Relics of Eternity

Duchy of Terra Universe #7

by Glynn Stewart

The edge of Imperial expansion
Far from Earth and the other homeworlds
Here lie the secrets of ancient gods
Here…there be dragons

Seeking to escape the shadow of Annette Bond’s success, Captain Morgan Casimir has taken a posting on the far side of the A!Tol Imperium. Here, she hopes to begin a legend for herself that stands apart from her stepmother the Duchess.

A chance encounter introduces her to the xeno-archeologist Rin Dunst—and to the strange mystery cult that tried to silence him. There are darker secrets in these stars than the A!Tol and their human allies ever guessed…and if they can’t find answers, the Precursor’s mistakes might yet destroy the galaxy.....Again.

Read by Hillary Huber.

Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Audiobook, Military Fiction, Aliens

376 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 14, 2020

About the author

Glynn Stewart is the author of over 60 books, including Starship’s Mage, a bestselling science fiction and fantasy series where faster-than-light travel is possible–but only because of magic.

Writing managed to liberate Glynn from a bleak future as an accountant. With his personality and hope for a high-tech future intact, he lives in Southern Ontario with his partner, their cats, and an unstoppable writing habit.

Reviews

[Tony Hisgett · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got into this book very quickly and was enjoying the story, but strangely by halfway I was beginning to get a bit bored. There should have been enough going on, but I really didn't find it very interesting. The action became more exciting towards the end and there is a pretty decent battle, although I'm not that enamoured with where this series seems to be going.

Incidentally I remember commenting that Morgan and Victoria's relationship introduced a little character development in the previous book, Imperium Defiant. Unfortunately I didn't realise the author was just playing games and had no intention of developing the relationship. Then we get Dr Rin Dunst and I really can't see why he bothered.

I might have given three stars, but I'm beginning to lose faith in the author, hence two.

[William Howe · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not great

First there were the odd bits of romance dropped like rotten pieces of fruit. Then there were strange infodumps about inconsequential tech or biology that showed up at random. The whole bi-sexual, polyamorous relationship thing did not feel natural to the character or the story.

But what really bothered me was how un-military the military officers acted. The Captain did not read like an experienced naval officer. Pretty much all of the military world-building was hacked together.

Oddly, for all that, the combat scenes were decent.

The plot had promise. The big story was good. But all of the little bits were not well done. This needs content editing.

I don’t know if I will continue to follow the series. Some interesting concepts, but the execution is lacking as we go further.

[Red Tide · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good instalment in a great series

The book introduces a new chapter in the series arc. This exclusively involves humans in the imperial service as opposed to the human ducal forces. It expands on the threats from misunderstood precursor technology, including imperial factions using illicit study of same which has to be high level treason and maybe an attempt to overthrow the empress.

The alien species are well represented even with the hero ship being an almost completely human crewed warship. This is one of the few series that makes sense of single species crews by demonstrating in passing the problems of environment, dietary and equipment requirements.

I liked the description of interspecies relationships but the human interpersonal relationships really standout. They are adults first of all and the personal conflicts are very, very human. It's very refreshing. The background universe was laid out very well in book one of the series and has been built up from a solid structure to a splendidly complex and plausible backdrop for all the various military encounters, interspecies conflicts and the particular issues that humans face in imperial rather than duchy of terra forces.

It's all nicely done as the series and his other series generally are. The violent and military/naval combat scenes were both suitably scary and totally entertaining. The new "whodunit" slant to the series is great for guaranteed future complicated drama. It's good to have a writer that you can count on to deliver coherent, exciting stories regardless of genre.

[Jeremey Weeks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointing latest book in a great series

This book feels like it was written by someone different. Extremely clumsy romantic relationship, flat characters. I’m puzzled and disappointed.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good!

[Samantha Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent Writing As Always

I normally give Glynn 5 stars. And frankly, the quality of his writing always deserves 5 stars.

However I didn't connect with this book as much as I have with others in the series. The interpersonal drama seemed a little more forced than normal.

I do appreciate the fact that Glynn is inclusive of all genders/non-genders and relationship configurations without being obnoxious. In a world with many different sentient species it seems only natural that there are way more options than we are used to. He never writes as if he's looking down at or judging anyone, and to me that's the sign of an excellent writer - one who gives only facts and allows the reader to take away what they will, while still managing a coherent and usually exciting plot.

I think there's still room for Morgan to grow and I look forward to reading more.

[C.T. Phipps · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE DUCHY OF TERRA series has managed to resolve two massive interstellar wars and establish Earth has one of the predominate powers in the galaxy. Earth has also increased its military technology to the point that the only people who threaten us are the Core Races, which is both good and bad since they very much do not like to be threatened themselves. This leaves Morgan Casimir only one challenge left: exploration!

Weirdly, I much preferred the characterization and romance over the space opera elements of this book. Morgan's longstanding relationship with her girlfriend has failed, sort of, by her getting married to another woman due to the long-distance demands of their positions. They're not broken up but Victoria encourages Morgan to find another partner to ease their issues. I found that an interesting variant on relationships in the future.

We also have a new grave threat in living technology. I like the sci-fi alienness of it all compared to the more traditional military science fiction of the series.

[Matthew · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the previous 6 books quite a bit, and I enjoy the author's other series. I can understand the writing the same characters over and over would get boring, and perspective shifts have worked fine in other books in this series and in the author's other universes. But I just really don't care about Morgan or Rin. They both feel flat. She isn't a believable officer and doesn't even strike me as particularly likeable. She's just a know-it-all (both in terms of attitude and always picking the right course of action). He's some wunderkind who just always happens to be the very best at whatever non-fighting skill is needed at the time, even compared to the officers on the ship who have that particular subfield as their profession. He's just boring. I think the book would have been better if he disappeared after the first quarter of the book. Everything he did could have been handled better by various side characters.

Their relationship also doesn't work for me. He doesn't seem like the kind of person she'd go for based on what was said about her preferences for men and women in prior books. The author has included bits of romance in other books that have largely worked. This relationship, though, feels more like it is a convenient vehicle for exposition rather than character development. Real people in relationships don't talk to each other the way the dialog in this book is written. It too often consists of verbose restatements of the plot.

I also think the power creep is getting out of control.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story. Nice continuation of the series, and new dangers to overcome.
I liked it. The next one sounds like it'll be a bit dark though, not sure I'm up for dark in this universe, seeing as how they've already been troubled to no end, but I'll stick with it anyhow.
Good series for scifi fans who like a bit of science in their scifi, though it does border on the realm of fantasy at times, I doubt any scifi fan will go away disappointed.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good Sci-fi, good mystery, so-so writing. Even so, I’ll read the next one.

[Anatoly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better story but worse writing than the previous entries in the series.

[TJ Grant · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the 6 prior books, but this one disappointed me. It wasn't as exciting. The characters and character dynamics weren't that interesting. There was still a cool unique space nemesis. But the pushing of pointedly diverse crew, non-standard lover, non-standard relationship arrangement--was annoying. I get it, the author is enlightened and woke. I don't care. Tell me a good story, not how woke you are.

[Spindoc · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a fan of Glynn. But this book isn't up to the usual I'm used to. Plot is great, the secondary plot not so much. Inclusiveness is good and all but it feels forced down our throats when every character is 'woke'. Imho, that isn't character building when the protagonist Mary sues through every situation.

[Steve · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a bad read, but there are too many things that really don't work to give it more than three stars.

[Mistress OP · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ya, I just couldn't get on board. Dropping bond from the series leaves her stepdaughter as characterless like how early bond was written. Because the author doesn't build character well outside of the action scenes or "who's hooking up with who".. dropping bond means you drop most of the family and all those not sex scenes that were character building not just for bond but her stepdaughter. The guy you brought in is flat and annoying. Mostly because it doesn't do much for me as a character again personal opinion. I like her girlfriend or wife or whatever already. I think if he brought more to the table as a human being I'd have been like add him for a 3 way or whatever. I just..meh. The worst part about this series is there's so much half done world-building. So much left on the table. So much you actually want to know about and so much you are never made to care about it. Stakes aren't well executed. So, when those things are put in danger you never really care about it. I think I didn't start really caring about Earth until I got to know bonds stepdaughter a little bit. Otherwise, it was like ok that sucks if it gets blown up. Next page, is super sad. We don't even get to know the other plants in the imperium well. We don't get to know the empress well. WE don't get to know the internal politics. We barely get to know the other races. You have a mixed-race space opera with people who are super loyal to bond and her line that aren't of the human race because of her pirate past but we have no idea what their home planets are like and understanding what that whole thing is about. Except for kit and the babies eating her alive if she had one. We barely know anything. How is this a space opera??????????? WTF.

The most frustrating part of the series is you almost enjoy it. It has a wonderful audiobook reader and you have these moments where you just enjoy the hell out of it. Then I fall out of the narrative. I should say I crash into the reality that it leans on the genre of space opera without really building it up. Like a kid who sells lemonade puts a lot of sugar in then drops 1 lemon unpeeled into the pitcher.

1 1/2 stars. You can read it but it leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Without the wondering about more it made me feel like is this over yet.

[Katie Bee · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last time we saw Morgan Casimir, she was a very young XO (from a couple of wartime promotions) who had a talent for finding herself in the thick of things. Now it's some fifteen years later, and she's the Captain of a survey ship at the far end of the Imperium's borders. When her ship runs into some very odd pirates carrying surprising booty, she will be put on the spot once again to save the Imperium from a terrifying new threat.

This is the first book in the third trilogy of the Duchy of Terra universe. I liked the time skip, and the way the scale of the ship deployments was scaled WAY back (though the stakes are, as always, high). We're back to one ship as the focus, exploring out on its own, and that was a real relief to me personally! I enjoyed Morgan and her crew, and the scientist/archaeologist who becomes a part of their quest (and perhaps something more). I also appreciated that it felt like Stewart took a bit more time with his characters in this one... even the minor characters were engaging and interesting.

Definitely looking forward to the rest of this trilogy, particularly if it stays at this scale.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a military science fiction adventure -great. As a romance which factors significantly in the plot - very much lacking, and the romance completely submerges the entire story. Imagine, you are in a new romantic relationship. As Captain of a warship, you make a professional decision regarding an upcoming mission. Your new romantic partner, decides he does not agree with your judgement, and decides he knows best. He decides, without telling you, to meet with your boss, and getting your boss to override your professional decision. The results almost get everyone killed. The job almost ends your career with a court martial. Afterwards, would you agree to move in with him? The whole relationship is sort of an - insta love, and so distracting, that I admit I'm unlikely to read more in what had been a favorite series.

[Morgan Biscup · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely Worth the Read

I loved catching up with how Morgan is doing, but personally and professionally. Character development is important to me and she definitely gets some here.

There's also been a lot of changes in the Imperium, courtesy of the events from the last several books. Including more sinister happenings which, to put it bluntly, I am glad the next book is already written because I can't wait to find out what dark tides await for our heroes.

(And where the next bits of character development takes them. Which has some bright patches to look forward to, as well!)

[Renée Gendron]

This is an excellent continuation of the series with plenty of power balances and species-conflict to drive the plot.

There's a new threat to the loose array of alliances, and it threatens many systems. I really appreciated how original the threat was which speaks volumes to the originality of the series. I also appreciated the logic of the threat and what is was doing (how) and how that became a weakness.

There are interesting character arcs as well including a long-distance, confusing but-willing-to-give-it-a-go romance (though it's tertiary to the plot).

I really enjoy this world and the continuation of story lines.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC in return for an honest review.

This was a great continuation of the series. It picks up more than 10 years after the last book and focuses almost completely on Morgan Casimir instead of her mother, who manages to be both extremely competent and extremely human and able to make and admit to mistakes. That's very refreshing and is one of the things that make this series so great. Mystery, conspiracy, and very realistic characters in a very different setting. This book sets up a conspiracy regarding the Precursors and I can't wait to see it unfold.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

A medioca follow-up

This book had a comply different feel than previous installations, the romance that normally was a subplot in other books to center stage in this book and felt rough, like it should have been the subplot.

The book also feels like a massive step back from the other books with the resources and scope being massively nerfed, and only given a lip service reason as to why and read like it was railroaded.

This has opened up some interesting possiblitys for future books.

[James Mcnulty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid, well written space opera

I enjoyed the book, it's the first of Glynn Stewart's books I have read. I grew up on space opera, and particularly like the military and BEM subgenres. It's literate, the science is internally consistent. Lots of aliens. Considering the number of books Mr. Stewart has written - always concerning for quality of writing - he is a solid writer. I will read more of his books. I also diverted myself in periodically wondering if the A!Tol used the Xhosa or the Quechua click. I need to do more research on this point.

[Sharon Quenelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of detail on the Mysterious Precursor culture and their modern demonic followers. It features the heroic bravery of the Imperial navy crew over coming death defying odds to take out a massive enemy star fleet and limp back to base.

It features the discovery a massive organic construct that consumes stars and continues evolve advanced weapons and space travel technology. Our crew becomes faced with a near suicidal mission to fly into the massive enemy armada and send “star killer” weapons at the evil construct and narrowly escape to limp back to base.

[Leslie Baptiste · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good continuation of the series even though I Miss Annette.

I enjoyed this book a lot, action filled, fast-paced, reasonable character development. I do miss Annette bond though. Discontinuation with her stepdaughter was very well done. Looking forward to the next book. If you like Mr. Stewart’s other books you would like this one. I really enjoyed the series from the first book I think you should give it a try.

[Paul Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book by Glynn Stewart. This is the start of a new story in the Duchy of Terra universe. 12 years after Imperium Definat, the Kaljzi have been defeated, the Tanjzi are in civil war, and a Morgan Casimir is captain of her own ship at the edges of empire space.

With the Mesherom having withdrawn to their own territory, the A!tol are cheekily investigating Precursor sites. What could possibly go wrong? Well, quite a lot, as it happens. Read and find out.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

The crises are escalating throughout this series, which usually makes a good quality story. However, the fantasy is also increasing as well, which tends to degrade the story. Still a fairly good series, with each novel also a reasonable stand alone story. Without considering the species fantasy, the human relationship part is questionable in itself and appears to be from imagination rather than experience.

[STEVEN JOHNSON · Rating 5 out of 5]

New story arc for Duchy series

Another great read from Glynn Stewart in the Duchy of Terra series. A new threat is discovered as war with a core power looms in the background. The Precursors tech continues to be a gift that keeps on giving. I eagerly await the next book in this series.

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the Duchy Universe. I believe it is my favorite from Stewart. The characters all have strengths and weaknesses and the story has intrigue. Earlier Duchy books had enough battles and action to fall solidly into the military sci-fi genre. This book seems to be setting up a different style with much more intrigue. I like the change and look forward to more.

[Masters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great novel

This is a great story all on its on. As part of this series makes it even better. This story has great space battle and wonderful character building. I can't wait for the next novel in this series. This is one of my favorite authors and I have loved everything that has been written so far.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good quick space opera

Continuing saga of the stepdaughter of the Duchess of Terra. It's a good read, but don't look for hardcore science -- the change of angle and no mention of power consumption to sink the momentum change of a million-ton+ cruiser whenever other, maybe not as powerful energy requirements are mentioned? Not enough to detract from the authors characters....