The Defense of the Commonwealth

Perseverance Andrews, Book 1

By: John Spearman

Narrated by: Alex Picard

Can we expect human nature to change in the future, even with the colonization of new worlds?

Hundreds of years in the future, humans have spread into the stars, with wealthy nation-states settling and colonizing habitable planets, though the deep-seated conflicts of modern humanity have regrettably persisted. Newly appointed Commander Persistence Andrews has to navigate the power struggles of greed, power, and ego, but this woman has grit like no other.

When colonization began, American corporations filled the gap left by a distracted government, with the result that the economic rivalry between these planets caused their defensive alliance to fracture. Two American-settled planets have been seized by foreign rivals—the galactic descendants of the Chinese and Russian superpowers.

In desperation, three other American planets turn to their neighbors, the British, to pool their resources and defend themselves. Though no great power, the British have a unified government controlling three settled star systems. Together, the six planetary systems are strong enough to hold off the aggressors, and one by one, the other American systems ask to join them, forming the Inter-Planetary Commonwealth.

After regaining the captured planets, the Inter-Planetary Commonwealth prospers and shows signs of developing as much clout as the Brits once had as masters of the earthly seas. Their foreign rivals, alarmed by this growing strength, join forces. A coordinated attack opens a new conflict, catching the Commonwealth largely by surprise, with disastrous results.

Rumors of cutting-edge technology that can render current antimatter weapons useless raise the stakes even higher, and Admiral Freshley of the Royal Navy turns to Perseverance Andrews to take control of the Rowen, one of the newest ships in the fleet.

Will Andrews rise to the challenge, or will she buckle under the pressures of a command influenced by human nature that hasn't changed in hundreds of years?

©2022 John J. Spearman (P)2023 Podium Audio

Enjoyable military science fiction

This book is better than the reviews left earlier. The people writing the reviews obviously did not listen to the entire novel. The first four chapters are a chronicle of the formation of the Common Wealth. Part two then starts and is a gripping and exciting story.

interesting start

If you have read or listened to any of the Honor Harrington books, you are going to enjoy this book and series. recommended.

fine story but..

Writing feels like a report on events mixed with ocational dialog. Makes everything feel dry. No emotion. The narrator did the best she could with bad writing.