The Ember War

I was aware, from the reviews, when I purchased this book that it would be a mediocre read and it lived up to that expectation. Fairly Buck Rogers type action and wooden dialogue. I was even willing to accept the eye-roll inducing characterization of the Chinese as bad guys. What finally pushed me over the line was the islamophobic characterizations of Muslims and the, quite literal, descriptions of American soldiers as knights in shining armor. Its obvious this author is stuck in a dated mind set and attempted to make up for his lack of talent as a science fiction writer with a 50s era machismo and a troubling modern era racism. My biggest regret is that, by my purchase, I helped financially support this book.

This first book of the series, the Ember War Saga, is everything I expected and a whole lot more. My first book by this author was “Iron Dragoons.” That was so good I had to go back to the start of of this amazing world/galaxy/future that Richard Fox has created. Thankfully there is much more for me to read and for this I am extremely grateful. Robert Fox, in my opinion, is on a par with my other favorite sci-fi authors: Isaac Hooke, David Weber, John Ringo, David Drake, and Robert Heinlein (yes, the Robert Heinlein) to name a few. No spoilers here but humanity is in great peril and survival is sketchy at best. Great deeds done by brave men and women. I laughed and I cried. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. A solid 5 stars does not do this remarkable story and author justice. It’s that good.

Droids! Humanity’s last stand! Alien friends and foes! All and more are just a page away in The Ember War-first in an exciting series by Richard Fox. Fox’s story starts out with Marc Ibarra, a B- student at an Arizona college who’s cell phone won’t stop ringing. His answer puts him in contact with an alien probe sent to warn mankind about their impending doom.

The book jumps to 60 years out. Marc and the alien intelligence have helped prepare humanity from the deadly Xaros droids who have so far eradicated all life forms they have encountered. We join a squad of space marines as they make initial contact with the Xaros horde.

The Ember War is a wild ride that details how humanity battles a menacing and intelligent foe. I’d call it hard military science fiction, but without some of the usual drawbacks. Sometimes the characters suffer in military science fiction, but not so here. Our protagonist, Ken Hale, is a very real person who leads an ever-shrinking team against almost impossible odds. The technology is awesome and interesting, but not too heavy. I didn’t get lost in it-as can be the case in this genre.

I’ve read some critical reviews of the ending, but it worked for me. You have to close a book somehow, and the introduction of a new species (friend or foe) left me thirsting for more. Well done, Richard Fox!

Admittedly, the pace of the story is such that it draws you into it. However, the writing lacks the depth that is necessary for a novel to be truly enjoyable. In addition it totally lacks the minimum of research that would keep the author from making a fool out of himself. In the foreign phrases that he used throughout the book, I haven’t found even a single one that was correct.
An example: ‘mee too’ translates into ‘moi aussi’, not into ‘et moi’, which the author could easily have found out by a quick web search. He did not even make such a simple effort. When I’m in the middle of action and I read this, it completely turns me down and it then becomes difficult to enjoy the read.
In view of this, I’m not sure I want to buy book 2.

This book was very interesting for me and I plan to buy all of them. The author has created a universe where the things keep happening that you dont expect. Also the background history is very interesting as the characters talk about their past every couple of chapters via tidbits like this is just like the when the Chinese captured the cities on Mars, etc. I really hope the author includes a timeline on what was going on back then or more detailed flash backs of the endless conflicts on Earth that allowed the Atlantic Union to form. As for the plot, its we have to win or were all dead with plenty of fighting, lots of characters and their development, and a logical plot that made me finish it in 2 days.

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