Breaking The Shackles Of The Machines

After a shaky start I'm now hooked on the Star Force series. Book three of
the series, Rebellion has Kyle Riggs in the thick of things again now having
to go directly from a brutal battle with the worms of Helios to another star
system with no respite given by the Macros.

In Rebellion there are several new pieces to the puzzle provided which aids
Kyle in the understanding of the Macros and Nanos. This aspect of the story
alone is very satisfying as from my point of view, providing more insight or
answers to certain unknowns keeps the readers imagination fired and allows
the story to gradually unfold a little more offering tantalizing clues to
further possible revelations.

For example, a race not seen since book one is encountered again and we learn much
more about them and their society. Larson comes up with very non-human
culture for these beings and indeed for the worms too and avoids
anthropomorphising these aliens in a way so many other authors tend to do.
They are not human and therefore many aspects about them are completely
alien to us including the very way in which they think. In Rebellion we
begin to see the means by which allies can be formed to fight against the
Macros and at this point in the series I do hope that such cooperation
between biotic species does come about as this angle by itself can form the
basis of an entire book given the complexities of social interaction and
frames of reference between species.

Kyle is armed with new knowledge and new tools from which to continue the
fight against the Macros and Larson writes a new asset or perhaps more aptly
thought of as a new character to the mix that is cleverly depicted. This new
persona is named Marvin but I had to wonder if this name was chosen in
homage to a character from "The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy" book who
was known as Marvin the paranoid android. In any case, Marvin proves an
interesting and valuable new addition to Kyle's crew but also has odd
behaviours that are part way explained by Marvin's machine intellect.
Cleverly written by Larson and no doubt a character with plenty of scope for
future expansion and development.

As usual with Larson's military science fiction stories the body count is
immense in Rebellion and some of the battles depicted between the Star
Force marines and the aforementioned familiar alien race reminded me
somewhat of the movie Zulu where relative few face huge numbers of less well
armed but fearlessly determined enemy.

Rebellion was another Larson page turner and entertaining. Kyle Riggs still
has an eye for the ladies and still seems to be able to think about ogling
his girlfriend in the most dire of situations but other than that I have no
real issues with the character of Riggs. This story also has the benefit of
being mostly based in space and away from Earth so we barely see the
annoying Crow character at all!

Mark Boyett as ever is an excellent narrator and I am pleased to see he will
be narrating most of the Star Force related books. One minor observation I
have to make is how a new character called Gorski initially sounded Hispanic
despite the eastern European name but this switches to a more Russian like
accent as perhaps befits the name. Apart from that very minor thing Boyett
is superb with a good range of accents and can make men and women sound
distinct which perhaps isn't easy for a man with a fairly deep voice.

Star Force:Rebellion is an enjoyable and gripping read and really builds
upon the story so far and opens the way for plenty of future scope. If
you've already read the first two books in this series then I don't need to
persuade you to get this one but if you've come across this review with a
notion to read this book first then I would urge you to start with book one
and go on from there.

A great read and a worthy addition to the series.

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1 person found this helpful

On the up again!

Would you consider the audio edition of Rebellion to be better than the print version?

Never read the print version.

What did you like best about this story?

Loads of action, not one sided, again not that predictable.
Was hopeful that the 'girlfriend' was going to get the heave-ho as she is starting to get on my nerves, but she might develop later in the series.
Interesting and innovative slant on how the 'aliens' communicate although the speed of decoding the languages was just too unbelievable.
Let's lose the 'mines' and the totally implausible rescue missions.

Have you listened to any of Mark Boyett’s other performances? How does this one compare?

3rd one. Probably the best yet but starting to get really stretched on the characters 'voices'

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Naming the robot 'Marvin' was total genius to any fan of the 'Hitchhiker' series

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Keep them coming B.V. Larson

If you like undying mercenaries you will like this as well.
it's a bit slow in some places but overall the plot and characters are great.

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Another great entry.

This is a great series and if you like star wars, starship troopers or the terminator, then you should give this series a go. Like any good geek though, I insist you start from the first book even though previous books are summed up. Why watch something halfway through. Im enjoying this although I really wish he'd kill one of the characters. He's an utter git and any self respecting hero would have sorted him out by now.

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3 people found this helpful

For any Sci-Fi fan this is a must have series....

I did not write a review for book 2 as I was unsure. Book 1 was an excellent romp. Book 2 was possibly that difficult second book, very good, but somehow left me unsure about where this series was going to go next - had it exhausted itself? Had the story worn out as happens to so many other series' that I had listened to. I jumped straight into book 3, Rebellion, as I just had to know....

The answer was no. This is a fantastic book, just about the best so far. Keeps up an astonishing pace, new elements and original ideas pounding out as if, after a breather, the author had got to a place where he could let loose. The entire series so far holds together into a logical story that develops into the best series I have listened to so far. Completely entertaining and surprisingly exciting.

To sum up, a fantastic series and I am leaping straight into book 4 now. I just need to know what happens next.

If you are in any way considering this series, buy it now, you will not be disappointed.

Paul.

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Marvin .... really

Listen to the first three in a week. Good story although the heroes continuing exploits are wearing a but thin, there are some other characters who would benefit from some of the lime light.
Marvin... good name

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still good

and again this is a good read with the continuation of the story. i do get fed up with how the main character can act so stupid sometimes.

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Excellent Book, Brilliantly Narrated

Really enjoying he series, can't wait to start the next book. I enjoyed Mark Boyettes narration from the Troy Rising series that I actually stumbled across B V Larson s series when reading through the list of other books Mark had narrated. He is very good with male and female voices alike and makes the story that much more immersive!

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5 star production

gripping stuff, 5 star narrator. will machines be ultimatedly be defeated? I can't wait for the next installment.

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would recommend to anyone, everyone and their pets

just amazing like the first, I'll be getting the rest as time goes on. until my next one I'll be re listening to the first two!

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