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Star Force #5
Battle Station
In BATTLE STATION Kyle Riggs faces new challenges, new alien fleets and learns the secrets behind the war he has been fighting for years.
In the fifth book of the Star Force Series, the Eden system is in humanity's grasp, but can they keep it? Star Force is weak after a long war, and many yearn to go home. Knowing the machines will return with a new armada eventually, Riggs seeks a more permanent solution. Along the way, worlds are won and lost, millions perish, and great truths are revealed.
In the fifth book of the Star Force Series, the Eden system is in humanity's grasp, but can they keep it? Star Force is weak after a long war, and many yearn to go home. Knowing the machines will return with a new armada eventually, Riggs seeks a more permanent solution. Along the way, worlds are won and lost, millions perish, and great truths are revealed.
292 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 2, 2012
457 people are currently reading
406 people want to read
About the author
B.V. Larson
134 books1,529 followersBrian Larson is an American science fiction and fantasy author
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
December 10, 2024
Войната и в системата на "кентаврите" продължава!
Залозите са все така огромни и прошка за победените няма да има.
Полковник Ригс и неговите бойци имат да решават много проблеми и от това как ще се справят, вече зависи бъдещето на няколко разумни раси.
Серията продължава да е чудесно четиво за почитателите на военната фантастика.
Залозите са все така огромни и прошка за победените няма да има.
Полковник Ригс и неговите бойци имат да решават много проблеми и от това как ще се справят, вече зависи бъдещето на няколко разумни раси.
Серията продължава да е чудесно четиво за почитателите на военната фантастика.
August 21, 2022
Czwarte spotkanie z serią Star Force B.V. Larsona i największym kosmicznym erotomanem Kylem Riggsem w tle, nie wniosło specjalnych zmian w kreacji wciąż płaskich postaci, ale przynajmniej uroczy robot Marvin dodał nieco smaczku całej serii. Dlatego z wielką przyjemnością sięgnęłam po piątą odsłonę kosmicznej telenoweli pod tytułem Stacja bojowa, by sprawdzić, co tym razem zmalował mój nowy, uroczy pupilek. ;)
Z wizytą u Niebieskich. ;)
"Siły Gwiezdne i Kyle Riggs stają przed nowymi wyzwaniami, mierzą się z kolejnymi flotami, odkrywają sekrety wojny, którą toczą od lat.
Ludzie zdobywają system Eden, ale czy uda się go utrzymać? Siły Gwiezdne są osłabione po długiej walce, wielu żołnierzy chce wrócić do domu. Wiedząc, że maszyny pojawią się znowu, z kolejną armadą, Riggs szuka rozwiązania, które mogłoby na stałe przywrócić pokój na Ziemi."
Nowe rasy i stare problemy.
Ponieważ ostatnie spotkanie z gwiazdami serialu odbyło się na Ziemi, więc jak łatwo się domyślić, tym razem przenosimy się „do gwiazd”, a dokładniej do systemu Eden.
Jest ponownie sporo intryg, dynamicznej akcji, mnóstwo nowych miejscówek, ale co najważniejsze pojawiają się Niebiescy. I zaczyna się ostra jazda bez trzymanki, bo wyobraźnia autora wkroczyła na zupełnie inny poziom niż dotychczas, ale w sumie, to kosmos więc czemu by nie. ;) Tchórze o rozbuchanym ego mogą pojawić się w każdym zakątku wszechświata.
Fani wątku romantycznego również będą zadowoleni. ;) Macho Riggs w swojej najlepszej formie, a jego ulepszona biotycznie dziewczyna, nadal na poziomie intelektualnym ameby.
Po odsłuchu mogę więc napisać, że jest Stacja bojowa B.V. Larsona trzyma „swój” poziom. Jest lekko, z humorem i dużą dawką atrakcji. Dla fanów tego typu kosmicznych szaleństw w sam raz. ;)
http://unserious.pl/2020/11/stacja-bo...
Z wizytą u Niebieskich. ;)
"Siły Gwiezdne i Kyle Riggs stają przed nowymi wyzwaniami, mierzą się z kolejnymi flotami, odkrywają sekrety wojny, którą toczą od lat.
Ludzie zdobywają system Eden, ale czy uda się go utrzymać? Siły Gwiezdne są osłabione po długiej walce, wielu żołnierzy chce wrócić do domu. Wiedząc, że maszyny pojawią się znowu, z kolejną armadą, Riggs szuka rozwiązania, które mogłoby na stałe przywrócić pokój na Ziemi."
Nowe rasy i stare problemy.
Ponieważ ostatnie spotkanie z gwiazdami serialu odbyło się na Ziemi, więc jak łatwo się domyślić, tym razem przenosimy się „do gwiazd”, a dokładniej do systemu Eden.
Jest ponownie sporo intryg, dynamicznej akcji, mnóstwo nowych miejscówek, ale co najważniejsze pojawiają się Niebiescy. I zaczyna się ostra jazda bez trzymanki, bo wyobraźnia autora wkroczyła na zupełnie inny poziom niż dotychczas, ale w sumie, to kosmos więc czemu by nie. ;) Tchórze o rozbuchanym ego mogą pojawić się w każdym zakątku wszechświata.
Fani wątku romantycznego również będą zadowoleni. ;) Macho Riggs w swojej najlepszej formie, a jego ulepszona biotycznie dziewczyna, nadal na poziomie intelektualnym ameby.
Po odsłuchu mogę więc napisać, że jest Stacja bojowa B.V. Larsona trzyma „swój” poziom. Jest lekko, z humorem i dużą dawką atrakcji. Dla fanów tego typu kosmicznych szaleństw w sam raz. ;)
http://unserious.pl/2020/11/stacja-bo...
November 25, 2017
An OK read.
November 3, 2013
I have read all of the Star Force novels up to date (Swarm, Extinction, Rebellion, and Conquest). This is the fifth book in the series. I have to say it is apparent that this one was not given the same effort as prior novels.
Larson is frequently criticized for moving too fast. He doesn't take a lot of time to setup a satisfying background story or develop characters. Another minor criticism is that his story and character progression are too unbelievable to be taken seriously. I will talk in a little bit more detail about these critiques later, but suffice it to say that all of these problems were on major exhibition in this installment. I'm going to give one early example of a repeating theme throughout the book and will try to leave out details on the rest so I don't spoil it.
Kyle Riggs is off in a foreign solar system where he is engaged in a struggle to aid an alien race of biotics (called the Centaurs) rebuild their civilization after being exiled from their planets and sequestered off-world in a giant space station by the Macros (essentially a race of genocidal, biotic-hating robots). Without much in the way of planning or even any recorded person-to-person interaction between Riggs and one of the Centaurs (excluding short radio transmissions), you see the Star Force battalion already making moves by chapter 12 to capture a major Macro production facility. In the very short time period leading up to that point, Riggs has already flown through the "ring" (basically a mysterious wormhole conduit that allows fast-travel between far-away star systems) situated at the end of Eden into an unknown system. This is after telling the reader countless times that doing such a thing would be idiotic and potentially draw Macro aggression. As a side note, one of the most annoying things about the story at this point is how nervous Riggs is about the Macros being "triggered" to attack their colony by someone going through the ring while there is a large Macro presence on almost every single world in the Eden system. At any rate, Riggs space walks through the ring and discovers a brand new alien race of "crustaceans" he refers to as the Lobsters as captains of the long-lost Nano ships.
The first 12 chapters are annoyingly incomplete, and Riggs very briefly summarizes segments of the story that deserve much more care and full narration. The part with the “Lobsters” (supposedly a brand new alien race of water-dwelling crustaceans) was exceptionally ridiculous and made me almost stop reading right there. Riggs discovers a member of the new alien race aboard one of the pre-programmed Nano ships, beats him unconscious (as part of the "tests" the ship requires to allow control over them) and tries to demand that the ship not kill the concussed lobster. The ship then proceeds to do the thing where it heats the floor up to a very high temperature, burning the alien to death. Riggs comments that the smell is "mouth-watering" (I'm not kidding). This, along with the ever-changing personality of the robot "Marvin" (who accompanies him on the trip) made me wonder for a second if Larson was purposefully trying to derail the series. What starts as a semi-serious military sci-fi/”light” space opera begins morphing into something along the lines of a C-rated comic.
The conversation between the lobster race and Riggs afterward is also quite ludicrous but I won’t go into details. Suffice it to say that I got the distinct impression that nowhere near as much thought was given to this part of the story compared to first contact events recorded in book #1 and especially in books #2 and #3 with the Worms and the Centaurs. I came away from those episodes feeling somewhat intrigued and perhaps even slightly attached to the universe that Larson was building. When compared to this whole episode, my thoughts that Larson may have rushed this novel started to solidify.
But aside from my problems with story progression, the incongruousness of the individual characters was quite annoying. First of all, I never fully bought Riggs as a military tough guy and strategic mastermind, given the fact that he is a college professor with no training, education, or (extensive) warfare experience. I was willing to ignore this little issue because the other elements of the story were entertaining, even if they weren’t very believable. But in this book, Riggs seems a lot less stable and his personality seems to change from time to time without explanation. There is a scene in which Riggs asks one of his men to fly in front of a Macro missile to block it from knocking out millions of Centaurs. Riggs proceeds to watch the event unfold and then starts cracking jokes with Miklos, the previously stoic, overly-cautious second-guesser of Riggs. In this scene, Miklos doesn't seem to have any real objection to the death of human Star Force marine in order to save the Centaurs. It seemed that both of them were out of character for the entirety of this segment. But then again, when you are pumping out one novel after the other in a period of a few brief months, it is unlikely you have time to do any detailed analysis of hero congruity.
One character that doesn’t seem to have undergone an Axis II-level shift of personality is Sandra. Just when you thought you were going to be able to take a breather from her (as she didn’t initially leave earth with Riggs), she still finds her way into the action about mid-way through the story. In predictable fashion, she immediately starts interfering with operational control and pulling Riggs into awkwardly placed sex scenes at the most unbelievable moments. If you couldn’t buy a computer science professor as military mastermind and chief defender of humanity, I don’t see how you could buy an uneducated bimbo as a superhuman assassin and bodyguard (not to mention a seemingly welcome and frequent distraction to every single strategy session that Riggs has with his staff during a crisis). In my review of book #4 in the series, I stated that she nearly made it unreadable. In book #5, she is equally (if not more) annoying.
I remember reading BV Larson say that half of the stuff he has sold in the last couple years was written during that same time period. Apparently a good portion of Star Force was written before he was even a big seller on Amazon. I could tell from books #1-#3 that a good (but not great) deal of care and effort was put into plot and character development. It was not on the scale of what you would expect from the blockbuster writers of the genre, but the style still had some appeal nonetheless. Larson was far more concerned with avoiding sheer boredom with drawn-out background stories, technical minutiae, and overly-done descriptives. I have even come to appreciate that about Larson on some level, and his success as a self-published writer shows he has no shortage of appeal for his technique.
One the other hand, one has to wonder if his effort to release a new book in a variety of genres every other month is part of the reason this book seems so rushed. I'm not sure I will read the next in the series, but if I do I'm not expecting much of an improvement. The thing that is most aggravating is that Larson has the talent to be a good writer of space opera. He just needs the time to put in the level of care required to make the story believable to those of us who read science fiction regularly. This production is nowhere near his level of potential, and he undersold the reader and himself by putting it out in its woefully unfinished state.
Larson is frequently criticized for moving too fast. He doesn't take a lot of time to setup a satisfying background story or develop characters. Another minor criticism is that his story and character progression are too unbelievable to be taken seriously. I will talk in a little bit more detail about these critiques later, but suffice it to say that all of these problems were on major exhibition in this installment. I'm going to give one early example of a repeating theme throughout the book and will try to leave out details on the rest so I don't spoil it.
Kyle Riggs is off in a foreign solar system where he is engaged in a struggle to aid an alien race of biotics (called the Centaurs) rebuild their civilization after being exiled from their planets and sequestered off-world in a giant space station by the Macros (essentially a race of genocidal, biotic-hating robots). Without much in the way of planning or even any recorded person-to-person interaction between Riggs and one of the Centaurs (excluding short radio transmissions), you see the Star Force battalion already making moves by chapter 12 to capture a major Macro production facility. In the very short time period leading up to that point, Riggs has already flown through the "ring" (basically a mysterious wormhole conduit that allows fast-travel between far-away star systems) situated at the end of Eden into an unknown system. This is after telling the reader countless times that doing such a thing would be idiotic and potentially draw Macro aggression. As a side note, one of the most annoying things about the story at this point is how nervous Riggs is about the Macros being "triggered" to attack their colony by someone going through the ring while there is a large Macro presence on almost every single world in the Eden system. At any rate, Riggs space walks through the ring and discovers a brand new alien race of "crustaceans" he refers to as the Lobsters as captains of the long-lost Nano ships.
The first 12 chapters are annoyingly incomplete, and Riggs very briefly summarizes segments of the story that deserve much more care and full narration. The part with the “Lobsters” (supposedly a brand new alien race of water-dwelling crustaceans) was exceptionally ridiculous and made me almost stop reading right there. Riggs discovers a member of the new alien race aboard one of the pre-programmed Nano ships, beats him unconscious (as part of the "tests" the ship requires to allow control over them) and tries to demand that the ship not kill the concussed lobster. The ship then proceeds to do the thing where it heats the floor up to a very high temperature, burning the alien to death. Riggs comments that the smell is "mouth-watering" (I'm not kidding). This, along with the ever-changing personality of the robot "Marvin" (who accompanies him on the trip) made me wonder for a second if Larson was purposefully trying to derail the series. What starts as a semi-serious military sci-fi/”light” space opera begins morphing into something along the lines of a C-rated comic.
The conversation between the lobster race and Riggs afterward is also quite ludicrous but I won’t go into details. Suffice it to say that I got the distinct impression that nowhere near as much thought was given to this part of the story compared to first contact events recorded in book #1 and especially in books #2 and #3 with the Worms and the Centaurs. I came away from those episodes feeling somewhat intrigued and perhaps even slightly attached to the universe that Larson was building. When compared to this whole episode, my thoughts that Larson may have rushed this novel started to solidify.
But aside from my problems with story progression, the incongruousness of the individual characters was quite annoying. First of all, I never fully bought Riggs as a military tough guy and strategic mastermind, given the fact that he is a college professor with no training, education, or (extensive) warfare experience. I was willing to ignore this little issue because the other elements of the story were entertaining, even if they weren’t very believable. But in this book, Riggs seems a lot less stable and his personality seems to change from time to time without explanation. There is a scene in which Riggs asks one of his men to fly in front of a Macro missile to block it from knocking out millions of Centaurs. Riggs proceeds to watch the event unfold and then starts cracking jokes with Miklos, the previously stoic, overly-cautious second-guesser of Riggs. In this scene, Miklos doesn't seem to have any real objection to the death of human Star Force marine in order to save the Centaurs. It seemed that both of them were out of character for the entirety of this segment. But then again, when you are pumping out one novel after the other in a period of a few brief months, it is unlikely you have time to do any detailed analysis of hero congruity.
One character that doesn’t seem to have undergone an Axis II-level shift of personality is Sandra. Just when you thought you were going to be able to take a breather from her (as she didn’t initially leave earth with Riggs), she still finds her way into the action about mid-way through the story. In predictable fashion, she immediately starts interfering with operational control and pulling Riggs into awkwardly placed sex scenes at the most unbelievable moments. If you couldn’t buy a computer science professor as military mastermind and chief defender of humanity, I don’t see how you could buy an uneducated bimbo as a superhuman assassin and bodyguard (not to mention a seemingly welcome and frequent distraction to every single strategy session that Riggs has with his staff during a crisis). In my review of book #4 in the series, I stated that she nearly made it unreadable. In book #5, she is equally (if not more) annoying.
I remember reading BV Larson say that half of the stuff he has sold in the last couple years was written during that same time period. Apparently a good portion of Star Force was written before he was even a big seller on Amazon. I could tell from books #1-#3 that a good (but not great) deal of care and effort was put into plot and character development. It was not on the scale of what you would expect from the blockbuster writers of the genre, but the style still had some appeal nonetheless. Larson was far more concerned with avoiding sheer boredom with drawn-out background stories, technical minutiae, and overly-done descriptives. I have even come to appreciate that about Larson on some level, and his success as a self-published writer shows he has no shortage of appeal for his technique.
One the other hand, one has to wonder if his effort to release a new book in a variety of genres every other month is part of the reason this book seems so rushed. I'm not sure I will read the next in the series, but if I do I'm not expecting much of an improvement. The thing that is most aggravating is that Larson has the talent to be a good writer of space opera. He just needs the time to put in the level of care required to make the story believable to those of us who read science fiction regularly. This production is nowhere near his level of potential, and he undersold the reader and himself by putting it out in its woefully unfinished state.
June 9, 2025
Another completely over the top adventure in the Star Force series. This almost the half way point in the series and whilst it is not an attempt at a series space military series it is still just good fun to read. The concept of AI Machines attempt universe domination is great and the way the Earth has fought back is brilliant. The story /series stops itself from being great by the short cuts that are always available in the guise of factories. These are compute controlled entities that can build anything. Imagine Star Trek replicators on speed. Instead of producing food, or surgical instruments, feed them enough raw materials and a design and they produce instant tanks or space craft or anything the Kyle needs to swing a battle. It always feels a bit of a cheat. The action scenes are good, if the characters are somewhat thin and dialogue and interactions bordering on the unbelievable. Still as I said good fun read, not to be taken too seriously. Certainly looking forward to the second half of the series.
January 23, 2021
Imagine
I wonder, during this time of Covid-19, if movie theaters as I knew them will ever exist in the future? I cherish memories of Star Wars and other adventures. If they do, I hope B. V. Larson gets a chance to have the big screen project his adventures in space. Have you ever imagined what it would be like to land on a gas giant? Have you imagined walking on the outside of a space ship under full acceleration shooting aliens? Or sailing through space in a spacesuit? How about riding a hover board on land, sea, air, even space? It's all here! I cannot imagine what Larson will dream up next, but I'm on board whatever it is.
I wonder, during this time of Covid-19, if movie theaters as I knew them will ever exist in the future? I cherish memories of Star Wars and other adventures. If they do, I hope B. V. Larson gets a chance to have the big screen project his adventures in space. Have you ever imagined what it would be like to land on a gas giant? Have you imagined walking on the outside of a space ship under full acceleration shooting aliens? Or sailing through space in a spacesuit? How about riding a hover board on land, sea, air, even space? It's all here! I cannot imagine what Larson will dream up next, but I'm on board whatever it is.
May 27, 2025
“Battle Station”, fifth in the 'Star Force' series, has a lot of action but doesn't really advance the overall plot by much.
TBH that has been the case in most of the books,
Ultimately the idea is that Riggs ultimately defeats the Macros (and possibly the Blues), before turning his attention, and his troops, back to Earth.
This time round Riggs is dealing with the Centaurs and, increasingly, the Crustaceans (a haughty bunch with a healthy yellow streak a lot of the time).
The Rings are, of course, central to the plotting and Riggs invest in a giant space battle station which, he believes, will stop further Macros incursions.
It's a fast read.
3 Stars.
TBH that has been the case in most of the books,
Ultimately the idea is that Riggs ultimately defeats the Macros (and possibly the Blues), before turning his attention, and his troops, back to Earth.
This time round Riggs is dealing with the Centaurs and, increasingly, the Crustaceans (a haughty bunch with a healthy yellow streak a lot of the time).
The Rings are, of course, central to the plotting and Riggs invest in a giant space battle station which, he believes, will stop further Macros incursions.
It's a fast read.
3 Stars.
June 23, 2017
Very entertaining! Military science fiction action. Kyle Riggs continues to do the unexpected. As he tries to defeat the Macros and unite all the biotic specifies, he still manages to entertain us. I still enjoy the series, though it's not as thought-provoking as previous books. Mark Boyett does a great job as narrator on the Audible.com version.
April 30, 2020
Nothing sophisticated, just an interesting, imaginative space adventure with intriguing characters. Escapist Sci-fi that doesn't strain the brain but also doesn't insult your intelligence. I'm reading all of his series of books.
January 4, 2018
Love this series, old style sci fi, yes it has its faults, but still worth 5 stars
November 17, 2021
Ok
Ok tedious poor contours.blues r schmucks. T y u o a b c d e f g h I j
Ok tedious poor contours.blues r schmucks. T y u o a b c d e f g h I j
November 5, 2012
The previous books in this series have been all out war. War with the Macros, who are machines bent on eradicating all biotic life. They have found Earth but one guy, Kyle Riggs, an "enhanced" human who has overcome serious run-ins with Macros now leads the Earth Marine Force and Fleet to track down and destroy the Macros. He does that with a vengeance in the previous four books.
Now in this book, he begins a much needed consolidation of his forces in one of his liberated galaxies. He's got some new allies called Centaurs which seem to be some kind of goat people. They have the ability to fight but they have some serious draw backs. Additionally, while Colonel Riggs owns the space he now must clean out the Marcos that are still on several planets. And while he's doing this he finds out that his neighbors in the next galaxy beyond the ring at Hellios are not the most friendly. So while trying to make sure they don't start a fight, he gets busy building a massive battlestation next to the Hellios ring and getting ready for either the Lobsters people or a renewed attack by another Macro fleet.
This book doesn't have a lot of fighting until towards the very end. Then things get fast and furious as usual. If you need a breather from the battles and carnage of the first four books, then you'll enjoy the logistics preparations required during the first two thirds of this book. It is well written and has a lot of further character development.
There are a few things I find troubling with these books. One is that Colonel Kyle Riggs is the only genius in the entire Marine Corps. He has to come up with all the fantastic ideas and then get them implemented. Even his favorite robot, Marvin, doesn't seem to be much help. And there there's his extremely jealous girl friend who almost kills anyone that even looks at Col Riggs. This part is pretty ridiculous and gets tiring with her stupid antics.
Still Riggs manages to get things put together so he can stave off an attack by the Lobster people and another Macro fleet. Only problem he has is that Earth has been calling him back home and he isn't ready to go back just yet. Also, his counterpart back at Earth seems to have gotten really egotistical with Riggs gone. He's now getting information from "Imperial" Earth which doesn't sound good
On to the next book.
Now in this book, he begins a much needed consolidation of his forces in one of his liberated galaxies. He's got some new allies called Centaurs which seem to be some kind of goat people. They have the ability to fight but they have some serious draw backs. Additionally, while Colonel Riggs owns the space he now must clean out the Marcos that are still on several planets. And while he's doing this he finds out that his neighbors in the next galaxy beyond the ring at Hellios are not the most friendly. So while trying to make sure they don't start a fight, he gets busy building a massive battlestation next to the Hellios ring and getting ready for either the Lobsters people or a renewed attack by another Macro fleet.
This book doesn't have a lot of fighting until towards the very end. Then things get fast and furious as usual. If you need a breather from the battles and carnage of the first four books, then you'll enjoy the logistics preparations required during the first two thirds of this book. It is well written and has a lot of further character development.
There are a few things I find troubling with these books. One is that Colonel Kyle Riggs is the only genius in the entire Marine Corps. He has to come up with all the fantastic ideas and then get them implemented. Even his favorite robot, Marvin, doesn't seem to be much help. And there there's his extremely jealous girl friend who almost kills anyone that even looks at Col Riggs. This part is pretty ridiculous and gets tiring with her stupid antics.
Still Riggs manages to get things put together so he can stave off an attack by the Lobster people and another Macro fleet. Only problem he has is that Earth has been calling him back home and he isn't ready to go back just yet. Also, his counterpart back at Earth seems to have gotten really egotistical with Riggs gone. He's now getting information from "Imperial" Earth which doesn't sound good
On to the next book.
August 2, 2014
In "Battle Station," author B.V. Larson focuses on one of the coolest themes in his series about Kyle Riggs, an unlikely hero who has repeatedly saved the human race from extinction. This theme is that of rebuilding and construction of devices that will prevent the machines from killing everything not mechanical. This time Riggs is stuck in the Eden system of planets with the Centaurs, the odd and gaseous Blues and weird intelligent bacteria. He has disobeyed Crow yet again, angering the other chief of Star Force. Riggs has decided to stay and fight. If he leaves, he would cause the likely destruction of the entire Centaur race. So he sticks around to clean the region of machines. He succeeds in liberating a Macro manufacturing site, using Marvin, his sentient robot, to translate and recode the device. But just when Riggs looks like he's winning, he has to take a couple of steps back. Crow is up to something and turns Riggs' most loyal people against him. Riggs is a rebel. He does what he does because he alone sees it as the most logical path. It's almost like a despot. However, a lot of these plot twists remind me of old westerns where the hero comes in and mops up no matter what the costs. Good stuff. Anyway, this time around we get a look at the Blues, who are apparently the creators of the Macros and unleashed their exterminating on all of space. All the main characters stick around, but Larson sacrifices many of the supporting players. The Battle Station is pretty awesome too, but it's mostly the result of this episode.
October 23, 2012
Another B.V. Larson book I totally demolished in a little over a day. I just can't get enough of these books. I know they will eventually have to end when earth wins more and more battles and gains more production ability to finally defeat these robotic foes, but I really don't want it to end. My greed is total! (sorry Mr Larson). I love the battles, the disputes between fleet and marines, the characters... I could go on and on. Military scifi is really taking over as the dominant scifi sub-genre now (at least for me that is). I cant think of any other section of the scifi genre that I have enjoyed as much. Reviewing the story or going into just how good this series is, is becoming pointless now. This is the fifth time I have said this. Get this series, read it and enjoy it.
October 11, 2012
B.V Larson is becoming one of my favorite authors of all time. He has such an imagination that its unbelievable.
So onto the book. Another great Rigs Pigs tale about being undermanned, under-gunned and still coming out on top with a few scars to show for it. Admittedly the battle station only shows up at the end but the stories still fantastic with great pacing that few writers have mastered. I can read this series and not even think about how far I am in the book cus I don't want to know. I never want it to end.
If you haven't read the others please do before reading this. Fantastic book and can't wait for the sequel.
So onto the book. Another great Rigs Pigs tale about being undermanned, under-gunned and still coming out on top with a few scars to show for it. Admittedly the battle station only shows up at the end but the stories still fantastic with great pacing that few writers have mastered. I can read this series and not even think about how far I am in the book cus I don't want to know. I never want it to end.
If you haven't read the others please do before reading this. Fantastic book and can't wait for the sequel.
January 23, 2016
Summary: Quite enjoyed this, the premise just doesn't work, the characters are all pretty unpleasant, but the plot moves along briskly and plenty of action. Some 'blues' interaction but otherwise minimum aliens. Some poor editing and some massive plot holes.
Plotline: Not well thought out but moves along very nicely, plenty of action. Some huge weaknesses so best to not think too hard about this plot.
Premise: No, just doesn't make sense, well may be a bit more than it did
Writing: The characters are all too one dimensional. Some poor editing/inconsistencies creeping into this volume.
Ending: Plenty of action
Pace: Never a dull moment!
Plotline: Not well thought out but moves along very nicely, plenty of action. Some huge weaknesses so best to not think too hard about this plot.
Premise: No, just doesn't make sense, well may be a bit more than it did
Writing: The characters are all too one dimensional. Some poor editing/inconsistencies creeping into this volume.
Ending: Plenty of action
Pace: Never a dull moment!
February 20, 2016
Kyle Riggs is slightly less insufferably this go-round, though his arbitrary nature and tendency to joke about men under his command that have JUST died remains, as does his tendency to randomly threaten/promise promotion or demotion to subordinates (while it's completely unclear what purpose rank has in Star Force beyond being a 'cookie' for Riggs to dangle at times.
We meet a new alien race, get a little insight into who created the Macros, and have more generic power-suit battles.
We meet a new alien race, get a little insight into who created the Macros, and have more generic power-suit battles.
April 17, 2016
Back on track.......
It's like Larson have been reading the numerous critical reviews and decided to correct some issues.
The male chauvinist tone has been turned down a little, there are even females having own opinions and agendas. Our hero Kyle is now making mistakes and realising it himself.
The story is still wildly entertaining which is quite impressive in volume 5 of this kind of sci-if series.
It's like Larson have been reading the numerous critical reviews and decided to correct some issues.
The male chauvinist tone has been turned down a little, there are even females having own opinions and agendas. Our hero Kyle is now making mistakes and realising it himself.
The story is still wildly entertaining which is quite impressive in volume 5 of this kind of sci-if series.
October 14, 2012
4.5
This series is SO much fun. It's got action, suspense, and lots of robot alien arse-kicking. At any point, I find myself laughing, pumping my fists, or biting my knuckles. If you want a straightforward fun, thrilling, military sci-fi, then dive in and experience Kyle Rigg's intergalactic, heroic, and sometimes insane shenanigans.
This series is SO much fun. It's got action, suspense, and lots of robot alien arse-kicking. At any point, I find myself laughing, pumping my fists, or biting my knuckles. If you want a straightforward fun, thrilling, military sci-fi, then dive in and experience Kyle Rigg's intergalactic, heroic, and sometimes insane shenanigans.
June 8, 2012
This is a great book series that covers such a wide range of topics and human problems that it is hard to categorize it clearly at times. It is definitely sci if, and space combat. But probably not as much combat as most military sci fi books. I actually love Marvin, a little deranged robot who is always going slightly off his assigned tasks because he is just so curious.
August 2, 2012
Of all the series B.V. Larson writes, I find this one the most interesting overall. I do wish the hero was a bit more realistic at times, however. I keep imagining him wearing a cape with a big red 'S' on it. Definitely requires more suspension of disbelief than I like sometimes. Nonetheless, the series is interesting and I want to read more.
July 5, 2013
The fifth book of the Star Force is not really appealing, especially after the thrilling fourth book. In this book, the Blue is starting to be demystified, and the combat between the Star Force and the Macro is fading. But on either thing, the author doesn't seem provide anything really creative. I'm going to read the next book anyway, but I hope it's turning back to the right direction.
March 17, 2015
I can't think of another modern series that reminds me so of Golden Age space opera. Kind of like Lensman and Starship Troopers. For me that's a good thing as I expect a fun read from this series. Instead of the super genius scientist we have alien factories and nanites for the plot - but it gets the job done and helps drive the inventive storyline.
July 30, 2017
More of the same from a pretty solid series but oh my goodness Kyle can make some dumb and impulsive decisions sometimes. He is definitely flawed though it feels like the book goes a little overboard painting him as a hero. Definitely a series you need to start at the beginning, things change a great deal from book to book.
May 18, 2012
This is one of the best series out there if you like Military SF. Totally addictive read! I started reading the book around 11pm on a Saturday night and it was 4am Sunday morning before I could tear myself away from the book. I read roughly 200 pages in that one sitting.
February 4, 2013
Not the best in the series but enjoyed it never the less. Interesting that it was named Battle Station. The BS only appeared at the verged and played no real role in the story...maybe next timer?.
October 8, 2012
I love Larson's Swarm series, and based on these, I feel he's one of the best storytellers in writing today.
Battle stations is loaded with lots of good Macro vs. Human vs. Nano battles, plus a new species!
I can't wait for the next instalment!
Battle stations is loaded with lots of good Macro vs. Human vs. Nano battles, plus a new species!
I can't wait for the next instalment!
July 29, 2016
The 5th book of Star Force series is still a great read. This time we get more info on the original plot and deal more with biotics, not just machines. There's still a big military theater of war in a star system, one-man engineering ideas, old and new aliens.
February 23, 2015
I enjoy B V Larson's books. I especially enjoy the audiobooks because the sci-fi books are narrated by Mark Boyett, who is a pleasure to listen to. I like the Undying Mercenaries series more than Star Force, but they are all good reads. Entertaining, fun.
December 27, 2015
I continue to enjoy Larson's Star Force series. Kyle Riggs is an entertaining and brilliant not-quite-anti-hero. The tactical and strategic battle scenarios are realistic and surprising enough to keep me wanting to read the next in the series.
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