Exile

This ARC was provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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Exile starts in the middle of a revolution started by Admiral Gallant against the dictatorial regime/the Confederacy run by his mother. The revolution fails and Admiral Gallant. along with his revolutionaries and anyone who so much as hints at disagreeing with his mother's Confederacy, is banished to a system away from the reaches of the Confederacy. There, the Admiral must start a civilisation made up for revolutionaries and dissidents from scratch using the materials they brought with them and come face to face with the realisation that their new world, Exilium, is not what it seems.

I really, really enjoyed this book. Admiral Gallant pulled me in from the first mention of his name in the blurb. An Admiral opposing his own mother's regime on moral grounds and orchestrating a revolution to free his people, featuring a space fleet and exile into the unknown reaches of the universe? Yes, please!

The best way to review this book is to address it in parts, as the events in it progress. The book starts with the revolution reaching its climax, and it is very well executed. We follow the perspective of Gallant and other leaders of the revolution. I liked the variety of characters. An actress popular across several planets working undercover as the main organiser of a revolution, an Admiral opposing his own mother, along with all the supporters of their cause, made for a decent-sized cast. I had a little problem with the portrayal of Admiral Gallant's mother. She was ruthless and cruel, all in the name of protecting the Confederacy. However, despite all this, she did not kill any of the revolutionaries and instead exiled them to a system far enough away to ensure no future encounters with the Confederacy along with colony ships and a small military escort. That seemed a little merciful to me, despite the constant reveals of the lack of firepower or supplies she provided to Gallant's exiled people. This was a small problem I had with this part of the book, but it certainly did not detract from the overall plot.

The next part involved starting a civilisation from scratch on a completely new planet. I really enjoyed the way all sorts of little and big problems arose during this part. They were all handled and shown very well. I was hoping to see a little more of space pirates (because that's cool). Things picked up again when the first signs of terraforming were detected on the planet. This part was very exciting to read about.

The last bit would be a spoiler but let's just say that I didn't think I would ever enjoy READING about space battles but this book definitely proved me wrong.

I wish the characters were developed a little bit more, but the main cast definitely was. I especially enjoyed the contrast between Admiral Gallant and Father James' personalities and found it interesting how their pacifist and militaristic tendencies clashed but stemmed from the same desire to ensure the survival of Exilium's people.

The aliens in this book were advanced and quite mysterious. I don't know if a second book is planned after this, but the ending certainly leaves room for one.

The writing was simple and to the point. No purple prose or anything unnecessary like that, a breath of fresh air from the fantasy series I'd been reading earlier. That said, the technology was explained in just the right amount. There was no info-dumping involved and the author did not treat his readers like idiots. I thoroughly enjoyed working through the slightly more technical passages, they definitely kept me hooked and did not at any point bore me.

The pacing was another plus point. This book is only 310 pages or so and yet it managed to fit so much into it without anything feeling rushed or incomplete.

Overall, I really enjoyed this read and will definitely check out other works by this author.
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
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Short review on Litsy

ARC provided by publisher and NetGalley.
I really enjoyed this book and will be checking out other works by this author, The main characters were well-developed and their motivations were shown very well.
I was surprised to find myself enjoying the space battles. The aliens were well thought-out and quite mysterious. The pacing was impeccable. There was no info-dumping and the technical passages were not boring at all.
Overall rating: 4.5/5 stars

Having read the majority of Glynn Stewart's books i found this one as enjoyable as ever.
What he does best is reasonably light space opera that drags you in and makes you want to keep reading. Not too much science or techobabble that will bog you (or the story) down
Characters are developed enough that they are relatable and give depth to a story that is a nice balance of world building and action.
In typical S/F way the ending sets us up nicely for what will be the next part in the series, which i am very much looking forward to enjoying.

Thank you very much for allowing me the please of reading this early!!

"Exile" eBook was published in 2018 (July) and was written by Glynn Stewart (https://www.glynnstewart.com). Mr. Stewart has published 27 novels.

I categorize this novel as ‘R’ because it contains scenes of Violence and Mature Language. The story is set in the far future. The primary character is Vice Admiral Isaac Gallant.

Gallant is the heir to the leadership of the Confederacy of Humanity. Heir because his mother, the First Admiral, has taken over the Confederacy and rules it with an iron fist. Fed up with what his mother represents, Gallant gets involved with a rebellious group intending to overthrow the First Admiral.

The plot is discovered before any real action can be taken. Normally those even thinking of rebellion would be executed. However, since her son is involved, the First Admiral decides that exile is a just punishment. But this is not a simple exile, but a one-way trip to the other end of the Galaxy. Not only are the rebels sent, but four million including criminals, and anyone thought to speak against the First Admiral, are rounded up and included.

Their destination is a planet that a quick survey has identified as habitable. Now they must build a new civilization. They have various troubles, mostly due to the mix of people included. The real challenge comes when the new colony is confronted with the aliens that terraformed the planet. Will they find a way to survive?

I thoroughly enjoyed the 9 hours I spent reading this 381 page science fiction thriller. I thought that the idea of people being exiled was an unusual basis for a plot. I also liked the characters that appear in the story. I look forward to future novels in this series. Given the storyline, I think that the cover art is well chosen. I give this novel a 5 out of 5.

Further book reviews I have written can be accessed at https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/.

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

Gripping and fast paced this Science Fiction thriller doesn't slow for a second. The author draws upon other science fiction works, especially references to David Weber's Honorverse, to quickly build the type of world the story takes place in so that the narrative can develop at a breakneck pace. The characters are numerous but focusing the story on two central players, one civilian the other military, helps keep the story tight and the reader involved. The moment the I finished the book I wanted more, I couldn't recommend this book more.