Invasion (Forgotten Vengeance #1)

The cliff hanger ending disgust me. It is a fourth grader trick to entice people to wait for the encore. More than not, because the author lacks the confidence that the reader will find the story compelling enough to wait for the next adventure. I really thought this author was above that. Sad.

1) Lots of action via a series of alternating points of view focused on specific characters until a mini-cliffhanger is reached, then ‘switch of view’;
2) Pretty good grammar and editing, but not publisher perfect;
3) A tricky plot, with lots of moving parts and a pace best described as frantic;
4) High-tech toys and weapons;
5) An implacable enemy.

“Invasion” has all these elements, but I’ll be honest, while this is noted as “Forgotten Vengeance Book 1”, the scenario and some of the cast are from a different series, and even though I’ve read some of those books, I felt like I’d been dropped into an ongoing story and it took me a while to sort through that feeling and get into what’s actually going on. Perhaps, if you’ve not read that other series, you won’t be lost, but I seriously doubt it.

Which is why I’ve generally given up reading Forbes – he is so prolific, that the different series are starting to lose their identity and merge into one, and keeping track of what book is related to what other book is too consuming. Or more specifically, trying to answer the question, is *this* book related to any other book, before you buy is just too hard to figure.

The other thing is, Forbes ends many of his books on an actual, honest-to-God, the words literally just stop, cliffhanger! That is REALLY annoying. I don’t mind being eased into a sequel, but this story is not even standalone, it is chapter, chapter, chapter…WTF?

DO NOT BUY THIS IF YOU HATE LITERAL CLIFFHANGER ENDINGS!

Anyway, what’s this book about then.

Well, best as I can describe, entirely evil aliens have invaded Earth, with intent to consume our souls, and somewhat less evil aliens have helped humanity escape to the nearby planet of Proxima, where many humans live in luxury and safety (and many others serve their needs whilst living in less luxury and less safety). Earth is a wasted mess, with only a few cities in the USA holding on to truth, justice, and liberty for all, while everywhere else has been overrun by hard to kill demon-like aliens called trife. But the evil aliens are coming back, in numbers, and it is up to a small group of (mostly) men to stop them. We go along for the ride in the stopping aspect, as new monster aliens arrive, which are harder to kill than the trife, and that’s saying something.

The thing is, the evil aliens are so overwhelmingly powerful, that even with the somewhat less evil aliens help, it’s hard to fathom how anyone on Earth will stand up to them. Also, I never get over the concept that Earth is the border world of both sets of aliens, and that’s why they’ve both come here, and want domination over the place. Space is HUGE, the idea that in all those megaparsecs our little spec of a planet has any significance via location, is nonsensical. But Forbes never lets things like that get in the way of the story, he just powers on and lets you either keep up or catch up.

While “pozz” seems to be a replacement for the f-word, many of the themes and topics are adult, though I know lots of YA readers buy into series such as this, the graphic violence is no worse than most recent sci-fi and certainly there are more gory authors out there.

So, what’s the verdict?

As I say, if you’ve read Forbes before, you’ll know exactly what to expect, and if you enjoy that, buy into this series. If you’ve not read Forbes before, I don’t think this is his best work so I’d suggest you start elsewhere. At the very least, search out the other books in this little universe and start at the start of this sorry tale. Because this is neither standalone in content, and the cliffhanger means it’s not standalone in itself.

This book is fantastic! I cannot praise this auther enough in this incredible universe that he’s created. And now that he’s brought all the characters together, I can’t wait to see where the story will go next. Word of warning… Read the other series first. In published order.

I gave this book five star only because I can’t give it 10 stars! In this series all my favorite characters came to earth and are working together to save earth. The action is non-stop.The story is well told. I can’t wait till the next one comes out. I would like to see more space battles I enjoy a great ship to ship battle. Keep them coming!

TWO MONTHS AFTER FORGOTTEN FALLOUTFORGOTTEN VENGEANCE
This series is the apex of all that is the Forgotten Universe. Most of the characters from the other Forgotten Universe series end up together in one way or another to fight an invasion thousands of years in the making. Adversaries become allies. Secrets become known. Sheriff Duke, Isaac, Caleb, Nathan and others work to rally the remaining Earthers to fight known enemies along with new, more dangerous enemies. This 3-book series moves very fast and you find yourself re-reading parts to make sure you understand what is happening! M.R. Forbes ties the bow well. Some of the red-shirts are unexpected and sad but does make the story and the purpose more personal for a main character of the series. I look forward to future adventures of characters not mentioned; on earth, Proxima and Essex.

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