Cranking out military science fiction books seems to be all that Raymond L. Weils every does. I have read more of his books than any other author. I don’t actually go looking for his books, but being a subscriber to his web site brings me all his latest works which I glad pounce on because I know it’s going to be great.
Here’s another great book focusing on Fleet Admiral Kurt Vickers and his command ship, Star Cross. This is the same Fleet Admiral Vickers that saved Earth from almost total destruction with only a very meager battle group. It’s also the same guy that went to the planet Kubitz to buy more starships and defensive satellites and platforms so as to defend Newton and then Earth. Newton is an Earth colonized planet that has yet to be harassed by the Profiteers. The Profiteers, led by High Profiteer Creed, have once again met with an larger and much improved fleet lead by Admiral Vickers in the Jublian system. He pretty much wipes Profiteer Creed fleet from space, but Creed and his command ship escape.
High Profiteer Creed is not done with Earth. He still believes that it has the largest amount of gold on any know planet and he wants all of it. So, now, back at Kubitz, he’s building an even larger fleet or armada and bringing in mercenaries and other smaller clans to go on one last mission to Earth. Fleet Admiral Vickers knows what Creed is up to and he’s going to stop him one way or another.
While all this is going on, civilizations closer to the galactic center were “Enlightened Worlds” whose civilizations had technology far advanced of anything humans could dream of. They were protected by the “Protector Worlds” which had the responsibility of defending Enlighted Worlds and their own. Again, their technology was vastly superior and advanced that what Earth had now or for the foreseeable future. All of these advanced civilizations were just now becoming aware of the Dark Ships. These were black ships that came from another universe. They were systematically destroying colony planets. Every living thing on these planets was wipe clean, but no one knew why. They only knew that an ancient civilization seemed to have returned. This civilization was known as the Destroyer of Worlds and they were living up to their name. Nothing the advanced civilization threw against them were doing any thing to stop their advance.
So, now Earth and Newton have not only the Profiteers to contend with, but also in the near future, the Destroyer of World fleets. And since Earth nor Newton was considered a barbaric civilization, they don’t seem to stand a chance against what’s coming, provided they even survive the Profiteers.
This is a great read with a lot of characters that come back in each book. It’s nice that your main character is Fleet Admiral Vickers since that gets you involved in everything. One thing that doesn’t make sense is the deal with a Cabinet member on President Mayfield’s Cabinet. This guy Marlen Stroud is causing some real political problems with the President. Why he hasn’t been sent to prison for his previous actions during the initial attack by the Profiteers is beyond me. I guess he just have to be part of the book for some reason.
So, I suppose there has to be another book in what I can’t really determine if it’s a series or not. None of the other books actually say they are part of a Star Cross series, but that’s what it sounds like we have. I’m eager for the next one.