Dark Space: Dark Space, Book 1

Overall, I liked the book and plan to read the next.SPOILER ALERT: I don't reveal very many specific pieces of the plot, (well except one big surprise), but I do discuss various points of the story, setting, and a few scenes... So if you don't want to know about the one plot twist and a few scenes (or pieces of them) and a lot about the setting stop here.Good:I felt the main character was refreshing & interesting.Though he was an anti-hero, for me at least, he didn't seem cliche.He always attempted to do the best he could to help the people around him.He had an interesting & believable past (too often main characters are just amazing at things because it's convenient, it's shown that he practiced enough to gain the skills he had, well almost enough, the fleet combat simulation might have been a little more than warranted, but I liked it).He honored his missing wife enough to avoid marrying (& the story implied avoid sleeping with) his beautiful co-pilot.This fact shows a strength of character lacking in most characters (and people) these days.Additionally, having that kind of discipline makes the other things he does more believable.Overall I liked the general atmosphere.I also generally liked the science half of the science fiction (the feel of everything, the basic premise of most of the technologies, including that the technologies all seemed very plausible/likely, etc...).Mediocre:I thought the beam weapons were a bit... strange. They had color which seemed to have meaning but not in any technical way.Additionally the science behind them (because of the descriptions & names) seemed to be lacking...I would have liked an explanation for the beams being different colors or I would have liked them all to be the same... if you want different powered beams a larger and/or higher energy beam is enough.Otherwise I would expect the author to get into basing them on specific scientific concepts to some degree, (high energy particle beams, plasma, antimatter/fusion beams [beams made from the energy produced from such a reaction] etc...NOTE: http://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/890/optimum-laser-color-for-maximum-destructionI didn't really like the afterburners in the (nova I think they were called) fighters ... felt far too much like current fighter jet movies... but it was good enough that I probably wouldn't change it if I had the option.There were a few instances of just a little too much convenience for the plot.His son being the supreme commander was a little bit of a stretch (though I wouldn't change it, kind of fun).The coincidence I'd probably change was when the enemy controlled nova fighter blew up and set off a chain reaction that ended up blowing up the other eleven... just a little over the top, though it was fun in a star wars sense so I forgave it quickly....Ethan was the only character that had any meaningful depth... I really was ok with this but felt I should mention it.The enemy (crime boss) fighter pilots should have been shown to be much worse than the ones with the military fighters & years of training & experience. This could have been shown by just doubling the number of enemy fighters attacking & getting shot down.Having enough engineers & deck officers from the 97 people left ... (I would have tripled this number to make that more believable... )Bad:There was really only one thing I could consider bad... the idea that the military is the only group willing to act as police... there's no justification for that and one of the first things they would have done is turn those types of responsibilities over to a civil government.The idea that there was no police but the military is not believable, greatly weakens the continuity of the setting & just seemed silly.It could be argued that this might have weakened the main antagonist, but it's more likely it could have given him more motive to try to take the enormous military ship.As this wasn't completely pivotal to the plot I could mostly ignore it.Verdict:I definitely want to read the next book, & though it may not meet all my expectations, I am positive I'll enjoy it.

A lot of fiction that bills itself as "science fiction" would probably be better termed as "space fantasy" or "space opera," or at least "soft" science fiction. Said fiction doesn't necessarily rely on hard science facts to carry the story, as most "hard" science fiction does. There's absolutely nothing wrong with this, as some of my favorite sci-fi books and series ("Star Wars," "Transformers," "Pacific Rim," "The Hyperion Cantos," "The 27th Day," "Ready Player One") have almost no grounding in actual science and tend to fall back on the "it's futuristic/alien technology, don't ask," but they're still a lot of fun and I still enjoy them. So though "Dark Space" bills itself as sci-fi but in actuality is more of a space opera, with the usual laser weapons and starfighters, I figured I would give it a shot.In the end, "Dark Space" is mediocre and forgettable. It falls back on many of the clichés of the "science fiction" genre without bringing anything new to the table, and the ultimately bland characters do nothing to help this."Dark Space" takes place in a future galaxy where humanity has branched out to colonize multiple worlds... only to be devastated by an attack by alien forces, many of the colony worlds destroyed and the last vestiges of humankind struggling to make a living on the few colony worlds still protected by the Nova forces -- essentially what's left of the human starfleet. Ethan Ortane, an ex-convict and smuggler who lost his wife and son to the invading aliens, is struggling to pay a debt to a crime lord and gather enough funds to survive in a hostile and unforgiving universe. When said crime lord abducts Alara, his co-pilot and sometime lover, he's forced to carry out an unspeakable mission for said crime lord -- infiltrate the Valiant, one of the last warships of the starfleet, and sabotage it from within. Ethan hopes to carry out his mission without loss of human life... but he discovers the terrible truth about the crime lord's ultimate plans, and learns that the war with the alien forces is far from over...Some readers have called this book a ripoff of "Battlestar Galactica" or "Stargate." I haven't seen either of these shows, but I did find plenty of similarities to "Star Wars," a franchise I'm familiar with, and I've read enough pulp science fiction to identify many of the clichés this book perpetuates -- the smuggler who owes a slimy crime lord a debt, gates that shorten the distances between worlds, an insect-like alien race that tries to destroy humanity ("Starship Troopers" anyone?), a hotshot pilot who's inexplicably a master pilot despite being totally unfamiliar with a starfighter, holographic disguises, a bioengineered plague, etc. Almost everything in this book feels like it's been lifted wholesale from another, better source, and after awhile the book becomes a game of "spot the cliché." You could almost make a drinking game out of it.I have nothing against clichés in a work -- one of my favorite movies, "Pacific Rim," is practically built from clichés. My problem is when a work does nothing to give its clichéd plot a fresh twist. "Pacific Rim" managed to imbue its cliché elements with a sense of fun and originality, while "Dark Space" just piles all its clichés together and does nothing to give them a sense of originality. Simply sticking elements of the genre together does not a story make -- there has to be something interesting to hold the reader's attention. And like the "Eragon" books, "Dark Space" simply sticks all the prerequisite elements of a space opera together without bothering to make a cohesive narrative or interesting story out of it.Likable or interesting characters might have made the book more tolerable, but they're just as flat and cliché as the rest of the plot. Ethan is practically a Han Solo ripoff, just with a wife and kid tacked on to make him seem more relatable -- and the book won't let you forget it, as he angsts over them at every opportunity (and yet still sleeps with his female companion). Alara and Gina (another female character) are pretty much just token female characters, and quickly become annoying with their nagging, harpy-ish personalities. The crime lord is your usual intergalactic scumbag, and everyone else is hopelessly bland and forgettable, to the point where it's difficult to tell them apart.The book attempts a twist in its final chapter or so, one that's very reminiscent of another extremely famous space saga... and more than that I won't say, since Amazon readers tend to be touchy about spoilers. I'll just say that I found this twist jarring and unbelievable, as it seemed dropped in without warning and with only one VERY shaky attempt to foreshadow it.The final page of the book states that the author will give a free copy of the next book in the series to anyone who will give an honest review. Well, here's my honest review, but I'm not interested in reading the next volume. I give it a two-star rating because I save the one-star for works that are terrible enough to infuriate me, and "Dark Space," while not good, was simply mediocre and boring. There's nothing wrong with genre-writing or using clichés in a work, but when the author does nothing to make said clichés or genre interesting or original, it gets boring fast.

Like the main character I nearly walked away from it, but I’m glad I stuck with it. See if he did too!The plot, which seemed a bit thin at first, thickened up nicely and after a while it really started to give me something tasty to get my teeth into. If I thought of it as a consommé in the early chapters, it turned into a hearty, rich, meaty stew before the end.Like a lot of Sci-Fi it seemed to be heading in a predictable direction, but I was very wrong. The story positively roars along, shifting between the lead roles and supporting cast alike and occasionally throwing in a ‘I didn’t see that coming’ moment or ten.Definitely a keeper and a re-reader in a few years, but not before I’ve worked my way through Mr Scott’s other novels.It lost a star, because I really did have to force myself not to switch off my Kindle at first, so really it’s a 3 star beginning with 5 star middle and ending.I hope you stick with it too. It’s worth it.

Ok I don't write many reviews and I try to avoid spoilers when I do. When I first picked it up I got as far as the end of the first chapter. I found the details of the technology to be unrealistic, think of a space fighter video game with colour coded health bars etc. So if your I die hard fan of realistic space science and semi realistic technology details then this isn't the book for you.The plot is interesting with some good character interaction but there is a lack of back story and in depth detail about all the characters in the book. Even for a quick action heavy book I would of preferred more details about the main characters and expecially more about the 'bad guys' as you don't develop any emotional resentment towards them.The action is mainly all space based in dog fights between fighters and capital ships and is interesting but again the lack of details mean it's over too quickly.The writing style flows nice and easy and the plot is interesting enough to enjoy. Any fan of old game classics like wing commander or Elite will enjoy this book. There is no gore, known profanity, sex or nudity. There is implied sexual threat and mild physical violence so it's suitable for most ages.I would recommend this as a nice quick action read. There is enough to keep your interest and progress on with the next book.

I absolutely loved this book and can't wait to get into the next in line. Such strong characters and the twists and turns, Wow. I highly recommend this book to any Sci-Fi lovers, reading it was like watching a movie in my mind (which is what happens when I am reading something that I really like). So for me the only reason the I gave it four stars is that I am expecting even better things from the books that follow in this series.

I have just finished reading this novel , which means it gets 2* right away . I also read some recent reviews [ 27th October especially ] and find myself somewhere between pepe and NJman . I err on the side of simply rejoicing in the diversity of taste , although I would have hoped that there were a rather larger number of 2 or 3 stars as I see this book as : frekkin' just about average , [ yes definitely 14 year old ] . However I did find , like NJman , that it satisfied if you like the Wham-Bam style of SciFi . It has already been noted that it is light on scientific and technological detail and characterisation but I find that I have to work too hard on suspending belief , as the number of coincidences are too many and things get too unbelievable at times . But it did move along at a fast pace and was interesting enough .The big question is : would I read Book 2 ? Answer probably not , which puts ME in the not quite 3 star category . Oh Frek it !Brad please grow up , sorry about that folks .

Cheap entertainment. By this I don't mean that it's bad or cheaply written I mean it's genuinely great entertainment for practicality nothing.I was drawn in by the first book being free but had no qualms about paying for the other 3.It's a really good book and series.If I had any criticism of this and the series it would be that the author tends to over use some expressions and phrases but this is forgivable.Nice character description and development, good action scenes that you actually can feel the mass of. Some of the epic space battles are just that, EPIC.Of the characters, I would have preferred Atton to have been slightly older, Ethan to be slightly sharper and Brondi to have more background and history.Also, by book 4, Ethan has developed a fabulous dry sense of humour, is witty and hilarious with his comebacks and one liners. I wish there had been more of this from the beginning.If you like sci-fi, these books on my opinion are unmissable. It's a saga of decent proportion and with more to come. Roll on books 5 & 6.