Barbarians at the Gates

The Decline and Fall of the Galactic Empire, Book 1

By: Christopher G. Nuttall

Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds

The Federation has endured for hundreds of years, but now it is dying, killed by the corruption and decadence of the Senate and the rising power of military warlords. The shipping lanes are coming apart, the colonists are revolting, and outside forces are pressing against undefended borders. Now, as one warlord makes a bid for supreme power, the entire edifice is on the verge of falling apart. Two officers, bearers of a proud military tradition, may be all that stands between the Federation and total destruction.

For Admiral Marius Drake, there is no greater cause than the survival of humanity's prized unity. For the young and ambitious Roman Garibaldi, the growing civil war offers a chance of promotion far beyond the usual boundaries. Together they will save the Federation or die trying. But with the Senate suspicious of any competent commanding officers, their success may condemn them to an inglorious death.

©2014 Christopher G. Nuttall (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

Military Sci Fi

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I highly recommend it if you are a fan of the honor Harrington series

What did you like best about this story?

It all was good

What about Tim Gerard Reynolds’s performance did you like?

The narrator is new to me but Time Gerard Reynolds did a good job narrating the book

Any additional comments?

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher

top 10

this is in my top 10 favorite of all time I have listened to the series of 8 times over the years

Routine Space Opera

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

It's not a bad book, it's just not anything new or different. Your typical "18 senior officers are killed and 19 year old takes over the Enterprise" kind of story. It also treats space battles as the equivalent of urban warfare, with everyone slugging it out at rock-throwing range. Doesn't make any sense, but makes it a lot easier to write something seemingly exciting.

exelent book, highly recommend it if you're a fan

exelent book, I highly recommend it if you are a fan of the honor Harrington series.

Enjoyable storyline

Overall good story well performed. Reasonable predictions about far future although some political assumptions seem a little far fetched. I suppose the author had to develop protagonist and antagonist from somewhere, has to be the evil greedy aristocracy. I look forward to book two.

Perfect space battles

I enjoyed this book. The battles were great. I love this universe. Took this book to Disney world and had a delightful time walking and listening. Starting the next book now.

the best way to become king is to not want to!

This is an interesting world Nuttal has created. There are some freaky aliens mentioned but they do not really enter into the story. This is all about internal affairs, corruption at the core. And the straight firm bold ones who take it on. This may be the prequel or setup to The Empire's Corps, but maybe not, although it seems there is about 2,500 years from here to there, so it could be. But, maybe they are not related.

The first part of the story is a bit like so many others in that our young graduate is prematurely thrust into captaincy due to the death of all 19 above him. They have gone out to deal with a rebellion in the ranks. The second part of the story is about them coming back to deal with corruption at home, and the focus switches to an admiral. In summary, like this, it sounds like Campbell's Lost Fleet, but it is worked differently. It's okay. There is side-switching, treachery, surprising alliances, sudden betrayals. The morality play condemnation of current society, politics, and education is visible, but not so blatant as in Reality Check (the one Empire's Corps book to skip).

The story line is pretty good; the core of the tale is interesting. The characters are a little thin, and the point of view suddenly changes to that of other characters you've never heard of. And then they die. There is also a lot of author talk that gets dull. And Nuttal uses pithy quotes from "history books" to preface each chapter as he does in his Empire's Corps books (which are much better than this).

The narration is okay, the Scottish and Hindi accents being the best. It doesn't match up to the works of the best narrators, but it was not confusing or maddening.

This is an acceptable book, but doesn't seem as good as Nuttal's other things. Nevertheless, seeing as how there is a second installment, I am going for it.

More solid military sci-fi from Nuttall

Right from the start this book thrusts you into the fight for humanity's future as Earth finds itself under assault. Of course Earth is the most heavily defended planet in the human Federation so it is unthinkable that anyone would attack it, which is why the defenders of Earth find themselves so unprepared for such a bold move. The reader experiences the initial battle, and the rest of the story, from two very different perspectives - one being Admiral Marius Drake, who surprisingly finds himself coordinating Earth's defense, and Roman Garibaldi, a promising student in the naval academy who is about to graduate into service. These two men will do their best to maintain the human Federation that has shaped mankind's existence for hundred of years, but ultimately, they will both need to wrestle with the fact that the organization they are fighting for may not be worthy of survival.

Christopher G. Nuttall is a veteran author who is no stranger to military sci-fi and I enjoyed the trilogy of books that starts his Ark Royal series, although both series are very different in nature. This time around it is not an overwhelming alien threat that has mankind fighting for survival but rather it is our own inability to fairly govern ourselves that is the ultimate threat. Loyalists and rebels alike have valid reasons for their positions and as the war rages on it is really hard to say who are the good guys and who are the bad guys. Drake and Garibaldi are both men of honor, but their faith in the Federation may be misplaced, and therefore it isn't a given that you should root for them to win.

This book kicked off the series in high gear and by the time it was over I was certainly eager for more. As a fan of military sci-fi I definitely got my fill of naval space battles with this one, but it you are the type that prefers your sci-fi stories to be carried by the characters themselves then you might find this one slightly lacking.

Tim Gerard Reynolds is at the mic for this one and he delivers yet another excellent performance that only makes the story better.

Solidly engrossing and reflective

Loved every minute, I was sad when it was over because I was so wrapped up in the story, book 2 here I come.

Nice action story. I'll get the next book also :-)

I'm mostly inclined to hard sci-fi, but once in a while is nice to have a detour, which the book series promises to be. The plot isn't super complex and the good guys are sure to win, but it's a fun ride to get there :-)