Bookstooge's Reviews On the Road: David Holmes

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Sunday, May 25, 2025

The Burden of Command (Empire Rising #14) 3.5Stars

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Title: The Burden of Command
Series: Empire Rising #14
Author: David Holmes
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 387
Words: 148K
Publish: 2022

This book was 25% shorter than the previous one and I think it was better for it. This feels like it is the start of a new “series” as it has been 20 years since the previous book and the children we were introduced to in Empire’s Gambit are now adults and making their own way in the world. Emperor James is still the main character but he’s not the sole focus. That really gets spread around.

I think the typical weaknesses/strengths that I’ve talked about before for this series are here in spades. James feels the same as he did in book one. Characterization is not Holmes’ strong point. Action is top notch but mainly focuses on ship to ship space battles.

The torch is being passed from one generation to the next and I am looking forward to seeing how Holmes handles the transition. I don’t think it will be that hard for him though, as this series is more of a chronicles of the events and not as much a character driven series. Characters play their part, but it is only a part.

I still enjoyed this, I had a good time and nothing about the story made me think I need to stop.

★★★✬☆

From the Publisher
For twenty years Humanity has enjoyed an uneasy peace after the Battle of Gayla and the death of the Karacknid Imperator. His death caused the Karacknid Empire to collapse into a bitter civil war. Yet Emperor Somerville is certain the peace will not last. Tanaka-lan is one of three contenders left vying for the title of Imperator, and James knows that if he wins, the flames of war will ignite once again.

The Human Empire has not squandered the respite it was given. Fleets have been rebuilt and defenses put in place. Yet a new generation of Imperial citizens has grown up who have known only peace. They are growing restless with the burden of Imperial taxes, and secession is on the lips of many. Just when it seems the Karacknid civil war is coming to an end, James is confronted by the prospect that his own Empire may fall to infighting and divisions. Faced with threats from within and without, he and Christine must rely on a new cadre of Imperial naval officers to keep the peace. Officers who must learn for themselves the true Burden of Command.

All of My “Empire Rising” Reviews

Wednesday, April 09, 2025

Empire’s Gambit (Empire Rising #13) 3.5Stars

Title: Empire’s Gambit
Series: Empire Rising #13
Author: David Holmes
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 515
Words: 204K
Publish: 2022

Oh man, this was long. It felt long too. The main issue is that Holmes needs an editor to hack and slash and force him to write tighter. I’ve noted this in previous volumes, where he goes into world building detail mode and suddenly, 5 pages later, the scene ends but the story is still at the same exact place. World building should NOT be indulged in at the expense of the overall story pacing. With this being the thirteenth book in the series, I’m obviously not going to abandon it over this, but it is a continual little irritant to me. I’m sure there are other people out there who love it. Those people probably only read this series, or stuff just like it, so they don’t care. I do care however.

The other irritation is the flow of time. This one could very easily be on me and thus I’m not knocking any half stars off, but it really feels like almost no time has passed since the first book. I “know” it has, and events prove that (James losing his first wife, getting re-married, having a child, now having twins) but James feels exactly the same as Emperor as he did as the captain of a small ship. James’ voice hasn’t aged or changed. I think that is what I’m picking up on here. Other authors are guilty of this literary sin as well. Dean Koontz and his Odd Thomas. Terry Brooks and ANY of his Shannara characters. Dan Willis and his Alex Lockerby creation. A counter example would be Simon, from Tad Williams’ Memory, Sorrow, Thorn epic fantasy trilogy. You get the idea. Once again, it’s not something I’m going to stop reading this series over, but it is a weakness.

This volumes ends the War of Doom with the karacknids. From the little chapter headers in previous books, I know there will be a second War of Doom plus other wars with even more insidious species. I also know there will be a civil war that almost tears the Empire apart. This is a good stopping place. I wondered, for several days, if I wanted to continue the series. Book 21 was just released in January, so there’s still a LOT of Empire Rising ahead of me if I want it. I decided that I will continue. I was not surprised by my own decision. As I’m sure you aren’t either.

I have been reading this series for over two years now. I read the first book (The Void War) back in February of ‘23. I thoroughly enjoyed it. If this series sounds like something you might enjoy, read my review and then for a 180degree difference, read Nancy’s Review. Between us, hopefully you can decide if starting this series would be good for you or not.

★★★✬☆

From the Publisher & Bookstooge

The Karacknid assault on Earth has been turned back at great cost to both sides. Only the intervention of the Kulreans saved Humanity’s homeworld from certain destruction. Yet the Kulrean worldships cannot be used for offensive operations. This means Humanity and her allies have only a few months of respite before the Karacknids can make good their losses. When they do, everyone knows they will resume the offensive and Tanaka-lan will seek to end the war once and for all.

With no way to compete with the Karacknids’ superior numbers and industrial might, Emperor Somerville has proposed one final stratagem. The Allied fleet must strike right at the heart of the Karacknid empire in a last ditch effort to try and end the war. Yet to do so would mean venturing into the enemy’s most fortified systems and leaving the Allied worlds at the mercy of Tanaka-lan. Risking everything, James has no choice but to attempt the impossible. No sacrifice can be too great to save his people and his family.

James challenges the Imperator to a one on one duel, Imperator vs Emperor. James wins and the karacknids immediately fall back along clan lines and thus begins a civil war. This gives humanity and the Alliance a chance to regroup and begin recovery. Empress Christine also gives birth to twins, setting the stage for the next series of adventures in the Empire Rising chronicles.

All of My “Empire Rising” Reviews

Tuesday, October 08, 2024

Last Stand (Empire Rising #12) 3.5Stars

Title: Last Stand
Series: Empire Rising #12
Author: David Holmes
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 364
Words: 143K

Man, I did not see the Kurullians showing up and saving the day, not at all. I was seeing humanity about to be destroyed, again, and I knew it couldn’t happen, because of the snippets from the beginnings of each chapter, which are from 500 years later. So I saw an untenable position for humanity, saw no way out and yet knew the author would pull a rabbit out of his literary hat, somehow.

And yet.

And Yet.

I was as tense as anything waiting for things to work out.

That takes skill on an author’s side to be able to do such things. I realize this is book 12 but Holmes has shown a consistency in his skill level that I appreciate. Doesn’t mean he’s a wordsmith like Rex Stout or a story teller like Charles Dickens (Holmes could use a good editor to cut down on some of the expositional scenes that go on for pages) but he has not let me down yet.

If you like military science fiction, I highly recommend this series. It’s a bit more space ship oriented than I care for, but it is good nonetheless.

★★★✬☆

From the Publisher & Bookstooge.blog

Synopsis – Click to Open

The orbital Battle of New Shanghai has been lost. What is left of the Allied fleet under James Somerville’s command is in full retreat. The Imperial Marines and Colonial Militia on the planet’s surface are left alone and without support. With a Karacknid fleet in orbit and tens of thousands of ground troops being landed, it is General Johnston’s duty to fight Humanity’s enemy to the last man. For he is the only thing delaying the Karacknid fleet from pushing on to Earth and completing their conquest of the Human Empire.
Meanwhile James must scrabble together what meagre forces he can and ready the defenses of the homeworld. With his fleet already beaten once, hope has all but been extinguished. Still, he will make his last stand and fight to the death for the sake of his family and his Empire.

When a fleet of Kurullian worldships show up to help defend Earth and the Alliance, James realizes they have a very slim chance to strike at the heart of the Karacknian Empire and challenge the Warlord himself, which is the only chance the Alliance has in the long term.

All of My “Empire Rising” Reviews

Thursday, August 15, 2024

Counterstrike (Empire Rising #11) 3.5Stars

Title: Counterstrike
Series: Empire Rising #11
Author: David Holmes
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 458
Words: 180K

This is where Humanity tries to turn things around and go on the offensive against the Karacknids (giant xenophobic space spiders). So far, Humanity has been playing nothing but defense but here, Emperor Somerville and other top notch Space Commadores take various fast attack groups behind the front lines and attack the support structure enabling the Karacknid War Machine. It works well, very well. The only problem is, unknown to Humanity, the Karacknids are moving in a massive space fleet from another front and they plan to use all 10,000 ships to absolutely crush Humanity and the Alliance.

This was another chunkster of a book. Every time I pick up one of these Empire Rising novels, it always surprises me just how long they are. But then I start reading and I’m never bored, never.

It was quite the interesting dichotomy as a reader, knowing from the get-go that the Karacknids had a massive fleet on the way, while we are reading about the successes of Humanity in the war on their infrastructure. It was hard to be excited for the victories because we knew the giant hammer was looming, just out of sight.

The book ends with humanity once again on the back foot and all is in doubt. Now, we know that isn’t the truth because every chapter starts with a saying from the book Empire Rising, written in the year 3000, which chronicles the history of the rise of the Human Empire. So I know that Humanity is going to win, eventually, against the Karacknids. I think it is a testimony to Holmes’ skill as an author that I can still feel trepidation about the outcome even while knowing the eventual longterm outcome.

I can’t remember if I’ve stated it before or not, but Holmes has passed from the realm of mere writer/scribbler into the realm of Author in my opinion. He writes real, different, compelling characters (everyone is not the same character with just a different name), with exciting scenarios that do not feel repetitive. My only niggles are that he really needs to tighten up his prose (450+ pages is long, period) and he needs to make his characters actually grow. While distinct in voice, they remain the same. James is pretty much the same now as he was in the first book, The Void War. Like I said, minor quibbles.

Otherwise, I remain quite happy to keep reading this series a couple of books at a time. Holmes has been writing this series since 2015 and book 19 just came out this past March. I’m ok with that given the quality shown here.

★★★✬☆

From the Publisher

Synopsis – Click to Open

The Karacknid invasion of Human space has been temporarily thwarted. A window of opportunity has opened up. Through it Emperor Somerville hopes to strike deep into Karacknid territory to buy Earth and the Varanni Alliance the breathing space they need to replace their losses. On the other side of the Karacknid Empire, Rear Admiral Becket and the Conclave species are planning a pre-emptive strike of their own. With relatively undefended borders, Becket has seen an opportunity to hit the Karacknids where they least expect it.
Yet the Karacknid’s power is far from diminished. After the series of defeats the Karacknids have suffered, their Imperator has now focused his full attention on destroying Humanity and the Varanni Alliance. Nothing short of the total conquest of Humanity’s colonies has been ordered. The full might of the Karacknid Navy has been tasked to bring it about. For James, Christine, Lightfoot, Becket and all the others, their own lives and the future of the Empire is at stake.

All of My “Empire Rising” Reviews

Tuesday, July 02, 2024

Imperial Command (Empire Rising #10) 3.5Stars

Title: Imperial Command
Series: Empire Rising #10
Author: David Holmes
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 420
Words: 166K

This was a great return to the Empire Rising series. Taking this little break from it was just what I needed to make me appreciate the space opera that is involved.

A lot of ship to ship fighting. A tiny bit of space marines kicking butt, but (hahahaaha) not nearly enough.

The little bits of “Imperial History” written in 3002 have already referenced a war with another advanced alien race AND a potential pretender to the Throne. So I’m already preparing myself for those events.

At the same time, I’m not allowing that to rob me of any enjoyment of the present conflict with the Karacknicks (giant space spiders who rule a gigantic empire). They make wonderful badguys and it’s quite enjoyable to see them getting smacked around by humanity.

★★★✬☆

From the Publisher

Synopsis – Click to Open

Trapped behind enemy lines, the survivors of the raid on Jaranna have been forced to flee deeper into enemy territory. Behind them Karacknid fleets gather to exact revenge. With danger at every turn, Admiral Lightfoot must find a way to get his ships home or Earth will be left defenseless.
On Earth the Empire has been formed and is bringing the outlying colonies into its fold. Yet there are those who see themselves and not the Empire as the rightful rulers of Humanity. At the very moment when they should be preparing their people to face the Karacknids, James and Christine instead find themselves facing the threat of a civil war. If it spreads and Humanity’s strength consumes itself, the Empire will fall.
For their part, the Karacknids have not removed their sights from Earth. Even as the war along the Alliance border rages on, ships are on the move. For it is through Earth’s conquest the Karacknids’ believe the end of the war will come.
For those who have sworn to serve the Empire, everything hangs in the balance

All of My “Empire Rising” Reviews

Tuesday, January 09, 2024

Empire’s Birth (Empire Rising #9) 3Stars

Title: Empire’s Birth
Series: Empire Rising #9
Author: David Holmes
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 424
Words: 164K

I enjoyed this, but. Yes, a big fat but.

(And feel free to make all the jokes you want)

There was almost ZERO space marine action. They are mentioned, but pretty much only as elements that are getting their butts (ha, there’s that big fat but again) kicked and being destroyed. Space battles get all the attention this time around and that did not please Emperor Bookstooge. It made the book drag for me. So if your jam is big space battles, then you’ll absolutely love this. But (ha!) big space battles are NOT my jam, so I merely enjoyed this instead of absolutely loving it.

I reviewed the first book (The Void War) in February of 2023. I’ve been steadily reading this series and enjoying it. But now that the Empire has been officially formed, I think it’s time to take a break for a bit and come back in a couple of months. There are currently 18 books in the series and I’m guessing it’s going to be one of those “never ending” series. I’m ok with those, as long as I know that’s what it is. I just need to space things out appropriately.

★★★☆☆

From Bookstooge.blog

Click to Open

Commodore Happypants gets crowned King of Space England. Then he marries the Empress of Space China and creates the Empire, thus becoming Space Emperor Happypants.

While this is all going on, the evil Karachnids are going around conquering more space civilizations and nuking planets like there’s no tomorrow. Earth is doing what it can do cause problems but until they get united as a species, things aren’t looking too good. It’s up to Space Emperor Happypants to get humanity all on one page, by the scruff of the neck if necessary, and drag them to victory.

Watch out Karachnids, humanity has a Space Emperor and we’re not afraid to use him!

All of My “Empire Rising” Reviews

Tuesday, November 21, 2023

Empire’s Doom (Empire Rising #8) 3.5Stars

Title: Empire’s Doom
Series: Empire Rising #8
Author: David Holmes
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 426
Words: 166K

Normally with this series, I write a comedic (for me) review where I mock everyone’s name and make light of all of the circumstances. This won’t be happening for this volume and if the future books are as serious, I’ll simply be reviewing these as any other series.

This was a brutal book. While it was obvious what Holmes was doing, it didn’t mean it didn’t hit me any less hard. James’ wife Susannah dying partway through hit me like an express train. Especially since it was all politically motivated by scumbag politicians. If I had been James, I’d have taken my proto-space navy and nuked Earth myself.

Which brings up the ending where the aliens do just that. In the little chapter headings where the writer of the history (ie, this book, in the year 3000) blabs, it was always evident to any halfway observant reader that this event was going to happen. It wasn’t a surprise and for that I am glad, because I don’t know if I could have handled reading about Earth getting nuked 1800 times with no forewarning. The anguish that James feels as he watches it happen was as real to me as anything could be. I could imagine it, because it would be like September 11, just on a world wide scale. What keeps it from being overwhelming, emotionally, is the knowledge that the Empire arises from this and that humanity isn’t broken.

It also made me grin because the aliens assume that this event will break the Spirit of Humanity and that we won’t be in the fight as the Bad Aliens go to fight the Good Aliens. All I could think was “Oh boy, we are SO going to kick their butts!” The Bad Aliens were just as self-centered and egotistical as you could wish for in an Enemy of Humanity. It will be a joy to see them destroyed. None of this “Fear of the Other” bullshit that I see waved around like a white flag of social surrender as we try to understand the poor dears who just nuked us, because really, they have feelings too and aren’t really bad, just misunderstood. *&^%% that. These aliens want us dead or enslaved and will accept nothing else.

So I am looking forward to more of this series as Humanity gets off the ground and starts swinging in the big space bar room brawl that the bad aliens started. I’m hoping for some serious haymakers…

★★★✬☆

From Bookstooge.blog

The UN ignores James’ warning about the invading aliens. He begins preparing for the inevitable invasion even though this means breaking all existing laws. He is helped by a large group of individuals and groups that believe his message and expect the worst.

On the run and hunted, James must begin a proto-defense force that is strong enough to defend Earth and to help their alien allies.

James’ wife Susanna is killed by the UN in a bungled attempt to arrest her as bait for James. The aliens arrive and despite the best efforts of the UN Navy and James’ adhoc space navy, the Earth is nuked hundreds of times. The book ends with the aliens retreating, sure that the destruction of our homeworld will have broken humanity’s spirit. Oh how little they know.

All of My “Empire Rising” Reviews

Thursday, October 05, 2023

Mutineer (Empire Rising #7) 3.5Stars

Title: Mutineer
Series: Empire Rising #7
Author: David Holmes
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 389
Words: 151K

I enjoyed this even though it wasn’t the transition of power from Awesome-Admiral Happypants to Ensign Mighty Niece like I thought. Das Admiral is front and center and takes a mighty hit from the bad politicians. He’s hurt, he’s down but he’s not done, not by a long shot! There’s dastardly politicians still to kill. There’s dastardly Really Bad Aliens to kill! There’s thrills and chills as new good aliens pop out of the woodwork like weevils from a biscuit!

Das Space Battleos gets biggemized, to the point where thousands of missiles get fired but thankfully we don’t have to follow every single one to their destruction. We do still get “then X missiles made it through and exploded and destroyed/damaged X ships”. So if that’s your space jam, bring your own toast.

The Bad Politicians left a bad taste in my mouth. Just like they should. But I still didn’t enjoy that aspect of the story, even though it was very necessary. Going number two is ALSO necessary but it doesn’t mean I have to like it, or like hearing other people talk/write about it.

But don’t worry, this series is Number One in my books!

★★★✬☆

From Bookstooge.blog

Awesome-Admiral Happypants (because there are lots of admirals but only the most Admiral’y of them all gets to be in charge with that title) saves humanity from a bunch of bad aliens, finds even more good aliens, and finds the Really Bad Aliens.

Politics gets involved, Awesome-Admiral is court-martialed by jealous incompetent and totally stupid Politicians and the Powers That Be blow off the new good aliens and pretend that the RBA’s don’t exist.

Awesome-Admiral doesn’t take it lying down and goes to his wife’s space system to start preparing humanity, along with his niece, Ensign Mighty Niece. Of course, she’s some sort of lowly officer now, but she’s going to stay Ensign Mighty Niece from hereon out in my books!

The End!

All of My “Empire Rising” Reviews

Wednesday, August 30, 2023

Siege of Earth (Empire Rising #6) 4Stars

Title: Siege of Earth
Series: Empire Rising #6
Author: David Holmes
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 475
Words: 184K

DASTARDLY SPACE COMMIES!!!!!

Yeeehaawwwwwww! Watch as the evil SPACE COMMIES try to starve Earth into submission. Watch as the heartless SPACE COMMIES try to kill a beautiful woman and new space ensign! Experience thrills and chills as SPACE COMMIES try to throw ice comets at earth while the stalwart defenders are run ragged. Shudder in terror as filthy traitors show their true colors AND get their just desserts! Weep as brave men and women sacrifice all so that their stalwart comrades can kill MORE SPACE COMMIES! Fear not, there are plenty of SPACE COMMIES to kill. Just send in your 5 box tops from Sugar Frosted SPACE COMMIES and we’ll send you your very own SPACE COMMIE to kill at your convenience! (shipping and handling is extra)

I DIDN’T KNOW I WANTED SPACE COMMIES BUT BY GUM, I GOT THEM, I WANTED THEM AND I WANTED THEM DEAD!!!

Holmes gave me what I didn’t even know I wanted and that takes genius and a lot of chutzpah. Because we all know how picky I am. My hat is off to you, sir. Thanks for not screwing this up. Of course, with space commies, you would be hard pressed to mess that up and annoy me. Mak’em evil, kill’em and I’m happy as a pig in mud.

Four Mudbaths out of Five!

★★★★☆

From the Publisher

The Flex-aor invasion fleets have been stopped, but at great cost. Human colonies lie in ruins, fleets have been decimated and the economies of the major space powers have been stretched to breaking point. Yet one nation stands unaffected. Hidden behind their borders, the Russian Space Federation is stronger than ever. Still enraged by the harsh peace terms forced upon them more than thirty years ago, the Federation sees its chance for revenge. Led by an Admiral with the tactical capabilities to rival any from the Allied space powers, the Russians have only one goal in mind; humanity’s homeworld will be theirs.

With the swiftness of the Russian attack, James, Suzanna, Lightfoot and many others find themselves isolated and cut off from one another. Worse, they are surrounded by allies that may no longer be trustworthy. Forced to fight with whatever forces they can muster, victory seems all but impossible.

Once again, the stakes are as high as they can get, for defeat would see the homeworld they sacrificed so much to protect falling under a new Russian tyranny. And if Earth falls, so too will the British Star Kingdom.

All of My “Empire Rising” Reviews

Wednesday, August 09, 2023

Firestorm (Empire Rising #5) 3.5Stars

Title: Firestorm
Series: Empire Rising #5
Author: David Holmes
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 324
Words: 124K

MUCH more enjoyable than the previous book. Over 20K of words less and it showed by being a tighter, leaner story and I think we all benefit from that. There were no letters, thank goodness.

There is still the “they fire X missiles” and the countdown to how they all get destroyed or not. But I was reading an older review of one of Doug Dandridge’s books and he did the exact same thing, so I guess that’s a “feature” of indie milsf writers.

We are also introduced to the next Somerville, Captain Happypant’s illegitimate niece. Since Happypants is pretty much now a commodore and the next step for him will be sitting behind a desk getting fat and reminiscing about “back in my day the Navy was blah, blah, blah”, and Mighty Niece is just entering navy school, I fully expect the next book to be a transition from Happypants as the main character to Mighty Niece.

Also, now that there is evidence of the Master Alien Race that really is setting lower races against each other, I expect them to take more of centerstage as the villainous, gloating, rubbing of hands (or whatever appendage that translates to for them) bad guy. There have been hints from the beginnings of each chapter (where it is the year 3000’ish and the Empire is at the height of its power) that is a War of Doom where humanity takes a tremendous beating and almost loses the survival war. I suspect the new MAR’s have a hand in that.

Unlike the last book, I didn’t notice any awkward dialogue. Nothing that threw me out of the book at all. Doesn’t mean it was Nero Wolfe / Archie Goodwin banter, but it was solid dialogue that didn’t make me wince. That’s a big step in the right direction and I’m happy about that.

★★★✬☆

From the Publisher

Four peaceful years have passed since the liberation of Haven. Captain James Somerville has taken his command, the heavy cruiser Titan, to Earth for a much-needed refit. As he is there, shocking news arrives from the American colonies. Unknown ships have attacked a remote colony. Nuclear missiles have devastated the planet’s surface leaving almost no survivors. Suddenly, the human nations find themselves thrust into a war for the very survival of their species. Old rivalries must be set aside if this new threat is to be confronted. Once again James finds himself thrust into the midst of battle. This time, the stakes are as high as they can get.

All of My “Empire Rising” Reviews

Wednesday, July 05, 2023

The Price of Liberty (Empire Rising #4) ★★★☆☆

Title: The Price of Liberty
Series: Empire Rising #4
Author: David Holmes
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 388
Words: 155K

From the Publisher

War has been declared. The Indian Star Republic has landed ground troops on the newly discovered colony of Haven as they seek to seize access to the alien worlds of Vestar and Kulthar. The British Star Kingdom has reacted. A battle fleet has been formed with orders to drive off the Indians and retake Haven.

Cleared from a highly-politicized court martial and now newly married, Captain James Somerville leads Endeavour to join up with the fleet going to liberate Haven. Yet he is not entirely welcome for not everyone is happy with the outcome of the court martial.

Meanwhile, Major Johnston commands a small marine special forces unit stranded on Haven itself. Caught in the middle of a gruella war, he must use all his skills to help the resistance weaken the Indian invaders in anticipation of a British ground assault.

As the war quickly heats up, both men will learn the true price of liberty.

Something has changed. Either I have or the writing has. Or I’ve just noticed the writing. Many of the conversations were awkward and stilted, like they had been written, sigh, instead of just recording what was said between 2 people. There were also 2 letters written in this story that I simply skipped because they were pages long and was nothing but blather that didn’t actually do anything for the plot. As Polonius would have said “Brevity is the soul of wit”. (that’s Shakespeare for those not familiar with Hamlet) There was no brevity here.

The story is longer and is actually almost 2 stories. One about Cpt Somerville doing spaceship stuff and another about the super british marine who leads the insurgency on Haven. Both enjoyable but neither needed some of the padding that the author stuck in.

Now that the idea of “Space Kingdoms” has been introduced and the idea of this universe explored, I am afraid I am going to start focusing on the skill of the author in regards to wordsmithing. As Asimov proved, ideas might work fantastically for short stories, but you need solid plotting, characters and writing to successfully pull off a novel. I felt like I saw some cracks in the foundation of the writing part. I don’t expect every author to be as good as Rex Stout, the author who I now consider the preeminent wordsmith against who I judge every other author, but I do expect a bit more than simple “He said. She said.” kind of conversations. I realize also that writing from a first person view is different from a third person omniscient viewpoint but the point remains is that Holmes didn’t handle things nearly as well as I “remember” him doing in previous books.

This is one of the reasons I am not a big fan of long, ongoing series, especially for indies. Pedestrian writing can only go so far and then it becomes a bigger hindrance than anything, especially for me. I expect good quality in the books I read, not just basic skill.

I realize I have complained a lot here. The story is still good. The action was exciting. If I can set my mind to judge this based on that alone, I might be ok for the long haul. I suspect I’ll know my answer one way or another within 2 more books. I’ll either be able to paper over the cracks I’ve seen or they’ll just get bigger in my view and I’ll have to stop.

And with having close to 400 Books on my TBR , I’m getting to the point where just dropping a series midpoint doesn’t bother me anymore.

★★★☆☆

All of My “Empire Rising” Reviews

Monday, May 08, 2023

Return to Haven (Empire Rising #3) ★★★✬☆

Title: Return to Haven
Series: Empire Rising #3
Author: David Holmes
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 290
Words: 111K

From the Publisher and Bookstooge.blog

The revelation that the human race is not alone has sent shockwaves throughout Earth’s naval powers. Suddenly all eyes have turned to Haven and the trade routes to the Vestarian and Kulrean homeworlds.

Thinking he has nothing to lose, Haven’s First Councilor puts into motion a plan that threatens to turn star empire against star empire. As a result, Captain James Somerville finds himself thrown into the thick of battle once again. Yet not everyone in the Admiralty is enamored with his brash style of command and this time, his reckless actions may finally catch up with him.

James faces a court martial that is used by the politicians to gain popular support for annexing Haven and he marries one of Haven’s leading politicians.

Meanwhile, India has invaded Haven and means to subdue it before any other of the Space Powers can do anything to stop them.

Captain Happy Pants, to help bring the lost colony of Haven into the British Fold, marries Sexy Lost Politician, thus making her Lady Happy Pants. So long Ensign Captain Chicky Boo. You will be missed.

With Space India invading Haven, a group of special marines go all guerilla warfare with the dissidents. It was the kind of action I like. There was still a lot of space action though, with missiles and lasers and stuff, so if that does it for you, you’ll still enjoy this.

While I am not wildly excited about this series, I am thoroughly satisfied with each book so far. That’s all I can truly ask for.

★★★✬☆

All of My “Empire Rising” Reviews

Friday, March 24, 2023

A King’s Ship (Empire Rising #2) ★★★✬☆

Title: A King’s Ship
Series: Empire Rising #2
Author: David Holmes
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 314
Words: 122K

From the Publisher and Bookstooge.blog

The war with China is over. But for Captain James Somerville there is a task still unfinished.

Former Politburo Intelligence Minister Chang has evaded capture and escaped from Chinese space. Declared a war criminal by the UN and British law courts, James is given the Royal Space Navy’s newest exploration cruiser and sent after Chang.

His chase will threaten to stir up old rivalries and take him to the edge of explored space. What he will discover there will radically reshape humanity’s position in the galaxy and throw him into a series of desperate battles. Alone and outnumbered he will come to realize what it really takes to command a King’s Ship.

And that means finding a Lost Colony with a secret (they have skillz! And have pirated Space Briton’s ships), finding aliens, finding MORE aliens and then killing lots of aliens. And finding out that there are even more aliens (even though the humans don’t realize the discovery for what it is at the time).

I was pretty happy with this. While there are some impressive space battles (where we once again count every missile down until it explodes or something), we also get some British Space Marine action. Boo yah! These guys are almost as tough as regular American Space Soldiers, so you know in the big scheme of things they’re pretty badass. And they’re even all squishy on the inside and have a bonding moment, awwwww. Thankfully, that doesn’t last too long before they get back to killing aliens.

The Big Bad Communist from the first book has escaped and Captain Happy Pants is tasked with secretly hunting him down. And boy does he kick some applecarts over in that process. India is caught with its hands fully in the Space Communist cookie jar and whines about it. Captain Happy doesn’t care, nor should he, he’s got a Space United Nations mandate! And Ensign Chicky Boo is now Admiral/Captain/Commander/Whatever Chicky Boo and is helping out. But a sexy Lost Human Politician gets in the way until Captain Happy Pants puts her aside because he still loves the British Space Princess. It’s a real Space Soap Opera! Find out next episode who has the alien baby!!! (not really, but come on, you had to see that coming).

Once again, I really enjoyed this. It hits the Space Opera itch that I have (that I’m not getting scratched by Anspach & Cole with their Galaxy’s Edge series, boo, hiss) and while it has more spaceship battles than I really care for, it does have more than enough ground pounder action to keep me happy. Space Marines for da win baby!

★★★✬☆

All of My “Empire Rising” Reviews

Sunday, February 19, 2023

The Void War (Empire Rising #1) ★★★✬☆

Title: The Void War
Series: Empire Rising #1
Author: David Holmes
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 339
Words: 132K

Sometime in the year 3000 there is a Human Empire and some blathering idiot of a historian decides to chronicle the Rise of the Empire. Thankfully, we get a science fiction novel that tells a good cracking, exciting and interesting story instead of a dry history filled only with names, dates and statistical data. As you can probably tell, I am not a fan of history books (sorry Matt, they’re all yours!).

The Little (disgraced) Rich Boy makes good and starts becoming Somebody. Along the way he helps defeat Space Communists (Yaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!!!) but doesn’t get to marry the Princess (Boooooooo!). However, Ensign “Chickie Boo” Underling is standing in the wings and while they hate each other at first, it’s all a big misunderstanding and so by book’s end they are besties. (Awwwwwwww!)

Everything is based on The British Navy, in Spaaaaaaace! (say that while remembering the Muppet’s skit, Pigs in Spaaaaaace). Jack Campell did this first with his Black Jack Geary aka Lost Fleet series, but unlike Campbell, Holmes skips all the boring bits (like waiting 6hrs for space missiles to actually arrive or waiting 6hrs to shoot your own space missiles) and thus we zoom along at a pretty good breakneck pace. (don’t try shooting missiles at home, kids. That is not Batman & Robin approved behavior!)

I look forward to reading more in this series and hope it stays as good as this book was.

★★★✬☆

PG’s Ramblings 2018 Review