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The King's Ghosts
602 Years In The Future...It started with a laundry ship. It ended in the Second Battle of Canaris Fleets destroyed, a wormhole blocked by fireships, wreckage floating in the stars. Only the King’s Ghosts And dead men tell no tales.
No tales except The aliens will return. In ten years… or sixty. When they do, they’ll send more ships than ever. Will there be enough time to prepare? And who will fight the next battle?
The King’s Ghost is the exciting sequel to RAW SPACE and the second in the Canaris Rift series.
No tales except The aliens will return. In ten years… or sixty. When they do, they’ll send more ships than ever. Will there be enough time to prepare? And who will fight the next battle?
The King’s Ghost is the exciting sequel to RAW SPACE and the second in the Canaris Rift series.
308 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 1, 2022
71 people are currently reading
19 people want to read
About the author
Todd McCaffrey
110 books531 followersTodd J. McCaffrey (born as Todd Johnson) is an Irish American author of science fiction best known for continuing the Dragonriders of Pern series in collaboration with his mother Anne McCaffrey.
Todd Johnson was born 27 April 1956 in Montclair, New Jersey as the second son and middle child of Horace Wright Johnson (deceased 2009), who worked for DuPont, and Anne McCaffrey (deceased 2011), who had her second short story published that year. He has two siblings: Alec Anthony, born 1952, and Georgeanne ("Gigi", Georgeanne Kennedy), born 1959.
Except for a six-month DuPont transfer to Dusseldorf, Germany, the family lived most of a decade in Wilmington, Delaware, until a 1965 transfer to New York City when they moved to Sea Cliff, Long Island. All three children were then in school and Anne McCaffrey became a full-time author, primarily writing science fiction. About that time, Todd became the first of the children to read science fiction, the Space Cat series by Ruthven Todd. He attended his first science fiction convention in 1968, Lunacon in New York City.
Soon after the move, Todd was directed to lower his voice as an actor in the fourth-grade school play, with his mother in the auditorium. That was the inspiration for Decision at Doona (1969) which she dedicated "To Todd Johnson—of course!" The story is set on "an overcrowded planet where just talking too loud made you a social outcast".
Anne McCaffrey divorced in 1970 and emigrated to Ireland with her two younger children, soon joined by her mother. During Todd's school years the family moved several times in the vicinity of Dublin and struggled to make ends meet, supported largely by child care payments and meager royalties.
Todd finished secondary education in Ireland and returned to the United States in 1974 for a summer job before matriculation at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. He studied engineering physics and discovered computers but remained only one year. Back in Dublin he earned a Mechanical Engineering degree at the College of Technology (Bolton Street). Later he earned a Politics degree at Trinity College, Dublin.
Before Trinity College, Todd Johnson served in the United States Army 1978–82, stationed in Stuttgart, Germany, and determining to pursue civilian life. After Trinity he returned to the US hoping to work in the aerospace industry but found employment in computer programming beginning 1986.
He earned a pilot's license in 1988 and spent a lot of time flying, including solo trips across North America in 1989 and 1990. Meanwhile he sold his first writings and contributed "Training and Fighting Dragons" to the 1989 Dragonlover's Guide to Pern, using his military and flight experience. Next year he quit his job to write full-time and in 1992 he attended the Clarion Workshop for new science fiction and fantasy writers.
Writing under the name Todd Johnson until 1997/98 he specialized in military science fiction, contributing one story each to several collective works
As a boy, Todd accompanied his mother to her meetings with writers, editors, publishers, and agents; and had attended conventions from age 12.
He was exposed to Pern before its beginning: soon after the move to Long Island when he was nine, his mother asked him what he thought of dragons; she was brainstorming about their "bad press all these years".
The result was a "technologically regressed survival planet" whose people were united against a threat from space, in contrast to America divided by the Vietnam War. "The dragons became the biologically renewable air force."
About thirty years later, Todd McCaffrey recalls,
"the editor at Del Rey asked me to write a "sort of scrapbook" about Mum partly to prevent Mum from writing her autobiography instead of more Pern books. That was Dragonholder [1999].
The editor had also pitched it to me that someone ought to continue Mum's legacy when she was no longer able. At the time I had misgivings and no stor
Todd Johnson was born 27 April 1956 in Montclair, New Jersey as the second son and middle child of Horace Wright Johnson (deceased 2009), who worked for DuPont, and Anne McCaffrey (deceased 2011), who had her second short story published that year. He has two siblings: Alec Anthony, born 1952, and Georgeanne ("Gigi", Georgeanne Kennedy), born 1959.
Except for a six-month DuPont transfer to Dusseldorf, Germany, the family lived most of a decade in Wilmington, Delaware, until a 1965 transfer to New York City when they moved to Sea Cliff, Long Island. All three children were then in school and Anne McCaffrey became a full-time author, primarily writing science fiction. About that time, Todd became the first of the children to read science fiction, the Space Cat series by Ruthven Todd. He attended his first science fiction convention in 1968, Lunacon in New York City.
Soon after the move, Todd was directed to lower his voice as an actor in the fourth-grade school play, with his mother in the auditorium. That was the inspiration for Decision at Doona (1969) which she dedicated "To Todd Johnson—of course!" The story is set on "an overcrowded planet where just talking too loud made you a social outcast".
Anne McCaffrey divorced in 1970 and emigrated to Ireland with her two younger children, soon joined by her mother. During Todd's school years the family moved several times in the vicinity of Dublin and struggled to make ends meet, supported largely by child care payments and meager royalties.
Todd finished secondary education in Ireland and returned to the United States in 1974 for a summer job before matriculation at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. He studied engineering physics and discovered computers but remained only one year. Back in Dublin he earned a Mechanical Engineering degree at the College of Technology (Bolton Street). Later he earned a Politics degree at Trinity College, Dublin.
Before Trinity College, Todd Johnson served in the United States Army 1978–82, stationed in Stuttgart, Germany, and determining to pursue civilian life. After Trinity he returned to the US hoping to work in the aerospace industry but found employment in computer programming beginning 1986.
He earned a pilot's license in 1988 and spent a lot of time flying, including solo trips across North America in 1989 and 1990. Meanwhile he sold his first writings and contributed "Training and Fighting Dragons" to the 1989 Dragonlover's Guide to Pern, using his military and flight experience. Next year he quit his job to write full-time and in 1992 he attended the Clarion Workshop for new science fiction and fantasy writers.
Writing under the name Todd Johnson until 1997/98 he specialized in military science fiction, contributing one story each to several collective works
As a boy, Todd accompanied his mother to her meetings with writers, editors, publishers, and agents; and had attended conventions from age 12.
He was exposed to Pern before its beginning: soon after the move to Long Island when he was nine, his mother asked him what he thought of dragons; she was brainstorming about their "bad press all these years".
The result was a "technologically regressed survival planet" whose people were united against a threat from space, in contrast to America divided by the Vietnam War. "The dragons became the biologically renewable air force."
About thirty years later, Todd McCaffrey recalls,
"the editor at Del Rey asked me to write a "sort of scrapbook" about Mum partly to prevent Mum from writing her autobiography instead of more Pern books. That was Dragonholder [1999].
The editor had also pitched it to me that someone ought to continue Mum's legacy when she was no longer able. At the time I had misgivings and no stor
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 3, 2022
There's a good story in here. Unfortunately it is hard to find. The plot is almost incoherent, transitions are not clear, you hop from one POV to another without being told where you are. Half of the book is a rehash of the first book. Part of the problem is simply the formatting of the print, which adds to the run on stream of thought feel of the book.
I will buy the third book, and hope for better.
I will buy the third book, and hope for better.
April 3, 2023
Book Two opens with Chelly starting at the Academy. Twelve is young to start at this military school but Chelly knows her own mind. With her are two bodyguards that we met in Book One as well. The Second Battle of Canaris Rift involved unknown aliens but ALSO involved the Vivat, who became allies at the end of Book One.
The Vivat fight their space battles with ro. Ro are a slave race, each born trained for a specific task. Like how to be a Fleet Admiral and conduct space battles. (No rising through the ranks for ro.) Ro are literally considered cannon fodder by the Vivat.)
These ro were offered the opportunity to take human bodies and learn about our world. These two bodyguards are physically twelve-year old girls when they enter the academy with Chelly. Mentally they had been twenty to thirty years old. They look twelve but retain the maturity of their actual age. (Except when they NEED to play the role of squabbling twelve-year-old spoiled brats to further the mission.)
Some four thousand additional ro also accepted human bodies and all of these ro are about to enter puberty and the human teen years. (It also turned out that these ro were all actually female.)
I enjoy books about military (or magical schools, in this case just a military school). So, like Harry Potter at Hogwarts, minus the magic.
Our protagonists realize that they need to increase their number of SC. (Don't say telepaths. They are "Special Communicators" and they can hear each other even if light years apart. And instantly.) SCs give our side an incredible advantage.
I'm also happy to say that this is the regular kind of series where all of the main characters we met in Book One show up in Book Two, even if Book Two is primarily Chelly's tale.
Highly recommended for all who enjoy series books, hard science fiction, space opera, having both new alien allies and trying to anticipate the unknown aliens who we have now battled twice at the wormhole Canaris Rift. We KNOW that the unknown aliens will be back. We just don't know if we have ten years, sixty years, or when exactly to expect them.
The Vivat fight their space battles with ro. Ro are a slave race, each born trained for a specific task. Like how to be a Fleet Admiral and conduct space battles. (No rising through the ranks for ro.) Ro are literally considered cannon fodder by the Vivat.)
These ro were offered the opportunity to take human bodies and learn about our world. These two bodyguards are physically twelve-year old girls when they enter the academy with Chelly. Mentally they had been twenty to thirty years old. They look twelve but retain the maturity of their actual age. (Except when they NEED to play the role of squabbling twelve-year-old spoiled brats to further the mission.)
Some four thousand additional ro also accepted human bodies and all of these ro are about to enter puberty and the human teen years. (It also turned out that these ro were all actually female.)
I enjoy books about military (or magical schools, in this case just a military school). So, like Harry Potter at Hogwarts, minus the magic.
Our protagonists realize that they need to increase their number of SC. (Don't say telepaths. They are "Special Communicators" and they can hear each other even if light years apart. And instantly.) SCs give our side an incredible advantage.
I'm also happy to say that this is the regular kind of series where all of the main characters we met in Book One show up in Book Two, even if Book Two is primarily Chelly's tale.
Highly recommended for all who enjoy series books, hard science fiction, space opera, having both new alien allies and trying to anticipate the unknown aliens who we have now battled twice at the wormhole Canaris Rift. We KNOW that the unknown aliens will be back. We just don't know if we have ten years, sixty years, or when exactly to expect them.
June 15, 2024
I wish I could have given a higher star rating. But, this segment is inconsistent. At time you’re on the edge of your seat. And at others there are long passages of. Fairly dull talking heads in a multi layered, hard to follow tumble of ideas and discussion. I often had to re-read sections to figure out what the point was. Often many points are being made without clear focus. He also uses a lot of acronyms and it’s nearly Impossible for me to keep track of what they all stand for.
I like this author and he clearly has deep ideas about space battles and strategies. He is clearly intelligent and well educated except in grammar. But he seems to know his science. Admittedly he stretches one’s ability to suspend disbelief from time to time, but maybe that’s part of the fun.I believe he is worth reading because the overall story is fascinating. He just needs polish. Start with the first book in the series and I suspect you’ll be seduced into reading further.
I like this author and he clearly has deep ideas about space battles and strategies. He is clearly intelligent and well educated except in grammar. But he seems to know his science. Admittedly he stretches one’s ability to suspend disbelief from time to time, but maybe that’s part of the fun.I believe he is worth reading because the overall story is fascinating. He just needs polish. Start with the first book in the series and I suspect you’ll be seduced into reading further.
January 5, 2022
Ghosts they may be called but they are all too solid
I found this a little confusing at first but decided to plough on. But by but the Ghosts made more sense and the story became more exciting.
Looking forward to the next insta!ment after the cliff hanger ending.
I found this a little confusing at first but decided to plough on. But by but the Ghosts made more sense and the story became more exciting.
Looking forward to the next insta!ment after the cliff hanger ending.
September 11, 2022
read this series
This series just keeps getting better- the first book took a little while to get into as it switched a lot. However this series is definitely worth reading
Now onto book 3
This series just keeps getting better- the first book took a little while to get into as it switched a lot. However this series is definitely worth reading
Now onto book 3
May 23, 2023
Okay Wow
I was not expecting that.What great characters.The events keep building.This is a wild ride.Several of the Specials know there is something they are missing,just not quite so catastrophic.
I was not expecting that.What great characters.The events keep building.This is a wild ride.Several of the Specials know there is something they are missing,just not quite so catastrophic.
March 14, 2023
Fantastic read!
I have fully enjoyed the first book in this series and now this one is truly a great book also!
I have fully enjoyed the first book in this series and now this one is truly a great book also!
January 12, 2024
Liked it, but seems choppy, hard to follow...
Want to read the rest of the series!
Want to read the rest of the series!
February 15, 2024
just as good as first book
Exelent book just a little bit to much catch up at the beginning
Looking forward to next book in series
Exelent book just a little bit to much catch up at the beginning
Looking forward to next book in series
September 22, 2024
Lots of great characters being, literally created, and flitting all over the place. Hopefully more of and a better structured plot in future episodes will generate sufficient coherence to continue
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews