There isn't much wrong with the book, but it was definitely outside my expectations. I expected this to be the story of a bastard son to the Emperor proving himself as a Fleet Captain. Instead, most of the story reads as a Princess coming of age tale. Kelsey is fine, but she is not the person I was interested in reading about.Overall, in this first book, the characters a bit one dimensional. Kelsey starts off as a bit of an ignorant Princess but one who has the ability to be introspective and ma...

"Empire of Bones" starts slowly and builds pace until, by the end, we are in full interstellar Space Opera mode.In a remote galaxy the last remnant of the Terran Empire has clawed its way back into space. The location of Earth is lost, as is any understanding of the rebellion that toppled the Terran Empire.Now the new Empire is beginning to explore the star systems around them, hoping to find artefacts, information and, hopefully, other lost colonies.The expedition is led by Commander Jared Mert...

I was provided a review copy courtesy of the author.Empire of Bones is a future history space opera with a military scifi feel. I think all of those things are important descriptors, because it sets the stage for what kind of book this is trying to be. If you are interested in that, this book will be a lot of fun. So what kind of book is this? Primarily, it is an adventure story, the kind of thing J. D. Cowan usefully described as “exploring new lands, peoples, and possibilities”. The primary fu...

(2.5)I hate to be the lone voice of dissent, but this book, though not terrible, is a far cry from good. The characters are wooden, the dialogue clunks, and the author shows generally a tin ear for language in general and names in particular ("Jared Mertz" is not a heroic space captain name, and let us not speak of Princess Kelsey for all love).The story ambles along, interspersed with some genuinely cool sci-fi stuff, and then some TRULY bone-headed actions on the part of the characters. Seriou...

The book started well, but foundered on the incredibly callow MCs and writing. I could deal with it at first, until the author made one of them do something so stupid and contrived I nearly quit the book in disgust. There must have been a better way to advance the plot without having one of the main characters act like a spoiled little entitled tstl twit. I don't even know what to call it - it's like a deux ex machina, only with an improbable series of events and actions leading to something ba

Excellent start to a seriesI picked this up after listening to Terry on Dead Robots Society, more to just see what he wrote. Now I’m hooked and so far behind in the series. Wait for me, Terry!

This review actually will cover the entire "Empire of Bones saga".The stories are entertaining and engaging - they are fun reads and I enjoy them. I'm reading them through Kindle Unlimited and they are worth the monthly cost.On the 'down' side:1) A lot of story points are derivative from other stories / books by other authors- sometime blatantly so.2) Spends too much time with the 'background' at times, taking 5 paragraphs or more to describe something when 1 or 2 would do.3) Huge difference in

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom dot com.The novel started off fast paced and caught my interest. I like space operas and sci fi in general, and this is no exception. On the downside, the story reminds me of a lot of TV shows where characters do stupid things to advance the plot. I think the author could have done better with the characters and the transitions through the plot.The narrator wa...

On their ownThe old Empire is dead. In a far distant corner of the galaxy, a small remnant remains. They're doing okay, slowly building up, but they are only a shadow of their former selves. Jared joined the navy to make something to himself. He had no idea that he was the illegitimate son of the Emperor, but the required genetic test proved that was the case. Now, instead of concentrating on being a good officer, he has to deal with palace politics. It has also slowed his career, because no one...

Empire of Bones is a sweet bit of space opera with a little dash of military SF mixed in.I read a near-finished version of Empire of Bones voluntarily to help the author see if everything was ship-shape (known as a beta read, kind of like a beta for a game or early screening for a movie). I am not the author's neighbor, brother, father, uncle, father's uncle's brother, or a paid for reviewer from Indonesia.Why I say this is Amazon *will not* flag me as a 'verified purchaser' of Empire of Bones,

I’ve read some really not-so-nice reviews about this series, and although reviews are not really my thing it feels a little unfair, so I’d like to correct that. As an avid SF reader for 50 years, I’ve read a good chunk of everything that’s been written in space-op, all the way back from the great pulp masters of the 40s and 60s up to today, and Terry Mixon’s work stands up to the comparison pretty well. All the ingredients are there: likeable heroes backed by plenty of secondary characters, inte...

As the story went we got to see new things and how some people have evolve with what they have. People at different levels of technology evolution. There are implants that are a curiosity, attacks from what appears to be a salvage race of people, and what of the old empire. So many different avenues that seem to cross and connect, but how? It was great how it was presented through actions and events that kept me interested, invested, and learning more and more. The empire is divided, yet there a...

Started slow, improved after the first half The characters, especially the main characters remained quite pale and unimpressive during the first half of the book. Very wooden and stereotypical.Especially Princess Kelsey. Actually characters and also relationships between those remain the weak point of this stories. The strengths lie in the story lines and the world building. It kept me reading. The universe is interesting, though not completely novel; I think that is mostly impossible at this po...