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Zenophobia #5
Conflagration
The second book in a thrilling all-new Zenophobia trilogy!
Sankar’s voyage beyond the edge of the galaxy has awakened something old and monstrous. He and his team can’t fight it alone. Hell, even a single planet can’t fight it.
He has to unite the four races against a common enemy.
Maglor, the crime boss whose beneath-the-table ties to the four zeno nations may prove critical to convincing the leaders of Oterosan, Cornelior, Angelos, and especially Medvegrad, that united they stand, or divided they fall.
Junak and the crew of the Bilkinmore have a battle on their hands, as they attempt to recruit local allies from the fringe of Golongan space. Neither their nemesis Arbai nor her compatriots aboard the Direwolf will give up their stake on Golongal without a fight, and with only the aerospace fighter Scythe to assist, Junak’s taking on the biggest challenge of his young Oteran life.
But there’s more going on than either Sankar or Junak suspect, since Ausha—Sankar’s ally from his cadet years—has taken on a mission of her own. And is determined to trace the lineage of the android named Elyass Forty One all the way back to his makers. And a world only spoken of previously in myth. A world called Earth
The second in a dynamic new series by Craig Martelle (Dragon Award Finalist for Best Military SF 2018) and Brad R. Torgersen (Dragon winner for best SF Novel of the Year 2019). Island of Dr. Moreau meets Indiana Jones, as zenomorphs search for the truth of their combined origin.
Sankar’s voyage beyond the edge of the galaxy has awakened something old and monstrous. He and his team can’t fight it alone. Hell, even a single planet can’t fight it.
He has to unite the four races against a common enemy.
Maglor, the crime boss whose beneath-the-table ties to the four zeno nations may prove critical to convincing the leaders of Oterosan, Cornelior, Angelos, and especially Medvegrad, that united they stand, or divided they fall.
Junak and the crew of the Bilkinmore have a battle on their hands, as they attempt to recruit local allies from the fringe of Golongan space. Neither their nemesis Arbai nor her compatriots aboard the Direwolf will give up their stake on Golongal without a fight, and with only the aerospace fighter Scythe to assist, Junak’s taking on the biggest challenge of his young Oteran life.
But there’s more going on than either Sankar or Junak suspect, since Ausha—Sankar’s ally from his cadet years—has taken on a mission of her own. And is determined to trace the lineage of the android named Elyass Forty One all the way back to his makers. And a world only spoken of previously in myth. A world called Earth
The second in a dynamic new series by Craig Martelle (Dragon Award Finalist for Best Military SF 2018) and Brad R. Torgersen (Dragon winner for best SF Novel of the Year 2019). Island of Dr. Moreau meets Indiana Jones, as zenomorphs search for the truth of their combined origin.
302 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 5, 2022
15 people are currently reading
9 people want to read
About the author
Craig Martelle
330 books7,890 followersVisit Craig's web page, craigmartelle.com for the latest posts and updates or find him on Facebook, Author Craig Martelle. Send an email to craig@craigmartelle.com to join his mailing list for the latest on new releases, information on old releases, and anything related to his books.
I see my other lives, a career in the Marines, those damn hand-written tests in law school, a business consultant, as if they're stories from a book. I see my books as if I lived there, as if I were friends with the characters. All things we remember are behind us, only those we imagine lie before.
I'm not sure which place I prefer, but I don't have to choose. They live together in my mind. My books have some award nominations, they have bestseller tags across multiple countries. I write about justice, honor, and loyalty because that's what I care about. My stories are mostly set within worlds that haven't been, but could be. We have to be ready for when those times come.
No matter where I went, I always had a book with me. Thanks to 21st Century technology, I now have hundreds of books loaded on my phone and always with me. This breakthrough allows me to binge read my favorites. How many books would I have read on deployments had I not had to have a physical book with me? I paced myself so I wouldn't finish too quickly.
We aren't encumbered like that now. I love the works of Robert Heinlein, Anne McCaffrey, JRR Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, and so many more. I have been compared to Andre Norton and that is humbling - she was an incredible author with a huge list of novels to her credit. With every new book, I aspire to live up to those that you, the readers, have compared me to.
Through a bizarre series of events, I ended up in Fairbanks, Alaska. I never expected to retire to a place where golf courses are only open for four months out of the year. But that's the way it is. It is off the beaten path. My wife and I get to watch the northern lights from our driveway. Our dog has lots of room to run. And temperatures reach fifty below zero. We have from three and a half hours of daylight in the winter to twenty-four hours in the summer.
It's all part of the give and take of life. If we didn't have those extremes, then everyone would live in the sub-arctic.
I see my other lives, a career in the Marines, those damn hand-written tests in law school, a business consultant, as if they're stories from a book. I see my books as if I lived there, as if I were friends with the characters. All things we remember are behind us, only those we imagine lie before.
I'm not sure which place I prefer, but I don't have to choose. They live together in my mind. My books have some award nominations, they have bestseller tags across multiple countries. I write about justice, honor, and loyalty because that's what I care about. My stories are mostly set within worlds that haven't been, but could be. We have to be ready for when those times come.
No matter where I went, I always had a book with me. Thanks to 21st Century technology, I now have hundreds of books loaded on my phone and always with me. This breakthrough allows me to binge read my favorites. How many books would I have read on deployments had I not had to have a physical book with me? I paced myself so I wouldn't finish too quickly.
We aren't encumbered like that now. I love the works of Robert Heinlein, Anne McCaffrey, JRR Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, and so many more. I have been compared to Andre Norton and that is humbling - she was an incredible author with a huge list of novels to her credit. With every new book, I aspire to live up to those that you, the readers, have compared me to.
Through a bizarre series of events, I ended up in Fairbanks, Alaska. I never expected to retire to a place where golf courses are only open for four months out of the year. But that's the way it is. It is off the beaten path. My wife and I get to watch the northern lights from our driveway. Our dog has lots of room to run. And temperatures reach fifty below zero. We have from three and a half hours of daylight in the winter to twenty-four hours in the summer.
It's all part of the give and take of life. If we didn't have those extremes, then everyone would live in the sub-arctic.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 11, 2024
The fifth installment of Craig Martelle and Brad R. Torgersen’s Zenophobia series opens with machines completing the construction of an artificial disc world. When the main chapters begin, Sankar the Tigroid seeks to rescue his love interest, Ausha, who seeks to destroy the Overseer. His fellow Tigroid Junak intends to destroy the adversarial vessel Direwolf as Akoni the Ursoid wants to discover the origins of the zenos. The enemy Tigroid Arbai yearns to provide nuclear power for the Golongans, yearning to enslave them also. Meanwhile, Sankar wants to show Qlovys evidence of the machine world, reaffirming his wish to rescue Ausha.
The crew of the Direwolf continues to provide the Combine with improved reactors while fearing that the Bilkinmore could match their unified forces. Arbai assists Commissioner Sachim’s Golongan forces, yearning to eradicate the Golongan People’s Revolution. Given a forthcoming revelation of the origins of life in the universe, the Oteran religious and institutional paradigms face endangerment. Arbai and her companion Yangis pilot the Blood Moon and prepare for battle with the Four-Claw while Akoni assists the Golongans in routing their communications. Sankar altercates with his former Goroid employer, Maglor, who urges him to resolve the situation on Golongal.
The Golongans continue to fight among themselves, while Sankar encounters Combine ships headed to the war-torn planet. Commissioner Sachim fears the enslavement of the Golongans, with the brush war upon the Cho-Ma risking eruption into a planetary crisis if the Golongan People’s Revolution receives zeno armaments. The Bilkinmore arrives, battling the Direwolf and Blood Moon, with each side alternating between getting the upper hand. Meanwhile, Ausha continues to explore the reaches of the universe, discovering from an Earthling that justice exists among Earth’s colonies. The fourth book ends with Sankar negotiating an alliance with the Earthmen.
Ultimately, while I have previously enjoyed fantasy and science-fiction literature featuring anthropomorphic characters, the fifth entry of the Zenophobia series, like its predecessors, didn’t completely click with me, given the absence of eBook quality-of-life features such as the Kindle X-Ray feature and no synopses of previous books or a clarifying list of dramatis personae. Other issues include little reminders of character races, the constant shift of perspectives within chapters, unexplained acronyms, and vague settings. I will read the sixth and final book in the omnibus collection I borrowed through Kindle Unlimited, but I won’t set my hopes high.
The crew of the Direwolf continues to provide the Combine with improved reactors while fearing that the Bilkinmore could match their unified forces. Arbai assists Commissioner Sachim’s Golongan forces, yearning to eradicate the Golongan People’s Revolution. Given a forthcoming revelation of the origins of life in the universe, the Oteran religious and institutional paradigms face endangerment. Arbai and her companion Yangis pilot the Blood Moon and prepare for battle with the Four-Claw while Akoni assists the Golongans in routing their communications. Sankar altercates with his former Goroid employer, Maglor, who urges him to resolve the situation on Golongal.
The Golongans continue to fight among themselves, while Sankar encounters Combine ships headed to the war-torn planet. Commissioner Sachim fears the enslavement of the Golongans, with the brush war upon the Cho-Ma risking eruption into a planetary crisis if the Golongan People’s Revolution receives zeno armaments. The Bilkinmore arrives, battling the Direwolf and Blood Moon, with each side alternating between getting the upper hand. Meanwhile, Ausha continues to explore the reaches of the universe, discovering from an Earthling that justice exists among Earth’s colonies. The fourth book ends with Sankar negotiating an alliance with the Earthmen.
Ultimately, while I have previously enjoyed fantasy and science-fiction literature featuring anthropomorphic characters, the fifth entry of the Zenophobia series, like its predecessors, didn’t completely click with me, given the absence of eBook quality-of-life features such as the Kindle X-Ray feature and no synopses of previous books or a clarifying list of dramatis personae. Other issues include little reminders of character races, the constant shift of perspectives within chapters, unexplained acronyms, and vague settings. I will read the sixth and final book in the omnibus collection I borrowed through Kindle Unlimited, but I won’t set my hopes high.
January 9, 2023
Great series
This series is very different from what I have been reading. And it is dealing with an issue, we are dealing with on earth . What will we do when we do on counter others in space?
This series is very different from what I have been reading. And it is dealing with an issue, we are dealing with on earth . What will we do when we do on counter others in space?
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews