What do you think?
Rate this book
Rise of Mankind #1–10 omnibus
Rise of Mankind: The Complete Series
On the eve of Humanity’s first great journey beyond our solar system, tragedy strikes. Hostile ships arrive, attacking the fledgling fleet and decimating it with ease. Only the intervention of strangers, benevolent aliens prevents the total annihilation of not only the starships, but the planet itself.
Offering the means to defend themselves in the form of shared technology and a liaison, humanity prepares to fight back. They refit the Behemoth, the only surviving ship from the initial attack and embark on a quest to join their saviors. A war is brewing against a zealous enemy, one with a single minded notion to destroy every colony, every world, all civilizations.
As humanity works to prove themselves to their highly advanced allies, they travel to the far reaches of the galaxy. Every test pushes them toward their ultimate confrontation, a final match with those who attacked them in the very beginning. But will their preparation be enough to defeat a culture literally designed for war?
Box set includes:
Behemoth: Rise Of Mankind Book 1
Warfare: Rise Of Mankind Book 2
Raid: Rise Of Mankind Book 3
Conflict: Rise Of Mankind Book 4
Pursuit: Rise Of Mankind Book 5
Artifact: Rise Of Mankind Book 6
Rebellion: Rise Of Mankind Book 7
Extinction: Rise Of Mankind Book 8
Offensive: Rise Of Mankind Book 9
Showdown: Rise Of Mankind Book 10
Offering the means to defend themselves in the form of shared technology and a liaison, humanity prepares to fight back. They refit the Behemoth, the only surviving ship from the initial attack and embark on a quest to join their saviors. A war is brewing against a zealous enemy, one with a single minded notion to destroy every colony, every world, all civilizations.
As humanity works to prove themselves to their highly advanced allies, they travel to the far reaches of the galaxy. Every test pushes them toward their ultimate confrontation, a final match with those who attacked them in the very beginning. But will their preparation be enough to defeat a culture literally designed for war?
Box set includes:
Behemoth: Rise Of Mankind Book 1
Warfare: Rise Of Mankind Book 2
Raid: Rise Of Mankind Book 3
Conflict: Rise Of Mankind Book 4
Pursuit: Rise Of Mankind Book 5
Artifact: Rise Of Mankind Book 6
Rebellion: Rise Of Mankind Book 7
Extinction: Rise Of Mankind Book 8
Offensive: Rise Of Mankind Book 9
Showdown: Rise Of Mankind Book 10
1771 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 2019
2254 people are currently reading
314 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 136 reviews
September 30, 2019
Some grammatical problems here and there through out the ten books. But this doesn't really detract from the over all stories. Some great characters make this a great bargain plus an enjoyable read.
October 9, 2020
I prefer Burbon
I kept looking for something redeeming about this series. The only thing I found was that the story was interesting in a mindless sort of way. It's the usual about an earth ship that survives an invasion. Earth would have lost but for the assistance of a couple of alliance ships that beat off the enemy. (N.B., two ships one enemy). So with the assistance of the alliance, we upgrade the Behemoth into a Juggernaut. It's so big and has so much steel, that it's actually better than the alliance standard battleship. So it goes a few places where it does battle with the enemy (still just one, but then we find a revolutionary so actually we have two enemies. They did have more than one ship, but they were still just one enemy. So they fight some ships, but they weren't crafts because we weren't making decorations. They did have a few craft, however.) This goes on to the big battle over the enemy world. The battle is a real donnybrook. We're pitching bombs into the middle of a flight of enemy craft then blowing up the bombs expecting the blast wave to knock out the enemy ships (plural), or we'd overload the power plant to affect close by ships with the blast wave. Amazingly, we have our fighters equipped with afterburners so we can put on a burst of speed. I wonder what we're afterburning. There was no explanation of how the engines worked. There was a need to refuel, but the craft seemed to run forever without refueling, and then there's the afterburners(???). What was the overloading power plant doing when it wasn't overloading? Oh yes, and the battleship that rocked on to its side when hit with a shock wave. Oh, and the wrong words or the misused words or the why was that word used words. All I can say is it provided escapism to take my mind off of the troubles of these interesting times. Everybody please play safe, wear your mask (yes, you don't have to do it, but get real), and wash your hands. Let the force be with you, and don't let what you do cause a disturbance In the force. It's already in enough turmoil already.
I kept looking for something redeeming about this series. The only thing I found was that the story was interesting in a mindless sort of way. It's the usual about an earth ship that survives an invasion. Earth would have lost but for the assistance of a couple of alliance ships that beat off the enemy. (N.B., two ships one enemy). So with the assistance of the alliance, we upgrade the Behemoth into a Juggernaut. It's so big and has so much steel, that it's actually better than the alliance standard battleship. So it goes a few places where it does battle with the enemy (still just one, but then we find a revolutionary so actually we have two enemies. They did have more than one ship, but they were still just one enemy. So they fight some ships, but they weren't crafts because we weren't making decorations. They did have a few craft, however.) This goes on to the big battle over the enemy world. The battle is a real donnybrook. We're pitching bombs into the middle of a flight of enemy craft then blowing up the bombs expecting the blast wave to knock out the enemy ships (plural), or we'd overload the power plant to affect close by ships with the blast wave. Amazingly, we have our fighters equipped with afterburners so we can put on a burst of speed. I wonder what we're afterburning. There was no explanation of how the engines worked. There was a need to refuel, but the craft seemed to run forever without refueling, and then there's the afterburners(???). What was the overloading power plant doing when it wasn't overloading? Oh yes, and the battleship that rocked on to its side when hit with a shock wave. Oh, and the wrong words or the misused words or the why was that word used words. All I can say is it provided escapism to take my mind off of the troubles of these interesting times. Everybody please play safe, wear your mask (yes, you don't have to do it, but get real), and wash your hands. Let the force be with you, and don't let what you do cause a disturbance In the force. It's already in enough turmoil already.
October 29, 2020
Rise of Mankind: The Complete Series
My final response to this set of 10 "books" in one volume is difficult to verbalize. Lots of "On the one hand ..." and "... but on the other hand ...".
For instance, on the one hand the battle scenes were intense and detailed, but on the other were in many ways just rubbish. As a retired fighter pilot I appreciated the flow of action, but was unable to suspend disbelief when propulsion systems designed for use in vacuum were augmented by "afterburners" which imply a stream of liquid fuel being oxidized to propel the craft. If that were the case, their mission duration would have been cut significantly from the apparently endless ones related.
Not to mention complete and total command of a common language by every character in the book. Really? No misunderstandings or discord due to cultural interpretations. Really?
With a couple of notable exceptions, all of the "alliance" characters were noble, pure, heroic figures; there were no "feet of clay". While unreal, this is not necessarily out of the question in shorter works, but in this extended context it felt almost pathetically naïve. Human nature, and one must assume, the nature of almost clone, allied aliens, spans a range of frailty from Jesus to Donald J Trump. Depicting so many of them as Jesus-like is just not on.
With all that said, and because I have little patience with poor literature, I was surprised that I read the entire set from start to finish, albeit interspersed with a fantasy series to provide some more realistic human nature.
So ... not all bad. ... but, you know, "on the other hand" ...
My final response to this set of 10 "books" in one volume is difficult to verbalize. Lots of "On the one hand ..." and "... but on the other hand ...".
For instance, on the one hand the battle scenes were intense and detailed, but on the other were in many ways just rubbish. As a retired fighter pilot I appreciated the flow of action, but was unable to suspend disbelief when propulsion systems designed for use in vacuum were augmented by "afterburners" which imply a stream of liquid fuel being oxidized to propel the craft. If that were the case, their mission duration would have been cut significantly from the apparently endless ones related.
Not to mention complete and total command of a common language by every character in the book. Really? No misunderstandings or discord due to cultural interpretations. Really?
With a couple of notable exceptions, all of the "alliance" characters were noble, pure, heroic figures; there were no "feet of clay". While unreal, this is not necessarily out of the question in shorter works, but in this extended context it felt almost pathetically naïve. Human nature, and one must assume, the nature of almost clone, allied aliens, spans a range of frailty from Jesus to Donald J Trump. Depicting so many of them as Jesus-like is just not on.
With all that said, and because I have little patience with poor literature, I was surprised that I read the entire set from start to finish, albeit interspersed with a fantasy series to provide some more realistic human nature.
So ... not all bad. ... but, you know, "on the other hand" ...
September 3, 2020
Very entertaining!
Join Capt Gray Atwell on Earth's last remaining starship - The Behemoth, after a devastating attack on Earth, which was only won with the help of a previously unknown race - the Krielans, who anchor the large alliance fighting these attackers. Earth is new to knowledge of aliens, and though new to space-based war, the Behemoth becomes a source of prestige and honour for humanity as they join the alliance. Lots of good character development, space and infantry fighting, brilliant engineering and adventure in this series. WELL DONE!!
Join Capt Gray Atwell on Earth's last remaining starship - The Behemoth, after a devastating attack on Earth, which was only won with the help of a previously unknown race - the Krielans, who anchor the large alliance fighting these attackers. Earth is new to knowledge of aliens, and though new to space-based war, the Behemoth becomes a source of prestige and honour for humanity as they join the alliance. Lots of good character development, space and infantry fighting, brilliant engineering and adventure in this series. WELL DONE!!
June 3, 2020
Interesting view of how Mankind will respond to other aliens in this galaxy. Real people and situations with a great connection to humanity and Humanity.
Wow! Get immersed in a vibrant society and alien cultures and you will not be able to put the books down. The story pulls you through the story lines and all the books to give you satisfaction that humanity will win out in the end.
Wow! Get immersed in a vibrant society and alien cultures and you will not be able to put the books down. The story pulls you through the story lines and all the books to give you satisfaction that humanity will win out in the end.
December 15, 2020
Space not Ocean
ships in space with artificial gravity no listing, no upside down no change in up down unless gravity fails then weightlessness and inertia take over. Not much in the way of shockwaves either. No.air to support them. High speed debris of course. And if very close expending gas could be a shock wave but in a vacuum would dissipate very quickly. How do all these men and women not have sexual relations when in space for months?
ships in space with artificial gravity no listing, no upside down no change in up down unless gravity fails then weightlessness and inertia take over. Not much in the way of shockwaves either. No.air to support them. High speed debris of course. And if very close expending gas could be a shock wave but in a vacuum would dissipate very quickly. How do all these men and women not have sexual relations when in space for months?
January 26, 2021
Kinda a buzzkill at the end
Little spoiler warning: While i understand some of the sacrifices in the end, but other like wing commander Megan had to die felt it was kinda bullshit that escape pods couldn’t handle atmospheric entry or she could have gotten her maneuverability thruster working, but say she disintegrated in the atmosphere was a bad way to end her character in my opinion.
Little spoiler warning: While i understand some of the sacrifices in the end, but other like wing commander Megan had to die felt it was kinda bullshit that escape pods couldn’t handle atmospheric entry or she could have gotten her maneuverability thruster working, but say she disintegrated in the atmosphere was a bad way to end her character in my opinion.
August 2, 2019
If you have nothing better to do
Simply very boring book 3 should just be skipped. Could have been a good book to much touchy feely . In today's world we have women who know nothing about anything for the most part and men who follow them and get them out of jams and mostly get themselves killed in the process.
Simply very boring book 3 should just be skipped. Could have been a good book to much touchy feely . In today's world we have women who know nothing about anything for the most part and men who follow them and get them out of jams and mostly get themselves killed in the process.
Read
December 7, 2019Boring typos
Let's see their "ambassador" to the alliance knows a criminal set traps all over his facility and does she even warn her people when she called up?
Nope let's a guy be blown to bits n she is presented as da hero! Truth is she would have been given a dishonorable discharge n the boot!
But really has zero understanding on military or soldiers.
Let's see their "ambassador" to the alliance knows a criminal set traps all over his facility and does she even warn her people when she called up?
Nope let's a guy be blown to bits n she is presented as da hero! Truth is she would have been given a dishonorable discharge n the boot!
But really has zero understanding on military or soldiers.
December 13, 2019
A somewhat unimaginative storyline spoilt by sloppy writing
A military space opera with nothing particularly unique in the storyline, spoilt further by:
- numerous grammatical errors
- use of incorrect words in several places
- poorly written dialogue
- the timeline in several places lacked consistency and credibility
I unfortunately would not recommend this series.
A military space opera with nothing particularly unique in the storyline, spoilt further by:
- numerous grammatical errors
- use of incorrect words in several places
- poorly written dialogue
- the timeline in several places lacked consistency and credibility
I unfortunately would not recommend this series.
May 25, 2020
Great story, but lots of distractions
Really good storytelling without too much philosophical influence. Would have rated it higher, but the grammar and wrong word usage (a group is a contingent, nor a contingency, for example) seriously detracts. Whatever proofreading was done was poor quality.
Really good storytelling without too much philosophical influence. Would have rated it higher, but the grammar and wrong word usage (a group is a contingent, nor a contingency, for example) seriously detracts. Whatever proofreading was done was poor quality.
August 9, 2020
Interesting although testing
Interesting story(s), lots of promise but needs work on grammar. It was frustrating to spend time reading progressive quips that really seemed out of place. Then the use of words or misuse was troubling. A proof reader would help. But I did read to the end.
Interesting story(s), lots of promise but needs work on grammar. It was frustrating to spend time reading progressive quips that really seemed out of place. Then the use of words or misuse was troubling. A proof reader would help. But I did read to the end.
January 7, 2021
Editing Needed Desperately
This is a mildly entertaining series, although it soon turns formulaic. Mainly, though, it could really use some editing. The improper syntax and punctuation are distracting, as are the many malapropisms. One particular favorite was the use of "yolk" rather than "yoke". At least that one was amusing.
This is a mildly entertaining series, although it soon turns formulaic. Mainly, though, it could really use some editing. The improper syntax and punctuation are distracting, as are the many malapropisms. One particular favorite was the use of "yolk" rather than "yoke". At least that one was amusing.
June 11, 2021
Pretty good but not great
Okay story, but I was distracted almost to the point of quitting by the huge number of times the word "they" or "he" was used with only a hint of WHICH "they" or "he" was referenced. Also, not sure how a ship in free space can list... Which way is upright?
Okay story, but I was distracted almost to the point of quitting by the huge number of times the word "they" or "he" was used with only a hint of WHICH "they" or "he" was referenced. Also, not sure how a ship in free space can list... Which way is upright?
October 2, 2023
Great story some questional language
Story line well done as well as chracter development . The cursing was unnecessary and did not add to the story line but for me broke up the flow. I understand that many think the military uses this kind of language and many may do but I know many that do not. In essence it does not add to or enhamce the story line but rather disrupts it.
Story line well done as well as chracter development . The cursing was unnecessary and did not add to the story line but for me broke up the flow. I understand that many think the military uses this kind of language and many may do but I know many that do not. In essence it does not add to or enhamce the story line but rather disrupts it.
October 19, 2019
Could have been better
Usual bad grammar and spelling and typos.
Too much irrelevant minutae and ignorance of how bodies behave in the vacuum of space
But not too bad a story
Usual bad grammar and spelling and typos.
Too much irrelevant minutae and ignorance of how bodies behave in the vacuum of space
But not too bad a story
October 26, 2019
Kindergarten level
Rarely do I leave a review , but this series, whilst beginning ok, just became a grind.
Piss poor spelling and grammar, made this an effort to read.
Rarely do I leave a review , but this series, whilst beginning ok, just became a grind.
Piss poor spelling and grammar, made this an effort to read.
November 10, 2019
Just awful. Is this a joke? Word vomit.
December 12, 2019
Good concept.
Unfortunately not very well written I must assume English is not John's first language.
Lots of repetitive filling in while appearing to rush the final climax.
Unfortunately not very well written I must assume English is not John's first language.
Lots of repetitive filling in while appearing to rush the final climax.
May 10, 2020
Flat and shallow
Flat characters, shallow writing. Lots of activity with little action. Major plot holes. I really wanted to like this but I simply cannot recommend it.
Flat characters, shallow writing. Lots of activity with little action. Major plot holes. I really wanted to like this but I simply cannot recommend it.
June 8, 2021
It's okay
Military sci-fi. It's ok but nowhere near as good as the Lost Fleet series by Jack Campbell. That being said I got thr series for 99p so no complaints.
Military sci-fi. It's ok but nowhere near as good as the Lost Fleet series by Jack Campbell. That being said I got thr series for 99p so no complaints.
April 1, 2022
Meh
Tedious. Poor character development.
Predictable frankly boring but I've never written a book so what do I know. Needs better attention to the science
Tedious. Poor character development.
Predictable frankly boring but I've never written a book so what do I know. Needs better attention to the science
July 28, 2025
ok plot riddled with errors
The plot is fine.
The military speak is awful. A clear lack of military speak understanding is obvious.
There are typos, grammar, syntax and incorrect word choice throughout. ‘The protocol seven’, with the word the added on every time for no reason.
It’s like the author heard a phrase then used a word that sounds similar but is just wrong in their repetition of it. Which breaks me out of the flow of reading and I re-read it like 5 times to work out what I’m not understanding, then I realise the writer just go the phrase wrong. An example “I’m not wetted to it”, instead of “I’m not wedded to it”.
If you don’t understand a turn of phrase in common use look it up. There is one where the word used is pressure and the common phrase uses present.
It’s just jarring.
Read book1 and much of book 2 in this omnibus, then I had to stop. Sci Fi books shouldn’t make me cranky, about grammar, spelling, syntax and phraseology.
Hard work being an author, I get that, so get an editor with teeth to help.
Entire series could use a good editor.
The plot is fine.
The military speak is awful. A clear lack of military speak understanding is obvious.
There are typos, grammar, syntax and incorrect word choice throughout. ‘The protocol seven’, with the word the added on every time for no reason.
It’s like the author heard a phrase then used a word that sounds similar but is just wrong in their repetition of it. Which breaks me out of the flow of reading and I re-read it like 5 times to work out what I’m not understanding, then I realise the writer just go the phrase wrong. An example “I’m not wetted to it”, instead of “I’m not wedded to it”.
If you don’t understand a turn of phrase in common use look it up. There is one where the word used is pressure and the common phrase uses present.
It’s just jarring.
Read book1 and much of book 2 in this omnibus, then I had to stop. Sci Fi books shouldn’t make me cranky, about grammar, spelling, syntax and phraseology.
Hard work being an author, I get that, so get an editor with teeth to help.
Entire series could use a good editor.
January 24, 2023
I bought the box set so cheap that I expected it to be just so so but I has surprised me because I found it quite entertaining and full of action. Another thing I liked about it is that all the books have aproximately the same length unlike other series in which each book in the series is longer than the previous. In fact there are facts that have been omited (for example a talk between Gray and Clea between books 8 and 9 if I remember well) and could have been easily fit inside the series. Also some additional details at the end would have been welcomed by me. Overall, I recommend this series.
March 27, 2026
Unoriginal 🙄
The Author John Walker Badly needs A Good Editor. 25% of These 1400 pages, 10 Books, 📚 could easily be Deleted. This Book talks about Aircraft Carriers... Seriously 😒😳 what a complete waste of paragraphs. There are a lot of Very wordy Paragraphs that bog, slow these Books down.
If You really only have 700 pages don't stretch them into 700 pages. Too many Authors Over Explain, have Irrelevant Characters and Story Lines.
I want To Get Right into The Action Not The Slow Walking this Book Series does.
The Author John Walker Badly needs A Good Editor. 25% of These 1400 pages, 10 Books, 📚 could easily be Deleted. This Book talks about Aircraft Carriers... Seriously 😒😳 what a complete waste of paragraphs. There are a lot of Very wordy Paragraphs that bog, slow these Books down.
If You really only have 700 pages don't stretch them into 700 pages. Too many Authors Over Explain, have Irrelevant Characters and Story Lines.
I want To Get Right into The Action Not The Slow Walking this Book Series does.
March 21, 2020
Outstanding book
An outstandingly enjoyable series of books. The story line is notable and totally immersive; you get lost in the reading. I often become bored with a series after 3 or 4 books, but this held my interest the whole way. So why only 4 stars? The entire set needs to be run past an editor. Numerous spelling and word errors distracted me from the reading experience. Do I recommend this book? Yes, but only if you have the ability to ignore the errors.
An outstandingly enjoyable series of books. The story line is notable and totally immersive; you get lost in the reading. I often become bored with a series after 3 or 4 books, but this held my interest the whole way. So why only 4 stars? The entire set needs to be run past an editor. Numerous spelling and word errors distracted me from the reading experience. Do I recommend this book? Yes, but only if you have the ability to ignore the errors.
July 21, 2020
Fantastic series and a steal at this price!
I truly loved this series and couldn’t believe the price for the entire set! I really enjoy reading sprawling sagas that read like a well-oiled machine. Everything fit together, the story never sagged, and as long as it was I was very sad when it ended. I immediately looked for other books/series by this author!
Buy it! Read it! Tell your friends to do the same! Now!
I truly loved this series and couldn’t believe the price for the entire set! I really enjoy reading sprawling sagas that read like a well-oiled machine. Everything fit together, the story never sagged, and as long as it was I was very sad when it ended. I immediately looked for other books/series by this author!
Buy it! Read it! Tell your friends to do the same! Now!
July 24, 2020
Poor Proof reading
The storyline and following books were excellent they way the story unfolded and continuation of characters really enhanced the books. The only spoiler was poor proof reading incorrect spellings whilst not huge, annoyed me, because of the nature of the simple spellings that were incorrect
Now my moan is over I would reccomend this series to all who like a good storyline
The storyline and following books were excellent they way the story unfolded and continuation of characters really enhanced the books. The only spoiler was poor proof reading incorrect spellings whilst not huge, annoyed me, because of the nature of the simple spellings that were incorrect
Now my moan is over I would reccomend this series to all who like a good storyline
January 28, 2021
Great story telling
The series is well cast, characters developed with emotions, feeling and compassion. I liked how that was done. Really good job.
Didn't like the poor proofreading. Really jerks a reader out of the story and can be confusing, frustrating and just weak. Almost scored the series a three or four because of it. Hope the writer gets better, committed support team. I believe your story telling deserves much better.
The series is well cast, characters developed with emotions, feeling and compassion. I liked how that was done. Really good job.
Didn't like the poor proofreading. Really jerks a reader out of the story and can be confusing, frustrating and just weak. Almost scored the series a three or four because of it. Hope the writer gets better, committed support team. I believe your story telling deserves much better.
June 8, 2020
This was a well thought out story line with a lot of character development to allow you to connect with the players. A good book series and it would have rated 5 stars, but the grammatical errors detract from the story.
If you have to stop to re-read a line because of grammar errors, it takes you out of the moment.
If you have to stop to re-read a line because of grammar errors, it takes you out of the moment.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 136 reviews