renegade Star will not be swayed. With new allies, a joint armada, and a healthy dose of determination, Jace must launch a campaign of exploration through the largest slip tunnel in the known galaxy. With no knowledge of what awaits him, he must rally his people and learn all that he can about this unknown enemy. But what terrible secrets await the crew on the other side, tucked quietly in the void so far from home? Experience the continuation of this sprawling galactic tale in the tenth entry in the Renegade Star series.
This has been an emotional ride, besides the fast paced, action full scenes. Hard decisions to make, delicate alliances, terrifying discoveries... it went direct to my heart, even shed a few tears! I can’t even imagine the horrible outcome with the Celestials that awaits Hughes and his team in Renegade Descent, book 11. Looking forward!
Another highly entertaining romp in the Renegade series sees Jace and friends attempting to gain intel on the Celestials. Chaos is the condiment of choice and is applied liberally. A fun read in keeping with the rest of the series. Well worth reading.
Jace and company (including the Union unfortunately) are off to find out information about the Celestials in the hopes that they can discover something to help in their coming war. Lots of butt-kicking and danger.
Stoked Renegade Empire finally came out because it was worth the wait! This installment tackled some changes that will up the stakes and tension for readers. Can’t wait for the next!
This was a fun series! It was so amazing that I blasted through the series and forgot to write individual reviews. I'll be posting a review of the entire series on the page for book one, but I didn't want to keep my enthusiasm to myself. So, I’m sharing this ringing endorsement of the series, here, on the individual book pages. They were all epic in their own right, though there were times I thought I might have a heart attack during the action scenes! And can we talk about how awesome the narrator was? Wow, just wow! Overall, this series was a fun read and I was able to gloss over the near-death experiences!
My Overall Thoughts: Okay, let’s get into the weeds on this one! I’ve organized my overall assessment by putting the stuff I didn’t like first so we can end on a high note. I also want to be clear that I really loved this series overall, it’s why I plowed through the audiobooks so quickly that I had to write a series review instead of an individual one for each of the six novels that make up The Renegade Star Series.
Alright, let’s rip off the band-aide and dive in. There were many parts that I wasn’t thrilled with in this series. First, the lack of details about the world was disheartening. I’m a guy who prefers all of the details, and I wasn’t given that in this series. This is a different type of book than I usually read, more pulp than anything, so some of that can generally be addressed by the fact that I’m not his ideal audience. However, I wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t mention that this was something I didn’t particularly like.
Another issue with the books was the profanity. I’m aware that the books description out a warning about the crude language. That normally bothers me, however, when you’re hooked on the fast-paced story, you want to listen every chance you get. I couldn’t do that if my kids were around, so this is more of an annoyance than anything because I went in with eyes wide open. Again, it wasn’t the profanity itself so much as the way that limited my ability to listen to the audiobooks. Luckily, this book is in the Kindle Unlimited program, and you can read it for free if you hit a patch where your rug rats won’t give you room to breathe.
I chose this book because the covers and the premise sounded entertaining, and I wasn’t disappointed. However, this book was very much a pulp novel and didn’t give me a lot to sink my teeth into. As many of you know, I’m the kind of reader that wants all the details in the novels I read. Some of this is just my own oddities, but I really like the little descriptions of the world that flush it out for me. I don’t just want to know that the character fired a blaster, I want the make and model. Again, some of this is just my preference, so this lack of detail was annoying, but not so much that I couldn’t keep reading because I obviously blazed through the series.
Another minor announcement I had was the lack of proper naval terminology. The main character calls the bulkheads walls and calls the decks a floor. I grew up in a Navy town, so hearing vessels using proper terminology always catches my attention. However, these traditions could change in the future, so this is really just nitpicking for the sake of my review.
My one major complaint about the story, aside from like details, was the character’s lack of reaction to killing. I’ve been in situations where you were required in someone else’s life, thank you Iraq, and there is always an emotional response to the action. I did not feel like the main character, Jace Hughes, ever felt remorse for the people he killed. It was just the thing he did, and then he’s callously shrugged it off. The combat veteran, this bugs me, but I’m sure most readers would never notice this.
Alright, now let’s talk about the happy things! One of the things that I liked about the series was the way characters grew as the story developed across the 13 novels. This is an area where the author grew as a creator, and it showed. I can’t really say anything else about the specific category because that would give spoilers, but trust me, it’s worth waiting for the big reveal later in the series.
Another area that struck me with this series was the audio narration. I loved this audiobook, Luke Daniels gave one of his trademarked top-notch performances. My only complaint in this arena was the way the main character socked on hard candy. However, this was more about the author’s characterization and how it translated to audiobooks, but it was about Luke’s performance. However, if especially noticeable in the morning and audiobook format. Despite that one minor complaint, this audiobook was a rollicking good adventure! Seriously, if you weren’t already hooked on Luke, this book would get you there! This was one of the many areas where this series really shined for me.
What did shine was the amazing premise of this book series. This definitely hit on all of the tropes that I love about science fiction, but not in a way that felt derivative. He carried it out in a way that somehow became uniquely his own thing. I found shades of the short-lived Firefly television show and the anime Outlaw Star that inspired it. There was also a Star Wars meets Indiana Jones element to this series, which kept you glued to the edge of your seat, waiting to see what happens next. Oh, and some of the reviewers called the series a mash-up of Andromeda and Battlestar Galactica. I agreed with them, though I didn’t see it at first. Once I read the review, the comparison was obvious!
If I haven’t said it enough, I REALLY loved the basic premise of this series. The concept of a grand adventure, trying to solve the mysteries of the universe, struck the right chord for me. It was very much. The Da Vinci Code in space, which I really liked. The fact that it was written in first person made you much more connected to the adventure, which I really appreciated. All of this combined, and you end up with a series of books that are a lot of fun to read. Seriously, it’s pulpy popcorn comfort food. Except you won’t regret eating it, because it’s calorie-free.
One of the overarching themes of the series that I enjoyed was the classic story of good versus evil. This was your typical David versus Goliath story except you had blaster since the slingshots. While the main character wasn’t quite the everyman, he was close enough that you ended up rooting for him and cheering as the bad guys get taken down a peg or two. There’s a Union officer whose face you want to smash in, but luckily Jace wants to do the same thing, and so you get a vicarious thrill of living for him. Isn’t that why we read fiction in the first place?
Oh, and I really loved the way Chaney explained his science of faster than light travel (FTL). It had just the right amount of Handwavium to keep me happy. Because of the structure of the story, he never felt let down by the lack of a more detailed explanation of how the science works. Instead, you have a character who doesn’t know and so can’t tell you. This is one of the beauties of the first-person narration done right!
Finally, I thoroughly enjoyed the more direct language that the author chose to use. It had a very Tom Clancy-esq vibe with simple words that avoided the tendency towards a pretentious use of big words, whether they were needed or not. It made it possible for Luke Daniels to give the stellar performance that he did with his narration, which I obviously loved. I know this style of writing isn’t for everyone, but it was something that I thoroughly enjoyed.
I wish I could gush more about the series, but I can’t think of ways to do this justice without giving spoilers. So… have I hinted that I enjoyed this universe yet? Good, I want it to be obvious! So, to wrap this bad boy up, I loved this series. Each one of these novels was at least 75,000 words long, about what you expect from the genre. Despite the length, each book felt like a quick read. If you didn’t know how long each novel was, you could almost imagine them as short stories. This is because they were so engrossing that the reader loses track of time while they temporarily live in the story. The author definitely made me want more from this universe, and I’ll definitely be reading the follow-on series that are already available.
In conclusion, I was hooked from the first page/minute! JN Chaney wove the action into this fun space opera romp that made me lose track of time. Basically, he had me hooked from the beginning and kept it going throughout the whole series. These are books that I would happily recommend, and an author I will definitely read again. While I don’t see myself diving more into the pulp side of the house, I don’t regret swimming in this pool of awesomesauce! Buy these novels! But hey, it’s easy to spend someone else’s money! I give these books a 5 out of 5 grenades!
After the rubbish events caused by the asshat Union Admiral in the previous book the Union have finally agreed to at least consider the fact that they have to work together in order to face the threat of the Celestials.
Since it is still the same asshat Admiral running the show on the Union size it of course does not go entirely as planned. This is the part(s) of the book that I don’t like that much. He is a true asshole of the type you would see in stupid Hollywood movies and he is basically dragging down my enjoyment of this book quite a lot.
At least the Union has agreed to investigate the threat together with Hughes & Co. So a combined task force is taking a trip through the wormhole at the center of the Earth to Celestial territory.
I do like the investigative and exploratory part of the story. As always I like Hughes & Co. After a while I even started to like the guy in charge of the Union team that took part in the task force. The action is good and the book is generally well written as always.
Unfortunately two of the members of the Union team is of the same ilk as the asshat Admiral and of course they manage to screw things up big time which, fortunately, has big consequences for themselves and, unfortunately, also consequences for everyone.
I would probably have been able to swallow the Union asshattery if the book would have advanced somewhat more in positive terms but it doesn’t really. The threat of the Celestials is just growing at every turn and the Union still has the wrong people in the wrong places to be of any use. There are some positive signs towards the end but not much.
Then to add to the misery the author shoots up the Titan again. Big time. [Slight spoiler ahead!] To the extent that he has to pull some rather big story twists if we are going to see Athena in future books. I hope he does, even if they are unbelievable, because I would really miss Athena.
So this book left me somewhat unhappy at the end. I hope it is just a bit of unfortunate interlude before things gets going in a more positive direction.
The people of Earth know that the Celestials are a threat, but they do not know when they will strike. Jace and his team, which includes Union men, need intel on how to kill the beasts. The group opens up Earth's slip tunnel again to explore their last known position. After raiding an abandoned Celestial ship, the group decides to explore a Celestial planet similar to Titan. Their scans show no life signs, but with the Celestial technology, the data could be misleading.
This book was like a rollercoaster. You slowly go uphill for an exaggerated amount of time until you are lulled into a false sense of security when it reaches the top. At the height of anticipation, you come screaming down the other side holding on for dear life thinking "No, no, make it stop!" This one shook me up a bit.
Jace has brokered a truce with the Union through Admiral Vick. Neither of them trusts the other but Jace has to accept a squad of soldiers who have been ordered to find out as much as they can. Then Jace decides to follow the slip tunnel across the galaxy taking Titan with him. When they get there they find a disabled celestial ship which has sent out a distress signal to an area with no star but there is a planet. He decides to investigate it as scans pick up no life signs or energy readings. From then on it’s non stop action. I’m not sure that I could follow the logic of this storyline as it put so many people at risk but we can only wait to see the direction that the author envisages.
After going through the slip tunnel to where the Celestial scout had come through, they find a small ship that appears to be empty. On further investigation, it sent a signal to an anomaly in space which appears to be an abandoned moon-like ship, similar to Titan. Jace, Abigail, Lacey, Dressler, Freddie, and the Union go and investigate the 'moon' for information and uncover a nightmare from which some may not return. Only time (and more books) will tell if the sacrifice was worth it....
...built by being far more advanced that the current technologically advanced Union, and yet these gaggle of humans thought they could just walk onboard with out anything going wrong? Not sure what to make of some of the decisions key characters made in this book. Jace could have used a few more drones covering his team, maybe had special grenades, but instead they walk into the enemy vessel with a few handguns and rifles. Still invested in the series, curious to see how it evolves and eventually concludes.
This book has some hard lessons for the main character. Hard lessons, which I hope are not undone in the next book. This was the first book to really have some meaningful event and I hope it stands. The false death of Sigmund a few books ago was a reminder that this is an easy series where the main characters are not easily dispatched.
While I don't, necessarily, want that to change, I do think some sacrifice is good for a story, from time to time.
An excellent read. I could not put it down. Up until this point Jace and his crew have been lucky considering the challenge they face in this continuation. With a war looming against an unknown enemy reality starts to set in, hard choices are made, sacrifices and compromises must be made to have a chance for survival. I am totally looking forward to starting the next book.
Another excellent chapter in the Renegade saga! Jace and company have teamed up with the dreaded Union in an alliance against the Celestials, mysterious beings with untold power, and levels of technology that surpasses anything that ancient Earth may have had.
A fun ride as Jace and company try to gather information to help them in their fight against the Celestials!
Another great addition to the series. Unlike the others, this one was full of suspense, waiting for action to take place. Very much like it and wish it kept going longer!
This book was well worth the wait, although J.N. ripped out my heart on this one. Can’t wait to see how he manages pulling this awesome storyline together! Forward into the breach!
A really good continuation of the story. Jace and crew are on a quest to gather information about the Celestials that are trying to annihilate the human race. Great characters and an interesting story line.
The fight for survival continues. Everything is stacked against Captain Jace and his renegade crew. A horrific enemy, the Celestials could spell their doom, as well as all mankind. This is an extremely well written book. Enjoyed immensely!
Excellent pacing throughout this book really sets it apart from the rest of this series. This was a white knuckle read from begging to end. Well worth the price of admission.
This is a full on novel, with much sadness amidst the action and fight for survival. There is much to take on board and think about, and now I can’t wait to see where the fight will lead Jace and his crew next.
Fantastic the storylines just keep getting better.. Wow did not see that coming about Lucia but I did see the Union soldiers screwing up the job lol.. Really looking forward to the next books
This book takes you to a new dimension in the series and opens new doors to different adventures in new locations and new foes most of the time you will not want to put the book down. ENJOY the continuing story then it leaves you looking for more
The crew found a ship belonging to the Celestials, which they boarded thinking it was abandoned. It was not, and a lot of people died as a result. Not Jace or Amanda, but Lucia didn't make it out. Harrowing book.
Jace and crew join forces with the Union and go looking for the Celestials. Not happy with the ending of this one. Killed off one of my favorite characters.