City World

Undying Mercenaries #17

by B.V. Larson

Earth’s entire fleet and all her legions are conscripted by the Galactics. Centurion McGill of Legion Varus is among countless troops pressed into service as cannon fodder for the Empire.

Not everyone on Earth is happy with the demands of the Galactics. Earth has built up her military for decades, and now she might lose everything in a foreign war no one understands. As the man who has killed more Mogwa than any other human in history, McGill is approached and given a mission. He has a fateful decision to make. Will he serve Earth’s overlords faithfully, or will he assassinate the arrogant alien leaders?

CITY WORLD is book #17 in the Undying Mercenaries series, an epic saga of space battles and ground combat. With millions of copies sold, USA Today Bestselling author B. V. Larson is the king of modern military science fiction.

Genres: Science Fiction, Audiobook, Space Opera, Military Science Fiction, Military Fiction, War, Aliens

437 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 4, 2022

About the author

Brian Larson is an American science fiction and fantasy author

Reviews

[A.R · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad entry. Beginning is a bit all over the place. Seems to be a constant in the story for now. The middle ends up pretty good. Lots of battles and action. At this point, you know what you're getting with these books. Good action, good characters, interesting if crazy story.

[Caleb M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun entry.

Larson continues to weave characters together that I enjoy reading about. On book 17 I don't have much to say. If you like all the others you will enjoy this as well.

I am wondering how long this series will continue. At book 17 it is starting to feel long in the tooth. It's still fun, but he pumps these out so fast that I think he needs to either put bigger breaks in between books, or he needs to start winding the series down.

Still will happily continue reading this series though. Definitely some good popcorn sci-fi.

[Leather · Rating 3 out of 5]

After a few disappointing episodes, this 17th installment gets back to basics: a linear campaign in which you don't jump from one planet to another every five minutes, action, humor and a good ending.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've said it several times before, but I'll say it again, I really like these books in this series. They have just the right amount of humor to go with an exciting and very interesting story. James McGill doesn't get enough credit for the warrior he is. He comes off as something of a scoundrel, which he really is, but he's a very dependable scoundrel that gets the job done! In this story he's going to be working with the Mogwa, who are our Galactic overlords. These aliens are normally from the Galactic Core and are very self-centered and pretentious. They consider humans nothing more than trained animals! Of course this give McGill a lot of leeway in things he can get away with.

A huge battleship has gone into orbit over Earth unexpectedly. No one at Central Command knows who's starship/battleship this belongs to and there's always the fear that the Nairbs have found some obscure Galactic law that the humans have broken and scheduled Earth for cleansing! Only the starship is broadcasting on single word and that is "McGill"! So, reluctantly as they are, Central Command summons James McGill to see if he knows what's going on. But, since McGill isn't on duty and he's back at his parent home in Georgia, he doesn't have his "tapper" (comm device) receiving messages. So, Central sends Carlos out to get McGill one way or another.

So, McGill arrives at Central and is in a meeting with all the high level Legion command. Even Praetor Drusus was there, but chairing the meeting appeared to be Public Servant, Alexander Turov! This was a very important meeting, indeed! So, why was McGill there and what was he going to have to do. Well, since they couldn't get any other comms out of the orbiting battleship, they did what everyone least desired and called upon McGill to attempt to communicate with this alien ship. So, McGill does and next thing he knows he's talking with none other than Grand Admiral (former) Sateekas of the Mogwas. Except the Grand Admiral wasn't really an Admiral of anything except this one single, although huge, starship. They told McGill that he and he alone was to report to their ship immediately!

Of course this did not sit well with Central Command or Public Servant Turov. They new the worst thing that could happen to Earth was to have James McGill talking to aliens, especially Mogwa. But, James knew this Mogwa very well and he had a suspicion that Sateekas wasn't here to exactly harm Earth. So McGill went to the orbiting battleship to find out what the Mogwa wanted. Turns out Governess Nox was also there and to James' surprise, she and old Sateekas seemed to be in a relationship that had even produced or started the production of an offspring.

So, what did the Mogwa want. Well, first off, the told James McGill that Grand Admiral Sateekas was taking command of all Earth's military. He had a mission of the utmost importance and they needed to gather the fleet and all the Legions together at once and sail to the Mid-Core! Now you need to understand that the Mid-Core is a long, long, long way away and none of Earth's starship had ever sailed that far or anywhere near that distance. It wasn't even know if they could go that far. But, Sateekas wouldn't take no for an answer and Central Command and PS Turov were actually afraid to say no anyway.

So, now the story begins. James and Legion Varus along with Legion Victrix are loading up on the all the human starships not knowing where they were going or even why. Yes, neither Sateekas nor Nox would tell anyone where they were going or even why. So that's what you'll have to find out when reading this story. It's a strange one, but only the skills of James McGill could carry this off. He has become a very skilled warrior even if some of his skills and the use he puts them to are very questionable.

There's lots of fighting in this story so you won't get bored with what's happening. I do hope this series continues even though it's already out to 17 books, but who's counting? I'll definitely be looking forward to the next book in the series.

[Jakub Bartkowiak · Rating 5 out of 5]

A significant improvement over the last

If you've gotten this far with the McGill creature AND actually read the book since you didn't want to wait for the audio, I would venture it's safe to call you at least a fan. In other words, I won't waste your time with the basics. It's simple enough to say this was one of the best in the series in some time and more in line with what brought me to the series in the first place. (plus I didn't have to internally cringe at some of McGill's less savory, in a lack of self respect sense on his part, manner. A third serving of that would have been making me reconsider continuing)

[Mark Basham · Rating 2 out of 5]

every book McGill becomes more of a compulsive liar about stupid shit, amazingly gets better with the women, stupider and at the same time a genius. I can tolerate most of it but its worse, I mean McGill just lies about almost everything when questioned by a superior for no fucking reason and the other thing when I'm riding along inside the lead characters head you really have decide if he's smart or a dumbass because his thoughts are that of a dumbass except when he needs to kind of reveal that he's actually really insanely smart.

I like the genre so i stick with this series but McGill and his supporting cast just just get less and less likeable with more incoherent motivations as the series goes. Take Grave's action in this book, comes out of nowhere, totally inappropriate time and its not in his character.... Whatever, the author is driving I'm just along for the ride but I remember now why I stopped reading this series before.

[Donald Word · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh!

Good but not great. I expect to be entertained with action and humor when James McGill is involved. This time . . . . not so much. I'm still going to be looking forward to the next one.

[Michael Stano · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave up on B.V. Larson after 9 books, and I swore I'd never read another of his books. In a weak moment, and for some reason that now escapes me, I tried City World. Great fortitude was required to finish--perhaps I'm a masochist. Two stars is truly a stretch.

[Dr Arnelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

still formulaic but better than the last three

The author had an interesting premise but it has gotten bogged down in formulaic repetitious silliness. Not interested in reading more of these.

[Jean Nuss · Rating 2 out of 5]

Getting Very Repetitive

It might be time to end the series as the books are becoming repetitive and, well, boring. Same action over and over.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

The undying mercenaries series by Larson is one of the largest series he has written. Having read the full Star Force series and his other series, this one series seems to last.

Filled with tech and enough sci fi stuff to make you nerd out a little bit and enjoy avoiding the ever painful lines such as,"Could you say that in English?" from a hero jock to a scientist, is an added bonus.

Nevertheless, assuming that you're not a random reader that has decided to delve straight into a series with 17 books in it.

For those coming back to revisit this series, it was definitely a fascinating read. Exploration of different ideas, similar formula as before but placed differently.

Larson has a lot of great ideas and he does a very good job, but something I would mention is that sometimes it can read a bit like a Disney movie as you know how it will end. It can be entertaining to see the different characters moved around like a chess board in different scenario but it feels like an old dance. Good but done before.

I digress, parts that I found interesting was revisiting different characters and showing growth from Mcgill. He acted more like an adult, reacted to different situations. A bit cooler, a bit more tired maybe. Or perhaps approaching it at his true age. In hindsight Larson maybe trying to do that. Down to the fact that Graves seemed to get along with Mcgill better, or the small mercies or kept promises.

A good addition to the cast was Gary, although written through the books, it was a good idea to add him in a different role. Fleshing out a character that you regularly see and know. It would have been fun letting him join the series as a regular such as Harris, Leeson, Cooper, and Turov. Just an idea, but I did like the interaction with him as it made it kind of humours to have a random guy join the usual shit show.

Overall, I enjoyed the book, not gonna give spoilers, but I liked that the resolution to the books was less of tricks and more of hard one battles.

As always looking forward to the next book and hope the author keeps the good work up.

[Morxeen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let the games being like Taylor said

Możliwe że faktycznie coś ze mną nie tak przez słuchanie Taylor ale to ta sama przypadłość jak z książkami - nie przestanę. Ja naprawdę słucham tego i jak coś powiedzą typu "out of the woods" (naprawdę tak tu było) to ja jedyne o czym jestem wtedy w stanie myśleć to "Out of the woods" by Taylor Swift. Chce ktoś zapłacić za moje leczenie? (Nie poszłabym) (wzięłabym kasę i kupiła książki lub coś od Taylor)

SO ABOUT THE BOOK
Coraz bardziej szkoda mi Drususa. Jakby im częściej są Mogwa lub po prostu jak się pojawiają, szczególnie Sateekas i Nox to oni tak cisną Drususa a McGilla kochają, a Drusus to przecież spoko ziomek, on biedny nie ma nic do gadania, nie pozwalają mu, a McGillowskie kłapanie mordą to chcą słuchać 🥲

Co tu się odwala od kiedy pojawił się Aleksander Turov to ja nie komentuję... po prostu nie...
Ty Sarah/Sonja czy jak ci tam siostro Turov, od McGilla lepiej się odwal i się nie zachwycaj, nie przymilaj się, TYLKO TUROV+MCGILL
(BRAJAN PILNUJ SIĘ, NIE ROZPEDZAJ SIĘ)

WHAT THE FUCK HAPPEND ŻE FLORAMEL I BADACZ SĄ ZARĘCZENI!? EXCUSE ME, JESTEŚ KOBIETO TROCHĘ CZASU NA ŚWIECIE PYŁU I NAGLE "ZAKOCHUJESZ" SIĘ W PIERWSZYM LEPSZYM STARYM CHORYM PSYCHICZNIE BADACZU!
DON'T TALK TO ME
Już bardziej tolerowałam Floramel+Rash

Kocham to że przez McGilla Garry poleciał na tą kampanię, jakby XD cudowna akcja, taki trochę rekrut nic nie ogarniający tylko że niby adiunkt

To co się odwalało na planecie to nie mam jak skomentować za bardzo, za dużo się działo żeby ogarnąć słuchając po ingliszu, czytając po ingliszu byłoby możliwe ale słuchając już nie + to że jakieś 30% to słuchałam przed wakacjami i ciężko to skomentować bo to w sumie takie typowe przygotowywanie do misji czyli ziemskie gówno chociaż ostatnio właściwie są interesujące ale pamięć mnie zawodzi 😭

Także ten, to na tyle. Wysłałam swój pot i łzy i spojlery także no.

CHCE PO POLSKU WSZYSTKO

(BRAJAN GDZIE 20 KSIĄŻKA!? CZEMU ZOSTAŁY MI TYLKO 2 LEGIONY!? CO JA MAM PÓŹNIEJ SŁUCHAĆ? CHŁOPIE RUCHY!)

[Kamil Jach · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the 17th book in the series, however treat the review as if it was about the whole saga.

For the first eleven, maybe twelve books the story is coherent and enjoable. Main characters are complex enough and the main story arc progresses slowly but surely forward. Sure enough, it's repetetive to a point, with certain elements present in each book (decomission, followed by time spent in Georgia sector, recomission, deployment, ususally with a drill exercise inserted during a voyage, battle, and so on).

However, during the last couple of books it looks as if Mr.Larson has been slowly dropping the ball. Mistakes have staretd creeping in and the writing seems to has taken a bad turn, too. The main character (James McGill) has started reacting to almost every situation in the exact same dumbass way ("Uh") and it gets on your nerves after a while. Most of the time when he eats anything, you can bet your money on the fact the description is going to end with "with gusto". And so on, and so forth. The writing seems more and more rushed, the same tropes keep getting repeated over and over.

Moreover, character's stories seem to lose consistency, just as if the Author wasn't able to keep track on his own decisions anymore.For example: Carlos leaves the Legion in the end of book 15, and he suddenly is a member of this very Legion again 2 books later. With no explanation at all.
Galiva Turov gets demoted from Imperator to Tribune after the debacle of the Ice World campaign (book 16) and in book 17 she's Imperator again, with no word of explanation whatsover.
By the way, her dad is a member of the government, he seems to be a person who's so important the highest ranking military are scared of him, and yet he is absent for the first 14 books.

Poor decisions such as the one mentioned above take you out of the story, so it might be Mr. Larson should slow down a bit and may be not release books this fast or it might be he should hire a better editor.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

“City World” is the 17th book in the Undying Mercenaries series, a popular military science fiction saga that follows the adventures of James McGill, a soldier who can be resurrected after death thanks to alien technology. In this installment, McGill and his fellow legionnaires are drafted by the Galactics, the mysterious overlords of Earth, to fight in a distant war against an old enemy. Along the way, McGill has to deal with hostile aliens, treacherous allies, and a secret mission that could change the fate of the galaxy.

The audiobook is narrated by Mark Boyett, who has voiced all the previous books in the series. Boyett does a great job of bringing the characters to life, especially McGill, who is a witty, charming, and reckless protagonist. Boyett also captures the tone and pace of the story, which is full of action, humor, and suspense.

The book is a fun and thrilling addition to the Undying Mercenaries series, which has been going strong for almost a decade. Fans of the series will appreciate the familiar elements, such as the space battles, the ground combat, the alien races, and the romance. The book also introduces some new twists, such as the change of setting, the background information on the Mogwa and their empire, and the dilemma that McGill faces.

“City World” is a book that will appeal to fans of military science fiction, space opera, and action-adventure. It is a book that showcases the skills and creativity of B V Larson, who is one of the best-selling authors in the genre. It is also a book that demonstrates the talent and versatility of Mark Boyett, who is one of the best narrators in the industry.

[Yoshiro · Rating 4 out of 5]

POPKULTUROWY KOCIOŁEK: Galaktycy kolejny raz zmuszają Ziemię i całe jej siły zbrojne do walki o potęgę kosmicznego imperium. Legiony zostają wysłane do najdalszego zakątka galaktyki, gdzie posłużą one jako mięso armatnie. W środku tego wszystkiego oczywiście jest James McGill, który znany jest z tego, że lubi sprzeciwiać się niektórym rozkazom. Tym razem podjęte przez niego działania będą mieć jednak naprawdę ogromny wpływ na przyszłość naszego gatunku.


W historii tej jest mnóstwo widowiskowej walki, a więc nikt nie powinien się tutaj nudzić. Obok tego tytuł dobrze radzi sobie także z ujawnieniem pewnych nowych informacji o Mogwa i imperium, które rządzi Ziemią i otaczającą ją przestrzenią. Informacje te powiązane są z wielką polityką i odkrywają przed nami, że w imperium niezbyt dobrze się dzieje.

Autor ukazuje tu różne słabości imperium Mogwa, które do tej pory wydawało się niepokonane. Ich pogarda do mniejszych cywilizacji sprawiła, że stworzyli oni sobie różnych wrogów. Przeciwników, którzy nieustannie się rozwijają (jak np. Ziemia) i czekają na swój czas.

Scenariusz książki umiejętnie miesza więc akcję z nieźle skrojoną galaktyczną intrygą. Ciągle zapewniając fanom przyjemną w odbiorze kosmiczną rozrywkę. Jedyne do czego można mieć tu pewne zastrzeżenia to jeszcze mocniejsze (niż w kilku poprzednich tomach) skupienie się twórcy na postaci McGilla. Tytułowy legion i jego działania zepchnięte są tu na drugi a czasem nawet trzeci plan. Larson nadal nie pozwala również odpowiednio zabłysnąć postaciom drugoplanowym, chociaż tym razem pojawiają się oni w większej ilości scen....

https://popkulturowykociolek.pl/legio...

[Erwin Mooij · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is all getting a bit boring, these last few books. Not much new, only a few moments that spark the interest. I hope it improves soon again.

The main issue is that B.V. Larson is keeping an insane publishing rate of 2 books in this series (and some others) per year. The writing is kind of superficial, not very well worked out, and each of the elements that were interesting in the first few books (McGills ingenuity to solve the problems at hand, his insubordination, his single-tracked mind to get the next girl, and all the fighting) becomes very repetitive. The change of scenery: ice world, jungle world, edge world, city world, etc., only changes the setting (without too much detail discussing that), without changing the action.

It would serve the quality of the books if Larson would stick to at most one book per year in this series

[Al · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series. I can't get enough.
So well written and a unique series. Where else can we get a protagonist that is as likely to charm or talk his way out of trouble as he is to fight his way out of it?

I also love the long-term character development of the Protagonist's on and off lover, Galina Turov.
As the series goes along she gets more and more fleshed out.

Maybe the best character in the series to be honest. In the last few books I have been "shipping" James and Galina hard.

I guess the "undying" makes a real relationship hard, but it is nice how Larson manages to have James end up with Galena in his arms at the end of every book. It feels like a pretty realistic relationship as far as things go in the crazy universe Larson has created.

Huge Thumbs up.

[Fred Wagner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, pretty typical book in the series. And don't really need a recap of previous book(s) to know what is going on. Regardless, it is STILL enjoyable. Though a series Should wrap up at SOME point I suppose. Like BEFORE it gets old and tiring. But not yet. I suspect the author has at least 3 more ideas to take us to book 20. Just my guess. I didn't jump into this series immediately upon acquiring it. Or at least buying the first few perhaps (on Audible mind you so kudos as well to the long-time narrator Mark Boyett). Something gave me pause and led me through numerous other books and book series. So I am glad I eventually broke through and read Steel World. And many others which have followed

[Jim Whitehouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

always interesting

At times I find myself torn as the McGill isn’t a straight forward hero. Most of the time he’s looking out for no one but himself.
I keep hoping that despite his self serving interests that he will make better choices to protect his people, but family and military.
I was glad to stick with it and see his decisions also bring some benefit to others and not just be out for himself.
I don’t need or want a perfect ‘hero’, just someone who can admit that he does have people he needs to protect and use better methods.
Can’t wait to see if McGill will continue to admit to himself he has some responsibility to the circle of people around him.

[Thomas Cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolute classic book of the series

This book had everything I expected it to have. All the characters behaved as they should.

Although Mr Larson if you see this, why do you keep describing Winslade as a by the book officer? He constantly breaks the rules, or bends them to breaking point for his own benefit lol. He's not really that different from James. Just more of a rat.

But great book either way. Loved it 10 / 10.

[Sunil Baliga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very entertaining as always!

This book is a very fun read, like all others in the series. The appearance of all the usual suspects in unique settings (worlds) never fails to result in hilarious carnage and not a little carnal fun. This book is no different. The addition of some entertaining sci-fi gadgets and stellar backgrounds really takes it up a notch. I look forward to many more books of this series.

[Jason Hurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still rock solid

After 17 books, I'm still awaiting more. This is the longest running series that I've faithfully read. Plenty of action tempered with humor. The protagonist is intelligent, yet plays the bumbling buffoon in a textbook way. I've always enjoyed the fact that some reoccurring characters are as simple as they are presented to be, which in all honesty, is true of many people.

[Jesse Armstrong · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one ended up being a little more interesting than the last few. Of course, if you are reading these for any reason other than to have a comfort/bad TV sort of experience, I can't say why. They are all VERY repetitive and full of holes. The characters are primarily all assholes, but for some reason I can't fully put my finger on, I keep going. I don't know why. But sometimes it feels better than looking for a new series without any prospects.

[Jeff Wilde · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series!

After 17 books I can almost visualize McGill tearing through the enemy with skill, strategory and strength. And then, manipulating his superior s to do the right thing. A hero who's never quite recognized as one. I have really enjoyed reading this series and I hope Larson writes some more.

[jason kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the McGill

Love this series of books, Mr. Larson has found in James McGill a character that is all at once lovable, endearing, genuis, stupid, and loathsome all in one. Maybe he could visit a world something like a cross between Disney World and Las Vegas, I can think of a few things McGill could get permed for in a place like that, lol.

[unknown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Great Adventure with James McGill

So if you have read more than 2 books in this
series you already know what a great read these books are. Absolutely entertaining and I never tire of the misadventures of James McGill. Another brilliant book by BV Larson. Mr. Larson, get to work I am ready for the next one already!

[Steve Almond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good read but

1Can he get a promotion please and

2, let's go to the core worlds as its time to see what's there

3 I like all the alien races but time to introduce more

Otherwise a great book in a great series which has kept me wholely entertained and distracted from the pressures of the real world for which I thank you

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good war strategy

The thing I enjoy most about the Undying Series is the battle scenes and strategy. I am not a big space war fan, but Larson keeps them moving and interesting. McGill is trying too hard to be dumb. Overall the characters are well developed.
I am impressed with the creativity this book displays this far in the series. Thanks for a good read.

[Jacob Trost · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will never get tired of this series. I love every book and have so much invested in the characters. My brother and I regularly have recaps and talk about how fun each new book is... Awe damn.. we are our own book club. (On Audible) Great writing and great narrating. B.V. Larson has done it again.

[AJ S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice to see McGill mature... A little.

I enjoy the military side and the scifi side. The constant backstabbing and betrayal and then continuing on as if nothing happened takes some... Suspension of disbelief. But seeing McGill grow a little bit, that is rewarding in and of itself.