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Cast Adrift #1
Cast Adrift
Five hundred years ago, the human race discovered it was not alone in the universe when Earth was invaded and forcibly integrated by the Alphan Empire. Over the years, humans have grown used to their position within the empire, serving as soldiers and spacers for alien masters as well as building a place in the universe for themselves. But now, in the aftermath of a violent interstellar war that shattered the power of the Alphans, humanity has rediscovered its pride. Humanity wants to be free.
Facing a war they will lose even if they win, the Alphans give humanity its independence once again. Humanity stands alone in a hostile universe, facing alien threats that regard humans as nothing more than servants - or weaklings, easy meat for armed conquest. And if the human race cannot learn to stand on its own two feet, without its masters, it will rapidly discover that it has traded one set of masters for another ...
... And if they lose the coming war, all hope of independence will die with it.
Facing a war they will lose even if they win, the Alphans give humanity its independence once again. Humanity stands alone in a hostile universe, facing alien threats that regard humans as nothing more than servants - or weaklings, easy meat for armed conquest. And if the human race cannot learn to stand on its own two feet, without its masters, it will rapidly discover that it has traded one set of masters for another ...
... And if they lose the coming war, all hope of independence will die with it.
447 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 26, 2021
260 people are currently reading
182 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
May 24, 2021
Its just a mess but in a very boring uninspired way. The best thing I can say about the book is that it tries to discuss some interesting topics, its just that the author doesn't seem to have any coherent position or real understanding of any of them.
The first section of the book is all about colonialism and violently "uplifting" people against their will. Despite the amount of pages dedicated to the topic, there really isn't any deep discussion and it is unceremoniously dropped about a third into the book.
Several PoV characters, mostly "good" guys, commit war crimes. They are aware what they are doing is war crimes but, as we are repeatedly told, they will either not be caught in the act or even if they are, no one will care to punish them. This somehow makes committing war crimes acceptable? It really felt like after being brought up dozens of times between several different instances, it would amount to something but it doesn't.
We have six major PoV characters. They include men and women, career military, politicians and spies and even two separate kinds of aliens. Despite that no one in this book has a distinctive PoV. Until I read the name of the character, I honestly could never tell whose eyes I was looking through. Even though we are told probably close to a hundred times over the book that aliens are impossible to understand, the two alien PoVs we have are actually trivially easy to understand.
We are never shown anyone doing anything, just told in the vaguest possible terms about how they've done something. An admiral spends weeks planning a battle which we never see and it all amounts to a conversation where he orders his people to "carry out plan Alpha 3" which appears to be everyone going at the enemy at the same time in a disorganized jumble. A politician spends months being overwhelmed by competing priorities and campaign promises but we never hear what a single one is and never see a single person being upset about their issue not being addressed. A marine officer spends some indeterminate amount of time (I think weeks?) fighting off an alien ground invasion by leading a resistance made up of civilians and we never actually see an engagement. We follow a spy around on a series of intelligence gathering missions but all scenes are either the spy traveling to or coming back from a dangerous location, never actually being there and risking something by gathering intel.
The writing is just horrendous. The same cliched expressions are used over and over again to the point where they become beyond meaningless. "... will pay a price at the next elections" (never happens), "... but they are aliens, you can't understand their motivations" (have multiple alien PoV that are indistinguishable from humans and trivial to understand), "Its illegal/against Interstellar conventions" (yet you do it over and over with no consequence), etc. Its repetitive to the point where any random sentence in the book is more likely to appear several times than be unique.
In short, poorly written, lacks imagination, has no exciting action or tension or mystery, characters are beyond bland, worldbuilding is very subpar. Wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
The first section of the book is all about colonialism and violently "uplifting" people against their will. Despite the amount of pages dedicated to the topic, there really isn't any deep discussion and it is unceremoniously dropped about a third into the book.
Several PoV characters, mostly "good" guys, commit war crimes. They are aware what they are doing is war crimes but, as we are repeatedly told, they will either not be caught in the act or even if they are, no one will care to punish them. This somehow makes committing war crimes acceptable? It really felt like after being brought up dozens of times between several different instances, it would amount to something but it doesn't.
We have six major PoV characters. They include men and women, career military, politicians and spies and even two separate kinds of aliens. Despite that no one in this book has a distinctive PoV. Until I read the name of the character, I honestly could never tell whose eyes I was looking through. Even though we are told probably close to a hundred times over the book that aliens are impossible to understand, the two alien PoVs we have are actually trivially easy to understand.
We are never shown anyone doing anything, just told in the vaguest possible terms about how they've done something. An admiral spends weeks planning a battle which we never see and it all amounts to a conversation where he orders his people to "carry out plan Alpha 3" which appears to be everyone going at the enemy at the same time in a disorganized jumble. A politician spends months being overwhelmed by competing priorities and campaign promises but we never hear what a single one is and never see a single person being upset about their issue not being addressed. A marine officer spends some indeterminate amount of time (I think weeks?) fighting off an alien ground invasion by leading a resistance made up of civilians and we never actually see an engagement. We follow a spy around on a series of intelligence gathering missions but all scenes are either the spy traveling to or coming back from a dangerous location, never actually being there and risking something by gathering intel.
The writing is just horrendous. The same cliched expressions are used over and over again to the point where they become beyond meaningless. "... will pay a price at the next elections" (never happens), "... but they are aliens, you can't understand their motivations" (have multiple alien PoV that are indistinguishable from humans and trivial to understand), "Its illegal/against Interstellar conventions" (yet you do it over and over with no consequence), etc. Its repetitive to the point where any random sentence in the book is more likely to appear several times than be unique.
In short, poorly written, lacks imagination, has no exciting action or tension or mystery, characters are beyond bland, worldbuilding is very subpar. Wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
April 9, 2021
A great start.
As always a well thought out story line. I always like the author have his stories based on a gasp of human history and reality. Of how people and societies react in reality. His books have a ring of truth. I am looking forward to the continuations of this series.
As always a well thought out story line. I always like the author have his stories based on a gasp of human history and reality. Of how people and societies react in reality. His books have a ring of truth. I am looking forward to the continuations of this series.
March 13, 2025
3.5/5 Interesting enough overall plot but I didn’t get drawn in to really care about any characters. Missing the spark to give it uniqueness.
April 5, 2021
This was a very good start of a new series from Christopher Nuttall. I quite like stories where humanity takes there first steps towards being serious actors in the galactic arena.
Of course there are a lot of those kind of stories out there, many of them not very good, but not only is Nuttall a very good author which manages to pull off this kind of stories, but he found a reasonably new and different twist to the story. Humanity is actually conquered hundreds of years ago. However a number of events combine to produce their release from their conquerors. Of course, that is when their real problems starts.
The books starts off somewhat slowly with a lot of human as well as alien politics going on. Actually it starts of hundreds of years before present day in the books time line with the alien invasion. Nuttall is quite good at world building but he also like to delve into, shall we say, social building for lack of a better phrase. The latter parts are not exactly my favourite parts, especially since they include a few of the usual dumbass, incompetent individuals, but at least they are well done.
On the other hand one of my favourite parts of the book is where human ingenuity, not to mention capacity for war, comes into play and gives the somewhat fossilised aliens, that for too long has not felt the need to invent new ideas, more than one surprise.
The book is a very nice read indeed. As usual with Nuttall the story is solid, the characters are well done, there is a good balance between dialogue, back story, interaction and more straight forward action. The science is plausible, detailed worldbuilding without going overboard with it and aforementioned action is very good. The confrontation with one of the more dislikeable alien nation towards the end of the book was most enjoyable.
As I wrote, a very good start of a new series. I am looking forward to the continuation of this series.
Of course there are a lot of those kind of stories out there, many of them not very good, but not only is Nuttall a very good author which manages to pull off this kind of stories, but he found a reasonably new and different twist to the story. Humanity is actually conquered hundreds of years ago. However a number of events combine to produce their release from their conquerors. Of course, that is when their real problems starts.
The books starts off somewhat slowly with a lot of human as well as alien politics going on. Actually it starts of hundreds of years before present day in the books time line with the alien invasion. Nuttall is quite good at world building but he also like to delve into, shall we say, social building for lack of a better phrase. The latter parts are not exactly my favourite parts, especially since they include a few of the usual dumbass, incompetent individuals, but at least they are well done.
On the other hand one of my favourite parts of the book is where human ingenuity, not to mention capacity for war, comes into play and gives the somewhat fossilised aliens, that for too long has not felt the need to invent new ideas, more than one surprise.
The book is a very nice read indeed. As usual with Nuttall the story is solid, the characters are well done, there is a good balance between dialogue, back story, interaction and more straight forward action. The science is plausible, detailed worldbuilding without going overboard with it and aforementioned action is very good. The confrontation with one of the more dislikeable alien nation towards the end of the book was most enjoyable.
As I wrote, a very good start of a new series. I am looking forward to the continuation of this series.
June 23, 2021
The book starts with two separate prologues hundreds of years apart and then four chapters, each introducing a whole new set of characters.
It is probably just me, but I like to make an early connection with the main characters and I found this quite a difficult start to the book.
I was expecting a ‘space opera’ when I started, but by halfway it was really a sort of political soap opera. This might have been fairly interesting, but I found it a bit repetitive and quite rambling.
There is some more typical ‘space opera’ action near the end and although this wasn’t bad it was a bit ‘lack lustre’ compared to many of the author’s other SciFi series.
If possible I would have given 2.5 stars.
It is probably just me, but I like to make an early connection with the main characters and I found this quite a difficult start to the book.
I was expecting a ‘space opera’ when I started, but by halfway it was really a sort of political soap opera. This might have been fairly interesting, but I found it a bit repetitive and quite rambling.
There is some more typical ‘space opera’ action near the end and although this wasn’t bad it was a bit ‘lack lustre’ compared to many of the author’s other SciFi series.
If possible I would have given 2.5 stars.
August 27, 2021
Great read, buy today !
Chris Nuttall is my go to Author for top notch entertainment. He delivers another winner with this new work. I have read at least 70 of his books and finally made myself write a review. Guilt and the realization that I am addicted to his writing, makes me need to take care of my "supplier".
Chris Nuttall is my go to Author for top notch entertainment. He delivers another winner with this new work. I have read at least 70 of his books and finally made myself write a review. Guilt and the realization that I am addicted to his writing, makes me need to take care of my "supplier".
April 21, 2021
Mr. Nuttail never lets you down. His stories are entertaining and keep you at the edge of your seat. I enjoy his Sci. Fy most of all, because they are believable and his characters all to human except when they are not. Great story!
January 27, 2022
There is a word for the alien invasion in CAST ADRIFT, and that word is ironic. Because, of course, the United States of America (well, and the rest of the world, don't forget them) is invaded by an interstellar colonial power who wants to run everything and impose taxation without representation and all that good stuff. Because of course it happened that way. And, sure as sunrise, the Americans (we never really see anyone else) want to be independent of their colonial masters. This isn't really an on-the-nose thing like Robert Heinlein placing the Lunar Rebellion on July 4, 2076, but it's kind of like that. (It should be pointed out that Nuttall is a Brit, and obviously has a different view of colonialism and the American Revolution and whatnot.)
The Earthling rebellion here, having said all that, isn't much like the American Revolution, outside of one unfortunate incident designed to remind the reader about the Boston Massacre. The alien invading force basically washes its hands of the pesky humans due to being stretched thin due to a recent interstellar war. This leaves human outposts on the galactic periphery vulnerable to being picked off by rival alien forces, which is mostly the point of the book.
Nuttall is a storyteller and not a physicist; he has a tendency to move starships around without a great deal of attention to the distances involved. The result is a book that is filled with improbabilities but is otherwise fun and enjoyable - a typical space opera with valiant fighters and cartoonish aliens and mastermind admirals. Recommended but hardly memorable.
The Earthling rebellion here, having said all that, isn't much like the American Revolution, outside of one unfortunate incident designed to remind the reader about the Boston Massacre. The alien invading force basically washes its hands of the pesky humans due to being stretched thin due to a recent interstellar war. This leaves human outposts on the galactic periphery vulnerable to being picked off by rival alien forces, which is mostly the point of the book.
Nuttall is a storyteller and not a physicist; he has a tendency to move starships around without a great deal of attention to the distances involved. The result is a book that is filled with improbabilities but is otherwise fun and enjoyable - a typical space opera with valiant fighters and cartoonish aliens and mastermind admirals. Recommended but hardly memorable.
September 13, 2021
I really gave this a try as I've enjoyed the author's other books, but this one just seemed to recycle all the standard tropes of a lot of modern military sci-fi. Arrogant alien overlords, loyal but battle-worn earthmen who saved the alien Empire given no regard and beginning to err towards rebellion. Hidden goings-on, potential enemies of Earth on ll fronts.
It's a well written, professional novel but I've seen it all before nothing new is offered. Eventually, it just did not hold me in any way. Worth a read if you are really new or very keen on the genre.
It's a well written, professional novel but I've seen it all before nothing new is offered. Eventually, it just did not hold me in any way. Worth a read if you are really new or very keen on the genre.
September 24, 2023
Summary: Predictable, but nevertheless a very enjoyable read. The plot is ferocious with doses of political verbage, the action is sharp and to the point. The premise is interesting. Highly recommended (but not if you like to over think things too much)
Plotline: Plot is pretty good and moves apace, just not very convoluted
Premise: Its a big universe ans we are small fish, seems to work nicely
Writing: The reader is right there in the action
Ending: Positive ending but one suspects that their is more to come ... book 2 perhaps
Pace: Never a dull moment!
Plotline: Plot is pretty good and moves apace, just not very convoluted
Premise: Its a big universe ans we are small fish, seems to work nicely
Writing: The reader is right there in the action
Ending: Positive ending but one suspects that their is more to come ... book 2 perhaps
Pace: Never a dull moment!
October 31, 2021
Nicely crafted story
Starts a little slow as the author sets the stage and introduces the characters, but I prefer a well told story to just a series of battle scenes. I enjoyed the multiple sub plots and thought they were woven together well. The story built to a satisfying conclusion. It's been a while since I got caught up in a book to where I had trouble putting it down, but this one had that effect.
Starts a little slow as the author sets the stage and introduces the characters, but I prefer a well told story to just a series of battle scenes. I enjoyed the multiple sub plots and thought they were woven together well. The story built to a satisfying conclusion. It's been a while since I got caught up in a book to where I had trouble putting it down, but this one had that effect.
February 14, 2026
Humanity has been a servant race to the powerful, conservative Alphan Empire for several centuries, but the Alphan hold on the quadrant is weakening. Humans see a path to independence, but they may not be ready to stand on their own when the Alphans pull out. Nuttall takes us into the minds of both human and alien characters and writes well-paced space battles. A readable story, but it doesn't do much with the future tech. 3.5.
April 6, 2021
Actually better than most of his writings
To be clear I have read just about everything he has written that is available on Amazon. His best writing in my opinion is not the dashing hero but the good but somewhat hesitant hero that is what we have here. Worth the time and money.
To be clear I have read just about everything he has written that is available on Amazon. His best writing in my opinion is not the dashing hero but the good but somewhat hesitant hero that is what we have here. Worth the time and money.
April 25, 2022
Good opera
So many voices saying their lines all at once in verse and in musical tone. Definitely an interesting read, and a pretty well balanced view of what would be happening in interstellar War although not as much mention of the immense economic impacts as I would have hoped. Probably that comes up in the next story though...
So many voices saying their lines all at once in verse and in musical tone. Definitely an interesting read, and a pretty well balanced view of what would be happening in interstellar War although not as much mention of the immense economic impacts as I would have hoped. Probably that comes up in the next story though...
March 17, 2023
Too diffuse?
Not a bad book, but I found the breadth of the story being told in one book meant we coyldn't spend enough time with characters to get to know and care about them enough. Same issue with the plot - there was a good chunk of tell instead of show because of time/space/word constraints.
Not a bad book, but I found the breadth of the story being told in one book meant we coyldn't spend enough time with characters to get to know and care about them enough. Same issue with the plot - there was a good chunk of tell instead of show because of time/space/word constraints.
August 25, 2023
A complex story of many threads, but woven together so well that it is seamless. The writing kept me engaged throughout and I never felt lost despite the many plots and characters.
Highly recommended.
The audio narration is not great but also not too much of an issue - the only real complaint is the sometimes odd choice of which words to emphasis in a sentence.
Highly recommended.
The audio narration is not great but also not too much of an issue - the only real complaint is the sometimes odd choice of which words to emphasis in a sentence.
May 12, 2025
Another good book by a great author
This first book in the series sets the stage for a solid background that will hopefully continue in the rest of the series. It also is an interesting positioning of the human race in the universe. Looking back forward to some of the characters already established and new ones I expect to be brought in this space opera.
This first book in the series sets the stage for a solid background that will hopefully continue in the rest of the series. It also is an interesting positioning of the human race in the universe. Looking back forward to some of the characters already established and new ones I expect to be brought in this space opera.
April 16, 2021
Great Space Opera!
Fun read that I finished in a day. Slightly different refreshing take on the trope, of the last ditch unexpected war that Earth must win against a superior force. Authors writing style has improved.
Fun read that I finished in a day. Slightly different refreshing take on the trope, of the last ditch unexpected war that Earth must win against a superior force. Authors writing style has improved.
April 21, 2021
Great new series
An exciting start to what I hope will be a dynamic story with plenty of twists and turns. Some really great characters to start things off, hopefully they appear again very soon.
An exciting start to what I hope will be a dynamic story with plenty of twists and turns. Some really great characters to start things off, hopefully they appear again very soon.
April 24, 2021
Good start in a new universe
The author likes to drop his humans into unexpected situations and in this book they certainly get a challenge. With allies like the Alphans, who needs enemies.
The author likes to drop his humans into unexpected situations and in this book they certainly get a challenge. With allies like the Alphans, who needs enemies.
April 29, 2021
Great setting!
This is the beginning of a series with great potential. The various races and the geopolitical aspects lend to a very good story and while there was a lot going on in the book, the plot did not seem rushed. Thank you for the enjoyable read!
This is the beginning of a series with great potential. The various races and the geopolitical aspects lend to a very good story and while there was a lot going on in the book, the plot did not seem rushed. Thank you for the enjoyable read!
May 15, 2021
Brilliantly written
A great new series is born. Christopher Nuttall has done it again. Now I must sit and wait impatiently for the next installment. A page turner from beginning to end!
A great new series is born. Christopher Nuttall has done it again. Now I must sit and wait impatiently for the next installment. A page turner from beginning to end!
May 19, 2021
A great new series
Another excellent new series by Christopher Nuttall. The plot line was familiar to many students of history and the characters and politics had real depth. The aliens are alien enough to be strange but not so much as to be incomprehensible.
An excellent read.
Another excellent new series by Christopher Nuttall. The plot line was familiar to many students of history and the characters and politics had real depth. The aliens are alien enough to be strange but not so much as to be incomprehensible.
An excellent read.
May 23, 2021
Good start!!
This book started out with the human race crushed for 500 Yeats, before finally breaking free. A much more realistic and cool story of humanity's struggle for its place on the galactic stage.
This book started out with the human race crushed for 500 Yeats, before finally breaking free. A much more realistic and cool story of humanity's struggle for its place on the galactic stage.
June 24, 2021
Too much filler.
Story is not bad, but writer just drags it out too much. Many references to the war, but what war, who fought who?
Now earth is about to go to war with another alien race but once again the story is being dragged out.
Story is not bad, but writer just drags it out too much. Many references to the war, but what war, who fought who?
Now earth is about to go to war with another alien race but once again the story is being dragged out.
August 14, 2021
Very good read, interesting story line, and new!
Very good read, well thought out, and a new concept. I enjoyed this book tremendously, and would suggest it to Space
Opera readers anywhere.
Very good read, well thought out, and a new concept. I enjoyed this book tremendously, and would suggest it to Space
Opera readers anywhere.
August 24, 2021
A good story
I like the story line and the universe it set in. Characters aren't as developed as they are in some of his other works (Empire Corps), but still well worth reading. I have high hopes for this series and look forward to future books
I like the story line and the universe it set in. Characters aren't as developed as they are in some of his other works (Empire Corps), but still well worth reading. I have high hopes for this series and look forward to future books
December 26, 2021
Nutall tries an uplift universe
Good story and characters. Decent world building with enough novelty to make it interesting. A few insider references to other authors and stories. Good editing by online standards.
Good story and characters. Decent world building with enough novelty to make it interesting. A few insider references to other authors and stories. Good editing by online standards.
January 5, 2022
Interesting read
This is an interesting twist on alien invasions. Good character development and hard to put down once started. I enjoyed seeing the view from all the different sides of the plot line. It makes one realize their own reality can be tunnel vision.
This is an interesting twist on alien invasions. Good character development and hard to put down once started. I enjoyed seeing the view from all the different sides of the plot line. It makes one realize their own reality can be tunnel vision.
March 30, 2022
Yet another ripping yarn from Mr Nuttall, which I thoroughly enjoyed. But not perfect. I'm not sure why, for example, it needed so many characters. More than once I found myself a couple of pages in before I could figure out which character we were following.
Still, I'll be reading book 2 asap.
Still, I'll be reading book 2 asap.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews