Fear God and Dread Naught

Ark Royal #8

by Christopher G. Nuttall

On her last cruise, HMS Vanguard - the most powerful battleship in the Royal Navy - barely survived her encounter with a deadly new enemy. Now, with her commanding officer accused of everything from mutiny to dereliction of duty and her crew under a cloud, the Royal Navy doesn't quite know what to do with her.

But there’s still a war on. And Vanguard must return to the front lines.

Assigned to a task force heading to assist humanity’s alien allies, Vanguard and her crew find themselves caught in a deadly alien trap. Can they survive to turn the tables on their enigmatic foe ...

... Or will their next encounter with the new enemies be their last?

Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Fiction, Audiobook, Space, Military Fiction, Military Science Fiction

404 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 29, 2016

Reviews

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first started reading the Ark Royal Series in 2014. I read Vanguard #7 in the series in May of 2016. For some reason I stopped or got side tracked from the series. I am glad I started reading the series again.

The book is well written. Nuttall writes a good military science fiction story. In this book we have two strong key women characters that have evolved from incidences in the prior book. There are Captain Susan Orinara, who is the newly appointed Captain of the battleship HMS Vanguard, and Midshipwoman Georgina Fitzwilliam, who is the newly appointed First Midshipman or First Middy on the Vanguard. Both women are in difficult situations from things that occurred in the prior book. The world is now at war after being attacked by an unknown alien race. The story goes back and forth between the Captain’s problems and that of the First Middy. The characters are interesting, the plot twists and there are lots of space battles. Overall a good space opera story.

I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. The book is thirteen hours and sixteen minutes. Ralph Lister does a good job narrating the book. He has narrated all the Ark Royal Series. Lister is a British actor, voice artist and award-winning audiobook narrator.

[Bigal-sa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I am getting tired of this whole space opera gendre where authors use some pseudo-science (in the form of space travel), but then revert to what is known when it comes to surface activities. Using helicopters 6 centuries down the line? Using conventional firearms 6 centuries down the line? Using road vehicles (and roads for that matter) 6 centuries down the line? I don't think so...

The contrived plot lines wears a bit thin after a while.

[Shane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and a half stars. Another installation of the Ark Royal universe. Nuttall continues with solid characters and even paced action. This story has new aliens and new mysteries but feels formulaic in some places. Christopher Nuttall has written a large number of books and I have read most of them, this is as good as most, but doesn't stand out.

[Jeff · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one was a marked decline from the rest of the series. A new enemy that is technologically is always one step ahead? More like a bad dream than a good space navy storyline.

[Jas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Susan took control of Vanguard in the last episode, in what would for most, be considered a Mutiny action, thus seizing the bridge in a time of war. Although this saved many lives, and the battle, and the US fleet, she must now deal with the consequences.
In the middle of this of course, Humanity is once again at war, but this time it is with a new alien race, well 2 of them by all accounts. This time, the Tadpoles are allies as well.
This book is once again, another brilliant story by Nuttall, who continues to show that he is not only capable of writing extraordinary Military Science Fiction, but he is also capable of writing an outstanding human side of the story as well. For Fear God and Dread Naught is just that, both a human story and the brilliant Military stories we have come to expect.
The story continues, following along with the Vanguard, as well as a combined Human fleet, going to meet the Unknown Aliens in Defence of Unity in the Tadpole sector. After losing the initial conflict, and with forces on the ground, we get to see the story from a very different point of view, once again getting the perspective of a member of the Fitzswilliam family, as George is planetside. She is there after her shuttle crashes, and we get her intense and very brutal look at the ground war between the humans and the aliens as they fight for supremacy of space.
The ground battle is incredibly brutal, incredibly detailed, and we not only get a real insight into Midshipwoman George we hadn’t previously seen, we get a firsthand account of the inhumane, violent and severe nature of the conditions on the ground. George is with a unit of Marines, so we also get a feel for how they operate, and this makes for some great reading also. Nuttall also gives us an insight into the aliens, detailing both species.
In space, there is some amazing action as the aliens are relentless in battling the human forces. There are multiple battles fought, and as with his other starship battles, Nuttall gives brilliant and detailed descriptions of these to really involve the readers.
This is true Military Sci-Fi at its best, both on the ground and in space. The difference is, that Nuttall has also included a Human element to, allowing us, the reader, to become more personalised with the characters, and more invested in the outcomes. It makes for some absolutely outstanding reading – and is the reason why Nuttall continues to provide some of the best books around in this genre.

[Daniel Winegarden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fear God and Dread Naught is book #8 within the Ark Royal series. Author Christopher Nuttall is a consistent favorite of mine. As typical for the Ark Royal series, there are the distinctive threads of the British Royal Navy (and Marine) traditions now spaceborne. In this book the U.K. bent is especially obvious with the focus on the Midshipmen of the space battleship HMS Vanguard. I love military SciFi and space opera, dating at least back to EE "Doc" Smith. Nuttall upholds the finest traditions of the genre with heroes and heroines you'll cheer for and respect. The action picks up in the second half of the book with both space and ground combat. Evolving strategy, tactics, and technology keep the story (and series) from becoming static. Both sides of the conflict learn from past encounters. Fear God and Dread Naught especially resonates when it focuses on performing your duty even when there are risks and penalties to career and body. Those risks stem not just from combat with the enemy. But include risks of confronting flawed subordinates and superiors within an inflexible system. The Catch-22 of damned if you do and damned if you don't? A reality when dealing with fellow humans. The two lead characters are both women officers but from very different social backgrounds. Privilege and merit are not mutually exclusive, but neither are they necessarily paired. Characters are painted with depth and color, including both strengths and weaknesses. The embedded social commentary feels consistent with human history and experience. I think I'd like Nuttall in person. I love his books.

[Damaged142 · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

Honestly, It's mildly better than the previous book in the trilogy, but I still struggled to enjoy it, space combat continues to feel hollow, the author also has a habit of telling us what a character is feeling rather than explaining it. If It wasnt for George and her arc in the story, I probably would have given this a lower rating. Very disappointed with this trilogy compared to the last 2

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I see what the author is trying to do, take take the young guns on a journey. Hopefully the hackneyed ballast of minorities against the white over class will fade. I don’t see how humanity would give a fig about skin colour when facing annihilation at the hands of various alien enemies. It would have helped if there had been a better story. I am tired of this kind of non story content.

Hopefully the author has got it out of his system and will get back to military matters.

[Robert Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vanguard is battered but not dead

I did enjoy the story even though Captain Onarina seemed to come out of her situation after the mutiny rather too easily, but without her the story wouldn't have been half as good. George is a character with some serious issues, and occasionally they became a bit tiresome. Still l give this one a five star rating.

[loudon marshall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heard to put once enjoyed it from beginning to end


Story line was good and leaves you wondering what is going to happen mechanic





Like the way the story makes you want get the next book

[Aaron Firth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Know the Story, Read the Book

It's a good book but you need the characters to carry the story. Nuttall needed to continue with characters we cared about rather than keep creating new ones related

[D.B. Crelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Keeps getting better

The story of the new war is building along with the characters, I am looking forward to the next book

[C J Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the Ark Royal series over the Christmas break. Kept me wanting more and with a very satisfying storyline.

[Gary Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

I especially enjoyed the last few pages... Nice little twist... So let's see how the war goes in the next book.

[Oldklingon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book in a great series.

[Chris Gillies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent installment in the series (and the paragraph thing still continues to annoy me!) and good to see the focus on strong female leads

[Dan Green · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first half or more of the book felt like nothing but crew members dealing with Personnel issues, no advancement of the alien plot at all. Story finally picked up in the second half

[David Greenlee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review of Fear God and Dread Naught

It has been quite a while since I finished this book and life got in the way of doing the review when I finished it. So, I will do the best I can with an old man's memory.

I have been reading the Ark Royal series since the first book in this series and I enjoyed this one also. I have the last book and am anxious to see how this all ends. I didn't like the middle 3 books that much but this series of 3 brings back the classic confrontation of humanity versus what appears to be a more powerful alien civilization. I really like the Commander Susan Ocarina character, although I guess she is actually a Captain now. Christopher Nuttall has made her a very interesting character facing a myriad of problems from incompetent superiors to fighting a space battle where the end is problematic although we all knew where is was going. The one believable thing for me, a former military person, is that the naval environment put forth in these books is so much like one would see in the British navy, that it helps push the whole story line.

It was interesting to see how Mr Nuttall imagined Georgina Fitzwilliam would handle being First Middy. A tough job......especially with folks who don't care or can't wait to use your discomfort to move ahead. It's a lot like it really is.

This book continues a good series.....a good read.

[Per Gunnar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good solid military science fiction read. It is the 8th instalment in the Ark Royal series and a worthy one. As usual there is a good story, likable (and not so likable) characters and some good solid action in space and on the ground. It was a very enjoyable book to read.

I was a bit worried when I read the book blurb about the commanding officer, Susan Orinara, being accused of mutiny, dereliction of duty and a bunch of other bullshit. Luckily that was rather quickly dealt with so we could dive straight into the meat of the story.

There is a new mysterious and enigmatic enemy around that shots first and does not bother to talk afterwards. If you want to be naughty one could say that there are a lot of similarities between the story of the first Ark Royal books and this one but there is enough differences to avoid it being a simple rehash of the first books.

There are really two heroins in this book. Naturally one of them is Susan Orinara. The other one is Georgina Fitzwilliam, the first midshipman, and the book alternates between the two giving them more or less half the book each. Unfortunately Georgina’s fellow midshipmen are mostly a bunch of assholes and Georgina quickly runs into problems maintaining order and discipline.

That leads me to a part of the book where I am a bit doubtful whether I liked it or not. On one hand she is discouraged from asking for help from her superiors because it reflects badly on herself and her career. On the other hand she is supposed to bring problems to the attention of her superiors. Naturally this pushes her into a bad situation which does indeed threaten her career. This felt a lot like double messages and like the she was set up to take the blame if something went bad, which it of course did, no matter what she did.

On the other hand I liked the conflict between the aliens and the humans and the ensuing battles, especially in space, a lot. The human fleet is generally outnumbered and/or outgunned. Especially with the long range of the enemies missiles and it takes quite a lot of tactical maneuvering and skill to simply survive the onslaught.

The book is, not surprisingly, well written, with good characters, a good story with a few twists in it, especially one at the end which I certainly did not see coming, and plenty of combat action. We also get to learn a little bit about the mysterious aliens although some revelations actually adds to the mystery of why the aliens went to war in the first place.

As I wrote, a very enjoyable read which I had a hard time to put down once I started reading.

[Graeme Tindale · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review will be posted with each book in the Ark Royal series with separate ratings for the individual books as I found them.

Christopher Nuttal is one of my favourite authors. I enjoy his plots and characters equally and, with the exception of his fantasy novels, I read whatever I can find. And he is prolific.

Ark Royal is the first book in a great series. So far, it goes on for 9 books in three separate trilogies. The first and last trilogy are the best but the other three are worth reading. For the most part, the stories contain a number of characters that are well developed with heroic aspects as well as the fatal flaws. The reader gets to know them well. The action is fast paced and contains a healthy dose of space opera and military on-the-ground action.

You often end up with a sense of loss but with the feeling that it is all worthwhile.

[Mick Bird · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read

I have been waiting for this book to be published. We see the vanguard and her crew sail out to war again. But first the issue of her captain had to be sorted. It took Prince Henry to get the admirals to get their thumbs out of their asses, and see what happened. Young George Fitzwilliams, has been promoted to first middy. But things don't go as planned for her, she is dropped in deep water from day one. She gets two new midds from the a academy, and two misfits..

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now the waiting game. Good ending, but felt like less fulfilling that most of these. Seemed to not get too far along,but a couple surprises at the end. I will read the next one right when it comes out.

[Brian Whittle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Midshipman strife ark was trying but thankfully that was sorted fairly early in the book. It was only really there to get one of the characters into a specific situation, after that it was an enjoyable space romp.

[Dennis Key · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very entertaining

This is an enjoyable series and I look forward to the next book! Here are the seven more words required. Stupid requirement!

[Mike Nemeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author Christopher Nuttall introduced Georgina "George" Fitzwilliam in the last novel. In "Fear God and Dread Naught," the eighth in the Ark Royal series and the second of the Vanguard novels, he continues the story around the woman straight out of the academy. She's now placed in charge of the midshipmen, the lowest of the onboard officers. She's given four newbies, a couple transfers with nebulous pasts and a couple straight from the Academy like she had been seven months earlier. But George had lived through her own challenges, earning the respect of chief midshipman Fraser in hand-to-hand combat. Fraser didn't like her because of her family. Her uncle is the top naval official and a member of one of Britain's ruling class, the upper crust. Fraser considered that she might be getting by on name alone. She proves her resolve. But now she's got an entirely new challenge. In the last novel, executive officer Susan Onarina had to basically mutiny to get rid of the dangerously unfit captain during an ambush by a newly discovered alien race. Susan takes over as captain and leads a task force of ships into battle, barely escaping. She is exonerated in the beginning of this book and given a chance to lead the humans and allies, the Tadpoles, into a rematch with these new aliens. She doesn't win any new friends, but she also doesn't have time to provide much oversight to her midshipmen. George immediately has trouble. One of her middies is more than a loser. He's causing problems that could sink her career, and she walks into it like a rookie. She takes her lumps and gets placed on shuttle duty. Then the fireworks really begin. The book has a fantastic ground battle, and George is in the middle of it. She has to figure out how this new race of fox-like creatures reacts in battle. And they're good. In fact, they kick some serious butt. It doesn't look all that good for our heroes.