HMS Vanguard is the most powerful battleship ever to be commissioned by the Royal Navy, but she is not a happy ship. Her commanding officer is eccentric, rarely seen on the bridge; her former XO has deserted his post; and her first middy is resentful because he hasn’t been promoted as he deserves.…
But when a first contact mission goes badly wrong, HMS Vanguard and her crew are plunged into an interstellar war against a new and deadly alien threat. And if they don’t make it back to friendly space in time, they will merely be the first to die in a new interstellar war.
A Slice of Life Nuttall writes well and I enjoy his books immensely. Certainly, the ending makes for buying the 8th book to see if a good commander is recognized for her exceptional leadership and sacrifice or will the Navy’s patronage system win out. One would think she wins — that a first-rate military would avoid putting incompetent senior officers in key leadership positions where lives matter. But, right does not always win out unfortunately and “who you know” credentials and politics can…
Compelling plot and improved writing I’ve read both of the two prior Ark Royal trilogies, and bought this first of Nutall’s planned third trilogy right after release. Like the prior books, the action is varied and exciting. A few chapters into the book, I realized how transparent Nuttall’s writing has become. His words serve the story and do not distract. I mean this entirely as a compliment. Nuttall has grown from a journeyman author of moderate skill, who created an absorbing fictional universe, to a solid literary craftsman,…
A good start for a third story arc in the Ark Royal series Vanguard starts a third story arc (or trilogy if you so prefer) in the Ark Royal series. The Ark Royal series is one of my favourite book series and this book gives me no reason to change my mind. Vanguard is a good piece of military science fiction with some of the classical ingredients that I happen to like quite a lot like a strong hero, a set of mysterious alien invaders and plenty of space action.