The Sleeping Gods Boxed Set: Books 1 - 2

The Sleeping Gods

by Ralph Kern

Three best-selling novels. An epic vision of our future in space. "I loved this book. He tells a great story, while using real life technology and theories, making it seem all the more realistic. The characters are enjoyable, and the premise and mystery of the universe are really what sells this book to me. Want my advice? Buy the book and read it. Nathan Hystad - Best-selling author of The Event Book 1: Endeavour "Where are they?" It is an enigma that a long dead scientist The Fermi Paradox. A brave crew will take humanity's first Starship, Endeavour, on an epic journey that spans light years and centuries to solve this mystery. As they search amid long abandoned worlds and ancient relics, the question they seek to answer “Where are they now?” Book 2: Erebus Humanity has tamed the worlds of Sol and taken the first, tentative steps to the stars. When a terrorist attack destroys an entire moon, Inspector Layton Trent goes in pursuit of the those responsible. It is a hunt which takes him from the cradle of civilization to the very frontier of human space. And far beyond. What Trent discovers, out among the ancient ruins of the alien Sleeping Gods, will change humanity’s place in the universe forever. Bonus The Great War (Book 1) – A Rain of Fire The dark forces of the Neo Hegemony strike, sweeping across the worlds of the Arcadian sector and crushing all in their path. One system stands against the onslaught, the Kingdom of New Avalon. But the men and women of their expeditionary forces are trapped behind enemy lines on a besieged planet. Losing those troops will lose the war. Their only hope? A daring last-ditch rescue mission. In space, the skies, and on the ground. All will play their part in this Military Science Fiction retelling of Dunkirk.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy

861 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 22, 2021

Reviews

[Ute · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too much battle description and to little character building for my taste.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

The sleeping gods is a “box set” of two books by Ralph Kern; Endeavour and Erebus.

The good news is that these two stories are fast paced, full of action, with interesting characters, and lots of intrigue. Both these books are about exploring space and first contact with several alien species making their appearances. There is a bit about world politics, giant global corporations, colonizing Jupiter’s moons, and an “Elon Musk” character who wants to use his wealth to explore Fermi’s Paradox.

The bad news, for me, is that these are from the space opera genre; heavy on fighting, dominated by male characters, and very little hard science. The two books reminded me of SciFi from the 50s and 60s. I purchased these for $.99 on Amazon so I can definitely say I did get my money’s worth.

To be fair, my criticisms of these books are based primarily on my personal genre tastes as well as my hope that modern SciFi has left behind the sexist, racist, and imaginary science of yesteryear.

I did find the method Kern used for his sequel to be very interesting. Rather than continuing where the first book left-off, Kern went in a sideway’s direction. Erebus picks up on an event that occurred part way through the first book and circles back to go into much more detail. While there is some plot overlap, the second book spins off in a different direction with all new characters.

One more thing that I find puzzling, there is very little information about the author on the internet. Apparently Ralph Kern is a police officer with many years on the force who enjoyed reading Science Fiction and “One New Year’s day” decided to start writing. Perhaps Ralph Kern is a pen-name for another author.

Summing up; if you like space opera, old style sci-fi, fighting, and lots of action you will enjoy Ralph Kern’s books. They are not to my taste but I have to be fair and say he does weave an exciting tale.

[Sherilyn Bone · Rating 5 out of 5]

War

This author knows how to write about war. I wish there had been more personal details for the crews but , oh my, can Kern make you see every detail of the fight. The best battle story teller I have read in years.

[Stuart Burton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

I thoroughly enjoyed the two novels. The first is a first contact novel. The second novel is in the same universe but quite different a mix of detective novel and space battles.

[Jerry Mercer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clever Tie To History

The evacuation of the British from Dunkirk provides some insight to this books story. The changes could be from that actual event.

[Allyn Nichols · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy going sci-fi

[Jennifer Fedewa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first book was fantastic. The second book was kind of boring in comparison.