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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
This is one of those brilliant stories that you just can’t put down, and you find yourself looking for excuses to go and pick the book up at any opportunity that you can. It is a combination Military Sci-fi/Space Opera, with former Lt. Commander in the Sovereign Coalition, Caspian Robeaux flying courier missions with his friend, and pilot, a rather quirky robot with an addiction for bad holodramas, called Box.
Cas once had a promising career with the Coalition Navy, but something happened and he made a decision that would not only impact his life, but those of others.
As a result, he ended up on the run and in the Sargan Commonwealth with Box, running courier missions for a Crime Lord called Veena.
The story is pretty good at this point already, with Cas’ sharp wit, and Box adding quick fire dialogue that makes you laugh so hard, you have to stop at times.
However, the Coalition is not done with Cas yet, and they send a rather fascinating woman after him, Evelyn Diazal, or Evie. Cas and Evie quickly fall into a rather interesting dynamic as neither can get a read on the other.
Without giving too much away, Cas reluctantly agrees to return to the Coalition with Evie to help them locate the last ship that Cas was working on, the ship that destroyed his life, his career, and sent him on the run, the Achlys.
I have to say that there are real elements to the Star Trek Next Gen episode here in which Wil Riker has a mysterious past and won’t reveal details about the accident that killed several crew, and the subsequent disappearance of the Pegasus, and a Star Fleet Mystery that remained unsolved until that episode. It was a brilliant episode, one of the best in the series, and that brilliance has can be seen here in Caspian’s Fortune.
There are so many angles at play in this book, you really don’t know if Cas is a traitor, or is he actually a true hero? Is his former Captain a Patriot, or a delusional Rogue, the same as in the Next Gen episode, willing to do whatever it takes to get a step up in technology, regardless of the cost to lives, and even if it breaks treaties with other alien races.
Evie is a bit of wild card, you are not sure if she will side with Cas, the Coalition, or do something else entirely.
Then there is the Captain of the Coalition ship that is in command of the operation, he is very much like Pickard, a true legend amongst the Coalition, known for being ethical, following the rules, but also being able to bend them when necessary.
The characters in this story are exceptional, they have such incredible depth, and the dialogue is so gritty and realistic.
I commented to a fellow reader how much I despised one of the characters, and the feelings I had towards this ‘imaginary’ person, and realised that the Author had created these feelings, and this just shows the quality of the character writing in this series (P.S. Everyone feels the same about this person)
Warren has created an amazing set of alien races to use within his books, it is fascinating reading about the different aliens and their cultures, their differences to humans, the creativity and depth in this writing is outstanding.
Just as outstanding is the technology. Warren, has covered all the bases for writing an extraordinary Sci-fi story, with fascinating aliens, clever and creative technology, and a stunning and exceptional world in which his characters can tell their story. Best of all, this is a powerful Character driven story, that will leave you totally engaged and wanting more.
This is a brilliant story of intrigue, politics and underlying it all, an arms race. The Sovereign Coalition realise that they do not have the firepower to stop those around them, the Sargan’s, the Sil, and other races, and thus, have devised means to try and level the playing field. And this is what this story is all about (without giving spoilers away!)
Warren is clever and intellectual writer, who creates intelligent and well thought out Characters with gritty, powerful dialogue that really captivate you as a reader. Box, the Artificial Intelligent Robot, is one of the most impressive A.I. characters that I have come across in any book in years, and he provides some moving, thought provoking and incredibly powerful scenes that will leave you thinking about artificial life forms for days to come.
Infinity’s End is a culmination of a multitude of different Sci-fi series, such as Firefly, Next Gen, a slew of different games and other books come to mind. It is obvious that Warren is well versed in Sci-Fi, and has done a lot of reading and research so that he can create this series, and it comes out in a masterful opening book to what is going to be a wonderful series and one not to be missed – get into it now, it is brilliant at every level!!
Cas once had a promising career with the Coalition Navy, but something happened and he made a decision that would not only impact his life, but those of others.
As a result, he ended up on the run and in the Sargan Commonwealth with Box, running courier missions for a Crime Lord called Veena.
The story is pretty good at this point already, with Cas’ sharp wit, and Box adding quick fire dialogue that makes you laugh so hard, you have to stop at times.
However, the Coalition is not done with Cas yet, and they send a rather fascinating woman after him, Evelyn Diazal, or Evie. Cas and Evie quickly fall into a rather interesting dynamic as neither can get a read on the other.
Without giving too much away, Cas reluctantly agrees to return to the Coalition with Evie to help them locate the last ship that Cas was working on, the ship that destroyed his life, his career, and sent him on the run, the Achlys.
I have to say that there are real elements to the Star Trek Next Gen episode here in which Wil Riker has a mysterious past and won’t reveal details about the accident that killed several crew, and the subsequent disappearance of the Pegasus, and a Star Fleet Mystery that remained unsolved until that episode. It was a brilliant episode, one of the best in the series, and that brilliance has can be seen here in Caspian’s Fortune.
There are so many angles at play in this book, you really don’t know if Cas is a traitor, or is he actually a true hero? Is his former Captain a Patriot, or a delusional Rogue, the same as in the Next Gen episode, willing to do whatever it takes to get a step up in technology, regardless of the cost to lives, and even if it breaks treaties with other alien races.
Evie is a bit of wild card, you are not sure if she will side with Cas, the Coalition, or do something else entirely.
Then there is the Captain of the Coalition ship that is in command of the operation, he is very much like Pickard, a true legend amongst the Coalition, known for being ethical, following the rules, but also being able to bend them when necessary.
The characters in this story are exceptional, they have such incredible depth, and the dialogue is so gritty and realistic.
I commented to a fellow reader how much I despised one of the characters, and the feelings I had towards this ‘imaginary’ person, and realised that the Author had created these feelings, and this just shows the quality of the character writing in this series (P.S. Everyone feels the same about this person)
Warren has created an amazing set of alien races to use within his books, it is fascinating reading about the different aliens and their cultures, their differences to humans, the creativity and depth in this writing is outstanding.
Just as outstanding is the technology. Warren, has covered all the bases for writing an extraordinary Sci-fi story, with fascinating aliens, clever and creative technology, and a stunning and exceptional world in which his characters can tell their story. Best of all, this is a powerful Character driven story, that will leave you totally engaged and wanting more.
This is a brilliant story of intrigue, politics and underlying it all, an arms race. The Sovereign Coalition realise that they do not have the firepower to stop those around them, the Sargan’s, the Sil, and other races, and thus, have devised means to try and level the playing field. And this is what this story is all about (without giving spoilers away!)
Warren is clever and intellectual writer, who creates intelligent and well thought out Characters with gritty, powerful dialogue that really captivate you as a reader. Box, the Artificial Intelligent Robot, is one of the most impressive A.I. characters that I have come across in any book in years, and he provides some moving, thought provoking and incredibly powerful scenes that will leave you thinking about artificial life forms for days to come.
Infinity’s End is a culmination of a multitude of different Sci-fi series, such as Firefly, Next Gen, a slew of different games and other books come to mind. It is obvious that Warren is well versed in Sci-Fi, and has done a lot of reading and research so that he can create this series, and it comes out in a masterful opening book to what is going to be a wonderful series and one not to be missed – get into it now, it is brilliant at every level!!
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It started off as an entertaining read but there was just so much wrong with the physics at the end (shockwaves in space?!). There are limits too how far I can suspend my disbelief. Instead of enjoying the story I kept thinking "that doesn't make sense" or "that's not how it works".
Though this wasn't earth-shattering to me in plot, characters, or world-building, it's a solidly enjoyable military-turned-rebel space story of the kind that I enjoy (Vatta's War, Golden Age of the Solar Clipper, etc).
This is a quick read with the usual tropes. A reprobate drunk captain with an irritating sidekick just trying to make a living. The back story was a bit contrived, but not bad enough to matter. There is a fair amount of bad science in the sci-fi here, but just like the back story, it doesn't really detract from the plot much, which keeps moving right along pretty much as expected with a Space Opera. We get some resolution at the end and a jump on the sequel, which I will probably pick up sometime in the future to see where it all goes from here (or might not ... I didn't exactly connect with the any of the main characters, so YMMV).
"Life is short. Make it interesting." -- Box
This series is currently available on Amazon's Kindle Unlimited.
I was given this free advance reader copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
#CaspiansFortune #NetGalley
"Life is short. Make it interesting." -- Box
This series is currently available on Amazon's Kindle Unlimited.
I was given this free advance reader copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
#CaspiansFortune #NetGalley
This is not a review, just a reminder to myself in the future. I didn’t like this and quit reading a little more than halfway through. *tosses book toward DNF bin
Ugh. The sci-fi elements are minimal - energy guns and spaceships, so the heavy lifting has to be accomplished by great characters and a clever plot. Caspian's Fortune has neither of those things. The characters lack a great deal of common sense, and author fiat is necessary to force characters to do stupid things in order for the plot to move forward the way Eric Warren planned. Which might be fine, if the plot weren't so slow and boring. To explain why requires spoilers, so instead I'll focus on other aspects...
Per the cover blurb, Caspian takes a job that could clear his name -- except the reason why he has the job requires the author keep a secret from the reader, but Caspian knows throughout the narration. I hate this kind of cheap writing: the novel is from Caspian's viewpoint but we are purposely kept in the dark despite the secret being critical to Caspian's decision making. This removes tension from the plot. I have no idea why I should care, and Caspian seems to be making decisions contrary to his survival and yet I am not told why for the majority of the book.
Combine this with very thin world-building and this novel is simply not for me. Characters exist to do what the plot demands, rather than have actual jobs and roles within the universe. Our female lead is allegedly an XO who doesn't seem to have any responsibilities on a ship at all. The military organization barely resembles a navy... hell it barely resembles any sort of organization. Characters have an ill-defined background and role. They exist to move the plot forward, and have no life the moment they disappear out of narration.
Ah I almost forgot... there are a number of plot twists based on technical capabilities that are not foreshadowed at all. It's as if you're reading a present day novel and suddenly someone has a teleporter. Cheap, terrible writing.
I regret the time I spent reading this novel, and highly recommend against.
Per the cover blurb, Caspian takes a job that could clear his name -- except the reason why he has the job requires the author keep a secret from the reader, but Caspian knows throughout the narration. I hate this kind of cheap writing: the novel is from Caspian's viewpoint but we are purposely kept in the dark despite the secret being critical to Caspian's decision making. This removes tension from the plot. I have no idea why I should care, and Caspian seems to be making decisions contrary to his survival and yet I am not told why for the majority of the book.
Combine this with very thin world-building and this novel is simply not for me. Characters exist to do what the plot demands, rather than have actual jobs and roles within the universe. Our female lead is allegedly an XO who doesn't seem to have any responsibilities on a ship at all. The military organization barely resembles a navy... hell it barely resembles any sort of organization. Characters have an ill-defined background and role. They exist to move the plot forward, and have no life the moment they disappear out of narration.
Ah I almost forgot... there are a number of plot twists based on technical capabilities that are not foreshadowed at all. It's as if you're reading a present day novel and suddenly someone has a teleporter. Cheap, terrible writing.
I regret the time I spent reading this novel, and highly recommend against.
Though this wasn't earth-shattering to me in plot, characters, or world-building, it's a solidly enjoyable military-turned-rebel space story of the kind that I enjoy (Vatta's War, Golden Age of the Solar Clipper, etc).
A fun short read!
This novel is about an outlaw named Cas and his robot pilot and best friend Box. Cas is a courier and a drunk. The first because he has no other option at the moment, the second because he wants to forget his past. When he meets Evie, a pilot from the same Coalition that forced him into exile, he isn't happy to say the least. He gets even angrier when he discovers she has been ordered to bring him back. She may not know why he was living so far from home but he knows that the Coalition never forgets. Either he'll be thrown in jail or murdered on the spot, but goes with her for some reason.
Warren tells the story in a fun and exciting way. Parts of the narrative were a bit unbelievable which is why I am giving this novella a four instead of a five but other than that, I liked the emotion and the action. Box was hilarious, even though he was a robot, there were times he seemed more human than Cas himself. The new life forms were fun to imagine and every action sequence was intense, eloquent and fast-paced, forcing me to keep reading.
This novel is about an outlaw named Cas and his robot pilot and best friend Box. Cas is a courier and a drunk. The first because he has no other option at the moment, the second because he wants to forget his past. When he meets Evie, a pilot from the same Coalition that forced him into exile, he isn't happy to say the least. He gets even angrier when he discovers she has been ordered to bring him back. She may not know why he was living so far from home but he knows that the Coalition never forgets. Either he'll be thrown in jail or murdered on the spot, but goes with her for some reason.
Warren tells the story in a fun and exciting way. Parts of the narrative were a bit unbelievable which is why I am giving this novella a four instead of a five but other than that, I liked the emotion and the action. Box was hilarious, even though he was a robot, there were times he seemed more human than Cas himself. The new life forms were fun to imagine and every action sequence was intense, eloquent and fast-paced, forcing me to keep reading.