Critical Strike

Critical #3

by Darren Wearmouth

A fight for survival in an alien world.
Denver, Charlie and Layla are trapped in the middle of a galactic conflict which has spanned across many millennia. With no immediate allies on either side, they must use all of their skill and strength to stay alive and find a way back to Earth—if there is one.

Revenge is planned against Unity.
An old enemy of Unity is intent of making them pay for his humiliating treatment. He's gathering forces to the south with vengeance in mind. Mike and Mae must work together with the citizens of Unity to find a way of repelling Augustus' force, or face extinction at the hands of the old emperor.

Critical Strike is the exciting third instalment of the Critical series.

Genres: Science Fiction, Amazon

298 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 31, 2015

About the author

AKA D.A. Wearmouth

Darren Wearmouth spent six years in the army before pursuing a career in corporate technology. After fifteen years working for large telecommunications firm and a start-up, he decided to follow his passion for writing.

His first novel was the best-selling FIRST ACTIVATION that he later sold to Amazon’s publishing imprint, 47North in a two-book deal. Darren is represented by Paul Lucas of Janklow & Nesbit.

Darren’s a member of the International Thriller Writers organisation and currently lives in Manchester, England.

Reviews

[Greg Tymn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A friend observed that since I've already invested the time into two of the books in this series, I ought to finish it off. He mentioned that #3 was a better book than #2. So.....I went ahead and purchased the novel. My friend was correct; it is a better novel. In fact, probably the best of the three from an action standpoint. It is still somewhat overly long and trudges along, and I punished the authors by skipping pages and pages of description, looking for dialogue sections. But the action scenes are quite good in places.

Overall, what we have are two Brits who produced a space opera that should have been an 80,000 word single novel. Too many players at the keyboards? Co-authors unable to stop their penchants for chattiness? I don't know. But it would have been a much better novel. As it is, I wouldn't recommend the series to anyone other than harcore SF-files.

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author sent me this book to take on my vacation but I could not wait to read it especially after reading book 2. This book, like the first two, was filled with narrow escapes and some stress filled situations. Charlie, Denver and Layla are stranded on an alien planet after destroying the gate. Not only do they have to contend with the horrific wildlife, they have to trust an alien that scions and croatoans want to eliminate and they are running out of air. On Earth, Augustus still has his mad dreams to destroy Unity and become the world's emperor and is leading his army to war. Mike and Mai desperately work on a device that will help save Unity.

As Charlie and crew work toward finding a source for breathable air, the scions take a keen interest in Denver. If Denver will agree to help them with a mission, their return to earth will be assured. Will he agree to their terms. An unexpected ending - or is it really the end? I imagine we will be seeing more of Denver Jackson in the future.

[Shelee Whitaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice trilogy but...

So this is a good read,you want to keep reading to find out what happens next.now it's done,but not.
I want to know what happens to denver,also the dog pippa should have returned with some strange litter of hybrid puppies, just saying.

[Jan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why do aliens use the same forms of human fire power, only fancier? And how in the world does a human outsmart an alien on their own planet and find their way back home? I guess I wasn't very impressed.

[Eric Eskin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meandering Trikogy

Parts of each book were engaging (the first being the pest in my opinion) however, at times each book spent too many pages on skirmishes without a real add to the plot. The end felt a bit underwhelming and left several loose ends. Still entertaining …

[craig walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

Strong characters good and bad, highly entertaining and recommended
Looking forward to authors other books
Sure will be as entertaining

[Jay Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice series

This series has interesting characters and an intriguing storyline. Follow the adventures of charlie and Denver as they attempt to free earth.

[Loretta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the final installment in the Critical series. This last book tied up all the loose ends and had a great ending with some future possibilities.

I had a great time with this series and will have fond memories of the characters and storyline for years to come. I highly recommend this series to sci-fi fans.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

In all honesty, I think this is realistically a 3.75. It just didn't quite make it to 4 for me.

This final book in the trilogy carries on immediately from the end of the second book. Charlie, Denver and Layla are stranded on an alien world, while back on earth Mike and Mai attempt to help the citizens of Unity prepare for Augustus' attack. And Maria does something really foolish.... Can Charlie et al escape their predicament and make it home? Will Unity survive? Will anything ever kill Augustus? And who the frilly heck are the Scion?

There was a lot more action in this book, and it certainly didn't get stuck in a rut. The Charlie group on the alien world was interesting, with lots of challenges for our heroes and some good narrative about the planet they're stuck on. We also get to learn more about what is going on in the galaxy, and where humanity fits into it. The Unity sections had a lot going on, though sometimes it felt a bit rushed. The introduction of the Scion added an extra layer to the story, and there was a nice twist in the tale that was unexpected.

The story does get rounded off, with a sufficient hook for Denver's story to continue should the authors decide to do so. But there never is an explanation of what truly happened to Pippa. I guess we may never find out. All in all, the trilogy is an interesting post-apocalyptic alien invasion tale. Personally, I would have liked more humour, and somewhat more depth to the characters, as well as some more detail about the invasion itself and just why the Croatoans saved people over the centuries, but that's personal preference.

[Mike Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

The last in the 'Critical' series and a fine way to end the trilogy. The twist in this book is that the Jacksons, along with Layla visit an Alain world world in order to save earth. As a reader I felt that the world was excellently described and there is a real feeling of hopelessness while the Jacksons take on the hostile wildlife of the planet. I am sorry to see the end of the series but I have a feeling it may not be the end for these characters!

[Don · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poorly written series

I'm going to keep this short. A good idea but sadly, poorly executed. The characters are so vague the authors need to spell out everything. The voice is all over the place where it makes it impossible to determine whether it's first, second. Or third person. Deus ex machina

[Jimmy LaBruce Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great trilogy.

Exciting and interesting storyline. Full of adventure with plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing. Highly recommended to any sci-fi fan.

[Jon Regan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the series

Great end to the trilogy and scope to continue. Great story arcs and lots of twists and turns. Who will rule the earth and who lives and dies...