War is coming. Duke Uron Marlboro led his mighty house to victory in the Zezner war. The last thing he expected was for his allies to turn on him.
With a new civil war brewing, the Duke and his family have one option to survive the king’s wrath—
They must flee. Will they survive the political games of their past? Can they escape their doomed planet and find a new place to thrive before their once great house is destroyed… forever.
Blue Sun Armada is the first in a new epic space opera set in the far-flung future. Legendary mech battles, intense fleet engagements, and deadly politics all make Blue Sun Armada a magnificent read.
Scott Moon loves audio books, especially the works of George R.R. Martin, Patrick O'Brian, and Michael Connelly. He has been writing fantasy, science fiction, and urban fantasy thrillers most of his life and aims to read or listen to 100 books a year. Currently, he is a commissioned police officer serving in a street level counter drug and gang unit. Some of his most rewarding and heartbreaking work was as a detective in the Exploited Missing Child Unit. His favorite assignment is SWAT, primarily for the eighty pounds of tactical gear he gets to wear in the blazing summer heat. In 2005, he helped arrest a serial killer who had been at large for over thirty years.
Follow Scott Moon on Twitter @Scottmoonwriter or visit www.scottmoonwriter.com to view his author page.
This is a bad book or a horrible book just nothing happens for ages. I have read books when the writer is trying to set you up for epic battle and this isn’t the book. Maybe in the next book in the series it does more than this.
Scott Moon had a lot of writing to do just to get us up to speed on the storyline of Blue Sun Armada. The slow start was necessary for the reader to get a handle on how this society worked and who was who. Likable goodguys with a strong honor code, house Marlboro, will have their work cut out for them just to stay alive. Allies seem few and far between. Time is running out. Intrigue, war, mechs, and spaceships will make this story epic. I do have questions. It seems the antagonist could have gotten what he wanted much easier had he planned better, so I evidently missed some motivations. Still, I enjoyed the heck out of the story and definitely want to read book 2. I received this book as an ARC and this is an honest review.
This is exactly the kind of book I don't read. It has Kings, Princesses, Dukes and Lords and all that nobility stuff that is strange to me as I am and never have been British or anybodies commoner! Still, I like the story very much and that surprised me just as much as it probably did you.
We're on the planet Gildain in some far away galaxy. Our hero is introduced quite early as Duke Uron of House Marlboro which doesn't mean much except you will get to know the Duke as Ron, a pretty common name if you ask me. He is a subject of King Gerard of House Gerard and Duke Ron has just fought a titanic war against the Zezner. The Gildains won and King Gerard is about to accept the King of the Zezner's surrender and then execute him as the customs of this world. Those who had the most to do with the wars favoriable end should be standing on the dais with the King, but for reasons only known to each other, Duke Ron isn't invited to the ceremony! There is an obvious schism between the Kind had his Duke.
Still, the Duke of Marlboro is trying to be a loyal subject, but the King is making it very hard. He's basically ignoring all the effort Duke Ron put into fighting the Zezners and trying to bring all the glory and rewards of the win to himself and his house. Still, everyone in the kingdom knows clearly what happened. Even the Zezners acknowledge the Duke of Marlboro as a tactical and strategic genius that brought about their defeat. As a specific recognition of his superior actions, a prince of the Zezner's has now become a life-long servant to the Duke of Marlboro. He is to accompany the Duke everywhere and remind everyone that the Zezners were defeated and are a conquered people. Of course Duke Ron doesn't want or believe in having a slave so he tells the Zezner, name Redion, that he doesn't want him as a slave, but he can act as a body guard if that would be acceptable. Since the Zezner Prince is a warrior, he quickly takes a liking to Duke Ron and does in fact, become his protector. It's too bad the rest of the House of Marlboro doesn't have a protector.
You'll meet Gregory, Victor, Fortune, and Peps all progeny of Ron and Patricia Marlboro. Patricia was formerly of the House Wilson so they have that House for support if needed. Still, both Gregory and Victor are proven warriors while Fortune can fly just about any kind of craft. Then little Peps as she's called gets into all sorts of trouble, mostly while hanging around the Dukes soldiers barracks where she most certainly shouldn't be.
Early on, House Marlboro is attacked by House Danestar and House Bull. While House Danestar went all out in the attack, House Bull really wanted nothing to do with this treachery setup by the Kind. So, House Bull made a secret pact with House Marlboro to make it look like he was honestly attacking when he would not. That allowed House Marlboro to focus on Danestar which they easily defeated. So, now House Danestar and House Bull were indebt to House Marlborog making that House even more powerful than before. This was not to the King's liking.
What the King did like was Fortune, eldest daughter of Ron and Patricia. She was nowhere close to his age, but the King was in search of an heir as he wife had recently died. He also knew that there was a reason the Zezner's called the humans from Gildane, near-humans. Apparently, all those born on Gildane or at least most of the nobility were born with nanites already working in their bodies. These gave these people some greater physical and mental abilities than normal. Still, most Gildanes only recognized these nanites as something a nobleperson should have. Duke Ron had a greater number of nanties than most everybody. He could heal quicker, work hard and endure more than any normal person all due to his excellent nanites and they way they were taking care of his body. The King also knew of these nanites and he figured he would like to pass them on to an heir so a marriage between Fortune and the King would work well for both families. Fortune was not interested in a marriage of any kind and especially not to the King. She thought him to be an elderly man and certainly had no desires to have any of his children. But, the King isn't usually stopped in his pursuit of what he wants in his kingdom.
Now we get to the Blue Moon Expedition as it is initially called. At some point in time, someone had suggested that an expedition be put together to explore the universe and try to see if this ancient mythical planet called Earth actually existed. Prior to the war, this expedition was about to get funded and may have actually taken off. As it was now, there were a lot of ships in process of being built, but not many in any condition to sail into the deep black. So, Ron, knowing he and the King are never going to agree to a marriage between his daughter and said King, re-ignites the efforts to the this expedition finished and ready to sail.
Then King Gerard kidnaps Fortune who happened to have Peps with her. This is not going to stand. A surprisingly very good story. I think I'll even look for the next book in the series to see where it goes. Now that I know all about all these Houses and who is who, the next book should be a breeze!
Blue Sun Armada is the first in an epic series that follows House Marlboro on the planet Gildain in a future in which humanity has expanded into the stars. With a monarchy and a series of aristocratic Houses, each family is responsible for maintaining their own force of ‘Battlemechs’ which they must be ready to supply to the King at his request. At the start of book 1, we follow Uron ‘Ron’ Marlboro, the head of House Marlboro leading his forces, including several other Houses against an alien invader called the Zezner, and bringing their invasion to an end. What should be a time of peace on Gildain at the end of this war however, only starts the internal politics of House fighting, as each of the Houses sees an opportunity to try and gain not only favour with the King, but climb higher on the aristocratic ladder by eliminating rivals. Victor Marlboro is in love with the daughter of another House, Penelope Danestar. However, House Danestar has decided that they are not high enough, and are going to remove House Marlboro, hoping that so close to the end of the war, that they might not be at their peak. They attempt to take Victor as he goes to meet Penelope, and this sets off a chain reaction of events. The start of this book is intense, we move from the end of the Zezner war, and within pages, we move to an all out House war, with multiple minor and medium Houses all gathered to attack, or stand with, one of the planets largest Houses. The ensuing battle is brutal, gritty, and full-on. Moon writes the Mech battle sequences beautifully so that you really feel you are caught up in the middle of it, moving from different PoV’s as he changes to different characters in the conflict. The resultant outcome leads House Marlboro to understand that their days on Gildain could be numbered. Another party approaches them, and suggests that Duke Uron go on the Blue Sun mission, a long term, possibly one-way mission, to find the lost planet of their origin. The Duke begins to realise that the King is threatened by him, and is not going to put up with his existence for much longer. The Duke, worried about the welfare of his family, decides that this is the only option that he can take. This leads to him and his family preparing for the Blue Sun Mission. What follows though, is an intriguing story of politics, House infighting, and subterfuge. When Fortune and Pep’s, Uron’s two daughters are kidnapped by the King, it all begins to unfold. From the first pages, to the very last pages, this book is a powerful, edge of your seat thriller, with a multi-faceted storyline that is not only intriguing, but full of brutal, incredibly detailed and masterfully described combat sequences. Once you start reading, you will be captivated and completely absorbed – there is an intensity, almost frantic edge to the conflict, but the calmness of the Marlboro pilots brings it back to this authentic portrayal of mech combat, Scott Moon is a master at this form of Sci-Fi. The Character work is exceptional, from every member of House Marlboro, especially the ‘Romeo and Juliet’ style love between Penelope and Victor, their story is well known, but no less tragic in this iteration. Fortune Marlboro is by far one of the best characters in the book as the sassy fighter pilot. There are so many brilliant characters, it would take pages to detail them all!! The world-building, from the descriptions of Gildain, the city, and the different Houses, to the depictions of the mechs that each of the House’s stride around, really make this story, bringing it to life in intricate detail. This is one of those stories that you think might just be another Mech story, but you’ll give it a go (I mean, we love Mech stories!!), but this is an absolute standout in the Genre – if you love this type of story (and who doesn’t??), then do yourself a favour!
Kingdom of earth decedents falls apart after defeating alien invaders - 4.5 stars
Ron Marlboro, head of the House of Marlboro, together with his wife Patricia lead a successful fight against the attacking Zeener. After the battle is won, awards are given not the leaders who demonstrated their skills but to secondary houses.
In a future when descendants of earth explorers have good technology but weak space exploration skills, nuclear powered "mechs" controlled by humans are good at ground and low atmospheric fighting. Development of mechs by each family rather than a central government emphasizes the differences between families and shows the weakness of a kingdom which keeps power for the hereditary ruler's family.
Gerard, king of Gildain, tries to change the balance of power by weakening the strongest families, like the Marlboros. Emphasizing that a kingdom is run differently than a republic with fealty pledged to a person who makes the rules vs a collective government, the single ruler system needed much stronger leadership and values than the king possessed.
Women were particularly good at detecting the nuances of power grabs and slights. Because each family was independent, coordination between clans was minimal. Family leaders either had a good relationship with other family leaders or complete lack of trust. Technology and planning became clan secrets when there was no war to keep families working toward a common goal. When the fighting against a common enemy was over, an internecine war got started.
A little romance mixes up the inter-family relations even as family leaders fight each other. After the war, differences in leadership styles and values lead to a battle against the king. The balance of power is sure to change as family ties with the kingdom hierarchy are irreparably broken.
This novel is the first of a series; I look forward to the next book in the series.
A truly satisfying experience. A far future where humans have settled an Utopian world. They are augmented with nanites that they can’t think about without getting severe headaches and blackouts which could, possibly, lead to death. There is a king who rules and noble houses who give fealty to him. But, after a long running war against aliens, the king turns on his strongest, and until then, most loyal house for the nanites carried by a daughter of the house. All that the house can do is to leave their planet and search for the blue sun which they have been taught is humanity’s home world. Have they been able to build a fleet ready enough and strong enough to carry them all away? A very different view of a far future, one that is unique and captivating.
This was a fun first book, it kind of leaves you wanting a lot more. I kind of wish I'd waited to read it until the second book was up, but if everyone did that there'd be no second book. I typically don't like a lot of the politics (space politics not US politics) but this was done really well and after a bit, I really liked the background drama, which was limited. Decent battles, a clear delineation between good and evil. If this were food, I'd say it was delicious. Nicely done, if you like space operas this looks to be the start of a really good one.
Scifi / war novel with plenty of action to keep the reader involved. There is also political Intrigue. Interesting theme to have a planet that is extremely militarist with private armies and alliances between different military house control by a duke who is ruled over by a king.
Well that was a great start to a new storyline kept me interested all the way though totally enjoyed this book and cannot wait for the next episode. Well worth 5 stars well done Scott Moon
A future where society evolves technologically but devolves socially. There is plenty of palace intrigue and character development. An enjoyable read; i will be looking for the next book in the series.
Been reading a lot of mil SciFi. Been hard finding stories that are intriguing. This looks to be a great series. Really looking forward to seeing where it will go.
Charming characters and entertaining plot with some interesting characters, though two of the leads exchange the most cringe-worthy romance dialogue, throughout! But I definitely want to read the next book, so yeah!
This had a little of a soap opera plot with melodrama, but it was very enjoyable. The characters were enthralling! The plot was fast paced and intriguing. So glad I picked this up. Very positive.
Awesome action and adventure that never slowed down. The characters were strong,well developed and easy to identify with. I really like this book and I highly recommend it.
At times you almost get overwhelmed. Lots of details, action and I'm sure clues that will gain meaning later. Almost overwhelming. Combat at Robotech level. Several mysteries to solve. Space exploration. Looking forward to the next book.
Altered human knights in the far future on a distant planet, with highly advanced technology and a feudal culture. Kind of teenage-ish, but well written
This is a pretty good book. Nice cross between mech and old school knights. We're off to the void now, there's no telling what waits for Marlboro man in the next system.
After the first few chapters I thought I had stumbled across a kids book. It quickly becomes interesting. Enough to lead me to a second book. Will see.