Empire of Bones

Book 1 of The Empire of Bones Saga

By: Terry Mixon

Narrated by: Veronica Giguere

Five hundred years ago, a terrible war almost extinguished humanity. Now the Terran Empire rises from its own ashes.

Tasked to lead an exploratory mission, Commander Jared Mertz and his crew set off into the unknown.

Only the Old Empire isn’t quite dead after all. With everything he holds dear at stake, Jared must fight like never before. Victory means life. Defeat means death or worse.

If you love military science fiction and grand adventure on a galaxy-spanning scale, grab Empire of Bones and the rest of The Empire of Bones Saga today!

©2014 Terry Mixon (P)2014 Terry Mixon

Great Military/Space Sci-Fi

I thought this was a very good example of superior science fiction writing. The universe created by the author was interesting, well explained, and not too complex. The characters all seemed very real and the storyline and general concept were all great.

The story takes place hundreds of years after the fall of the Terran Empire to the rebel forces. Using kinetic strike and EMP weapons, the rebels destroyed nearly every planet in the empire, knocking them back centuries technologically. The son of the then emperor escaped to a distant resort planet called Avalon. It was here that the large population and now emperor rebuilt their civilization and began to expand once again.
The new Terran Empire now inhabits dozens of systems, having absorbed the populations of other planets, some of whom had regressed all the way back to hunter/gatherer societies. Finally ready to explore far beyond their borders, the Emperor orders a long-range reconnaissance mission into the old empire. Leading the mission is his half-son as captain of the lead ship, and his daughter (second in line to the throne) as a diplomatic representative should they encounter other spacefaring civilizations.
The reconnaissance mission uses a newly discovered "flip point" to travel to a far away system, but soon discovers that their path home is unusable. When they discover a long-adrift old empire warship, they are confused by some of the things they find. After making contact with another post-empire civilization trapped in their own system, the New Terran Empire encounters what could be a dangerous new (or old) foe, one that the New Terran Empire is unprepared for.

The narration was overall very good. Great pace, tone, voices, etc.

I was very happy with this book. I thought it was a great example of space/military science fiction. I would definitely recommend for fans of the genre.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from the author, publisher, or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review. I was NOT required to write a positive review and this reflects my honest opinion of the work.

Simplistic, but fun ride

the voice actor does have a lot of variation for her depository of voices. as such, the characters don't really have a lot of feeling in their voices. they have the same impression calm or in Tue middle of battle.

on top of that, everyone seems too trusting. its like they've never been back stabbed, or double crossed, in their life.

still, its an enjoyable read. just don't expect it to be very complicated.

Fun, kinetic sci-fi

Would you listen to Empire of Bones again? Why?

It's fun the first time through, but I'm not sure I'd give it a second listen. But I don't tend to repeat books.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The captain. He just felt like a decently, and decent, fleshed out character.

What does Veronica Giguere bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Giguere's reading of the book was phenomenal. She has a real talent for evoking multiple characters believably.

Great start for a series!

Enjoyed the book, looking forward to the next one!


This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom dot com.

A good book, however not very deep

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

I would recommend this book to a friend if they didnt want anything too deep, I found the story to be way too shallow, more like watching an episode of Star Trek than what I have become accustomed to with Novels

Would you be willing to try another book from Terry Mixon? Why or why not?

I would if it was free, but otherwise more than likely no. I understand many people will like this sort of fiction but its not for me

What three words best describe Veronica Giguere’s voice?

Clear, Formal, Lacking in variety. I think Veronica is probably more suited to Non-fiction.

Was Empire of Bones worth the listening time?

If you like a fun romp in a alternate reality to get away from the hum drum of real life, its great. If you want something that is deeper and more thought provoking then keep away from this title

awesome

I found Terry Mixon through his work on the dead robots society, and got curious about his work.
it was a trap.
now I'm sucked into this story and the only way out is to read the rest. I cant wait to listen to the next book!

A light space opera that scratches the Sci-Fi itch

Let me start by saying this book is more in a category of a light space opera, however this should not frighten you away if you like more heavy Sci-Fi books. Just be aware this one has all the goodness of a solid science fiction story without going overboard on the technical details. If you are someone that only enjoys deep and heavy space books, this one may not be for you. If you, like me, enjoy a good science fiction story that has technology, unique ships, and some strange alien races; I think you would enjoy it.

The book is well paced and the author often threw in action or drama at the right times. It did not seem forced and the characters, while somewhat flatter than I desire, were likeable. The author wove in some political struggles along with some family intrigue and surprises along the way. There are aspects of mystery and thriller all wrapped up in an exciting space story. If you are a Star Trek movie fan, the opening chapter will remind you of a specific movie scene. Not that the author copied it, but it will bring it to mind if you are knowledgeable of the movies.

The author did a good job of building up the various worlds, political systems, races, and characters while also describing well the technology and difficulty of space travel. A new and exciting worm hole like object called “flip points” helps the crew to travel vast parts of the universe; like warp drive. I also want to give the author credit for their ability to pace the story’s plot and throw in various “I never saw that coming” moments that kept me listening.

I also want to say thank you to the author for not having to add unnecessary vulgar language or adult material. Even the parts that were romantic were light and not overly descriptive, etc.

With all the above said, I do have a few negative things I would like to include in this review. Again, these are more subjective, but I know I would like to know them when I read other’s reviews or when I think about making a book purchase. At times I found the use of some words to be something I would not think a race of this intelligence would use. A term like “wicked” (not used often) pulled me out of the story briefly. Also the use of normal measurements like the metric system were used to describe an object instead of some other word like ‘clicks’, etc. The author also includes in a few places the use of alcoholic beverages (beer and hard liquor), but these are not heavily focused upon.

I would say that the story is safe for most teens as long as the above is not an issue for them. The story itself and the narration can be enjoyed by both young and old alike.

Veronica Giguere did a good job of narrating this book. She currently (at the time of this review) has over thirty other titles narrated on Audible across a number of different genres. So it is no surprise it was well presented. She was able to voice the many different characters making it easy for me to stay engaged and know who was speaking. I will say the princess’s voice by the end of the book sounded more like a little girl to me, but this is more a subjective comment.

I did want to note a number of audio artifacts in the recording that by the end of the book appeared to be more frequent than at the start. Items such as background noise, swallows, and others which were often heard during times of longer pauses. Not something that would keep me from listening to the book again, but not as crisp and clean as other books I have listened too.

I would like to thank the author and narrator for all the hard work that goes into producing a book that I can enjoy. I know it is not an easy task and it often takes months or years of their life to get to the point of publishing it. Well done.

Disclaimer: This book was provided to the reviewer free of charge in exchange for posting a non-bias review.

Love the content but hate the little girl voice

it's hard to listen to because of the voice of the narrator. Should have just had Alexa read it to me

I just bought the next 2 books in the series!

What did you love best about Empire of Bones?

I received the first book in this series in exchange for a review, I asked to do this because I have been a fan of and listening to Veronica Giguere for years. I am so glad I did.

This is creative science fiction, a compelling space drama with well developed characters and the science isn't in overkill mode.

Empire Of Bones

What made the experience of listening to Empire of Bones the most enjoyable?

A fast paced romp across the stars from Terry Mixon,. It is to Mr Mixon's credit that I enjoyed the book as thoroughly as I did, as yes, while I'm a big ol' sci-fi geek, I'm less John Ringo, more Douglas Adams. I'm wildly ambivalent when it comes to military fiction as well, but these hang ups disappeared the deeper I dug into Empire of Bones. Interesting story