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Jao #1
The Course of Empire
WOULD THEY DESTROY EARTH IN ORDER TO SAVE IT?
Conquered by the Jao twenty years ago, the Earth is shackled under alien tyranny--and threatened by the even more dangerous Ekhat, who are sending a genocidal extermination fleet to the solar system. Humanity's only chance rests with an unusual pair of allies: a young Jao prince, newly arrived to Terra to assume his duties, and a young human woman brought up amongst the Jao occupiers.
But both are under pressure from the opposing forces--a cruel Jao viceroy on one side, determined to drown all opposition in blood; a reckless human resistance on the other, perfectly prepared to shed it. Added to the mix is the fact that only by adopting some portions of human technology and using human sepoy troops can the haughty Jao hope to defeat the oncoming Ekhat attack--and then only by fighting the battle within the Sun itself.
Conquered by the Jao twenty years ago, the Earth is shackled under alien tyranny--and threatened by the even more dangerous Ekhat, who are sending a genocidal extermination fleet to the solar system. Humanity's only chance rests with an unusual pair of allies: a young Jao prince, newly arrived to Terra to assume his duties, and a young human woman brought up amongst the Jao occupiers.
But both are under pressure from the opposing forces--a cruel Jao viceroy on one side, determined to drown all opposition in blood; a reckless human resistance on the other, perfectly prepared to shed it. Added to the mix is the fact that only by adopting some portions of human technology and using human sepoy troops can the haughty Jao hope to defeat the oncoming Ekhat attack--and then only by fighting the battle within the Sun itself.
672 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
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1073 people want to read
About the author
Eric Flint
250 books874 followersEric Flint was a New York Times bestselling American author, editor, and e-publisher. The majority of his main works were alternate history science fiction, but he also wrote humorous fantasy adventures.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 94 reviews
May 9, 2015
I picked this up almost on a whim, after finishing one of the author's previous books (1632; my review). I was interested by this one's political situation, and saved it for a very long plane trip.
Overall, Course of Empire was worth it.
The plot concerns the aftermath of humanity's conquest by aliens. Our species is more or less subjugated, but the occupying aliens, the Jao, are having political problems. Their control is uneven, and a terrible alien race is approaching. Humans and Jao struggle to outmaneuver each other and to prepare for the third party's attack.
There's much to like in Course of Empire. The two major alien species are very well realized, having complexity and actual alien-ness. The Jao culture is interesting, especially their elaborate body language system. The depiction of humanity is fairly convincing, complete with multiple types of collaboration, civilizational despair, a useless resistance, and an undying love of blowing things up. Characters are good, serving both to illuminate social and political elements while being at least basically convincing as individuals.
The first half of the book is somewhat slow, at least in part because of world-building and setting up many plot pieces for events to come. Flint and Wentworth repeat themselves, trying to show us different parties' perspectives on shared experiences, but falling into redundancy too often (is this an artifact of the collaborative writing process?). We see one of the Jao heroes investigating human military prowess far too many times. Yet the second half of the book kicks into high gear, activating many of the laboriously set up pieces (why spend so much time on submarines? ah...), then backing up to shed new light on earlier developments.
A few aspects bugged me besides the repetition. The human plots are far too American. We don't visit any other country, nor do the Jao, at least in plot and information terms. One other part of the world appears towards the end, simply as an atrocity target lacking any human detail. Many discussions of history ensue, courtesy of a history prof and some well-read aliens, but they tend to focus on the English-speaking world (19th-century India being the main subject, but wholly from the British point of view). At worst it echoes Independence Day, which is unfortunate.
Human culture is a weak part of the book. For example, there isn't enough about humans willingly collaborating with the Jao, and changing culture to reflect that; we seem too untransformed for my belief, after some tantalizing hints early in the book. Flint and Wentworth emphasize military details, and underplay nearly everything else: language, literature, mass media, politicking, sexuality. Human-on-human racism pops up a couple of times in a perfunctory manner.
And yet I appreciated the way Course of Empire resisted other cliches. There's a villainous and self-defeating Jao overlord who seemed way too simplistic, until depth appeared at the end. The human resistance movement is simply pointless, and never becomes the heroic focus. The Jao and Ekhat are not Star Trek: Net Generation humans-with-forehead-latex, but actually different civilizations. Military battles are well described, but not fetishized. The Jao learn to appreciate typical human wackiness, but humanity shows signs of evolving to embrace alien attributes - an all too rare sf achievement.
I also enjoyed the space opera dimensions, which might lead me to read the sequel.
Recommended, given my grumbling caveats.
Overall, Course of Empire was worth it.
The plot concerns the aftermath of humanity's conquest by aliens. Our species is more or less subjugated, but the occupying aliens, the Jao, are having political problems. Their control is uneven, and a terrible alien race is approaching. Humans and Jao struggle to outmaneuver each other and to prepare for the third party's attack.
There's much to like in Course of Empire. The two major alien species are very well realized, having complexity and actual alien-ness. The Jao culture is interesting, especially their elaborate body language system. The depiction of humanity is fairly convincing, complete with multiple types of collaboration, civilizational despair, a useless resistance, and an undying love of blowing things up. Characters are good, serving both to illuminate social and political elements while being at least basically convincing as individuals.
The first half of the book is somewhat slow, at least in part because of world-building and setting up many plot pieces for events to come. Flint and Wentworth repeat themselves, trying to show us different parties' perspectives on shared experiences, but falling into redundancy too often (is this an artifact of the collaborative writing process?). We see one of the Jao heroes investigating human military prowess far too many times. Yet the second half of the book kicks into high gear, activating many of the laboriously set up pieces (why spend so much time on submarines? ah...), then backing up to shed new light on earlier developments.
A few aspects bugged me besides the repetition. The human plots are far too American. We don't visit any other country, nor do the Jao, at least in plot and information terms. One other part of the world appears towards the end, simply as an atrocity target lacking any human detail. Many discussions of history ensue, courtesy of a history prof and some well-read aliens, but they tend to focus on the English-speaking world (19th-century India being the main subject, but wholly from the British point of view). At worst it echoes Independence Day, which is unfortunate.
Human culture is a weak part of the book. For example, there isn't enough about humans willingly collaborating with the Jao, and changing culture to reflect that; we seem too untransformed for my belief, after some tantalizing hints early in the book. Flint and Wentworth emphasize military details, and underplay nearly everything else: language, literature, mass media, politicking, sexuality. Human-on-human racism pops up a couple of times in a perfunctory manner.
And yet I appreciated the way Course of Empire resisted other cliches. There's a villainous and self-defeating Jao overlord who seemed way too simplistic, until depth appeared at the end. The human resistance movement is simply pointless, and never becomes the heroic focus. The Jao and Ekhat are not Star Trek: Net Generation humans-with-forehead-latex, but actually different civilizations. Military battles are well described, but not fetishized. The Jao learn to appreciate typical human wackiness, but humanity shows signs of evolving to embrace alien attributes - an all too rare sf achievement.
I also enjoyed the space opera dimensions, which might lead me to read the sequel.
Recommended, given my grumbling caveats.
December 31, 2020
This was an interesting and highly-addictive novel that takes an unusual angle to the concept of human-alien relations. I don't know about anyone else but I've gotten pretty tired of the human exceptionalism narrative in scifi. Humanity is almost invariably presented as better than everyone else and even when another race displays physical or mental traits beyond our own we comfort ourselves with our moral or problem-solving superiority. We're the best and always on top or at least in the running. It says interesting things about the traits we value most, but it also says a lot about our own ego. And while this book does perpetuate some of the ideas of mankind's uniqueness it's positively heretical about the idea of human dominance. Earth is conquered before the book even begins and the best we can hope for is some kind of enhanced status within the Jao Empire.
The Jao are quite interesting. They're very different from humans and are a former slave race that never developed all the cultural institutions and innovative approaches to developing technology that other races might have. They strike me as vaguely Japanese with a hint of Roman and a lot of different ways of emphasizing rank. They are keenly focused on balance and adjusting family power bases through winning over power groups. Aile's the leading Jao we see as he tries to find a way to integrate humanity into the Jao empire. It's not an overly easy transition and you can see him struggle to wrap his mind around the different ways humans do things.
On the other hand their enslavers, the Ekhat, do not make much sense. This is clearly intentional. The Ekhat are mad. Completely insane by all standards but their own. What I really liked was that they weren't a monolithic block. Too often different species are presented as uniform in a way we never see among ourselves. And the Ekhat are divided as well. All agree that only the Ekhat ultimately matter and must control the whole galaxy, but they disagree on what to do with the inferior species they conquer. Some want to exterminate them, others want to enslave them, and another wants to use them to advance their aims against other Ekhat sects. And I'm simplifying this immensely. It makes them feel more believable, and ultimately that's important because the Ekhat, being completely insane, are rather hard to comprehend at the best of times.
Flint's books are fun because they feature interesting ideas, likeable characters, and exciting plots. They are not overly realistic. It's a running problem in his books that everything gets tied together just a liiitle too easily. And that's true in force here. When the plot reaches its climax and things start having to come together the dominoes fall rapidly without properly setting them up. Humanity doesn't work like that, but to do otherwise would be to hold up the plot endlessly. And while that is a weakness it's also a part of what makes his books so much fun.
The book has a lot of interesting angles on everything from imperialism to sociology to realpolitik. I enjoyed the plot and how the characters evolved, especially Aile. It's definitely an above-average space opera and an innovative work in the field of humans as slave race. Recommended.
The Jao are quite interesting. They're very different from humans and are a former slave race that never developed all the cultural institutions and innovative approaches to developing technology that other races might have. They strike me as vaguely Japanese with a hint of Roman and a lot of different ways of emphasizing rank. They are keenly focused on balance and adjusting family power bases through winning over power groups. Aile's the leading Jao we see as he tries to find a way to integrate humanity into the Jao empire. It's not an overly easy transition and you can see him struggle to wrap his mind around the different ways humans do things.
On the other hand their enslavers, the Ekhat, do not make much sense. This is clearly intentional. The Ekhat are mad. Completely insane by all standards but their own. What I really liked was that they weren't a monolithic block. Too often different species are presented as uniform in a way we never see among ourselves. And the Ekhat are divided as well. All agree that only the Ekhat ultimately matter and must control the whole galaxy, but they disagree on what to do with the inferior species they conquer. Some want to exterminate them, others want to enslave them, and another wants to use them to advance their aims against other Ekhat sects. And I'm simplifying this immensely. It makes them feel more believable, and ultimately that's important because the Ekhat, being completely insane, are rather hard to comprehend at the best of times.
Flint's books are fun because they feature interesting ideas, likeable characters, and exciting plots. They are not overly realistic. It's a running problem in his books that everything gets tied together just a liiitle too easily. And that's true in force here. When the plot reaches its climax and things start having to come together the dominoes fall rapidly without properly setting them up. Humanity doesn't work like that, but to do otherwise would be to hold up the plot endlessly. And while that is a weakness it's also a part of what makes his books so much fun.
The book has a lot of interesting angles on everything from imperialism to sociology to realpolitik. I enjoyed the plot and how the characters evolved, especially Aile. It's definitely an above-average space opera and an innovative work in the field of humans as slave race. Recommended.
March 11, 2013
What a wonderfully complex and satisfying novel "The Course of Empire" has proven to be. The earth has been a conquered planet for twenty years before the book opens. The Jao, a complex race of aliens divided into competing clans, rule a troublesome earth with a heavy hand when Aille, a young, promising alien diplomat from one of the most influential clans, arrives on earth to take over an important post. Ailee’s journey from naïve newcomer to fully formed world changer is a reading experience to be treasured.
"
Reminiscent of James Clavell’s incredibly moving "Shogun," the team of authors, K.D. Wentworth and Eric Flint, take a similar path with their novel and deliver an equally powerful piece. In the case of Clavell, his interwoven plots managed to keep his story fresh and compelling while providing amazing insights into medieval Japanese mindsets and culture. Wentworth and Flint do the same here with the alien Jao.
The Jao are unrelentingly alien but not incomprehensible. It is an absolute delight to experience the story unfolding before you. The situation on earth and within the Jao culture is at a delicate point and all sides to the struggle are not only engaged but scheming. In fact, there are plots within plots and layers upon layers of complexity here. And, ultimately, the very schemers themselves are outwitted. It is a long book at 522 pages but there is not a wasted moment.
The finest element of the book is the reaffirmation of the values to be found in association and community, despite differences between races.
The characters are compelling and complex, multi-dimensional and often surprising in their depth. The plotting is deft and the twists intriguing without ever feeling contrived. A truly memorable work.
"
Reminiscent of James Clavell’s incredibly moving "Shogun," the team of authors, K.D. Wentworth and Eric Flint, take a similar path with their novel and deliver an equally powerful piece. In the case of Clavell, his interwoven plots managed to keep his story fresh and compelling while providing amazing insights into medieval Japanese mindsets and culture. Wentworth and Flint do the same here with the alien Jao.
The Jao are unrelentingly alien but not incomprehensible. It is an absolute delight to experience the story unfolding before you. The situation on earth and within the Jao culture is at a delicate point and all sides to the struggle are not only engaged but scheming. In fact, there are plots within plots and layers upon layers of complexity here. And, ultimately, the very schemers themselves are outwitted. It is a long book at 522 pages but there is not a wasted moment.
The finest element of the book is the reaffirmation of the values to be found in association and community, despite differences between races.
The characters are compelling and complex, multi-dimensional and often surprising in their depth. The plotting is deft and the twists intriguing without ever feeling contrived. A truly memorable work.
April 24, 2022
Impressive book. Here's a good review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
-- which saves me from writing a real review and re-inventing the wheel. I have nothing substantial to add. Free copy online, from the Baen Free Library: https://www.baen.com/the-course-of-em...
Why it took me so long to get to, who knows, but I'm glad I finally did. I generally like Eric Flint's stuff. Recommended for Mil-SF and space-opera fans, and more thoughtful and well-done than most of those. Price is right, too. I'm planning to read the sequel. [Spoiler alert: it's a good one.]
-- which saves me from writing a real review and re-inventing the wheel. I have nothing substantial to add. Free copy online, from the Baen Free Library: https://www.baen.com/the-course-of-em...
Why it took me so long to get to, who knows, but I'm glad I finally did. I generally like Eric Flint's stuff. Recommended for Mil-SF and space-opera fans, and more thoughtful and well-done than most of those. Price is right, too. I'm planning to read the sequel. [Spoiler alert: it's a good one.]
June 30, 2020
This is truly an undiscovered gem of a novel. Almost discreetly thrown out there, it will unfortunately be missed by many readers thinking it just one more of Baen’s (admittedly mostly excellent) military scifi offerings. It is much much more than that.
The story draws closely on the history of the English occupation of India. The Jao conquered Earth twenty years ago in their struggle to hold ground against the powerful and enigmatic Ekhat. Since then, Earth has suffered under an abusive Jao viceroy. Humans still do not understand the Jao and their complex society. Most Jao see humans as lesser beings to be used up in the war against the Ekhat. But things change as a new Jao commander of ground forces arrives with fresh ideas. Meanwhile, the Ekhat are closing in and the mysterious Jao faction known as The Bond of Ebezon watches closely, ready to intervene.
The book is a page turner with plenty of action, but I did struggle with the alien Jao in the beginning. They are not written to be easily understandable. Flint and Wentworth have made them complex and truly alien without succumbing to the temptation of explaining their quirks and affectations in human terms. It’s a bit of a hump but well worth conquering. The Jao are fascinating creatures that misunderstand humans as much as humans misunderstand them. Not since Niven & Pournelle’s The Mote in God’s Eye have I encountered aliens that are truly alien and not just humans looking different.
Flint & Wentworth masterfully take the reader from simple beginnings and purposeful confusion to understanding and enlightenment. This journey parallels that of the main protagonists, both Jao and human. Excellent!
http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=152
The story draws closely on the history of the English occupation of India. The Jao conquered Earth twenty years ago in their struggle to hold ground against the powerful and enigmatic Ekhat. Since then, Earth has suffered under an abusive Jao viceroy. Humans still do not understand the Jao and their complex society. Most Jao see humans as lesser beings to be used up in the war against the Ekhat. But things change as a new Jao commander of ground forces arrives with fresh ideas. Meanwhile, the Ekhat are closing in and the mysterious Jao faction known as The Bond of Ebezon watches closely, ready to intervene.
The book is a page turner with plenty of action, but I did struggle with the alien Jao in the beginning. They are not written to be easily understandable. Flint and Wentworth have made them complex and truly alien without succumbing to the temptation of explaining their quirks and affectations in human terms. It’s a bit of a hump but well worth conquering. The Jao are fascinating creatures that misunderstand humans as much as humans misunderstand them. Not since Niven & Pournelle’s The Mote in God’s Eye have I encountered aliens that are truly alien and not just humans looking different.
Flint & Wentworth masterfully take the reader from simple beginnings and purposeful confusion to understanding and enlightenment. This journey parallels that of the main protagonists, both Jao and human. Excellent!
http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=152
August 25, 2019
I'll admit I don't understand everything about the Jao but I so enjoyed this story! Great characters! Good ending! I had to laugh when Kinsey discovers why Oppuk had become so violent and insane! Him and his pools!
December 17, 2014
The Course of Empire is a refreshingly innovative alien invasion novel, particularly since Wentworth and Flint do an excellent job creating aliens that aren't just humans wearing funny hats and extra limbs. The story takes place 20 years after the Earth is invaded and conquered by an alien race called the Jao. The Jao are a contradiction of a sort in that they are extremely advanced technologically, but they're not actually possessed of a tendency to innovate and have a fairly primitive socio-political structure. In fact, they were only marginally intelligent before they were taken into the service of the enigmatic Ekhat race and uplifted to serve that race as slaves. In time, they rebelled against the Ekhat, taking their former masters' tech with them. Since then, the Jao have been waging a desperate war of attrition against the Ekhat, conquering worlds to provide additional resources, assimilating numerous primitive races into their empire in the process. Then the Jao came to Earth and everything went wrong. A simple conquest of a less advanced species (though far more advanced than any the Jao had previously subdued) turned into a bloodbath as humans resisted long past the point where defeat was obvious and surprised the Jao by overcoming their advantages with simple ingenuity, such as foiling the laser weapons of the Jao ground vehicles by attacking in bad weather or using chaff grenades (this aspect of the story reminded me of the TV series Falling Skies, though the Jao aren't overtly genocidal). When the Jao finally do manage to subdue humanity, they do not know what to do with them, humanity's resistance has left many of the Jao with psychological scars of an inferiority complex that they do not understand and as such, what is meant to be a process of assimilation with mutual benefit (since the Ekhat are coming, and they kill everything that isn't Ekhat or useful to the Ekhat) turns into a ruthless and savage occupation with no end in sight, eating up important war resources for no real gain. Thus, at the beginning of the book, with time running out, the Jao decide to make a final gambit to salvage the conquest of the Earth by sending a promising young officer to try and achieve the elusive "association" with the down-trodden and alienated human race.
The greatest strength of The Course of Empire is obviously its utterly alien aliens, but it adds on a well-developed political drama, a broad cast of complex characters, an excellent depiction of insurgency against a more powerful but less innovative opponent, and some interesting (though rather fanciful) space combat. The latter is definitely its greatest weakness as well, as the thoughtful descriptions of ground warfare tactics makes the rather ridiculous idea of turning submarines into spaceships and bolting tank turrets on them to fight at visual distance in space rather ridiculous. Even so, it was well worth the read and I hope to be able to get my hands on the sequel some time.
UPDATE: Got my hands on the sequel, loved it; it's a tragedy Ms. Wentworth died before she could finish the third book in the series (Span of Empire), but it's exciting to hear that David Carrico and Eric Flint are working on finishing it.
The greatest strength of The Course of Empire is obviously its utterly alien aliens, but it adds on a well-developed political drama, a broad cast of complex characters, an excellent depiction of insurgency against a more powerful but less innovative opponent, and some interesting (though rather fanciful) space combat. The latter is definitely its greatest weakness as well, as the thoughtful descriptions of ground warfare tactics makes the rather ridiculous idea of turning submarines into spaceships and bolting tank turrets on them to fight at visual distance in space rather ridiculous. Even so, it was well worth the read and I hope to be able to get my hands on the sequel some time.
UPDATE: Got my hands on the sequel, loved it; it's a tragedy Ms. Wentworth died before she could finish the third book in the series (Span of Empire), but it's exciting to hear that David Carrico and Eric Flint are working on finishing it.
February 27, 2010
The reason I am reviewing The Course of Empire now is that the second part The Cruible of Empire will be out next month (March 16, 2010). This is the first book in a series about an alien invasion of earth by the Jao that changes into something else under the pressure of yet another more menacing alien race, the Ekhat bent on exterminating all non Ekhat life from the universe. It holds interesting alien point-of-views (pov), alternatives to violence and an unusual positive treatment of collaborateurs.
Product description
The Authors
Eric Flint has written some of my favorite science fiction series 1632 and Wages of Sin. One of his strenghts is collaborations as in 1633 and Crown of Slaves with David Weber. I haven’t read his Belisarius series written with David Drake, but I have it on my to-read list. Eric Flint is noted as the editor of the Baen Free Library, and I love Baen Free Library, I have found a number of new authors and series there. His website Ericflint.com is one the best sites on the net for Snippets from new books not only from Baens.
K. D. Wentworth is author of seven novels according to wikipedia, including Black on Black and Stars Over Stars for Baen, and more than fifty short stories. Her latest novel is This Fair Land (Hawk), an alternate history fantasy of the era of Columbus. I haven’t read anything else by her but I am inclined to do so after reading The Course of Empire.
Info/Format
This is the paperback version with 672 pages
published by Baen March 1, 2005
Cover Art by Bob Eggleton
First in the book is the Cast of Characters with a very usefull explanation of Jao naming conventions at the end you need to be familiar with.
At the end of the book there is a Glossary of Jao Terms that might be usefull to read before or while reading the story. I felt no particular need for it though, you can easily determine meaning from the story.
Also at the end are two Appendixes, one explaining the Ekhat and the other Interstellar Travel, save reading them after the story as they explain some of what surprised me about the Ekhat.
Plot
The Jao invaded and conquered earth some twenty years ago after. The conquest haven’t turned out well for the Jao or for humanity. The Jao doesn’t understand humans and treat them like animals trying to subdue them into submission and servitude. The humans see the Jaos as inhumane and uncaring, prone to kill for the slightest mistakes.
We get to follow the point of views from both human and alien sides. The main protagonists are the promising young Jao male Aille krinnu ava Pluthrak and the daughter of the Jao’s Native President of North America Caitlin Alana Stockwell, a hostage. Aille belongs to a krinnu (clan) in conflict with the Narvo the clan that has been ruling earth since the conquest. He arrive as the newly appointed sub-commander of all ground forces on earth. His, his clan especially but all Jao in general approach to conflict is association, this clashes with Governor Oppuk’s brutal ways. He starts to pick up humans into his personal service, among them Tully, an agent for the resistance that still abide in mountainous regions, Rafe Aguilera, a former tank commander now refitting human weapons with Jao tech, a professor researching Jao society and eventually Caitlin who grew up with Jaos and understands them better than any human alive.
The Jao clans compete to further their blood lines positions and glory. Only one group the mysterious Bond of Ebezon act for the whole of the Jao race and they have long time plans for earth, that are now coming into fruition.
The first two thirds of the book deals with the screwed up situation on earth. I enjoyed the alien pov which you get from both Aille and Oppuk.
The last third deals with the solution even if a large part of it is the fight with the Ekhat. The Jao were once created as servants to the Ekhat but rebelled. The Jao conquer other races to prepare them for defense against the Ekhat not for building Empires, which is a bit weird consider the title. I wouldn’t want to spoil the Ekhat for you by telling to much, they are truly alien in a unique way (at least from my reading).
Ideas
I belive there is an underlying idea by the authors that association and collaboration is a stronger and better tool to resolve differences than violence that reflects back to our own time and “the War on Terror”. I have no confirmation of it but it sounds reasonable given the book.
Characterization
Characterization is much better than one usually get in military science fiction. I got some C. J. Cherryh feelings there inspired by the name Tully I guess (Channur Saga) but the characterization is great, the characters grow, especially the ones you root for, but even the brutal Governor Oppuk has his own understandable rationalities. He is colored by the fierce fighting ever experienced by the Jao in conquering earth and especially the US so he treats the humans as clever animals and tries to subdue them.
The alien point-of-view is masterly done, the aliens are not humans in different skins, they do have different understandable motivations.
World Building
The Jao looks like humaniod sea lions with an elaborate stylized way of communicating with geastures and they also have a weird sense of time. A Jao have no use for any time measuring device, they just percieve the flow and arrive at the right time to no end of frustration to their human counterparts. Jao society is explained and experienced in splendid detail. At the beginning it was a bit annoying with all the foreign names but you soon get so immersed in the story that you don’t notice.
One thing I noticed especially was the human collaborators contra the rebels. It is rare to see collaborators portrayed so positive in military science fiction. I read somewhere that the rebels where supposed to be socialists? I never got that feeling, quite the opposite in fact.
Human with our evolved society contra the Jao’s stricter inherited and never questioned society (from their creators) is highlighted in an intresting way by the authors.
My View
This is one of the best alien point of view stories I have read in a long time, the world is vivid and the characters are easy to love. I got very emotional here and there in the story, especially at the end. I would recommend The Course of Empire to anyone intrested in a good alien point of view story or if you are just looking for good science fiction
Product description
Conquered by the Jao twenty years ago, the Earth is shackled under alien tyranny – and threatened by the even more dangerous Ekhat, one of whose genocidal extermination fleets is coming to the solar system. The only chance for human survival is in the hands of an unusual pair of allies: a young Jao prince, newly arrived to Terra to assume his duties, and a young human woman brought up amongst the Jao occupiers.
But, as their tentative alliance takes shape, they are under pressure from all sides. A cruel Jao viceroy on one side, determined to drown all opposition in blood; a reckless human resistance on the other, which is perfectly prepared to shed it. Added to the mix is the fact that only by adopting some portions of human technology and using human sepoy troops can the haughty Jao hope to defeat the oncoming Ekhat attack – and then only by fighting the battle within the sun itself.
The Authors
Eric Flint has written some of my favorite science fiction series 1632 and Wages of Sin. One of his strenghts is collaborations as in 1633 and Crown of Slaves with David Weber. I haven’t read his Belisarius series written with David Drake, but I have it on my to-read list. Eric Flint is noted as the editor of the Baen Free Library, and I love Baen Free Library, I have found a number of new authors and series there. His website Ericflint.com is one the best sites on the net for Snippets from new books not only from Baens.
K. D. Wentworth is author of seven novels according to wikipedia, including Black on Black and Stars Over Stars for Baen, and more than fifty short stories. Her latest novel is This Fair Land (Hawk), an alternate history fantasy of the era of Columbus. I haven’t read anything else by her but I am inclined to do so after reading The Course of Empire.
Info/Format
This is the paperback version with 672 pages
published by Baen March 1, 2005
Cover Art by Bob Eggleton
First in the book is the Cast of Characters with a very usefull explanation of Jao naming conventions at the end you need to be familiar with.
At the end of the book there is a Glossary of Jao Terms that might be usefull to read before or while reading the story. I felt no particular need for it though, you can easily determine meaning from the story.
Also at the end are two Appendixes, one explaining the Ekhat and the other Interstellar Travel, save reading them after the story as they explain some of what surprised me about the Ekhat.
Plot
The Jao invaded and conquered earth some twenty years ago after. The conquest haven’t turned out well for the Jao or for humanity. The Jao doesn’t understand humans and treat them like animals trying to subdue them into submission and servitude. The humans see the Jaos as inhumane and uncaring, prone to kill for the slightest mistakes.
We get to follow the point of views from both human and alien sides. The main protagonists are the promising young Jao male Aille krinnu ava Pluthrak and the daughter of the Jao’s Native President of North America Caitlin Alana Stockwell, a hostage. Aille belongs to a krinnu (clan) in conflict with the Narvo the clan that has been ruling earth since the conquest. He arrive as the newly appointed sub-commander of all ground forces on earth. His, his clan especially but all Jao in general approach to conflict is association, this clashes with Governor Oppuk’s brutal ways. He starts to pick up humans into his personal service, among them Tully, an agent for the resistance that still abide in mountainous regions, Rafe Aguilera, a former tank commander now refitting human weapons with Jao tech, a professor researching Jao society and eventually Caitlin who grew up with Jaos and understands them better than any human alive.
The Jao clans compete to further their blood lines positions and glory. Only one group the mysterious Bond of Ebezon act for the whole of the Jao race and they have long time plans for earth, that are now coming into fruition.
The first two thirds of the book deals with the screwed up situation on earth. I enjoyed the alien pov which you get from both Aille and Oppuk.
The last third deals with the solution even if a large part of it is the fight with the Ekhat. The Jao were once created as servants to the Ekhat but rebelled. The Jao conquer other races to prepare them for defense against the Ekhat not for building Empires, which is a bit weird consider the title. I wouldn’t want to spoil the Ekhat for you by telling to much, they are truly alien in a unique way (at least from my reading).
Ideas
I belive there is an underlying idea by the authors that association and collaboration is a stronger and better tool to resolve differences than violence that reflects back to our own time and “the War on Terror”. I have no confirmation of it but it sounds reasonable given the book.
Characterization
Characterization is much better than one usually get in military science fiction. I got some C. J. Cherryh feelings there inspired by the name Tully I guess (Channur Saga) but the characterization is great, the characters grow, especially the ones you root for, but even the brutal Governor Oppuk has his own understandable rationalities. He is colored by the fierce fighting ever experienced by the Jao in conquering earth and especially the US so he treats the humans as clever animals and tries to subdue them.
The alien point-of-view is masterly done, the aliens are not humans in different skins, they do have different understandable motivations.
World Building
The Jao looks like humaniod sea lions with an elaborate stylized way of communicating with geastures and they also have a weird sense of time. A Jao have no use for any time measuring device, they just percieve the flow and arrive at the right time to no end of frustration to their human counterparts. Jao society is explained and experienced in splendid detail. At the beginning it was a bit annoying with all the foreign names but you soon get so immersed in the story that you don’t notice.
One thing I noticed especially was the human collaborators contra the rebels. It is rare to see collaborators portrayed so positive in military science fiction. I read somewhere that the rebels where supposed to be socialists? I never got that feeling, quite the opposite in fact.
Human with our evolved society contra the Jao’s stricter inherited and never questioned society (from their creators) is highlighted in an intresting way by the authors.
My View
This is one of the best alien point of view stories I have read in a long time, the world is vivid and the characters are easy to love. I got very emotional here and there in the story, especially at the end. I would recommend The Course of Empire to anyone intrested in a good alien point of view story or if you are just looking for good science fiction
May 19, 2021
Authors Eric Flint and K.D. Wentworth give military SciFi lovers another great series to consume.
The book opens with the Earth conquered by the alien Jao. Millions have died in the initial invasion and the ongoing, twenty-year insurrection in the United States. Chicago and New Orleans are no more. The Jao governor, Oppuk of the Narvo clan, wants to make the US an example of what happens to any resistance.
Into this comes another Jao, a high-status youngster Aille of the Pluthrak clan, who has been sent to help command the jintau, the native Earthling military forces. Oppuk sees this as an opportunity to humiliate Narvo's rivals the Pluthrak. Aille sees this as his opportunity to solve a long festering problem and reconcile the Pluthrak and the Navao.
For Earth's problems are minor. The Jao are fighting the Ethrak, a species so alien that no one understands them, other than they wish to wipe out all life in the galaxy. The Pluthrak and the Narvo and the humans all must unite--or be destroyed.
But will they ever stop fighting among themselves?
The book opens with the Earth conquered by the alien Jao. Millions have died in the initial invasion and the ongoing, twenty-year insurrection in the United States. Chicago and New Orleans are no more. The Jao governor, Oppuk of the Narvo clan, wants to make the US an example of what happens to any resistance.
Into this comes another Jao, a high-status youngster Aille of the Pluthrak clan, who has been sent to help command the jintau, the native Earthling military forces. Oppuk sees this as an opportunity to humiliate Narvo's rivals the Pluthrak. Aille sees this as his opportunity to solve a long festering problem and reconcile the Pluthrak and the Navao.
For Earth's problems are minor. The Jao are fighting the Ethrak, a species so alien that no one understands them, other than they wish to wipe out all life in the galaxy. The Pluthrak and the Narvo and the humans all must unite--or be destroyed.
But will they ever stop fighting among themselves?
December 29, 2019
Fairly entertaining, although I personally found the progression of relations between characters to be unrealistically fast and kind of shallow.
What really bothered me was that because all of the human characters came around to working with the Jao, while even the "good" Jao seamed to develop very little understanding of the human perspective the relationship felt like Stockholm syndrome. The Jao destroyed two major cities, brutally occupied the planet for twenty years, deliberately staged several more massacres and probably contributed to many more deaths through the enforcement of terrible living conditions, and destroyed natural and cultural landmarks that people are deeply emotionally attached to. And apparently the human population just gets over it in the course of a few days because theirs a new guy that isn't a complete monster. Based on human history, there's no way this would go down like this. Tully also, personally hated the Jao, was then physically abused, and kept captive via shock collar and by the end of the book, has torn allegiance between the Resistance and his captor, who, again, has demonstrated no particularly regret and only has the advantage of other Jao in that he recognizes humans as intelligent (but still not necessarily equal, deserving of freedom, or autonomy). It would have been one thing if the Jao had recognized say there similarity to the Ekhet, in that killing humans for Jao perceived slights or subjugating the planet was basically what had been done to the Jao, but they don't. By the end of the book even the "goog" Jao feel they were right in their actions and it was only the mismanagement of their colonial rule of earth that was the problem and apparently the humans are now just ok with letting the Jao (which again have done a lot of really bad sh** at this point) continue to rule earth. It's really frustrating.
Also, Stockwell was a political prisoner her whole life and therefore couldn't have personal relationships. Pretty much as soon as she's not she gets engaged to the first male that expressed any interest. As far as my reading went, I think they knew each other for at most a couple of weeks and had had a few conversations, most of which were not on personal matters, and their suddenly engaged and presumably in love. This does not seam like a healthy or stable relationship on Stockwell's end, at the least.
What really bothered me was that because all of the human characters came around to working with the Jao, while even the "good" Jao seamed to develop very little understanding of the human perspective the relationship felt like Stockholm syndrome. The Jao destroyed two major cities, brutally occupied the planet for twenty years, deliberately staged several more massacres and probably contributed to many more deaths through the enforcement of terrible living conditions, and destroyed natural and cultural landmarks that people are deeply emotionally attached to. And apparently the human population just gets over it in the course of a few days because theirs a new guy that isn't a complete monster. Based on human history, there's no way this would go down like this. Tully also, personally hated the Jao, was then physically abused, and kept captive via shock collar and by the end of the book, has torn allegiance between the Resistance and his captor, who, again, has demonstrated no particularly regret and only has the advantage of other Jao in that he recognizes humans as intelligent (but still not necessarily equal, deserving of freedom, or autonomy). It would have been one thing if the Jao had recognized say there similarity to the Ekhet, in that killing humans for Jao perceived slights or subjugating the planet was basically what had been done to the Jao, but they don't. By the end of the book even the "goog" Jao feel they were right in their actions and it was only the mismanagement of their colonial rule of earth that was the problem and apparently the humans are now just ok with letting the Jao (which again have done a lot of really bad sh** at this point) continue to rule earth. It's really frustrating.
Also, Stockwell was a political prisoner her whole life and therefore couldn't have personal relationships. Pretty much as soon as she's not she gets engaged to the first male that expressed any interest. As far as my reading went, I think they knew each other for at most a couple of weeks and had had a few conversations, most of which were not on personal matters, and their suddenly engaged and presumably in love. This does not seam like a healthy or stable relationship on Stockwell's end, at the least.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 6, 2013
Continuing in my plan to review every free e-book I finish, I picked up The Course of Empire by Eric Flint and K.D. Wentworth for free somewhere or other, and expected to hate it. I generally don't like military SF. I snagged it in a pile of a couple dozen free e-books, and planned to toss three quarters of them.
And, rather to my surprise, I really liked it. The heart of the book was about a culture clash between the alien Jao who had conquered Earth twenty years before, and the humans (mostly American) who directly served them. The Jao had good reasons for conquering Earth: the even-more-alien Ekhat were killing off every intelligent species in the galaxy, and the Jao essentially drafted humanity into the anti-Ekhat war effort.
Anyhow, the world-building and culture-building can be the main character in a story like this, and in Course of Empire it was. The actual characters were pretty one-dimensional, but there were enough of them and they were arranged well enough so that their meagre personalities and stories outlined the two conflicting cultures. The Jao were nicely alien-but-understandable, with some interesting personality quirks for a conquering imperialist race.
A number of things bothered me about the book as I was reading, but turned out sensible in the end. Oppuk, the Jao governor of Earth, acted like a nearly-irrational sadistic villain for most of the book, which seemed surprisingly insane and stereotypical for this story. It turns out that there was a good reason for him acting that way. The obbligato mumble that, although Jao are human-like around the genital region, no human ever saw Jao take sexual interest in either Jao or human; there's an interesting reason for that, and it's quite relevant to the plotline. That sort of thing.
And yes, there was a lot of gloating about how good human military apparatus is (albeit inferior to dropping asteroids on Chicago and Mt. Everest), and a space combat scene carefully crafted to show them off.
And, rather to my surprise, I really liked it. The heart of the book was about a culture clash between the alien Jao who had conquered Earth twenty years before, and the humans (mostly American) who directly served them. The Jao had good reasons for conquering Earth: the even-more-alien Ekhat were killing off every intelligent species in the galaxy, and the Jao essentially drafted humanity into the anti-Ekhat war effort.
Anyhow, the world-building and culture-building can be the main character in a story like this, and in Course of Empire it was. The actual characters were pretty one-dimensional, but there were enough of them and they were arranged well enough so that their meagre personalities and stories outlined the two conflicting cultures. The Jao were nicely alien-but-understandable, with some interesting personality quirks for a conquering imperialist race.
A number of things bothered me about the book as I was reading, but turned out sensible in the end. Oppuk, the Jao governor of Earth, acted like a nearly-irrational sadistic villain for most of the book, which seemed surprisingly insane and stereotypical for this story. It turns out that there was a good reason for him acting that way. The obbligato mumble that, although Jao are human-like around the genital region, no human ever saw Jao take sexual interest in either Jao or human; there's an interesting reason for that, and it's quite relevant to the plotline. That sort of thing.
And yes, there was a lot of gloating about how good human military apparatus is (albeit inferior to dropping asteroids on Chicago and Mt. Everest), and a space combat scene carefully crafted to show them off.
May 5, 2018
The premise is a little different from other invasion stories. The organization of the various alien societies and their technology is very well described. The difficulties in communication across species is also handled well.
The characters are interesting. The aliens are really different. The plot gets the series off to a very good start.
Really good science fiction with an unusual take on invasion of earth.
The characters are interesting. The aliens are really different. The plot gets the series off to a very good start.
Really good science fiction with an unusual take on invasion of earth.
February 13, 2019
A story told from the alien's point of view
It takes a little getting used to the way the book is written. This book is from the alien's point of view. And thus 'alien'. Once you start getting in to the story you can't put the book down . Highly recommended.
It takes a little getting used to the way the book is written. This book is from the alien's point of view. And thus 'alien'. Once you start getting in to the story you can't put the book down . Highly recommended.
June 27, 2022
Great
A well written book. Psychology, aliens, spies, space battles, heroes, heroines, and more books in the series. What more could you want.?
A well written book. Psychology, aliens, spies, space battles, heroes, heroines, and more books in the series. What more could you want.?
September 6, 2016
Also posted on my blog Got My Book.
Real Rating = 4.5*
A complex if slightly cliche SF with a great cast of characters.
BOOK DETAILS:
The Course of Empire by Eric Flint & KD Wentworth, read by Chris Patton, published by Audible Studios (2012) / Length: 18 hrs 50 min
SERIES INFO:
This is Book #1 of 2 (so far) in the "Jao" trilogy. The 3rd book, The Span of Empire, has been long delayed due to the death of Ms. Wentworth, but is scheduled to be released on Kindle & hardcover today (9/6/16). I did not receive a response regarding the release date for the audiobook.
SUMMARY:
There are a lot of cliches present in this book: It takes place in America, which was among those who fought the hardest; our weapons might be superior to theirs & we might be able to help them win a war they've been fighting for centuries; we might have won if only we hadn't been so divided etc. But that doesn't mean it isn't well done. This is my kind of military SF - in that it focuses a lot on the characters, especially people who think, and not just on actions.
One of the things that determines if a book is a "repeater" for me, and thus a recipient of more stars, is whether or not it has memorable moments & scenes that I enjoy revisiting. This book has many such "highlights," making it difficult to limit myself to my usual 3 below.
CHARACTERS:
There are 3 main POV characters in this book (and many minor ones). I don't like books with multiple POVs if they are in unconnected plot lines, but these are all part of one main narrative.
Aille krinnu ava Pluthrak: The primary MC. I really enjoyed following him through to the end. I love his openness and commitment to the truth regardless of its implications. I do think that he is a little too perfect, a small flaw or two might have been interesting.
Tully: He was my favorite MC due to his complexity. He is narrow minded & judgemental, but also intelligent & brave. He also experienced the most character growth.
Caitlyn: Her parts were least interesting until later in the book, although I like her as a character. She is "strong," but not in the kick butt kind of way (the Jao are so much stronger that she just stands back during a physical fight). Instead, she endured years of emotional abuse by her guard and didn't let it break her. She watched & learned and was prepared when an opportunity to made a difference arose.
My favorite side characters include: Tamt - I think she is one of most complex of the side characters and I would love to have had more with her / Wrot - he's just fun
WORLDBUILDING:
This aspect of the book is very complex. There are two alien races, which are very different from each other, and a (semi-)conquered humanity. We are given many details about Jao society both on & off Earth, but not so much about humanity. On the one hand, I would have like to see a bit more about how normal (non-military) society had developed among the humans; but, on the other hand, the book is already a bit long anyway.
I think, perhaps, a bit more about the humans and a bit less about the Governor would have been perfect (and would have served the same purpose). Another complaint is that there are too few female humans (we do get some great new ones in the sequel though) and a complete lack of representation for non-Americans.
The Jao reminded me a little bit of the Martians in Double Star by Robert Heinlein.
PLOT:
It began well with Aille's arrival on Earth. We get to learn about things as he does. As stated above, I feel that the book was a bit too long. The build up to the whaling incident seemed especially stretched to me. Once they got to Salem, things moved much more rapidly.
There is a solid & satisfactory ending to everything but the war against the Ekhat. I like the final scene before the epilogue. I really really dislike the epilogue and what it says about everything that happened & the motivations of certain people. Thankfully I'm good at pretending that such things "never happened."
HIGHLIGHTS / CAUTIONS:
--The old man they encounter in Salem (for some reason he reminded me of the MC in Up.)
--Caitlin & Tamt post-Salem
--General Stockwell & Colonel Wiley's conversation
I COULD HAVE DONE WITHOUT: Lots of swearing (but no F words that I remember) / Pretty much any scene with the Governor as POV / The violence committed by the Ekhat
OTHER CAUTIONS(?): There is a lot of violence -- There are lots of comments on the various mating practices of humans / Jao have "marriage groups" rather than couples (but are celibate except when mating with an assigned partner to produce children) / An engaged couple doesn't wait for their wedding / Certain Jao would like humans to help them change their biology so they can engage in uncommitted recreational sex. [This makes it sound like the book was full of sexual references, it wasn't; but I'm sensitive to such things.]
NARRATION:
Character voices differentiated = Yes, for main characters. / Opposite sex voices acceptable = Yes / Phrasing, Pacing & Pronunciation = Good, especially his use of pauses. I don't know if he was pronouncing Jao words right or not, but they sounded great to me / Emoting = Good / Speed = Good. I listened on 1.25, my usual, but it might be a bit fast for a first time read.
I especially liked the sound of his voice when he was doing all the exposition (i.e. non dialog). And I thought he did a wonderful job of conveying a sense of "accent" when the person was supposedly speaking in Jao but we were reading it in English.
Real Rating = 4.5*
A complex if slightly cliche SF with a great cast of characters.
BOOK DETAILS:
The Course of Empire by Eric Flint & KD Wentworth, read by Chris Patton, published by Audible Studios (2012) / Length: 18 hrs 50 min
SERIES INFO:
This is Book #1 of 2 (so far) in the "Jao" trilogy. The 3rd book, The Span of Empire, has been long delayed due to the death of Ms. Wentworth, but is scheduled to be released on Kindle & hardcover today (9/6/16). I did not receive a response regarding the release date for the audiobook.
SUMMARY:
There are a lot of cliches present in this book: It takes place in America, which was among those who fought the hardest; our weapons might be superior to theirs & we might be able to help them win a war they've been fighting for centuries; we might have won if only we hadn't been so divided etc. But that doesn't mean it isn't well done. This is my kind of military SF - in that it focuses a lot on the characters, especially people who think, and not just on actions.
One of the things that determines if a book is a "repeater" for me, and thus a recipient of more stars, is whether or not it has memorable moments & scenes that I enjoy revisiting. This book has many such "highlights," making it difficult to limit myself to my usual 3 below.
CHARACTERS:
There are 3 main POV characters in this book (and many minor ones). I don't like books with multiple POVs if they are in unconnected plot lines, but these are all part of one main narrative.
Aille krinnu ava Pluthrak: The primary MC. I really enjoyed following him through to the end. I love his openness and commitment to the truth regardless of its implications. I do think that he is a little too perfect, a small flaw or two might have been interesting.
Tully: He was my favorite MC due to his complexity. He is narrow minded & judgemental, but also intelligent & brave. He also experienced the most character growth.
Caitlyn: Her parts were least interesting until later in the book, although I like her as a character. She is "strong," but not in the kick butt kind of way (the Jao are so much stronger that she just stands back during a physical fight). Instead, she endured years of emotional abuse by her guard and didn't let it break her. She watched & learned and was prepared when an opportunity to made a difference arose.
My favorite side characters include: Tamt - I think she is one of most complex of the side characters and I would love to have had more with her / Wrot - he's just fun
WORLDBUILDING:
This aspect of the book is very complex. There are two alien races, which are very different from each other, and a (semi-)conquered humanity. We are given many details about Jao society both on & off Earth, but not so much about humanity. On the one hand, I would have like to see a bit more about how normal (non-military) society had developed among the humans; but, on the other hand, the book is already a bit long anyway.
I think, perhaps, a bit more about the humans and a bit less about the Governor would have been perfect (and would have served the same purpose). Another complaint is that there are too few female humans (we do get some great new ones in the sequel though) and a complete lack of representation for non-Americans.
The Jao reminded me a little bit of the Martians in Double Star by Robert Heinlein.
PLOT:
It began well with Aille's arrival on Earth. We get to learn about things as he does. As stated above, I feel that the book was a bit too long. The build up to the whaling incident seemed especially stretched to me. Once they got to Salem, things moved much more rapidly.
There is a solid & satisfactory ending to everything but the war against the Ekhat. I like the final scene before the epilogue. I really really dislike the epilogue and what it says about everything that happened & the motivations of certain people. Thankfully I'm good at pretending that such things "never happened."
HIGHLIGHTS / CAUTIONS:
--The old man they encounter in Salem (for some reason he reminded me of the MC in Up.)
--Caitlin & Tamt post-Salem
--General Stockwell & Colonel Wiley's conversation
I COULD HAVE DONE WITHOUT: Lots of swearing (but no F words that I remember) / Pretty much any scene with the Governor as POV / The violence committed by the Ekhat
OTHER CAUTIONS(?): There is a lot of violence -- There are lots of comments on the various mating practices of humans / Jao have "marriage groups" rather than couples (but are celibate except when mating with an assigned partner to produce children) / An engaged couple doesn't wait for their wedding / Certain Jao would like humans to help them change their biology so they can engage in uncommitted recreational sex. [This makes it sound like the book was full of sexual references, it wasn't; but I'm sensitive to such things.]
NARRATION:
Character voices differentiated = Yes, for main characters. / Opposite sex voices acceptable = Yes / Phrasing, Pacing & Pronunciation = Good, especially his use of pauses. I don't know if he was pronouncing Jao words right or not, but they sounded great to me / Emoting = Good / Speed = Good. I listened on 1.25, my usual, but it might be a bit fast for a first time read.
I especially liked the sound of his voice when he was doing all the exposition (i.e. non dialog). And I thought he did a wonderful job of conveying a sense of "accent" when the person was supposedly speaking in Jao but we were reading it in English.
September 20, 2017
Traditional alien invasion story featuring an incompetent alien overlord from a species distracted by an interstellar war. The Jao seem capriciously violent to humans and their stories of needing to prepare for an invasion by their enemies propaganda at best. Their culture is a blend of Shogunate Japan, Roman Imperialism and a bit of the Mongol Empire to boot. Factions know the 20-year occupation needs to change because they actually do need humans and send a young prince-equivalent to upset the apple cart. He does simple seeming things like adding humans to his retinue and looking at human weapons as possible additions to their war fleets. The Governor grows increasingly unsteady as he sees the threat grow and eventually triggers his own demise. There's a lot about both societies and the nature of honor and duty. Characters include the collaborationist President's daughter, a sepoy army General, a Resistance agent, a tank commander turned engineer among the humans and Jao advisors, bodyguards, and veterans from the war of conquest. Of course, there's scheming at higher levels and more going on than the participants know. It's a series, after all! Enjoyable for sci-fi fans who enjoy Turtledove's invasion series or space opera with a military bent.
August 3, 2021
This one sat in my Kindle quite a while before I finally got around to reading it. Not sure why it took me so long as I know that both Eric Flint and K.D. Wentworth* are skillful writers.
Anyway, TCoE is dammed good science fiction -- alien invasion with a twist. The story starts a bit slowly as the world is built and characters introduced, but it really gets going in the second half.
The cover text gives a pretty good idea what to expect. There are some plot twists and something I really didn't expect near the end.
The ebook is available for zip in the Baen Free Library.
Solid four stars. I will move on to Jao #2 (The Crucible of Empire).
*Unfortunately, K.D. Wentworth has passed. She is missed.
Anyway, TCoE is dammed good science fiction -- alien invasion with a twist. The story starts a bit slowly as the world is built and characters introduced, but it really gets going in the second half.
The cover text gives a pretty good idea what to expect. There are some plot twists and something I really didn't expect near the end.
The ebook is available for zip in the Baen Free Library.
Solid four stars. I will move on to Jao #2 (The Crucible of Empire).
*Unfortunately, K.D. Wentworth has passed. She is missed.
October 30, 2025
This science fiction book is an interesting take on alien races, and politics. If you're looking for a book with high octane action, this is not the book for you. If you're looking for a book that puts a twist on the sci-fi genre, this is it. This book takes place after an alien race called the Jayo takes over the planet earth. The ekhat, the genocidal alien race that created and enslaved the Jayo, are coming to earth. With the help of a Jayo Prince, who listens to humans and his own Species's veterans, human ingenuity and kinetic weapons to boot, they can defeat the fleet of ships that intend on destroying all life on the planet earth. The beginning is slow, up until you reach chapter 18. After chapter 18, it gets better and better. For six hours I read one day, because I was so wrapped up in this good and amazing book. I have never seen a science fiction author put into his story, interstellar combat inside the sun itself. That part of the book was one of the most intriguing parts.
August 14, 2020
It has been 20 years since the Jao conquered Earth and the locals have not completely stopped resisting. Eric Flint has portrayed the human race as exceedingly stubborn and sneaky as well as overly focussed on the small divisive issues that keep us from presenting a properly united front against a common foe. I cannot say that he is wrong. What I found fascinating is the portrayal of the decisions to collaborate or to resist, to listen or to fight, to ally or to blindly go one`s own way by following one particular character from spy to involuntary servant to voluntary collaborator all in the service of Earth. This is an alien invasion story with a lot of heart to it. If you enjoy David Drake`s work, you ought to enjoy this.
December 22, 2019
Excellent work of science fiction
This is a very well written piece, with characters who draw you in to love and to hate. Honestly it would be really fun for a fantasy artist to draw up a picture of what these aliens would look like based on the descriptions depicted in this book. Between the wealth of human ingenuity and the desire of the Jao to work with that ingenuity and make the humans of use against the mysterious Ekhat, this book kept my attention from page one! I am looking forward to see how the new kochan of human and Jao work together to find new ways to defeat their common enemy, the Ekhat. Highly recommend this book!
This is a very well written piece, with characters who draw you in to love and to hate. Honestly it would be really fun for a fantasy artist to draw up a picture of what these aliens would look like based on the descriptions depicted in this book. Between the wealth of human ingenuity and the desire of the Jao to work with that ingenuity and make the humans of use against the mysterious Ekhat, this book kept my attention from page one! I am looking forward to see how the new kochan of human and Jao work together to find new ways to defeat their common enemy, the Ekhat. Highly recommend this book!
December 26, 2025
Earth was conquered by aliens 20 years ago. The Alien ruler is a despot who doesn't like humans, or invest in repairing earth. A member of a different family of aliens arrive and try to make things better before a even bigger threat arrives.
Other than seeming like there should be a book or two before this one, it was a good book. I liked the various characters, both alien and human. The action was pretty good. The alien hierarchy was little tough to keep track of. It also doesn't help that I read the second volume a few years ago.
Other than seeming like there should be a book or two before this one, it was a good book. I liked the various characters, both alien and human. The action was pretty good. The alien hierarchy was little tough to keep track of. It also doesn't help that I read the second volume a few years ago.
August 27, 2018
This is one of my favorite SF books--the two that follow it in the series aren't as good. But the Jao are some of my favorite aliens, and the human characters match them. As the conquerers and conquered come together--despite all obstaces--there are moments that will stick with you for a long time, in a very good way.
April 30, 2019
Very intriguing work
I loved all the twist and turns to the story. Enjoyed the character development and war scenes. What kept a perfect star score was the long and continuous and sometimes repetitious description of May habits and says of thinking. I think it could have been stated and trust the reader to remember. Recommendable book.
I loved all the twist and turns to the story. Enjoyed the character development and war scenes. What kept a perfect star score was the long and continuous and sometimes repetitious description of May habits and says of thinking. I think it could have been stated and trust the reader to remember. Recommendable book.
February 9, 2022
An enjoyable read, long - 597 pages but worth it.
The premise is that aliens have conquered earth but changes are happening.
I would say that this is well worth reading and enjoyable.
It is free it does end in a way that is complete but also makes sequels possible
This review is perfect
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The premise is that aliens have conquered earth but changes are happening.
I would say that this is well worth reading and enjoyable.
It is free it does end in a way that is complete but also makes sequels possible
This review is perfect
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
April 4, 2020
A great book with a great story. Held my attention and interest throughout with an alien species that felt and acted alien with great descriptors and attention to detail. A good sci fi to sit down and read that I highly recommend.
November 3, 2020
Almost didn't read
I'm not always excited when I open a book that defines all the players and who's who. Glad I persevered! What a story line, lots of action and I marvel at the imagination. Way to go!!
I'm not always excited when I open a book that defines all the players and who's who. Glad I persevered! What a story line, lots of action and I marvel at the imagination. Way to go!!
December 9, 2020
Based on historical examples.
Author freebie. Ends in a dumb pun. This is filled with historical allusions to human empires in order to explain the alien culture. The humans seem a bit dumbed down to make room for alien roleplaying. A very good begining to the series.
Author freebie. Ends in a dumb pun. This is filled with historical allusions to human empires in order to explain the alien culture. The humans seem a bit dumbed down to make room for alien roleplaying. A very good begining to the series.
June 29, 2021
This book has the best written alien species I've encountered anywhere.
I won't review past that, for the sake of avoiding spoilers, but if you dig well written SF, this is worth taking the time to read, just for the Jao.
I won't review past that, for the sake of avoiding spoilers, but if you dig well written SF, this is worth taking the time to read, just for the Jao.
February 19, 2022
Another great hotel library find! I was totally engrossed with the story. I felt it well written, characters totally relatable and worthy connecting too. You need a good, engaging, entertaining read, this is your book.
November 1, 2022
Excellent!
Combine well done and rich character construction, the same for world building (or society, rather) and intricate plot and you have THIS exciting "ride". I couldn't put this down, absorbing each page with relish (not ketchup).
Combine well done and rich character construction, the same for world building (or society, rather) and intricate plot and you have THIS exciting "ride". I couldn't put this down, absorbing each page with relish (not ketchup).
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