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The Last Hunter #1
The Last Hunter
Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
Two centuries after the Confederation staved off an invasion by the robotic Locusts, Captain Jack Romanoff faces mandatory retirement from an ever-shrinking Navy. Actions speak louder than words. The Confederation doesn’t think the Locusts are coming back.
But what if the politicians are wrong?
Snared in a scheme he doesn’t fully understand or trust, Jack gets his promotion, but it comes with a catch. With a crew of rejects, he must restore the most powerful warship humanity has ever built, after centuries of neglect and decay, before time runs out.
If he fails, humanity might not need to worry about history repeating itself ever again.
Two centuries after the Confederation staved off an invasion by the robotic Locusts, Captain Jack Romanoff faces mandatory retirement from an ever-shrinking Navy. Actions speak louder than words. The Confederation doesn’t think the Locusts are coming back.
But what if the politicians are wrong?
Snared in a scheme he doesn’t fully understand or trust, Jack gets his promotion, but it comes with a catch. With a crew of rejects, he must restore the most powerful warship humanity has ever built, after centuries of neglect and decay, before time runs out.
If he fails, humanity might not need to worry about history repeating itself ever again.
412 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 20, 2022
1561 people are currently reading
2684 people want to read
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J.N. Chaney
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 142 reviews
November 1, 2022
I'm a big fan of JN Chaney and I've made it a point to plan to read Terry Mixon's big space opera books. I'm a space opera writer myself and I've heard nothing but good things about both writers. Still, there's always the question of where to begin with an author who has an extensive library. In both authors' case, they have quite a few series out. So, in the end, I decided to try THE LAST HUNTER based on the laziest of all methods: I really like the cover. I love the fancy uniform of the protagonist with its big shoulder epaulets.
The premise is Jack Romanoff is being forcibly retired by the military due to the fact, well, he accidentally hit a luxury liner during one of his missions. That's the official story. The unofficial (and true) story is that he is hated by most of the upper brass because his father is their former Grand Admiral and made a bunch of enemies on his way out. Oh and Jack hasn't been making the expected bribes necessary for a promotion to Commodore.
Romanoff probably would have done well in the private sector but gets a somewhat idiosyncratic rescue from his father who uses backdated orders and favors to get him assigned to a museum ship from the Locust War. In what is probably an homage to the rebooted Battlestar Galactica, Romanoff is put in charge of the mothballed (but still reserved) Delta Orionus that is the most powerful battleship in the galaxy but expensive as hell to maintain.
Much to my surprise and enjoyment, the majority of the book is devoted to the logistics of the protagonist trying to get the ship back into fighting shape. The casual embezzlement, corruption, black marketeering, and general apathy he faces are more interesting to me than a thousand battles with alien hordes. It's a nice change of pace that the most dangerous enemy are the people funneling project budgets into their accounts ala the Russian Federation (though we saw how that worked out for them in their current conflict).
The book has some flaws. This is a pretty black and white setting where the good guys are incredibly good and the bad guys are almost cartoonishly bad. This is something I've found a lot in space opera and it's a personal bugbear. The human bad guys in these things tend to be a combination of smug, incompetent, and evil that I wish they'd just pick two of. Still, it does make it very satisfying to see our heroes defeat them through the power of logistics.
Indeed, the fact the book takes a significantly long time to get to the issue of the robot insect invasion is something that causes me to recommend it so highly. Our hero has to deal with things like supply chains, JAG offices, and even going down to military memorabilia collector swap meets in order to try to get the necessary parts for his ship to run. It's something I haven't seen much of in space opera and helps elevate the material. There's also no tacked on romance, which I felt was a nice omission.
In conclusion, I recommend THE LAST HUNTER for fans of space opera looking for an easy read that isn't just battling Space Nazis or evil alien insect hordes. The evil alien hordes are here but it's not the focus of the book. Instead, we have a logistics-focused book about trying to navigate corruption and widespread logistics issues for repairing a necessary vessel.
The premise is Jack Romanoff is being forcibly retired by the military due to the fact, well, he accidentally hit a luxury liner during one of his missions. That's the official story. The unofficial (and true) story is that he is hated by most of the upper brass because his father is their former Grand Admiral and made a bunch of enemies on his way out. Oh and Jack hasn't been making the expected bribes necessary for a promotion to Commodore.
Romanoff probably would have done well in the private sector but gets a somewhat idiosyncratic rescue from his father who uses backdated orders and favors to get him assigned to a museum ship from the Locust War. In what is probably an homage to the rebooted Battlestar Galactica, Romanoff is put in charge of the mothballed (but still reserved) Delta Orionus that is the most powerful battleship in the galaxy but expensive as hell to maintain.
Much to my surprise and enjoyment, the majority of the book is devoted to the logistics of the protagonist trying to get the ship back into fighting shape. The casual embezzlement, corruption, black marketeering, and general apathy he faces are more interesting to me than a thousand battles with alien hordes. It's a nice change of pace that the most dangerous enemy are the people funneling project budgets into their accounts ala the Russian Federation (though we saw how that worked out for them in their current conflict).
The book has some flaws. This is a pretty black and white setting where the good guys are incredibly good and the bad guys are almost cartoonishly bad. This is something I've found a lot in space opera and it's a personal bugbear. The human bad guys in these things tend to be a combination of smug, incompetent, and evil that I wish they'd just pick two of. Still, it does make it very satisfying to see our heroes defeat them through the power of logistics.
Indeed, the fact the book takes a significantly long time to get to the issue of the robot insect invasion is something that causes me to recommend it so highly. Our hero has to deal with things like supply chains, JAG offices, and even going down to military memorabilia collector swap meets in order to try to get the necessary parts for his ship to run. It's something I haven't seen much of in space opera and helps elevate the material. There's also no tacked on romance, which I felt was a nice omission.
In conclusion, I recommend THE LAST HUNTER for fans of space opera looking for an easy read that isn't just battling Space Nazis or evil alien insect hordes. The evil alien hordes are here but it's not the focus of the book. Instead, we have a logistics-focused book about trying to navigate corruption and widespread logistics issues for repairing a necessary vessel.
June 27, 2024
being stuck in the minutiae.
the idea that 200 years of space era military fashion and tactics can somehow be equated with victorian and WW2 Era
the crazed wanted criminal sneaking on a military ship in the middle of an extermination war to kill the protagonist future love interest
the irrelevant and the absurd
the idea that 200 years of space era military fashion and tactics can somehow be equated with victorian and WW2 Era
the crazed wanted criminal sneaking on a military ship in the middle of an extermination war to kill the protagonist future love interest
the irrelevant and the absurd
July 10, 2022
Every time you start a new series or read a new author, you don't know what to expect. That's exactly the case with this book. I don't read previews of books on Amazon so I can be totally surprised by the new books content. Sometimes it doesn't happen and the book turns our not so good, but that's definitely not one of these times. This first book by Chaney & Mixon is just outstanding! I will be reading the other three in this four book series.
We don't start off as you would expect. The Confederation Navy in this far distant future isn't doing so well in that they have defended the galaxy to the point of not having any enemies to fight in a long, long time. The ships of this Navy have all been converted to cruisers loaded with the latest technology. They are definitely war-fighting vessels with dedicated Navy personnel doing their duty no matter how routine it now may be in a peacetime environment. Captain Jack Romanoff is the current Captain of the Confederation Starship Hawkwing. He's bringing his ship back to Fleet Headquarters from its last mission. Fleet HQ is a space station orbiting around the planet Faust, Captain Romanoff's planet of birth. This is also his last mission aboard this ship and probably his last activity in the Confederation Navy.
Captain Romanoff is reporting to Vice Admiral Suzanne LaChasse for what he expected to be his final orders. Jack had been a good Captain. Still, five years ago, his ship had came close to ramming another vessel that had sharply cut in front of him and while he averted the collision, it was a mark against his record regardless of the outcome of the investigation into the incident. He didn't know for sure if this would keep him from being promoted to Commodore, which was the Navy's next logical move, or if they had so little regard for ship's Captains as to no longer need his services. The latter seemed to be what was coming since the Navy had been downsizing for quite some time.
Two hundred years ago, humanity found another intelligence in the universe. They were very hostile and became known as the Locust, a robotic invasion force that almost wiped out humanity at first contact. The only thing that saved the Fleet and the rest of humanity were the huge battleships that now only existed in a mothball fleet or as a museum. One such ship, the Delta Orionis was exactly that orbiting near the Fleet HQ and above Faust as a monument to those who fought so valiantly two hundreds years ago. Captain Romanoff had visited the museum as a young child with his father, retired Grand Admiral Eric Romanoff. Jack was amazed at the huge size of this battleship built around and in an asteroid! He saw it one last time as the Hawkwing sailed past it to berth at the Fleet HQ.
While Jack knew that his father, even in retirement, could pull some string and get him his promotion, Jack definitely didn't want that to happen. He believed he had earned the next rank and could do the job as well or better than anyone else of that rank in the current Navy. Unfortunately, Vice Admiral LaChasse wasn't on his friend list. Once in her office, she made it clear that Jack's days as a Naval officer were over. He was told to report to personnel out-processing section and go into retirement. That was basically a "Good Bye" and don't come back message. It took all of 5 minutes for Jack's career to end, or so he thought.
Then on his way to out-process, Jack was accosted by a Doctor Alan Prescott, Director of the Locust War Historical Society. This short meeting which lead to a long lunch, would be the start of something Captain Romanoff would never had believed possible. Dr. Prescott firmly believed that the Locust would eventually come back and finish exterminating humanity, but he couldn't convince anyone presently of that belief. Still, he had a job for Captain Romanoff, one that Jack absolutely could not refuse given the circumstances and the fact that he desperately wanted to stay in the Navy. Unbelievable as it was, this job was also going to come with a promotion to Commodore, but Jack was soon to find out that he was going to definitely earn this promotion many times over in this new and surprising job.
I appreciate that these two authors managed to get the rank structure in the Navy right. It's a little bit annoying to have an new author create their own rank structure so you have to figure out where different people fit in their Naval organization, but not in this book. Everyone fits where they should although there are some questionable reductions in rank with some of the officers still on active duty. Normally, if an Officer is reduced in rank, he or she is also separated from active service. Not so in this book even though the Navy is in a draw-down period, so that's a little questionable about what's happening to some of the people you're going to read about. Still, all the characters are very well created even though some just seem too good to be true. Jack also has a tendency to be rescued from trouble just as it starts to happen. Call it luck or whatever, it's a good thing he does get rescued since he's going to be coming to the rescue of all of humanity.
This story continues in book 2, "Bonds of Blood" available on Amazon. I have it on my reading list and I think I'm going to move to it next. The rest of my books can just wait because I can't wait to read what's going to happen next!
We don't start off as you would expect. The Confederation Navy in this far distant future isn't doing so well in that they have defended the galaxy to the point of not having any enemies to fight in a long, long time. The ships of this Navy have all been converted to cruisers loaded with the latest technology. They are definitely war-fighting vessels with dedicated Navy personnel doing their duty no matter how routine it now may be in a peacetime environment. Captain Jack Romanoff is the current Captain of the Confederation Starship Hawkwing. He's bringing his ship back to Fleet Headquarters from its last mission. Fleet HQ is a space station orbiting around the planet Faust, Captain Romanoff's planet of birth. This is also his last mission aboard this ship and probably his last activity in the Confederation Navy.
Captain Romanoff is reporting to Vice Admiral Suzanne LaChasse for what he expected to be his final orders. Jack had been a good Captain. Still, five years ago, his ship had came close to ramming another vessel that had sharply cut in front of him and while he averted the collision, it was a mark against his record regardless of the outcome of the investigation into the incident. He didn't know for sure if this would keep him from being promoted to Commodore, which was the Navy's next logical move, or if they had so little regard for ship's Captains as to no longer need his services. The latter seemed to be what was coming since the Navy had been downsizing for quite some time.
Two hundred years ago, humanity found another intelligence in the universe. They were very hostile and became known as the Locust, a robotic invasion force that almost wiped out humanity at first contact. The only thing that saved the Fleet and the rest of humanity were the huge battleships that now only existed in a mothball fleet or as a museum. One such ship, the Delta Orionis was exactly that orbiting near the Fleet HQ and above Faust as a monument to those who fought so valiantly two hundreds years ago. Captain Romanoff had visited the museum as a young child with his father, retired Grand Admiral Eric Romanoff. Jack was amazed at the huge size of this battleship built around and in an asteroid! He saw it one last time as the Hawkwing sailed past it to berth at the Fleet HQ.
While Jack knew that his father, even in retirement, could pull some string and get him his promotion, Jack definitely didn't want that to happen. He believed he had earned the next rank and could do the job as well or better than anyone else of that rank in the current Navy. Unfortunately, Vice Admiral LaChasse wasn't on his friend list. Once in her office, she made it clear that Jack's days as a Naval officer were over. He was told to report to personnel out-processing section and go into retirement. That was basically a "Good Bye" and don't come back message. It took all of 5 minutes for Jack's career to end, or so he thought.
Then on his way to out-process, Jack was accosted by a Doctor Alan Prescott, Director of the Locust War Historical Society. This short meeting which lead to a long lunch, would be the start of something Captain Romanoff would never had believed possible. Dr. Prescott firmly believed that the Locust would eventually come back and finish exterminating humanity, but he couldn't convince anyone presently of that belief. Still, he had a job for Captain Romanoff, one that Jack absolutely could not refuse given the circumstances and the fact that he desperately wanted to stay in the Navy. Unbelievable as it was, this job was also going to come with a promotion to Commodore, but Jack was soon to find out that he was going to definitely earn this promotion many times over in this new and surprising job.
I appreciate that these two authors managed to get the rank structure in the Navy right. It's a little bit annoying to have an new author create their own rank structure so you have to figure out where different people fit in their Naval organization, but not in this book. Everyone fits where they should although there are some questionable reductions in rank with some of the officers still on active duty. Normally, if an Officer is reduced in rank, he or she is also separated from active service. Not so in this book even though the Navy is in a draw-down period, so that's a little questionable about what's happening to some of the people you're going to read about. Still, all the characters are very well created even though some just seem too good to be true. Jack also has a tendency to be rescued from trouble just as it starts to happen. Call it luck or whatever, it's a good thing he does get rescued since he's going to be coming to the rescue of all of humanity.
This story continues in book 2, "Bonds of Blood" available on Amazon. I have it on my reading list and I think I'm going to move to it next. The rest of my books can just wait because I can't wait to read what's going to happen next!
October 30, 2022
Unbelievable
The entire book was an amateurish attempt at creating drama. Very predictable. Written on a 3rd grade level by two middle schoolers doing an English project.
The entire book was an amateurish attempt at creating drama. Very predictable. Written on a 3rd grade level by two middle schoolers doing an English project.
August 31, 2022
Amazed at the overall 4.5 star rating. Capt. JACK has little knowledge of how things work as far as advancement in the Navy. Doesn't his crew discuss the news of a new Commodore or Captain of a ship? Apparently it's bought not earned. There's an Admiral that doesn't like Jack. You'll get 50 pages of the description. Jack is dumbfounded at any room he steps into and describes, in detail, why that is. Parts for the ship are in short supply because others have sticky fingers. Who might they be? The Professor and Jack go to a swap meet ( I kid you not). Later someone explains to Jack that the Black Market might dump stuff there. Jack is *shocked*.....
Short staffed. Lousy food. Hates Dad. Ulterior motives. It's all here folks. Is there or isn't there going to be a LOCUST (the enemy) invasion?!
I couldn't tell you because 55% in I deleted this terrible book. The reviews here mentioning "action" have many screws that are loose.
Short staffed. Lousy food. Hates Dad. Ulterior motives. It's all here folks. Is there or isn't there going to be a LOCUST (the enemy) invasion?!
I couldn't tell you because 55% in I deleted this terrible book. The reviews here mentioning "action" have many screws that are loose.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 29, 2022
4 And Even Occasionally Foolhardy Stars
The Last Hunter is the first book of the series by J. N. Chaney and Terry Mixon.
I was honestly expecting this book to conclude on a 3 star rating. There was simply too much overly complicated jargon filling every inch of space, interspersed or rather overlapping with long winded diatribes. The amount of surprise I felt when they legitimately encountered Locusts before the end of this first book, is wide-eyed at least.
There are some plot holes here. I do not believe at any point in humanity's future we would fracture far enough off our gun-toting, warmongering nature to allow our military force, even in unrealistic sci-fi hypotheticals, to reach this level of fustercluck. There would of course be measurable amounts of corruption, something likely similar to what is presented in this book. But the author shouldn't have picked humanity as the species that is showcased in this series. We're more the "conquer all universes" type, let's be honest here.
Commodore Jack Romanoff has been a fun character to follow. He possesses just the right amount of morality and a reasonable amount of morally ambiguous buffer to keep the story this side of interesting. His interactions with his father are especially enjoyable. I think the retired Admiral General takes great pleasure in any form of amicability he can elicit from his son, given their relationship parameters. He doesn't honestly seem too bad a guy, which I'm sure the author will no doubt manifest some great misdeeds in the coming sequels. Especially the amount of power coming into his grasp given the current situation.
This will indeed be an interesting journey. Life aboard the Delta Orionis is going to increasingly complicate with the addition of more civilians. Especially ones that didn't apply to be a part of the war effort. Given that our Commodore didn't go out of his way to catalogue all of the ones aboard his ship to make function possible before joining the war effort, we can only hope someone saw it crucial to alleviate this discrepancy. Or I imagine everything will be failing pretty magnificently very soon.
Who wants to guess the douche nozzle that took over command of Hawkwing is going to attempt wresting control of either Delta Orionis or one of the other Hunter-class ships very soon?
The Last Hunter is the first book of the series by J. N. Chaney and Terry Mixon.
I was honestly expecting this book to conclude on a 3 star rating. There was simply too much overly complicated jargon filling every inch of space, interspersed or rather overlapping with long winded diatribes. The amount of surprise I felt when they legitimately encountered Locusts before the end of this first book, is wide-eyed at least.
There are some plot holes here. I do not believe at any point in humanity's future we would fracture far enough off our gun-toting, warmongering nature to allow our military force, even in unrealistic sci-fi hypotheticals, to reach this level of fustercluck. There would of course be measurable amounts of corruption, something likely similar to what is presented in this book. But the author shouldn't have picked humanity as the species that is showcased in this series. We're more the "conquer all universes" type, let's be honest here.
Commodore Jack Romanoff has been a fun character to follow. He possesses just the right amount of morality and a reasonable amount of morally ambiguous buffer to keep the story this side of interesting. His interactions with his father are especially enjoyable. I think the retired Admiral General takes great pleasure in any form of amicability he can elicit from his son, given their relationship parameters. He doesn't honestly seem too bad a guy, which I'm sure the author will no doubt manifest some great misdeeds in the coming sequels. Especially the amount of power coming into his grasp given the current situation.
This will indeed be an interesting journey. Life aboard the Delta Orionis is going to increasingly complicate with the addition of more civilians. Especially ones that didn't apply to be a part of the war effort. Given that our Commodore didn't go out of his way to catalogue all of the ones aboard his ship to make function possible before joining the war effort, we can only hope someone saw it crucial to alleviate this discrepancy. Or I imagine everything will be failing pretty magnificently very soon.
Who wants to guess the douche nozzle that took over command of Hawkwing is going to attempt wresting control of either Delta Orionis or one of the other Hunter-class ships very soon?
April 11, 2022
Well Written Space Opera
Packed with action and a likable protagonist. The story does not really contain any major surprises , but effectively uses the expected ticks to advance the tale.
Packed with action and a likable protagonist. The story does not really contain any major surprises , but effectively uses the expected ticks to advance the tale.
May 17, 2022
Review of book 1 and 2 in the series:
After having read the first book of The Last Hunter series I held off on writing a review until I had read the second book. I really wanted to like the first book. The book is well written and I really liked the main protagonist but… I really disliked the story.
So I said to myself that there is a chance that book two will pick up in a direction that is more palatable to me so I held off on the judgement until I had read it. Well long story short, it did indeed do so. I still have some reservations but it was definitely an improvement and with how the second book ended I have some hope that it will continue to improve.
So, the first book then. It is, as I wrote well written and the main protagonist is everything I like in a main protagonist. The problem I have with the book is firstly that it is really quite slow and it never really gets into any action at the very end. I could have lived with that since the idea of Captain Jack Romanoff taking this crew of rejects, that is actually now quite true but never mind, fixing up the most powerful warship and goes off kicking some invader ass is very much to my liking. Even if the author takes most of a book to get there.
However, now we get to the second and main problem I have with this book. The author have created a universe where the human navy is so utterly corrupt and incompetent that it really ruins the entire book for me. It is so bad that I almost put the first book in the two out of five star range.
I mean come on, “officers” are openly buying their commands and the admirals openly support it, they embezzle funds, they block supplies that Jack should have out of spite and they even resort to attempted murder. This scheming, these political shenanigans or to put it in plain English, this bullshit is going on the entire book and it basically ruined the book for me.
Fast forward, or should I say speed read, to the second book.
As I already wrote the second book is an improvement over the first one. For starters they got the ship moving and it plays out in a war zone rather than being docked as a museum piece.
There is still a lot of the rubbish scheming, incompetent and corrupt commanders and all that going on which is really annoying. I mean come on (again), the humans have just got their asses handed to them and these asshats, well those that remains at least, are still continuing like nothing has happened and doing their best to screw any hope humanity has of surviving. Apart from being really annoying it is so far out that it is just not believable.
It is also annoying that, thanks to previously mentioned corruption, Jack’s ship is only at a fraction of the fighting capacity that it should be at. I really hope that get’s rectified pretty soon. If they only have 15% of the guns operational now and still kicks ass I really want to see what they can do when they are fully operational.
What saves this book and makes it an improvement of the previous one is that, this time, these despicable asshats are truly getting what they deserve in the end. Not only the asshat Captain but all the way up to the corrupt admiral. It also happens in ways, and with a severity and finality, that at least somewhat makes up for all the nonsense I had to read through to get to this point.
Thus I think that at the end of the second book we are set up to go in a more positive direction and actually fight the real enemy instead of a bunch of domestic assholes. The author writes well so if the story can just get on the right track this series can become really good. The blurb for the next book, expected to come out sometime in June, do indeed sound promising.
After having read the first book of The Last Hunter series I held off on writing a review until I had read the second book. I really wanted to like the first book. The book is well written and I really liked the main protagonist but… I really disliked the story.
So I said to myself that there is a chance that book two will pick up in a direction that is more palatable to me so I held off on the judgement until I had read it. Well long story short, it did indeed do so. I still have some reservations but it was definitely an improvement and with how the second book ended I have some hope that it will continue to improve.
So, the first book then. It is, as I wrote well written and the main protagonist is everything I like in a main protagonist. The problem I have with the book is firstly that it is really quite slow and it never really gets into any action at the very end. I could have lived with that since the idea of Captain Jack Romanoff taking this crew of rejects, that is actually now quite true but never mind, fixing up the most powerful warship and goes off kicking some invader ass is very much to my liking. Even if the author takes most of a book to get there.
However, now we get to the second and main problem I have with this book. The author have created a universe where the human navy is so utterly corrupt and incompetent that it really ruins the entire book for me. It is so bad that I almost put the first book in the two out of five star range.
I mean come on, “officers” are openly buying their commands and the admirals openly support it, they embezzle funds, they block supplies that Jack should have out of spite and they even resort to attempted murder. This scheming, these political shenanigans or to put it in plain English, this bullshit is going on the entire book and it basically ruined the book for me.
Fast forward, or should I say speed read, to the second book.
As I already wrote the second book is an improvement over the first one. For starters they got the ship moving and it plays out in a war zone rather than being docked as a museum piece.
There is still a lot of the rubbish scheming, incompetent and corrupt commanders and all that going on which is really annoying. I mean come on (again), the humans have just got their asses handed to them and these asshats, well those that remains at least, are still continuing like nothing has happened and doing their best to screw any hope humanity has of surviving. Apart from being really annoying it is so far out that it is just not believable.
It is also annoying that, thanks to previously mentioned corruption, Jack’s ship is only at a fraction of the fighting capacity that it should be at. I really hope that get’s rectified pretty soon. If they only have 15% of the guns operational now and still kicks ass I really want to see what they can do when they are fully operational.
What saves this book and makes it an improvement of the previous one is that, this time, these despicable asshats are truly getting what they deserve in the end. Not only the asshat Captain but all the way up to the corrupt admiral. It also happens in ways, and with a severity and finality, that at least somewhat makes up for all the nonsense I had to read through to get to this point.
Thus I think that at the end of the second book we are set up to go in a more positive direction and actually fight the real enemy instead of a bunch of domestic assholes. The author writes well so if the story can just get on the right track this series can become really good. The blurb for the next book, expected to come out sometime in June, do indeed sound promising.
March 14, 2022
Fun, escapist Mil-SF read. Starts from an unusual, perhaps unique premise. Things go perhaps too well through most of the book, which puts it in the feel-good Mil-SF category (is there such a thing?), but that's my biggest complaint about it. There are many characters in the book and only the main character is developed (though not deeply), but the others didn't come across to me as cardboard, as such characters do in so many Mil-SF titles.
This clearly appears to be book one of a series. I don't know as I am writing this if there is a book two. If/when there is one, I will read it.
This clearly appears to be book one of a series. I don't know as I am writing this if there is a book two. If/when there is one, I will read it.
June 12, 2022
I tried reading the Backyard Starship by these authors and I found their need to describe everything in excruciating detail and ridiculous discussions so annoying I didn’t even finish the book.
However I was very pleasantly surprised with this book as it was easy to read and moved at a decent pace. There were a few moments when they pushed my ability to suspend my disbelief to its limits, but overall this was an excellent story.
However I was very pleasantly surprised with this book as it was easy to read and moved at a decent pace. There were a few moments when they pushed my ability to suspend my disbelief to its limits, but overall this was an excellent story.
April 25, 2023
Sci-fi Space Opera🌏🚀💫
Most of the book deals with the refurbishing of Jack's🐺 naval career and the behemoth navy asteroid ship, Hunter🚀. Pretty slow slogging for those if us just wanting to get to the action!
The book ends in a cliffhanger, as a lead in to the next installment in this nine book series📚.
Most of the book deals with the refurbishing of Jack's🐺 naval career and the behemoth navy asteroid ship, Hunter🚀. Pretty slow slogging for those if us just wanting to get to the action!
The book ends in a cliffhanger, as a lead in to the next installment in this nine book series📚.
November 27, 2025
Not so exciting
I don’t know how to tell you, but this book has been bland for me. The whole rush with conspiracy, fixing, etc. I already knew that locust came back…it felt cheap. Plus, the world building has been a weird bit for me too. It doesn’t click well.
I don’t know how to tell you, but this book has been bland for me. The whole rush with conspiracy, fixing, etc. I already knew that locust came back…it felt cheap. Plus, the world building has been a weird bit for me too. It doesn’t click well.
May 7, 2022
Great story
I won this in a Goodreads giveaway. I enjoyed the story and the characters. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
I won this in a Goodreads giveaway. I enjoyed the story and the characters. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
March 15, 2024
Excellent
Great storyline with great characters. Enjoyed the action and the set up for the story to come. I highly recommend!
Great storyline with great characters. Enjoyed the action and the set up for the story to come. I highly recommend!
March 22, 2022
I don't even know what to say. This is overall, a well-written book, albeit an overly long book. It is extremely text heavy and let me just say, there is ZERO actual action going on. Unless you consider some thriller spy stuff as action. The world & character building is done throughout 95% of the book, as if the authors go out of their way to make you like the characters, if not simply put up with them. This is a fairly clichéd story - outdated starship tossed over to an out of luck Captain, crewed by ever misfit around that is now needed to save humanity. There's been plenty of these written in the last five years or so. A whole one star was lost due to the fact that EVERYTHING just falls into place for our hero Jack. The timing of everything is oh so perfect and the people that he finds himself in the company of just happen to solve a problem apiece. All of that makes the story nigh unbelievable (yes it's sci-fi but you've got to at least believe it in your fantasy), which detracts from a good book, good grammar and words (keep in mind almost all conversations are drawn out and have higher English words inserted for no real reason). I may pick up the next book, if only to see if it catches my interest. I steamed through this book due to the superfluous words that can be skipped, even whole pages.
April 18, 2022
Decent not amazing
Fun but lack luster. The core story is decent but lacks polish. Characters are one dimensional and don't make you emotionally invested in them. The universe/world building is actually interesting and helps make up for weak character development. Will finish the series but would not recommend.
Fun but lack luster. The core story is decent but lacks polish. Characters are one dimensional and don't make you emotionally invested in them. The universe/world building is actually interesting and helps make up for weak character development. Will finish the series but would not recommend.
February 25, 2022
worth the 5 stars..
A good, fun story that left me wanting more. Great characters combine with a decent storyline to deliver a book that stands out from the crowd.
You could do a lot worse that give this one a try…
A good, fun story that left me wanting more. Great characters combine with a decent storyline to deliver a book that stands out from the crowd.
You could do a lot worse that give this one a try…
February 21, 2025
“If you ever feel that you can’t do something, that the odds against you are just too great, remember that the people who came before you felt exactly the same way, and they persevered, fighting on to victory even though it came at great cost.”
Overall rating: ❣️❣️❣️❣️(4/5)
Accion: 🧨🧨 (2/5)
Character development: ☀️ (1/5)
Before I begin to explain why I gave this book four stars, despite its lack of action and the static character arcs, let me tell you what this first book is about.
The Last Hunter follows the story of Captain Jack Romanoff, future commodore and leader of the battle division of the Navy Confederation, and his efforts to restore the Delta Orionis, the only warship capable of facing the Locusts if they decide to attempt a new invasion.
I saw that several people gave it a low rating and commented that they didn’t understand why so many reviews said it was an action-packed story. In this last aspect, I have to agree with them. This first book focuses more on the political aspects within the Navy and the problems and bureaucracy that can exist even in a military organization. Although the new invasion doesn’t begin until the end of the book, I didn’t expect this installment to have much action, since by chapter four it becomes clear that the plot revolves around the challenges of restoring a ship of such magnitude.
I have to admit that at no point did I feel that the restoration was as impossible as Jack seemed to believe, and the authors seem to be constantly telling us. I was just beginning to understand the scale of the project and everything it entailed and there was already a solution available to us readers. It was as if, despite all the tasks Jack needed to complete and the imminent time bomb, there was no real challenge to improving the ship’s condition.
Nevertheless, the reason I kept reading and ultimately gave the book four stars is because the dialogues are entertaining and fun. Several times I found myself laughing at the interactions between Jack and his father (I still don't understand why he dispises the man), or at the situations and power struggles he faced with other members of the Navy.
Still, I truly hope the next book includes more action, delves deeper into the relationships between the characters, and shows how difficult it can be to resolve things, rather than having everything magically work out one way or another, so to speak.
---------------------------------------
Antes de comenzar a explicar por qué le di a este libro cuatro estrellas, a pesar de su falta de acción y los arcos estáticos de sus personajes, permítanme contarles de qué trata este primer libro.
The Last Hunter sigue la historia del capitán Jack Romanoff, futuro comodoro y líder de la división de batalla de la Armada de la Confederación, y sus esfuerzos por restaurar el Delta Orionis, el único buque de guerra capaz de enfrentarse a las Langostas si estas deciden intentar una nueva invasión.
Vi que varias personas le daban una puntuación baja y comentaban que no entendían por qué tantas reseñas decían que era una historia llena de acción. En este último aspecto, debo darles la razón. EEste primer libro se centra más en los aspectos políticos dentro de la Armada y en los problemas y la burocracia que pueden existir incluso en una organización militar. Si bien la nueva invasión no comienza sino hasta el final del libro, no esperaba que esta entrega tuviera mucha acción, ya que para el capítulo cuatro uno se da cuenta de que la trama se enfoca en los desafíos de restaurar una nave de tal magnitud.
Tengo que admitir que en ningún momento sentí que la restauración fuera tan imposible como Jack parecía creer. y cómo los autores constantemente nos decían. Esto se debe a que recien comenzaba a entender la magnitud del proyecto y todo lo que implicaba, ya había una solución disponible para nosotros los lectores. Era como si, a pesar de todas las tareas que Jack necesitaba completar y la inminente bomba de tiempo, no hubiera un verdadero desafío para mejorar la condición de la nave.
A pesar de ello, la razón por la que seguí leyendo y finalmente le di cuatro estrellas al libro es porque los diálogos son entretenidos y divertidos. Varias veces me encontré riéndome con las interacciones entre Jack y su padre —sigo sin entender porque lo detesta—, o con las situaciones y luchas de poder que enfrentaba con otros miembros de la Armada.
Aún así, en verdad espero que el siguiente libro incluya más acción, profundice en los vínculos entre los personajes y muestre lo difícil que puede ser resolver las cosas, en lugar de que todo se solucione mágicamente de una forma u otra, por decirlo así.
Overall rating: ❣️❣️❣️❣️(4/5)
Accion: 🧨🧨 (2/5)
Character development: ☀️ (1/5)
Before I begin to explain why I gave this book four stars, despite its lack of action and the static character arcs, let me tell you what this first book is about.
The Last Hunter follows the story of Captain Jack Romanoff, future commodore and leader of the battle division of the Navy Confederation, and his efforts to restore the Delta Orionis, the only warship capable of facing the Locusts if they decide to attempt a new invasion.
I saw that several people gave it a low rating and commented that they didn’t understand why so many reviews said it was an action-packed story. In this last aspect, I have to agree with them. This first book focuses more on the political aspects within the Navy and the problems and bureaucracy that can exist even in a military organization. Although the new invasion doesn’t begin until the end of the book, I didn’t expect this installment to have much action, since by chapter four it becomes clear that the plot revolves around the challenges of restoring a ship of such magnitude.
I have to admit that at no point did I feel that the restoration was as impossible as Jack seemed to believe, and the authors seem to be constantly telling us. I was just beginning to understand the scale of the project and everything it entailed and there was already a solution available to us readers. It was as if, despite all the tasks Jack needed to complete and the imminent time bomb, there was no real challenge to improving the ship’s condition.
Nevertheless, the reason I kept reading and ultimately gave the book four stars is because the dialogues are entertaining and fun. Several times I found myself laughing at the interactions between Jack and his father (I still don't understand why he dispises the man), or at the situations and power struggles he faced with other members of the Navy.
Still, I truly hope the next book includes more action, delves deeper into the relationships between the characters, and shows how difficult it can be to resolve things, rather than having everything magically work out one way or another, so to speak.
---------------------------------------
Antes de comenzar a explicar por qué le di a este libro cuatro estrellas, a pesar de su falta de acción y los arcos estáticos de sus personajes, permítanme contarles de qué trata este primer libro.
The Last Hunter sigue la historia del capitán Jack Romanoff, futuro comodoro y líder de la división de batalla de la Armada de la Confederación, y sus esfuerzos por restaurar el Delta Orionis, el único buque de guerra capaz de enfrentarse a las Langostas si estas deciden intentar una nueva invasión.
Vi que varias personas le daban una puntuación baja y comentaban que no entendían por qué tantas reseñas decían que era una historia llena de acción. En este último aspecto, debo darles la razón. EEste primer libro se centra más en los aspectos políticos dentro de la Armada y en los problemas y la burocracia que pueden existir incluso en una organización militar. Si bien la nueva invasión no comienza sino hasta el final del libro, no esperaba que esta entrega tuviera mucha acción, ya que para el capítulo cuatro uno se da cuenta de que la trama se enfoca en los desafíos de restaurar una nave de tal magnitud.
Tengo que admitir que en ningún momento sentí que la restauración fuera tan imposible como Jack parecía creer. y cómo los autores constantemente nos decían. Esto se debe a que recien comenzaba a entender la magnitud del proyecto y todo lo que implicaba, ya había una solución disponible para nosotros los lectores. Era como si, a pesar de todas las tareas que Jack necesitaba completar y la inminente bomba de tiempo, no hubiera un verdadero desafío para mejorar la condición de la nave.
A pesar de ello, la razón por la que seguí leyendo y finalmente le di cuatro estrellas al libro es porque los diálogos son entretenidos y divertidos. Varias veces me encontré riéndome con las interacciones entre Jack y su padre —sigo sin entender porque lo detesta—, o con las situaciones y luchas de poder que enfrentaba con otros miembros de la Armada.
Aún así, en verdad espero que el siguiente libro incluya más acción, profundice en los vínculos entre los personajes y muestre lo difícil que puede ser resolver las cosas, en lugar de que todo se solucione mágicamente de una forma u otra, por decirlo así.
March 27, 2023
This review covers the first 7 books in this series.
As I have come this far, it means that this series has qualities, but it also has faults; I'm not sure I'll read the next books. I initially thought the series was complete, which is partly why I made it this far.
So, if you're about to start reading this series, know one thing: the characters are endearing, that's the main reason why I haven't given up on my reading. The plot is interesting and becomes more complex over the books, and the action scenes are good. If the fact that the story is told only from Jack's point of view in book 1 displeases you, know that this is no longer the case afterwards, we have a story with multiple points of view, and that's a good thing since there are many things going on simultaneously, and Jack is not always present.
But, there are many, many repetitions. I imagine someone reading this series while it's published, with months between each book, might find it interesting to be reminded - in details - of plot elements. But if you binge this series, and you have, like me, a very good memory, it will quickly become a torture that only skipping can prevent you from going crazy.
Besides the repetitions, what annoyed me the most is the amount of unnecessary detail that takes up A LOT of space. I give only one example, but there are tons of them: describing in an abundance of detail an apartment of a female character (in book 6 I believe) where nothing happens at all, where the character is never there, other than to sleep... for me, it's clearly a maneuver by the authors to artificially lengthen their story. Maybe some readers appreciate such a lot of descriptions, but otherwise it's useless and extremely turn off.
I wrote earlier that the characters are endearing, but there is a but. I agree that this is an action story. But all that unnecessary repetitions and descriptions could have been replaced with a bit more psychological depth. Once a character is described superficially, the narrative only returns to these qualities/defects. No nuance, no depth.
Last point, because I don't want to spend too much time on this review: I like Jack Romanoff, the main character, but he also disappoints me. I would have preferred it to be larger than life. In book 1, at some point, I wondered why his father wasn't the main character. He was the one who was proactive and solved problems quickly. Jack is certainly a good unifier, and fortunately! Throughout the books, it is clearly Derek and Amanda who are the heroes of this war, as well as the hacker (I forgot her name). Jack is often indecisive, or his subordinates contradict - with good reason - his ideas. Fortunately, he is not proud and agrees with them.
As I have come this far, it means that this series has qualities, but it also has faults; I'm not sure I'll read the next books. I initially thought the series was complete, which is partly why I made it this far.
So, if you're about to start reading this series, know one thing: the characters are endearing, that's the main reason why I haven't given up on my reading. The plot is interesting and becomes more complex over the books, and the action scenes are good. If the fact that the story is told only from Jack's point of view in book 1 displeases you, know that this is no longer the case afterwards, we have a story with multiple points of view, and that's a good thing since there are many things going on simultaneously, and Jack is not always present.
But, there are many, many repetitions. I imagine someone reading this series while it's published, with months between each book, might find it interesting to be reminded - in details - of plot elements. But if you binge this series, and you have, like me, a very good memory, it will quickly become a torture that only skipping can prevent you from going crazy.
Besides the repetitions, what annoyed me the most is the amount of unnecessary detail that takes up A LOT of space. I give only one example, but there are tons of them: describing in an abundance of detail an apartment of a female character (in book 6 I believe) where nothing happens at all, where the character is never there, other than to sleep... for me, it's clearly a maneuver by the authors to artificially lengthen their story. Maybe some readers appreciate such a lot of descriptions, but otherwise it's useless and extremely turn off.
I wrote earlier that the characters are endearing, but there is a but. I agree that this is an action story. But all that unnecessary repetitions and descriptions could have been replaced with a bit more psychological depth. Once a character is described superficially, the narrative only returns to these qualities/defects. No nuance, no depth.
Last point, because I don't want to spend too much time on this review: I like Jack Romanoff, the main character, but he also disappoints me. I would have preferred it to be larger than life. In book 1, at some point, I wondered why his father wasn't the main character. He was the one who was proactive and solved problems quickly. Jack is certainly a good unifier, and fortunately! Throughout the books, it is clearly Derek and Amanda who are the heroes of this war, as well as the hacker (I forgot her name). Jack is often indecisive, or his subordinates contradict - with good reason - his ideas. Fortunately, he is not proud and agrees with them.
May 27, 2024
A trope within a trope!
We meet Captain Jack Romanoff at a crucial moment in his career. He is about to be ignominiously separated from the military career he values due to a peacetime military system that is amazingly corrupt and ineffective even compared to history.
The Navy had barely managed to defeat an unknown enemy that used robotic drones to destroy human ships by overwhelming numbers rather than better technology. But after the Navy had successfully beaten them out of their region complacency took hold as the enemy didn’t return. After 200 years of no contact humanity decided that they no longer needed to spend the resources to maintain a strong military.
Then Jack first discovered that the biggest reason for his dismissal was that he couldn’t afford the huge sum to purchase his promotion. Then he hears by way of an intermediary that he had the opportunity to take command of a gigantic but decrepit 200 year old battleship being used as a military museum in order to somehow make it functional again.
He then decides that the concept was only possible for people in fictional entertainment videos.
After Jack learns that the possibility of the enemy drones returning exists, he feels compelled by the risks to humanity to at least try to make the nearly impossible scenario of renovating the ancient ship a reality.
Of course he is forced to work against not only the damage exacerbated by age & entropy. He finds another universal constant, namely greed is making the task more difficult and complicated when just getting food and water for the ship is being denied by thieves diverting it to their profits. Can Jack succeed?
We meet Captain Jack Romanoff at a crucial moment in his career. He is about to be ignominiously separated from the military career he values due to a peacetime military system that is amazingly corrupt and ineffective even compared to history.
The Navy had barely managed to defeat an unknown enemy that used robotic drones to destroy human ships by overwhelming numbers rather than better technology. But after the Navy had successfully beaten them out of their region complacency took hold as the enemy didn’t return. After 200 years of no contact humanity decided that they no longer needed to spend the resources to maintain a strong military.
Then Jack first discovered that the biggest reason for his dismissal was that he couldn’t afford the huge sum to purchase his promotion. Then he hears by way of an intermediary that he had the opportunity to take command of a gigantic but decrepit 200 year old battleship being used as a military museum in order to somehow make it functional again.
He then decides that the concept was only possible for people in fictional entertainment videos.
After Jack learns that the possibility of the enemy drones returning exists, he feels compelled by the risks to humanity to at least try to make the nearly impossible scenario of renovating the ancient ship a reality.
Of course he is forced to work against not only the damage exacerbated by age & entropy. He finds another universal constant, namely greed is making the task more difficult and complicated when just getting food and water for the ship is being denied by thieves diverting it to their profits. Can Jack succeed?
May 27, 2022
Humanities biggest hope is a miseam
Before I begin O need to be transparent about something. I didn't purchase this particular book, I won it in a Goodreads giveaway. That being said I did enjoy it. The story features, at the start, a Captain Jack Romanof(pretty sure I misspelled the name there, and his final moments as the Captain of a navy space cruiser. I won't go into a lot f detail here but he soon finds himself in command of a Hunter class, the Last Hunter in the title, essentially a asteroid turned into a battle ship to fight an invading force called the located a few centuries prior. The ship was mothballed and turned into a museam. However Jack gets orders to get the Hunter back into battle shape as a professor in board suspects the located are coming back. Being book one in a series there is so!e world building here but it primarily focuses on Jack fighting with the Navy to get the parts he needs to get his new ship back in shape. There's also a bit of a mystery involving some embezzled funds and attack on the AT officer looking into it, who also happens to be one of Jack's only ally in the beginning. The story is entering enough that it kept me coming back and the characters are unique enough to keep your attention. To be honest I'm not sure this would be a book I would have bought it even look at. But I'm glad I read it and I would recommend it.
Before I begin O need to be transparent about something. I didn't purchase this particular book, I won it in a Goodreads giveaway. That being said I did enjoy it. The story features, at the start, a Captain Jack Romanof(pretty sure I misspelled the name there, and his final moments as the Captain of a navy space cruiser. I won't go into a lot f detail here but he soon finds himself in command of a Hunter class, the Last Hunter in the title, essentially a asteroid turned into a battle ship to fight an invading force called the located a few centuries prior. The ship was mothballed and turned into a museam. However Jack gets orders to get the Hunter back into battle shape as a professor in board suspects the located are coming back. Being book one in a series there is so!e world building here but it primarily focuses on Jack fighting with the Navy to get the parts he needs to get his new ship back in shape. There's also a bit of a mystery involving some embezzled funds and attack on the AT officer looking into it, who also happens to be one of Jack's only ally in the beginning. The story is entering enough that it kept me coming back and the characters are unique enough to keep your attention. To be honest I'm not sure this would be a book I would have bought it even look at. But I'm glad I read it and I would recommend it.
March 25, 2022
Will the locust war resume? Will the last Hunter be involved?
This new series from Chaney and Mixon starts off with captain Jack Ramanoff about to either be promoted or fired from the navy. The current leader wants him fired as he won't pay for a promotion, but then something surprising comes along.... Two centuries ago we were at war with the Locusts and managed to defeat with Hunter starships that were designed within an asteroid. One such ship is currently acting as a museum close to homebase and Jack has just been made Commodore of it! A scientist is concerned that the locusts may return and is investigating them and this ship, the last hunter, needs to in mothballed just in case..... However the Navy is rife with bad Apple's and supplies have been misdirected for decades making it difficult to get this massive starship back on line. Also he has enemies that want to bring him down no matter what....
Only time will tell whether the scientist is right and whether they can get the ship functioning again.....
This is clearly the start if a potentially long running series with believable and enthralling characters. A fun read that shows great promise for the future....
This new series from Chaney and Mixon starts off with captain Jack Ramanoff about to either be promoted or fired from the navy. The current leader wants him fired as he won't pay for a promotion, but then something surprising comes along.... Two centuries ago we were at war with the Locusts and managed to defeat with Hunter starships that were designed within an asteroid. One such ship is currently acting as a museum close to homebase and Jack has just been made Commodore of it! A scientist is concerned that the locusts may return and is investigating them and this ship, the last hunter, needs to in mothballed just in case..... However the Navy is rife with bad Apple's and supplies have been misdirected for decades making it difficult to get this massive starship back on line. Also he has enemies that want to bring him down no matter what....
Only time will tell whether the scientist is right and whether they can get the ship functioning again.....
This is clearly the start if a potentially long running series with believable and enthralling characters. A fun read that shows great promise for the future....
January 23, 2024
This is my second read of this series
I remember that I was captivated by it the first read, and I still am, captivated that is.
But I have taken two stars. One for the utter frustration that Mixon was unable to keep the name of the ship, the main character in this tale, straight! That is just laziness on their part. And to think that this was not noticed by an editor? Really? Common now. One name; Hunter, is NOT the ship's name regardless how you present it, Hunter is the name of the battle ship CLASS. But throughout the entire book neither writer nor editor could get it straight. Names are not interchangeable, no matter how you bounce them around, not even in fairytales!
Then the last couple of chapters are rather unbelievable. Most of the jargon used to describe drives and astrological information, is just that, jargon. Most is too difficult to understand, and that would have been okay, but feed it to use at the very least warmed up, not ice cold right out of some freezer. Makes a reader wonder whether the authors actually cared about them or only for the almighty dollars.
Well, I'm going to read the next book. One can hope
I remember that I was captivated by it the first read, and I still am, captivated that is.
But I have taken two stars. One for the utter frustration that Mixon was unable to keep the name of the ship, the main character in this tale, straight! That is just laziness on their part. And to think that this was not noticed by an editor? Really? Common now. One name; Hunter, is NOT the ship's name regardless how you present it, Hunter is the name of the battle ship CLASS. But throughout the entire book neither writer nor editor could get it straight. Names are not interchangeable, no matter how you bounce them around, not even in fairytales!
Then the last couple of chapters are rather unbelievable. Most of the jargon used to describe drives and astrological information, is just that, jargon. Most is too difficult to understand, and that would have been okay, but feed it to use at the very least warmed up, not ice cold right out of some freezer. Makes a reader wonder whether the authors actually cared about them or only for the almighty dollars.
Well, I'm going to read the next book. One can hope
March 8, 2024
Such a disappointment. I don't think either of the authors gave this book a second look after the initial set up. Absolutely nothing is thought through to make it make sense. Conversations are extremely unreliastic. People do not behave this way in an organization let alone a military one. Important information do not get shared, like commissions being legally and openly sold and bought, but it's fine to introduce oneself by oversharing: Hi, I have daddy issues, I'm a pawn here, I almost did a booboo long ago, I'm such a good guy though, here are my lofty goals I acquired five minutes ago and I have no reason to espouse. Further the MC has no contribution at all, he choses nothing, brings nothing to the table. Everything is done for him and solutions, people, resources, opportunities, information and even comically irrate antagonists just fall into his lap while he does nothing but stand around.
February 23, 2022
THe Last Hunter Shall Endure!
As a fan of JN Chaney and Terry Mixon, this is an excellent co-write.
THe conspiracy, mystery and struggle in command powers. This book that features a flag officer with a mixed past due to family history, but did he let that stop him? Did he let the Confederacy kick him out without a fight? Well,.. I'd say no. Thanks to the help of a certain someone with power from on HIgh. He managed to become a commodore of a battle division that ended up being mothballed after the war. His responsibility? To find out why the Confederacy is kicking out seasoned officers and bringing bribed and paid officers, to bring the mothball battleships up to operation and stop the greed from destroying the Confederacy.
Jack Romanoff is one very persistant Commodore, that's for sure! Ican't wait for the next boook in this serie.
As a fan of JN Chaney and Terry Mixon, this is an excellent co-write.
THe conspiracy, mystery and struggle in command powers. This book that features a flag officer with a mixed past due to family history, but did he let that stop him? Did he let the Confederacy kick him out without a fight? Well,.. I'd say no. Thanks to the help of a certain someone with power from on HIgh. He managed to become a commodore of a battle division that ended up being mothballed after the war. His responsibility? To find out why the Confederacy is kicking out seasoned officers and bringing bribed and paid officers, to bring the mothball battleships up to operation and stop the greed from destroying the Confederacy.
Jack Romanoff is one very persistant Commodore, that's for sure! Ican't wait for the next boook in this serie.
April 7, 2022
This started out interesting and had decant story with ok character was a bit predictable at times but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
But really bugged me was technology using especially the lasers as described hear are dissapointing they are short range and only really for defence and invisible you actually made lasers sound boring & worse main weapons for long range are missiles (boring) and should be easily dealt with by enemy vessels.
Hoping in next book install advanced weapons and put at least missile use to little to no use, or can honestly say will be last of these books I buy and read.
I'm also happy we kept with one character mainly and didn't go into many or worse all offers or would of been over whelming & not a fun read.
Gave stars did as was decant syfy read with potential and next book will decide weather this is a series I want to stick with or not.
But really bugged me was technology using especially the lasers as described hear are dissapointing they are short range and only really for defence and invisible you actually made lasers sound boring & worse main weapons for long range are missiles (boring) and should be easily dealt with by enemy vessels.
Hoping in next book install advanced weapons and put at least missile use to little to no use, or can honestly say will be last of these books I buy and read.
I'm also happy we kept with one character mainly and didn't go into many or worse all offers or would of been over whelming & not a fun read.
Gave stars did as was decant syfy read with potential and next book will decide weather this is a series I want to stick with or not.
May 14, 2022
Hopefully a start to something great
I have a feeling this series will get better having read Chaney before, but this book was definitely a slow and plodding preparatory book to an extended series. Basically the story at this point has all been logistics and political intrigue with no actual space battles of note. My hope would be the pace and excitement increases with the next book as the stage has been set.
Positives: I like the characters and how they are rounded out as normal humans with normals abilities and intellect.
Negatives: the technology is a little wonky as some aspects portray deficits in communication and media while some technology is appropriately next level such as artificial gravity.
I have a feeling this series will get better having read Chaney before, but this book was definitely a slow and plodding preparatory book to an extended series. Basically the story at this point has all been logistics and political intrigue with no actual space battles of note. My hope would be the pace and excitement increases with the next book as the stage has been set.
Positives: I like the characters and how they are rounded out as normal humans with normals abilities and intellect.
Negatives: the technology is a little wonky as some aspects portray deficits in communication and media while some technology is appropriately next level such as artificial gravity.
July 20, 2022
Excellent start to this series
This is an excellent start to this series. The story has been done before, obsolete ship, crew of misfits and criminals coming together as the last hope for humanity against the alien horde. However the writing is crisp and smart, the characters are good if a little lacking in depth but the story is the main driver. I liked the writing a lot and am Looking forward to more of these. The narration is very good Jeffrey Kafer does an excellent job, the narration does the story justice.. The book ends on a cliff hanger but a good one. Highly recommended.
This is an excellent start to this series. The story has been done before, obsolete ship, crew of misfits and criminals coming together as the last hope for humanity against the alien horde. However the writing is crisp and smart, the characters are good if a little lacking in depth but the story is the main driver. I liked the writing a lot and am Looking forward to more of these. The narration is very good Jeffrey Kafer does an excellent job, the narration does the story justice.. The book ends on a cliff hanger but a good one. Highly recommended.
December 22, 2023
Terrific space navy action story
The Last Hunter is an excellent story. Jack Romanoff is a great lead character, serving to bring the Hunter battleship back to life in case the Locust invaders return. He has to fight political battles and internal foes to begin to get Hunter ready to fight as a battleship. He is an inspiring leader and gains the respect of his new crew through his principles put into actions. He has the ability to deal with ambiguity and work creatively when required. This story has parallels to the Lost Fleet series (by Jack Campbell) and John “Black Jack” Geary, the leader of that series. Recommend The Last Hunter and The Lost Fleet series very highly.
The Last Hunter is an excellent story. Jack Romanoff is a great lead character, serving to bring the Hunter battleship back to life in case the Locust invaders return. He has to fight political battles and internal foes to begin to get Hunter ready to fight as a battleship. He is an inspiring leader and gains the respect of his new crew through his principles put into actions. He has the ability to deal with ambiguity and work creatively when required. This story has parallels to the Lost Fleet series (by Jack Campbell) and John “Black Jack” Geary, the leader of that series. Recommend The Last Hunter and The Lost Fleet series very highly.
May 2, 2022
Hidden gem! This book just kept building and building. It far exceeded my expectations and was thoroughly enjoyable. It was satisfying long, with plenty of development, even though it is clearly setting up for a much longer story arc, it didn't feel like one increasingly common "chapter books". This is a full length novel and captures your attention all the way through. Great characters, plausible story lines, perhaps a bit one dimensional characters, but likable enough where you want to root for their success. I really enjoyed it, and look forward to reading the rest of the arc.
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