Christopher G. Nuttall is the real name of Jack Campbell, an author who wrote modern day pulpy space opera series The Lost Fleet, which I loved. Well, I loved the first five books. That series has seen multiple spinoffs and continuations, and I am a long way behind on those, because I kind of lost the thread of what was happening and have never managed to get back on track.
So I was pretty excited when Campbell/Nuttall brought out a new science fiction series and I could start all over again with another of his fast-paced and battle-heavy excursions into space.
In this one, spacefaring humanity has made contact with some hostile aliens who seem determined to wipe us all out for no discernible reason. The aliens’ tech is way ahead of ours, and wipes out all modern spacecraft, but it can’t seem to penetrate the hull of a mothballed, outdated carrier, the Ark Royal, helmed by a washed up, drunkard captain who becomes an unlikely hero.
Okay, so it’s not exactly the most original of plots. But do we always need original? Sometimes all I want is a rollicking adventure through the stars featuring some carefully flawed characters, some definitely evil villains, an ongoing mystery and the aforementioned unlikely hero. And this book delivers all of that, and more! I had a blast pretty much the whole way through, and even the just-now discovery that there are already — gulp — no fewer than thirteen other books in this series is not enough to dampen my enthusiasm for it.
And now it is time for me to go and buy some more books, dammit.
SCORECARD
TBR DAY 265: Ark Royal (Ark Royal #1) by Christopher G. Nuttall
GENRE: Science Fiction, Space Opera
PUBLISHED: 2014
TIME ON THE TBR: ~4 years.
PURCHASED FROM: Amazon.
KEEP: Yep.
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