First Command

De: Michael Simon

Narrado por: Ryan Kennard Burke

An alien attack leaves them adrift in space.

Survive, rebuild, and rejoin the war.

Fresh out of the Academy, Ensign Cole Jackson’s first posting to Freedom couldn’t have come at a worse time. All over the Alliance, planets and colonies are suddenly under attack by the vicious Coven Empire.

Freedom and her sister ship, Hood, are ambushed by alien warships, leaving Hood drifting dead in the void.

Cole is ordered to salvage parts from the powerless Hood, but when he arrives on the unpowered hulk, Freedom is called away, marooning him and a group of malcontent techs in deep space.

With the timer on survival ticking down, Cole must find the confidence to take control, whip his tiny crew into shape, bring Hood back to life–repairing communications, propulsion and even weapons.

He's got one chance to transform the derelict ship into a combat-ready vessel. One he can take into battle and alter the course of the war.

Don't miss the start of this science fiction thrill ride about a crew of young soldiers mustering the courage to fight back against both a vicious alien enemy, and the terrifying void of being stranded in space. It's perfect for fans of Daniel Gibbs, J.N. Chaney, and Vaughn Heppner!

©2025 Aethon Books (P)2025 Aethon Audio

very well done characters

This story rides a very thin line between thrilling and punishing. Explosions and gore that are entertaining and visiral. Yet it's a story that presses you every step of the way.

If you like Honor Harrington series read this

good book with decent performance. I was getting tired of the hit and miss of the run of the mill military sci fi with the hero wielding a gun in each hand battling 10 feet tall aliens...

Admirable First Comand

Cole is a likable hero embarking on a once in a lifetime adventure. I enjoyed his challenges and how he responded tactically. Sergei was my second favorite character, with the humorous friendship he has keeping engineering in line whilst hell is breaking loose. Ryan Burke has solid vocals for a cast including alien soldiers.
All in all you’re getting what you hope for with a blend of character building and space fighting tactics. I had a lot of fun picturing it and enjoyed the lifelike dialogue.
Thanks for the read! I’m looking forward to book 2!

Nicely Executed Story

Well written simple story. Better than average. A bit linear but still enjoyable. I'll be continuing in this series

Military Sci-Fi, Exploding Consoles, and a Rookie

First Command is the kind of book that plants you firmly in the captain's chair of a half-dead starship and says, "Good luck, kid." And while there’s a fair amount of eyerolling required to stay buckled in for the ride, it’s still an enjoyable journey through war-torn space with a cast you can’t help but root for.

Michael Simon’s military sci-fi debut gives us Ensign Cole Jackson—an inexperienced but well-meaning Academy grad who gets tossed into the deep end when his small savage crew gets stranded on a drifting, disabled ship. With only a skeleton crew, Cole has to lead a desperate effort to restore the derelict vessel and rejoin the fight against the aggressive Coven Empire. As a setup, it’s solid. As a plot, it’s fast-paced, cliche-heavy, and just improbable enough to give you whiplash if you think too hard about the logistics—it works. Mostly.

There’s plenty of action, tight pacing, and a well-balanced rotation of POVs that keep the story dynamic. Sure, you’ll have to suspend disbelief for things like starship bridges with exploding control panels (seriously, who’s still designing these death traps?), and a miraculous repair montage that takes a shattered hulk of a ship and turns it combat-ready in just a few days. And yes, enemies keep magically showing up in the same sector over and over, but if you can look past that, there’s something compelling about this underdog story.

It has heart. I got to like the original salvage crew and not to go into too many spoilers, but I felt bad when bad things happened to them (even when it felt a bit too conveniently plotted). Cole’s character arc is satisfying; he’s inexperienced enough to think outside the box and human enough to feel the weight of every choice. He’s the protagonist you want to see succeed, if only because he hasn’t been ground down by military bureaucracy.

Unexpectedly, Simon also does a nice job fleshing out the alien enemies, giving them depth and culture rather than leaving them as faceless villains. It’s not groundbreaking, but it adds a welcome layer of complexity to the conflict.

As for the audiobook, Ryan Kennard Burke delivers a clean, professional performance. His character voices are distinct, his pacing is on point, and his tone matches the narrative. It’s not a performance that will stick with you long after it’s over, but it does the job without distraction. Think of it as steady hands on the helm—not flashy, but precisely what the mission needs.

In short, First Command is a fun, fast listen with some emotional punches and a decent payoff. It’s not perfect, and if you are a stickler for logic and hard sci-fi, you may not like it. But if you like military sci-fi with underdog heroes, some tactical action, and just enough character depth to pull at your heartstrings, this might be worth queuing up next.

Special thanks to Aethon Books for providing this book at my request.

interesting start

l enjoyed listening and reading this book, where we meet Cole who finds himself and a small crew pressed into turning a wreck into a fighting ship again.

really enjoyable read with good charedters

enjoyed this a good bit. it's got most of what a scifi space book needs but the performance and depth of character really help it stand out without a ton of ego from said mc

Great premise!

Liked the spin off of halo, very similar for but from the point of view of the captain trying to rebuild his ship. only point that I don't like is all the cloak and dagger and politicking that is going on slightly detracting front the main plot line. other than that great book.

This is a fantastic, engrossing audiobook - I loved it and can’t wait for the next audiobook in the series!

Review of “First Command” by Michael Simon

This is a wonderful listen (or read if you prefer ebooks to audiobooks)! I can’t recommend it highly enough.

This fantastic audiobook follows the story of Ensign Cole Jackson and his friend and fellow Ensign Sergei, beginning with Cole’s first day of his posting to the starship Freedom. Cole dreams of a future in starship command, while Sergei’s heart lies in the complexities of engineering. However, Cole’s and Sergei’s expectations for the starship’s cruise are thrown asunder when Freedom is attacked and severely damaged by the Coven, a species who seek to invade and crush all “lesser species”. Only Cole’s unorthodox and unsanctioned efforts, with Sergei’s assistance, prevent the complete destruction of Freedom. However, Freedom’s sister ship, Hood, suffers even worse damage and the loss of all hands in the Coven attack. Cole is put in charge of a salvage operation to the hulk of Hood in search of components needed for repairs to Freedom, accompanied by Sergei and a small band of relatively unskilled individuals. What follows is a truly thrilling and immersive story of Cole and his team going above and beyond in pursuit of not only their own survival but the survival of humanity. I won’t give any more details away because I don’t want to deprive listeners of the fantastic experience of hearing it for themselves.

The characters of Cole, Sergei, and their fellows are engaging, sympathetic, and very relatable. The storyline flows beautifully, is highly compelling and creative, and grabbed my attention from the very beginning through the end of the tale.

The narrator is excellent and really speaks the characters into life.

I was not familiar with Michael Simon as an author before listening to this audiobook but I am now eagerly awaiting listening to the next audiobook in the series (“Second Chances”) which is now available and which I have already purchased! I am also looking forward to future works by Mr. Simon.

Get this audiobook (or book) - you definitely will enjoy the experience!

Review by Sue Ratner

Started slow but…

Good story, some of the chatter was a little silly, the poker games, I fast forwarded through that… It’s not realistic sci fi but not terrible.