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Cole & Srexx #3
Haven Ascendant
Nothing is ever easy...
Tensions rise as the Coalition pursues its war of conquest. Who will be their next target?
The Provisional Parliament in the old Commonwealth sinks deeper into fascism as people flee their worlds in droves. They head straight for Beta Magellan.
Only time will tell when Cole must face the next major choice: get involved in the war or let it pass him and Beta Magellan by.
Which will he choose?
Read Now to find out!
291 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 3, 2019
489 people are currently reading
85 people want to read
About the author
Robert M. Kerns
27 books147 followersRobert M. Kerns (or Rob if you ever meet him in person) is a geek, and he claims that label proudly. Most of his geekiness revolves around Information Technology (IT), having over fifteen years in the industry; within IT, he especially prefers Servers and Networks, and he often makes the claim that his residence has a better data infrastructure than some businesses.
Beyond IT, Rob enjoys Science Fiction and Fantasy of (almost) all stripes. He is a voracious reader, with his favorite books too numerous to list.
Rob has been writing for over twenty years, and "Awakening" is his debut novel.
Beyond IT, Rob enjoys Science Fiction and Fantasy of (almost) all stripes. He is a voracious reader, with his favorite books too numerous to list.
Rob has been writing for over twenty years, and "Awakening" is his debut novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews
August 29, 2019
I loved this book! I love this series! Cole is awesome and so is his team. The dialogue is realistic yet full of wit, the plot is coherent and interesting, and the strategies are believable. There is nonstop action and a tiny bit of romance - finally. Kudos to Rob Kerns!
September 6, 2019
Truly a pleasure
I'm starting to think of some books/series as deluxe staycations: You stay home but get to travel to incredible places, leaving the daily routines behind for a while. (Need a good word for it.) I was thinking about this a lot while reading this. Thank you, Mr. Kearns. I'm looking forward to the time spent with the continuing story.
I've only come up with one fussy thing; as in why he just didn't deny the Coalition gate access, entirely or when they're in route to a target. Kind of went there this time, but still picks at my mind. Certainly not a deal breaker.
I'm starting to think of some books/series as deluxe staycations: You stay home but get to travel to incredible places, leaving the daily routines behind for a while. (Need a good word for it.) I was thinking about this a lot while reading this. Thank you, Mr. Kearns. I'm looking forward to the time spent with the continuing story.
I've only come up with one fussy thing; as in why he just didn't deny the Coalition gate access, entirely or when they're in route to a target. Kind of went there this time, but still picks at my mind. Certainly not a deal breaker.
Read
August 15, 2023I could not finish. Rating: minus 3
It is time to revise this review into a more complete, less mildly disappointed judgement. The anti-social, anti-socialist sociopaths in the science fiction community within the membership of Goodreads have been very aggressively concerned about my reviews for several years. Bowing to popular demand, I have decided to give these fans more of what they crave and I aim to misbehave. 😈
Before I write to this frankly toxic site, I must visit YouTube as a reward for beginning this chore. This review was begun courtesy of the channels - Omeleto, Lily Simpson, Noah Samsen, Hannah Lee Kidder, Hello Future Me, Female Warriors - Teresatessa, Raptor Chatter, Planarwalker, The Sword and the Pen Reflections, Fantasy and World Music by the Fletchers, May, Sideprojects, Into the Dark, Acollierastro, James Somerton, Paleo Analysis, MANDY, Made in History, Kings and Generals, iWriterly.
The first book in the series ran to 424 pages, the next 318 and this 291. This is a series running on fumes and running on the standard less than healthy tropes that littler the current US science fiction landscape. The writer has run out of ideas and the series did not begin with great ideas to start with. From the beginning there were no good well developed characters nor a complete and interesting background universe. The series plot from the start was a juvenile retelling of the sweet Neoliberal narrative of the Good Billionaire, suitable for an early teen.
I have seen better series devolve in the same manner along a similar timeline. Since I began noticing page length of standalone titles and series progressions, it does not now surprise me. That the rating is contrary to what I would have expected from adult reviewers when I first wrote a review, no longer surprises me. This is publisher approved low end fare written for a preteen audience, which seems to be the reading level of an alarming percentage of Goodreads members.
The sad AI is still a slave, rather than partner as advertised. The action has now openly become a new quest for power by the Good Billionaires. The evil government fleets are sure to be defeated. The first book established that the hero ship can not be bested by any human force. The hero himself has armour that is all but impervious to human weapons. I do not recall whether his troops have equivalent armour but probably not, since the Prince must always possess the finest kit. The bad evil admirals and political leaders, who are financed (appointed) by the multi-billionaire class must be replaced. Bad Billionaires (can there be such a thing, really) will be brought to heel by the new supreme leader, yada, yada, yada.
It is interesting how the Good Billionaire not so slowly morphs into the ruler of the galaxy. Champion of the people. Destroyer of the bad ambitious admirals. Acknowledged supreme oligarch. Finally sovereign of the the galaxy. The series is moving into the "Let's build an empire" phase. That was difficult to not see coming. It is actually full of believable (in-universe) interactions between Haven and various power brokers or representatives of other governments. That recreates the rise of kings in most European and Asian kingdoms. Set the process into an advanced capitalist universe, you have created a corporate nobility.
That is not bad for a simplistic space opera with a big heart. It is perhaps more appropriate to an audience which favour toy swords and plastic tiaras than adults. Then again, I have read science fiction reviews and the associated comments directed to myself and others on this site and so might be in error.
The boredom of revisiting this book's banality requires that I once again visit the YouTube. This next is brought to you by - Sailing Melody, Popcorn in Bed, The British Museum, Dominic Noble, ConeofArc, Meidas Touch, May Moon Narrowboat, Eileen, UATV, Verilybitchie, Mauler, Ukraine Matters, Some More News, Ro Ramdin, A Day of Small Things, Abney Park, NerdForge, Books and Lala, Emma Thorne, Philosophy Tube, History with Kayleigh, Planarwalker, Gutsick Gibbon, Roomies Digest, RobWords, Bobbing Along, Supernatural4ever.
The passage of time was presented without any context, consequently the action is frenetic and absent any meaning. The action was pointless page filler without which, a 300 page book was impossible. With them, the writer still failed in that goal. There were possibilities for exploring nooks and crannies of the universe as originally presented, if the writer were minded to flesh out the admittedly skimpy story background. Since no substantial characters were developed over the first two books, he would have difficulty exploiting that opportunity. Having not made the decision to create more substantial characters at this late date, the book was purposely written as two thirds to three quarters filler.
New forces, organizations and agendas were created with no explanation in this book. They are not necessary and not embedded in the previous world building. If this were a child's adventure, I might be tempted to say that it is not worst plot I have seen. Of course having read my share of stories to a child, most seven year olds would challenge the flow of every chapter. Children listen carefully and are quick to demand explanation for the nonsensical and illogical. Since this series is widely popular with so many adult readers, it must be said that it was as bad as the many other low end space adventures which crowd out quality in Amazon's collection. Fortunately for the writer, Goodreads membership found the books in the series splendidly crafted adult fare.
The publishers have created a dismal low end science fiction pool which includes almost all the space opera and military science titles. The plot contrivance and plot hole are not seen as flaws by the Goodreads readers if reviews and ratings are a guide. Character depth worthy of a pre-schooler work are offered and accepted as fine examples of space adventure staffing. Juvenile dialogue and questionable interactions from the sexist to the racist are "just science fiction", which I have seen in comments to mine and other reviews. I was recently disappointed to see a comment from a reviewer I thought mature defend "Star Wars" world building as epic science fiction storytelling. Not for the twelve year old but adults.
I admit that I for the first time watch most of my fiction, especially science fiction. Good shorts most of them science fiction are to be had on YouTube's DUST, Omeleto and other channels. The streaming services deliver better writing of necessity as a rule and deliver decent visuals at the least.
YouTube have issues with commercials (though I like them) and are very sketchy in payments to their content creators, despite that I will visit them until they are replaced by a better (non-Google) site or they reform their algorithms, creator relations and restrictions and other flawed practices. I only began looking at the site a bit more than two years ago in search of good science fiction commentary and recommendations. After finding those, I discovered the educational, lifestyle, hobbyist and essayist channels. I was stunned to at last stumble upon my first book channel. 😍 These channels host communities of thoughtful, curious readers excited by all elements of the bookish world. I feel a visit to several would benefit any reader. Through sponsor spots on educational and essayist channels, I was introduced to the dedicated educational video sites, all of which are interesting and modestly priced.
A word about Goodreads discourse. For four years, I was followed across books by several little comment clouds and discovered from scanning other reviews that I was not alone. These members are juvenile in their nastiness and offer nothing about the books they are "defending" against a negative review. The commenters do not write reviews that I could find, yet know that their target is wrong, a bad person and much worse. I leave it to your imagination the comments written to the female reviewer.
About sixteen to eighteen months ago, I wrote a quick five or six sentence negative review of Powers of the Earth, a very poorly written salute to the January 6, 2021 hero by Travis Corcoran who is a self-described libertarian, advocate of the return of chattel slavery - of course, a US veteran, a supporter of Putin's Russia and employee of an unnamed US agency. The writer and six or seven fellows went mental with pages of comments demanding a response beyond my usual polite brush off. Each of these nutcases were self-described libertarians or anarcho capitalists (you really must investigate that insane subset of libertarian).
Further antics ensued and finally on my second review, a leader of this merry band, Claes Rees Jr/cgr710 wrote a comment declaring that They had "won" (?). I discovered out of curiosity and with a little help that They had launched a year long flood of vile sexual and racist comments against channels which I mentioned. The Oxford Astrophysicist, Swedish historical essayist, teen boater and her mother as well as all the other female creators were not impressed but a very real portrait of the American man-child was broadcast to a broad multinational audience. These animals did successfully increase the planet's overabundance of unpleasantness, which They probably considered a victory. Yay, America ??
My YouTube picks of the moment.
Bobbing Along, Dark Seas, Mia Mulder, Sideprojects, Part Time Hobbit, DUST, The Bands of HM Royal Marines, MANDY, Northern Narrowboaters, Tank Encyclopedia, Jay Exci, Baltic Empire, Mrs Betty Bowers, Sound of Music Flashmob, Female Warriors - Teresatessa, LuckyBlackCat.
More about Amazon/Goodreads. Please consider treating this as a potentially hostile site. 😐
Ominous music begins. 🙂 I mentioned my fanboys above and illustrated their interpretation of discourse, which is apparently the norm in American culture. If you should visit one of the reviews of other victims, note the number of objections to the nasty diatribes. Unless I have invited myself to the discussion, you should see no counter comments to these anti-social animals.
To better understand the threat they represent, I will add a small part of my experiences with Amazon. The site aided these idiots by sharing my limited message history with them. An attempt by Australian Intelligence out of Line Gap Centre to probe into my personal history followed of which I was notified by my Australian friend. Two offended morons, Travis Corcoran and Claes Rees Jr initiated a most illegal invasion of privacy. An unsupervised American top secret clearance is all that is required. I am most interested in identifying the third party in that sad troika. I digress. A bad review of unremarkable libertarian rubbish in space, resulted in Amazon also disrupting a customer's kindle service (mine, keep up), altered my Goodreads pages in several ways and even attempted to prevent me from uploading reviews.
It would be prudent to minimize profile information, remove the lurker (friend who never posts but follows you automatically, which is something to consider), screenshot the odd and the ugly and approach Goodreads messaging with a certain wariness. Assuming you never attract the ire of the mental American male sociopath, you may not be targeted. Consider also that these maniacs both members and site employees, may at a whim decide to change your status. They only know two strong emotions, fear and contempt. In short they are American. Ominous music ends. 🙂
May we all find Good Reading! 🤗
I am no authority on the best of YouTube channels but these were useful, entertained or brought me joy. Some of my favourite channels.
Ben and Emily, No Justice MTG, Some More News, Eileen, Tara Mooknee, History with Kayleigh, Austin McConnell, Supernatural4ever, Munecat, Kiko10061980, Jake Broe, Julie Nolke, Tom Nicholas, Philosophy Tube, Cover in French, What Vivi did next, Shades of Orange, The Welsh Viking, Jean's Thoughts, Verilybitchie, May Moon Narrowboat, Oliver Lugg, Lives and Histories, Captain's Log, Octopus Lady, Lady of the Library, Abby Cox, James Somerton, Polyushka Polye, Joe Blogs, Tasting History, Then & Now, Physics Girl, Malinda, Cambrian Chronicles, Kris Atomic, Patrick is a Navajo, Second Thought, The Book Leo, Adam Something, Truth to Power, Diane Callahan Quotidian Writer, SG--24, KernowDamo, Lily Alexandre, Tibees, Brain Blaze, Sabine Hossenfelder, Emperor Tiger Star, Lilly's Expat Life, I am Mindblind, MetaNerdz Lore, Certifiably Ingame, Library Ladder, Hello Future Me, Nini Music, Don't F@ck with Ukraine, ATP Geopolitics, Karolina Zebrowska, Bernadette Banner, Prime of Midlife, Bolero Flashmob, Arvin Ash, Dungeons and Discourse, Planarwalker, Gutsick Gibbon, Laura Kadner, UATV, Hailey in Bookland, A Life of Lit, Books and Lala, Elina Charatsidou, Engineering with Rosie, Kathy's Flog in France, Pentatonix, Cruising Alba, Cruising Crafts, Quinn's Ideas, Andrewism, Amanda the Jedi, The Confused Adipose, Terrible Writing Advice, Mythic Concepts, Jill Bearup, J. Draper, Epimetheus, Interior Design Hub, Abney Park, It's Black Friday, Deerstalker Pictures, FunnyLilGal, The Dadvocate, Ben and Emily, Lily Simpson, Eckharts Ladder, Renegade Cut, Chris and Shell, Cruising the Cut, Annie's Literary Empire, Serenity Sue, Adult Wednesday Addams - 2 seasons, Three Arrows, Zoe Baker, Noah Samsen, Perimeter Institute, Spacedock, BrickCrafts, Secret Sauce of Storytelling, The Leftist Cooks, Jessie Gender, Fit 2B Read, The Book Guy, Steve Shives, Abbie Emmons, Historical Fashion, Shannon Makes, iWriterly.
I wish you a bright morning, a productive afternoon, a pleasant evening, a fantastic night and may we all continue learning.
The person allowing Another to speak in their name unchallenged, adopts Another's sins.
My Grandmother, Catholic of peasant heritage, not a moral philosopher
It is time to revise this review into a more complete, less mildly disappointed judgement. The anti-social, anti-socialist sociopaths in the science fiction community within the membership of Goodreads have been very aggressively concerned about my reviews for several years. Bowing to popular demand, I have decided to give these fans more of what they crave and I aim to misbehave. 😈
Before I write to this frankly toxic site, I must visit YouTube as a reward for beginning this chore. This review was begun courtesy of the channels - Omeleto, Lily Simpson, Noah Samsen, Hannah Lee Kidder, Hello Future Me, Female Warriors - Teresatessa, Raptor Chatter, Planarwalker, The Sword and the Pen Reflections, Fantasy and World Music by the Fletchers, May, Sideprojects, Into the Dark, Acollierastro, James Somerton, Paleo Analysis, MANDY, Made in History, Kings and Generals, iWriterly.
The first book in the series ran to 424 pages, the next 318 and this 291. This is a series running on fumes and running on the standard less than healthy tropes that littler the current US science fiction landscape. The writer has run out of ideas and the series did not begin with great ideas to start with. From the beginning there were no good well developed characters nor a complete and interesting background universe. The series plot from the start was a juvenile retelling of the sweet Neoliberal narrative of the Good Billionaire, suitable for an early teen.
I have seen better series devolve in the same manner along a similar timeline. Since I began noticing page length of standalone titles and series progressions, it does not now surprise me. That the rating is contrary to what I would have expected from adult reviewers when I first wrote a review, no longer surprises me. This is publisher approved low end fare written for a preteen audience, which seems to be the reading level of an alarming percentage of Goodreads members.
The sad AI is still a slave, rather than partner as advertised. The action has now openly become a new quest for power by the Good Billionaires. The evil government fleets are sure to be defeated. The first book established that the hero ship can not be bested by any human force. The hero himself has armour that is all but impervious to human weapons. I do not recall whether his troops have equivalent armour but probably not, since the Prince must always possess the finest kit. The bad evil admirals and political leaders, who are financed (appointed) by the multi-billionaire class must be replaced. Bad Billionaires (can there be such a thing, really) will be brought to heel by the new supreme leader, yada, yada, yada.
It is interesting how the Good Billionaire not so slowly morphs into the ruler of the galaxy. Champion of the people. Destroyer of the bad ambitious admirals. Acknowledged supreme oligarch. Finally sovereign of the the galaxy. The series is moving into the "Let's build an empire" phase. That was difficult to not see coming. It is actually full of believable (in-universe) interactions between Haven and various power brokers or representatives of other governments. That recreates the rise of kings in most European and Asian kingdoms. Set the process into an advanced capitalist universe, you have created a corporate nobility.
That is not bad for a simplistic space opera with a big heart. It is perhaps more appropriate to an audience which favour toy swords and plastic tiaras than adults. Then again, I have read science fiction reviews and the associated comments directed to myself and others on this site and so might be in error.
The boredom of revisiting this book's banality requires that I once again visit the YouTube. This next is brought to you by - Sailing Melody, Popcorn in Bed, The British Museum, Dominic Noble, ConeofArc, Meidas Touch, May Moon Narrowboat, Eileen, UATV, Verilybitchie, Mauler, Ukraine Matters, Some More News, Ro Ramdin, A Day of Small Things, Abney Park, NerdForge, Books and Lala, Emma Thorne, Philosophy Tube, History with Kayleigh, Planarwalker, Gutsick Gibbon, Roomies Digest, RobWords, Bobbing Along, Supernatural4ever.
The passage of time was presented without any context, consequently the action is frenetic and absent any meaning. The action was pointless page filler without which, a 300 page book was impossible. With them, the writer still failed in that goal. There were possibilities for exploring nooks and crannies of the universe as originally presented, if the writer were minded to flesh out the admittedly skimpy story background. Since no substantial characters were developed over the first two books, he would have difficulty exploiting that opportunity. Having not made the decision to create more substantial characters at this late date, the book was purposely written as two thirds to three quarters filler.
New forces, organizations and agendas were created with no explanation in this book. They are not necessary and not embedded in the previous world building. If this were a child's adventure, I might be tempted to say that it is not worst plot I have seen. Of course having read my share of stories to a child, most seven year olds would challenge the flow of every chapter. Children listen carefully and are quick to demand explanation for the nonsensical and illogical. Since this series is widely popular with so many adult readers, it must be said that it was as bad as the many other low end space adventures which crowd out quality in Amazon's collection. Fortunately for the writer, Goodreads membership found the books in the series splendidly crafted adult fare.
The publishers have created a dismal low end science fiction pool which includes almost all the space opera and military science titles. The plot contrivance and plot hole are not seen as flaws by the Goodreads readers if reviews and ratings are a guide. Character depth worthy of a pre-schooler work are offered and accepted as fine examples of space adventure staffing. Juvenile dialogue and questionable interactions from the sexist to the racist are "just science fiction", which I have seen in comments to mine and other reviews. I was recently disappointed to see a comment from a reviewer I thought mature defend "Star Wars" world building as epic science fiction storytelling. Not for the twelve year old but adults.
I admit that I for the first time watch most of my fiction, especially science fiction. Good shorts most of them science fiction are to be had on YouTube's DUST, Omeleto and other channels. The streaming services deliver better writing of necessity as a rule and deliver decent visuals at the least.
YouTube have issues with commercials (though I like them) and are very sketchy in payments to their content creators, despite that I will visit them until they are replaced by a better (non-Google) site or they reform their algorithms, creator relations and restrictions and other flawed practices. I only began looking at the site a bit more than two years ago in search of good science fiction commentary and recommendations. After finding those, I discovered the educational, lifestyle, hobbyist and essayist channels. I was stunned to at last stumble upon my first book channel. 😍 These channels host communities of thoughtful, curious readers excited by all elements of the bookish world. I feel a visit to several would benefit any reader. Through sponsor spots on educational and essayist channels, I was introduced to the dedicated educational video sites, all of which are interesting and modestly priced.
A word about Goodreads discourse. For four years, I was followed across books by several little comment clouds and discovered from scanning other reviews that I was not alone. These members are juvenile in their nastiness and offer nothing about the books they are "defending" against a negative review. The commenters do not write reviews that I could find, yet know that their target is wrong, a bad person and much worse. I leave it to your imagination the comments written to the female reviewer.
About sixteen to eighteen months ago, I wrote a quick five or six sentence negative review of Powers of the Earth, a very poorly written salute to the January 6, 2021 hero by Travis Corcoran who is a self-described libertarian, advocate of the return of chattel slavery - of course, a US veteran, a supporter of Putin's Russia and employee of an unnamed US agency. The writer and six or seven fellows went mental with pages of comments demanding a response beyond my usual polite brush off. Each of these nutcases were self-described libertarians or anarcho capitalists (you really must investigate that insane subset of libertarian).
Further antics ensued and finally on my second review, a leader of this merry band, Claes Rees Jr/cgr710 wrote a comment declaring that They had "won" (?). I discovered out of curiosity and with a little help that They had launched a year long flood of vile sexual and racist comments against channels which I mentioned. The Oxford Astrophysicist, Swedish historical essayist, teen boater and her mother as well as all the other female creators were not impressed but a very real portrait of the American man-child was broadcast to a broad multinational audience. These animals did successfully increase the planet's overabundance of unpleasantness, which They probably considered a victory. Yay, America ??
My YouTube picks of the moment.
Bobbing Along, Dark Seas, Mia Mulder, Sideprojects, Part Time Hobbit, DUST, The Bands of HM Royal Marines, MANDY, Northern Narrowboaters, Tank Encyclopedia, Jay Exci, Baltic Empire, Mrs Betty Bowers, Sound of Music Flashmob, Female Warriors - Teresatessa, LuckyBlackCat.
More about Amazon/Goodreads. Please consider treating this as a potentially hostile site. 😐
Ominous music begins. 🙂 I mentioned my fanboys above and illustrated their interpretation of discourse, which is apparently the norm in American culture. If you should visit one of the reviews of other victims, note the number of objections to the nasty diatribes. Unless I have invited myself to the discussion, you should see no counter comments to these anti-social animals.
To better understand the threat they represent, I will add a small part of my experiences with Amazon. The site aided these idiots by sharing my limited message history with them. An attempt by Australian Intelligence out of Line Gap Centre to probe into my personal history followed of which I was notified by my Australian friend. Two offended morons, Travis Corcoran and Claes Rees Jr initiated a most illegal invasion of privacy. An unsupervised American top secret clearance is all that is required. I am most interested in identifying the third party in that sad troika. I digress. A bad review of unremarkable libertarian rubbish in space, resulted in Amazon also disrupting a customer's kindle service (mine, keep up), altered my Goodreads pages in several ways and even attempted to prevent me from uploading reviews.
It would be prudent to minimize profile information, remove the lurker (friend who never posts but follows you automatically, which is something to consider), screenshot the odd and the ugly and approach Goodreads messaging with a certain wariness. Assuming you never attract the ire of the mental American male sociopath, you may not be targeted. Consider also that these maniacs both members and site employees, may at a whim decide to change your status. They only know two strong emotions, fear and contempt. In short they are American. Ominous music ends. 🙂
May we all find Good Reading! 🤗
I am no authority on the best of YouTube channels but these were useful, entertained or brought me joy. Some of my favourite channels.
Ben and Emily, No Justice MTG, Some More News, Eileen, Tara Mooknee, History with Kayleigh, Austin McConnell, Supernatural4ever, Munecat, Kiko10061980, Jake Broe, Julie Nolke, Tom Nicholas, Philosophy Tube, Cover in French, What Vivi did next, Shades of Orange, The Welsh Viking, Jean's Thoughts, Verilybitchie, May Moon Narrowboat, Oliver Lugg, Lives and Histories, Captain's Log, Octopus Lady, Lady of the Library, Abby Cox, James Somerton, Polyushka Polye, Joe Blogs, Tasting History, Then & Now, Physics Girl, Malinda, Cambrian Chronicles, Kris Atomic, Patrick is a Navajo, Second Thought, The Book Leo, Adam Something, Truth to Power, Diane Callahan Quotidian Writer, SG--24, KernowDamo, Lily Alexandre, Tibees, Brain Blaze, Sabine Hossenfelder, Emperor Tiger Star, Lilly's Expat Life, I am Mindblind, MetaNerdz Lore, Certifiably Ingame, Library Ladder, Hello Future Me, Nini Music, Don't F@ck with Ukraine, ATP Geopolitics, Karolina Zebrowska, Bernadette Banner, Prime of Midlife, Bolero Flashmob, Arvin Ash, Dungeons and Discourse, Planarwalker, Gutsick Gibbon, Laura Kadner, UATV, Hailey in Bookland, A Life of Lit, Books and Lala, Elina Charatsidou, Engineering with Rosie, Kathy's Flog in France, Pentatonix, Cruising Alba, Cruising Crafts, Quinn's Ideas, Andrewism, Amanda the Jedi, The Confused Adipose, Terrible Writing Advice, Mythic Concepts, Jill Bearup, J. Draper, Epimetheus, Interior Design Hub, Abney Park, It's Black Friday, Deerstalker Pictures, FunnyLilGal, The Dadvocate, Ben and Emily, Lily Simpson, Eckharts Ladder, Renegade Cut, Chris and Shell, Cruising the Cut, Annie's Literary Empire, Serenity Sue, Adult Wednesday Addams - 2 seasons, Three Arrows, Zoe Baker, Noah Samsen, Perimeter Institute, Spacedock, BrickCrafts, Secret Sauce of Storytelling, The Leftist Cooks, Jessie Gender, Fit 2B Read, The Book Guy, Steve Shives, Abbie Emmons, Historical Fashion, Shannon Makes, iWriterly.
I wish you a bright morning, a productive afternoon, a pleasant evening, a fantastic night and may we all continue learning.
The person allowing Another to speak in their name unchallenged, adopts Another's sins.
My Grandmother, Catholic of peasant heritage, not a moral philosopher
November 29, 2023
Ok this was the most boring one of the lot. But they put everything right in good order like you know only Cole knows how. My voluntary suspension of logic or belive had to be firmly bolstered during this one. You could hear me rolling my eyes a few times. But it was still amazingly mostly enjoyable. And it set us up for the last book, which was probably it's purpose.
November 5, 2019
Too damned predictable, no suspense, no drama
I dislike hypocrisy in all forms including fiction. How can you steal from someone then realize that they don’t have the right to draw breath and justify killing them so that you can steal more from them and in the next breath claim that you are building a better galaxy for your people. Birds of a feather. If his conduct was so reprehensible, how did you work for him for all the years that you did in good conscience. Oh right you were actually using him to further your own agenda so that’s what made you morally superior. Bullshit. I find cole’s principles to be extremely convenient and they can be applied when necessary. I also dislike the fact that every situation haven comes across is easily handled due to its superior weapons and tactics. As said before this is bull cow dung, the hot and smelly variety.
I dislike hypocrisy in all forms including fiction. How can you steal from someone then realize that they don’t have the right to draw breath and justify killing them so that you can steal more from them and in the next breath claim that you are building a better galaxy for your people. Birds of a feather. If his conduct was so reprehensible, how did you work for him for all the years that you did in good conscience. Oh right you were actually using him to further your own agenda so that’s what made you morally superior. Bullshit. I find cole’s principles to be extremely convenient and they can be applied when necessary. I also dislike the fact that every situation haven comes across is easily handled due to its superior weapons and tactics. As said before this is bull cow dung, the hot and smelly variety.
October 31, 2020
Another hit!
Again I find it necessary to thank Mr Kerns for another enjoyable, entertaining and fascinating view into the Universe of Cole & Srexx. From the depth of character development in this series it is understandable that the author has had difficulty with this book and justifiably so, further thank goodness for that struggle, it is to the authors credit and a boon for the reader that is found in the richness of this tale. Again, thank you and I eagerly look forward to the next in this series.
Again I find it necessary to thank Mr Kerns for another enjoyable, entertaining and fascinating view into the Universe of Cole & Srexx. From the depth of character development in this series it is understandable that the author has had difficulty with this book and justifiably so, further thank goodness for that struggle, it is to the authors credit and a boon for the reader that is found in the richness of this tale. Again, thank you and I eagerly look forward to the next in this series.
December 20, 2020
A hidden gem found on Amazon
I was in desperate search for a good book when I came across Awakening, the first book in the Darkmoor series. The Darkmoor books were excellent and lead me to this series. I am a sucker for a good space expansion adventure series and this does disappoint. Mr. Kerns' writing style and the flow of the story is great. (dare I say perfect.) I am looking forward to the next books in both series, and any other story he writes.
I was in desperate search for a good book when I came across Awakening, the first book in the Darkmoor series. The Darkmoor books were excellent and lead me to this series. I am a sucker for a good space expansion adventure series and this does disappoint. Mr. Kerns' writing style and the flow of the story is great. (dare I say perfect.) I am looking forward to the next books in both series, and any other story he writes.
December 13, 2019
7/10: Good solid read, something to get your teeth into.
“No one is ever ready for war, not even the people who start them.”
Enjoyable and easy read.
“No one is ever ready for war, not even the people who start them.”
Enjoyable and easy read.
September 19, 2023
The story moves on in a couple of dimensions. A couple of threats emerge. The lesser threat, his old boss, a Thurian lizard pirate called Qeecer, occupies a nearby unclaimed planet. It is a side story, but it cleans up a potential problem. Then there is the Coalition. These folks are getting aggressive and are rather nasty to folks who don’t see things their way.
Cole has a problem, a good one, but a problem nonetheless. He doesn’t like bullies and people being harmed for no good reason. While he doesn’t want a war, he is willing to fight when the time comes. The Coalition was spawned out of the old Commonwealth, so they have lots of resources, and they decide to invade Tristian’s Gate, which is friendly to Cole. Other planets are also invaded, and emissaries arrive asking for help. The Coalition also invades an independent Duchy. Cole decides on taking some action. While there is a battle, it is not the start of a war, but you can bet one is in the near future.
The second area of interest is Red Patel, now Scarlett O’Donnell. She had saved Cole’s life while he was still acting as Jax Theedlow. She was a pirate queen, but a bad thing happened to her. Cole rescues her albeit he has no idea she is on the dying ship; it’s a chance thing. She comes on board Haven, and they renew their relationship. Later she opens his eyes to Sasha’s interest in him, so that relationship begins to progress.
Srexx is his old self and gaining some understanding of humans. He delights in cracking encryptions and bemoans the fact that most of them are child’s play. His interchanges with Cole are often a chuckle. It’s still fun to read, and who knows where it will all end? Interstellar space is a pretty big place, you know, so what else does Mr. Kerns have up his sleeve? Read on and find out.
Cole has a problem, a good one, but a problem nonetheless. He doesn’t like bullies and people being harmed for no good reason. While he doesn’t want a war, he is willing to fight when the time comes. The Coalition was spawned out of the old Commonwealth, so they have lots of resources, and they decide to invade Tristian’s Gate, which is friendly to Cole. Other planets are also invaded, and emissaries arrive asking for help. The Coalition also invades an independent Duchy. Cole decides on taking some action. While there is a battle, it is not the start of a war, but you can bet one is in the near future.
The second area of interest is Red Patel, now Scarlett O’Donnell. She had saved Cole’s life while he was still acting as Jax Theedlow. She was a pirate queen, but a bad thing happened to her. Cole rescues her albeit he has no idea she is on the dying ship; it’s a chance thing. She comes on board Haven, and they renew their relationship. Later she opens his eyes to Sasha’s interest in him, so that relationship begins to progress.
Srexx is his old self and gaining some understanding of humans. He delights in cracking encryptions and bemoans the fact that most of them are child’s play. His interchanges with Cole are often a chuckle. It’s still fun to read, and who knows where it will all end? Interstellar space is a pretty big place, you know, so what else does Mr. Kerns have up his sleeve? Read on and find out.
May 25, 2021
OK, first off I love scifi such as Star ship Enterprise, Deep Space 9, Voyager, etc.
I have to say I didn't love this series but I didn't hate it either. This is my personal opinion as a woman, the stories has a good world building and plot but everything else for me was dry, dull no real life with the characters. You know the saying " Give me the facts, just the facts" well that is how I felt with this series. We went from point A to B to C with nothing in between. I would of loved more interaction with all the characters in between A and B and C.
There was one scene that I remember out of it all and it is the best part, its when Cole takes a dropship and when landing he has to drop it and the copilot and her reaction was priceless. I felt the characters came to life in those couple min and it felt like I was on that dropship. I feel that is what was need through out these 3 stories. Don't get me wrong there is action, and fighting scenes and all that but they were missing that little extra.
If you like scifi here are a couple series that you might like to compare that I feel were a lot more entertaining - Michael Anderle
This also has a AI and aliens and a really cool h. Oh, I can't forget the spaceships.
Another one is Michelle Diener
This one has a AI on Class 5 battleship that h helps. This one also has more Romance in it as well.
I have to say I didn't love this series but I didn't hate it either. This is my personal opinion as a woman, the stories has a good world building and plot but everything else for me was dry, dull no real life with the characters. You know the saying " Give me the facts, just the facts" well that is how I felt with this series. We went from point A to B to C with nothing in between. I would of loved more interaction with all the characters in between A and B and C.
There was one scene that I remember out of it all and it is the best part, its when Cole takes a dropship and when landing he has to drop it and the copilot and her reaction was priceless. I felt the characters came to life in those couple min and it felt like I was on that dropship. I feel that is what was need through out these 3 stories. Don't get me wrong there is action, and fighting scenes and all that but they were missing that little extra.
If you like scifi here are a couple series that you might like to compare that I feel were a lot more entertaining - Michael Anderle
This also has a AI and aliens and a really cool h. Oh, I can't forget the spaceships.Another one is Michelle Diener
This one has a AI on Class 5 battleship that h helps. This one also has more Romance in it as well.
June 2, 2022
Yeah this goes down as another good one for sure
So it started as the first book that I thoroughly enjoyed progressed to the second book with more character development. More battles. Now I'm into the third and finish this. It was a lot of fun and something I had been looking forward to, which may sound morose, but with some loss on the good guy side you see it's fairly unbelievable. If there's never any loss on the good guys side Good should prevail in the end, but it always comes at a cost and that was addressed fairly well in this book. I've enjoyed these books and looking forward to the fourth one. The author has done a good job leaving a good tail of a good person doing the right things for the right reasons, which is refreshing when so many authors have tried to do conflicted. Good people and bad guys doing the right thing or whatever. This is just a classic good person doing the right thing and it was enjoyable
So it started as the first book that I thoroughly enjoyed progressed to the second book with more character development. More battles. Now I'm into the third and finish this. It was a lot of fun and something I had been looking forward to, which may sound morose, but with some loss on the good guy side you see it's fairly unbelievable. If there's never any loss on the good guys side Good should prevail in the end, but it always comes at a cost and that was addressed fairly well in this book. I've enjoyed these books and looking forward to the fourth one. The author has done a good job leaving a good tail of a good person doing the right things for the right reasons, which is refreshing when so many authors have tried to do conflicted. Good people and bad guys doing the right thing or whatever. This is just a classic good person doing the right thing and it was enjoyable
May 21, 2024
Solid Work
I’ve read all four books in the Cole & Srexx complete series; plus the related short story. I throughly enjoyed the series, and would recommend it to anyone. I thought the characters were well crafted and the plot was entertaining. As is my preference, I would have liked to have had richer scene settings. Now for the gaps I saw. Apparently no one had sex in this entire saga. I find it unbelievable that during the span of years, that there were no relationships; nor any intimacy. I can see an author attempt to write for all age groups; but it just doesn’t come off as realistic. Lastly, it was like the author tired of the series, and rushed the ending. In a few chapters, we were taken from a battle with the introduction of a new species to jumping 5 years and ending the storyline. I felt cheated out of a smooth ending to one that was sliced and diced. Because of these gaps, I’m not inclined to pursue any other of the stories this author has to offer.
I’ve read all four books in the Cole & Srexx complete series; plus the related short story. I throughly enjoyed the series, and would recommend it to anyone. I thought the characters were well crafted and the plot was entertaining. As is my preference, I would have liked to have had richer scene settings. Now for the gaps I saw. Apparently no one had sex in this entire saga. I find it unbelievable that during the span of years, that there were no relationships; nor any intimacy. I can see an author attempt to write for all age groups; but it just doesn’t come off as realistic. Lastly, it was like the author tired of the series, and rushed the ending. In a few chapters, we were taken from a battle with the introduction of a new species to jumping 5 years and ending the storyline. I felt cheated out of a smooth ending to one that was sliced and diced. Because of these gaps, I’m not inclined to pursue any other of the stories this author has to offer.
July 19, 2020
A Slight Change?
Actually rating this at 4.5, and mostly from a near hit on a classic sci-fi trope of “vanishing reality.” You know, the one where a piece of technology or a specific skill set previously employed is conveniently “forgotten” in order to employ some other more risky action, all for the sake of the plot. In his case, the narrative manages to survive comfortably, but there was that contrived moment of doubt. I’m not a fan of this common TV series ‘sleight of plot,” even in this reduced version. So there was a bit of a drop in enthusiasm for book 3, though I am still looking forward to the release of the next in this series.
Actually rating this at 4.5, and mostly from a near hit on a classic sci-fi trope of “vanishing reality.” You know, the one where a piece of technology or a specific skill set previously employed is conveniently “forgotten” in order to employ some other more risky action, all for the sake of the plot. In his case, the narrative manages to survive comfortably, but there was that contrived moment of doubt. I’m not a fan of this common TV series ‘sleight of plot,” even in this reduced version. So there was a bit of a drop in enthusiasm for book 3, though I am still looking forward to the release of the next in this series.
June 10, 2025
This will be the last book I read in this series. I found myself incredibly bored most of the time. The author tried to build tension by always having another battle; another fight. But I find myself caring less and less about who is involved. At the end of the book was supposed be this touch reuniting scene between a father and daughter, but I honestly just rolled my eyes at how cliche it felt. Not to mention how fake. I had no reason to care for either of them. They were barely on screen for most of the book. I am done with this series now. It was mostly fun popcorn sci fi that just really wished it was more.
August 17, 2023
Book 3 of this sci-fi series was still more of the same. All the flaws from the first couple books are still there and there is very little challenge for the perfect protagonist. The book does introduce a tiny amount of romance but it is super light. Despite the flaws I'm still happy I found this series as it does have some redeeming qualities.
There is a very short 4th book in this series but I've heard it is NOT worth reading. The author did not want to write this series anymore and it shows. So I'm stopping here.
There is a very short 4th book in this series but I've heard it is NOT worth reading. The author did not want to write this series anymore and it shows. So I'm stopping here.
March 27, 2020
Not as good as Cole and Srexx #1 but just as long. Author wrote as if half asleep a lot as storyline would jump many times from one subject to a week later on the next page without stating day change.
Many grammatical errors also, and I do not know what language author uses but I use English and couldn't understand many words or phrases nor could I find references listing them online!
But, the stories are good. I wish it could continue.
Many grammatical errors also, and I do not know what language author uses but I use English and couldn't understand many words or phrases nor could I find references listing them online!
But, the stories are good. I wish it could continue.
September 2, 2020
Part three of the series continues as before as an enjoyable romp see my previous part reviews for ongoing comments. Scale of story increases and turns a shade darker clear that things are not going to be as easy from now on. Life's will be lost on a scale not seen up to now. On the positive side romance raises it's head for our hero. Looking forward to the remaining parts as an when they are published.
September 30, 2020
Giving it a generous 4star as I can't tell if it's the end of the series or merely a good stopping point but it was an enjoyable romp that I may revisit ergo: 4star.
More shenanigans with the crew and citizens of haven. More Marysuing but fun; some failures of the beschdel test but overall good pulp enjoyment.
High literature? Nope, but fun.
Glad I stumbled across it
Great narrator and mixing as well for the audiobook
More shenanigans with the crew and citizens of haven. More Marysuing but fun; some failures of the beschdel test but overall good pulp enjoyment.
High literature? Nope, but fun.
Glad I stumbled across it
Great narrator and mixing as well for the audiobook
May 21, 2021
Terrific
This series is an excellent read,the story moves along at a good pace ,the main characters are varied and mostly interesting,the world building is excellent and Cole the MC is an interesting character who remains consistent to his morals and actually funds his organisation in a realistic manner, ships and stations don't just appear out of his hat.The story itself is great and it's potential is endless.
This series is an excellent read,the story moves along at a good pace ,the main characters are varied and mostly interesting,the world building is excellent and Cole the MC is an interesting character who remains consistent to his morals and actually funds his organisation in a realistic manner, ships and stations don't just appear out of his hat.The story itself is great and it's potential is endless.
May 19, 2020
Great space opera
Very much enjoyed the characters in all 3 books. The story kept my attention from start to finish. Loved the subtle movie references and spent some time researching those! Did seem to move long fast and the lead character was never wrong, which wasnt believable, but still lots of fun.
Very much enjoyed the characters in all 3 books. The story kept my attention from start to finish. Loved the subtle movie references and spent some time researching those! Did seem to move long fast and the lead character was never wrong, which wasnt believable, but still lots of fun.
August 12, 2023
Great series
I don't normally read space series but I tried this one because the reviews were funny and I found that I have now read 3 of them in a row They are well written incredibly thoughtful and the main premise is that I wish the world was like this It's a must read the whole series I'm on to book 4.
I don't normally read space series but I tried this one because the reviews were funny and I found that I have now read 3 of them in a row They are well written incredibly thoughtful and the main premise is that I wish the world was like this It's a must read the whole series I'm on to book 4.
June 24, 2025
I've read the previous books in this series, and enjoyed this one just as much. What do I enjoy so much? It's not a flawed hero. Well, OK, mistakes are made, but the main character is someone who intends to do good always, and tries to make the universe a better place. It's nice to live with a story like this.
July 31, 2020
Great escapism!
Good story. I would like to see a little more depth to the characters. Exploring them would be interesting. Still, I love to cheer for the good guys and this series allows plenty of opportunity for that.
I'm really hoping for more books in this series!
Good story. I would like to see a little more depth to the characters. Exploring them would be interesting. Still, I love to cheer for the good guys and this series allows plenty of opportunity for that.
I'm really hoping for more books in this series!
August 8, 2020
Continues the adventures of Cole. The writing seems to be a bit different since the whole thing reads like a string of star trek episodes instead of a coherent book.
Having said that I found it to be an enjoyable read and look forward to what happens next.
Having said that I found it to be an enjoyable read and look forward to what happens next.
November 6, 2020
I'd hoped the writer would have learned something but I was disappointed. He had a good plot. But, the "Mary Sue" aspect of the main character remained. I would suggest he hire a professional content and copy editor next time.
February 11, 2021
Another good book
This was another good book in a truly interesting series. This series has great characters and an intriguing storyline. With lots of action and suspense it will keep you interested
This was another good book in a truly interesting series. This series has great characters and an intriguing storyline. With lots of action and suspense it will keep you interested
April 2, 2021
There is nothing really wrong with this series or at least nothing objectionable but there isn’t much depth and so far at least at book 3 it has just been going through the motions. Mind you what there is, is well written.
April 19, 2021
Great for a binge
I really enjoyed this entire series. I generally dont leave reviews but wish to encourage this author to persevere. Both the sci fi series and the fantasy series have a lot to commend them.
I really enjoyed this entire series. I generally dont leave reviews but wish to encourage this author to persevere. Both the sci fi series and the fantasy series have a lot to commend them.
January 4, 2023
I’m still enjoying this series, but I am beginning to notice more and more, some of the liberties and illogical decisions the author makes trying to keep the storylines going. Also even though this is science fiction, some of the science is really ‘iffy’.
August 7, 2023
Fun and action packed
Fun and action packed book. Tons of interesting locations and people, great character interaction and dialogue. Definitely a fun read that I recommend along with the series.
Fun and action packed book. Tons of interesting locations and people, great character interaction and dialogue. Definitely a fun read that I recommend along with the series.
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