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Tales of the Phoenix Titan #1
Heritage
Heritage is the debut novel from S.M. Warlow and the first instalment of the Tales of the Phoenix Titan series. This space opera is perfect for fans of Firefly, the Expanse, Star Wars and Mass Effect.
Make them proud, son of Earth.
25 years after the fall of Earth, the Commonwealth is locked in a vicious, galaxy-spanning war against the Revenant. Countless worlds have been lost in the fighting, and now one crew must come together and stand in the way of galactic annihilation.
Nathan Carter is an efficient criminal, but when he's hired to steal supplies from a Commonwealth warship, what starts as an easy job soon transforms into something that could change the course of history. Now, Nathan must work with a group of unlikely allies to protect a woman whose heritage is the key to everything.
Make them proud, son of Earth.
25 years after the fall of Earth, the Commonwealth is locked in a vicious, galaxy-spanning war against the Revenant. Countless worlds have been lost in the fighting, and now one crew must come together and stand in the way of galactic annihilation.
Nathan Carter is an efficient criminal, but when he's hired to steal supplies from a Commonwealth warship, what starts as an easy job soon transforms into something that could change the course of history. Now, Nathan must work with a group of unlikely allies to protect a woman whose heritage is the key to everything.
- GenresScience Fiction
624 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 25, 2022
About the author
S.M. Warlow
7 books14 followersS.M. Warlow is an Amazon best-selling sci-fi author from the United Kingdom. He was born and raised in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire --a town once dubbed the home of the breakfast cereal and featured heavily in the Simon Pegg/Nick Frost movie the Worlds End.
From a young age, S.M. Warlow had a keen love for all things science fiction: with a particular love of Star Wars, Stargate and Star Trek.
In 2022, S.M. Warlow published his debut novel Heritage. In its first week on sale, Heritage held a strong position at #8 on the Amazon UK science fiction chart. It subsequently rose to #1 in May of 2022 and again in June 2022.
S.M. Warlow is currently hard at work on the third entry into the Tales of the Phoenix Titan: expected in 2024.
From a young age, S.M. Warlow had a keen love for all things science fiction: with a particular love of Star Wars, Stargate and Star Trek.
In 2022, S.M. Warlow published his debut novel Heritage. In its first week on sale, Heritage held a strong position at #8 on the Amazon UK science fiction chart. It subsequently rose to #1 in May of 2022 and again in June 2022.
S.M. Warlow is currently hard at work on the third entry into the Tales of the Phoenix Titan: expected in 2024.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
March 6, 2023
This is my first SPSFC Semifinalist review ...
I'm at 3 stars or 6/10 for the competition. I liked the story but it's absolutely riddled with punctuation typos and is extremely repetitive. For a book this long it's a LOT of poor presentation to work through and I loved the story but honestly would have DNF'd if not for the SPSFC. A pared down and edited version of the book would easily be my favorite story and plot so far though so I'm giving him all the subjective credit I can for that
Full review up on my blog at https://onereadingnurse.com/2023/02/1...
I'm at 3 stars or 6/10 for the competition. I liked the story but it's absolutely riddled with punctuation typos and is extremely repetitive. For a book this long it's a LOT of poor presentation to work through and I loved the story but honestly would have DNF'd if not for the SPSFC. A pared down and edited version of the book would easily be my favorite story and plot so far though so I'm giving him all the subjective credit I can for that
Full review up on my blog at https://onereadingnurse.com/2023/02/1...
March 10, 2022
'In Earth’s final hours, there wasn’t one realist that didn’t turn to the skies and plead for intervention.'
OK so overall I loved the storyline and the characters. A brilliant scifi journey to save the universe.
World building was very slow, and descriptions of characters were lacking.
Also Nathan thought and he thought alot and we were told Nathan thought a lot. It became quite tiresome.
3* worth the read
“My father used to say that change is the only certainty in the universe,”
OK so overall I loved the storyline and the characters. A brilliant scifi journey to save the universe.
World building was very slow, and descriptions of characters were lacking.
Also Nathan thought and he thought alot and we were told Nathan thought a lot. It became quite tiresome.
3* worth the read
“My father used to say that change is the only certainty in the universe,”
Read
January 14, 2023To me this was the most wholesome book in the bunch of books that the Red Stars Team are to judge this year. We have a really rich and diverse world-building, and it's a bit of a shame that it becomes secondary as the story progresses. On one hand, it makes perfect sense because once the story is really going, you become absorbed by it, because the pace picks up and things start to happen one after another, and there are so many questions that you need answering that the setting becomes less important. But, on the other hand, we get to see some really interesting things in this universe, and some interesting species and cultures and I would have loved to know more about them all. But it is a minor thing, really, because we have some really good characters, all of them are well developed and complex, and even if I am not the biggest fan of Astrilla (not that she is bad, but she is not my favorite), I really enjoyed Koble, Nathan, Vol and Oxarri's company. And I would have loved to spend more time with Russel, Rain, and the droid. Just to nominate a few.
Also, the villains are quite scary, and we have a lot of twists and plots and intrigues. And action. A ton of it.
It was an amazing ride, and I had a really good time with this book!
Also, the villains are quite scary, and we have a lot of twists and plots and intrigues. And action. A ton of it.
It was an amazing ride, and I had a really good time with this book!
March 21, 2025
Loved this one, ideal for lovers of intergalactic sci fi. There's everything here, from major battles, convoluted quests and fascism versus communism politics, but the heart of the tale, as with most great sci fi, is a disperate group of mismatched, burden shouldering rebels, learning to become family. It also delivers a truly horrifying villainous culture.
May 19, 2022
Excellent. a plot that is interesting, but with sub plots that add more depth. The characters are well developed even some of the minor ones. There is enough action to satisfy even the most diehard space military fan. I highly recommend this book.
October 31, 2023
Great debut from SM Warlow.
Lots of things to like and appreciate here:
- Plot was indicative of the space opera genre (lovers of The Expanse would get on board with this.)
- World building - some of the otherworldly imaginings were quite creative, as well as the different humanoid aliens encountered along the way.
- Thread of uncovering secrets of the character's past.
- Enjoy the threat of the reanimated corpse/space zombie vibes.
So much potential for this series to explore some in depth concepts around faith in the universal context, how different species co-exist to achieve a common goal, bringing emotions to the found family through some possible heartache and pain.
Looking forward to seeing where this goes.
Read via audiobook - but I think the physical book could potentially be a better experience.
Lots of things to like and appreciate here:
- Plot was indicative of the space opera genre (lovers of The Expanse would get on board with this.)
- World building - some of the otherworldly imaginings were quite creative, as well as the different humanoid aliens encountered along the way.
- Thread of uncovering secrets of the character's past.
- Enjoy the threat of the reanimated corpse/space zombie vibes.
So much potential for this series to explore some in depth concepts around faith in the universal context, how different species co-exist to achieve a common goal, bringing emotions to the found family through some possible heartache and pain.
Looking forward to seeing where this goes.
Read via audiobook - but I think the physical book could potentially be a better experience.
August 22, 2024
Terrific Space Adventure
This is a fast-paced action thriller where people from Earth and the Commonwealth fight against the revenants, a hostile and malevolent Force. Nathan and his crew members experience many unexpected twists and turns in their fight against the revenants. The characters were believable and likable. My one criticism is that the book needs to be much better edited. Despite that, I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
This is a fast-paced action thriller where people from Earth and the Commonwealth fight against the revenants, a hostile and malevolent Force. Nathan and his crew members experience many unexpected twists and turns in their fight against the revenants. The characters were believable and likable. My one criticism is that the book needs to be much better edited. Despite that, I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
January 3, 2023
A real page-turner, well thought out and developed characters and very importantly, no padding. I look forward to the sequel.
October 8, 2025
very good read
Very good characters with smart arcs. The action, pacing, and dialogue were well developed and cohesive. The ending set up the next book.
Very good characters with smart arcs. The action, pacing, and dialogue were well developed and cohesive. The ending set up the next book.
May 1, 2023
This was a big one! Well worth the effort though, as it has that solid massive-foundation feel that comes with a chonker of a story.
A faceless horrible alien menace destroys Earth, and a vast military coalition takes care of those left behind after arriving too late to save everyone (thus setting the scene for one of the more interesting reveals later in the story). Out of guilt for their failure to deliver the human race from the Revenant, the Commonwealth gives them a retirement planet where they can just live in Universal Basic Income paradise forever. Cue some hustle-culture "being given leisure to pursue one's own life goals results in laziness and a lessening of productivity" bullplop that I'm really getting tired of seeing in speculative fiction (I don't know about you, but having to sit in an office for 60% of my waking life is not doing wonders for my fucking spark, y'all), but to be fair, a lot of people in Space Florida do seem to be dipshits so fine, we'll let it pass. The story isn't really about that anyway, but there are numerous threads of sociocultural and political examination running through the book that I found very interesting, although frustrating at times. The lens of an ignorant character made it forgivable, and encouraged me to self-examine. A good book will do that, and this was a pretty damn good book.
Anyway, yeah. The Revenant is threatening the galaxy, and the Commonwealth is fighting the good fight against them and providing safety - at the cost of everyone's distinctiveness. Except the Evokers, who get to keep their culture because they have fucking superpowers. Enter Nathan, a survivor of Earth, small-time thief and haunted-past-haver.
When Nathan is sent on a job into a Commonwealth ship, he doesn't expect to come face to face with an Evoker. But he does, and he's still in the middle of giving her a mild-to-moderate male gazing when the ship is attacked by the Revenant and he escapes and crash-lands on a planet with a Commonwealth dude in a pod. So begins their journey to return to safety, find out what Nathan was really meant to be doing, and reunite with the Evoker whose heritage is the key to busting this whole thing wide open.
I felt there was a lot of potential in the setup and background of the story, even though by about 10% in I was floundering a little. I have to admit I was a bit put off by some of the clumsy anti-communist propaganda disguised as libertarian "government oversight bad, cooperation means eradicated individuality and diversity" stuff - even though, I hasten to add, I feel it was entirely intentional and not meant as a targeted attack on any specific present-day politics, so much as a broadside against how every human ideology flourishes by demonising and misrepresenting its opposing viewpoints. So the Commonwealth and its lifelong-indoctrinated inhabitants have their view of outsiders, and other groups have their take on the 'wealthers, and all in all I dig that sort of thing. And the story, while on the surface being an adventure-quest for ancient alien weapons and the answers to deep mysteries, was also a loving examination of human interaction and beliefs.
It was an ideal setup to show how war, the war machine and a civilisation built on perpetual conflict is what will rob people of their individuality and creativity (while at the same time spurring the greatest and most terrible of inventions), not peace and plenty. It may not quite have lived up to that setup in my view, but the spirit was there. I was impressed at the viewpoints offered by Harrt, as the Commie Commonwealth point-of-view among the Capitalist and Anarchist worlds.
Were there issues? Yes, there were issues. I'm pretty sure Warlow used "homunculus" instead of "homogenous" at one point, and I'm 100% sure he used "populous" instead of "populace". He used "you're" instead of "your" which was unfortunate, and ... look, it's a millennium or just millennia, "a millennia" isn't a thing. Nathan's cynisim and selfishness was extraordinarily grating. He had his backstory reasons for this, but man. Also, Seig was on the nose. Like, Ronan-the-Accuser on the nose. Harrt could not realistically have expected to intervene in a mob goon loan collection deal and actually save the guy without dismantling the whole gooning mobbing loaning sociocultural structure, and yet he did. This was almost certainly intended to show his selfless idealism but it really just kind of showed that he was a dumbarse.
In this vein, I had a few random notes to close out with before we get to the meters, and I will dump them here without particular structure or planning. Because all in all, this was a big story and there was a lot going on, so I can't do much better than a series of on-the-spot observations and then an overall vibe.
- We finally get our characters on board the Phoenix Titan, possibly the point of the story and certainly the unifying thread of the ongoing book series.
- A hundred and fifty feet (the Phoenix Titan's length) isn't that big? It's like fifty metres. The Commonwealth wossname Nathan tried to rob at the start was a mile long. It feels like things would be crowded on a fifty-metre starship.
- David Jareth better not look like Bowie (spoiler, he kind of did if you read between the lines).
- How do trillions of people fit in a river? That's actually kind of cool. I liked the Revenant's general aesthetic and construction. Good villain.
- The Revenant don't have allies or associates, but like two of the king's main dudes were collaborator turncoats from the start?
- There was a lot going on here by the end, with the alien origin humans and all. Some very cool scenes, imagery and concepts. Loved the scope of it.
Alright, let's move on to the metres.
Sex-o-meter
We are given one (1) sex, it felt almost obligatory and didn't really fit, for me. The love-interest protagonists had very little interaction in relation to the size of the book, and very little in the way of chemistry except they were both ... hot and existed? We would have lost nothing if they hadn't fucked. Just saying. A YouTube Kids out of a possible HBO Max for Heritage.
Gore-o-meter
Gross mutant space zombie missionary paladins versus techno commie marines, with plenty of dismemberment and blasting. Not super gory, but not not gory, either. Three gobbets out of a possible five.
WTF-o-meter
All the WTF was happening in this one. The WTF ran all the way from the macro of the mythos and ancient history of the galaxy, to the micro of why Guttasnype was not just called Guttersnipe. I mean come on, he's clearly an alien, that arrangement of syllables has already broken my suspension of disbelief and left me Fred Flintstoning along with my exhaust system of disbelief dragging along the ground behind me. Just call him Guttersnipe. Also, since I didn't have anywhere else to put it and it reached the level of WTF to me by the end, Nathan's decision not to shoot certain characters right in the face - while it certainly spoke volumes about his humanity and decency - was just unfathomable. Heritage gets an Ancient Aliens conspiracy theory out of a possible Ancient Aliens conspiracy theory generated by an AI so all their hands are fucked up.
My Final Verdict
Three stars on the Amazon / Goodreads scale, a solid seven out of ten. I enjoyed this one despite the occasional times I had to shout at my Kindle.
A faceless horrible alien menace destroys Earth, and a vast military coalition takes care of those left behind after arriving too late to save everyone (thus setting the scene for one of the more interesting reveals later in the story). Out of guilt for their failure to deliver the human race from the Revenant, the Commonwealth gives them a retirement planet where they can just live in Universal Basic Income paradise forever. Cue some hustle-culture "being given leisure to pursue one's own life goals results in laziness and a lessening of productivity" bullplop that I'm really getting tired of seeing in speculative fiction (I don't know about you, but having to sit in an office for 60% of my waking life is not doing wonders for my fucking spark, y'all), but to be fair, a lot of people in Space Florida do seem to be dipshits so fine, we'll let it pass. The story isn't really about that anyway, but there are numerous threads of sociocultural and political examination running through the book that I found very interesting, although frustrating at times. The lens of an ignorant character made it forgivable, and encouraged me to self-examine. A good book will do that, and this was a pretty damn good book.
Anyway, yeah. The Revenant is threatening the galaxy, and the Commonwealth is fighting the good fight against them and providing safety - at the cost of everyone's distinctiveness. Except the Evokers, who get to keep their culture because they have fucking superpowers. Enter Nathan, a survivor of Earth, small-time thief and haunted-past-haver.
When Nathan is sent on a job into a Commonwealth ship, he doesn't expect to come face to face with an Evoker. But he does, and he's still in the middle of giving her a mild-to-moderate male gazing when the ship is attacked by the Revenant and he escapes and crash-lands on a planet with a Commonwealth dude in a pod. So begins their journey to return to safety, find out what Nathan was really meant to be doing, and reunite with the Evoker whose heritage is the key to busting this whole thing wide open.
I felt there was a lot of potential in the setup and background of the story, even though by about 10% in I was floundering a little. I have to admit I was a bit put off by some of the clumsy anti-communist propaganda disguised as libertarian "government oversight bad, cooperation means eradicated individuality and diversity" stuff - even though, I hasten to add, I feel it was entirely intentional and not meant as a targeted attack on any specific present-day politics, so much as a broadside against how every human ideology flourishes by demonising and misrepresenting its opposing viewpoints. So the Commonwealth and its lifelong-indoctrinated inhabitants have their view of outsiders, and other groups have their take on the 'wealthers, and all in all I dig that sort of thing. And the story, while on the surface being an adventure-quest for ancient alien weapons and the answers to deep mysteries, was also a loving examination of human interaction and beliefs.
It was an ideal setup to show how war, the war machine and a civilisation built on perpetual conflict is what will rob people of their individuality and creativity (while at the same time spurring the greatest and most terrible of inventions), not peace and plenty. It may not quite have lived up to that setup in my view, but the spirit was there. I was impressed at the viewpoints offered by Harrt, as the Commie Commonwealth point-of-view among the Capitalist and Anarchist worlds.
Were there issues? Yes, there were issues. I'm pretty sure Warlow used "homunculus" instead of "homogenous" at one point, and I'm 100% sure he used "populous" instead of "populace". He used "you're" instead of "your" which was unfortunate, and ... look, it's a millennium or just millennia, "a millennia" isn't a thing. Nathan's cynisim and selfishness was extraordinarily grating. He had his backstory reasons for this, but man. Also, Seig was on the nose. Like, Ronan-the-Accuser on the nose. Harrt could not realistically have expected to intervene in a mob goon loan collection deal and actually save the guy without dismantling the whole gooning mobbing loaning sociocultural structure, and yet he did. This was almost certainly intended to show his selfless idealism but it really just kind of showed that he was a dumbarse.
In this vein, I had a few random notes to close out with before we get to the meters, and I will dump them here without particular structure or planning. Because all in all, this was a big story and there was a lot going on, so I can't do much better than a series of on-the-spot observations and then an overall vibe.
- We finally get our characters on board the Phoenix Titan, possibly the point of the story and certainly the unifying thread of the ongoing book series.
- A hundred and fifty feet (the Phoenix Titan's length) isn't that big? It's like fifty metres. The Commonwealth wossname Nathan tried to rob at the start was a mile long. It feels like things would be crowded on a fifty-metre starship.
- David Jareth better not look like Bowie (spoiler, he kind of did if you read between the lines).
- How do trillions of people fit in a river? That's actually kind of cool. I liked the Revenant's general aesthetic and construction. Good villain.
- The Revenant don't have allies or associates, but like two of the king's main dudes were collaborator turncoats from the start?
- There was a lot going on here by the end, with the alien origin humans and all. Some very cool scenes, imagery and concepts. Loved the scope of it.
Alright, let's move on to the metres.
Sex-o-meter
We are given one (1) sex, it felt almost obligatory and didn't really fit, for me. The love-interest protagonists had very little interaction in relation to the size of the book, and very little in the way of chemistry except they were both ... hot and existed? We would have lost nothing if they hadn't fucked. Just saying. A YouTube Kids out of a possible HBO Max for Heritage.
Gore-o-meter
Gross mutant space zombie missionary paladins versus techno commie marines, with plenty of dismemberment and blasting. Not super gory, but not not gory, either. Three gobbets out of a possible five.
WTF-o-meter
All the WTF was happening in this one. The WTF ran all the way from the macro of the mythos and ancient history of the galaxy, to the micro of why Guttasnype was not just called Guttersnipe. I mean come on, he's clearly an alien, that arrangement of syllables has already broken my suspension of disbelief and left me Fred Flintstoning along with my exhaust system of disbelief dragging along the ground behind me. Just call him Guttersnipe. Also, since I didn't have anywhere else to put it and it reached the level of WTF to me by the end, Nathan's decision not to shoot certain characters right in the face - while it certainly spoke volumes about his humanity and decency - was just unfathomable. Heritage gets an Ancient Aliens conspiracy theory out of a possible Ancient Aliens conspiracy theory generated by an AI so all their hands are fucked up.
My Final Verdict
Three stars on the Amazon / Goodreads scale, a solid seven out of ten. I enjoyed this one despite the occasional times I had to shout at my Kindle.
February 8, 2022
Absolutely loved it!
March 1, 2023
Heritage by S. M. Warlow is the first entry into the Tales of the Phoenix Titan. We follow Nathan Carter as he and the rag-tag crew of the Pheonix Titan attempt to defend the galaxy from the Revenant, a war-like species bent on reshaping the galaxy in their image.
Heritage is a hefty book, with numerous subplots and a large cast of characters, and I think they are all handled very well for the most part. S. M. Warlow deserves props for taking on such a massive work for a debut novel. The almost episodic progression of the story allows for solid development of the Pheonix Titan's crew and exploration of the world that has been created without taking away from the main conflict.
Fans of sci-fi and space operas will find a good balance between familiarity and uniqueness in Heritage. I definitely caught shades of Mass Effect, Dune, and Firefly. There was also a section that had me thinking of DOOM and Alien. It was unexpected and I really enjoyed it.
One of my favorite bits of this novel were the epigraphs at the beginning of the main antagonists' POV chapters and sections. It's additions like those that bring that extra something that I enjoy in sci-fi and fantasy novels.
All said, if you enjoy sci-fi, space operas, and a tiny bit of horror, you're sure to enjoy Heritage! I'm happy to see that book two is scheduled to be released in April.
Heritage is a hefty book, with numerous subplots and a large cast of characters, and I think they are all handled very well for the most part. S. M. Warlow deserves props for taking on such a massive work for a debut novel. The almost episodic progression of the story allows for solid development of the Pheonix Titan's crew and exploration of the world that has been created without taking away from the main conflict.
Fans of sci-fi and space operas will find a good balance between familiarity and uniqueness in Heritage. I definitely caught shades of Mass Effect, Dune, and Firefly. There was also a section that had me thinking of DOOM and Alien. It was unexpected and I really enjoyed it.
One of my favorite bits of this novel were the epigraphs at the beginning of the main antagonists' POV chapters and sections. It's additions like those that bring that extra something that I enjoy in sci-fi and fantasy novels.
All said, if you enjoy sci-fi, space operas, and a tiny bit of horror, you're sure to enjoy Heritage! I'm happy to see that book two is scheduled to be released in April.
December 14, 2023
Hold on to your space helmets, fellow Sci-fi Fans, because "Heritage" by S.M. Warlow is an interstellar ride that's part space opera, part cosmic carnival, and a whole lot of fun. Picture Firefly meets the Star Wars movie, Solo.
The character arc is top-notch and fun. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, but isn’t too funny to be distracting. Zak Jordan’s narration is great. His voice for the main character is spot on and his portrayal of the “bad guy” is perfect. If you miss the days of Firefly, this one might be for you.
OVERVIEW
Nathan Carter, our protagonist and mediocre criminal, takes center stage in a winding space adventure. From a simple heist to a mission to save the galaxy, Nathan's journey has laughs, surprises, and a few "oh no, he didn't" moments.
MY HANGUPS
Being an author, I have a few picadilies, one of which Wartlow writing style struck. While our first-time author keeps his writing sharp, I had to let go of MY baggage to enjoy. Listen to the five-minute Audible sample for a sneak peek to ensure you don’t share my issues. If it tickles your fancy, you're in for a treat.
VERDICT
Heritage is worth a read.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Story
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Narration
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Overall
The character arc is top-notch and fun. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, but isn’t too funny to be distracting. Zak Jordan’s narration is great. His voice for the main character is spot on and his portrayal of the “bad guy” is perfect. If you miss the days of Firefly, this one might be for you.
OVERVIEW
Nathan Carter, our protagonist and mediocre criminal, takes center stage in a winding space adventure. From a simple heist to a mission to save the galaxy, Nathan's journey has laughs, surprises, and a few "oh no, he didn't" moments.
MY HANGUPS
Being an author, I have a few picadilies, one of which Wartlow writing style struck. While our first-time author keeps his writing sharp, I had to let go of MY baggage to enjoy. Listen to the five-minute Audible sample for a sneak peek to ensure you don’t share my issues. If it tickles your fancy, you're in for a treat.
VERDICT
Heritage is worth a read.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Story
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Narration
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Overall
February 4, 2023
I gave it my all but xouldnt get past 75%>
There was some promise and a lot of world building. Sadly basic physics disappeared in the first shockwave travelling through space. I'm all for suspension of belief but it's either our universe or its not.
I battled my way to 75%.
1 star for using the thesaurus.
There was some promise and a lot of world building. Sadly basic physics disappeared in the first shockwave travelling through space. I'm all for suspension of belief but it's either our universe or its not.
I battled my way to 75%.
1 star for using the thesaurus.
April 5, 2023
Loved this book. I’m big into my sci-fi at the moment and this is one of the stand out books. Characters you want to root for and actually have a personality and a story that’s easy to follow while still being complex enough to keep you wanting more. Pre-ordered the second book in the series and it’s up to be read next. Look in forward to it.
Did Not Finish
September 16, 2025DNF at 12%.
Too many punctuation errors and repetition, and quite a bit of plural vs possessive word confusions. The story has promise, but needs a lot of polish.
Too many punctuation errors and repetition, and quite a bit of plural vs possessive word confusions. The story has promise, but needs a lot of polish.
April 24, 2023
Disclaimer - I received a free copy of this book to review for the Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC).
If you are into space opera this is definitely a book you need to check out. It has LOTS of action, guns, spaceships, an evil empire, best buds, a love interest, and aliens - lots of aliens. If that doesn’t perk your interest, how about the fact that S.M. Warlow starts off with a quote from Dr. Seuss?
Heritage is the story of a “ragtag” group battling against the Revenant - an alien empire intent on taking over the universe and converting them to their violent religion. Holding the line against this evil is the Commonwealth - a communist government that unites worlds to fight against the evil.
Heritage opens with the story of Earth having been totally annihilated twenty-five years ago by the Revenant in a surprise attack. Billions are killed and the few that escape are relocated by the Commonwealth to a new planet, Paradisium, a paradise given to the survivors by the Commonwealth.
Enter Nathan Carter, a young drifter who has been traumatized by watching his whole family wiped out by the Revenant. Raised by his Uncle, Nathan has learned to trust no-one and live a semi-criminal existence. This unlikely hero finds himself the owner of a starship, the Phoenix Titan, and thrust into the middle of the battle between the Revenant and the Commonwealth.
Space Opera is not my “go to” science fiction but I definitely enjoyed this book. The characters are quite engaging, primarily because they all full of flaws and questions just like the rest of us. With over six hundred pages to work with, Warlow delves deep into each character while they are busy battling internal and external conflicts. Heritage is Warlow’s debut novel and volume one of the Tales Of The Phoenix Titan with the sequel due out later this year but Heritage works well as a stand alone.
If you are into space opera this is definitely a book you need to check out. It has LOTS of action, guns, spaceships, an evil empire, best buds, a love interest, and aliens - lots of aliens. If that doesn’t perk your interest, how about the fact that S.M. Warlow starts off with a quote from Dr. Seuss?
Heritage is the story of a “ragtag” group battling against the Revenant - an alien empire intent on taking over the universe and converting them to their violent religion. Holding the line against this evil is the Commonwealth - a communist government that unites worlds to fight against the evil.
Heritage opens with the story of Earth having been totally annihilated twenty-five years ago by the Revenant in a surprise attack. Billions are killed and the few that escape are relocated by the Commonwealth to a new planet, Paradisium, a paradise given to the survivors by the Commonwealth.
Enter Nathan Carter, a young drifter who has been traumatized by watching his whole family wiped out by the Revenant. Raised by his Uncle, Nathan has learned to trust no-one and live a semi-criminal existence. This unlikely hero finds himself the owner of a starship, the Phoenix Titan, and thrust into the middle of the battle between the Revenant and the Commonwealth.
Space Opera is not my “go to” science fiction but I definitely enjoyed this book. The characters are quite engaging, primarily because they all full of flaws and questions just like the rest of us. With over six hundred pages to work with, Warlow delves deep into each character while they are busy battling internal and external conflicts. Heritage is Warlow’s debut novel and volume one of the Tales Of The Phoenix Titan with the sequel due out later this year but Heritage works well as a stand alone.
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