Intrepid

Taurian Empire #1

by Nate Johnson

***A military space opera from an enlisted man's point of view*** Discovering new worlds. What could be better. What was supposed to be a six month cruise of discovery had turned into a glorified baby sitting adventure for a bunch of civilians. Leave it to the Imperial Navy to ruin a good thing. Petty Officer Tanner just wanted to finish the patrol and get back to normal. That, and as far away from the enticing Miss Nora Johnson as possible. All that changed when the ISS Intrepid was threatened with destruction and he quickly became the only thing between these civilians and instant death. Crash landing on the strange new world. Petty Officer Eric Tanner must keep these civilians alive until they were rescued. Heaven knows. they weren't going to do it on their own.

Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera

232 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 1, 2016

Reviews

[David Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shades of Heinlen's more juvenile moments (this was reminiscent of his Tunnel in the Sky). Which is to say, entertaining, good story, somewhat caricatured gender roles, slightly flawed editing - I'm not that fussy, but "Niven's Grendalls"? That should have been "Niven's Grendels". The adventure of the whole story was the best thing about it, and the alien planet was very nicely done indeed, as were the rather nasty monsters on it. Pace was excellent, but I felt that the ending fell flat on its neatly arranged face. On the plus side, the price is right, so it's a fun cheap read.

[Jim Coleman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good read, The story is original and well thought out. The authors military experience shows through in the details. Can't wait to read the next one from this author.

[Charles van Buren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Survival on an alien world

By Charles van Buren on April 11, 2018

Format: Kindle Edition

Set in the same fictional universe as Mr. Johnson's DRAKE'S DRIFT, the events of this novel seem to occur in an earlier time frame. This one is a large part science fiction exploration mixed with Swiss Family Robinson blended with a very small bit of Lord of the Flies - a very small bit. Mix in some romance and some fearsome looking and acting alien predators and you have a fine story which should appeal to adults and to some advanced young adults.

There are a very few editing errors such as faint for feint and sargent for sergeant. There are not enough of them to distract most readers. I downloaded this book via Kindle Unlimited.

[Mari · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.50 - 3.75 ***

I listened to the audiobook which I got for free from www.freeaudiobookcodes.com

After a serious of devastating events young Petty Officer Eric Tanner is crash landed with a group of teenage civilians. It's up to him to use his Imperial Navy training to keep the group alive until rescue.

There isn't anything deep or introspective about the story. I did find it entertaining and enjoyable. A decent story for fans of military sci- fi stories. The narration was good as well.

[Aviar Savijon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intrepid

A outstanding space opera were you get to see everyone's motives and personality. And get a wild and hellish adventure that is sure to please the sci fi and space fantasy adventure fans.

[Thomas A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though short, I liked Intrepid and thought the author spun out a pretty good tale for the book's length. It was a quick, light read with a plot that was an unusual mix of sci-fi and primitive survival (about as much as I can say without spoiling it). I found the main characters interesting and thought they were developed reasonably well in a short amount of time; however, the sheer number of supporting characters may have been a bit much for the format. I often found myself confused in the last half of the book as I attempted to remember who each minor character was and why I should care about what happened to them. Overall, the story isn't horribly complicated, mostly predictable, and wraps up a bit too conveniently at the end. However, I found I still found the book pretty enjoyable.

Doug Tisdale Jr. is a dependably decent narrator, and his performance for Intrepid was good. I've heard his narration from listening to a few different books, and I think he consistently checks the boxes for a quality narrator. He isn't at the very top of my favorites, but he isn't far below them either.

This audiobook was given to me for free, and I voluntarily gave this review.

[K O · Rating 5 out of 5]

what happens when the only way of life you know is ripped from you?

Robinson Crusoe and a wonderful cast of characters couldn’t have formed a more perfect union of landing on a new world, desperate, alone, and without much in the way of resources except themselves and a leader who grows with each passing month. Through months of enduring hardship, danger, injury, and death these young people managed to drop old fealties and allegiances and come together to form a cohesive team who would fight, love, and even die for one another.

Intrepid is a story of heroes and heroines which will inspire even the most hard-hearted reader. Will love conquer all in the end? Will some or any of the survive long enough to be rescued? Or will the apex predator currently on the newly discovered planet manage to stay on top? You will have to read the book to uncover the answers. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did.

[Dan Green · Rating 1 out of 5]

Book one and two seem to be a standalone stories . I Accidently read book 2 first, and that's a good thing because it was much better. Both seem to have the same high class girl and working class guy who ends up being a hero love story. of metaphors that felt pretty awkward. Narrator sounds a bit like Norm Macdonald and that's not a good thing. Also the much referenced berthing quarters sounds like a birthing quarters in the audio which was just kind of weird. Found it too hard to pay attention to the audio to keep up with the story. Dnf this one when a pilot wondered if a compliment from his captain is what sex would feel like.... may still try book 3

[Michael Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good novel of exploration, survival and character

Nate Johnson has written an exciting space opera, with military involvement, but not a military space opera. The novel deals with a coxswain ferrying a group of students from a space ship to a newly-discovered planet. The students are a handful, their teachers worse, and after a serious accident, they become marooned far from home. The majority of the book deals with the trials of survival. Highly Recommended

[Benjamin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sturgeon's Law: “Sure, 90% of science fiction is crud. That's because 90% of everything is crud.” Not a bad idea for a plot: a bunch of academics marooned on a planet with only one guy who knows what he's doing. Just not that well executed. With some of these free e-books, you don't know whether it's bad editing or just ignorance. But when you twice read "faint" for "feint," you figure it's the latter

[Dietrich Liebert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very nice YA story

Well written, captivating, easy to read. The right mix of adventure and romance. The author knows how to develop the story line and the way the young stranded kids handle all problems from attacking monsters to internal strive. It is showing young readers how accepting leadership with courage and honor will make you stronger and at least in this book, gets you the girl.

[IMHO · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Intrepid" by Nate Johnson is a classic space opera
disaster/survival story. Imperial Navy Petty Officer
Tanner knew it was going to be a long deployment
when twelve college students are assigned to
accompany ISS Intrepid as the ship begins the
survey of a new wormhole chain. PO Tanner and the
college team are the only survivors after the Intrepid
is destroyed and the shuttle crash-lands on an unexplored world.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED * * * * * FIVE STARS

[Diana Diehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

The entire book is well thought out, top marks for military terms, knowledge of Naval procedures, etc. Unfortunate after chapter 4, misspellings occur in every chapter grammatical tense and gender misuse are too common for such a wonderful inventive mind. If you had editorial assistance you should get your money back. Diana L. Diehl Ghost Writer, Author and Research & Development Director of 2 sister colleges in Los Angeles, CA. I made various notations on good reads,

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intrepid reminded me a lot of some of the early Heinlein novels that were marketed to “boys”. It has a hero who has to learn fast to keep his charges alive and has to deal with the frustrations of chaperoning undisciplined civilians on a dangerous uncolonized world. There’s nothing too deep here—just fun adventure with a tad bit of “growing up” fueling the storyline.

If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.

[S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good story

Honor and service could be the subtitle here. This is a story of faster than light travel and a situation and a marooned group of teens and a couple of adults. The interplay among the players make for a good read. A love story in the making? Maybe!! Or star crossed lovers belonging to different social strata? Worthwhile to read and find out what happens.

[Keith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not What I Expected

This is much less than sci-fi and more of a simple romance with hardship. I managed about 70% before I realized the author’s sci-fi storyline had become a primitive survival with romance. It might be OK for some but not at all what I was expecting. I checked the last chapter and realized the ending did not improve the storyline and I quit.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well thought out story.

The author has given us a character driven story that was well the time to read. PO2 Erik Tanner may or may not have been modeled after some of the best heroes from our past. Regardless, well done!

[Trevor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Petty Officer Eric Tanner is left to look after a bunch of students on a new planet, after their space ship is destroyed claiming all the crew. Left with no technology or weapons they have too survive, until a rescue team arrives. The problem is no one knows we're they are!

[DOUGLAS J BERRY · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reminds me of Heinlein.

Author freebie to interest you in the series. Perhaps a re-issue to correct spelling problems? A good survival story that reminds me of Heinlein's classic tale, tunnel through space. Fifties sort of story.

[Brian Parkhurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Adventure, with Correct Amount of Humanity

Perfect balance of adventure, technology, character development, and just the right touch of romance. Great job! Will read more from this author.

[Ronald L. McDonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the story

This is a real space opera. Excitement, romance and a space Romeo and Juliet ending. I would have liked a litter greater detail in the descriptions of the players and antagonists

[Jesse Deleon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting story about love and adventure!

I think that Made Johnson has written an excellent space novel with adventure plus falling and getting the girl that made happy to have read it. A new fan!

[RAUL · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit jumpy sometimes but good intro to this universe

Intrepid (Taurian empire book 1) is a bit jumpy sometimes but good intro to this Taurian universe. Hopefully, we'll see more of Jonathan the geek turned into mighty warrior and Brenda the red headed nurse.

[Bart Welch · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great adventure tale

A great tale of survival and growth. A wonderful and quick read, light on dues ex and space magic. Highly recommended.

[Julie Malcolm · Rating 2 out of 5]

An entertaining enough story, I did find the muscle bound macho man stuff that seemed to go on in everybody's heads a bit silly though. Felt like it was written for adolescent boys.

[Hsue Jen Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

INTREPID

Wonderful story writing and I just could not put the book down until I completed the book. I would like to see the first book have sequels .................

[Richard Boudreault · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was expecting a military SciFi, but it turned rapidly into a survival book. Kept me interested throughout.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed it, but I would have loved more sci fi.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

How to name a planet

If reader likes camping experience, perfect fit.Good story flow and strong main character. Human survival tested to limits on each support character.

[Rudeford Norman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love in the stars

A very good love story disguised as an adventure story. Finding an M1 planet then learning to live on it makes the adventure worth while