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Lost Tales of Power #1
The Enemy of an Enemy
Vydor is riding a wave of success, but now his ship, the Dragon Claw, is being sent to investigate a mysterious event deep within the Empire’s space. A secret research colony has fallen silent and the forces sent to investigate were never heard from again.
A new enemy has come to the Empire bringing with it dark powers that were abandoned long before the Empire was born. Powers that were thought to be legends and myths.
It's up to Vydor to keep this force at bay and protect the Empire, but it may come at the cost of his faith and shake the foundations of the Empire itself.
The Lost Tales of Power is an open-ended series of Sci-Fi/Fantasy books set in a vast multiverse featuring a mixture of traditional fantasy and science fiction elements.
A new enemy has come to the Empire bringing with it dark powers that were abandoned long before the Empire was born. Powers that were thought to be legends and myths.
It's up to Vydor to keep this force at bay and protect the Empire, but it may come at the cost of his faith and shake the foundations of the Empire itself.
The Lost Tales of Power is an open-ended series of Sci-Fi/Fantasy books set in a vast multiverse featuring a mixture of traditional fantasy and science fiction elements.
275 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 11, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 129 reviews
June 6, 2017
4.5 stars
So I admit, I was a little scared off by the first page of reviews for this book. I kept passing over this repeatedly because I was just not up to taking a gamble on it.
Boy am I glad I finally decided to take the plunge.
Right from the start The Enemy of an Enemy gripped me. The start shows a man racing to warn the Empire as his final move in a losing battle. Instead we see him fail to get there and instead appear to be mind-controlled by one of the attackers into reporting a message of their choosing.
The rest of the story is told from the pov of a young officer who is trying desperately to prove himself to his peers. Vydor's career seems to be about to end poorly when he's assigned what is secretly termed a suicide mission to infiltrate this now hostile planet where an unknown enemy with superior weaponry, etc is stationed.
By chapter 4 there was no stopping me. I stayed up as late as I could stand to read this. Then I was up the next morning and after making sure the kids were set, it was right back into the book all morning.
The pacing of the events, the action, the different layers was perfect. I never felt rushed, or confused, or like it was TOO much. But the story didn't let me go. Something new and intriguing was always right around the corner and I HAD to know.
Near the end(think in the 80% area) there was a lull where it'd been a year since the last chapter and there was a lot of describing the ship and all of its areas, then slowly getting to the staging area for the grand battle. That point is where I'd say I docked half a star. The last 15% or so didn't quite measure up to the standard of the rest of the book.
I wish there'd been less of the mundane "here's every room of the ship, now we're going to meet with this fleet" and stuff like that I just wanted to skim over. But I also think the Great War could've used more expansion in place of the build up to it, and the ending was abrupt.
I like to have time to wind down and have the here's where we go from here, celebration and general stuff like that at the end, after the climax. Now that I'm writing this, it's clicking what my issue was. Basically the wind down happened BEFORE the climax and then there was nothing after the climax. The wrap up slowed down the trek to the climax instead of building up to it, and then after the climax there was just a brief paragraph or two and it didn't feel satisfactory.
But overall, the story, the characters, the plot, the mysteries, the reveals, all of that was so amazing that this definitely was a hit for me. Yes, this is space fantasy, not sci-fi, but I loved it. Really well done and I'll be reading the next book. (because I still need to figure out what's in that book Vydor had)
So I admit, I was a little scared off by the first page of reviews for this book. I kept passing over this repeatedly because I was just not up to taking a gamble on it.
Boy am I glad I finally decided to take the plunge.
Right from the start The Enemy of an Enemy gripped me. The start shows a man racing to warn the Empire as his final move in a losing battle. Instead we see him fail to get there and instead appear to be mind-controlled by one of the attackers into reporting a message of their choosing.
The rest of the story is told from the pov of a young officer who is trying desperately to prove himself to his peers. Vydor's career seems to be about to end poorly when he's assigned what is secretly termed a suicide mission to infiltrate this now hostile planet where an unknown enemy with superior weaponry, etc is stationed.
By chapter 4 there was no stopping me. I stayed up as late as I could stand to read this. Then I was up the next morning and after making sure the kids were set, it was right back into the book all morning.
The pacing of the events, the action, the different layers was perfect. I never felt rushed, or confused, or like it was TOO much. But the story didn't let me go. Something new and intriguing was always right around the corner and I HAD to know.
Near the end(think in the 80% area) there was a lull where it'd been a year since the last chapter and there was a lot of describing the ship and all of its areas, then slowly getting to the staging area for the grand battle. That point is where I'd say I docked half a star. The last 15% or so didn't quite measure up to the standard of the rest of the book.
I wish there'd been less of the mundane "here's every room of the ship, now we're going to meet with this fleet" and stuff like that I just wanted to skim over. But I also think the Great War could've used more expansion in place of the build up to it, and the ending was abrupt.
I like to have time to wind down and have the here's where we go from here, celebration and general stuff like that at the end, after the climax. Now that I'm writing this, it's clicking what my issue was. Basically the wind down happened BEFORE the climax and then there was nothing after the climax. The wrap up slowed down the trek to the climax instead of building up to it, and then after the climax there was just a brief paragraph or two and it didn't feel satisfactory.
But overall, the story, the characters, the plot, the mysteries, the reveals, all of that was so amazing that this definitely was a hit for me. Yes, this is space fantasy, not sci-fi, but I loved it. Really well done and I'll be reading the next book. (because I still need to figure out what's in that book Vydor had)
July 6, 2016
This book is the 1st of a series. The author seems to be a new one with some published work.
To be brutally honest, I can use just one word for this book -- pretentious.
It may seem absurd to call a book that, but, well, this word kept knocking inside my head again and again and again while I was reading this book.
The author has tried hard - very hard - to make his protagonist Perfect. He has gone overboard with his compulsion, which has in turn, affected the smoothness or the flow of the story. Too much justifications being given for everything! By everything, I mean, every minor, unimportant thing like explaining why the system has certain (every rule thats mentioned actually) rules and regulations, why Vydor does what he does, what is going on in the mind of the characters when they are saying or doing anything, why a certain thing happened, why it was not good (or was good), what will be the next thing... I mean, it would have been better and simpler to have just narrated a story. I do not understand why the author felt compelled to give such details, or such justifications, at every point.
The story isn't new nor is there any magic in the narration. The language is good.
It could have been a tighter, neater, faster, more gripping book than this. It is not a children's book so, well, something should have been left to the reader's imagination and intellect. Even the best children's books have been best, because they drew a beautiful mental picture and encouraged the child to visualise the story in his or her mind's eye. They inspired imagination!
To wind it up, I think this book can be given a miss.
To be brutally honest, I can use just one word for this book -- pretentious.
It may seem absurd to call a book that, but, well, this word kept knocking inside my head again and again and again while I was reading this book.
The author has tried hard - very hard - to make his protagonist Perfect. He has gone overboard with his compulsion, which has in turn, affected the smoothness or the flow of the story. Too much justifications being given for everything! By everything, I mean, every minor, unimportant thing like explaining why the system has certain (every rule thats mentioned actually) rules and regulations, why Vydor does what he does, what is going on in the mind of the characters when they are saying or doing anything, why a certain thing happened, why it was not good (or was good), what will be the next thing... I mean, it would have been better and simpler to have just narrated a story. I do not understand why the author felt compelled to give such details, or such justifications, at every point.
The story isn't new nor is there any magic in the narration. The language is good.
It could have been a tighter, neater, faster, more gripping book than this. It is not a children's book so, well, something should have been left to the reader's imagination and intellect. Even the best children's books have been best, because they drew a beautiful mental picture and encouraged the child to visualise the story in his or her mind's eye. They inspired imagination!
To wind it up, I think this book can be given a miss.
June 23, 2011
Ever wondered what would result from a crossover between the Star Trek and Star Wars universes? In the e-book novel The Enemy of an Enemy, Vincent Trigili provides his own unfortunately unsatisfying answer to this question. While I admire Mr. Trigili's bravery in submitting this work for public consumption and criticism, my overall impression was of a work resulting more from passion than skill. Specifically, the characterization was thin and the various conflicts presented by the plot lacked any real drama insofar as there was never any doubt that our protagonists would prevail, or any suspense even about HOW they would prevail. Furthermore, plot threads were introduced and resolved haphazardly, creating an overall feeling of apathy from this reader. I will compliment Mr. Trigili, however, on his dialogue, which mostly avoided the ham-fisted cliches often found in such works (as well as George Lucas' Star Wars scripts). It is my understanding that two more books are due in this series, and despite the many flaws I found in this book, I will most likely read them if, for no other reason, to see if Mr. Trigili can rise above simple pastiche to reveal something truly original and inspired.
November 23, 2018
The protagonist in this book is really flat. Whether he's talking about emotional experiences or the ins and outs of his technical job, he presents the same flat, analytical affect with wooden, overly formal dialogue. At first I thought it might be a specific character choice (maybe he's just one of those people that doesn't exhibit a lot of emotion and has trouble socially relating to others), but as I kept reading I realized ALL the characters are like this. They could be having a conversation about an impending life-threatening invasion as casually as if they were talking about supply-chain logistics. The detail and description didn't have any immediacy to it, everything was described from a very detached, objective point of view even when, presumably, you'd want your reader to feel the same fear, excitement, anger, anxiety, etc. that the characters are feeling. The no-nonsense, overly formal tone of the writing was a very odd juxtaposition with the subject matter (space fantasy with wizards and spells and such).
September 12, 2017
This is not a good book. Characters are paper thin. The protagonist always makes the right decision, and has a childish 'boy's own adventure' approach to leadership. There is no real tension as everything works out so smoothly for the protagonist.
Personally I disliked the sharp transition from sci fi to fantasy halfway through, but others may not be troubled by that.
There is also a problem with female roles (or lack thereof). Right from the beginning I was annoyed by a story set in the distant future with no female in the 6 person senior officer group. There are only two women with speaking parts in the entire story; the insipid love interest, & her friend who seems to exist as a plot point to allow for (minor spoiler alert) a maid of honour at the protagonist's wedding. Another 'off screen' woman is named; she is the Captain's events organizer! Truly atrocious gender stereotyping.
Personally I disliked the sharp transition from sci fi to fantasy halfway through, but others may not be troubled by that.
There is also a problem with female roles (or lack thereof). Right from the beginning I was annoyed by a story set in the distant future with no female in the 6 person senior officer group. There are only two women with speaking parts in the entire story; the insipid love interest, & her friend who seems to exist as a plot point to allow for (minor spoiler alert) a maid of honour at the protagonist's wedding. Another 'off screen' woman is named; she is the Captain's events organizer! Truly atrocious gender stereotyping.
October 18, 2025
I really enjoyed the story it blends sci-fi & fantasy together well.
Characters ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Story ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
World building ⭐⭐⭐
Overall 4.2 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Characters ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Story ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
World building ⭐⭐⭐
Overall 4.2 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
February 18, 2018
Don't normally write negative reviews but having paid good money...
I have tried repeatedly to get into this book, but the writing is so turgid that I have to put it down every time. I generally read for ideas as much as the elegance of the writing but this needs so much work. The conversations are so stilted they sound like two pedants having a conversation about mixing cement.
I have been unable to finish the book, which is rare for me. I only hope this (prolific) author has improved as he has written more - but I'll leave that to someone else.
I have tried repeatedly to get into this book, but the writing is so turgid that I have to put it down every time. I generally read for ideas as much as the elegance of the writing but this needs so much work. The conversations are so stilted they sound like two pedants having a conversation about mixing cement.
I have been unable to finish the book, which is rare for me. I only hope this (prolific) author has improved as he has written more - but I'll leave that to someone else.
March 9, 2016
3.5 Stars
Science fiction and fantasy does not usualy fits well for me. But in this one it did not bother me much. To be honest this is the first book as both sci-fi and fantasy that I managed to finish. I would have liked more explanation with how magic works and all but still not bad.
I was expecting that to be the major weakness of the book but on the contrary I must say the characters and the storytelling bothered me more.
It is certainly not boring but storytelling is not masterclass and makes you wonder if it couldn't have been better. I think it would have been better if we hear some parts of the story from other person's point of view.
Moreover its between good and bad, light and dark. No gray characters. I always have an issue when characters in the book is either good or evil.
Still I have decided to read the next book to jugde the author. Some make good improvements in their later books. I will see if that will be the case here
Science fiction and fantasy does not usualy fits well for me. But in this one it did not bother me much. To be honest this is the first book as both sci-fi and fantasy that I managed to finish. I would have liked more explanation with how magic works and all but still not bad.
I was expecting that to be the major weakness of the book but on the contrary I must say the characters and the storytelling bothered me more.
It is certainly not boring but storytelling is not masterclass and makes you wonder if it couldn't have been better. I think it would have been better if we hear some parts of the story from other person's point of view.
Moreover its between good and bad, light and dark. No gray characters. I always have an issue when characters in the book is either good or evil.
Still I have decided to read the next book to jugde the author. Some make good improvements in their later books. I will see if that will be the case here
July 27, 2017
I always enjoy a combi of sci fy with fantasy, especially when it has to do with mental powers, telekinesis, telepathy, empathy....more than magic stuff, and this book is full of this, loaded with action, the development of mental abilities of the protagonist with the help of other humans he had to rescue from a planet. These characters are the good guys, too good, perfect humans it seems. I like the story line, the in depth of the characters, the easy to understand technical description. A promising series for me!
May 21, 2018
Interesting meld of fantasy and science fiction
It started out a good science fiction novel only to morph into something more. The switch to fantasy was unexpected, but meshed very well. My biggest critique is the need for more details in the descriptions of the planets and the ships and other surroundings. The author showed the ability to add this detail, but for whatever reason just has not done so. The characters were interesting and showed a depth I hope gets expanded on in future books.
It started out a good science fiction novel only to morph into something more. The switch to fantasy was unexpected, but meshed very well. My biggest critique is the need for more details in the descriptions of the planets and the ships and other surroundings. The author showed the ability to add this detail, but for whatever reason just has not done so. The characters were interesting and showed a depth I hope gets expanded on in future books.
October 12, 2015
Read this book as part of the Future Tense collection. I really enjoyed this - I would call it a spin on the Dune series, which are some of my favorite books. Vydor is an interesting character who displays the correct amount of confusion and decisiveness, and I think there will be interesting adventures with him to come. Will definitely read the next one.
September 7, 2017
So, so bad.
July 8, 2022
Although I found the plot for this story to be a creative mixture of science fiction and fantasy, I thought setting and characters to be featureless and unimaginative. There are small, enjoyable gems scattered throughout, but there isn’t much being build that would convince me to purchase the other books in the series.
For me, the biggest problem I had was with the protagonist, Vydor. I didn’t get any sense of the character, and he seems to just follow orders, getting into the adventure seemingly by accident. There may be more going on in the background, but I didn’t see it. The story doesn’t give us any clues into his personality, his strengths and weaknesses. He just is. I didn’t find any of the other characters much better. The Captain is some sort of all-knowing, all-seeing tactician, the other members of the council bland beyond their special powers. There is a love interest, but it seems to be convenient. Vydor just sweeps her off her feet without any effort. The only character I got any from was the reptilian alien war master. He seems to be based on Worf from ST:THG.
The story isn’t bad, it’s the beginning moves of a hero’s quest, kind of the first chapter of what will probably be a long battle. It nicely wraps up the opening gambit at the end of this story. The battle lines are drawn, and it could be interesting what surprises the sorcerers might throw in the future.
There isn’t a lot of detail for the worlds. I didn’t get any sense of the internal politics, the locations, or anything else I could anchor the story to. There is an all-powerful emperor, who I’m sure will come into play later in the series.
In summary, this series isn’t for me. I like the creativity of blending different genres and the references to canonical sci-fi franchises, but I’m not seeing much new ground covered here. I’m going with a mediocre two of five stars on Goodreads.
For me, the biggest problem I had was with the protagonist, Vydor. I didn’t get any sense of the character, and he seems to just follow orders, getting into the adventure seemingly by accident. There may be more going on in the background, but I didn’t see it. The story doesn’t give us any clues into his personality, his strengths and weaknesses. He just is. I didn’t find any of the other characters much better. The Captain is some sort of all-knowing, all-seeing tactician, the other members of the council bland beyond their special powers. There is a love interest, but it seems to be convenient. Vydor just sweeps her off her feet without any effort. The only character I got any from was the reptilian alien war master. He seems to be based on Worf from ST:THG.
The story isn’t bad, it’s the beginning moves of a hero’s quest, kind of the first chapter of what will probably be a long battle. It nicely wraps up the opening gambit at the end of this story. The battle lines are drawn, and it could be interesting what surprises the sorcerers might throw in the future.
There isn’t a lot of detail for the worlds. I didn’t get any sense of the internal politics, the locations, or anything else I could anchor the story to. There is an all-powerful emperor, who I’m sure will come into play later in the series.
In summary, this series isn’t for me. I like the creativity of blending different genres and the references to canonical sci-fi franchises, but I’m not seeing much new ground covered here. I’m going with a mediocre two of five stars on Goodreads.
February 26, 2023
A colony went dark; that is to say, the settlement no longer emitted or acknowledged the receipt of communications. In response, a small task force was sent to investigate. They sent a communication to say there were too many of them and that the mission failed. The conclusion was that some alien force had taken over the colony and was of sufficient numbers to overwhelm the small task force. The response to that by the Empire was to send a large task force. Hence the Dragon Claw and its support ships. The largest force with the largest ship was sent to Arken IV.
The story is straight through, at least for the hero. It seems like he could do no wrong. No second-guessing, no doubts. He just forged ahead and assumed control. There is something wrong with this behavior. Then his soon-to-be wife, he fell in love so fast with her and her with him, even if they shared a moment or two that the rest of us could not fathom. But beyond that, the world-building was adequate, and the character interaction was monotonous. Like those above them in rank did not stink, there was no internal questioning if they were doing the right thing.
This book has science fiction, action & adventure, and fantasy and involves the fictional military of the future, and even with my comments above, I enjoyed this telling. I give this read three stars out of five stars.
The story is straight through, at least for the hero. It seems like he could do no wrong. No second-guessing, no doubts. He just forged ahead and assumed control. There is something wrong with this behavior. Then his soon-to-be wife, he fell in love so fast with her and her with him, even if they shared a moment or two that the rest of us could not fathom. But beyond that, the world-building was adequate, and the character interaction was monotonous. Like those above them in rank did not stink, there was no internal questioning if they were doing the right thing.
This book has science fiction, action & adventure, and fantasy and involves the fictional military of the future, and even with my comments above, I enjoyed this telling. I give this read three stars out of five stars.
March 23, 2018
Characterization left a bit to be desired, in the sense that most characters beyond Vydor (the protagonist) had *hinted* backstories, but we didn't get to see enough of them. Vydor, meanwhile, seemed like an "almost Mary-Sue/Marty-Stu", in that his career is unrealistically/unbelievably successful, he discovers that he can wield unbelievable magical power and doesn't seem to be too fazed that his worldview has been completely turned upside-down.
The author allows for a timeskip of one year to get ahead in magical training, but it would have helped to see some of that and perhaps show in more detail how Vydor and the other wizards have progressed. The romance between Vydor and Kellyn seemed to be tacked-on in the interest of variety, but it didn't receive enough attention (and likely could have been more enjoyable if we saw their relationship blossoming).
All in all, I would have to say the book is a fun read, if a bit contrived and juvenile - on the grounds that so much just works too perfectly for someone in a spacefaring Empire. It is entirely possible that the series improves with each successive installment, but it is certainly worth a look.
The author allows for a timeskip of one year to get ahead in magical training, but it would have helped to see some of that and perhaps show in more detail how Vydor and the other wizards have progressed. The romance between Vydor and Kellyn seemed to be tacked-on in the interest of variety, but it didn't receive enough attention (and likely could have been more enjoyable if we saw their relationship blossoming).
All in all, I would have to say the book is a fun read, if a bit contrived and juvenile - on the grounds that so much just works too perfectly for someone in a spacefaring Empire. It is entirely possible that the series improves with each successive installment, but it is certainly worth a look.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 6, 2017
This story got my attention immediately with the battle scene where a hostile telepath takes over a soldier's mind and forces him to send a distress call that is actually a trap. Then you move on to meet Vydor and the rest of the crew on the ship destined to engage the enemy. A mystery develops and I can't resist a good mystery. After establishing the mystery the story becomes rather fast paced to the end. The author did a good job of showing that psionics are the basis of magic. And I approved his stressing that using incredible powers to force things and people to do what you needed was wrong and should only be for the use of doing good. His aliens were varied and interesting. The conversations did feel stilted and really did not flow well to make them believable. And the character development went so fast. You saw that they had grown and developed, but it still felt shallow. I would recommend this story to anyone that enjoys Sci-Fi/Fantasy.
March 21, 2018
Loved this book. I was getting so tired of books where everything looks so gloomy, the bad guys are winning and winning and winning and finally the good guy comes back and wins! In this book you get to skip the gloominess, it's just pure happiness and heartiness. Very inspiring yet action packed at the same time. Definitely a breath of fresh air (even though it's an old book ha). Unfortunately, at least according to the blurbs for the remaining books in the series, it seems as if this series does fall victim to one of my big book series faux pas, changing the main characters between books. I hate that. I prefer the main characters to remain the same throughout. You invest so much in getting to know them only to have the rug pulled out from under you in the next book. Like I said I'm only basing that off the blurbs so I'm going to read the sample of the next book but if Vydor (and hopefully Zalith) isn't a main character in the next book I'm putting it down permanently.
June 12, 2025
If you want a quick and easy read, I think this book is quite good. The author tried to combine science-fiction with magic, and I must say there's some parts that are lacking. When I say magic, I truly thought I'm going to read a book about interplanetary war, but boy, was I wrong.
I like how the story progressed. The lore of this universe is also interesting, to say the least.The backstory of the MC is what I say lacking. Yes, we're explained about the MC has to go through, but I can't help but feel his journey to defeat what is essentially a huge part that defined his family legacy to be underwhelming. Some parts of the book seem to also choose the easy way out. They make it easy, but they did not make it good.
There are a lot of characters introduced in this book, and that is not a strong point. Many feel underdeveloped, and they're just there to fill the plot. Since this is the first book, I expect more from the characters in the next few books.
I like how the story progressed. The lore of this universe is also interesting, to say the least.The backstory of the MC is what I say lacking. Yes, we're explained about the MC has to go through, but I can't help but feel his journey to defeat what is essentially a huge part that defined his family legacy to be underwhelming. Some parts of the book seem to also choose the easy way out. They make it easy, but they did not make it good.
There are a lot of characters introduced in this book, and that is not a strong point. Many feel underdeveloped, and they're just there to fill the plot. Since this is the first book, I expect more from the characters in the next few books.
April 28, 2018
This is a good science fiction book that is a mixture of the space genres and magicians such as in various books that fight good vs evil. It brings about the beginning in which the captain sends one of his best shipmates, Vydor to the planet with the best of the best that they have, a comparison to the navy seals to destroy what is killing the people. What happens is that the majority of the ones who were sent were killed in the battle. He was rescued from the battle by the people who were surviving on the planet to fight the "magi" for control. Vydor brings them together for a common purpose and he fights the enemy and is successful with his community of "magicians" help. This is a good book and one with a lot of unexpected plot twists and turns that will bring a smile to any fan of a book such as Harry Potter or Star Wars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 19, 2021
Lots of pros and cons to this one, but I am glad I read it and will continue reading in this universe.
Cons:
Obviously written while the author was still a little green and hadn't yet found his stride. The storytelling is a bit expository at places and it probably could have ultimately been a chapter shorter. The final few chapters feel a bit rushed.
Pros: If you have the patience to accept the above cons and look past them, you will find a collision between two universes and a story bubbling with potential. Taking several cross-genre troops, and colliding universes, there is a near infinite amount of potential in this multiverse for compelling story telling. I am excited to read more from this author and see both how this gripping world and their storytelling evolve over the next several books.
Cons:
Obviously written while the author was still a little green and hadn't yet found his stride. The storytelling is a bit expository at places and it probably could have ultimately been a chapter shorter. The final few chapters feel a bit rushed.
Pros: If you have the patience to accept the above cons and look past them, you will find a collision between two universes and a story bubbling with potential. Taking several cross-genre troops, and colliding universes, there is a near infinite amount of potential in this multiverse for compelling story telling. I am excited to read more from this author and see both how this gripping world and their storytelling evolve over the next several books.
June 11, 2021
Wow. When I was young I really loved sci fi novels and fantasy, but have since grown to like other types of novels more. But this-THIS- book brought back to me why I loved this genre so much when I was younger! As a writer/journalist I am a sucker for good language processing, for using words with skill and eloquence and the way this text is written is both clever, varied and nuanced.
The main character is intriguing and flawed enough to be interesting even though I would have preferred a more varied cast-as in more women- in the plot.
The story is like a russian doll with layers within layers within boxes within more boxes.
It´s complicated and clever and keeps my interest peaked while reading.
I greatly enjoy reading this and I will read the sequels as well.
The main character is intriguing and flawed enough to be interesting even though I would have preferred a more varied cast-as in more women- in the plot.
The story is like a russian doll with layers within layers within boxes within more boxes.
It´s complicated and clever and keeps my interest peaked while reading.
I greatly enjoy reading this and I will read the sequels as well.
November 6, 2025
I thought this book would be one of my favorite reads (in the genre) of the last 5 years. It's science-fantasy! We start out with Space Marines (technically a "Navy"), going to investigate trouble on a human colony. There's intrigue and mystery. You don't know who you can trust, and who might stab you in the back later. There's a strange and hidden past for the protagonist. It's awesome for the first third of the book.
And then... everything goes right. Seriously, there's battle and conflict, but absolutely nothing goes wrong. There's a love interest that just happens without any drama. The protagonist develops "powers" without any issues. They win every time. No losses (to the main characters). It's just blah.
And I really wanted to love this book.
And then... everything goes right. Seriously, there's battle and conflict, but absolutely nothing goes wrong. There's a love interest that just happens without any drama. The protagonist develops "powers" without any issues. They win every time. No losses (to the main characters). It's just blah.
And I really wanted to love this book.
couldnt-finish
July 28, 2025DNF @ 32%
This book is sooooo slow. I understand that it’s the first book in a large series and world building and background information is needed to build a base of knowledge, but this is just too slow. Info dumps happen regularly and unfortunately the interesting threads of what I guess will be complex storylines are simply not enough to maintain my interest.
The writing needs an edit to fix the plodding pace and info dumps, but could also do with another line edit.
Things I noticed:
24% - …that I don (do) not fully understand…
25% - …way for you to fly (add fullstop) The rest…
28% - …any information you can get with (delete with) about the fear…
This book is sooooo slow. I understand that it’s the first book in a large series and world building and background information is needed to build a base of knowledge, but this is just too slow. Info dumps happen regularly and unfortunately the interesting threads of what I guess will be complex storylines are simply not enough to maintain my interest.
The writing needs an edit to fix the plodding pace and info dumps, but could also do with another line edit.
Things I noticed:
24% - …that I don (do) not fully understand…
25% - …way for you to fly (add fullstop) The rest…
28% - …any information you can get with (delete with) about the fear…
September 20, 2017
Excellent read!
I actually thought about putting it down while I was reading the Prologue. Several times!
I'm glad I didn't.
I enjoyed it immensely. The 'hero' had to work at proving his value to his peers and even more importantly, to himself.
He stumbled, he fumbled, he learned. But isn't that what life is? Stumbling, learning and growing, and then repeating the process over and over; but at ever higher levels each time through.
I'm not going to give you more than this; you'll just have to read it for yourself. Judge it for yourself.
Enjoy your day!
I actually thought about putting it down while I was reading the Prologue. Several times!
I'm glad I didn't.
I enjoyed it immensely. The 'hero' had to work at proving his value to his peers and even more importantly, to himself.
He stumbled, he fumbled, he learned. But isn't that what life is? Stumbling, learning and growing, and then repeating the process over and over; but at ever higher levels each time through.
I'm not going to give you more than this; you'll just have to read it for yourself. Judge it for yourself.
Enjoy your day!
November 6, 2017
Not quite believable
This book started off with a slightly unbelievable premise and ended up being more unbelievable. The middle of the book was full of action and the psi abilities acceptable but that didn't make up for the lack of credibility throughout. Vydor seems to have been fast tracked in his career. The Captain should be an Admiral from the size of the fleet Nevis controlling. Vydor is a Commander and is supposed to have only two steps above him! One as an advisor to the Emperor and only the Emperor himself above that!' It's all very juvenile!
This book started off with a slightly unbelievable premise and ended up being more unbelievable. The middle of the book was full of action and the psi abilities acceptable but that didn't make up for the lack of credibility throughout. Vydor seems to have been fast tracked in his career. The Captain should be an Admiral from the size of the fleet Nevis controlling. Vydor is a Commander and is supposed to have only two steps above him! One as an advisor to the Emperor and only the Emperor himself above that!' It's all very juvenile!
August 15, 2018
A Different take on Magic and Space Operas:
I enjoyed the fast pace and also the fact that I wasn't able to easily figure out what was going to happen next. The characters were well developed and the was just enough background information so that you weren't completely lost. Because f the way this book ended too much background information may have given away too much. The military and science fiction aspects of the book were well thought out and plausible. I never thought I'd say that. I wasn't able to put the book down and I am eagerly looking forward to Book Two.
I enjoyed the fast pace and also the fact that I wasn't able to easily figure out what was going to happen next. The characters were well developed and the was just enough background information so that you weren't completely lost. Because f the way this book ended too much background information may have given away too much. The military and science fiction aspects of the book were well thought out and plausible. I never thought I'd say that. I wasn't able to put the book down and I am eagerly looking forward to Book Two.
September 20, 2020
It was okay.
I did find the characters one dimensional, without any feelings expressed outside of the main protagonist Vydor. It would have been nice to have had the feelings or views of the other characters explored; it really all revolved around Vydor and the unwavering loyalty and trust to him.
That being said, the story progressed well, there were no parts that dragged on. I liked the Dragon Claw fleet and would have loved if it had been explored more. I'm also curious about the book in Vydor's possession - we never got resolution on that.
I did find the characters one dimensional, without any feelings expressed outside of the main protagonist Vydor. It would have been nice to have had the feelings or views of the other characters explored; it really all revolved around Vydor and the unwavering loyalty and trust to him.
That being said, the story progressed well, there were no parts that dragged on. I liked the Dragon Claw fleet and would have loved if it had been explored more. I'm also curious about the book in Vydor's possession - we never got resolution on that.
July 23, 2017
this one I won it but it left me satisfied, it's really a great tale, it has romance, power war, likable characters. I do want more of this tale, Vydor was an interesting protagonist and the unlikely hero in this story I really liked that and the power struggles he overcome with all his friends absolutely on point. the plot had a good pace and it keep getting better every second I heard.
i'm hoping to get more of trigili's tales he is a master storyteller.
i'm hoping to get more of trigili's tales he is a master storyteller.
August 28, 2017
This book started out great. Just what I was looking for--a fun sci-fi space war story. And then, all of a sudden it was about space wizards and casting spells. What!? Totally ruined the story (and enjoyment) for me. I did read the whole book, but I am still looking for that fun/great sci-fi space opera/war book that tells the story of strictly human courage and perseverance. If you know of any of those kinds of books, please shoot the titles to me.
August 31, 2017
I didn't think the premise of sci-fi plus 'magic' would work, but this book did manage to hold my attention right through to the end.
The character development was a little thin and the dialog between characters was somewhat unusual, e.g. not the way people normally speak, but the pacing was good enough to keep me engaged as a reader.
I'll probably read the next book in this series and see how it goes...
The character development was a little thin and the dialog between characters was somewhat unusual, e.g. not the way people normally speak, but the pacing was good enough to keep me engaged as a reader.
I'll probably read the next book in this series and see how it goes...
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