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Cauldron of Stars #3
Beast Mode
A new breed of immortal villains threatens the Cluster...
...and only one man can stop them.
Racing against spooks and space pirates, freighter captain Mike Starrunner embarks on a do-or-die mission to prevent interstellar war.
After the failure of the Fleet's containment operations, the disruptive gene-mod known as the Transcendence is about to fall into the hands of criminals who'll use it to conquer the Cluster. Mike and his crew are the only ones with a chance of catching them in time. Out on their own without backup, they chase the Travelers to a dead planet where a shocking discovery awaits.
When they're betrayed and left for dead, Mike and the crew have only one option left. They must strike at the Travelers' stronghold. Can they overcome the impossible odds and save the Cluster, or will their failure doom human civilization?
Lovers of Iain M. Banks, Alastair Reynolds, and James S.A. Corey will flip for this genre-melding adventure. Find out why readers say this epic space opera has “insane adventures of improbable heroes!” Don’t wait to get your copy - click the BUY button now!
...and only one man can stop them.
Racing against spooks and space pirates, freighter captain Mike Starrunner embarks on a do-or-die mission to prevent interstellar war.
After the failure of the Fleet's containment operations, the disruptive gene-mod known as the Transcendence is about to fall into the hands of criminals who'll use it to conquer the Cluster. Mike and his crew are the only ones with a chance of catching them in time. Out on their own without backup, they chase the Travelers to a dead planet where a shocking discovery awaits.
When they're betrayed and left for dead, Mike and the crew have only one option left. They must strike at the Travelers' stronghold. Can they overcome the impossible odds and save the Cluster, or will their failure doom human civilization?
Lovers of Iain M. Banks, Alastair Reynolds, and James S.A. Corey will flip for this genre-melding adventure. Find out why readers say this epic space opera has “insane adventures of improbable heroes!” Don’t wait to get your copy - click the BUY button now!
409 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 23, 2019
27 people are currently reading
8 people want to read
About the author
Felix R. Savage
90 books120 followersFelix R. Savage writes hard science fiction, space opera, and comedic science fiction. He has also occasionally been known to commit fantasy.
Felix has a long history associated with rebellion. He was born in the 1970s, a decade of American youth rebelling against the safe culture of their parents. He is married to a wonderful woman and they have two beautiful daughters. Together the four of them live in Tokyo serving their cat overlord and benevolent protector. Felix pounds the keyboard while not translating, delighting in his family, or catering to the whims of the family’s cat. He woke up one day to learn that he was a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, but he continues to keep a low profile, and never stops watching out for any sign the lizard people have found him.
Felix has a long history associated with rebellion. He was born in the 1970s, a decade of American youth rebelling against the safe culture of their parents. He is married to a wonderful woman and they have two beautiful daughters. Together the four of them live in Tokyo serving their cat overlord and benevolent protector. Felix pounds the keyboard while not translating, delighting in his family, or catering to the whims of the family’s cat. He woke up one day to learn that he was a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, but he continues to keep a low profile, and never stops watching out for any sign the lizard people have found him.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 28, 2019
I LOVE THIS SERIES!! Mike Starrunner is the perfect, flawed, irreverent hero (is that an oxymoron?) who just wants to make a living and take care of his young daughter, Lucy, and his spaceship crew of shifter misfits - honestly, if possible. Unfortunately, life and his ex-wife keep getting in the way. How’s a guy like him going to save a universe?!
Full of action, adventure, unique problem solving, and dry humor, this book has great characters (Dolph is terrific!) and dialogue. It’s even better if you read the first two volumes first.
Full of action, adventure, unique problem solving, and dry humor, this book has great characters (Dolph is terrific!) and dialogue. It’s even better if you read the first two volumes first.
July 28, 2019
Felix R. Savage’s A Cauldron of Stars series is a rollicking fun ride and precisely the “Space Opera Adventure” promised. That’s certainly the case with its latest installment, Beast Mode (Book 3). Immortal villains, spooks and space pirates, a threat to the entire Cluster. Wowza. This book has it all - and following along freighter captain Mike Starrunner on his “do-or-die mission to prevent interstellar war” is a total adrenaline blast of fun. Read the publisher’s blurb as this plot is too complex to summarize is a sentence or two (and the blurb does a perfectly good job describing things without spoiling anything important). All it’s missing is that this is a really well-written and totally fun book and that, while you can kinda-sorta read this standalone, you’re really best off starting with book 1 in the series (separately reviewed) which is too much fun to miss and provides the backstory that definitely adds to your overall enjoyment. Frankly, but for the fact that I’m literally dictating this review to my husband from my hospital bed, I could go on and on with praises. The book definitely deserves it. Since I can’t do that I will simply note that the book is most definitely one to read, and it is easy to highly recommend. I’m definitely looking forward to the next book in this series.
July 28, 2019
The Cauldron boils over...
...with furious pacing, fast action, fine world-building, and all the feels. Shifter Mike Starrunner and his (mostly) alt-human crew go completely rogue in order to save the Cluster - and the universe - from the Transcendence, anti-shifter prejudice, another pan-galactic Ek war, the Travellers, and Mike's megalomanic ex-wife. Felix R. Savage has concluded his Cauldon of Stars trilogy with the block-buster ending that sees every character accounted for, their flaws exposed, and their true worth revealed. Poetic justice triumphs, and readers are left gob-smacked and dizzy with delight. My thanks to the author for the ARC, and this is a voluntary and independent review.
...with furious pacing, fast action, fine world-building, and all the feels. Shifter Mike Starrunner and his (mostly) alt-human crew go completely rogue in order to save the Cluster - and the universe - from the Transcendence, anti-shifter prejudice, another pan-galactic Ek war, the Travellers, and Mike's megalomanic ex-wife. Felix R. Savage has concluded his Cauldon of Stars trilogy with the block-buster ending that sees every character accounted for, their flaws exposed, and their true worth revealed. Poetic justice triumphs, and readers are left gob-smacked and dizzy with delight. My thanks to the author for the ARC, and this is a voluntary and independent review.
July 31, 2019
This is the third installment of the sci-fi series, "A Cauldron of Stars".
This chapter has lots of moving parts and would be best to have read the series in order to get the most out of it. It would also be a good idea to read the free prequel 'The Hurtworlds Heist', that offers insight into the characters.
I enjoyed this wrap up to the series. Well done. These were very likeable characters.
I feel this author is so darn talented, it makes me hope that in the future he will take on some 'hard science - near future' projects which is my preferred type of sci-fi. There is so much fantasy and space opera military sci-fi written, and not enough hard science - near future. Yet, books like The Martian do so well.
This chapter has lots of moving parts and would be best to have read the series in order to get the most out of it. It would also be a good idea to read the free prequel 'The Hurtworlds Heist', that offers insight into the characters.
I enjoyed this wrap up to the series. Well done. These were very likeable characters.
I feel this author is so darn talented, it makes me hope that in the future he will take on some 'hard science - near future' projects which is my preferred type of sci-fi. There is so much fantasy and space opera military sci-fi written, and not enough hard science - near future. Yet, books like The Martian do so well.
July 24, 2019
Mike and the gang are back for the continuation of this hysterical story. It sucked me in and made me laugh and groan all the way through it. The characters are flawed but its so fun to read all the crazy problems and situations Mike and his crew end up in. Once I started reading it I could not put it down until the end. I just had to see if Mike would catch his ex-wife, capture the Transcendence and how he would save the Cluster. I liked how new and old favorites I like and hate show up too. Just a blast to read.
August 26, 2019
I’m not the least bit surprised that I loved every page of Beast Mode. After all, it is written by Felix R. Savage and his imagination must pour out into a mentally linked printer even when he sleeps. I was a little bit surprised at how comfortable I felt being with some of my favorite characters again. It almost felt like like coming home after a long absence, wonderful and exciting. I highly recommend it and hope you enjoy it as much as I did. As a matter of fact I love everything Savage has published.
Read via Kindle Unlimited
Read via Kindle Unlimited
July 23, 2019
Save the Universe!
Mike Starrunner and his crew are doing everything to save the Cluster from war. Everybody is out to kill them. Mike just wants a normal life with his daughter and friends. Enjoy reading this faced paced adventure, seeing what he goes through to get to his goal. Wonderful series, great characters.
Mike Starrunner and his crew are doing everything to save the Cluster from war. Everybody is out to kill them. Mike just wants a normal life with his daughter and friends. Enjoy reading this faced paced adventure, seeing what he goes through to get to his goal. Wonderful series, great characters.
July 27, 2019
*I received an ARC from the author *
Every time I start a series from Savage, I know, like all books, they eventually come to an end. That doesn't mean I have to like it! BEAST MODE is one more example. That said, BEAST MODE was sad, funny, twisty turvey and more. Savage never leaves the reader feeling empty. This last book is rollicking fun. The best part of these books blend all kinds of emotions. You should get these for your summer reading. As always, well done Mr Savage.
Every time I start a series from Savage, I know, like all books, they eventually come to an end. That doesn't mean I have to like it! BEAST MODE is one more example. That said, BEAST MODE was sad, funny, twisty turvey and more. Savage never leaves the reader feeling empty. This last book is rollicking fun. The best part of these books blend all kinds of emotions. You should get these for your summer reading. As always, well done Mr Savage.
September 7, 2019
A Review By A Long-time Sci-fi Reader
The Beast Mode continues the creative imagination and exciting action so richly established in Mr. Savage's prior novels. Lots of action and twists, turns and slippery moves. Hang on to your seats or you may well be tossed off track. Surprises await those who speculate.
The Beast Mode continues the creative imagination and exciting action so richly established in Mr. Savage's prior novels. Lots of action and twists, turns and slippery moves. Hang on to your seats or you may well be tossed off track. Surprises await those who speculate.
July 30, 2019
Beast Mode:A Cauldron of Stars Book 3
From Lethal Cargo (Book1) thru Book 3 the author keeps the pace moving with enough twists and turns to keep you returning. The introduction of the shifter crew of The Saint Clare is a challenge for any adult reader.
From Lethal Cargo (Book1) thru Book 3 the author keeps the pace moving with enough twists and turns to keep you returning. The introduction of the shifter crew of The Saint Clare is a challenge for any adult reader.
August 25, 2019
What a ride! I can't even begin to tell you how good this series and especially this book is.
Bouncing around the planets, interstellar travel, this has it all.
I Highly Recommend It!
Bouncing around the planets, interstellar travel, this has it all.
I Highly Recommend It!
November 1, 2020
A Fun Action Packed Series
The characters have a real life feel, some live, some die. Their good qualities usually save them in the end.
The characters have a real life feel, some live, some die. Their good qualities usually save them in the end.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews