Ember Wars by Richard Fox

An Upstream Review

Hey Space Cadets, it’s time for another epic J. R. Handley book review! This is a book by one of my favorite wordsmiths. The author, Richard Fox, brings his own unique take on the world. His time as a cadet at West Point, aka the United States Military Academy, and his time on active duty helped him create an amazing world you can’t wait to sink your literary teeth into. It showed, because the vibes of the military felt right; it was a lived in and gritty world that I enjoyed experiencing with the narrator, Luke Daniels, as he read me an awesome bedtime story.

Okay, about this series. It’s a book that gives one man’s answer to the great Fermi Paradox, explaining why we haven’t encountered intelligent life in the cosmos. There are currently ten books written in this series. Never fear, though, because there are more spin-offs to this world. I’m already invested and hoping for more! I’ve heard rumors that Richard Fox might continue telling epic adventures in this universe when his writing schedule clears up. I have high hopes, since I want more from this awesome author. I’ve met Richard in person and he’s as nice there as he is online. Well, when he’s not discussing politics as passionately as Larry Correia does. He truly engages with his audience and values them. He’s thankful that they let him get paid to share these romps through the voids of space.

Now, more about the author, Richard Fox. He’s the winner of the 2017 Dragon Award for Best Military Science Fiction or Fantasy novel and he more than deserved it. He’s best known for The Ember War Saga, a military science fiction and space opera series. However, he’s co-written books with David Weber for Baen Books and he’s got some works published with the Black Library. Yes, that library, the one of Warhammer 40K fame! In his writing, he draws extensively from his experiences in the United States Army, where he served two combat tours in Iraq. While there, he was awarded the Bronze Star, Combat Action Badge and Presidential Unit Citation. If memory serves, he was a Field Artillery officer before he went on to work in the Military Intelligence branch. They’re not quite infantry, but not everyone can wear the blue cord!

Now that I’ve triggered half of the US Army, I’ll leave it to you to decide what lies you’ll accept and which you’ll ignore in the great Battle of the Branches. What I will say is that Richard’s knowledge of the science of space travel and the military combat details that he learned from playing in the great sand box of Mesopotamia showed with how believable the future combat was. I totally bought into the idea that he’d consulted subject matter experts on every topic. He faked it better than I’ve seen in quite a while.

(Published June 30^th, 2015)

The Story

This book shares the story of Marc Ibarra, an alien probe, Marine Lieutenant Hale, Captain Valdar, and the star cruiser Breitenfeld. The alien probe arrives to help Marc Ibarra prepare Earth for the coming invasion. A series of events and political assignations end with two superpowers fighting for dominance and an arms race. Ultimately this prepares the Naval forces for what was to come when they fight this mysterious enemy force. The survivors of humanity had been tasked to escort a colony mission, but disappeared, only reappearing where they’d left. Only, it wasn’t the same year they’d left. They’d returned 60 years into the future, with Earth wiped out and an alien invasion looming. If you want to know more, read the book!

Much like the world building, the detailed descriptions were solidly done. I could envision what he wrote, and I can’t wait for the next graphic novel out of this universe! Hint, hint Richard! I definitely feel like the descriptions of this book set the standard, balance the not enough against the too much. In regard to his description of everything in this world, this was a success for the author. I’d give this section high marks for his efforts. There was room to make the descriptions really pop, but it didn’t hurt the overall story for me.

The plot and pacing were also expertly handled. This plot moved along at a steady pace, I never felt like it slowed down, which I loved. I loved the detail and precision that Richard Fox paid to military technology. Further, I liked that he didn’t get bogged down in the science of space travel. He didn’t ignore it, but rather he didn’t get bogged down in it like some hard science fiction stories do. As a reader, I don’t care how the space flight works, just that the author had a reason that it did. This novel was heavier on the ground operations than space combat, but none of it felt lacking. While this novel changed POVs several times, it never felt jarring, and the shifts were easy to follow. I read this novel as an eBook and listened to it as an audiobook via the Whisper Sync feature via Amazon’s pairing with Audible, so I got the best of both worlds.

The Characters

There were a few main characters in this novel; the star cruiser Breitenfeld, Captain Isaac Valdar, Lieutenant Hale, Marc Ibarra and the alien probe. Like most novels with multiple POVs, each one served a unique purpose in the evolution of the plot. Each of these characters were well written, and you could feel enough depth to make them believable.

Breitenfeld: While the ship didn’t have any personality, per say, she was such an integral part of the story that she began to have agency and personhood. I was never a sailor, but I understand our swabbie friends have said similar things about current naval vessels. Like all good weapons of war, humans and machines, she begins to show her age as she progresses through the plot. Scars, however, show her character as she bleeds oil and vents atmosphere to protect her crew. The way Richard Fox describes the ship, you could almost believe it was a sentient being!

Captain Isaac Valdar: This character allowed you to see the naval action of the story, always at the tip of the spear in the war against the Xaros alien probes. His position as the ships commander made it extremely plausible for him to be in any action that directly involved the Breitenfeld. He was a troubled man, who’d lost his entire world when Earth was wiped out. I could feel his pain, and it became my pain as I read his story. As an author, if you can make your audience emotionally invested in your characters, you won. Richard Fox did his job, and this character was extremely well flushed out.

Lieutenant Hale: This character allowed you to see the action of the story, always at the tip of the spear in the war against the Xaros alien probes. His position as one of the junior Marine officers, and a member of a special forces wing of the Marine Corps, makes it extremely plausible for him to be everywhere when the Gauss Rifles start firing. He was a bit too ‘gung-ho’ and competent for a junior officer, at least in my experience. However, I’m told that I’m jaded, and good officers are out there. I did serve under a few, but they were the exception rather than the rule. Otherwise, he was flushed out and I had no issues with him. Admittedly, he had a competent senior NCO at his side, but I would’ve preferred to see the LT make a few mistakes, so we know that he was, in fact, actually still an LT! I’ll honestly admit, I was an enlisted NCO, and the author was an Army officer so some of this is merely a matter of perspective. That aside, the character was likeable and well thought out. I felt that he was believable, and he showcased the author’s own time in the US Army. Overall, I’ll reiterate that he was an extremely well flushed out character who I’d gladly serve under.

Marc Ibarra/Alien Probe: We meet the unnamed alien probe and a young Marc Ibarra at the beginning of this story, and while they don’t get a whole lot of face time, they’re both so integral to the story that I feel like they’re de facto main characters. They were flushed out, with just enough information to be believable and yet vague enough we could picture them as embodiments of character archetypes we know and love. They were just the sort of shady that keeps you up at night, and conspiracy theorists spinning circles at the possibilities.

The World

The world building of this novel was expertly done, and it never felt like it was done as an “info dump.” I felt like the world building in this novel was solid, there was just enough to understand everything. I could picture most of what he described, though it started in “modern” America, which helped me a lot. However, with regards to the space technology written into this novel, it was persuasively written, believable and fun to imagine myself joining in the pew pew parties! Now I want my own Gauss Rifle! There were some parts where I felt were lacking details, but as a lover of stories I recognized them as hooks for what I expect to happen in later novels. I can’t really say anything else here without spoiling it for people who haven’t read the stories, but the world building was solidly shown to us.

Politics

This novel is a military action-adventure story, so there are no politics in the traditional sense. However, to quote the legendary Clausewitz, “War is merely the continuation of policy by other means.” Do with that what you will! In this world, many of the politicians and big corporations are corrupt, but he didn’t dwell on it. This was not a “message” book; it was just the world where the adventure happened.

Content Warning

This novel would be appropriate for anyone over the age of 15. This story had wartime violence, so there were characters who died. And there was violence in this book, both in the inciting incident and in the combat scenes. It wasn’t overly gory by my standards, but your mileage may vary. If that doesn’t bother you, then this was an awesome adventure and well worth your time.

Narration

I received the audiobook free as proof of concept from Podium Entertainment while in we were in negotiation for my own series. In fact, the quality of this production was why I pushed Boss Man to agree to the contract. The only real complaint was that the accents of the various characters made them slightly difficult to understand. Because of this, I couldn't tell you a single call sign for the pilots in this novel. Full disclosure, I lost some of my hearing while in the service, so this might just be my own issue. Besides, if this is my only complaint, I call it a win!

Who is it for?

Are you a fan of military science fiction with a side of space opera? Did you like Battlestar Galactica? What about Mass Effect? Do you like detailed depictions of warfare, strategy, and combat in futuristic settings? This book is for anyone who loves that kind of realism of the genre, the no-holds-barred look through the fog of war into the soul of the everyman.

Why buy it

Have you wondered why we haven’t found alien life? Then this series will wet your whistle! The concept alone was worth the price of entry. If you love a thrill ride through a worst-case alien invasion future, this is the novel for you!

Once you buy and read the book, come back and share your thoughts! Oh, and be sure to leave a review!