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TCOTU #1
This Corner of the Universe
The first command of an officer haunted by his actions on his previous assignment, the mission of BRS Anelace was supposed to be simple and uneventful…
Sent to patrol and protect the interests of Renard Mining Enterprises in the remote Skathi solar system, the new captain should have had ample downtime to bond with his crew. Much to their surprise, Captain Garrett Heskan and his officers discover sabotaged navigation buoys and suspicious freighter activity that suggest a sinister presence in the system. Soon Anelace finds herself outnumbered and outgunned in a race against time to save the civilians operating Renard’s lone ore processing station from the threat that would drive the Republic from the valuable asteroid fields orbiting the Skathi star.
Sent to patrol and protect the interests of Renard Mining Enterprises in the remote Skathi solar system, the new captain should have had ample downtime to bond with his crew. Much to their surprise, Captain Garrett Heskan and his officers discover sabotaged navigation buoys and suspicious freighter activity that suggest a sinister presence in the system. Soon Anelace finds herself outnumbered and outgunned in a race against time to save the civilians operating Renard’s lone ore processing station from the threat that would drive the Republic from the valuable asteroid fields orbiting the Skathi star.
278 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 28, 2013
28 people are currently reading
160 people want to read
About the author
Britt Ringel
13 books20 followersBritt Ringel has been a windsurfing instructor, Air Force captain, attorney, and teacher, but his passion is building galaxies and the characters who inhabit them. When not writing, or reading, he enjoys military documentaries, building model ships, and spoiling his golden retriever, Jengo.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
April 9, 2014
A very strong showing for an early author. Great swashbuckling style action and pretty good pacing. The characters have some meat on their bones; even if they aren't completely developed.
There were few if any grammatical errors, but plenty of non-sequiturs with both the story and the characters. Ringel also makes a great deal of effort to explain the technology but has a total disregard for high-school physics. I know "shock-waves" in space has been beaten to death but there are even more glaring errors i.e. accelerating into a barrage of accelerating missiles DECREASES the relative time between salvos and while accurate targeting may be limited, a mass driver (or even a good old fashion cannon) would have NO MAXIMUM RANGE especially on a stationary target.
Finally; manual control for counter-batteries? even in the twentieth century CIWS used computers for targeting! Very dramatic, sure, but it is a huge stretch...
The plentiful errors hurt an otherwise very good book; but I like his style and will keep looking for more from this author.
There were few if any grammatical errors, but plenty of non-sequiturs with both the story and the characters. Ringel also makes a great deal of effort to explain the technology but has a total disregard for high-school physics. I know "shock-waves" in space has been beaten to death but there are even more glaring errors i.e. accelerating into a barrage of accelerating missiles DECREASES the relative time between salvos and while accurate targeting may be limited, a mass driver (or even a good old fashion cannon) would have NO MAXIMUM RANGE especially on a stationary target.
Finally; manual control for counter-batteries? even in the twentieth century CIWS used computers for targeting! Very dramatic, sure, but it is a huge stretch...
The plentiful errors hurt an otherwise very good book; but I like his style and will keep looking for more from this author.
June 22, 2018
[June 18, 2018]
This book started out a little slowly -- maybe the first 15% -- then the battle started and took the whole rest of the book, occasionally leavened with technical descriptions of the ships and weapons. If you're really into military sci-fi, you might appreciate it but that's not my preference. It was certainly exciting. A space battle that lasted for almost a whole book. But there was very little character development and almost no back story. I had no problem finishing it, but I haven't decided whether I will read the next installment in the series.
This book started out a little slowly -- maybe the first 15% -- then the battle started and took the whole rest of the book, occasionally leavened with technical descriptions of the ships and weapons. If you're really into military sci-fi, you might appreciate it but that's not my preference. It was certainly exciting. A space battle that lasted for almost a whole book. But there was very little character development and almost no back story. I had no problem finishing it, but I haven't decided whether I will read the next installment in the series.
June 2, 2013
As a matter of full disclosure, I am related to the author. That makes me biased, but that also makes me knowledgeable of the work put into this book. It is a good story with engaging characters, and well-edited. Available only on Kindle and Nook, this is the first book in a new military sci-fi series for 2013.
June 17, 2018
Lieutenant Heskan has just been put in charge of his first ship and he expects his job to be a routine one. But when Heskan found himself outnumbered by pirate ships demanding his surrender, he is determined to fight back. He will need all his skills and the dedication and respect of his crew to face the threat without getting anyone killed.
The novel revolves around the battle between Heskan’s ship “Anelace” and its pirate opponents and I believe that the author does a very good job to keep it going for so long. The focus is mainly on technology and tactic and the details of the combat felt realistic.
In my opinion, there are the long paragraphs with information about the story world and the technology available, especially in the first half of the book, that slow down the story. Also the characters, especially the negative ones, could be a bit more developed.
However, I think this is a solid military science fiction novel with a focus on space ship battle.
The novel revolves around the battle between Heskan’s ship “Anelace” and its pirate opponents and I believe that the author does a very good job to keep it going for so long. The focus is mainly on technology and tactic and the details of the combat felt realistic.
In my opinion, there are the long paragraphs with information about the story world and the technology available, especially in the first half of the book, that slow down the story. Also the characters, especially the negative ones, could be a bit more developed.
However, I think this is a solid military science fiction novel with a focus on space ship battle.
April 11, 2023
Apparently, I'm still not very good at reading very specific sci-fi books. This novel has an interesting premise (a corvette captain's battle against space pirates), but I can't really get into the story due to all of the very detailed scientific explanations. I suppose people who are really into ships and military strategy would love this book.
More than that, I can't feel any connections with any of the characters, either. Not even the main character, though he's got a lot of inner monologues (which perhaps should help me connect with him). The captain has been on the ship for more than two months, but there isn't much real interactions to make me feel anything when his crewmember is hurt or dead.
I still like this book for its premise, but I can't really engage with anything in it.
More than that, I can't feel any connections with any of the characters, either. Not even the main character, though he's got a lot of inner monologues (which perhaps should help me connect with him). The captain has been on the ship for more than two months, but there isn't much real interactions to make me feel anything when his crewmember is hurt or dead.
I still like this book for its premise, but I can't really engage with anything in it.
August 19, 2024
I've read very little of this genre, but I do enjoy thought-provoking Sci Fi, and since I picked the title up on a Promo, I thought to read it when I had a moment. And glad I did too because it's great escapism.
The action doesn't kick in for a few chapters, but the narrative tension is well constructed. Once the combat begins it doesn't let up until the last chapter. Sure the author is obviously something of a geek when it comes to futuristic military space hardware, but it reads with such enthusiasm for the subject matter that he can be quite forgiven. I'm looking forward to the next installment...
The action doesn't kick in for a few chapters, but the narrative tension is well constructed. Once the combat begins it doesn't let up until the last chapter. Sure the author is obviously something of a geek when it comes to futuristic military space hardware, but it reads with such enthusiasm for the subject matter that he can be quite forgiven. I'm looking forward to the next installment...
November 22, 2017
I'm actually quite sad I am done with this book. It's very easy to get attached to the crew of Anelace, with decent characters and plenty of tense moments. The attention to detail and realism made the setting very believable. Highly recommended to anyone who likes sci-fi.
June 20, 2019
A bore.
Most of the book was filler. A big part of this was the long way around the point and not enough exclamation points that was easily buried by unfulfilled locations. Also too many details that never helped.
Most of the book was filler. A big part of this was the long way around the point and not enough exclamation points that was easily buried by unfulfilled locations. Also too many details that never helped.
November 16, 2019
This was very heavy on the science-y mechanical workings at time, but I really enjoyed the story.
Characters were a little flat, but nothing too bad. If anything, the plot was interesting enough to keep me reading.
Characters were a little flat, but nothing too bad. If anything, the plot was interesting enough to keep me reading.
January 8, 2020
This is a quite good book. Unfortunately, i found the over detailed damage reports to break the pace of the combats narration. Combined with a captain that has a big tendency to get lost in his thoughts, and i can get myself to give four stars to this book.
August 18, 2020
A wonderful science fiction adventure. I was hooked from the beginning to the end. Very detailed, very realistic, with a large emphasis on military action and how we can expect war into space to happen.
September 6, 2018
He KNOWS what He's writing about!
I chose a five star rating because the book, story, plot is well worth it. I am going on to read BOOK II now!
I chose a five star rating because the book, story, plot is well worth it. I am going on to read BOOK II now!
February 4, 2021
Nice read, nice battles. The series looses it down the line, but starts very good
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April 30, 2016Je vais être magnanime puisqu'il s'agit d'un premier ouvrage par l'auteur
le plus : le côté technique et l'environnement spatial que j'aime retrouver dans la SF Militaire J'ai apprécié qu'on retrouve les mêmes difficultés que dans les batailles navales qui ne sont pas escamotées par quelques "deus ex machina" j'ai apprécié également que le héros n'est pas invincible et qu'il n'y ait pas d'histoires sentimentales autres que le respect et l'affection entre membres d'une bonne équipe ...
Le négatif : par moment, j'avais l'impression d'assister à une démonstration commerciale ou une analyse professorale sur les différents aspects techniques ce qui a souvent 'cassé" le suspense
L'histoire est centrée uniquement sur le capitaine ,son entourage est à peine évoqué en dehors de l'action et c'est dommage car on voudrait en savoir plus ou voir par moment à travers leurs yeux entendre leurs ressentis ...
Mais, je suis fan de SF militaire surtout lorsqu'on ne me bassine pas avec une romance contrariée donc je vais poursuivre avec le tome 2 3 et 4 déjà sur ma liseuse et suivre la progression du Capitaine Heskan et de son équipe, engagés non plus contre des pirates mais à la guerre
le plus : le côté technique et l'environnement spatial que j'aime retrouver dans la SF Militaire J'ai apprécié qu'on retrouve les mêmes difficultés que dans les batailles navales qui ne sont pas escamotées par quelques "deus ex machina" j'ai apprécié également que le héros n'est pas invincible et qu'il n'y ait pas d'histoires sentimentales autres que le respect et l'affection entre membres d'une bonne équipe ...
Le négatif : par moment, j'avais l'impression d'assister à une démonstration commerciale ou une analyse professorale sur les différents aspects techniques ce qui a souvent 'cassé" le suspense
L'histoire est centrée uniquement sur le capitaine ,son entourage est à peine évoqué en dehors de l'action et c'est dommage car on voudrait en savoir plus ou voir par moment à travers leurs yeux entendre leurs ressentis ...
Mais, je suis fan de SF militaire surtout lorsqu'on ne me bassine pas avec une romance contrariée donc je vais poursuivre avec le tome 2 3 et 4 déjà sur ma liseuse et suivre la progression du Capitaine Heskan et de son équipe, engagés non plus contre des pirates mais à la guerre
August 10, 2014
Not impressed
Not impressed
To much physics and a story dedicated to how well a Corvette class can survive. kept reading, waiting for the story to develop. Still waiting.
Not impressed
To much physics and a story dedicated to how well a Corvette class can survive. kept reading, waiting for the story to develop. Still waiting.
September 16, 2013
Exciting, excellently detailed, entertaining from beginning to end.
November 14, 2015
His first command clashes with superiors and stealthy enemies in this straightforward military science fiction. Will definitly read the second volume.
January 5, 2016
Great adventure with lots of well-described action. I particularly enjoyed the authentic military interaction between Captain and crew.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews