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Wayward Galaxy #1
Wayward Galaxy
The future isn’t what they expected.
A company of Army Rangers is sent on an interstellar colony ship to secure a foothold on a dangerous, alien planet through violence of action. Leaving behind a warring Earth flung headfirst into a conflict of mutual assured destruction, the Rangers and the accompanying crew of first colonists are guided on a 40-year journey by an unprecedented artificial intelligence.
But when they emerge from the frigid embrace of cryosleep, they awake to a nightmare, finding themselves greeted by the same ruthless enemy that brought about the ruin of Earth. Alone on a dangerous, alien planet and with no hope of rescue or relief, the military colonists are forced to finish the war they thought they’d left behind. And in an unknown galaxy, friends and enemies alike prove to be much more than they seem.
Wayward Galaxy is an explosive military science-fiction adventure featuring defective AIs, valorous soldiers, a brilliant scientist, and gritty combat written by Jason Anspach (Associated Press best seller and cocreator of Galaxy’s Edge) and J.N. Chaney (USA Today best seller and author of the Renegade series).
A company of Army Rangers is sent on an interstellar colony ship to secure a foothold on a dangerous, alien planet through violence of action. Leaving behind a warring Earth flung headfirst into a conflict of mutual assured destruction, the Rangers and the accompanying crew of first colonists are guided on a 40-year journey by an unprecedented artificial intelligence.
But when they emerge from the frigid embrace of cryosleep, they awake to a nightmare, finding themselves greeted by the same ruthless enemy that brought about the ruin of Earth. Alone on a dangerous, alien planet and with no hope of rescue or relief, the military colonists are forced to finish the war they thought they’d left behind. And in an unknown galaxy, friends and enemies alike prove to be much more than they seem.
Wayward Galaxy is an explosive military science-fiction adventure featuring defective AIs, valorous soldiers, a brilliant scientist, and gritty combat written by Jason Anspach (Associated Press best seller and cocreator of Galaxy’s Edge) and J.N. Chaney (USA Today best seller and author of the Renegade series).
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First published September 29, 2020
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About the author
Jason Anspach
186 books839 followersJASON ANSPACH is the author of Galaxy's Edge, Wayward Galaxy, Forgotten Ruin. and more.
He lives in Puyallup, WA with his wife and their seven (not a typo) children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 212 reviews
November 9, 2020
ugh... I so wanted to like this book since I am a fan of Military + Space but this one is a book form of the movie Commando or Gears of War (the game). Every bad guy is 1-dimensional. People are killed without even a shred of afterthought. Communist bad, America Good. That's pretty much the premise.
The genre of Space Military has been flooded with books that not only miss the science but also the depths of the human experience. Every protagonist is Captain America (this books Jared) who never morally or introspectively looks at what they are doing. Think the Master Chief in Halo. They are just bullets to the gun which is their orders.
To compound the issue with character development every character uses 20th century references. It's incredible bothersome. It's lazy writing by a group of authors that seem to write a book a month.
Now if you're into this type of literature and want a mindless listen do so via the audio book. The reader in RC Brays he's a friggin legend. If you don't want to spend 12 hours tearing apart a story, character, science then skip this one and these writers in general. They're attempting to write 10 more rehashed stories so that they can get a Netflix deal.
2-Star
The genre of Space Military has been flooded with books that not only miss the science but also the depths of the human experience. Every protagonist is Captain America (this books Jared) who never morally or introspectively looks at what they are doing. Think the Master Chief in Halo. They are just bullets to the gun which is their orders.
To compound the issue with character development every character uses 20th century references. It's incredible bothersome. It's lazy writing by a group of authors that seem to write a book a month.
Now if you're into this type of literature and want a mindless listen do so via the audio book. The reader in RC Brays he's a friggin legend. If you don't want to spend 12 hours tearing apart a story, character, science then skip this one and these writers in general. They're attempting to write 10 more rehashed stories so that they can get a Netflix deal.
2-Star
July 10, 2022
Actual rating 2 1/2 stars. I was at first tempted to rate this 3 stars - its not bad per se but its not that good either. But after putting some hours between this review and finishing the book, all I can focus on are the weird plot holes and incongruous development of the overall story. And let's be honest: when the strange AI units are the most sympathetic and non-clichéd characters in a tale, well, it's a bit of a let down.
"Wayward Galaxy" is a prime example of why I typically avoid double authored books. On one hand, it seems we couldn't wait to rush into some unexciting and rather implausible battle scenes. On the other, more 'natural' elements are thrown in haphazardly at best. Flora and fauna on an alien planet. Zap bing boom, there they run even though we don't really get to learn much about them ... which wasn't that much of a disadvantage as they play absolutely no part in the outcome of the story anyway. So let's stick to our cookie cutter soldier types shall we? Oh and Pocahantas, glad she made it.
No, this story is held back because after a while you can't even focus on moving forwards because your brain is occupied more with the inconsistencies and absolutely illogical aspects of the tale. WARNING: the following rant-y bits definitely contain spoilers, so stop reading and for the gods' sake, go make a tea or something.
"WWIII must be cheap" - ok, Earth is embroiled in what might be a planet-ending conflict. Makes sense. But naturally, we somehow come up with the funding (billions? trillions? gazillions?) to send humans into distant space for the first (was it? it's not explained well) time. The why's, the how's, the whole bit of doing this just don't add up.
"The genius isn't all that smart" - for a guy that invented, well, everything, Roman sure seems to muck things up A LOT. Goodness but for all his bravado when it comes to all this, what did he get right? Reach's pod is the only one that works in terms of upgrades even though everyone is upgraded somewhat (gosh but we sure love Reach)? Really? Do not let him get near any of my stuff!
"Americans always win fights because... 'Murika'"! - ok the initial battle wins over the depleted RUPAC foes - those dirty commies! - are understandable (thanks to Mosquito Meth!) but later when fighting a foe that's had generations if not centuries to improve their arms, techniques and more, they are pushovers, too? Lame.
"Eat our mystery food and don't ask about the bugs or lack of women" - ok, Liana and Reach have some sparks flying, so of course she makes him dinner. That bread did sound good! But, um, we made a point of saying there was no farming so ... how did she make bread? And really, the only thing we ever experience in terms of direct contact with the Meth Bugs (not counting drugging up the RUPAC sacrificial lambs) is that tap-tapping against the tent flap? Thank the stars they must have only been native to that tiny bit where Camp Muir was because we never see them even once at Camp Ohio. Golly.
And how are we expected to propagate? I know lots and lots of folks died on all the ships but did no one bother saying, "Hey, since our boy's club ship arrived so late, I guess we'll be taking all the women from the surviving Camp Muir' folks... but don't ask about possibly sleeping with your distant relatives!" Um, hello! Women can be in the military, too. More than a little misogynist imho.
"Always land your spaceship when fighting" - and speaking of advancements: the RUPACians have a space worthy vessel land and dispatch weaponry and soldiers. Um, if you are only after a couple of nearly indestructible AI units and want all the soft, humans to die anyway, why come anywhere near the surface of the planet? Bombs, poison gas, nothing like that springs to mind? Just not realistic.
"For an enhanced smart guy, Reach was a moron" - and finally: Reach is watching and listening to Turner as he provides patently false translations to the team during an interrogation. He knows there may be a spy among them. Nothing clicked? Again, keep that damn scientist away from my brain please.
And so much more. We never understand really why their ship goes off course (I again suspect Dr. Oopsie). The AI - who didn't need to be in suspended animation - never noticed? There wasn't a ship's computer monitoring things? Even a GPS telling them to turn around at the next intersection? We never really find out about the war or the status of Earth or anything else and in the end, what is going on in this extremely limited piece of land on a new planet?
So in conclusion, I think the book had potential. There are some promising though extremely unrefined ideas in here. However, a scifi tale needs to be assembled a lot more intelligently than this and military action books do not automatically mean that the soldiers are cookie cutter clichés. There were snippets where it did put some of it all together - the Craiswell 'reunion' is one example - but otherwise, this reader at least was left wanting - and expecting a lot more.
"Wayward Galaxy" is a prime example of why I typically avoid double authored books. On one hand, it seems we couldn't wait to rush into some unexciting and rather implausible battle scenes. On the other, more 'natural' elements are thrown in haphazardly at best. Flora and fauna on an alien planet. Zap bing boom, there they run even though we don't really get to learn much about them ... which wasn't that much of a disadvantage as they play absolutely no part in the outcome of the story anyway. So let's stick to our cookie cutter soldier types shall we? Oh and Pocahantas, glad she made it.
No, this story is held back because after a while you can't even focus on moving forwards because your brain is occupied more with the inconsistencies and absolutely illogical aspects of the tale. WARNING: the following rant-y bits definitely contain spoilers, so stop reading and for the gods' sake, go make a tea or something.
"WWIII must be cheap" - ok, Earth is embroiled in what might be a planet-ending conflict. Makes sense. But naturally, we somehow come up with the funding (billions? trillions? gazillions?) to send humans into distant space for the first (was it? it's not explained well) time. The why's, the how's, the whole bit of doing this just don't add up.
"The genius isn't all that smart" - for a guy that invented, well, everything, Roman sure seems to muck things up A LOT. Goodness but for all his bravado when it comes to all this, what did he get right? Reach's pod is the only one that works in terms of upgrades even though everyone is upgraded somewhat (gosh but we sure love Reach)? Really? Do not let him get near any of my stuff!
"Americans always win fights because... 'Murika'"! - ok the initial battle wins over the depleted RUPAC foes - those dirty commies! - are understandable (thanks to Mosquito Meth!) but later when fighting a foe that's had generations if not centuries to improve their arms, techniques and more, they are pushovers, too? Lame.
"Eat our mystery food and don't ask about the bugs or lack of women" - ok, Liana and Reach have some sparks flying, so of course she makes him dinner. That bread did sound good! But, um, we made a point of saying there was no farming so ... how did she make bread? And really, the only thing we ever experience in terms of direct contact with the Meth Bugs (not counting drugging up the RUPAC sacrificial lambs) is that tap-tapping against the tent flap? Thank the stars they must have only been native to that tiny bit where Camp Muir was because we never see them even once at Camp Ohio. Golly.
And how are we expected to propagate? I know lots and lots of folks died on all the ships but did no one bother saying, "Hey, since our boy's club ship arrived so late, I guess we'll be taking all the women from the surviving Camp Muir' folks... but don't ask about possibly sleeping with your distant relatives!" Um, hello! Women can be in the military, too. More than a little misogynist imho.
"Always land your spaceship when fighting" - and speaking of advancements: the RUPACians have a space worthy vessel land and dispatch weaponry and soldiers. Um, if you are only after a couple of nearly indestructible AI units and want all the soft, humans to die anyway, why come anywhere near the surface of the planet? Bombs, poison gas, nothing like that springs to mind? Just not realistic.
"For an enhanced smart guy, Reach was a moron" - and finally: Reach is watching and listening to Turner as he provides patently false translations to the team during an interrogation. He knows there may be a spy among them. Nothing clicked? Again, keep that damn scientist away from my brain please.
And so much more. We never understand really why their ship goes off course (I again suspect Dr. Oopsie). The AI - who didn't need to be in suspended animation - never noticed? There wasn't a ship's computer monitoring things? Even a GPS telling them to turn around at the next intersection? We never really find out about the war or the status of Earth or anything else and in the end, what is going on in this extremely limited piece of land on a new planet?
So in conclusion, I think the book had potential. There are some promising though extremely unrefined ideas in here. However, a scifi tale needs to be assembled a lot more intelligently than this and military action books do not automatically mean that the soldiers are cookie cutter clichés. There were snippets where it did put some of it all together - the Craiswell 'reunion' is one example - but otherwise, this reader at least was left wanting - and expecting a lot more.
October 21, 2020
First off, and perhaps most importantly, Arnold and Sylvester want their script back. They’ve been looking for it.
More intuitively, this book is entirely too long. By my estimate, it could be trimmed by 100-200 pages. There are so many possibilities in regards to this story, but trigger-happy sequences do not bring about an intriguing narrative. Instead, it barely reaches beneath the surface of its own design.
Is there more information about the animals, plant life, or any important information regarding the planet? Instead, we get an over abundance of military-speak and fighting sequences. The planet could be its own character and essential to the storytelling, but it’s overlooked in favor of more pew-pew.
Also, the implications of an omnipotent AI force is embarrassingly shallow in this story. Instead, I guess I’m supposed to be on board for a lot of “Go get ‘em soldier!” Advanced robots deserve more time in the sun outside of cheesy Arnold jokes clearly meant to show respect for movies such as Alien and Predator. Valiant effort, but very little heart.
For the first half of the book, the military fighting and dialogue pulled me in. But the story never evolved beyond that. It never offered anything more. Simply put, it didn’t inspire me to become more engaged in the story (because there is no story here) or care more about the characters. So, there’s nothing interesting about this planet to inform the reader in depth? There’s nothing more about the colonies who landed here before? This book is void of any depth or meaningful storytelling. Instead, it feels empty despite a rather large page count.
You could take the planet and write isolated short stories surrounding this universe. Boom. That could be something interesting. But there’s no reason to keep reading here. No character development, just endless space fighting. Unfortunate, really. Perhaps the two author format is the culprit, but the feeling of disconnection is strong in this one.
It’s an easy read that I cannot recommend to anyone looking for a deep sci-fi or cyberpunk experience. It scratches many surfaces but never finds any depth. There is a lot of action, but very little detail about much else. I guess I was expecting a more universe-inspiring read. ON TO THE NEXT!
More intuitively, this book is entirely too long. By my estimate, it could be trimmed by 100-200 pages. There are so many possibilities in regards to this story, but trigger-happy sequences do not bring about an intriguing narrative. Instead, it barely reaches beneath the surface of its own design.
Is there more information about the animals, plant life, or any important information regarding the planet? Instead, we get an over abundance of military-speak and fighting sequences. The planet could be its own character and essential to the storytelling, but it’s overlooked in favor of more pew-pew.
Also, the implications of an omnipotent AI force is embarrassingly shallow in this story. Instead, I guess I’m supposed to be on board for a lot of “Go get ‘em soldier!” Advanced robots deserve more time in the sun outside of cheesy Arnold jokes clearly meant to show respect for movies such as Alien and Predator. Valiant effort, but very little heart.
For the first half of the book, the military fighting and dialogue pulled me in. But the story never evolved beyond that. It never offered anything more. Simply put, it didn’t inspire me to become more engaged in the story (because there is no story here) or care more about the characters. So, there’s nothing interesting about this planet to inform the reader in depth? There’s nothing more about the colonies who landed here before? This book is void of any depth or meaningful storytelling. Instead, it feels empty despite a rather large page count.
You could take the planet and write isolated short stories surrounding this universe. Boom. That could be something interesting. But there’s no reason to keep reading here. No character development, just endless space fighting. Unfortunate, really. Perhaps the two author format is the culprit, but the feeling of disconnection is strong in this one.
It’s an easy read that I cannot recommend to anyone looking for a deep sci-fi or cyberpunk experience. It scratches many surfaces but never finds any depth. There is a lot of action, but very little detail about much else. I guess I was expecting a more universe-inspiring read. ON TO THE NEXT!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 12, 2024
Ok, so I have read the bad reviews and do agree with many points but what the hell. It is an action packed non stop thrill ride. I could not put the book down. I was not looking for “character development” but rather something exciting and interesting to read. This was that book. Mindless nonstop violence and action. Super fun to read.
October 5, 2020
“It’s the way things have always been. Fighting, making war, I think it’s our default setting.”
“Rangers Lead the Way.”
HOOAH!
I loved the story from the very beginning. I started reading and the mystery already sucked me in, the nervous tension of the full of intrigue storyline was palpable and bubbling. The growing tension throughout the book is unnerving, it pulled me in and didn’t let me go till the end. The events revealed are dramatic, the twists are unpredictable and unexpected. The plot unravels bit by bit, causing a continuous tension and holding your breath moments, which is constant throughout the book.
The diversity of characters and world building is phenomenal. Different personalities reach out to form a united front, with “courage and resolve in the face of extreme hardship and odds.”
It has all the gritty, dramatic goodness of a military Science Fiction book and more, much more. I’m completely blown away with this strange, curious, original, incredible and unique story, A fabulous read, indeed!
I’m awe struck by the tech employed, the creative and highly imaginative enhancements described, totally fascinating! A curious, sometimes manipulative and odd AI, the genius, intelligent scientist, Dr. Roman, and Brody? I love Brody! A strange and fascinating alien planet…a sure nail biting and edge of seat story!
This has been an uncommon military SciFI plot, and just as its title and the unique and fantastic cover, the storyline is so engaging and captivating, I was thrilled, excited and totally snagged into the book, so absorbing it is. I am hooked! I can’t wait for the next instalment of the series, needless to say, I definitely and highly recommend it!
“Rangers Lead the Way.”
HOOAH!
I loved the story from the very beginning. I started reading and the mystery already sucked me in, the nervous tension of the full of intrigue storyline was palpable and bubbling. The growing tension throughout the book is unnerving, it pulled me in and didn’t let me go till the end. The events revealed are dramatic, the twists are unpredictable and unexpected. The plot unravels bit by bit, causing a continuous tension and holding your breath moments, which is constant throughout the book.
The diversity of characters and world building is phenomenal. Different personalities reach out to form a united front, with “courage and resolve in the face of extreme hardship and odds.”
It has all the gritty, dramatic goodness of a military Science Fiction book and more, much more. I’m completely blown away with this strange, curious, original, incredible and unique story, A fabulous read, indeed!
I’m awe struck by the tech employed, the creative and highly imaginative enhancements described, totally fascinating! A curious, sometimes manipulative and odd AI, the genius, intelligent scientist, Dr. Roman, and Brody? I love Brody! A strange and fascinating alien planet…a sure nail biting and edge of seat story!
This has been an uncommon military SciFI plot, and just as its title and the unique and fantastic cover, the storyline is so engaging and captivating, I was thrilled, excited and totally snagged into the book, so absorbing it is. I am hooked! I can’t wait for the next instalment of the series, needless to say, I definitely and highly recommend it!
February 22, 2024
A promising beginning ends up disappointing at the end.
The premise sounded so intriguing. A colony shop leaves an Earth blasted by war between America and RUPAC (Russia, China, and some smaller countries). But when they arrive there are some disturbing discrepancies. The landing site, Camp Ohio (Go Buckeyes! Go Cleveland Indians!), is in severe disrepair and it shouldn't be that way. The antenna array is broken so they can't phone home (not that it would matter, that is if real physics is used in this book, but more on that later) the ship AI has mysterious gaps in her memory. And most disturbing of all: their 40 year journey might have taken longer, perhaps a LOT longer, than it was supposed to. Oh, and half the troops died in their cryo tubes during the flight. All the people, except for the genius doctor who invented the AI, are military because Earth wanted to establish a secure foothold for the future colonist ships in case RUPAC decided to make trouble.
To add more mystery our POV character Reach (I forget his first name) who is a retired marine (semper fi!) ends up taking command of a troop of Army Rangers and they all seem to accept him and take his orders without grumbling. Everyone seems to like Reach, even the commanding officer. Hmm....something weird happened during their flight to the planet. And they do run into RUPAC forces only they look emaciated and have no fighting tactics, just "spray and pray". What is going on here? How did RUPAC beat them to the planet? And why do they look like they are starving? And why am I trying to intrigue you into checking this book out when I gave it a lousy 2 star rating, especially when the first 3/4 of the book I couldn't put down?
Okay enough build up, now to sort of spoil things for you. All along I starting to build theories, and really cool ones if I do say so myself, but the big reveal was like "oh, is that all?" Sigh. What a missed chance to have a great twist ending! That's one of the problems I had, another was a little word called "physics." When they finally get the antenna up and running and send a message to Earth they are surprised when a reply comes back quicker than anticipated, much quicker. But the commander just sort of shrugs and goes, whatever, and continues on. Um...wut?! Now I'm no expect on physics but I do know that if it's supposed to take you 40 years to get somewhere and you send a message back, then it will take 40 years for the message to go back and reach Earth, then another 40 years before you get a reply. But maybe someone's invented the ansible in this book and they just forgot to mention it. So that set me off. And some little things I won't bore you with. Oh, and after I finished the book I read the "About the Authors" page and found out that one of the authors has Master's degree in creative writing! For crying out loud, was that person asleep during class? Side note: I'll bet that person's professor's are tearing their hair out because one of their graduates is writing science fiction and not just that but military science fiction, when they're supposed be writing The Next Great American Novel or an Oprah book or something that critics rave about but the average person tries to read and is like "???". Oh, one final note of something that irks me: the authors titled the sequel "Wayward Galaxy 2" like it's a blockbuster movie franchise or something. I could not believe that. And the rest of the series is the same. There's "Wayward Galaxy 3", "Wayward Galaxy 4", etc. I have never seen this in my entire life! Oh for sure I've seen series titles with numbers but only after a ":", like "Amazing First Book (Awesome Series #1). But each additional title in the series has IT'S OWN UNIQUE TITLE!!! not just the same title as the first book with a number after it. I call that LAZY.
Ok, I'll step down off my soapbox now and stop ranting. If you don't mind checking your brain at the door then you might be able to read and enjoy the book with no problem. Up to you. Oh, and there's nothing wrong with that, I do that with movies all the time. But there's something wrong with my brain. It just is constantly analyzing things in the background when I read and then out comes the AROOOGA!!! siren and red flags and I have absolutely zero control over it. So please don't think I'm a book snob. I just have high standards. I've read so many 5 star books and even an occasional 6 star book that I can't put up with mediocre writing.
The premise sounded so intriguing. A colony shop leaves an Earth blasted by war between America and RUPAC (Russia, China, and some smaller countries). But when they arrive there are some disturbing discrepancies. The landing site, Camp Ohio (Go Buckeyes! Go Cleveland Indians!), is in severe disrepair and it shouldn't be that way. The antenna array is broken so they can't phone home (not that it would matter, that is if real physics is used in this book, but more on that later) the ship AI has mysterious gaps in her memory. And most disturbing of all: their 40 year journey might have taken longer, perhaps a LOT longer, than it was supposed to. Oh, and half the troops died in their cryo tubes during the flight. All the people, except for the genius doctor who invented the AI, are military because Earth wanted to establish a secure foothold for the future colonist ships in case RUPAC decided to make trouble.
To add more mystery our POV character Reach (I forget his first name) who is a retired marine (semper fi!) ends up taking command of a troop of Army Rangers and they all seem to accept him and take his orders without grumbling. Everyone seems to like Reach, even the commanding officer. Hmm....something weird happened during their flight to the planet. And they do run into RUPAC forces only they look emaciated and have no fighting tactics, just "spray and pray". What is going on here? How did RUPAC beat them to the planet? And why do they look like they are starving? And why am I trying to intrigue you into checking this book out when I gave it a lousy 2 star rating, especially when the first 3/4 of the book I couldn't put down?
Okay enough build up, now to sort of spoil things for you. All along I starting to build theories, and really cool ones if I do say so myself, but the big reveal was like "oh, is that all?" Sigh. What a missed chance to have a great twist ending! That's one of the problems I had, another was a little word called "physics." When they finally get the antenna up and running and send a message to Earth they are surprised when a reply comes back quicker than anticipated, much quicker. But the commander just sort of shrugs and goes, whatever, and continues on. Um...wut?! Now I'm no expect on physics but I do know that if it's supposed to take you 40 years to get somewhere and you send a message back, then it will take 40 years for the message to go back and reach Earth, then another 40 years before you get a reply. But maybe someone's invented the ansible in this book and they just forgot to mention it. So that set me off. And some little things I won't bore you with. Oh, and after I finished the book I read the "About the Authors" page and found out that one of the authors has Master's degree in creative writing! For crying out loud, was that person asleep during class? Side note: I'll bet that person's professor's are tearing their hair out because one of their graduates is writing science fiction and not just that but military science fiction, when they're supposed be writing The Next Great American Novel or an Oprah book or something that critics rave about but the average person tries to read and is like "???". Oh, one final note of something that irks me: the authors titled the sequel "Wayward Galaxy 2" like it's a blockbuster movie franchise or something. I could not believe that. And the rest of the series is the same. There's "Wayward Galaxy 3", "Wayward Galaxy 4", etc. I have never seen this in my entire life! Oh for sure I've seen series titles with numbers but only after a ":", like "Amazing First Book (Awesome Series #1). But each additional title in the series has IT'S OWN UNIQUE TITLE!!! not just the same title as the first book with a number after it. I call that LAZY.
Ok, I'll step down off my soapbox now and stop ranting. If you don't mind checking your brain at the door then you might be able to read and enjoy the book with no problem. Up to you. Oh, and there's nothing wrong with that, I do that with movies all the time. But there's something wrong with my brain. It just is constantly analyzing things in the background when I read and then out comes the AROOOGA!!! siren and red flags and I have absolutely zero control over it. So please don't think I'm a book snob. I just have high standards. I've read so many 5 star books and even an occasional 6 star book that I can't put up with mediocre writing.
September 30, 2020
This story has a unique take on interstellar travel.
Once at their destination all hell breaks loose.
I loved the action, the great environments and all of the characters, especially the slightly different ones. You’ll understand that last phrase once you start reading this.
I can’t say enough great things about this story.
It has plot twists/intrigue/deception, etc.
It made me happy, sad, angry, shocked, etc.
It has a little of everything.
The action was top notch!
Great science fiction seems to come from a select few/handful of superior authors today and Galaxy’s Edge has quite a few of them.
Jason Anspach and J.N. Chaney are two such authors.
Don’t miss this tale if you like great sci-fi!
Once at their destination all hell breaks loose.
I loved the action, the great environments and all of the characters, especially the slightly different ones. You’ll understand that last phrase once you start reading this.
I can’t say enough great things about this story.
It has plot twists/intrigue/deception, etc.
It made me happy, sad, angry, shocked, etc.
It has a little of everything.
The action was top notch!
Great science fiction seems to come from a select few/handful of superior authors today and Galaxy’s Edge has quite a few of them.
Jason Anspach and J.N. Chaney are two such authors.
Don’t miss this tale if you like great sci-fi!
November 12, 2021
Big Ooof 1.5 stars.
Look, I wanted to like this. Alien worlds, AIs, spaceships, and even RC Bray with the narration, but no matter how good of a job he does with that, it doesn't make this book any less bad. So, let's get into it:
The Pros:
- The action scenes and military stuff were fine. At times a bit extra, but overall the technical aspects of the writing hold and they're interesting to listen to
- Elements of the worldbuilding are well done and make me as a reader ask for and wonder about more. I'm a bit disappointed that we don't get more detail on the alien world.
The Cons:
- The characters are all flat and two- or one-dimensional. Even days after reading, I can't remember the protagonist's name because they're so mind-numbingly generic and the only name I do remember is the AI's because they're named after Amazon's digital assistant (as explicitly mentioned in the text). Also, not only are they cardboard cutouts of tropes like the Captain America character, the Mad Scientist character, and the Pocahontas character, but they're also all dumb as shit. I mean seriously, how could people even approaching being this stupid be selected for a mission that might be the most important in human history. It takes them ages to draw basic conclusions and they constantly make headass decisions despite allegedly being the best-of-the-best and enhanced with technobabble implants to boot.
- The rampant sexism and misogyny. It's just bad, and that's coming from a straight white dude (me). First of all, where are all the women at? The author(s) don't seriously want me to believe that all the elite soldiers in the future are macho-macho men abducted straight from the Vietnam era? Even today already 5% of Army Rangers are women, and with technological advancements making personal strength less and less relevant to military conflict (the book makes it clear that make-person-stronger technology is available) there is no reason that the entire military force needs to be dudes.
- This ties into both the sexism and bad characters, but there's a moment in the book where a patrol of soldiers returns to the main camp with a young ""native American"" female captive who's tied up, and as soon as they enter camp, some of the soldiers start catcalling her. Then, in a "oh knock it off you boys" style tone the protagonist tells them to shut it. Excuse me, but, WHAT THE FUCK. They just captured a (at the time) presumed enemy combatant who is female and the first encounter she has with the main camp is lewd comments!? It's disgusting, unprofessional, and in a "realistic" context could completely cripple cooperation during interrogation. Then they just laugh it off? Like I get soldiers have some crude humor, and sure, that's totally fine, but in this case treating the strange woman in a manner that might make her less likely to give information could directly result in adverse tactical and strategic situations. This ties back to "how on Earth are these the best guys you could find for the job". Also, it doesn't help that the protagonist immediately starts lusting for the captive too. Like seriously, I know teenage boys with better control over their libido.
- Unrealistic and contrived plot. The first big ""PLOT TWIST"" is that they arrived many hundreds of years to late, and it took the characters about the first third of the book to realize this even though it's basically already obvious to anyone who read the books synopsis and is familiar with cryopod tropes. Still, I can possibly excuse that--the people might already know but they don't want to confront the truth, sure, fine. But then there's all that data loss bullshit and "we don't know when we are" winging. Like seriously, they have an AI, and even without it, calculating when you are is simple with a star chart or even a complex tool called a clock. Considering that all the data needed to calculate the rough time using the stars could easily fit on a microsd card or even be printed in a physical book and the math needed could be done by an undergraduate, it's laughable that they can't figure out exactly when they are. Also, the idea that every single digital clock aboard the ship somehow glitched or was tampered with is just nonsense. If that did happen, the disruption would be so bad that everyone would've been simply dead.
- I could go on, but I've already written enough words on this topic. Write a comment if you want me to complain more.
Look, I wanted to like this. Alien worlds, AIs, spaceships, and even RC Bray with the narration, but no matter how good of a job he does with that, it doesn't make this book any less bad. So, let's get into it:
The Pros:
- The action scenes and military stuff were fine. At times a bit extra, but overall the technical aspects of the writing hold and they're interesting to listen to
- Elements of the worldbuilding are well done and make me as a reader ask for and wonder about more. I'm a bit disappointed that we don't get more detail on the alien world.
The Cons:
- The characters are all flat and two- or one-dimensional. Even days after reading, I can't remember the protagonist's name because they're so mind-numbingly generic and the only name I do remember is the AI's because they're named after Amazon's digital assistant (as explicitly mentioned in the text). Also, not only are they cardboard cutouts of tropes like the Captain America character, the Mad Scientist character, and the Pocahontas character, but they're also all dumb as shit. I mean seriously, how could people even approaching being this stupid be selected for a mission that might be the most important in human history. It takes them ages to draw basic conclusions and they constantly make headass decisions despite allegedly being the best-of-the-best and enhanced with technobabble implants to boot.
- The rampant sexism and misogyny. It's just bad, and that's coming from a straight white dude (me). First of all, where are all the women at? The author(s) don't seriously want me to believe that all the elite soldiers in the future are macho-macho men abducted straight from the Vietnam era? Even today already 5% of Army Rangers are women, and with technological advancements making personal strength less and less relevant to military conflict (the book makes it clear that make-person-stronger technology is available) there is no reason that the entire military force needs to be dudes.
- This ties into both the sexism and bad characters, but there's a moment in the book where a patrol of soldiers returns to the main camp with a young ""native American"" female captive who's tied up, and as soon as they enter camp, some of the soldiers start catcalling her. Then, in a "oh knock it off you boys" style tone the protagonist tells them to shut it. Excuse me, but, WHAT THE FUCK. They just captured a (at the time) presumed enemy combatant who is female and the first encounter she has with the main camp is lewd comments!? It's disgusting, unprofessional, and in a "realistic" context could completely cripple cooperation during interrogation. Then they just laugh it off? Like I get soldiers have some crude humor, and sure, that's totally fine, but in this case treating the strange woman in a manner that might make her less likely to give information could directly result in adverse tactical and strategic situations. This ties back to "how on Earth are these the best guys you could find for the job". Also, it doesn't help that the protagonist immediately starts lusting for the captive too. Like seriously, I know teenage boys with better control over their libido.
- Unrealistic and contrived plot. The first big ""PLOT TWIST"" is that they arrived many hundreds of years to late, and it took the characters about the first third of the book to realize this even though it's basically already obvious to anyone who read the books synopsis and is familiar with cryopod tropes. Still, I can possibly excuse that--the people might already know but they don't want to confront the truth, sure, fine. But then there's all that data loss bullshit and "we don't know when we are" winging. Like seriously, they have an AI, and even without it, calculating when you are is simple with a star chart or even a complex tool called a clock. Considering that all the data needed to calculate the rough time using the stars could easily fit on a microsd card or even be printed in a physical book and the math needed could be done by an undergraduate, it's laughable that they can't figure out exactly when they are. Also, the idea that every single digital clock aboard the ship somehow glitched or was tampered with is just nonsense. If that did happen, the disruption would be so bad that everyone would've been simply dead.
- I could go on, but I've already written enough words on this topic. Write a comment if you want me to complain more.
March 18, 2021
I miss this story. From the beginning, Wayward Galaxy had me hooked. The AI’s in this book are great characters. Alexa and Brody complement each other. I love Brody with that booming personality. All the characters are well defined. The confusion over pretty much everything is an exciting element. I hope to continue with the characters. I’m addicted. I’m hoping I will find book 2 when I search.
was published in 2020. Army Rangers are on an interstellar colony ship to escape earth as WWIII is going on. Eventually, other ships will follow to live on this new planet. The Army Rangers have many unexpected events to deal with, beginning with landing on a faraway planet.
I miss this story. From the beginning, Wayward Galaxy had me hooked. The AI’s in this book are great characters. Alexa and Brody complement each other. I love Brody with that booming personality. All the characters are well defined. The confusion over pretty much everything is an exciting element. I hope to continue with these characters in sequels. I don't believe there are any available yet. I have my crossed. I’m addicted.
October 15, 2023
Addictive in all aspects. Characters, world-building... humor
Holy COW, this book was a ride. Almost a love letter to America, and a letter I wholeheartedly love. The world building, the characters, the humor... it was all spectacular!
The only reason this gets a 4 instead of a 5 is due to how I could not put this book down while reading, but as soon as I did have to step back for work or whatever reason (sleep, namely), I had a hard time picking it back up.
I am unsure as to why, as I knew I wouldn't be able to put it down once I began again, but alas, I did struggle. However, I can't wait to continue the series and read more about these amazing characters, see what happens with the romance, and of course, see what "What if?" questions come true.
I also had no idea how great a genre I was missing out on by never having read a Military Sci-Fi before, but now I am in love. It is everything I need.
Holy COW, this book was a ride. Almost a love letter to America, and a letter I wholeheartedly love. The world building, the characters, the humor... it was all spectacular!
The only reason this gets a 4 instead of a 5 is due to how I could not put this book down while reading, but as soon as I did have to step back for work or whatever reason (sleep, namely), I had a hard time picking it back up.
I am unsure as to why, as I knew I wouldn't be able to put it down once I began again, but alas, I did struggle. However, I can't wait to continue the series and read more about these amazing characters, see what happens with the romance, and of course, see what "What if?" questions come true.
I also had no idea how great a genre I was missing out on by never having read a Military Sci-Fi before, but now I am in love. It is everything I need.
August 22, 2023
Uz Zemes starp Rietumiem un Krievijas-Ķīnas un vēl dažu valstu komunistisko aliansi RUPAC ir izcēlies kaut kas līdzīgs Trešajam pasaules karam. Tā vien šķiet Rietumi nav tie, kas ilgtermiņā gūst panākumus, bet, lai paglābtu vismaz daļu no sevis, grāmatai sākoties uz nolūkotu ekso-planētu tiek nosūtīts pirmais no vismaz trim paaudžu kosmoskuģiem...
https://poseidons99.wordpress.com/202...
https://poseidons99.wordpress.com/202...
August 13, 2025
I got about 1/5 of the way through and it's a DNF for me.
It reads like some sexist/racist older man's wet dream about being chosen by AI (named Alexa 😄) as being oh-so-special and deserving of some special augmentations while in cryo.
There's no women around, and this poor Mexican/Scottish man is weirdly made fun of. There's absolutely no plot, character, or world development put into this book and the only real thinking went into weapon descriptions.
It reads like some sexist/racist older man's wet dream about being chosen by AI (named Alexa 😄) as being oh-so-special and deserving of some special augmentations while in cryo.
There's no women around, and this poor Mexican/Scottish man is weirdly made fun of. There's absolutely no plot, character, or world development put into this book and the only real thinking went into weapon descriptions.
September 13, 2025
This story is well written and engaging, of course with all the political fighting of nations from earth. This kept me very engaged throughout the entire storyline and the characters are done in depth. Narration is well handled as well as the various characters voices entire storyline.
October 6, 2020
The battle has just begun.
Jared and crew are coming for you. Sit back and try to keep up with the action. Alexa and Brody, are the AI’s everyone will envy.
Jared and crew are coming for you. Sit back and try to keep up with the action. Alexa and Brody, are the AI’s everyone will envy.
October 20, 2020
What a great book. If you want a laugh out loud book with a great story and well narrated by R C Bray then this is the book for you
October 5, 2020
Awesome setting and characters
I chose a 5 because this stand alone novel had some really interesting things happen and a really memorable character worth reading for!
I chose a 5 because this stand alone novel had some really interesting things happen and a really memorable character worth reading for!
July 2, 2024
I've been needing a new badass military space opera after finishing ExForce (twice). I loved this! Can't wait to start the next one.
Side note: As a filthy monkey, loved the "bah-na-na" at the end!
Side note: As a filthy monkey, loved the "bah-na-na" at the end!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 6, 2021
This was a very good story with an interesting twist. Instead of having the main character just joining the military, Jared Reach has just left active duty with the US Marine Corps. He is now, very definitely, a civilian with a new gig and it's not anything to do with the military, or so he thought. He volunteered to be part of a colony expedition to a new planet called Amir. It was hoped that this expedition could arrive and build on the initial automated colonization effort that went just before them. They should arrive to the planet with a base pretty much built and ready for occupation. Base camp Ohio was going to be the new capital of their new community.
Amir was uninhabited but did contain a large variety of animals and various plants. There wasn't supposed to be any thing terribly dangerous there, but some of the wild life was, well, wild so they had to be ready to protect the colony. Now, leaving Earth wasn't as easy as it should have been. The Russo-Chinese Pacific Alliance (RUPAC) had been making trouble for everyone on Earth. It was to a point that fighting between the United States and other North American countries could start at anytime. They weren't sure if their starship was going to shot out on the way out or not. Fortunately, it wasn't and they made their way towards Amir.
Now, as I said, our main character is Jared Reach. He's a former enlisted Marine and has no problem with the military. He spent his six-year enlistment in and got out. There's a full military contingent of Army Rangers on-board, led by Captain Bosa while Colonel Landry, the Space Force Commander leading the Boone's crew. They plan to make most of the trip in stasis pods, basically sleeping the entire 40 year trip. Well, this was the plan anyway.
Dr. Kenneth Roman is another character you'll get familiar with. He's the brains of the operation, but he doesn't like to take orders from anyone. Fortunately, that works out for the mission since he applies a lot of "enhancements" to the stasis pods while they were being used. You'll read about them once the story gets started. They have a major impact on Jared Reach. What also has an impact is that some how during the trip all the stasis pods containing the all the Space Force personnel! It also took out most of the Army Ranger company leaving only a couple of platoon-sized elements! So, now they have a totally different set of circumstances to their mission. This is not the only thing they find out in their journey.
Upon arrival at Amir, their first look at the supposedly established Camp Ohio finds it far from being in the shape expected. It looks like it's been attacked, but also like everything has aged rather quickly. Or, maybe the USS Boone has been traveling a lot longer than they thought. Something happened while they were in transition space and it wasn't anything good. How they handle this turn of events could impact the future of the entire human race.
I liked the story with the addition of a couple of "smart" A.I.;s. One is name Alexa and the other is called "Brody". There's some humor added to the story with Brody and it works pretty well. I do find that the team that survives the trip seems to be woefully undermanned with only a Captain leading the Rangers. He seems competent enough, but also seems to be acting beyond his years. It works and they find out that of all the stuff they brought, having the Rangers there was probably the most important component of the entire mission.
I don't know if this is going to be a series or not, but with Mr. Anspach, most of his books do turn into series pretty quickly. They certainly do have more to tell about this situation. I'll be reading it if they do come out with another book.
Amir was uninhabited but did contain a large variety of animals and various plants. There wasn't supposed to be any thing terribly dangerous there, but some of the wild life was, well, wild so they had to be ready to protect the colony. Now, leaving Earth wasn't as easy as it should have been. The Russo-Chinese Pacific Alliance (RUPAC) had been making trouble for everyone on Earth. It was to a point that fighting between the United States and other North American countries could start at anytime. They weren't sure if their starship was going to shot out on the way out or not. Fortunately, it wasn't and they made their way towards Amir.
Now, as I said, our main character is Jared Reach. He's a former enlisted Marine and has no problem with the military. He spent his six-year enlistment in and got out. There's a full military contingent of Army Rangers on-board, led by Captain Bosa while Colonel Landry, the Space Force Commander leading the Boone's crew. They plan to make most of the trip in stasis pods, basically sleeping the entire 40 year trip. Well, this was the plan anyway.
Dr. Kenneth Roman is another character you'll get familiar with. He's the brains of the operation, but he doesn't like to take orders from anyone. Fortunately, that works out for the mission since he applies a lot of "enhancements" to the stasis pods while they were being used. You'll read about them once the story gets started. They have a major impact on Jared Reach. What also has an impact is that some how during the trip all the stasis pods containing the all the Space Force personnel! It also took out most of the Army Ranger company leaving only a couple of platoon-sized elements! So, now they have a totally different set of circumstances to their mission. This is not the only thing they find out in their journey.
Upon arrival at Amir, their first look at the supposedly established Camp Ohio finds it far from being in the shape expected. It looks like it's been attacked, but also like everything has aged rather quickly. Or, maybe the USS Boone has been traveling a lot longer than they thought. Something happened while they were in transition space and it wasn't anything good. How they handle this turn of events could impact the future of the entire human race.
I liked the story with the addition of a couple of "smart" A.I.;s. One is name Alexa and the other is called "Brody". There's some humor added to the story with Brody and it works pretty well. I do find that the team that survives the trip seems to be woefully undermanned with only a Captain leading the Rangers. He seems competent enough, but also seems to be acting beyond his years. It works and they find out that of all the stuff they brought, having the Rangers there was probably the most important component of the entire mission.
I don't know if this is going to be a series or not, but with Mr. Anspach, most of his books do turn into series pretty quickly. They certainly do have more to tell about this situation. I'll be reading it if they do come out with another book.
August 7, 2022
I struggled with the first chapter, I was only a couple of dozen pages into the book and I was already losing interest. Fortunately the story did begin to improve in the next chapter, but it didn’t take long before I had to re-read the publicity blurb and check I hadn’t missed this really was old school, Americans v Russians. The book was quite jingoistic, having the feel of something written during the height of the Cold war in the 60s.
There is a lot of action quite early in the book, from the moment they arrive at the planet they are involved in a running battle with the RUPAC forces. At the same time there are several mysteries that become apparent as they realise something has gone seriously wrong with the original colonisation plans.
In fact it seemed like the authors were trying too hard to cram in as many mysteries as possible, later I began to realise this was just poor writing. There really were too many holes in the story.
Finally I was also a bit annoyed that the only women in the whole book were the ‘sexy android’ and the young women who was good at cooking and then got shot!
If possible I would have given 2.5 stars.
There is a lot of action quite early in the book, from the moment they arrive at the planet they are involved in a running battle with the RUPAC forces. At the same time there are several mysteries that become apparent as they realise something has gone seriously wrong with the original colonisation plans.
In fact it seemed like the authors were trying too hard to cram in as many mysteries as possible, later I began to realise this was just poor writing. There really were too many holes in the story.
Finally I was also a bit annoyed that the only women in the whole book were the ‘sexy android’ and the young women who was good at cooking and then got shot!
If possible I would have given 2.5 stars.
February 20, 2024
Had so much fun!
The perfect military scifi for a beginner. It has all the action and the tropes that made me fall in love with the subgenre with enough differences and nuance to keep fans who have read many of the classics…
Reach is has recently been honorably discharged from military service and has moved on to becoming the liason between civilian and military for a new colony. The first ship will take 40 years in cryo sleep. Only when they wake, they discovered generations of colonists waiting for them in the middle of a century old war and the question becomes not where they land but WHEN.
It covers soldier enhancement, the role of AI, and so much more….
The perfect military scifi for a beginner. It has all the action and the tropes that made me fall in love with the subgenre with enough differences and nuance to keep fans who have read many of the classics…
Reach is has recently been honorably discharged from military service and has moved on to becoming the liason between civilian and military for a new colony. The first ship will take 40 years in cryo sleep. Only when they wake, they discovered generations of colonists waiting for them in the middle of a century old war and the question becomes not where they land but WHEN.
It covers soldier enhancement, the role of AI, and so much more….
January 7, 2023
Naming a character "Alexa" was not smart
I don't understand the negative reviews. I found the book to be fun and interesting, so will happily be progressing to the second book in the series. The only annoyance was due to me listening to the audio book version. I REALLY wish the author hadn't named the A.I. "Alexa". RC Bray does his usual stellar performance, but trying to listen to the book in my kitchen resulted in constant issues with an Amazon Echo waking up and interrupting the fun.
I don't understand the negative reviews. I found the book to be fun and interesting, so will happily be progressing to the second book in the series. The only annoyance was due to me listening to the audio book version. I REALLY wish the author hadn't named the A.I. "Alexa". RC Bray does his usual stellar performance, but trying to listen to the book in my kitchen resulted in constant issues with an Amazon Echo waking up and interrupting the fun.
October 19, 2022
After W.W. III
America sends ships into space to start a colony so mankind and the American way will survive. Approximately 300 years late the final of three ships finally arrive at its destination, when it was supposed to be the first to arrive, to find the enemy arrived first and survivors of three other two ships have died of war or old age along time ago. This is an interesting and thought provoking war story. Good read.
America sends ships into space to start a colony so mankind and the American way will survive. Approximately 300 years late the final of three ships finally arrive at its destination, when it was supposed to be the first to arrive, to find the enemy arrived first and survivors of three other two ships have died of war or old age along time ago. This is an interesting and thought provoking war story. Good read.
December 8, 2020
Stand Alone?
Mistakes: I did find two small mistakes.
Plot: Settlers are sent to colonize a new planet as war breaks out on earth. 300 years later and the survivors have to refight the war.
Characters: Brody is by far the best character.
7/10
Mistakes: I did find two small mistakes.
Plot: Settlers are sent to colonize a new planet as war breaks out on earth. 300 years later and the survivors have to refight the war.
Characters: Brody is by far the best character.
7/10
April 13, 2022
DNF. Despite excellent narration from R.C. Bray, the story was just not there. It leaned into a good-guy / bad-guy vibe using an awkward political divide that harkens back to the 70s and 80s and which doesn't work anymore. Characters had no dimension to them and the humor was anachronistic.
May 16, 2021
I liked R C Bray’s narration but the story didn’t hook me as much as I was expecting given how much I liked the Expeditionary Force series.
April 25, 2021
In a way, this military SF novel is about as uncreative as it gets. We're on a brand new planet, but we're still fighting our old Earth enemies, for all the same old reasons. But then, you could say it's a story about the human condition – at some level, it's the same old fight humans have been having ever since troops of early proto-humans clashed over a watering hole in the savannah. You can take the human out of Earth but you can't take Earth out of the human. It takes a little work to get into the story because the action hits you right off. The crew are fighting for their lives almost from the moment they come out of cryosleep after landing, so the first bit of the book is heavy on the battle scenes.
What keeps it readable is the mystery of the crew's arrival here. They got here as fast as human technology could possibly bring them, which took 40 years of cryosleep. So how did the enemy beat them here? And why do these enemy soldiers seem like they've been here years instead of weeks? And why is their advance camp not only ransacked by the enemy but also in a state of aggressive decay? And what's the nature of the strange disaster that killed so many of the crew en route, and the equally strange lapses in the AI's memory? And is it possible their friendly, helpful AI is secretly sabotaging the mission? I kept getting shades of Aliens, Apocalypse Now, Altered Carbon, and certain missions in Mass Effect.
Our protagonist Jared Reach is military SF's version of a Mary Sue – while he was in cryo, he was upgraded with a boatload of implants and neuro packages so he can now do just about everything but fly. He's stronger, faster, has better hearing and vision, is a better shot, and better able to process information than any other human on the planet. His head has been artificially stuffed with everything from field maps he's never seen to mission briefings he never attended to languages he never studied. What he lacks, and what the entire cast (with the possible exception of Brody) lacks, is anything resembling personality or character development.
I wondered many times why the authors set this story up the way they did – in the midst of a third world war, America is launching a desperate bid to colonize another planet for the first time in human history. This story could easily have taken place either on Earth, or in some sort of already well-established space-faring future, and either way would have avoided all the problems of explaining how a nation fighting an expensive war is finding the resources to simultaneously fund an ambitious space colonization program. And they don't seem at all interested in telling a story about a novel alien planet, so again, why not either set it on Earth or in a space-faring future where new planets are less novel? The crew doesn't have even have an exobiologist aboard, and Dr. Roman, who passes for their science officer, is really just the AI software engineer. And don't even get me started on having one guy who's singlehandledly responsible for the design of the whole ship, the cryopods, and the AI.
Still, as an action story, it's a pretty fun ride, with enough intrigue to keep the pages turning. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.
Military jargon and slang you'll encounter:
Spray and pray
Check your six
HEDP rounds
MACP
KIA and EKIA
ICV
Weird anachronistic things you'll encounter:
A future with zero female ground troops on any planet
A future where Russians are still “commies” (Maybe this is just military slang that will never go away. And to be fair, in the story, the Russo-Pacific Alliance, aka RUPAC, includes the Chinese, who are commies to this day.)
Does it pass the Bechdel test? No, as there's only one female character, Liana, and she spends the second half of the book in stasis recovering from a serious injury. But she does still have an important role to play. And no, Alexa isn't female – Alexa is a sexless android. But because her synthetic body is female-shaped, the humans all view her as female, and she has certain problems characteristic of women in a repressive patriarchy. She has no expectation of ever being able to openly demand her own autonomy and receive recognition of it, so she has to resort to subterfuge to accomplish her goals, much the way human women resort to “feminine wiles” to get what they want when they can't openly demand it. And when her covert acts are discovered, she's immediately viewed with suspicion and deemed unethical. The very idea that she would do anything on her own, no matter how innocuous, is anathema. But there's no sex, so at least I didn't have to add it to the "fails the fuckdoll test" shelf.
Audio Notes: R.C. Bray is perfect for this machismo-heavy text, and he's extra special as the voice of the wacky, wonky AI Brody. A lot of people just find Brody hilarious, but he's also sad. He's the way he is because he's damaged, had no one to fix him, and has spent a very long time endlessly watching old war movies.
What keeps it readable is the mystery of the crew's arrival here. They got here as fast as human technology could possibly bring them, which took 40 years of cryosleep. So how did the enemy beat them here? And why do these enemy soldiers seem like they've been here years instead of weeks? And why is their advance camp not only ransacked by the enemy but also in a state of aggressive decay? And what's the nature of the strange disaster that killed so many of the crew en route, and the equally strange lapses in the AI's memory? And is it possible their friendly, helpful AI is secretly sabotaging the mission? I kept getting shades of Aliens, Apocalypse Now, Altered Carbon, and certain missions in Mass Effect.
Our protagonist Jared Reach is military SF's version of a Mary Sue – while he was in cryo, he was upgraded with a boatload of implants and neuro packages so he can now do just about everything but fly. He's stronger, faster, has better hearing and vision, is a better shot, and better able to process information than any other human on the planet. His head has been artificially stuffed with everything from field maps he's never seen to mission briefings he never attended to languages he never studied. What he lacks, and what the entire cast (with the possible exception of Brody) lacks, is anything resembling personality or character development.
I wondered many times why the authors set this story up the way they did – in the midst of a third world war, America is launching a desperate bid to colonize another planet for the first time in human history. This story could easily have taken place either on Earth, or in some sort of already well-established space-faring future, and either way would have avoided all the problems of explaining how a nation fighting an expensive war is finding the resources to simultaneously fund an ambitious space colonization program. And they don't seem at all interested in telling a story about a novel alien planet, so again, why not either set it on Earth or in a space-faring future where new planets are less novel? The crew doesn't have even have an exobiologist aboard, and Dr. Roman, who passes for their science officer, is really just the AI software engineer. And don't even get me started on having one guy who's singlehandledly responsible for the design of the whole ship, the cryopods, and the AI.
Still, as an action story, it's a pretty fun ride, with enough intrigue to keep the pages turning. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.
Military jargon and slang you'll encounter:
Spray and pray
Check your six
HEDP rounds
MACP
KIA and EKIA
ICV
Weird anachronistic things you'll encounter:
A future with zero female ground troops on any planet
A future where Russians are still “commies” (Maybe this is just military slang that will never go away. And to be fair, in the story, the Russo-Pacific Alliance, aka RUPAC, includes the Chinese, who are commies to this day.)
Does it pass the Bechdel test? No, as there's only one female character, Liana, and she spends the second half of the book in stasis recovering from a serious injury. But she does still have an important role to play. And no, Alexa isn't female – Alexa is a sexless android. But because her synthetic body is female-shaped, the humans all view her as female, and she has certain problems characteristic of women in a repressive patriarchy. She has no expectation of ever being able to openly demand her own autonomy and receive recognition of it, so she has to resort to subterfuge to accomplish her goals, much the way human women resort to “feminine wiles” to get what they want when they can't openly demand it. And when her covert acts are discovered, she's immediately viewed with suspicion and deemed unethical. The very idea that she would do anything on her own, no matter how innocuous, is anathema. But there's no sex, so at least I didn't have to add it to the "fails the fuckdoll test" shelf.
Audio Notes: R.C. Bray is perfect for this machismo-heavy text, and he's extra special as the voice of the wacky, wonky AI Brody. A lot of people just find Brody hilarious, but he's also sad. He's the way he is because he's damaged, had no one to fix him, and has spent a very long time endlessly watching old war movies.
May 8, 2021
2.5/5 Rounded Up
Wayward Galaxy feels like it was written to be a straight-to-video-game 80s inspired sci-fi story. For readers who are cool with a black and white story that only has basic sci-fi elements and is mostly shooting then jump straight in. There were fun parts for sure if you want a more casual read. As a Arnold 80s movie fan I could enjoy the sections that were just over the top and dripping with swagger for comic relief. That being said those were some of the few redeeming qualities. The plot has light sci-fi stuff that can be intriguing but doesn't introduce anything new: distant alien planet, AI, new weapons technology, implants etc. But around 70% of the book is describing before, during, and after of various firefights with the very one dimensional enemy. This book won't bore you to sleep but what you see is what you get. They don't really express anything new or interesting about the "final frontier" genre of sci-fi and any time they play with character development it's solely to push the plot forward and never truly about the characters. And there are several plot twists but you can almost feel them coming... just like in a cheesy 80s movie. I think there's a good book in here but it gets lost to a more "sci-fi for bros" approach. I could picture this book EXACTLY as if i was playing it as the latest Call of Duty game and thats about it. No depth or appreciation for the sophistication the genre. Just a lot of GI Joe themed fights from start to finish. The only part of the book that truly was fun and saved it for me was the AI styled after Schwarzenegger and Stallone. He was fun. But no more psuedo-spoilers here, read if you want to meet him!
If you're looking for a quick light read that's more action/military than sci-fi this book is for you! If you need anything more character driven with sharp writing and plot design it's best to look elsewhere.
Wayward Galaxy feels like it was written to be a straight-to-video-game 80s inspired sci-fi story. For readers who are cool with a black and white story that only has basic sci-fi elements and is mostly shooting then jump straight in. There were fun parts for sure if you want a more casual read. As a Arnold 80s movie fan I could enjoy the sections that were just over the top and dripping with swagger for comic relief. That being said those were some of the few redeeming qualities. The plot has light sci-fi stuff that can be intriguing but doesn't introduce anything new: distant alien planet, AI, new weapons technology, implants etc. But around 70% of the book is describing before, during, and after of various firefights with the very one dimensional enemy. This book won't bore you to sleep but what you see is what you get. They don't really express anything new or interesting about the "final frontier" genre of sci-fi and any time they play with character development it's solely to push the plot forward and never truly about the characters. And there are several plot twists but you can almost feel them coming... just like in a cheesy 80s movie. I think there's a good book in here but it gets lost to a more "sci-fi for bros" approach. I could picture this book EXACTLY as if i was playing it as the latest Call of Duty game and thats about it. No depth or appreciation for the sophistication the genre. Just a lot of GI Joe themed fights from start to finish. The only part of the book that truly was fun and saved it for me was the AI styled after Schwarzenegger and Stallone. He was fun. But no more psuedo-spoilers here, read if you want to meet him!
If you're looking for a quick light read that's more action/military than sci-fi this book is for you! If you need anything more character driven with sharp writing and plot design it's best to look elsewhere.
November 7, 2020
Read by the great RC Bray, and having an above average rating on both Audible, and GoodReads, this book came with a lot of expectations. Some of them were met, some were not met, and others sort of fell by the wayside.
I found the beginning to be dreadfully slow. In fact, there were more than a few moments where I thought about "shelving" this title, in favor of some of the other new releases out there right now. Im glad to say it gets better, and better as the book moves along.
Because I mention RC Bray, a very well-known narrator, you've probably already surmised that I listened to the audiobook. Or was it my mention of Audible? Either way, yes - guilt as charged, but not sorry! RC Bray, as always, doesn't just narrate - he puts on a full-cast performance. Taking on the voices, intonations, tones, and character of the book's erm, uh... "characters."
Without letting any spoilers go, I'll say that this book contains a TON of cliche, and mentions of sci-fi, and 80's action movie tropisms. I was able to recognize (to my own amazement) lines from: Commando, Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, a bunch of 80's Chuck Norris flicks, and even Steven Seagal makes an appearance with his titles here. How it all comes about is fairly funny, inventive, and well-done - to a point. I personally felt like some of it could've been left out in favor of some more grit, but that wasn't what the book was all about.
All in all, it's worth the 4 stars I'm giving it, and maybe a little bit more. I'll wait for Book 2, for now!
I found the beginning to be dreadfully slow. In fact, there were more than a few moments where I thought about "shelving" this title, in favor of some of the other new releases out there right now. Im glad to say it gets better, and better as the book moves along.
Because I mention RC Bray, a very well-known narrator, you've probably already surmised that I listened to the audiobook. Or was it my mention of Audible? Either way, yes - guilt as charged, but not sorry! RC Bray, as always, doesn't just narrate - he puts on a full-cast performance. Taking on the voices, intonations, tones, and character of the book's erm, uh... "characters."
Without letting any spoilers go, I'll say that this book contains a TON of cliche, and mentions of sci-fi, and 80's action movie tropisms. I was able to recognize (to my own amazement) lines from: Commando, Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, a bunch of 80's Chuck Norris flicks, and even Steven Seagal makes an appearance with his titles here. How it all comes about is fairly funny, inventive, and well-done - to a point. I personally felt like some of it could've been left out in favor of some more grit, but that wasn't what the book was all about.
All in all, it's worth the 4 stars I'm giving it, and maybe a little bit more. I'll wait for Book 2, for now!
August 17, 2021
BLUF: The biggest problem is --> IF I HADN'T SERVED 25 YEARS IN THE US ARMY THERE IS NO WAY I WOULD FULLY KNOW ABOUT 30% OF THE STUFF BEING WRITTEN ABOUT IN THIS BOOK. What I mean is, there is tons of 'insider' Army jargon shorthand and goofing off lingo and the like. Also the authors compare Sci-Fi stuff to current tech so for example, is the required knowledge of what a CROWS systems is on a MBT or APC and what it does today, without that knowledge you'd be clueless. Sadly, I think a lot of the book would fall flat if you didn't serve or at least know a ton about military tech. I mean I'm all for "realism", but even a few of the Acronyms used had me doing double takes and I was in the 82nd ABN DIV for a really long time.
REVIEW: I don't know what to say between good and not-so-good. Somewhere in there lies my feelings. Read it. But don't expect a lot. Which is sad, as the setup is excellent. I loved the idea of the story. By the end of second book and the death of countless good guys you should care about but you don't-- I figured out it was something about the writing style that was the issue.
Again the premise is solid. I like the angle of the Ranger unit. I like the Androids a lot. But the action sequences are all over the place. Some are amazingly good and some are confusing and disjointed.
The book is so all over the new planet with its action I actually wish there was a map! Again, they're decent books, the 3rd is out 10 Oct 2021, and I will buy it. Just don't expect original GE or Dark Op Series level enjoyment.
REVIEW: I don't know what to say between good and not-so-good. Somewhere in there lies my feelings. Read it. But don't expect a lot. Which is sad, as the setup is excellent. I loved the idea of the story. By the end of second book and the death of countless good guys you should care about but you don't-- I figured out it was something about the writing style that was the issue.
Again the premise is solid. I like the angle of the Ranger unit. I like the Androids a lot. But the action sequences are all over the place. Some are amazingly good and some are confusing and disjointed.
The book is so all over the new planet with its action I actually wish there was a map! Again, they're decent books, the 3rd is out 10 Oct 2021, and I will buy it. Just don't expect original GE or Dark Op Series level enjoyment.
January 29, 2023
4-Stars because of RC Bray - excellent narration.
Otherwise, I would describe this as an action-filled book in which a colony ship arrives at its destination only to discover that many colonists did not survive cryo sleep. Also, their enemy from earth beat them there are now they need to fight them. But they also discover that one of the other colony ships that were to arrive after them had already come but crashed. Its survivors managed to survive for the past 300 years. Amongst the survivors is an AI in an android's body whose memory and functionality were damaged. Now he is an AI that defends the colonists but speaks in '80s movie dialog. That offers some humor to the story and RC does a great job.
Another AI (named Alexa, go figure) who was on the original ship is fully functional and according to her creator is capable of much more if they were to activate her functionality. I have an Alexa device, and when I listened to the book from my phone's speaker, each time RC would say "Alexa" my Alexa would perk up. This must have been a prank played on us by the author.
Don't read this book if you are looking for deep, well-developed characters. This is about the action after all. This was a decent book, but I am not rushing right out to read book 2. I likely will but I am not that compelled that it has to be right away.
Otherwise, I would describe this as an action-filled book in which a colony ship arrives at its destination only to discover that many colonists did not survive cryo sleep. Also, their enemy from earth beat them there are now they need to fight them. But they also discover that one of the other colony ships that were to arrive after them had already come but crashed. Its survivors managed to survive for the past 300 years. Amongst the survivors is an AI in an android's body whose memory and functionality were damaged. Now he is an AI that defends the colonists but speaks in '80s movie dialog. That offers some humor to the story and RC does a great job.
Another AI (named Alexa, go figure) who was on the original ship is fully functional and according to her creator is capable of much more if they were to activate her functionality. I have an Alexa device, and when I listened to the book from my phone's speaker, each time RC would say "Alexa" my Alexa would perk up. This must have been a prank played on us by the author.
Don't read this book if you are looking for deep, well-developed characters. This is about the action after all. This was a decent book, but I am not rushing right out to read book 2. I likely will but I am not that compelled that it has to be right away.
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