Occupation

Rise #1

by Devon C. Ford, Nathan Hystad, Ray Porter (Narrator)

Twenty-five years ago, the Overseers conquered Earth and enslaved humanity. The time to fight back has come...

Alec works in the Detroit Overseer-factories, building a mysterious alien device. When three strangers appear, he's provided an opportunity to escape after years of servitude.

Cole, a Freeborn loner, encounters Lina after her village is destroyed by the alien Occupation. Together, they make the arduous journey to a fabled safe-zone, trying to stay one step ahead of the enemy drones on their trail.

Dex is a Hunter, working for the Occupation to track down escaped factory slaves, or Roamers, at all costs. But his latest hunt uncovers a massive secret and threatens his loyalty to the Overseers.

All their fates are bound. For the first time in decades, a secret enclave of alien resistance fighters known as the Reclaimers prepare to make their move.

Experience the unforgettable first novel in an alien invasion and post-apocalyptic series that will leave you breathless. It's perfect for fans of Fallen Skies, Colony, and District 9


RUNNING TIME ➼ 8hrs. and 6mins.

©2020 Aethon Books (P)2020 Audible, Inc.

Genres: Science Fiction, Post Apocalyptic, Aliens, Audiobook, Dystopia, Fiction, Thriller

9 pages, Audible Audio

First published March 10, 2020

About the author

Devon is from the UK, having lived in many places until finally settling in the Midlands. His career in public services started in his teens and has provided a wealth of experiences, both good and some very bad, which form the basis of the book ideas that cause regular insomnia.

He first started reading for fun as an adult, having tried his hardest to avoid anything resembling academia growing up, and at that point the world became a far bigger place. He has been reading, at least one book at a time, ever since.

His debut works, the After It Happened series, (Survival, Humanity, Society) were published in April 2016 followed by Hope (July 2016) and Sanctuary (December 2016). The first part of the series concluded with the release of Rebellion which was published in June 2017.

Storming high into the charts with the first books of the After It Happened series, Devon launched into the top 10 sellers listings in the UK, Australia, Canada and the US, and he made the decision to write full time shortly after the launch of Hope.

Devon’s self-published beginnings caused a stir in the publishing world, and resulted in contracts with Podium Publishing for Audible, narrated by R.C. Bray (The Martian, Expeditionary Force, Arisen), before a publishing deal for kindle and paperbacks with Vulpine Press.

Further works have seen the start of a multi-author series, sci-fi/post-apocalyptic cross genre, futuristic dystopian and alternative history zombie apocalypse. Spin-off books from the After It Happened world have been announced for 2018.

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is set up so that you switch between characters, with them all coming together at the end. It served the story well, and allowed for the characters to develop organically. I loved the diversity here; the alien technology sounded like something out of a scifi movie (although it wasn't really anything new). The addition of a drone with sentience was a nice touch.

Overall this is a great post-apocalyptic start to a series. And of course it was upped about 10 levels with the narration by Ray Porter, because he's amazing.

[jboyg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Those pesky aliens have really stepped in it this time

Told from four points of view this alien invasion tale moves along like a freight train flying off a cliff. The BEMs think they have it dicked with the remnants of humanity nothing but brainwashed factory drones building their own final demise--well guess again you nine foot fruitcakes, because the resistance has other ideas and humanity ain't down for the count yet.

[Jas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a Post-Apocalyptic Alien Invasion story, one in which the Aliens have come, destroyed most of humanity (there was a brief fight back but it didn’t go well), and we are now an occupied planet. Humanity is being kept as slave labour, the Aliens need us to complete tasks for them so that they don’t have to do things (why bother doing manual labour when you have an entire slave force that can do it for you? Even better, they can make their own food, clothes, you have enforced breeding camps to only breed strong humans, dispose of anything that has any sort of defect (there are no new humans needing glasses for example), and you have no issue.
Control is managed through layers, Seeker Drones that find you, Tracker Drones that hunt and kill you if you go missing or do something wrong (Trackers are intelligent machines with their own AI), and if they don’t work, you have the worst thing of all, Hunters, but these aren’t drones, these are something far more insidious. These are Humans who have decided to work for the Aliens, and not at gunpoint, or in slave labour camps, but as mercenary bounty hunters, tracking, finding, killing or returning these rogue humans as needed, commonly known as ‘Roamers’.
This is a brilliant, detailed and intricate book, with multiple layers of world building that have been carefully put together to allow each of the main characters to tell their stories in this incredibly creative, and captivating story that once you start reading, you will not be able to put it down. There is even a part 2 right around the corner!!
The story is told from numerous points of view, Lina, a young Navaho woman who ends up alone after drones separate her from the rest of her people. Cole, a Freeborn (freeborn gets explained in the book), young man, who runs into Lina, as they are on the run from some drones, they also have an interesting companion.
There is Alec, a factory worker, who works as a slave, who is sick of how he is forced to live, and wants something better, not just for him, but also for his best friend, Beth who works at the same location.
You get a real feeling for how humanity is only just barely surviving from these people, the character writing is exceptional, incredibly powerful and gritty, very emotive in parts, and in others, kind of terrifying. The lives we take for granted now, even in the midst of the COVID pandemic, are nothing compared to what these people have to endure.
Then we meet Dex, one of the vaunted ‘Hunters’, working to track down humans, his own kind, who have run away from their labour camps. Dex is everything you can despise about someone who turns on his own species as a traitor.
One of the most extraordinary and fascinating characters in the book, is one of the trackers, SW-18, an old tracker unit. These units hunt like a canine, on all fours, using enhanced techniques and algorithms, as well as a complex AI program to allow it to track Humans with incredible ease. Its story is interlaced throughout the others as it hunts various characters some major, some minor, but regardless, it is fascinating to understand how this thing operates, and the alien intelligence at work behind it.
As each of these stories unwinds, you learn a bigger picture, and realise just how impressive the scope of this story actually is. This is going to be one of those books that you will read once, and then later, when parts 2 or 3 come out, you will read them again, to refresh the story and just because they are so good, or if you are an audiobook listener, one that will go in the favourites list to listen to on long road trips. Regardless of your genre, Alien Invasion, Dystopian, Post-Apocalyptic, Mil Sci-Fi, Contemporary, or even a bit of Space Opera, this has something for everyone.
Don’t miss this exceptional story, it is just too good to miss!!

[Eileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this start of a new series and very much enjoyed Ray Porter's narration. I did listen to it at a faster speed than normal, but I often do that, so it says nothing negative about Ray Porter. Since the POV switched from chapter to chapter, Ray's narration of the different voices helped me keep track of who was who, although each chapter does say who it's going to be about. Without revealing any spoilers, each of the POV characters has a part to play, but ultimately there is one mastermind who is sort of moving things in a certain direction, hoping to ultimately rise up against the alien invaders. At least that's where I think it's headed. I loved that the threads included people who were runaway slaves, people who were chasing after runaway slaves, people who had never been enslaved, and people who seemed to be part of the resistance. And of course, one killer alien robot. I'm not sure where this story is headed, but I look forward to future installments.

[william h bowen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having a good imagination

I enjoyed reading this book but had to work hard to try and remember who was who. The story switches so many times between characters that you can get lost as to who's who. It all comes together though at the end of book one and gets you ready for book two.

[Sammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Series shows promise, but isn't quite living up to it yet. hopefully it will in book 2!

[Ziggy Nixon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is part of an on-going review for the ENTIRE trilogy as I purchased - well, downloaded via Kindle Unlimited - the books as part of the box set (and as such, my review on Amazon will need to be put under that heading). For goodreads, naturally I want to register each under the individual books along with their own ratings because (a) I hope this helps potential readers make a decision as to whether or not they would enjoy this and (b) I take my yearly reading target way too seriously for my own good.

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Book 1 "Occupation (Rise #1)" rating 3 stars

"Occupation" is a very readable if not less-than-spectacular book (one reviewer called it "bland" and I have to agree) that has the obvious purpose of introducing us to a wide range of characters. Unfortunately, the cast is not as varied as one would have hoped and I found tended towards the clichéd. Overall, I would refer to a book like this as "safe scifi" in that it is, again, something you don't necessarily regret reading but it doesn't challenge you with moral quandaries or even scientific inventiveness. I couldn't shake the feeling it was as if I had streamed a few episodes of "Falling Skies" which though entertaining, yes, that series never reached the plotting necessary to make it a true staple of the genre. I will say though that in terms of being a 'co-written' offer, it was much better than previous titles I've read from when Hystad teamed with Jasper Scott and I am hopeful that this partnership will continue to show promise.

Getting back to the characters we meet: I was a bit surprised that a large portion were very young in age, which left me feeling like I had just read a dystopian Young Adult yarn (of which I'm not a huge fan). I do think the story would have benefitted with more focus on it's more adult players and their endeavors. For example, the chapters featuring "The Hunter" Dex were easily the most entertaining and fully formed to me. Still, in terms of science fiction, the book embraces a classic, almost Heinlein-ian structure and reads very fast (it is also much shorter - ca. 100 pages even - than the reported pagination listed here). You could argue that it served its main purpose, mainly keeping me engaged enough and with a sufficient number of well-placed teasers to keep me wanting to read at very least the next chapter of the trilogy. I'm hoping for sure that we learn more about the aliens themselves - their technology, their biology, their motivations - and not just rely on the somewhat bizarre interludes provided by a rebellious AI tracking unit.

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Book 2 "Salvation (Rise #2)" rating 3 generous stars
(let's say this rating is shakier than the 3 given to Book 1)

I could essentially use the same review from Book 1 here even though I was definitely disappointed overall in this chapter. I just felt like the first book set up so much more than what we got. Again, the writing is "safe" (definitely keeping things in the realm of PG-13, prime-time suitability) and the editing professional, but the pacing is slow in this cookie cutter scifi tale. I found this was made even moreso by the short and choppy chapters which really began to aggravate me after a while. The constant movement between the "rearranged" character team-ups was also quite dizzying, where we get only a few pages of detail around each scenario before we head back to another locale and/or grouping. This also prevented us from exploring any of the relationships that had already been formed in much depth, only skimming across the dynamics of the those that find themselves together this time.

Overall, the new players and/or collectives thereof that are introduced are for the most part interesting but also quite bland. Again, I found far too many characterizations forced or even uncomfortably clichéd. Even though we seem to be building to some kind of crescendo - with tiny teaser phrases, for example, like "Prince of the Revolution" scattered throughout - I found this second installment really trudged along, like marching through thick mud in the rain (hey, I can fling out clichés, too, you know!). Even the few "big" action sequences which could have helped immensely - e.g. the battle near the caves or at Nats' park or even the climatic ending (avoiding spoilers) - are over too quick, happening largely "off camera" or without sufficient direction or detail.

Needless to say (but I will anyway) I had a lot more trouble getting through this volume than I did with the first where certainly the newness of what's happening has long since worn off. I find myself struggling to maintain any real interest in or connection with the cast and feel like stretching this out as a trilogy was perhaps forced. Again, the plotting reminds of some of the mid-level TV series we've seen over the past years on such cable channels as ScyFy or even AMC (think the drudgery of "The Walking Dead" after too many seasons of doing pretty much the same thing [nope, not a fan]). There are also too many instances that seem to make the aliens far too easy to beat back to really add credence to the overall invasion, especially considering how ammosexual-ized the world and particularly the United States has become.

Oh well. Again, among all the other issues, I still wish we were getting a bit more technology or insight to the aliens. There's a little, yes, in the latter case (again, in the form of teasers) but not enough to satisfy fans of harder scifi. Despite the overall tone (of the books and also my reviews), I'll keep reading until the end, despite my motivation for same taking a serious nosedive.

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Book 3 "Reclamation (Rise #3)" rating: again, 3 stars
which would also be my rating for the entire trilogy

Immediately, Book 3 starts out much more diverse and interesting than the previous installment as we're taken on a tour albeit a QUICK one of various facilities and gatherings of survivors scattered around the world. This would have helped Chapter 2 so much if it had been introduced even in parts earlier but that's where we are. At very least there is more action to partially compensate for another round of rapid-fire chapter bursts.

There's not really that much "new" here in the third chapter, even though we're treated to some bigger and even more severe battle scenes than before, which was appreciated (and long overdue). Again, though, as I mentioned before, the way these played out - quickly finished and often with just the most basic of strategies involved - made me very skeptical about how the aliens established their dominance so thoroughly in the first place. Still, there are some brief moments of heightened tension and suspense, particularly looking at the scenes in both Norway and even Shanghai. I was disappointed though that a lot of what we were going to be treated to was given away far too early in the story (especially the "Stargate" kaboom strategy) and that ultimately there were no real surprises when all was said and done.

Unfortunately as well, as the book draws to a close - and the conclusion really in my eyes happens several chapters before the actual ending - the plotting and even editing takes a bit of a tumble. After spending only the briefest of moments on the alien homeworld, it would have been nice to have built things up stronger - including through action, real human emotional release (positive and negative) and a vision for the future. Instead, I felt what we're left with is a bit, well, hokey and again, it strayed far too much into the Young Adult tone that earlier chapters with our younger cast established. There is very little hardcore "action/adventure" as I call it as part of my bookshelves beyond some repetitive blasting from ships or reliance on left-behind alien technology to close things up. And no, concerning the aliens themselves, I was never satisfied with what we learned about them at all. Sure, we see their homeworld through a small window, yes, we see that Earth is most likely not the only world they've pillaged, but we never learn why or anything about these creatures as a "people". Oh well, missed opportunity in my eyes but that's the way the strange alien bounces.

CONCLUSION: Overall, a readable trilogy for scifi fans that don't like their stories too complicated. And at the special Kindle Unlimited price, I don't regret having tried these books out. However, I prefer to be challenged when I read such a seemingly "epic" tale and this is what I found so lacking here. C'est la vie.

[Michael Mammay]

This is quite good. I listened on audio, and of course Ray Porter is always excellent.

The story is a pretty standard (at first) alien invasion story, but with the somewhat unique difference that it's not about the invasion itself, but a time 25 years after the invasion. That's a great creative choice, because it allows for characters who remember the before and characters that don't. The occupation is well done, and the writing is solid, tight, and crisp, with very few wasted words.

I liked it.

With that said, it's fairly short (8 hours, maybe 80,000 words) and has a lot of different point of view characters, so you don't get a ton of the story from any of them...in some series, this would be more of a prequel, as it really feels like the story...the resistance/fight with the aliens...is going to kick off in the next book and this book is just getting us to that point.

But it's a good start to a series, and I think most people are going to want to continue with the next book due to the strong writing, varied, interesting characters, and the scenario that's building. I was entertained and interested the entire way through. I'm very likely to pick up book two, though I haven't checked yet to see when it comes out.

[Trish R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good story of the back stories of several heroes planning on taking the earth back from aliens. I was surprised at what was finally told about Alec, Cole and Tom, near the end of this first book.

No romance! The only thing I found ridiculous about this whole story was the lack of swearing! If your life is on the line everyday, being chased by the Trackers, and Hunters, and two other aliens, you'd be swearing. In a sci-fi I would expect the story to be realistic but, lets be real, you'd swear up a storm. That's all that disappointed me with this book. If an author finds it hard to swear then he shouldn't write these kinds of books. IMO! So, no real swearing to speak of.

As for the narration: I never get tired of listening to Ray Porter. He's one of the best narrators out there.

[Darcy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not realize this book did not stand alone. There is no resolution; it’s more like an installment than a separate story that continues.

I did not find it compelling enough to continue. And I will sleep just fine never knowing how any of the characters or plot lines are developed/fulfilled.

[Dave Moser · Rating 2 out of 5]

A dystopian sci-fi. I struggled to finish it. Its a familiar tale of "aliens are oppressing humanity, rebels are trying to stop it."

[Netsmile · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a waste of time this was. Its cheap, its boring and characters just go from normal to 'I need to kill' to survive in a heartbeat.

[Norma · Rating 5 out of 5]

( Format : Audiobook )
"They will rise."
Twenty five years ago the Earth was conquered by the Overseers, an alien race which killed most of the population, enslaving those left to be breeders or work for them. Most can no longer remember a time before the aliens arrived. But there are still some freeborn, living in hiding, trying not to be found by the roaming drones, and there are some amongst those wearing the Overseers identify chip in their wrists who want out, to escape from the daily drudgery serving the alien masters. And there is one tracker drone, SW18, who has been there since the alien arrival, diligently searching for runners from the Overseers camps, who doesn't want to be recycled like most of it's peers. It was experienced and had begun to think.

Told from several different perspectives including that of a worker in one of the alien factories, a freeborn healer who's community has just been destroyed, and a hunter, who's job it is to find and bring back runners from the camps, the book vividly builds a picture of this dominated Earth, setting the scene for revolution against the aliens which hopefully, is to come. There is drama aplenty, and growing characterisation evolving from the action. And there is Day Porter, helping to bring it all to life through his excellent narration and individual voicing of each of the protagonists. A fine performance which enhances the reader's enjoyment of the novel.

I was very fortunate in being freely gifted with a complimentary copy of Occupation, at my request, by the rights holder through Aethon. Thank you so much. I thoroughly enjoyed this post invasion started book for the new series, Rise, and am really looking forward to book two. Congratulations to authors Ford and Hystad for together writing a fresh and exciting new post invasion novel which should appeal to all science fiction fans.. Recommended.

[Michael Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I‘ve read and enjoyed a couple of Mr. Hystad’s books; this is my first exposure to Mr. Ford’s writing. I received this as an ARC – this review is my honest opinion. This book started off a bit slow for me, as the focus changed with each chapter to a different character or set of characters, then worked back through them as the story progressed. Once I recognized the characters, the story quickly gelled and my interest peaked. I thought that starting well after the alien attack on the Earth and the subjugation of the remaining humans was a novel approach and presented different viewpoints from older people who had survived the attack vs. those who were born later and had never experienced the freedoms of life before the attack. The alien Overseers have no regard for humans: the able-bodied were either used for breeding stock or for slave labor, and some collaborators to help manage the labor force and capture any escapees. Anyone who was old, infirm, or trouble-makers were killed. The story revolved around several characters who were trying to find freedom or the rumored resistance movement, and the efforts of others, human, alien and robotic, to foil their plans. The story pulled me in and kept me turning the pages to see what happened next. I lost some sleep in the process. I bought the book because I enjoyed the story and want to help support these authors. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

[M.W. Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

_Occupation_ by Devon C. Fort and Nathan Hystad receives four stars from me. This is a solid post-apocalyptic novel / alien invasion, although the aliens invaded 25 years before the opening of the novel. If you are wanting alien invasion, this is not the book for you. However, if you want post apocalyptic due to an alien invasion, then this is for you.

This was read by Ray Porter and as always his reading was on top! Excellent all around.

Let me be negative at first. There were a few parts that I found slightly contrived or unnecessary. However they were not that big of a deal, so not a deal breaker. While it is a solid novel, there are few surprises, so don't come to it for that.

Positives: There is a theme that is being woven in this novel and I thought that was being done well. It is a strong theme and is stated directly twice at the end of the novel. However, one can see it from the first pages, the opening scenes as well. One might notice that the "Overseers" are kind of missing. I think there is one scene when an Overseer is actually in the room with others. And this missing, this one element was a wise choice from the authors--it reenforces the theme.

Recommended: oh yeah, I listened to this and I found it going very quickly. I did in a few days. The theme is heavy, but the plot is not. It is plot driven text that moves.

[Gr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book but also not great. I purchased this book as an audible daily special and honestly, I was expecting more based on the extremely high reviews in audible. The book follows a number of characters in this post-apocalyptic alien invasion dystopia and slowly reveals what has happened to the world.

Most of the book revolves around these characters running to escape the aliens and their mechanical tools, with little true insight into what is happening. The writing by Devon C. Ford, Nathan Hystad is ok, and the narration is decent, but I am not a huge fan of Ray Porter.

In the end, I found nothing really new or interesting in the plot. The book gave me a real Walking Dead vibe, without the zombies. Maybe that accounts for all the high reviews. I thought the story plodded along and dragged a bit and the authors did not reveal enough to keep me interested in the plot, nor did they develop any of the characters enough to entice me to want to know more about their future.

While the ending provides some insight into the greater struggle and possibly a ray of hope, I find myself not interested enough to pay full price for any more books in the series. If I ever find them in a library or on sale, I might revisit.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having loved Devon C Ford's previous post apocalyptic series this one was always going to be on my list as with Nathan Hystad he ditches the tired zombies for some fresh aliens. Written a quarter of a century after aliens invade the Earth and wipe out most of humanity, enslaving the rest this is a fast-moving tale set in the US. The two authors have us following multiple points of view with characters on both sides ranging from a remorseless, if slightly whimsical, alien drone to "freeborn" humans trying to eke out their lives in secret away from the alien factories.

It's a clever mix and the action doesn't pause often or for long with Ray Porter the man charged with bringing it all to life as narrator. I've normally very much enjoyed his performances and he has a good range of voices but at times in this one he just sounded tired to me, pepping him up to 1.05x speed seemed to help considerably though.

Personally I would hesitate to say that this ever quite hits the heights of 'After it Happened' but it's still a really enjoyable high action start to the series and I suspect I will be back for more.

[Tory Thai · Rating 3 out of 5]

For all these character POV changes, they all sorta feel the same. I never quite felt the individuality of these characters poke out at all as nothing really stuck out to differentiate one from the next. Their situations were definitely different and their plot thread wasn't the same but they just all felt so same=same.

I enjoyed the world building though, i thought the situation was represented really well, tonely it made sense and it was detailed enough to paint a good picture of the surroundings.

The plot though also was super lacking. I just kept waiting and waiting for something interesting to happen to keep me intrigued. I was intrigued with the world I just wish something better was done with that world to latch me in to want to keep going. Not enough revelations were ever happening to keep me curious.

Luckily it's a fast, short and easy ready. It's a bit of a slog because of the pacing issues but at least it doesn't fumble so terribly that I felt like I was torturing myself.

This being on Audible helped a lot too. I think if I had to read the physical version of this I probably would have DNF'd. Ray Porter sorta saved this from being a complete flop.

[Cmoore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dystopian future stories are not necessarily my cup of tea, however, I'd read another book by Nathan Hystad and it was pretty good. In addition, Ray Porter is one of those narrators on my "Insta-buy list", and the price was right... and Aethon books produced it... so yeah, all good reasons to get this one! And WOW! I'm glad that I did!
This book was the AwesomeSauce that am always looking out for, when I start reading! I Loved It!
The story gives us a handful of character perspectives, and Ray Porter really does a great job giving each their own identity, and keeping the listening audience on track!
I found that the writing was tight (something that I always wonder about when authors collaborate), and the story and world building was exceptional, as each character has a different background, and it helped having their worldview! The story is also action-intensive, but without feeling cluttered or chaotic. Again, I Loved it! So grab this book, and slip away from the current reality of pandemics and political machinations for a few hours, and into another world!

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting story of how things have been for the last 25 years of alien occupation, as told through various characters. We even get the point of view from the killer robot, which was a unique twist to the story. We have survivors that are just surviving, others plotting to rebel, some are part of the alien system having been born to it, knowing no other way. At the heart of the story is Tom, the one person that has touched their lives and steers their future. It was easy to get caught up in these peoples struggles for a life other than what it held, and I can say I was never bored,only left wanting more. Ray Porter does an excellent narration.

[Gwen Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a story this is. Took me a little bit to understand the dynamics of the Overseers, Hunters, Seekers, Reclaimers and all the others, but once I got my head around who is who, or what, I got right into it and found this to be a very interesting read. Following the exploits of people who have managed to escape the drudgery of their lives to go on the run and try to survive as they travel across America as best they can. Really looking forward to reading the next book in the series to see how our heroes survive the next step. This is a great series so thank you Nathan Hystad and Devon C Ford.

[Christinaraven · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this story. I thought it was a bit different then the usual post apocalyptic or invasion story. Instead of starting with the invasion it begins years later and follows 3 set of people as we learn more about what is going on as the resistance prepares to move. It had action and a bit of mystery. The ending was interesting and I cannot wait to see what happens next. It kept me guessing and reading to see what each set would do. The characters were each different but made the story good. Just a good story I enjoyed.

[Jo Fountain · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read loads of Devon's books but none of Nathan's and have no idea how a collaboration works, so I decided to give them a read just because of my love of Devon's work. I have to admit I struggled to start with, and had to keep referring back to see who was who but soon enough I got a grasp of the the characters and the story quickly rolls along. There is quite a bit happening with the story moving in a few directions but this gives the chance for the characters to grow on you and I thoroughly loved the journey. Can't wait to see what the second book brings! 5* from me for sure!!

[Heather Adesso · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoy dystopian stories but this one went a bit off the rails. The thought a "machine dog" ish thing could have thoughts and feelings about the human who killed it and now that the machine has a new "body" it wants revenge? This portion of the story was completely unbelievable. The rest of the book had some parts that you could think to yourself... "Yeah... I can see that happening". Overall, it's an okay book if mechanical aliens from outer space coming to take over the earth is your sort of thing.

[Kaye Nutman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dire dystopian future

Whilst the multiple character viewpoints needed some keeping up with at first, I soon found myself engrossed in the story and cheering them all on. In a dire dystopian future ruled by alien overlords, it is a battle to survive. Worse, to justify surviving when you are on the ‘wrong’ side, as Dex finds out. The end came too soon and I look forward to finding out where the story goes from here.

[Noodle The Naughty Night Owl · Rating 4 out of 5]

7/10: Good solid read, something to get your teeth into.

He had a job to do, and he wasn’t good to anyone if he was passed out in a grocery store with dead people hanging from the ceiling.

I enjoyed this one. I liked the different perspectives, and how the storyline drew all the characters together in the end.

Not sure I'll be reading on, though. One was enough for now.

[Anselm Patey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those books that is greater than the sum of its parts. In fact, there isn't anything about it that 'stands out' as such. The writing style is plain and accessible, none of the characters are truly remarkable, the setting isn't hugely original - and yet by the end of the book you realise that the authors have truly brought together a team of protagonists you can really root for. I enjoyed it enough to want to proceed with the rest of the series.

[KHB · Rating 5 out of 5]

Occupation is book 1 of the three part RISE series. This is a great read - I loved it.

It basically follows 4 separate characters and an AI robot on adventures as they struggle with an alien occupied earth.

By the end of the book, which has a fantastic finale, you will know the characters very well. It's fast paced to put it mildly and it has a satisfying ending with hooks to the next book that I look forward to reading.

[Tracy T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great start to a series. (Audible review)

This book is interesting with some great characters.

I totally enjoyed this book. The storylines are all great. You really get to know the characters.

I watch Si Fi more than I read it, but I’m glad I found this book. Alien invasion.

I’m looking forward to the next book in this series.

As for the narration, it’s amazing! I love Ray Porter, he’s so good with all the voices, and his reading voice is very nice.

[Marcin W · Rating 1 out of 5]

Made myself finish it thanks to Ray Porter narrating clearly even at 3x.
This is a book as if the author was just going through writing practice. Pulled a generic plot out of some movie he saw. Did no thinking/research/coming up with original tech/scify ideas. And just filled everything in between a generic humanity fighting back against aliens scenario. Spending multiple sentences on how a dystopian human 1st sees a microwave and eats food, instead of what the aliens looked like.