Into the Stars

Rise of the Republic, Book 1

By: James Rosone

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis

The stars are within mankind’s reach…but what awaits in the void may end humanity.

Mars and the Moon have been colonized, piracy runs rampant in the asteroid belts, and a thriving society grows in the depths of space. Humanity prepares to embark upon its greatest journey - the colonization of Alpha Centauri.

Then, everything changes. A deep space reconnaissance probe discovers a new Earth-like planet 12 light-years from Earth’s sun. The probe also finds something unusual, something...unnerving. A new mission is created, a space fleet is formed, and humanity embarks on unravelling the greatest mystery of all - the origins of life itself.

Can the factions of Earth remain united, or will old rivalries and animosities destroy the fragile peace in the face of this terrifying existential threat? Will exploration prove to be a fatal mistake?

If you love new technologies, fast-paced action, and gut-wrenching turns of fate, you’ll love this military sci-fi series.

©2020 James Rosone (P)2021 Podium Audio

Really enjoyed, looking forward to the next book

I love sci-fi, but it seems the last few books I've bought could all have been part of the same series since they were all so similar. This series has a unique concept and I enjoyed the characters.

Annoyingly unbelievable interactions with aliens

I found this book interesting enough to finish but not interesting enough to go on to the second book as I often do when I read a good series of this kind. The humans acted as though they could not discern when a vicious alien is dangerous and that all reasonable precautions should be taken. It was so annoying that I could not bring myself to go on with the series. There were a few other credibility-stretching omissions here and there but the story did have some interesting aspects such as changing alliances on Earth and, of course, the battles with the aliens. The narrator was excellent. So an adequate but not a great book.

Pros and Cons

I needed something after completing the Bobiverse Series. In some ways, it ticked some of the same boxes (minus the major nerd factor and the VR aspect). Some subpar work on physics/space travel, some issues that aren’t worth bringing up throughout…in the end, though, I don’t regret reading it and was honesty entertained. I’m sad to see the sequel has such poor reviews and the weird ancient aliens/biblical flood/ sphere of water/magic comet thing going…otherwise I would have kept going with the series.

It isn't bad just not great.

To be fair this is book is obviously mostly set up for an epic spanning war series. But this feels like a weak background to an RTS game than a major novel. The story isn't bad as I said it just lacks depth.

Did not keep my attention

The story was not bad and the narrator wasn’t bad, but for some reason this audiobook could not keep my attention. It was also hard for me to keep up with who all the characters were and there were some parts of the book that seemed to drag on too long. It’s ok if you can get it on sale.

bravo Zulu on using the term "ground pounders".

Chief engineer is "Cheng". enjoying the story very much.
HT1 (SW) retired. Spent too much time trying to negotiate. President Biden might but no REAL leader would.

Glorious Take On Science Fiction

As a child of the 70's I grew up reading Asimov and Bradbury. Watching Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica. As the 80's came I watched more scifi and military dramas. This novel captures the spirit of many of my favorite scifi novels and movies that I grew up with. I captured my mind and left me ready for the next installment. I am visually impaired so I love that this was available on audiobook along with so many others. James Rosone is a wonderful storyteller!

Very entertaining

Very good listen. I thought the story line was good and realistic. The aliens were surprisingly different and the one group was terrifying. I will be waiting for book 2.

Great premise, OK execution...

I really, really wanted to like this book. First, I think the premise was outstanding. The characters were interesting enough, and well written. I am going to recommend this book, as I think a lot of people will enjoy it. For me, however, it was just...ok? It just felt lazy. What could have been almost Expanse like was given a "how fast can we get this over with" treatment. I know narrators are a subjective thing, but Mr. Davis did nothing for me. Others have raved about him, and that's fair enough. The humans just are sort of handed these amazing breakthroughs in science, technology and astronomy, and 5 minutes later they have FTL drives, etc. Then they exhibit some of the absolute WORST first contact actions since Q threw the Enterprise way out of her league. I wanted so much more, but the writer(s) couldn't be bothered. It felt like they had another project they were more excited about, and contractually needed to wrap this up. I may go back to the next book, but only if I absolutely can't find anything else to keep my attention. Here's to hopefully a better second act.

Pleasantly Surprised

I bought this book because it was on sale for a daily deal. I'm somewhat picky when it comes to my sci-fi so I hoped for this to at least be OKAY. let me tell you, I was quite happy and surprised with this story. It had me sucked in pretty much from start to finish so I just bought the second in the series and can't wait to get into it.