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Doom Star #1
Star Soldier
It’s survival of the fittest in a terrible war of extinction! Created in the gene labs as super soldiers, the Highborn decided to replace the obsolete Homo sapiens. They pirated the Doom Stars and captured the Sun Works Ring around Mercury. Now, they rain asteroids, orbital fighters and nine-foot drop troops onto Earth in a relentless tide of conquest. Marten Kluge is on the receiving end. Hounded by Thought Police, he lives like an ant in a kilometer-deep city. The invasion frees him from a re-education camp but lands him in the military, fighting for the wrong side. STAR SOLDIER is the story of techno hell in a merciless war, with too many surprises for any grunt’s sanity.
335 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 16, 2010
342 people are currently reading
536 people want to read
About the author
Vaughn Heppner
147 books569 followersYou can visit Vaughn at www.vaughnheppner.com
I was born in Canada and remember as a small boy crawling in my snow-fort. I closed my eyes, and when I tried to open them, they were frozen shut. I didn't panic, but wiped away the ice crystals, unglued my eyes and kept on building my tunnel. Those were great days! I moved to Central California before seventh grade and couldn't believe I lived in a land where oranges grew on trees and you could pick grapes from the vine.
I used to wonder what I wanted to do with my life, what kind of work specifically. I was miserable not knowing and bordering on desperate. Then one day a friend gave me his typewriter. I began working on a novel. A different person told me it was much easier on a computer, so I bought one and began getting up at 4:30 A.M. each morning before work, writing for three hours. My eyes were unglued once again as the pang of misery left my gut. I knew exactly what I wanted to do: write. So now that's what I do, I write, and write, and write, and I love it.
I was born in Canada and remember as a small boy crawling in my snow-fort. I closed my eyes, and when I tried to open them, they were frozen shut. I didn't panic, but wiped away the ice crystals, unglued my eyes and kept on building my tunnel. Those were great days! I moved to Central California before seventh grade and couldn't believe I lived in a land where oranges grew on trees and you could pick grapes from the vine.
I used to wonder what I wanted to do with my life, what kind of work specifically. I was miserable not knowing and bordering on desperate. Then one day a friend gave me his typewriter. I began working on a novel. A different person told me it was much easier on a computer, so I bought one and began getting up at 4:30 A.M. each morning before work, writing for three hours. My eyes were unglued once again as the pang of misery left my gut. I knew exactly what I wanted to do: write. So now that's what I do, I write, and write, and write, and I love it.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
November 25, 2015
I read this on my Kindle and then tried the audio...no big difference:
Again with the dreaded 3 star rating. This of course can mean anything it seems. For me it can mean anything from pretty good to not good but well written.
This is an interesting book, with an interesting plot, based on an interesting idea. I definitely plan to follow the series.
On Earth ruled by a totalitarian government fighting a civil war with the colonies of the outer planets the people are controlled and "happy". You better be happy because if you aren't, if you're different, if you want to think differently than everyone else there's a place for you in reeducation. And those "places" get progressively unpleasant. Really unpleasant.
The outer planets were once controlled by improved human troops. Bigger, stronger, faster, more intelligent. But they lost control of them. Now they're called The Highborn...humans are, "premen".
Then there are those few people who just insist on thinking for themselves....you know being reeducated.
The book begins interestingly and it pulled me right in. Then about a quarter of the way in it just began to lose my interest. It's not necessarily "slow" there is action it just flagged somehow. I had to hang on tight and make myself go on. Then about the last quarter of the book, it picked back up and became very interesting.
So, hang in there. I like the book, I like the story and I plan to read the next in the series.
Again with the dreaded 3 star rating. This of course can mean anything it seems. For me it can mean anything from pretty good to not good but well written.
This is an interesting book, with an interesting plot, based on an interesting idea. I definitely plan to follow the series.
On Earth ruled by a totalitarian government fighting a civil war with the colonies of the outer planets the people are controlled and "happy". You better be happy because if you aren't, if you're different, if you want to think differently than everyone else there's a place for you in reeducation. And those "places" get progressively unpleasant. Really unpleasant.
The outer planets were once controlled by improved human troops. Bigger, stronger, faster, more intelligent. But they lost control of them. Now they're called The Highborn...humans are, "premen".
Then there are those few people who just insist on thinking for themselves....you know being reeducated.
The book begins interestingly and it pulled me right in. Then about a quarter of the way in it just began to lose my interest. It's not necessarily "slow" there is action it just flagged somehow. I had to hang on tight and make myself go on. Then about the last quarter of the book, it picked back up and became very interesting.
So, hang in there. I like the book, I like the story and I plan to read the next in the series.
November 13, 2014
1 star Mr Heppner of all your books, this is the worst one I've read or at least tried to read.
unrealistic, characters weird, story line wanders like a writing that is not following a story outline. This may be a poor start for a series. can't spend the money to find out.
unrealistic, characters weird, story line wanders like a writing that is not following a story outline. This may be a poor start for a series. can't spend the money to find out.
August 23, 2013
Again with the dreaded 3 star rating. This of course can mean anything it seems. For me it can mean anything from pretty good to not good but well written.
This is an interesting book, with an interesting plot, based on an interesting idea. I definitely plan to follow the series.
On Earth ruled by a totalitarian government fighting a civil war with the colonies of the outer planets the people are controlled and "happy". You better be happy because if you aren't, if you're different, if you want to think differently than everyone else there's a place for you in reeducation. And those "places" get progressively unpleasant. Really unpleasant.
The outer planets were once controlled by improved human troops. Bigger, stronger, faster, more intelligent. But they lost control of them. Now they're called The Highborn...humans are, "premen".
Then there are those few people who just insist on thinking for themselves....you know being reeducated.
The book begins interestingly and it pulled me right in. Then about a quarter of the way in it just began to lose my interest. It's not necessarily "slow" there is action it just flagged somehow. I had to hang on tight and make myself go on. Then about the last quarter of the book, it picked back up and became very interesting.
So, hang in there. I like the book, I like the story and I plan to read the next in the series.
This is an interesting book, with an interesting plot, based on an interesting idea. I definitely plan to follow the series.
On Earth ruled by a totalitarian government fighting a civil war with the colonies of the outer planets the people are controlled and "happy". You better be happy because if you aren't, if you're different, if you want to think differently than everyone else there's a place for you in reeducation. And those "places" get progressively unpleasant. Really unpleasant.
The outer planets were once controlled by improved human troops. Bigger, stronger, faster, more intelligent. But they lost control of them. Now they're called The Highborn...humans are, "premen".
Then there are those few people who just insist on thinking for themselves....you know being reeducated.
The book begins interestingly and it pulled me right in. Then about a quarter of the way in it just began to lose my interest. It's not necessarily "slow" there is action it just flagged somehow. I had to hang on tight and make myself go on. Then about the last quarter of the book, it picked back up and became very interesting.
So, hang in there. I like the book, I like the story and I plan to read the next in the series.
January 17, 2014
Reminds me of the cinema on a Saturday morning back in the day, when you went to see something like Flash Gorden. A rip roaring yarn that you don't have to be overly concerned about the science fiction content. Solar system based warfare done really well, which sets it apart from the usual intergalactic battles that are waged!
May 15, 2017
Star soldier, August 21, 2014
Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Star Soldier (Doom Star Book 1) (Kindle Edition)
A good read with something to say about individualism in a seemingly impossible situation. A situation in which totalitarian factions don't allow thinking for ones self. I will buy the sequel.
Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Star Soldier (Doom Star Book 1) (Kindle Edition)
A good read with something to say about individualism in a seemingly impossible situation. A situation in which totalitarian factions don't allow thinking for ones self. I will buy the sequel.
November 10, 2010
Entertaining but the book is somewhat riddled with repeated passages and could have used a more thorough editor.
August 26, 2023
I found this book difficult to rate. It has its good points and its bad. Ultimately, I felt like this was an enjoyable sci-fi failure.
First of all, the editing of this book is absolutely ATROCIOUS. I do not remember ever reading any published work with so many errors, many of them painfully obvious. This was very noticeable throughout the entire book, and sometimes I had to re-read passages several times in order to get the intended meaning. Normally, a work this poorly written would be tossed aside by me, but I found myself enjoying the story and the world enough to power through this annoyance (and from the view of an avid reader, insult).
The world and story are the redeeming qualities of this book. An interesting and "realistic" view of future incarnation of humanity. If you're looking for a "Star Trek"-like utopian view, keep looking. This world is dark and rife with dangers and injustices. The story is interesting, although not always well written. It follows a few main characters and their companions, but not always with the effectiveness that is needed to convey a clear storyline.
The characters in this story are one of its weakest points. They never really come to life, nor does the reader ever grow to care one way or another about them. The lines drawn between protagonists and antagonists are unrealistically defined and obvious. Their thoughts and feelings are sterile and as you read, you never feel anything any character is feeling, you are simply being told what is going through their mind and heart.
Despite the drawbacks of this book, I enjoyed it thoroughly until the end. The world seemed alive, which was the most redeeming quality about this book. An interesting dynamic of this book is how it pits an extreme socialist/communist society against an extreme caste/monarchy-like one.
This interesting dynamic is however what turns into this books hardest downfall. At the end of this book, the main character has a revelation that ruined my enjoyment of this book. A revelation about freedom and a free nation that once existed. It turned a decent go at a sci-fi epic into preachy, pro-democratic/American propaganda. It would be one thing if this turn in the story fit the story itself, but it doesn't. It kind of comes out of nowhere, and never has a place to settle into the story. It made the book itself drop in value. This is the exact kind of thing that readers of science fiction are trying to escape by reading it. It really killed the book for me, and in one page I went from not being able to wait to read the second book to barely being able to finish the first.
All in all, this was an enjoyable sci-fi failure. This book should have been worked on for a few more years however, both the story and the editing needs a lot of work. And it would have been nice that even if the author's sole intent was to extol the greatness of America & Democracy and vilify other forms of government, that it was integrated into the story more so you didn't feel preached at. In the end, it just comes off as a pathetic attempt to persuade you to the author's ideals.
I should say I don't necessarily personally disagree with those ideals, just that they ruined what SHOULD have been a decent novel.
First of all, the editing of this book is absolutely ATROCIOUS. I do not remember ever reading any published work with so many errors, many of them painfully obvious. This was very noticeable throughout the entire book, and sometimes I had to re-read passages several times in order to get the intended meaning. Normally, a work this poorly written would be tossed aside by me, but I found myself enjoying the story and the world enough to power through this annoyance (and from the view of an avid reader, insult).
The world and story are the redeeming qualities of this book. An interesting and "realistic" view of future incarnation of humanity. If you're looking for a "Star Trek"-like utopian view, keep looking. This world is dark and rife with dangers and injustices. The story is interesting, although not always well written. It follows a few main characters and their companions, but not always with the effectiveness that is needed to convey a clear storyline.
The characters in this story are one of its weakest points. They never really come to life, nor does the reader ever grow to care one way or another about them. The lines drawn between protagonists and antagonists are unrealistically defined and obvious. Their thoughts and feelings are sterile and as you read, you never feel anything any character is feeling, you are simply being told what is going through their mind and heart.
Despite the drawbacks of this book, I enjoyed it thoroughly until the end. The world seemed alive, which was the most redeeming quality about this book. An interesting dynamic of this book is how it pits an extreme socialist/communist society against an extreme caste/monarchy-like one.
This interesting dynamic is however what turns into this books hardest downfall. At the end of this book, the main character has a revelation that ruined my enjoyment of this book. A revelation about freedom and a free nation that once existed. It turned a decent go at a sci-fi epic into preachy, pro-democratic/American propaganda. It would be one thing if this turn in the story fit the story itself, but it doesn't. It kind of comes out of nowhere, and never has a place to settle into the story. It made the book itself drop in value. This is the exact kind of thing that readers of science fiction are trying to escape by reading it. It really killed the book for me, and in one page I went from not being able to wait to read the second book to barely being able to finish the first.
All in all, this was an enjoyable sci-fi failure. This book should have been worked on for a few more years however, both the story and the editing needs a lot of work. And it would have been nice that even if the author's sole intent was to extol the greatness of America & Democracy and vilify other forms of government, that it was integrated into the story more so you didn't feel preached at. In the end, it just comes off as a pathetic attempt to persuade you to the author's ideals.
I should say I don't necessarily personally disagree with those ideals, just that they ruined what SHOULD have been a decent novel.
April 22, 2021
I thought this to be an excellent start to a new series "Doom Star". The main character Marten Kluge I found engaging and someone I could root for, even though his life seems to go from on crisis to another. Starting off trying to complete a rebellion in the space stations around Mercury he is forced to flee to earth when all goes horribly wrong. On Earth he starts to fall foul of the Social Unit a one party state of the 1970's Soviet Russian type as he doesn't want to have someone else do his thinking for him.
When an army of super soldiers invades earth he finds himself in a position to save Greater Sydney from destruction but things don't necessarily end as expected.
When an army of super soldiers invades earth he finds himself in a position to save Greater Sydney from destruction but things don't necessarily end as expected.
June 19, 2021
Not a bad book
And not a good one either. Interesting premise almost close to today's event view on socialism and its outcome. Author clearly doesn't know how nazis were defeated in Russia not as the author states. Russians welcomed the germans and many companies were formed to fight Russian against russian. Hitler use stopped bye the cold starting this second front to late in the fall. Characters are not defined. Good vs evil not present. Killing scenes where author excells, but all event predictable.
And not a good one either. Interesting premise almost close to today's event view on socialism and its outcome. Author clearly doesn't know how nazis were defeated in Russia not as the author states. Russians welcomed the germans and many companies were formed to fight Russian against russian. Hitler use stopped bye the cold starting this second front to late in the fall. Characters are not defined. Good vs evil not present. Killing scenes where author excells, but all event predictable.
November 30, 2024
The start of a long sci-fi series that's worth every book.
When you build the ultimate weapon, why do you think you'll always have control of it? That's one of the main themes I get out of this. The good guys are few and far between (and calling them good guys is a stretch a lot of times), the enemy is always hunting and is always at the edge of winning. One man, who either has great luck or the worst luck depending on how you view it, is stuck in the middle of it, hating what the war is making him and just wanting one thing.
When you build the ultimate weapon, why do you think you'll always have control of it? That's one of the main themes I get out of this. The good guys are few and far between (and calling them good guys is a stretch a lot of times), the enemy is always hunting and is always at the edge of winning. One man, who either has great luck or the worst luck depending on how you view it, is stuck in the middle of it, hating what the war is making him and just wanting one thing.
September 17, 2017
Overall, this is a very good story and plot - I could believe the scenario - and well worth the 99 cent Kindle price. I am going to buy the second book in the series to see where the author takes me.
As another review said, this one could really use an editor / proofreader to spell chack as well as to make sure the words are on the right context in the sentence as it did become annoying here and there: where vs. wear, etc.
Editing aside, this is a good tale.
As another review said, this one could really use an editor / proofreader to spell chack as well as to make sure the words are on the right context in the sentence as it did become annoying here and there: where vs. wear, etc.
Editing aside, this is a good tale.
January 17, 2020
At last a fresh story line
Master sci-fi guru, Vaughn Heppner, caught me again. Another 5,or is it 6, books up ahead. I’m drooling with anticipation. Martens journey to freedom awaits. Heppner’s fluid writing style and craftily engineered plots insures that the journey will be exciting one.
Master sci-fi guru, Vaughn Heppner, caught me again. Another 5,or is it 6, books up ahead. I’m drooling with anticipation. Martens journey to freedom awaits. Heppner’s fluid writing style and craftily engineered plots insures that the journey will be exciting one.
September 21, 2018
Great story.
I started with book 1 of 3, Alien Honor (A Debris Novel), because of a email recommendation. After finishing it, I found out there were 7 books before that 3 book series. I am very glad that I did.
I started with book 1 of 3, Alien Honor (A Debris Novel), because of a email recommendation. After finishing it, I found out there were 7 books before that 3 book series. I am very glad that I did.
July 8, 2017
Two stars
A long drawn out epic. To hard to follow for me, you must sit down and read the. Sole book at once
A long drawn out epic. To hard to follow for me, you must sit down and read the. Sole book at once
Read
October 27, 2019Good read.
I recommend this book to someone looking for military sci-fi and dystopian futures. The book features great characters. Give it a shot hard to put down once you start.
I recommend this book to someone looking for military sci-fi and dystopian futures. The book features great characters. Give it a shot hard to put down once you start.
December 31, 2019
Very good book from a favorite author
June 16, 2023
Good read.
Didn't look all that good from the synopsis but turned into a page turner. Hard to put done. On to the next book.
Didn't look all that good from the synopsis but turned into a page turner. Hard to put done. On to the next book.
January 3, 2025
A rollicking re-read - and it still holds up. Excellent military sci-fi. With surprising political and philosophical tangents.
November 25, 2010
The Doom Star series of books are one of the best sci-fi book series I've read in a very long time!
They're set in the distant future where Earth and most of the inner planets in our solar system are ruled by the communist Social Unity, who brutally repress their subjects. The main character, Martin Kluge, starts the first book by escaping the Sun Works Factory, an enormous space station ringing Mercury. He flees to Earth where most people live in giant cities buried miles deep into the ground.
As bad as things are under the Social Unity rule, they could get worse, and very quickly they do. The SU rulers had previously created a genetically enhanced super race called thr Highborn, designed to be their army and fight their wars for them. Unfortunately for the SU, the Highborn rebelled and attached the SU and an interplanetary war began.
If they SU were the worst sort of communists, the Highborn took more or less the opposite approach, admiring the Nazis of 20th century Earth, emulating the German assumption that they were of a superior race. Genetically speaking, the Highborn were right, being bigger, stronger, and smarter than normal humans.
Kluge hasn't been getting along very well on Earth and when the Highborn attack it first helps save his life. He soon finds himself drafted into a human army fighting on the Highborn side of the war, but between the Nazi-like Highborn and communist Social Unity, neither side are the "good guys". Kluge wishes nothing more than to find another option, possibly on Mars, home to a group of humans who have rebelled against SU but have not (yet) fallen to the Highborn, or maybe to the outer planets where there are rumors of free humans remaining...
Having finished books one through three very quickly, I cannot wait for book four to be released.
They're set in the distant future where Earth and most of the inner planets in our solar system are ruled by the communist Social Unity, who brutally repress their subjects. The main character, Martin Kluge, starts the first book by escaping the Sun Works Factory, an enormous space station ringing Mercury. He flees to Earth where most people live in giant cities buried miles deep into the ground.
As bad as things are under the Social Unity rule, they could get worse, and very quickly they do. The SU rulers had previously created a genetically enhanced super race called thr Highborn, designed to be their army and fight their wars for them. Unfortunately for the SU, the Highborn rebelled and attached the SU and an interplanetary war began.
If they SU were the worst sort of communists, the Highborn took more or less the opposite approach, admiring the Nazis of 20th century Earth, emulating the German assumption that they were of a superior race. Genetically speaking, the Highborn were right, being bigger, stronger, and smarter than normal humans.
Kluge hasn't been getting along very well on Earth and when the Highborn attack it first helps save his life. He soon finds himself drafted into a human army fighting on the Highborn side of the war, but between the Nazi-like Highborn and communist Social Unity, neither side are the "good guys". Kluge wishes nothing more than to find another option, possibly on Mars, home to a group of humans who have rebelled against SU but have not (yet) fallen to the Highborn, or maybe to the outer planets where there are rumors of free humans remaining...
Having finished books one through three very quickly, I cannot wait for book four to be released.
March 22, 2014
Vaughn Heppner launches into his Doom Star series with a vengence. Marten Kluge is a pain in the neck kind of guy who happens to live in space with his parents. He didn't get much of a break growing up, and life got a lot worse when his family organized a union rebellion that was stomped by the government. Forced into a life of hiding, he helps when he can. Then his mother and father are killed and he must escape to Earth. There he attempts to blend in. But society has become Big Brother meets political correctness. He fits in about as much as a dinosaur in the Michael Crighton thriller Jurassic Park. But that's OK in Marten's case. His tenacity gets him through. And his fighter's spirit keeps him alive. The super soldiers created to protect Earth actually begin to take it over and Marten is drafted to fight. He picks the super soldiers who think humans as nothing but cannon fodder. Not good. But he stays alive. Somehow. Loved this book.
April 9, 2015
An interesting start to a series. Earth is under socialist rule. Vaughn makes out all socialists to be idiots. THe biggest idiots are the party leaders. This seems to me a stereotype used in these types of books. Get over that and you have a good story brewing.
The oppressed are sent to war against super humans (made by humans but turned against their makers). Some who survive but are captured are offered the opportunity to join the super humans in their war. Basically slaves whichever way they look.
Now that the key characters are on the side of the "high born" we get a little revenge against the socialists. But our hero realizes this isn't freedom and sets things up for the second book.
I'm hoping this develops more into military sci-fi and not political if that is possible. At least keep the party leader character's stupidity out of the story to keep it realistic.
The oppressed are sent to war against super humans (made by humans but turned against their makers). Some who survive but are captured are offered the opportunity to join the super humans in their war. Basically slaves whichever way they look.
Now that the key characters are on the side of the "high born" we get a little revenge against the socialists. But our hero realizes this isn't freedom and sets things up for the second book.
I'm hoping this develops more into military sci-fi and not political if that is possible. At least keep the party leader character's stupidity out of the story to keep it realistic.
August 23, 2011
Bleak, dark, intense, grim, brutal, hopelessness, gloomy, suffocating...not the best way to described this quick-paced futuristic sci-fi military novel. As bleak as Star Soldier (Doom Star #1) is, I enjoyed reading this sci-fi novel and the way the story unfolded.
Earth in the future is a planet ruled with an iron fist by the Social Unity, similar to 1984 or Nazi Germany, lots of paranoia. Due to overcrowding on the surface, most people are forced to live in underground cities. Planets within the solar system has been conquered and colonized and there is an enemy determined to conquer Earth as any cost. Looking forward to the rest of the Doom Star series. The one minor issue I had was the amount of typos, which was disappointing.
Earth in the future is a planet ruled with an iron fist by the Social Unity, similar to 1984 or Nazi Germany, lots of paranoia. Due to overcrowding on the surface, most people are forced to live in underground cities. Planets within the solar system has been conquered and colonized and there is an enemy determined to conquer Earth as any cost. Looking forward to the rest of the Doom Star series. The one minor issue I had was the amount of typos, which was disappointing.
January 22, 2012
I read the first book off of the Kindle Lenders Library for free.
The concept is valid, the story is ok, not a lot of closure in character story lines. As soon as a character becomes interesting it dies or disappears from the story. One character is introduce then poof, never mentioned again. Maybe they reappear elsewhere?
The worst thing about this book is the editing. When you have to read a paragraph three times and then still end up guessing what the author intended to say, it is not edited well. If you need a free editor, send me your writing, I will edit it for you. It won't be Shakespearean prose, but it will be understandable..
The concept is valid, the story is ok, not a lot of closure in character story lines. As soon as a character becomes interesting it dies or disappears from the story. One character is introduce then poof, never mentioned again. Maybe they reappear elsewhere?
The worst thing about this book is the editing. When you have to read a paragraph three times and then still end up guessing what the author intended to say, it is not edited well. If you need a free editor, send me your writing, I will edit it for you. It won't be Shakespearean prose, but it will be understandable..
December 9, 2010
I have very mixed feelings about this whole series.
The author is clearly not polished. Much of the writing is quite good, then I'll come across an incorrect word usage (verses vs. versus, used repeatedly), awkward sentence construction, or just something a bit weird that a good editor would correct. Which leads me to believe that these are self-edited and self-published.
The overall plot is interesting, although it has some holes. The characters are a bit shallow/cardboard, as well.
And that said, I've read the first few books in the series because I wanted to see how it all comes out.
The author is clearly not polished. Much of the writing is quite good, then I'll come across an incorrect word usage (verses vs. versus, used repeatedly), awkward sentence construction, or just something a bit weird that a good editor would correct. Which leads me to believe that these are self-edited and self-published.
The overall plot is interesting, although it has some holes. The characters are a bit shallow/cardboard, as well.
And that said, I've read the first few books in the series because I wanted to see how it all comes out.
May 2, 2015
Will earth survive?
Third set of books by this author. Slowly I get to figuring out where he is going but once established I can put it down. Have gotten used to audio books so instead of being lazy I. An work and listen. Young man and his family have hidden out and fought controlling factions until the loss of his parents. He changes his actions to protect himself and find way to continue course of destruction of ruling class. Then he goes on to face the Doom Star. Downloading next book now. Good reading to you.
Third set of books by this author. Slowly I get to figuring out where he is going but once established I can put it down. Have gotten used to audio books so instead of being lazy I. An work and listen. Young man and his family have hidden out and fought controlling factions until the loss of his parents. He changes his actions to protect himself and find way to continue course of destruction of ruling class. Then he goes on to face the Doom Star. Downloading next book now. Good reading to you.
January 23, 2011
The first part of a series, but it didn't convince me enough to read the other books. The background for the story was a bit over the top in how it was set up. It also didn't really try to explain the inconsistencies inherent in the various governments, or how they came to be. That I could deal with, but the story simply didn't work for me either. There was no connection with the protagonist that could draw you into the story.
February 11, 2011
This is the first in a great SF series, the first SF I've read in a while. There are a lot of plots, but they all mesh and Heppner keeps them all from getting tangled. There are interesting themes about politics, freedom, security and the dangers of science, and what makes one human. One roots for Marten Kluge, the hero, but also for various other characters, such as Osadar Di, a woman who's in the wrong place at the wrong time once too often.
July 27, 2011
Took a while to empathise with the main character, just about got there in the end. I was not convinced that the author managed to convey the sheer scale of some of the concepts, geology, geography or space which contributed to my edging towards indifferent response to the book. I'm not sure I'll move through the series which, is unusual for me as I love a good long read :)
December 21, 2014
Great character development...
Another fascinating group of characters that are quick to grab your interest. Well developed storyline, but at times a little too much detail in the strategy of the war games for my taste.
I will continue reading this series because I've grown very fond of Marten and look forward to his ongoing quest for freedom.
Another fascinating group of characters that are quick to grab your interest. Well developed storyline, but at times a little too much detail in the strategy of the war games for my taste.
I will continue reading this series because I've grown very fond of Marten and look forward to his ongoing quest for freedom.
April 12, 2016
Military science fiction. Good story. Interesting how the plot draws out. Kid is on orbiting space station (really, really huge) and parent die while he escapes. Next, he is on Earth. Overpopulation is ridiculously high and there were a few issues I had with the science in this thing. Otherwise. I think you will enjoy this. Looking forward to the next in this series.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews