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Burning Sky #1
Burning Sky
Lieutenant Capp is integrating Royal Navy tech onto a battered ship from the Old Earth fleet when she gets orders to cross the so-called Roach Frontier and investigate a potentially hostile alien race. The insectoids have survived a genocidal war, and are expanding aggressively toward human territory.
She arrives to find a navy warship already lurking in the system, with Captain McGowan of HMS Peerless preparing a preemptive strike against an insectoid mining colony. Capp sees hints that the aliens hope to avoid conflict, but McGowan ignores her misgivings and attaches her to a force of marines tasked with snuffing the aliens before they can spread.
The insectoids may not have initiated the fight, but they mount a vicious response to the mechanized troops landing in their midst. The deeper Capp penetrates their territory, the more she realizes this is a fight the marines may not be able to win, as she discovers a secret brewing deep within the insectoid colony.
She arrives to find a navy warship already lurking in the system, with Captain McGowan of HMS Peerless preparing a preemptive strike against an insectoid mining colony. Capp sees hints that the aliens hope to avoid conflict, but McGowan ignores her misgivings and attaches her to a force of marines tasked with snuffing the aliens before they can spread.
The insectoids may not have initiated the fight, but they mount a vicious response to the mechanized troops landing in their midst. The deeper Capp penetrates their territory, the more she realizes this is a fight the marines may not be able to win, as she discovers a secret brewing deep within the insectoid colony.
- GenresScience Fiction
403 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 20, 2020
89 people are currently reading
25 people want to read
About the author
Michael Wallace
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Michael also welcomes email from readers at m.wallace23(at)yahoo(dot)com.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 20, 2020
In Burning Sky, Michael Wallace has returned to his absolutely outstanding Starship Blackbeard Universe that has run through an evolution of 14 Books now (and a few short stories?). This is easily one of the best ‘Long Running’ Sci-Fi Space Opera/Mil Sci-Fi series that exists on the market today, and if you have not read the other 14 books, you should most definitely read them before you read this. Whilst you could at a pinch get away without having read the previous books, the incredible wealth of information from what is a seriously complex, and multi-faceted, within a multi-faceted plot line, would diminish the joy you will get from Burning Sky.
Because that has been one of the real hallmarks of Wallace’s writing, the sheer complexity, and depth of not just his storylines, but the stunning and beautiful ‘Universe’ building that has gone into creating this epic adventure.
What has kept this story so amazing, fresh, and remarkable, is that with each new evolution, Wallace has introduced a new ‘Sector’ of space that the Albion’s are exploring/conquering, or having to fight some Alien species.
From the Hroom and the Death Cults, to the Singaporeans and the Apex, to the Scandinavian’s, and the Adjudicators, each new series has included this incredible new aspect – all the while, there has been this underlying thread that those of the Royal Navy under Drake have been trying to find their way home to their original ancestors thousands of years ago, to a little known planet called ‘Earth’.
In Burning Sky, it is with great delight that we finally get to see Lieutenant Capp in Command of a Ship, albeit a smaller ship, the Copperhead, a Scorpion class vessel of ‘Terran’ design. In the next stage of this enthralling series, Wallace has taken us to the ‘Terran’ systems, introducing us to the what remains of Albion’s ancestors. Unfortunately, they too have been at war with the Adjudicators, ravaged, leaving most of the systems either decimated, or with refugees, homeless, broken and nothing but starving and injured people. In some areas, the Terrans have managed to start to pull together, and it is in one of these small pockets that Capp finds herself with Carvalho and Smythe.
Capp find herself in charge of the Terrans, and sent to investigate a listening post that has gone dark in a system that was meant to be empty. Only, it isn’t empty, in the system, are the Insectoids, or ‘Roaches’ as they are more commonly known amongst the Terrans and Royal Navy.
And this is where the story gets really interesting, as it kind of splits into two major story arcs.
The first follows Capp, and her leading her forces as she has them, they are split up, put back together, subtracted from, added to… Capp finds herself in charge of the Scorpions, then a slightly different fleet, and later she finds herself on the ground, leading a mechanised unit, being the most senior person with experience.
It is not only Capp, there are a few other friendly faces from the earlier series, but I will let you discover that yourself. Needless to say, that these characters are outstanding. The addition of the Terrans to this book adds a new level of intrigue as well, as we find out some of what has happened to Old Earth in the intervening years. Again, the Universe Building is just amazing, with so much depth, the Authors office wall must look incredible with all the details for this story!! But it is the complexity, and multi-dimensional nature of the characters from so many races and sectors that really make this such a great read.
The second follows the Roaches, mainly from the point of view of one of their leaders, Ast. It is fascinating getting this point of view, trying to understand the aliens and their motivations. However, we get to see both sides of the coin as the two forces come into the system, meet, both with little or no understand of the other, and, due to the unique communication method of the Roaches (mainly a scent/pheromone based form of communication), there is little or no hope of any sort of quick diplomatic options. It would take Xenobiology teams years to decode the language structure, if the managed to at all.
I don’t want to give too much away, as it makes for a really interesting read, Wallace has made a real effort to make it feel like there is a proper Hive mind mentality to the Insects, and make them feel alien, whilst at the same time, we have humanity on the other side, unsure of how to act, but acting with the usual militaristic caution.
As with all of his books, especially in this series, Wallace has again written a compelling and intriguing story that you will not want to put down and find yourself utterly captivated in.
You might think after 14 books that this might not be as good, but if anything, this has only gotten better, and I can’t wait for the next book in the series ‘Dark Star’. If you have read any of these, you will love it, if you haven’t grab Starship Blackbeard and jump in – you won’t be disappointed!
Because that has been one of the real hallmarks of Wallace’s writing, the sheer complexity, and depth of not just his storylines, but the stunning and beautiful ‘Universe’ building that has gone into creating this epic adventure.
What has kept this story so amazing, fresh, and remarkable, is that with each new evolution, Wallace has introduced a new ‘Sector’ of space that the Albion’s are exploring/conquering, or having to fight some Alien species.
From the Hroom and the Death Cults, to the Singaporeans and the Apex, to the Scandinavian’s, and the Adjudicators, each new series has included this incredible new aspect – all the while, there has been this underlying thread that those of the Royal Navy under Drake have been trying to find their way home to their original ancestors thousands of years ago, to a little known planet called ‘Earth’.
In Burning Sky, it is with great delight that we finally get to see Lieutenant Capp in Command of a Ship, albeit a smaller ship, the Copperhead, a Scorpion class vessel of ‘Terran’ design. In the next stage of this enthralling series, Wallace has taken us to the ‘Terran’ systems, introducing us to the what remains of Albion’s ancestors. Unfortunately, they too have been at war with the Adjudicators, ravaged, leaving most of the systems either decimated, or with refugees, homeless, broken and nothing but starving and injured people. In some areas, the Terrans have managed to start to pull together, and it is in one of these small pockets that Capp finds herself with Carvalho and Smythe.
Capp find herself in charge of the Terrans, and sent to investigate a listening post that has gone dark in a system that was meant to be empty. Only, it isn’t empty, in the system, are the Insectoids, or ‘Roaches’ as they are more commonly known amongst the Terrans and Royal Navy.
And this is where the story gets really interesting, as it kind of splits into two major story arcs.
The first follows Capp, and her leading her forces as she has them, they are split up, put back together, subtracted from, added to… Capp finds herself in charge of the Scorpions, then a slightly different fleet, and later she finds herself on the ground, leading a mechanised unit, being the most senior person with experience.
It is not only Capp, there are a few other friendly faces from the earlier series, but I will let you discover that yourself. Needless to say, that these characters are outstanding. The addition of the Terrans to this book adds a new level of intrigue as well, as we find out some of what has happened to Old Earth in the intervening years. Again, the Universe Building is just amazing, with so much depth, the Authors office wall must look incredible with all the details for this story!! But it is the complexity, and multi-dimensional nature of the characters from so many races and sectors that really make this such a great read.
The second follows the Roaches, mainly from the point of view of one of their leaders, Ast. It is fascinating getting this point of view, trying to understand the aliens and their motivations. However, we get to see both sides of the coin as the two forces come into the system, meet, both with little or no understand of the other, and, due to the unique communication method of the Roaches (mainly a scent/pheromone based form of communication), there is little or no hope of any sort of quick diplomatic options. It would take Xenobiology teams years to decode the language structure, if the managed to at all.
I don’t want to give too much away, as it makes for a really interesting read, Wallace has made a real effort to make it feel like there is a proper Hive mind mentality to the Insects, and make them feel alien, whilst at the same time, we have humanity on the other side, unsure of how to act, but acting with the usual militaristic caution.
As with all of his books, especially in this series, Wallace has again written a compelling and intriguing story that you will not want to put down and find yourself utterly captivated in.
You might think after 14 books that this might not be as good, but if anything, this has only gotten better, and I can’t wait for the next book in the series ‘Dark Star’. If you have read any of these, you will love it, if you haven’t grab Starship Blackbeard and jump in – you won’t be disappointed!
January 21, 2022
I have enjoyed this series up until this point, however this book was highly disappointing to me.
McGowan, who was stripped of his command during the last trilogy for some, inexplicable reason, is given his command back just in time to hotheadly start another war with a new species. His normally over cautious tactics thrown out the window as he tries to lay siege to a system against an enemy of unknown strength and capabilities with only seven warships merely off of the assumption that they were hostile. His small character growth that he seemed to experience last book had regressed.
Capp, frankly should have been promoted by now. More so if there is need for experienced captains enough to placed a degraced one back in command.
I also didn't understand why Vargas was so openly hostile towards Drake for no real reason.
Now the good parts? The portrayal of the insectoid race was fantastic, as each alien race has been. It would have been easy to start a war based off of the two sides misunderstanding one another rather than an incompetent captain given a command he was already stripped of.
McGowan, who was stripped of his command during the last trilogy for some, inexplicable reason, is given his command back just in time to hotheadly start another war with a new species. His normally over cautious tactics thrown out the window as he tries to lay siege to a system against an enemy of unknown strength and capabilities with only seven warships merely off of the assumption that they were hostile. His small character growth that he seemed to experience last book had regressed.
Capp, frankly should have been promoted by now. More so if there is need for experienced captains enough to placed a degraced one back in command.
I also didn't understand why Vargas was so openly hostile towards Drake for no real reason.
Now the good parts? The portrayal of the insectoid race was fantastic, as each alien race has been. It would have been easy to start a war based off of the two sides misunderstanding one another rather than an incompetent captain given a command he was already stripped of.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 26, 2020
Fast-paced, action-packed with new opponent
Michael Wallace has done it again and written another exciting adventure for Admiral Drake and his friends. Capp is the heroine of this story as she leads a group of Earthers on a mission to explore a new area where they come across Roaches mining a planet. McGowan is in the system unknown to Capp. You must read this book to see how it unfolds. It is very difficult to put down this book. I look forward to the next book in this series..
Michael Wallace has done it again and written another exciting adventure for Admiral Drake and his friends. Capp is the heroine of this story as she leads a group of Earthers on a mission to explore a new area where they come across Roaches mining a planet. McGowan is in the system unknown to Capp. You must read this book to see how it unfolds. It is very difficult to put down this book. I look forward to the next book in this series..
December 11, 2020
Stupid humans versus stupid alien bugs
Intergalactic warfare at it's best.
Great characters with realistic situations and lots of action and adventure. Characters that we have grown to love and hate. Putting their humanity to the test and risking it all.
I look forward to the next one 😀
Intergalactic warfare at it's best.
Great characters with realistic situations and lots of action and adventure. Characters that we have grown to love and hate. Putting their humanity to the test and risking it all.
I look forward to the next one 😀
March 25, 2021
Interesting story
A new twist. Seeing both sides. One human and one insect based lifeform. Neither really good yet neither evil. Makes a very interesting space tale. Now this book is good but it is not one that is hard to set aside. The first one is very entertaining one to the second.
A new twist. Seeing both sides. One human and one insect based lifeform. Neither really good yet neither evil. Makes a very interesting space tale. Now this book is good but it is not one that is hard to set aside. The first one is very entertaining one to the second.
October 29, 2020
Michael Wallace and his amazing imagination have begun another science fiction series that will keep his fans entertained. His readers will never look down at roaches again.
February 8, 2023
Great first read in this series.
The well written book has some good action along with battles that have with some great characters both good and bad.
The well written book has some good action along with battles that have with some great characters both good and bad.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews