Declination

by David Derrico

A continuation of the saga begun in Right Ascension, Declination finds us in the year 3050, ten years after the dreadful Lucani Ibron have been driven from Earth. Now, the Confederation's crises are spawned from within, and one brave woman struggles against all odds to keep mankind united amidst a hailstorm of rebellion, war, and moral declination.* * * * *The Lucani Ibron have yet to return, but all is not well within the Alpha Sector. Internal strife, terrorism, and ever-escalating conflicts with several neighboring species have spread the Confederation's resources dangerously thin. Captain Anastasia Mason, together with an eclectic group of humanity's most decorated heroes, struggles to hold the Confederation together against powerful forces that threaten to rip it apart at its very core. Then, at what appears to be mankind’s most desperate hour, an old enemy returns from a ten-year hiatus, casting humanity to the brink of civil war... and outright annihilation.

Genres: Science Fiction

190 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 28, 2002

About the author

David Derrico was born just north of Miami, Florida, and developed his appreciation for complex moral issues while receiving a degree in philosophy from the University of Florida in Gainesville. He wrote his first novel, Right Ascension, before attending law school at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall). Right Ascension was first published by Bookbooters Press in 2000, and garnered its inaugural eBook of the Year Award.

Derrico wrote his second novel, Declination, during law school, while he was probably supposed to be studying. Nonetheless, he graduated, passed the California Bar Exam, and worked as an attorney at a large, international law firm in Los Angeles for several years. While practicing law (all that practice actually made him pretty good at it), he managed to write some short stories and start work on his third novel, The Twiller.

Recently, Derrico retired from his “day job” as a big-firm attorney and moved back to South Florida, where he finished that third novel. The Twiller follows the (mis)adventures of an unlikely hero and his unique companion on a comic romp around the galaxy. Derrico maintains a website with reviews, excerpts, current news, a blog, and purchasing information for all of his novels and other works at www.davidderrico.com.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before I begin, this is the second book of a series - if you haven't read Book 1, you need to read Right Ascension (Edge of Apocalypse). Otherwise, you'll be saying "huh?" throughout the story.

I judge my science fiction on a modified version of the Baen criteria: the scientific advances / future technology needs to be somewhat believable, if there are aliens they need to be presented in some realistic format with names I can pronounce in my head while I read, and must have some type of plot with circumstances - good or bad - with their resolution I can get my head around, believe, and be interested in turning to the next page to learn more; that's quite a mouthful, but we've all read a lot of bad science fiction over the years.

With all that being said, this book hits it on most fronts - like Book One of the series I still can't pronounce the names of the alien races, but Book Two seems a bit rushed and incomplete to me. There's not too much interaction with Daniel, and (without having a spoiler) I found a couple of the situations near the end a bit unrealistic. The author did a great job setting the stage for ten years since the conclusion of Book One, then about two-thirds into the Kindle version it seemed as if there must have been a mad push to get this story told, completed, and out the door. Many scenes could / should have been developed more as they were incomplete.

I still enjoyed the series overall. The author left it open at the end as if there might be a sequel, but I will probably wait and see what other reviewers think of it instead of immediately rushing out to buy it as I did with this one. The author has a nice writing style, and I would like to see him try his hand at more sci fi.

[Hali · Rating 3 out of 5]

A thought provoking second book from this author but the writing is forced and there are so many things that are glossed over or just not finished even though the overall arch of the plot is that I found it a difficult read. In the 10 years since the Lucani Ibron have been gone the Federation has fractured apart and Captain Anastasia Mason has been sent to a planet to try to treaty with the rebels who want to seceded from the Federation. When a rebel tries to kill her she races off planet to find that a race that the Humans thought was no longer hostile or capable of massive warfare is present and ready to take advantage of the chaos and annihilate the planet. Captain Mason stays, despite orders otherwise, to help those who had almost killed her hours before and is court marshaled as a result. But this also heralds the return of the Lucani Ibron and things go from bad to worse with only Captain Mason and her crew and the former crew from the Apocalypse (the ship from the first book - Right Ascension) to try and win the war that could mean the end of mankind. A book large on ideas but small on smooth writing.

[Mike Nemeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daniel Atgard, the hero from the previous book "Right Ascension," is back on earth, his space ship is parked in his back yard. Life is good. It's been a decade since all of humanity was threatened with extinction by the energy beings called the Lucani Ibron. But this is an adventure novel so the disasters begin to strike, one after another. The pace isn't quite as intense as the first book but the intrigue builds. More characters are brought in to tell the story as the reader goes from one conflict in exotic places in space to another. It is true that David Derrico doesn't develop his characters in agonizing detail, but he does give them strength and depth enough to deal with grand challenges. This is a powerful tale of righting past wrongs and attempting to pull out of a trajectory of doom.

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't finish it! Too campy...

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

The only thing this book has going for it is the decently clever name. The plot needed to be fleshed out more and the writing cried out for an editor. The book would be above average fanfic.

[Mark Umstead · Rating 1 out of 5]

Failed as a sequel. Jumps plot points and finishes everything in a hurry. Rips off names of aliens, ships and organizations from the Mass Effect universe.

[Priscilla Angel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice easy read with a great plot and characters but still your pretty basic space opera as I like to call it .