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Starship Eternal (War Eternal, #1)

M.R. Forbes,

Jeffrey Kafer (Narrator)

Start date: June 2, 2015

Finish date: June 3, 2015

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Jun 01, 2015 AudioBookReviewer rated it really liked it · review of another edition

ABR's full Starship Eternal audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

Captain Mitchell Williams is the celebrated hero of the recent battle which saved Planet Liberty. Unfortunately, it’s all a lie, his wing mate and lover actually did it, sacrificing herself in a suicide attack against overwhelming odds. But the Alliance is keeping quiet, using Mitchell as a PR pawn to attract military recruits. The Alliance and Federation are 400 year old Earth factions who have been ABR's full Starship Eternal audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

Captain Mitchell Williams is the celebrated hero of the recent battle which saved Planet Liberty. Unfortunately, it’s all a lie, his wing mate and lover actually did it, sacrificing herself in a suicide attack against overwhelming odds. But the Alliance is keeping quiet, using Mitchell as a PR pawn to attract military recruits. The Alliance and Federation are 400 year old Earth factions who have been at war since an alien ship crashed into the Earth in the mid-21st Century.

Mitchell hates taking the credit, but goes along with the ruse until he is lured into a sexual liaison with the Prime Minister’s wife. Accused of rape and exposed as a fraud, he has only one option—run—but where? He is helped by criminals, an antique ship with future technology and even his past self. Barely making it to the edge of known space, he finds more questions than answers.

Starship Eternal has some time travel elements, but they are more conceptual than actual. Most of the action is real time and no one is jumping forward or backward at will. The novel is more of a high-tech military story with plenty of fighting action and military situations, brain implants, medical nano-bots, lasers and force fields. Much of the story takes place on a mining ship full of court-martialed misfits who run espionage runs when they aren’t trying to kill each other.

There is plenty of action throughout the story to keep any space war junky happy. Mitchell has every woman after him, getting enough sex for half the galaxy, though none of it described explicitly.

The story is read by Jeffery Kafer who does a very good job. He has a pleasant baritone voice and is good with character changes. You will enjoy listening to his voice through the length of the novel and presumably, through the sequels.

Starship Eternal is a great ride, full of action and plot twists that keep the listener thoroughly entertained. Though, technically SciFi military, it has a lot of space opera elements that give it a much wider feeling. Time travel is a central element of the story, but the scientific explanations don’t hold much water, better not to over think it. Just go with it and enjoy the ride. The novel wraps up the initial action well while still leading the listener to the sequel.

Audiobook provided for for review by the publisher via audiobookblast ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Jun 16, 2015 Susan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sf, cool-tech, audiobook, military-fiction, eternal, bookwins, time-travel, space-opera, alien-civs

Set a fair distance in the future, mankind has settled the galaxy. And yet we still fight one another: Alliance versus the Federation. Mitchell ‘Ares’ Williams is a war hero and currently the hottest thing driving military enlistment. He’s paraded from world to world, talk show to signing event, telling his battle stories to starry-eyed youngsters dreaming of combat and glory. Also, he’s got a price on his head by the opposition. After surviving yet another assassination attempt, he is badly inj Set a fair distance in the future, mankind has settled the galaxy. And yet we still fight one another: Alliance versus the Federation. Mitchell ‘Ares’ Williams is a war hero and currently the hottest thing driving military enlistment. He’s paraded from world to world, talk show to signing event, telling his battle stories to starry-eyed youngsters dreaming of combat and glory. Also, he’s got a price on his head by the opposition. After surviving yet another assassination attempt, he is badly injured and perhaps a little mentally damaged. He keeps hearing voices that tell him he must find the Goliath, the long-lost initial FTL ship Earth ever made.

This was an immensely satisfying book. This is what military scifi should be. Fascinating characters (both male and female): check! Intriguing, consuming plot: check! Enough science in my fiction to make me believe this could some day come true: check! Cool tech and weapons: check! Yes, indeed, I was mightily impressed with this story and didn’t want to put it down.

Mitchell Williams is a conflicted character and that made him easy to connect with. Through a series of flashbacks, we learn that he was part of a critical and intense battle that left all his comrades dead. The military totes him around showing him off to the population like more of a war trophy instead of a war hero. Mitchell doesn’t feel like a hero because he knows things didn’t go down as they were reported in the newsfeed. His handlers and supervisors know it too, but they won’t let him back into the fight, instead believing he is more valuable for driving up enlistment.

There’s plenty of other characters in this story, most of which came with some background and a purpose. I truly love that there are so many female characters and they almost all of them are plot related. Christine is Mitchell’s handler after the assassination attack, keeping a tight leash on him. Millie is captain of the Riggers, a rag tag crew of military personnel who hit the end of their rope in one way or another and who were consigned to patrol the outer most edges of settled space. Both these ladies have their own personal goals, actions that relate to the storyline, and just enough past events to fill out their character. With all that said, here is my one tiny criticism: nearly all the women in this book have a thing for Mitchell. He’s a handsome man, but aren’t there other handsome men or perhaps some lesbians in space?

The plot is primarily military scifi, but also with a touch of time travel. There’s this long-standing war between the Alliance and the Federation. All of society has been militarized in some way to assist in the war effort. The time travel element doesn’t come into play until the second half of the book, so I won’t say much on it other than to say that it is well done.

I really didn’t want to put this book down. I kept finding little ways to prolong my listening time so that I finished this book in 2 big chunks of blissful (if chore-filled) listening. I do believe Forbes has raised the bar for military scifi.

The Narration: Jeffrey Kafer has long been a favorite narrator of mine. He does not disappoint in this his performance here. As always, Kafer has distinct male and female voices for all the characters. I especially appreciated how he imbued each and every character with emotion. He made a very good Mitchell Williams. ...more

Like · see review

Jun 16, 2015 Susan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Starship Eternal by M. R. Forbes Set a fair distance in the future, mankind has settled the galaxy. And yet we still fight one another: Alliance versus the Federation. Mitchell ‘Ares’ Williams is a war hero and currently the hottest thing driving military enlistment. He’s paraded from world to world, talk show to signing event, telling his battle stories to starry-eyed youngsters dreaming of combat and glory. Also, he’s got a price on his head by the opposition. After surviving yet another assas Starship Eternal by M. R. Forbes Set a fair distance in the future, mankind has settled the galaxy. And yet we still fight one another: Alliance versus the Federation. Mitchell ‘Ares’ Williams is a war hero and currently the hottest thing driving military enlistment. He’s paraded from world to world, talk show to signing event, telling his battle stories to starry-eyed youngsters dreaming of combat and glory. Also, he’s got a price on his head by the opposition. After surviving yet another assassination attempt, he is badly injured and perhaps a little mentally damaged. He keeps hearing voices that tell him he must find the Goliath, the long-lost initial FTL ship Earth ever made.
This was an immensely satisfying book. This is what military scifi should be. Fascinating characters (both male and female): check! Intriguing, consuming plot: check! Enough science in my fiction to make me believe this could some day come true: check! Cool tech and weapons: check! Yes, indeed, I was mightily impressed with this story and didn’t want to put it down.
Mitchell Williams is a conflicted character and that made him easy to connect with. Through a series of flashbacks, we learn that he was part of a critical and intense battle that left all his comrades dead. The military totes him around showing him off to the population like more of a war trophy instead of a war hero. Mitchell doesn’t feel like a hero because he knows things didn’t go down as they were reported in the newsfeed. His handlers and supervisors know it too, but they won’t let him back into the fight, instead believing he is more valuable for driving up enlistment.
There’s plenty of other characters in this story, most of which came with some background and a purpose. I truly love that there are so many female characters and they almost all of them are plot related. Christine is Mitchell’s handler after the assassination attack, keeping a tight leash on him. Millie is captain of the Riggers, a rag tag crew of military personnel who hit the end of their rope in one way or another and who were consigned to patrol the outer most edges of settled space. Both these ladies have their own personal goals, actions that relate to the storyline, and just enough past events to fill out their character. With all that said, here is my one tiny criticism: nearly all the women in this book have a thing for Mitchell. He’s a handsome man, but aren’t there other handsome men or perhaps some lesbians in space?
The plot is primarily military scifi, but also with a touch of time travel. There’s this long-standing war between the Alliance and the Federation. All of society has been militarized in some way to assist in the war effort. The time travel element doesn’t come into play until the second half of the book, so I won’t say much on it other than to say that it is well done.
I really didn’t want to put this book down. I kept finding little ways to prolong my listening time so that I finished this book in 2 big chunks of blissful (if chore-filled) listening. I do believe Forbes has raised the bar for military scifi.
The Narration: Jeffrey Kafer has long been a favorite narrator of mine. He does not disappoint in this his performance here. As always, Kafer has distinct male and female voices for all the characters. I especially appreciated how he imbued each and every character with emotion. He made a very good Mitchell Williams. ...more

Like · see review

May 15, 2015 Krzysztof rated it really liked it

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