Sheriff Hayden Duke was born on the Pilgrim, and he expects to die on the Pilgrim, like his father, and his father before him.
That's the way things are on a generation starship centuries from home. He's never questioned it. Never thought about it. And why bother? Access points to the ship's controls are locked, the systems that guide her automated and out of reach. Life isn't perfect, but Hayden has all he needs to be content.
Until a malfunction forces his wife to the edge of the habitable zone to inspect the damage.
Until she contacts him, breathless and terrified, to tell him she found a body and it doesn't belong to anyone on board.
Until he arrives at the scene and discovers both his wife and the body are gone.
The only clue? A bloody handprint beneath a hatch that hasn't opened in hundreds of years.
M.R. Forbes is the author of a growing number of science-fiction series including Rebellion, War Eternal, Chaos of the Covenant, Stars End, and the Forgotten novels. Having spent his childhood trying to read every sci-fi novel he could find (and write his own too), play every sci-fi video game he could get his hands on, and see every sci-fi movie that made it into the theater, he has a true love of the genre across every medium. He works hard to bring that same energy to his own stories, with a continuing goal to entertain, delight, fascinate, and surprise.
He maintains a true appreciation for his readers and is always happy to hear from them.
To learn more about M.R. Forbes or just say hello:
"The Forgotten: The Complete Trilogy," by M.R. Forbes, compiles the three novels "Forgotten" (2017), "Forsaken" (2017), and "Unforgiven" (2018) into a single volume. With a 99-cent pricetag, this collection is a steal and is well worth the time of any reader looking for fun, creepy, violent, action-packed science fiction.
The "Forgotten" trilogy is another riff on the popular themes of generation starships and alien invasions. Taking place on The Pilgrim, a large generation starship, "Forgotten" follows the perspective of protagonist Hayden Duke, who is the sherrif on the aforementioned vessel. Born on the ship, Duke knows only the life of a colonist. So when strange, unprecendented occurrences begin to happen aboard the ship, Duke is thrust into uncharted territory and must act decisively to save the lives of the thousands of colonists aboard The Pilgrim.
"Forgotten," The first book in the trilogy, is undoubtedly the best of the three. It was the most breathless read I've experienced in a great while, and I absolutely couldn't wait to find out what happened next. Author M.R. Forbes paces the story in a fantastic, creepy way, and each reveal is dynamite. Ocassionally, the dyanamics of the story felt akin to that of a videogame, but it was such great fun that I had no problem with it. The ending is mind-blowing and will make you want to devour the second book without delay, but...
"Forsaken," The second of the trilogy, is the weakest and is quite a letdown after the superlative first novel. It's almost as if the two novels were conceived as different projects and that the author just found some way to paste them together into one storyline. The tone and setting of the two novels are completely different, and this is very jarring to the reader--and not in a good way. Whereas the first novel was reminiscent of the film Pandorum, the second felt like something out of Mad Max. I wish I could say the transition was unique and interesting, but unfortunately the opposite is true. The book does pick up steam up steam, however, and you start to glimpse that mysterious sense of wonder from the first volume, and then...
"Unforgiven," the third volume, brings the series to a satisfying close. A solid final act, book three improves greatly on book two, though it never reaches the excellence of the first book. I did find the book dragged on a little much toward the end, but the author keeps the action taut, and gives the reader an epic, perfectly acceptable closing to the book. The ending is satisfying but will make you want to return to the Forgotten universe for more action, and fortunately author M.R. Forbes has many more books set in the Forgotten universe.
Other than a weak second book, my chief complaint with the Forgotten trilogy is uncompelling characterization. After the reading the trilogy and reflecting on the characters, I had trouble coming up with good adjectives to describe them in any more than surface detail, and found any development to be perfunctory at best. It's this inadequacy that really keeps the trilogy from being "great" rather than just "really good." The story ideas, worldbuiling, action, and other ingredients are all there, but solid characterization is missing in action.
Absolutely give the Forgotten trilogy a shot. While you might be frustrated with some of the things I have highlighted, you'll no doubt have a good time reading these stories, and will likely want to come back and visit this interesting universe that M.R. Forbes has crafted.
I would have given a 1-star raring, but since I DID read at least HALF of Part II, I can't honest!y rate it lower than that.
That being said, this novel has been poorly edited. It is repetitious and unbelievable in the single -minded pursuit by the sheriff for his wife...DESPITE the fact that civilization has been mostly destroyed in a dog-eat-dog world.
I couldn't stand it any more; I did not want to waste any more time reading the same plot over & over again.
Some of the characters are memorable, but not enough to make me want to finish the series.
Wow, what a yarn! I flew through this trilogy because it was a real page turner and I would definitely recommend it. All characters except for the main were pretty 2 dimensional though and I wouldn't get attached to anyone even if you could, the body count is high! What a story though and so many twists and turns I almost got whiplash. Highly enjoyable.
A futuristic series that will keep you on the edge
A brilliantly written story with amazingly detailed characters which are guaranteed to increase your love of reading page by page. Terrific action and adventure are presented from the beginning and it is very difficult to out the book (or reader) down and take a break.This series is very well written and immerses you into a different and dangerous world.
If you have Kindle unlimited there is no reason to not give this (regrettably) short series a try. I will follow this author, at least until they start overwhelming my inbox. ;-) I certainly wouldn't want to miss any new books that become available featuring the sheriff. Really try this series.
On a side note, I read A LOT, becoming a member of Kindle unlimited is one of the best decisions I have made. I don't work for them, I don't get paid to say so, (although I'll take money if they offer it) I get nothing to say it. But give it a try. Come back and let me know if you like it.
A story crafted from various novels with similar themes; dare I mention "Attack on Titan!?!"
I read this trilogy over one weekend, so many twist and turns that it will have your head spinning. The main character, "The Sheriff," you don't know rather to embrace or chuck the guy out of the nearest air lock. Man's inhumanity to man is on full display in all these novels. You don't know rather to fill contempt or compassion for these people. The lengths some people will go to survive no matter what the cost makes this trilogy worth reading in my humble opinion. Nuff said!!!
I liked the first book as it was fairly realistic but the second was not and the third even less so. The problem is that the three books compromise a time period of about 6 days and since this is sci-fi and not fantasy what happens is impossible. So the second d book was irritating and the third even more so. There is more fighting and travelling distances than is possible. The only reason I read it all was it was 3 books in 1. Save yourself the time and pass these by
The first book was entertaining and engaging until the end when the plot started to unravel and become unbelievable. The second and third book were just one unbelievable situation after another, meet someone and they die, get a limb cut off no problem. Impossible situation resolved because of luck, so many unresolved issues along the way. I'm guessing from the rave reviews this I'm the exception in not enjoying the trilogy, but this wasn't my cup of tea.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
The plot was excellent and the action held my interest. I often wondered where the story would go next. The hero got out of a few too many impossible situations for my liking, though. But that would not have soured me on a book series I was quite enjoying. The sex and language did however. I quit reading at half way through. Too bad.
The writing is okay but I just cannot like the main character. I also didn't like the twist at the end of book 1. I, somehow, felt cheated. I did finish book 1 and got a few chapters into book 2 before I decided to stop.
Sheriff Hayden Duke in charge of all 50,000 citizens on the starship Pilgrim. In route to colonize a distant planet, but something has gone wrong, they have been on the voyage for 400+ years. Systems are failing resources are slim, parts in short supply. Still citizens are relatively calm, but Sheriff Duke is uneasy. Another alarm has gone off the Sheriff is in pursuit of a man who jumped him and got away, still he's got a suspect to a question. Returning to the lead engineer (his wife) He heads to one on the pipe chases searching for what my be responsible for the alarm. His wife is checking a different like and finds a body, frantic she calls Duke , it's not human, and disappears! Thus begins a story entertaining series.
In the first book it's one dimensional characters. You don't get to know anybody and no one has a distinct voice.
I'm halfway through the 2nd book and here's some examples of non-sense as spoiler free as possible
1) Dude says there's no law around here and there hasn't been for centuries, then takes lawman to a place with guards and laws that dude's been going to for his whole life
2) A person threatens lawman "take me to your base or else", but lawman was unconscious and shouldn't have any way to know how to get back to his base anyway.
The main character is so unlikable it's hard to care what happens.
This trilogy is full of action. The time span is something around a week or so. The Sheriff just never quits in spite of injuries or obstacles. As I read the three volumes, they reminded me of several books and stories. Quirky in many ways. Bad guys around every corner that sometimes become an ally. Good guys are not necessarily invulnerable 'cause they tend to get knocked off fairly often. This is a wild ride through a world/universe turned upside down and shaken hard. Grab a drink, kick back in your recliner and go for a ride...
Overall a great read for the sci fi fan. Books 2 and 3 were gripping edge of your seat stuff. Overall it was well written. That said a plot twist in book one was so radical, my suspension of disbelief was racked and it took a while to recover but it was a well smithed book so the good writing standard saw me through to a gripping adventure afterwards... well worth a read for this soft 5 star box set.
Very interesting story line, first lot actually made it into space had a few adventures, killed a lot of bugs, got in all sorts of trouble and ended back home. Second lot forgot to turn on the ignition and stayed buried for a few hundred years. Our hero and heroine get to kill plenty of bugs and bad guys, works out ok in the end. Now we need the two heroes to meet to see what mayhem they can get up to
I gave the trilogy a 3 star rating because it had a decent story line. It is all earth based so not really science fiction.
The most annoying thing about the whole thing is the annoying use of slang, especially the word 'pozz', it literally had me wincing every time I read it. Its use was unrealistic by the characters that were chosen to use it.
Had me hooked from start to finish, would recommend to read it you like stories that change direction yet remain compelling throughout. Plenty of heroes and casualties along the way, a sci-fi horror with some memorable and imaginative characters and creatures.
The story is nicely developed, the characters keep you wanting for more. However the fact that the Sheriff survived anything and everything that came his way, while everybody else were dying left to right, got tiring. Being a simple human it is simply impossible.
Story line is interesting and a couple of twists thrown in that I didn't see coming. I am always pleased when an author can surprise me. There are typos and some word choice errors but they can be overlooked for the sake of the story. Overall it is a good read in that it keeps you wondering what is next for the characters.
I binge read The Forgotten box set in a couple of days. Totally absorbing, thrilling, gripping. Warning, Forbes doesn’t treat his characters kindly…..there are tears along the way! Ultimately, a yarn of the triumph of decency and grit over evil. A must read for fans of Firefly.
There’s no super secret reveals, but it is a story that gets told in a pleasent manner. Not too much gross stuff, a positive outlook that would benefit everyone if it were really the norm now. I will be reading whatever is next from M.R. Forbes, keep them coming.
I really enjoy MR Forbes’ universe. I started with Caleb Card and have moved on the Sheriff and Nathan Stacker. I can’t get enough of these stories. War Eternal was my first introduction to MR Forbes. I believe it’s a different universe altogether but it was an amazing read and is what made me a huge fan!
Loved this. I read a lot of this genre books and Mr. Forbes ideas are new. You won't be re-reading themes and experiences you have already read over and over again. His ideas are fresh and unexpected. I was dubious that he had enough for a 3-book series and now I wish he had just a few more of these characters to read about. Highly recommend!
Enjoyed the books immensely, did start to worry that the main character was losing too many partners, however it worked out well in the end, well written and believable, great storyline, not Gemmel but not far behind. I have another book In the series which I look forward to reading
A well written sci-fi story that draws you into it, I had to keep reading to the end, only to find other books in the series to read as well. Thank you for your imaginative books
I started out liking this series but the middle of the second book I found myself bored and uninterested. Half way through the third book I called it quits. I finally realized I didn't care about the characters and the plot had gotten tedious.
The description on the cover isn't what I would always go for so I'm always surprised by MR Forbes novels which are always great! This had me booked all the way and feeling for the characters and the story. Fantastic tale, thanks!
Fast and furious action. Too many times the good guys drop their guns or fail to eliminate the bad guys. But I guess that's the way the story goes. I immediately bought the next series to read. Lots of fun. THanks M R Forbes.
By the time I got halfway through the first book, I realized it is heavily inspired (intentionally or not) by a movie called Pandorum. Enjoying it so far. I’m interested to see how the trilogy goes but it could be a while (30 hours by audiobook!).