Imperial Echoes

Ashes of Empire #4

by Eric Thomson

The collapse of humanity’s first interstellar empire is passing into legend, perhaps even myth, now that the ones who could remember those tumultuous years have merged with the Infinite Void. Tiny Lyonesse, the self-appointed guardian of all human knowledge tucked away in its wormhole cul-de-sac, has spent generations preparing to carry out Jonas Morane’s plan of reuniting humanity.

Unbeknown to citizens of a republic cut off from the rest of the galaxy, four star systems at the former empire’s core also survived to preserve that which existed before the Great Scouring. Yet they took a darker path after witnessing firsthand the empire’s demise in a bloodletting without precedent, which left them fearful about the future of what little remained.

An uncompromising, hidebound military dictatorship, the Wyvern Hegemony is everything Lyonesse avoided becoming. Backed by a State Security Commission that uses the Void Sisters’ abilities to root out the regime’s enemies, its rule is absolute. Yet the Hegemony also harbors ambitions of reuniting humanity under its own banner, though the government has done little to advance its cause.

Neither Lyonesse nor the Hegemony knows about each other. However, thanks to a twist of fate that leads State Security Colonel Crevan Torma and his assigned Void Sister on a voyage of discovery, this will soon change. But can the vanished empire’s heirs meet in peace or will they continue the civil war that almost eradicated humanity across the stars?

Genres: Military Fiction, Science Fiction

303 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 22, 2021

About the author

Eric Thomson is my pen name. I'm a former Canadian soldier who spent more years in uniform than he expected, serving in both the Regular Army (Infantry) and the Army Reserve (Armoured Corps). I spent several years as an Information Technology executive for the Canadian government before leaving the bowels of the demented bureaucracy to become a full-time author.

I've been a voracious reader of science-fiction, military fiction and history all my life, assiduously devouring the recommended Army reading list in my younger days and still occasionally returning to the classics for inspiration. Several years ago, I put my fingers to the keyboard and started writing my own military sci-fi, with a definite space opera slant, using many of my own experiences as a soldier as an inspiration for my stories and characters. When I'm not writing fiction, I indulge in my other passions: photography, hiking and scuba diving, all of which I've shared with my wife, who likes to call herself my #1 fan, for more than thirty years.

Reviews

[Volpot · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars. While I think the characterization and story were painted with a brush a bit too large, overall I liked the book.

[dennis miles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four and a half stars

Very well done and thoughtfully written. Has a good but not hectic pace. The void brethren remind me of adepts without staves if you have ever read starpilots grave. Jumping forward to see the results of the earlier characters work brings a nice continuity.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got to love a time jump, especially when you need time to show the regression outside and the progress inside.

And now we finally meet some characters from another polity, and get to know them as well

[Paul Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn’t put it down

I binge read it twice, well worth the time, well structured, believable plot and characters, you owe it to your self

[John K. · Rating 2 out of 5]

B to B- grade book. If you want to, you can read it. Not my favorite series.

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am still enjoying this series. This closely follows the "Foundation" series where like "Foundation and Empire" it takes place 200 years after the opening trilogy. Good story, well paced, with interesting characters. The contrast between "Old Order" and "Order Reborn" was especially interesting. This nicely sets up the rest of this phase of the story.