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  • A Sword Into Darkness

  • Written by: Thomas A. Mays
  • Narrated by: Liam Owen
  • Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
  • 5.0 out of 5 stars (1 rating)

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A Sword Into Darkness

Written by: Thomas A. Mays
Narrated by: Liam Owen
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Publisher's Summary

Humanity is no longer alone in the universe. An unknowable threat approaches Earth - and we are completely unprepared to face what's coming.

Aerospace tycoon Gordon Elliot Lee cannot stand idly by while a mysterious alien presence from Delta Pavonis bears down upon mankind's only home. Shut out from NASA and military support, Gordon is forced to go it alone, to sow the seeds for an entirely new sort of planetary defense: a space-based naval force.

Joined by Nathan Kelley - a bloodied naval warrior, scarred by his own actions in the waters off North Korea - and Kris Munoz - an avant garde scientific genius with more ideas than sense - these three will scour the very edges of fringe science and engineering to attempt development of Earth's first space navy in time to oppose the Deltan invasion.

Beset by ridicule, government obstruction, industrial espionage, and their own personal demons, it will take a miracle just to get off the ground. But the challenges on Earth are nothing compared to what awaits them in space. Against an unknown alien enemy with vastly superior technology, a handful of human scientists and warriors must become the sword that holds the darkness at bay.

Missiles will flash, railguns will rumble, lasers will burn, and defenders will die. If they fail, our end is at hand.

©2013 Thomas A. Mays (P)2014 Thomas A. Mays
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What the critics say

"Solid adventure, intrigue, and speculative space-tech, from a rising star in military science fiction." (David Brin, Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author of Existence)
"There are brilliant first contact stories, great space combat stories, and amazing stories of technological discovery. Rarely do you find all three in the same novel. Remember the name Thomas A. Mays. You're going to be seeing it on the best-seller list." (Jeff Edwards, award-winning author of Sea of Shadows and The Seventh Angel)
"Sharply written, suspenseful, and tightly plotted, A Sword Into Darkness reads like the best Tom Clancy novels, with a science fiction heart provided by Arthur C. Clark. Can't wait to read more from Thomas Mays!" (Graham Brown, #1 New York Times best-selling author of Zero Hour)

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Hard military science-fiction

I wasn't terribly impressed by the narrator, partly due to what is to my ears an odd cadence to his voice, but he does a competent job. The writing, though not spectacular, is similarly competent, but the technical and procedural details were quite wonderful -- aided by the author's two physics degrees and around 2 decades in the US Navy. The latter is demonstrated most clearly in the second chapter with a great depiction of a near future naval engagement.

After having just finished reading some disappointing "pop" sci-fi, I was eager to read something more thoughtful and carefully written. Too often, authors rely on creating drama and heroics via the incompetence of the protagonists or their adversaries. This sort of contrivance often has the effect of inducing me to vocally rage at my car stereo as I listen to the books during my daily commutes. While I recognise that sometimes people do stupid things, it has to sit properly within the context of character and plot. It cannot be used to contrive a way for the plot to progress. A Sword Into Darkness doesn't rely on any of this. Characters are developed quite well with their own strengths and limitations, none of which being hyperbolic, and their behaviour follows logically from these traits.

The starship depicted in the latter parts of the book, the Sword of Liberty, is very carefully designed. Its weaknesses are the result of necessary facts of physics and aren't contrived to create drama. I really liked such details as the crew being fitted in vacuum suits and individually cocooned in armoured acceleration couches during combat. The author really tries to envision how space combat would really work, rather than writing it as an analogue of modern (or more commonly, WW2-era) air-naval combat. It's not Star Wars.

One other aspect that must necessarily be addressed in any plot involving alien visitations or invasions is: why do the aliens bother coming at all? I certainly won't spoil the plot, but I will say that the answer provided for this book is unique. It's weird, but... well, aliens, eh?

Highly recommended, if you're into the hard stuff.

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