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konain's review
2.0
Kind of difficult book to review. The premise was great, but it needed a better writer than Currie to pull it off. Writing was dull, characterization was zilch and dialogues looked artificial. The only saving grace was space battles but even they were marred by inconsistencies. Currie couldn't create the tension required in space battles. Even the characters didn't seem serious enough especially considering that it was the first time in human history that somebody is indulging in space battles with aliens.
In fact on that topic, just imagine....humanity comes across intelligent life for the first time and that too and is anyone surprised? No. It's just like they are used to having a cup of tea with aliens everyday! Amidst a battle of (supposedly) epic proportions, view is shifted to fighter pilots playing poker! A couple of alien ships arrive for collecting refugees and Currie starts explaining their crafts and their arrival, even making the Captain leave the bridge and come down to greet them! Come on! The first spaceship put together by humanity may very well be annihilated in a few moments and what do you want to do?.....check out the alien designed civilian crafts!
*Minor spoilers ahead*
Then there are other inconsistencies. Many equipment in the ship are dismantled to make it invisible and yet at the flip of a switch everything is undone and the ship is again back to normal. How, is never explained. The alien humans are peaceful for a millennia so much so that they abhor war and yet within days they are able to manufacture a humongous warship, just explained away that some "Forge" took ancient designs and did it. Even if that is so, one would imagine that running and using such a huge craft would need some training, but still the alien crew manning the ship seem so conversant with its functions. This is disrespectful to your readers' intelligence, Mr Currie.
Further, halfway into the book Currie decides that the characters should start swearing. More importantly from plot point of view, three quarters into the book Currie decides to give the aliens some theological moorings and they start voicing prayers to their "Maker". Even episodic books have less inconsistencies that this.
Nevertheless, just to see if the writing improves I'll give the next book a shot.
In fact on that topic, just imagine....humanity comes across intelligent life for the first time and that too
Spoiler
humans*Minor spoilers ahead*
Then there are other inconsistencies. Many equipment in the ship are dismantled to make it invisible and yet at the flip of a switch everything is undone and the ship is again back to normal. How, is never explained. The alien humans are peaceful for a millennia so much so that they abhor war and yet within days they are able to manufacture a humongous warship, just explained away that some "Forge" took ancient designs and did it. Even if that is so, one would imagine that running and using such a huge craft would need some training, but still the alien crew manning the ship seem so conversant with its functions. This is disrespectful to your readers' intelligence, Mr Currie.
Further, halfway into the book Currie decides that the characters should start swearing. More importantly from plot point of view, three quarters into the book Currie decides to give the aliens some theological moorings and they start voicing prayers to their "Maker". Even episodic books have less inconsistencies that this.
Nevertheless, just to see if the writing improves I'll give the next book a shot.
kwerle's review against another edition
I've now read all 7 books in this particular series. I was looking for some hard-ish SF, and this started decidedly mushy. And then it turned to soup. I had enough trouble with the last book in the series that I won't be reading the follow-up series.
claire_loves_books's review against another edition
4.0
It did take me a while to get into this (80 pages or so) but one I did get into it I really enjoyed it. I feel like this book was as much about military action as space and sic fi (which isn't a problem for me). The action scenes were really well written, probably some of the best action scenes I've ever read. While most of the technology used worked well and seemed believable (as part of the Odyssey universe) I feel like it could have cut down on some of the technology jargon in places.
The plot itself was interesting and a lot more complex then I would expect from a first time self published author. It really did surpass my expectations and I'll be reading the next book soon.
The plot itself was interesting and a lot more complex then I would expect from a first time self published author. It really did surpass my expectations and I'll be reading the next book soon.
nivek1385's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this and feel it is similar to the Frontiers Saga by Ryk Brown, but I didn't enjoy this as much. I did like that this was self-contained, especially as I am not sure about continuing the series. Maybe it is because it was self-contained and didn't include the major hook to the next one.
sparverius's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
futuregazer's review against another edition
2.0
Not great, not bad. Squarely in the middle for me.
This is a very specific sort of space opera. It is military science fiction that it really there for the military part, with the science fiction being the medium used to set the scene - and there's nothing wrong with that, sometimes you want a book that is going to largely be about battles and strategy, which follows the "space is an ocean" trope fairly closely. However, I do like fuller, rounder novels most of the time myself, so that's one reason for the middle of the road rating. (For comparison, I love the Vorkosigan Saga which, while focused on military space opera to some degree, also tends to explore a lot of societal issues, bioengineering prospects for the future, realistic personal dilemmas and relationships, societal intrigue and politics, and literal family life / how to relate to those in your family. Of course, it doesn't do all the things in every book, so there is no true comparison yet.)
Generally speaking though, if you love stuff that mirrors the movie version of Starship Troopers fairly closely, give this a look. (Actually, the author rather disappointingly points out how very exactly this book follows this formula, and while they did use it to make one interesting if unanswered point about science fiction writing, it was still a massive jar when I was already trying to ignore the similarities. Plus, the author rather proved that their characters at least do not realize there is a LOT more to science fiction to spaceships and hostile aliens, so it makes me wonder if the author fails to realize that as well?).
However, if heavy handed military philosophy is something you can't look past to see the story, give this one a pass. Unlike many other books that look at this sort of thing, this one is rather composed of straw man arguments that make a certain view of things look not just better on balance, but obvious. Utterly pacifist aliens set up against (so far) an utterly existential threat. There is a character who talks all about how peace is not the goal of soldiers, and the point was fine and dandy, but again, I personally enjoy books more if they actually take on both sides of the coin for the arguments and ideas they put forward, rather than presenting only scenarios that imply one absolute view would work in every situation. There are many other situations in which that sort of thinking would get these people killed, or ruin civilizations. In short: books should reflect the fact that while a no violence philosophy has a lot of flaws, so does a gung-ho for violence philosophy. So, the book is not balanced on that.
Science... the author makes the usual concession to needed tech for interstellar travel - fair enough. They also do a pretty great job of talking the reader through what relatively hard sci fi space battles specifically with lasers would need to be like (hint: not what Star Wars would have you believe XD). There is a little oddity with the "black hole" settings on the stealth ship - the author talks about how it weakens them to enemy fire, but doesn't say anything about how the ship gets rid of its heat while it is in full absorption mode. They would have to dump it somewhere, which would presumably give them some visibility. Maybe it comes up in future novels. But yeah, space is an insulator, it would get toasty in that ship.
Biology....had some flaws. I'm actually forgetting the main one I tried to note down, so I'll have to come back to this in a bit, but there was one glaring whackiness that made me say "whoops" out loud. But, you can't win em all, so whatever.
I'll read the next one, because sometimes you want to watch cartoons, rather than a full well-thought-out movie. But, I sure hope it gets a little better if I'm going to go any further with the series.
This is a very specific sort of space opera. It is military science fiction that it really there for the military part, with the science fiction being the medium used to set the scene - and there's nothing wrong with that, sometimes you want a book that is going to largely be about battles and strategy, which follows the "space is an ocean" trope fairly closely. However, I do like fuller, rounder novels most of the time myself, so that's one reason for the middle of the road rating. (For comparison, I love the Vorkosigan Saga which, while focused on military space opera to some degree, also tends to explore a lot of societal issues, bioengineering prospects for the future, realistic personal dilemmas and relationships, societal intrigue and politics, and literal family life / how to relate to those in your family. Of course, it doesn't do all the things in every book, so there is no true comparison yet.)
Generally speaking though, if you love stuff that mirrors the movie version of Starship Troopers fairly closely, give this a look. (Actually, the author rather disappointingly points out how very exactly this book follows this formula, and while they did use it to make one interesting if unanswered point about science fiction writing, it was still a massive jar when I was already trying to ignore the similarities. Plus, the author rather proved that their characters at least do not realize there is a LOT more to science fiction to spaceships and hostile aliens, so it makes me wonder if the author fails to realize that as well?).
However, if heavy handed military philosophy is something you can't look past to see the story, give this one a pass. Unlike many other books that look at this sort of thing, this one is rather composed of straw man arguments that make a certain view of things look not just better on balance, but obvious. Utterly pacifist aliens set up against (so far) an utterly existential threat. There is a character who talks all about how peace is not the goal of soldiers, and the point was fine and dandy, but again, I personally enjoy books more if they actually take on both sides of the coin for the arguments and ideas they put forward, rather than presenting only scenarios that imply one absolute view would work in every situation. There are many other situations in which that sort of thinking would get these people killed, or ruin civilizations. In short: books should reflect the fact that while a no violence philosophy has a lot of flaws, so does a gung-ho for violence philosophy. So, the book is not balanced on that.
Science... the author makes the usual concession to needed tech for interstellar travel - fair enough. They also do a pretty great job of talking the reader through what relatively hard sci fi space battles specifically with lasers would need to be like (hint: not what Star Wars would have you believe XD). There is a little oddity with the "black hole" settings on the stealth ship - the author talks about how it weakens them to enemy fire, but doesn't say anything about how the ship gets rid of its heat while it is in full absorption mode. They would have to dump it somewhere, which would presumably give them some visibility. Maybe it comes up in future novels. But yeah, space is an insulator, it would get toasty in that ship.
Biology....had some flaws. I'm actually forgetting the main one I tried to note down, so I'll have to come back to this in a bit, but there was one glaring whackiness that made me say "whoops" out loud. But, you can't win em all, so whatever.
I'll read the next one, because sometimes you want to watch cartoons, rather than a full well-thought-out movie. But, I sure hope it gets a little better if I'm going to go any further with the series.
malus23's review against another edition
2.0
Heavily military SF, not really my sort of thing, but entertaining some of the time. Too many long-winded descriptions of every weapon and every shot, every explosive and the messes they made. I started skimming "action" scenes, which is never a good sign - too many people stopping mid scene to dwell on the capabilities of the guns they held.
cdbaker's review against another edition
3.0
It's a solid enough military sci-fi. I do wish he'd spent just a little more time on any kind of character development.
There's also a not very subtle subtext in the novel that 'people who get too comfortable with peace are naive and doomed to be conquered' that I didn't much like. But the story was good enough.
There's also a not very subtle subtext in the novel that 'people who get too comfortable with peace are naive and doomed to be conquered' that I didn't much like. But the story was good enough.
mferrante83's review against another edition
3.0
Evan Currie’s military science fiction space opera novel Into the Black: Odyssey One, originally self-published, was released by Amazon’s new imprint 47north back in March. The novel centers around the exploration crew of the titular Odyssey One, Earth’s first interstellar spaceship, as they embark on the first manned journey beyond the bounds of the Milky Way. The discovery of the new Transition Drive and the creation of the Odyssey One finally saw the end to a decades long war. Of course it isn’t long into this journey that the Odyssey stumbles into a new and more dangerous threat, and that is where the novel’s story truly kicks off.
Into the Black is very traditional sort of military science fiction that definitely falls in line with it brothers and sisters in the military sci-fi/space opera genres. You have a humanity that has grown achingly familiar with war that, when faced with peace, must struggle to find something to do with the droves of soldiers it has left on its hands. Similarly you are also given a society with no experience with the organisational structure necessary for deep space travel. As a result unlike many other novels with a similar premise Into the Black reveals a ship whose crew is still growing used to the unique difficulties of a military force operating in deep space. This would be a fascinating aspect on its own but Currie uses it only as a background element to the more overt notions of duty and honor that drive the rest of the plot forward.
In a bit of an eye-rolling coincidence the crew of the Odyssey are quick to encounter a race of alien humanoids whose society has strayed far from the violent and war-like tendencies of humans. Thus there are many moments in Into the Black where our various human characters are forced to toll the virtues of service and the willingness to do violence in order to protect the greater good. Unfortunately, all these monologues are precisely that: monologues. The reaction to humanity’s violent tendencies is never given more than a cursory examination and the perspective of these aliens, their belief structure and social customs, are mostly glossed over in the name action and excitement.
To be completely fair all of that still manages to remain an entertaining and engaging read but there are many bits of information and hints that Currie drops which could have been used to give the novel a more well-rounded feel as well as some greater depth. This comes to fore especially when you meet the mysterious and enigmatic “Central” during a scene which offers the most engaging discussion in the entire novel and marks one of the few moments when the military fades to background in favor of the science fiction. This instance is fleeting and it isn’t long before readers are thrust back into the action once more.
The characters of Into the Black are defined by what they do rather than who they are. In the end we are left with a group of characters that are all too similar to feel completely unique. There are flashes here and there of potential but again Currie backs away from those moments in keeping the plot pushing forward. Other than their roles aboard the Odyssey or elsewhere there is very little to help differentiate characters from one another. Truth be told with as large a cast as the novel has there is just too little time spent behind the eyes of any single character to really get a handle on them beyond the basics.
While the elements of Into the Black might be familiar, while the characters feel underdeveloped and while the argument regarding the military’s essential role in fighting for the greater good is particularly one-sided that isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy this novel. Thanks in part to Currie’s solid prose and Benjamin Darcie’s solid narration I was able to enjoy this novel for what it is. The sparks of creativity the Currie manages to achieve throughout the novel kept me pushing forwards and the mysteries he poses over the course of the novel will keep me coming back for future volumes.
Into the Black is very traditional sort of military science fiction that definitely falls in line with it brothers and sisters in the military sci-fi/space opera genres. You have a humanity that has grown achingly familiar with war that, when faced with peace, must struggle to find something to do with the droves of soldiers it has left on its hands. Similarly you are also given a society with no experience with the organisational structure necessary for deep space travel. As a result unlike many other novels with a similar premise Into the Black reveals a ship whose crew is still growing used to the unique difficulties of a military force operating in deep space. This would be a fascinating aspect on its own but Currie uses it only as a background element to the more overt notions of duty and honor that drive the rest of the plot forward.
In a bit of an eye-rolling coincidence the crew of the Odyssey are quick to encounter a race of alien humanoids whose society has strayed far from the violent and war-like tendencies of humans. Thus there are many moments in Into the Black where our various human characters are forced to toll the virtues of service and the willingness to do violence in order to protect the greater good. Unfortunately, all these monologues are precisely that: monologues. The reaction to humanity’s violent tendencies is never given more than a cursory examination and the perspective of these aliens, their belief structure and social customs, are mostly glossed over in the name action and excitement.
To be completely fair all of that still manages to remain an entertaining and engaging read but there are many bits of information and hints that Currie drops which could have been used to give the novel a more well-rounded feel as well as some greater depth. This comes to fore especially when you meet the mysterious and enigmatic “Central” during a scene which offers the most engaging discussion in the entire novel and marks one of the few moments when the military fades to background in favor of the science fiction. This instance is fleeting and it isn’t long before readers are thrust back into the action once more.
The characters of Into the Black are defined by what they do rather than who they are. In the end we are left with a group of characters that are all too similar to feel completely unique. There are flashes here and there of potential but again Currie backs away from those moments in keeping the plot pushing forward. Other than their roles aboard the Odyssey or elsewhere there is very little to help differentiate characters from one another. Truth be told with as large a cast as the novel has there is just too little time spent behind the eyes of any single character to really get a handle on them beyond the basics.
While the elements of Into the Black might be familiar, while the characters feel underdeveloped and while the argument regarding the military’s essential role in fighting for the greater good is particularly one-sided that isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy this novel. Thanks in part to Currie’s solid prose and Benjamin Darcie’s solid narration I was able to enjoy this novel for what it is. The sparks of creativity the Currie manages to achieve throughout the novel kept me pushing forwards and the mysteries he poses over the course of the novel will keep me coming back for future volumes.