The warlords are gone, save one. Admiral Marius Drake, betrayed and almost killed by the Grand Senate, has seized power for himself in a military coup. Now, as Emperor Marius, Drake can work to restore the once-great Federation to its former glory. But now that the Grand Senate is gone, the Federation is starting to fall apart. The bureaucrats are running rampant, the corporations are demanding new powers, the colonies want freedom, and Earth is collapsing into chaos.
Worse, on the borders, a new interstellar power has arisen and is bracing itself for an all-out invasion of Federation space. For the Outsiders, the descendants of those forced to flee centuries ago by the Federation, there will never be a better chance to smash their hated oppressors once and for all. To save the Federation, the Outsiders must be defeated―but the Federation may not survive long enough to land the killing blow.
Cincinnatus casts a long shadow…and those who pick up absolute power may not find it so easy to put it down again.
Nuttall breaks the stereotypes of military science fiction and gives readers something to think about Nuttall goes beyond the stereotypes of military science fiction (MSF) in this book and as you can tell from the reviews that has turned off some people. That’s unfortunate because Nuttall gives us a far more believable portrayal of how people act in difficult circumstances. Lord Acton was right when he wrote about how power corrupts and that absolute power corrupts absolutely. There’s an interesting contrast with Jerry Pournelle’s CoDominium series in which he ends it with the naming of an…
Not one of his best. I’ve enjoyed almost every other book of Nuttall’s. That’s about 20 books. But this one doesn’t work for me. Somehow missing the flow. Feels like an attempt at deeper military S-F (Weber, Drake) but too shallow to make it.I enjoy the rapid pace of his books, and how they have enough character development to make them stories instead of battle reviews. This feels light on pace and light on character.I expect to enjoy his upcoming work, so I consider this a rare misfire.
… of Christopher Nuttall IMO Chris has almost always given good reads. The few times he hasn’t have been … In defense of Christopher NuttallÂ