Review: A Resolute and Generally Good Command
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 07 9, 2014
What I would have liked to know before I bought this book. (no spoilers)1. What type of book is it: action, drama, etc? This is an action book with some drama, but not a lot of it.2. What is the story about, in general? The story is about the adventures of Commander Lee Pearce, humanity's fall from power and its struggle for survival in the aftermath.3. What/Who is the target audience? Young adult and adult males. Sci-fi space opera aficionados will find the story appealing.4. Is there character development? Lee has an interesting evolution. He starts out with merits and the book reveals his flaws as it goes along. I like this. Readers usually see the opposite, flawed characters that evolve merits.  Apart from Lee, not a lot. The character interactions seem to lurch half the time. Emotional entanglements feel rushed and sometimes even forced. The characters already know the skill sets necessary to accomplish their jobs and thus we don't really get to see them grow. We do get to see them use those skills.5. Are the characters likable? Lee is generally likable with good merits and developing flaws. Though I enjoyed the other characters, I didn't feel a strong connection to them. They do cross the threshold of feeling I associate with distant relatives; I am concerned for their well being but won't feel real loss at their misfortunes.6. Does the story keep its pacing? Keep in mind that I am well in the target audience. Yes. This is a strong point for the book and a bit of a surprise.  I strongly dislike flashbacks. This book -begins- in a flashback, but these flashbacks generally felt informative and well placed. Not all of them, mind you, but most.Apart from the flashbacks, the book is very action driven, with story progress being punctuated by a steady stream of conflict. It mostly doesn't get dull.I also like that there is a good solid reason for the antagonism towards the humans. No mindless enemies here.This book also has some spelling errors that detract from the experience.7. Do you have to suspend disbelief? Well, yes. The emotional responses of some of the characters seem overblown. The effectiveness of space fighters, and their ability to take damage, is strangely very large. The description of humanity's fall lacks details, but it seems a simultaneous massive attack in many systems? Huh. Logistics? Detection networks? Defensive networks? Time to arrive at the destination? How the heck was that all coordinated? See, is not that these points can't be explained, is that they aren't really explained and thus my disbelief grows. As in most military sci-fi books, some people get tortured. We are to believe most of these untrained people were tortured for -3 years- without breaking. Sorry, can't believe it, but for the sake of story progression I chose to ignore it.8. Is the book worth the asking price? $3 for an ebook? Cheap. Give it a try.In conclusion: This is an action driven space opera book and the beginning of a space opera series. The main character is solid with merits and slowly growing believable flaws. The other characters suffer from lack of development, and might fail to connect with readers. The book lacks well defined drama, but the action mitigates this up to a point. The reason for antagonism between the species was refreshingly in its assignment of responsibility. The ebook is worth $3 and the price feels adequate for this installment. There are spelling errors that detract from the experience and must be taken into consideration. Regardless, this story flows generally well.3.2 Stars