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Galaxy of Heroes #1
Galaxy of Heroes
A conspiracy against humanity. A breathtakingly beautiful cyborg. A battle like no other. An adventure you won't forget!
The lives of four space drifters intersect on a planet of hope as the most powerful war machine in the galaxy approaches, threatening to consume them all in a storm of metal and fire.
Capt. Jace Spade is a fighter pilot from the Roga System. He is determined to find his maker-the enigmatic Dr. Zander-even if his search means risking all in the conflagrations of the Inner Galaxy.
Capt. Mina Casey is also a fighter pilot, but from an advanced human civilization that arose in the Heliac System. Capt. Casey has drifted through the void for eons as visions of a warm planet where she can sink her feet in the sand and watch the sunset filled her dreams.
Sgt. Joe Grimes-a Heliac Ranger who once lived for the thrill of the fight-is now disillusioned after the total defeat and destruction of his home world. He would leave all humanity behind if he could only get away.
Genie is a beautiful and indestructible cyborg constructed by a technologically advanced civilization for the purpose of interacting with humans. Genie is programmed to love Joe Grimes, but she longs to be free.
The lives of four space drifters intersect on a planet of hope as the most powerful war machine in the galaxy approaches, threatening to consume them all in a storm of metal and fire.
Capt. Jace Spade is a fighter pilot from the Roga System. He is determined to find his maker-the enigmatic Dr. Zander-even if his search means risking all in the conflagrations of the Inner Galaxy.
Capt. Mina Casey is also a fighter pilot, but from an advanced human civilization that arose in the Heliac System. Capt. Casey has drifted through the void for eons as visions of a warm planet where she can sink her feet in the sand and watch the sunset filled her dreams.
Sgt. Joe Grimes-a Heliac Ranger who once lived for the thrill of the fight-is now disillusioned after the total defeat and destruction of his home world. He would leave all humanity behind if he could only get away.
Genie is a beautiful and indestructible cyborg constructed by a technologically advanced civilization for the purpose of interacting with humans. Genie is programmed to love Joe Grimes, but she longs to be free.
326 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
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January 5, 2019
Not sure where to start with this one, honestly.
It was the author's first book, written back in 2009, so I guess I should go easy on it.
Risking to continue beating the dead horse, here's what I found wrong with the book. What I can remember, anyway.
Exaggeration. That's the first thing you'll notice.
50.000 years from now, everything is apparently made to be perfect. And awesome. You have spaceships that are able to destroy worlds. While this isn't very surprising, the confusion starts when you find out there's a hand-held cannon that can destroy it instantly "if it hits the right place". Of course, in the book it does. 1 shot, 1 kill.
Then you have a state-of-the-art personal combat armor, something like a mech exoskeleton, that's even more ridiculous. Once it was told a person wearing it can snipe a specific target in the mass of other people from hundreds of yards away. And then we have an elite squad wearing that very same armor, shooting at unarmed people hiding behind the rock and missing like it was me firing.
Ah, more exaggeration. Apparently, all those Craaldan soldiers are combat-hardened veterans with 500-600 years of experience. Yet that doesn't apply when they're shooting at our main protagonists.
We get to spend 20 minutes reading about an outpost that is so epic and well-defended that all military heads are stationed there. It's one badass base! Then a nuke falls and they all die. 20 minutes of reading wasted.
Main protagonists are apparently all ex-military. Two Captains and one Sargent. Two fighter pilots and one Ranger. And that's all we know about them. Apparently, enough for a character building. Oh, there is also a human companion robot, a.k.a. sexbot, which is more like an indestructible terminator on crack than anything else. If she hates you, you are dead.
Everything is so over-the-top awesome that any new description of anything - a ship, weapon, vehicle - won't surprise you anymore. It's just epic. And then it doesn't work as it's supposed to unless necessary to drive the plot further.
Plot? My Gods. It's more like a stop-motion movie than anything else.
I have a feeling the writer wanted to set the backstory into place as quickly as possible, give us a glimpse of main characters, and focus on the story as soon as possible. And when you finally had a shaky tower of mismatched building blocks, story unfolded. None of it was done properly.
There's material for three novels here instead of one, but the pacing wasn't done right. This way we got loads of unnecessary information about one thing while having nothing on something equally as important.
Look! Here's the action! Pew pew! OMG, he/she died! Nooo... Let's run. Yes, to the other side of the galaxy! They will never find us there! Look, we already arrived. And they found us! Nooo... Fight again. Run headlong into random situations that make no sense, but hell - it's fun! Uh-oh. Didn't work as planned. Run again...
...
I think you get the point.
There is no time for relaxing, thinking about past actions or Gods forbid - planning future ones! As soon as one scene is done, next one starts. If it takes 2 months and 300 lightyears to get there, it's alright. Just start reading the next paragraph. If it was done properly, it would look something like Mercy Kill. But here we're left still pondering past actions of our heroes, and they were already in another system finishing fights with new people. There's no closure or introduction, just barely connected over-the-top action scenes one after another. I pretty much hated that.
The story, in itself, was pretty good. Could have been much better if it was only paced better and introduced properly. It was interesting and I was genuinely interested what's going to happen next. Delivery failed, though.
There were a few races described, none of which are memorable by more than one thing. Craaldans are a warrior race obsessed with cleansing the entire galaxy. There is a robotic race that is apparently evil and wants to do the same, and the third one, a bunch of super-smart but weak creatures that serve as advisors to any of the two in order to survive. I heard names of all three > 100 times, but couldn't remember any of them. That's how generic they were.
I Googled how to write "Craaldans" (I listened to the audiobook) as I was willing to bet my home it started with 'K'. Entire race is a carbon-copy of Krogans from Mass Effect.
Humans? They are pathetic. Stupid and weak, nearly extinct. Most of them space drifters, without a home of any kind. And they still fight amongst each other. Pretty realistic, come to think of it now.
Still, everything depicted in the book was based on human requirements, even though they're the youngest race in the galaxy. Humans could use power armors made for one race, notably smaller. Drive spaceships (cruisers, no less) of another race, notably taller and bulkier. Soooo... whatever you pick up in a random space station built by an ancient civilization - you can use. Of course, you can, you're a human. The weakest and most pathetic race of all. Mind boggling, yes.
If I look past the exaggeration and badly paced (and presented) story, there are some pretty nice elements to be seen. You will only need to arrange them into their respective places on your own. Don't expect much help from the writer there.
Characters aren't bland and two-dimensional as you may expect reading this interview. The flaw is they are emotionally described by telling you instead of showing. But there was no time for showing. There are stop-motion action scenes pending, so you will be told everything you need to know about them. Still, you'll care about characters as they are not idiots. Although many of their choices can be questioned.
Some writing errors were obvious, like mentioning "flooding of the nervous system" for 72 times and calling the character by the longest variant of the name possible.
If Joe and Mina speak, you won't hear "Joe" or "Mina". Not even "he" or "she". Oh no, it's going to be Captains and Sergeants all the way, even from the narrator. Imagine this:
First Sargent Joe Grimes said: "I can sell all this."
Captain Casey asked: "What are you going to do then?"
First Sargent Grimes smiles and looks at Captain Casey.
"Go to a faraway place and start a new life", Sargent Grimes said.
When two professors started talking and addressing each other as Professor XYZ, and the narrator started doing the same, I cracked. It reminded me of this hilarious scene from Spies Like Us and I started laughing out loud. It did not bring any points to the novel, though.
This book had so much potential, and would have been a whole new level more interesting if it was just paced a bit slower. There was no attention to detail when needed, but when we learn all about pupil colors of one person, it's clear he's going to die in less than 30 minutes. If we find out dietary habits of his dog as well, or his haircut style, that person is so dead. So very dead in the very next paragraph.
I generally think 5* marks are reserved for masterpieces like Hyperion Cantos and Foundation Series, although I frequently give high ratings to books that amaze me, I have great time reading/listening or simply very much enjoy any aspect of it.
This did not happen here, unfortunately. I see the next part of Galaxy of Heroes series is already rated 0.5 better, on average. And the third part even better than the second. It makes me think Gus Flory took criticism of his first book seriously and kept on improving. I'm very glad to see it, as I really want to read and enjoy the second book.
The end result could have been worse but, perhaps thanks to the narrator, the book got 3* from me. Mainly because it never actually pissed me off. There's certainly space for improvement and the universe itself shows promise. For the first book ever, this is amazing!
Speaking of the narrator, Brian Callanan, he did a very good job. Probably could have done more, had the book allowed it, but it was good as it is. Easy on the ears. Listening recommended.
This turned out to be a pretty long review.
5* for you for staying with me this long! :-)
Oh, almost forgot!
I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher, or narrator. Thank you, guys!
It was the author's first book, written back in 2009, so I guess I should go easy on it.
Risking to continue beating the dead horse, here's what I found wrong with the book. What I can remember, anyway.
Exaggeration. That's the first thing you'll notice.
50.000 years from now, everything is apparently made to be perfect. And awesome. You have spaceships that are able to destroy worlds. While this isn't very surprising, the confusion starts when you find out there's a hand-held cannon that can destroy it instantly "if it hits the right place". Of course, in the book it does. 1 shot, 1 kill.
Then you have a state-of-the-art personal combat armor, something like a mech exoskeleton, that's even more ridiculous. Once it was told a person wearing it can snipe a specific target in the mass of other people from hundreds of yards away. And then we have an elite squad wearing that very same armor, shooting at unarmed people hiding behind the rock and missing like it was me firing.
Ah, more exaggeration. Apparently, all those Craaldan soldiers are combat-hardened veterans with 500-600 years of experience. Yet that doesn't apply when they're shooting at our main protagonists.
We get to spend 20 minutes reading about an outpost that is so epic and well-defended that all military heads are stationed there. It's one badass base! Then a nuke falls and they all die. 20 minutes of reading wasted.
Main protagonists are apparently all ex-military. Two Captains and one Sargent. Two fighter pilots and one Ranger. And that's all we know about them. Apparently, enough for a character building. Oh, there is also a human companion robot, a.k.a. sexbot, which is more like an indestructible terminator on crack than anything else. If she hates you, you are dead.
Everything is so over-the-top awesome that any new description of anything - a ship, weapon, vehicle - won't surprise you anymore. It's just epic. And then it doesn't work as it's supposed to unless necessary to drive the plot further.
Plot? My Gods. It's more like a stop-motion movie than anything else.
I have a feeling the writer wanted to set the backstory into place as quickly as possible, give us a glimpse of main characters, and focus on the story as soon as possible. And when you finally had a shaky tower of mismatched building blocks, story unfolded. None of it was done properly.
There's material for three novels here instead of one, but the pacing wasn't done right. This way we got loads of unnecessary information about one thing while having nothing on something equally as important.
Look! Here's the action! Pew pew! OMG, he/she died! Nooo... Let's run. Yes, to the other side of the galaxy! They will never find us there! Look, we already arrived. And they found us! Nooo... Fight again. Run headlong into random situations that make no sense, but hell - it's fun! Uh-oh. Didn't work as planned. Run again...
...
I think you get the point.
There is no time for relaxing, thinking about past actions or Gods forbid - planning future ones! As soon as one scene is done, next one starts. If it takes 2 months and 300 lightyears to get there, it's alright. Just start reading the next paragraph. If it was done properly, it would look something like Mercy Kill. But here we're left still pondering past actions of our heroes, and they were already in another system finishing fights with new people. There's no closure or introduction, just barely connected over-the-top action scenes one after another. I pretty much hated that.
The story, in itself, was pretty good. Could have been much better if it was only paced better and introduced properly. It was interesting and I was genuinely interested what's going to happen next. Delivery failed, though.
There were a few races described, none of which are memorable by more than one thing. Craaldans are a warrior race obsessed with cleansing the entire galaxy. There is a robotic race that is apparently evil and wants to do the same, and the third one, a bunch of super-smart but weak creatures that serve as advisors to any of the two in order to survive. I heard names of all three > 100 times, but couldn't remember any of them. That's how generic they were.
I Googled how to write "Craaldans" (I listened to the audiobook) as I was willing to bet my home it started with 'K'. Entire race is a carbon-copy of Krogans from Mass Effect.
Humans? They are pathetic. Stupid and weak, nearly extinct. Most of them space drifters, without a home of any kind. And they still fight amongst each other. Pretty realistic, come to think of it now.
Still, everything depicted in the book was based on human requirements, even though they're the youngest race in the galaxy. Humans could use power armors made for one race, notably smaller. Drive spaceships (cruisers, no less) of another race, notably taller and bulkier. Soooo... whatever you pick up in a random space station built by an ancient civilization - you can use. Of course, you can, you're a human. The weakest and most pathetic race of all. Mind boggling, yes.
If I look past the exaggeration and badly paced (and presented) story, there are some pretty nice elements to be seen. You will only need to arrange them into their respective places on your own. Don't expect much help from the writer there.
Characters aren't bland and two-dimensional as you may expect reading this interview. The flaw is they are emotionally described by telling you instead of showing. But there was no time for showing. There are stop-motion action scenes pending, so you will be told everything you need to know about them. Still, you'll care about characters as they are not idiots. Although many of their choices can be questioned.
Some writing errors were obvious, like mentioning "flooding of the nervous system" for 72 times and calling the character by the longest variant of the name possible.
If Joe and Mina speak, you won't hear "Joe" or "Mina". Not even "he" or "she". Oh no, it's going to be Captains and Sergeants all the way, even from the narrator. Imagine this:
First Sargent Joe Grimes said: "I can sell all this."
Captain Casey asked: "What are you going to do then?"
First Sargent Grimes smiles and looks at Captain Casey.
"Go to a faraway place and start a new life", Sargent Grimes said.
When two professors started talking and addressing each other as Professor XYZ, and the narrator started doing the same, I cracked. It reminded me of this hilarious scene from Spies Like Us and I started laughing out loud. It did not bring any points to the novel, though.
This book had so much potential, and would have been a whole new level more interesting if it was just paced a bit slower. There was no attention to detail when needed, but when we learn all about pupil colors of one person, it's clear he's going to die in less than 30 minutes. If we find out dietary habits of his dog as well, or his haircut style, that person is so dead. So very dead in the very next paragraph.
I generally think 5* marks are reserved for masterpieces like Hyperion Cantos and Foundation Series, although I frequently give high ratings to books that amaze me, I have great time reading/listening or simply very much enjoy any aspect of it.
This did not happen here, unfortunately. I see the next part of Galaxy of Heroes series is already rated 0.5 better, on average. And the third part even better than the second. It makes me think Gus Flory took criticism of his first book seriously and kept on improving. I'm very glad to see it, as I really want to read and enjoy the second book.
The end result could have been worse but, perhaps thanks to the narrator, the book got 3* from me. Mainly because it never actually pissed me off. There's certainly space for improvement and the universe itself shows promise. For the first book ever, this is amazing!
Speaking of the narrator, Brian Callanan, he did a very good job. Probably could have done more, had the book allowed it, but it was good as it is. Easy on the ears. Listening recommended.
This turned out to be a pretty long review.
5* for you for staying with me this long! :-)
Oh, almost forgot!
I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher, or narrator. Thank you, guys!
Verdict Good, but might as well skip.
Runtime 08:31
Overall
Performance
Story
May 9, 2010
This is a first book, so I'm going to give constructive criticism. I hope that's what the author wants and that it helps him, even if just a little. Due to that, there will be spoilers.
Firstly let me say that I've had the opportunity to read other first novels and couldn't even finish some of them. I did finish this one, so that's a big positive right off the bat. And I didn't finish it just to get it finished. I was genuinely interested in where the story was going and what would happen to the characters.
The prose was a little dry for my taste, but I've experienced that in this type of sci-fi from established authors, so that's not necessarily a deal-breaker I suppose. It just had little flow and no beauty to the use of the language and how the words were strung together. It got the job done as far as telling the story, but it wasn't nearly as enjoyable (to me, a professed book and language snob) as it could have been.
The descriptions of the battles and fights were often confusing to me. Granted, I've had no experience with those types of situations and don't read lots of books where battles play a major role, but I have read some good ones, so I know it can be described so that people like me will be able to keep up with the action.
The characters were decently portrayed. Some of the supporting cast could have used a little more fleshing out, but overall I felt that I knew the characters and understood their motivations. The biggest problem I had was that the characters too often did things that contrasted with what I'd been led to expect about them. Even right at the beginning, before there had been much action, I could have told you that Jace Spade would never have fallen for the not-even-thinly-veiled deceptions by Dr. Mahlis. It was far too predictable and easily spotted, yet Spade blindly and faithfully followed along, despite the fact that he'd been given no reason whatsoever to trust Dr. Mahlis.
Those are my major problems but, like I said, I've seen far worse first novels.
Firstly let me say that I've had the opportunity to read other first novels and couldn't even finish some of them. I did finish this one, so that's a big positive right off the bat. And I didn't finish it just to get it finished. I was genuinely interested in where the story was going and what would happen to the characters.
The prose was a little dry for my taste, but I've experienced that in this type of sci-fi from established authors, so that's not necessarily a deal-breaker I suppose. It just had little flow and no beauty to the use of the language and how the words were strung together. It got the job done as far as telling the story, but it wasn't nearly as enjoyable (to me, a professed book and language snob) as it could have been.
The descriptions of the battles and fights were often confusing to me. Granted, I've had no experience with those types of situations and don't read lots of books where battles play a major role, but I have read some good ones, so I know it can be described so that people like me will be able to keep up with the action.
The characters were decently portrayed. Some of the supporting cast could have used a little more fleshing out, but overall I felt that I knew the characters and understood their motivations. The biggest problem I had was that the characters too often did things that contrasted with what I'd been led to expect about them. Even right at the beginning, before there had been much action, I could have told you that Jace Spade would never have fallen for the not-even-thinly-veiled deceptions by Dr. Mahlis. It was far too predictable and easily spotted, yet Spade blindly and faithfully followed along, despite the fact that he'd been given no reason whatsoever to trust Dr. Mahlis.
Those are my major problems but, like I said, I've seen far worse first novels.
May 24, 2010
I won this book on a goodreads giveaway; the first one I've won so far.
Fairly sure this is the author's first book, so I don't think I was expecting anything amazing. But I did actually quite like it. In fact, as soon as Captain Jace Spade put on his eye patch and lit up his cigar, I decided it was going to be a fun read!
There were a few parts where the writing came across a bit clumsy or unrefined, but I think thats understandable in a first book. However it didn't seem to matter so much, because the author had a great knack of story telling and adventure, and it all came through despite the slight roughness.
I liked the characters, I like how the heroism was tempered with self-preservation. I loved how Genie the cyborg struggled with her programming and fought for her own free will.
The battle and fight scenes were done really well I thought, I liked how we got a good visual description of things, and then everything was clarified through one of the character's own point of view. Because ashamadely I often struggle with battle scenes, because my visual imagination can't cope with it! But this was pretty easy to go along with.
All in all, a good read. 4 stars :)
Fairly sure this is the author's first book, so I don't think I was expecting anything amazing. But I did actually quite like it. In fact, as soon as Captain Jace Spade put on his eye patch and lit up his cigar, I decided it was going to be a fun read!
There were a few parts where the writing came across a bit clumsy or unrefined, but I think thats understandable in a first book. However it didn't seem to matter so much, because the author had a great knack of story telling and adventure, and it all came through despite the slight roughness.
I liked the characters, I like how the heroism was tempered with self-preservation. I loved how Genie the cyborg struggled with her programming and fought for her own free will.
The battle and fight scenes were done really well I thought, I liked how we got a good visual description of things, and then everything was clarified through one of the character's own point of view. Because ashamadely I often struggle with battle scenes, because my visual imagination can't cope with it! But this was pretty easy to go along with.
All in all, a good read. 4 stars :)
August 10, 2010
Galaxy of Heroes is somewhat reminiscent of the best bits of Firefly/Serenity and the Star Wars movies, but still manages to be an original and fun story in its own right. It has that space cowboy and Captain Tightpants aspect of Firefly, combined with Star Wars-esque aliens and battle scenes, but kickass original characters and intriguing mythology.
Also, along with Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series, I found that Galaxy of Heroes is one of the few books I like that manages to blend young adult fiction and fantasy/sci-fi themes seamlessly, making the concepts easy to understand without feeling too juvenile. I feel like age really isn't too much of an issue with this story, as long as you have an interest in sci-fi and you cheer for the underdog.
Speaking of the underdog, I really enjoyed the characters in this book. Captain Spade made me laugh, and reminded me of a mix of Mal and Jayne from Firefly, along with someone else I can't quite put my finger on. He was kickass and made me laugh, and I enjoyed his sarcastic sense of humour. I quite liked Mina Casey too, which I didn't expect - usually when authors create strong I-will-kill-you female characters like Mina Casey they just annoy the shit out of me and I want to punch them.
I really want to hear more about Grimes and Genie too! I'd love to see and hear how their voyage to the Calli Sector goes, and in setting up a new colony - particularly when Spade and Casey show up with tonnes of refugees in tow. I expected them to show up at the end and help fight on Portogallos, and was a bit bummed when that didn't happen =/ I really loved watching/reading about Genie's transformation though, in terms of her relationship with Grimes and fighting with the organic and inorganic sides of herself.
I also wanted Spade to actually track down Dr. Zander, and have to admit I half rolled my eyes when Mina said 'he's in YOU' (or something to that effect). Much of Spade's story was tied up in his quest for the doctor, so I was a bit confused when that never really eventuated. I'd like to see this novel turn into a series, so I can see some of these plotarcs unfold a little more.
On that note, I found the Craaldan view on war and their evolution to be really fascinating, and would also love to hear more about their conquests before and after the events that take place in the novel. I was really struck by how war was so ingrained in their being that they'd simply accepted that in the end there'd be nothing left to destroy, and that they'd return to the mutinous behaviour they were originally known for.
I'd also love to hear more about the Diocons, both before and after the events of this novel. Much more brutal and cold than the Craaldans, I'd really love to explore their twisted psyche and learn how they became what they are.
So overall, I really quite enjoyed this novel. It's a light, fun read that blends young adult and sci-fi almost flawlessly, and I'm more curious than disappointed about some loose ends being left untied. I do hope the author turns this into a series if that isn't in the pipeline already, because I would love to hear more on everything. Hell, I'd even settle for some short stories or something. :)
FTC disclaimer: I received this book through the Goodreads First Reads program, and as such should probably say something about how that doesn't affect my opinion yadda yadda yadda. Well it doesn't - a shit book is still a shit book, and I've torn the author a new one on a couple of occasions ;] just check my first-reads shelf!
Also, along with Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series, I found that Galaxy of Heroes is one of the few books I like that manages to blend young adult fiction and fantasy/sci-fi themes seamlessly, making the concepts easy to understand without feeling too juvenile. I feel like age really isn't too much of an issue with this story, as long as you have an interest in sci-fi and you cheer for the underdog.
Speaking of the underdog, I really enjoyed the characters in this book. Captain Spade made me laugh, and reminded me of a mix of Mal and Jayne from Firefly, along with someone else I can't quite put my finger on. He was kickass and made me laugh, and I enjoyed his sarcastic sense of humour. I quite liked Mina Casey too, which I didn't expect - usually when authors create strong I-will-kill-you female characters like Mina Casey they just annoy the shit out of me and I want to punch them.
I really want to hear more about Grimes and Genie too! I'd love to see and hear how their voyage to the Calli Sector goes, and in setting up a new colony - particularly when Spade and Casey show up with tonnes of refugees in tow. I expected them to show up at the end and help fight on Portogallos, and was a bit bummed when that didn't happen =/ I really loved watching/reading about Genie's transformation though, in terms of her relationship with Grimes and fighting with the organic and inorganic sides of herself.
I also wanted Spade to actually track down Dr. Zander, and have to admit I half rolled my eyes when Mina said 'he's in YOU' (or something to that effect). Much of Spade's story was tied up in his quest for the doctor, so I was a bit confused when that never really eventuated. I'd like to see this novel turn into a series, so I can see some of these plotarcs unfold a little more.
On that note, I found the Craaldan view on war and their evolution to be really fascinating, and would also love to hear more about their conquests before and after the events that take place in the novel. I was really struck by how war was so ingrained in their being that they'd simply accepted that in the end there'd be nothing left to destroy, and that they'd return to the mutinous behaviour they were originally known for.
I'd also love to hear more about the Diocons, both before and after the events of this novel. Much more brutal and cold than the Craaldans, I'd really love to explore their twisted psyche and learn how they became what they are.
So overall, I really quite enjoyed this novel. It's a light, fun read that blends young adult and sci-fi almost flawlessly, and I'm more curious than disappointed about some loose ends being left untied. I do hope the author turns this into a series if that isn't in the pipeline already, because I would love to hear more on everything. Hell, I'd even settle for some short stories or something. :)
FTC disclaimer: I received this book through the Goodreads First Reads program, and as such should probably say something about how that doesn't affect my opinion yadda yadda yadda. Well it doesn't - a shit book is still a shit book, and I've torn the author a new one on a couple of occasions ;] just check my first-reads shelf!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 31, 2010
Not the genre of sci/fi I usually read and so not my favorite book, but it was ok. I got this one from goodreads and is kind of cool in that it is not a polished product yet - huge margins, no copyright and a few more typos that normal. The plot is a deep space adventure revolving around a few barely related characters. The individual stories are fun enough, but really feel disconnected from each other. Nothing in this book surprised me, but it was a fun enough read.
January 24, 2012
I didn't make it past the first 10 pages of this kindle offering, thank goodness it was a cheap or freebe ( don't remember which). Very poor writing, "fancy words" don't make a good book. Hope he has a day job.
September 17, 2017
I was really looking forward to this book. Unfortunately though I had a really hard time with this book. It just was not holding my attention. The synopsis of this book sounded fantastic but it took me well past the 2 hour mark to even really make "sense" of what was going on. It just felt disjointed and did not flow well. This could be my fault though because I had to keep stopping and then coming back to the book. If a book doesn't grab my attention pretty much right away I move onto something else then try again later.
Eventually the story did become interesting and entertaining and was able to keep my attention. It is full of action. Albeit not always wise or sensible action. This is due to some of the things the characters do that are ridiculous at times. The whole galaxy is at war with each other, there is always a fight going on and enemies are everywhere. It is told in 3 parts the first part is about Captain Jace Spade. The second is about Sargent Joe Grimes and the cyborg Genie. The last part is about Captain Mina Casey. The parts tell the background for each of the 4 main characters that are eventually brought together in a fight against the enemy.
Brian Callahan did a really good job with the narration. Nice voice. Easy to listen to for long periods of time. Clearly spoken. Nice even pace. Really good character voices. Even his female character voices were good. His narration was what kept me coming back and trying to finish the story. Very enjoyable.
I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator or publisher.
Eventually the story did become interesting and entertaining and was able to keep my attention. It is full of action. Albeit not always wise or sensible action. This is due to some of the things the characters do that are ridiculous at times. The whole galaxy is at war with each other, there is always a fight going on and enemies are everywhere. It is told in 3 parts the first part is about Captain Jace Spade. The second is about Sargent Joe Grimes and the cyborg Genie. The last part is about Captain Mina Casey. The parts tell the background for each of the 4 main characters that are eventually brought together in a fight against the enemy.
Brian Callahan did a really good job with the narration. Nice voice. Easy to listen to for long periods of time. Clearly spoken. Nice even pace. Really good character voices. Even his female character voices were good. His narration was what kept me coming back and trying to finish the story. Very enjoyable.
I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator or publisher.
December 1, 2017
DNF 80% I just couldn't handle it any more, there were continually changing POV for various MC. The cyborg forced to love an unintelligent hard core military man with an abundance of vices that won her in a card game was her professed love when she got her freedom although she secretly despised him underneath her forced devotion programming. None of the MC had any real depth to their personality and I really didn't care if they lived or died. I gave 2 stars only because the book was coherent and I couldn't find any large amounts of editing mistakes. Hours of time were wasted that I can't get back and I advise you to stay away from this book at all costs.
August 10, 2020
This is a decent sci fi story. Two warring factions with everyone else caught in between. There is a spy group in there sabotaging the war. Then there are the cyborg that 2 captains are crazy about. It could use some improvements, but it is a good story. I would recommend it.
July 4, 2021
Excellent Sci-Fi
A will written Sci-Fi novel with interesting will developed characters. The story line is fast moving with lots of twist and turns leading to an unexpected conclusion. I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys will written Sci-Fi novel. Enjoy reading 2019
A will written Sci-Fi novel with interesting will developed characters. The story line is fast moving with lots of twist and turns leading to an unexpected conclusion. I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys will written Sci-Fi novel. Enjoy reading 2019
May 23, 2024
Loved it!
Three different stories equals one great adventure. Surprisingly romantic. The battle scenes were interesting and as discustng as war must be. The world creating was surprising; some of the peoples and planets' civilizations were millions
of years old.
Three different stories equals one great adventure. Surprisingly romantic. The battle scenes were interesting and as discustng as war must be. The world creating was surprising; some of the peoples and planets' civilizations were millions
of years old.
June 6, 2017
Star Wars with names changed.
March 3, 2018
Slow building story.
It took a long time to build the story. A reader has to be patient. Eventually the story will unfold and begin to catch the readers interest.
It took a long time to build the story. A reader has to be patient. Eventually the story will unfold and begin to catch the readers interest.
September 6, 2018
Old style Sci-fi
Sometimes you just want to read an adventure book and this is definitely one of those with all the bits that make sci-fi so much fun.
Sometimes you just want to read an adventure book and this is definitely one of those with all the bits that make sci-fi so much fun.
December 28, 2019
Not happy with this one...ah well
April 5, 2020
Pretty good
Some what depressing since humans loose in the end put set up for sequels. Naturally lot of surviving unsurvivable
injuries
Some what depressing since humans loose in the end put set up for sequels. Naturally lot of surviving unsurvivable
injuries
May 16, 2020
Exciting!
I was impressed by how the book kept getting better the more I read. I'm curious to see how the next book is.
I was impressed by how the book kept getting better the more I read. I'm curious to see how the next book is.
December 27, 2021
Done. Did not hold my interest.
Not for me. Lost interest in the first part. Could not continue reading. Cover art should have been a warning.
Not for me. Lost interest in the first part. Could not continue reading. Cover art should have been a warning.
August 2, 2023
Okay. Prefer not to read cliff-hangers.
November 27, 2025
Lots of plot holes
Lots of telling and action, but author gets confused on what he wrote earlier. Story isn't great and characters aren't likeable.
Lots of telling and action, but author gets confused on what he wrote earlier. Story isn't great and characters aren't likeable.
November 3, 2012
This book was very nearly a four. I struggled to read parts of it. Too many chapters in the book felt like they were randomly tacked on adventures with no clear-cut indication that the plot was steering the reader toward a single goal. I generally dislike non-plot stories or books that wander all over the place. Had the plot been more focused, I would certainly have given it a higher score. But there was one unforgivable scene in the book that almost made me delete the book. I understand the characters were quirky and unpredictable. But when they start behaving irrational to the point of absurdity, that's when my patience ends.
Somehow, I managed to calm myself down enough to keep reading and found that the story took a turn for the better and actually discovered its plot after the offending scene.
I totally diagree with other reviewers who say this book isn't written well. I had no trouble understanding the material and thought the author delivered his story in a respectably straight-forward manner. In fact, I thought the prose was quite good and not distracting at all.
Despite the parts of the story I didn't like, the book ended on a strong note and makes me want to know what happens in the sequel. I'm more than happy to plunk down the money to pick up the story where this one left off. So that speaks volumes about the book overall.
Recommended for space opera fans. 3.8 Stars
Somehow, I managed to calm myself down enough to keep reading and found that the story took a turn for the better and actually discovered its plot after the offending scene.
I totally diagree with other reviewers who say this book isn't written well. I had no trouble understanding the material and thought the author delivered his story in a respectably straight-forward manner. In fact, I thought the prose was quite good and not distracting at all.
Despite the parts of the story I didn't like, the book ended on a strong note and makes me want to know what happens in the sequel. I'm more than happy to plunk down the money to pick up the story where this one left off. So that speaks volumes about the book overall.
Recommended for space opera fans. 3.8 Stars
June 3, 2010
I liked the storyline. I liked the characters. I liked the physical aspects of the book (cover art/font/paper weight). But, as I got about 1/2 way through the book, I was leaning towards a "2" rating. My reason had to do with the writing itself. I felt as if the phrases that would have normally "packed a punch" failed to. This is because the writing was the same sparse/blunt style whether it was the normal course of the telling or it was that last power sentence at the end of the chapter or section. (Do I make any sense???)
Now, I do want to qualify that by saying I did like the fast-pace, to-the-point, action feel of the book. The writing did provide that. I will never be a writer and I really do not know how to get that impact I am referring to above, so I will not even try to suggest something.
By the end of the book I decided that despite my one issue, I did enjoy the story. So, my "2" became a "3". And, I think a story like this would translate quite well to film.
Now, I do want to qualify that by saying I did like the fast-pace, to-the-point, action feel of the book. The writing did provide that. I will never be a writer and I really do not know how to get that impact I am referring to above, so I will not even try to suggest something.
By the end of the book I decided that despite my one issue, I did enjoy the story. So, my "2" became a "3". And, I think a story like this would translate quite well to film.
June 2, 2010
I won this book from Goodreads First Reads!
I wanted to give this book more than 3 stars, but my feeling about it is that it was closer to 3 than to 4.
This book has 3 parts to it. The first part is about Capt Jace Spade who finds himself a scapegoat in a plot to control the galaxy. It was very slow in building the character, and getting to the interesting part of the story.
The 2nd part was certainly my favorite. Genie the cyborg and Sgt Joe Grimes were a couple I could instantly appreciate. She was built by aliens to accompany lonely space travelers on long voyages, and resents it. The dynamic of her relationship with Sgt. Joe Grimes was a fascinating idea, and well told.
The last part about Capt. Mina Casey kept me interested, but not enthusiastic. Mina Casey is a complex woman who wants to retire and enjoy the beach on the Gallos sea, but it's in the wrong place at the wrong time. Annihilation of humans by the Craaldan appears imminent.
Though a bit corny at times, people who like sci fi space novels will like this book.
I wanted to give this book more than 3 stars, but my feeling about it is that it was closer to 3 than to 4.
This book has 3 parts to it. The first part is about Capt Jace Spade who finds himself a scapegoat in a plot to control the galaxy. It was very slow in building the character, and getting to the interesting part of the story.
The 2nd part was certainly my favorite. Genie the cyborg and Sgt Joe Grimes were a couple I could instantly appreciate. She was built by aliens to accompany lonely space travelers on long voyages, and resents it. The dynamic of her relationship with Sgt. Joe Grimes was a fascinating idea, and well told.
The last part about Capt. Mina Casey kept me interested, but not enthusiastic. Mina Casey is a complex woman who wants to retire and enjoy the beach on the Gallos sea, but it's in the wrong place at the wrong time. Annihilation of humans by the Craaldan appears imminent.
Though a bit corny at times, people who like sci fi space novels will like this book.
October 3, 2011
This first book, in the great SF tradition of action and adveutures tales going from some Heinlein to some David Drake, is done with the love of it, entrhusias and a fair competence. The pace is relatively fast, the caracters could get you interested in their fate and it should please many of the readers of Military SF or Space Wars yarns. At times we had a feeling of almost being there" , or involved, even in thepart of the book that are the most far from our common real experience of life. We are not again in Joe Haldeman territories here or, for something else,in Mack Reynolds lands, but I had read far more worse books of this kind in our day. It is worth a try. And I think that it could be interesting to see what may come out of this man if he continues to work hard, increases his writing skills and experience to explores with more freedom the realms of his imagination and, taking a little more distance of his admirations and influences, se him bring a little more of his personnal inner self in his future books...
February 19, 2013
Gus Flory "Galaxy of Heroes" starts with a chase scene, brings in a washed up soldier and a feisty female pilot and caps it off with a human-infused robot with some serious issues. The human race is just about history, and there are dueling alien races with little love for anything but annihilation of anything else that lives and breathes. Capt. Jace Spade is flawed. He's so flawed he's hard to like. Genie the android appears the most human of the bunch. I thought Flory didn't give this story much humanity. His goal appeared to be to show that the apathetic remains of the human race just didn't care. Hmmm ... Maybe this is allegorical. Didn't give that angle much thought. Maybe. Or maybe it's just his way of using these characters to show just what it would be like with a little bit of technology and a whole lot of bad luck. None of them are very heroic. But they are fighters, and the reader wants them to survive.
January 26, 2012
Set in the far future with the human race facing extinction from being caught between two other warring races, this book focuses on a few humans struggling to save themselves and maybe the human race.
I liked the two warring races, even if one of them does not get much face time. The humans were also fun to read. They are all action heroes in an action movie, but they were still engaging individuals.
The plot itself revolved around some willful stupidity and a lot of mass hysteria, so it stretched the bounds of credulity. Also, most of the twists in the book were very obvious since the clues were highlighted instead of being cleverly thrown in. I enjoy being surprised by a book, but this one failed to deliver.
All in all, I liked this book well enough to want to read the sequel, even if it did fail to surprise me at all.
I liked the two warring races, even if one of them does not get much face time. The humans were also fun to read. They are all action heroes in an action movie, but they were still engaging individuals.
The plot itself revolved around some willful stupidity and a lot of mass hysteria, so it stretched the bounds of credulity. Also, most of the twists in the book were very obvious since the clues were highlighted instead of being cleverly thrown in. I enjoy being surprised by a book, but this one failed to deliver.
All in all, I liked this book well enough to want to read the sequel, even if it did fail to surprise me at all.
September 1, 2010
I won this on Goodreads. Although SciFi is not one of my normal genre's I'm up for a good story of any sort. Much of this I did enjoy- particularly the characters and the action. I didn't expect to chuckle quite so much either but I did - that's kind of a first for SciFi for me since I guess the others I've read are more serious or something. So I enjoyed the dialogue greatly.
The writing was pretty good - at times the flow just seemed a bit off though but not severely so or anything. I didn't feel intimidated by the worldbuilding here (which I do in other SciFi I've read - probably why it's not somethign I read regularly).
Overall I liked it alot and I'd read more by the same author!
The writing was pretty good - at times the flow just seemed a bit off though but not severely so or anything. I didn't feel intimidated by the worldbuilding here (which I do in other SciFi I've read - probably why it's not somethign I read regularly).
Overall I liked it alot and I'd read more by the same author!
June 12, 2010
I won a copy of this book through Goodreads First Reads and began to read it a couple of weeks ago. It started off as such a fun read, and I ended up telling my brother about it. While I was at the store, he "borrowed" it and I just got it back. (He thought it was a great romp, btw.) So I finished reading it last night. I can totally see this being made into a SyFy channel movie - campy, fun, crazy made-up creatures with awesomely predictable names, etc. The book was kind of choppy, but still enjoyable to read. I picture Capt. Jace Spade to be a cross between Face from the A-Team and Captain Kirk. Every character is clishe, but that's part of it's charm. As a side note, I bet Gus Flory is a huge BSG fan :)
June 17, 2010
I won this book from a Goodreads giveaway I entered.
Galaxy of Heroes is a great example of ample imagination, with a difficult follow through. It felt as if the author struggled to piece together a solid plot, instead I inferred an attempt at a character piece. However, the characters really did not have the depth to handle the load.
I did enjoy the world created by the authors imagination, and I feel that with a rewrite and some outside editing there is promise there. Perhaps, with the current ending, the beginnings of a series.
Best described, I would consider this book to be comparable to a Saturday feature on the SyFy channel.
Galaxy of Heroes is a great example of ample imagination, with a difficult follow through. It felt as if the author struggled to piece together a solid plot, instead I inferred an attempt at a character piece. However, the characters really did not have the depth to handle the load.
I did enjoy the world created by the authors imagination, and I feel that with a rewrite and some outside editing there is promise there. Perhaps, with the current ending, the beginnings of a series.
Best described, I would consider this book to be comparable to a Saturday feature on the SyFy channel.
June 3, 2010
Galaxy of Heros is a sci-fi novel that takes place in the future. The story is centers around the lives of four characters: Capt. Spade, Genie the cyborg, Capt. Mina Casey, and Sgt. Joe Grimes. I have to say that Capt. Spade was by far my favorite character. I didn’t always like him, but he was never dull.
The strength of this novel is the action and it is action packed. It is not a boring read, but extremely fast paced. Is this a great literary classic, NO. However, it is a fun read. I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys sci-fi, looking for a vacation novel, a bedtime read, or a book for the pool this summer.
The strength of this novel is the action and it is action packed. It is not a boring read, but extremely fast paced. Is this a great literary classic, NO. However, it is a fun read. I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys sci-fi, looking for a vacation novel, a bedtime read, or a book for the pool this summer.
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