Alarm of War [Kindle Edition]

Kennedy Hudner (Author)

Book Description

Intrigue. Betrayal. A devastating surprise attack and a frantic fight to survive.
Gritty warfare in space as four young officers respond to the alarm of war.
Four officer cadets in the Victorian Fleet meet in training camp. Emily, the young woman who dreams of becoming a Fleet historian, but discovers her real talents lay elsewhere. Grant, the arrogant son of Victoria’s most famous admiral. Hiram, the nervous but brilliant strategist, and Cookie, intent on joining the Fleet Marines. Together, they survive the trials and hardships of training to join the Fleet, unaware that that their home is about to be plunged into a maelstrom.
For three hundred years, the Kingdom of Victoria has enforced peace across the galaxy. But it has grown complacent, and its enemies are ready to strike. The Tilleke Empire and the Dominion of Unified Citizenry have been waiting a long time, and now is their chance. As their web draws closed around Victoria, the band of new officers find themselves on the last line of defense. They’ve been well trained – but will it be enough to save the kingdom?

Product Details

• File Size: 797 KB
• Print Length: 462 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Kennedy Hudner (August 18, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00908EOBE
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #29,617 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 50 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Readers of Military SF Unite! August 28, 2012

By Dave

A sparkling new entry in military science fiction. Mr. Hudner - you have a new fan and I am looking forward to the next book in the series. Fans of Jack Campbell, R.M. Meluch and David Weber will recognize another brother in arms.

This is not an easy field in which to write - characters must be given depth to be meaningful, for losses to be felt and victories to be meaningful, while at the same time the author must pay attention to the science aspect of the science fiction. The science must be well considered and reasonably understood by author and reader. Furthermore, the science and space maneuvers must be based on a consistent application of rules so that the reader does not feel cheated or insulted by the author.

Mr. Hudner's book does not fall prey to these traps - it meets all of the criteria of great military SF and then some. I thoroughly enjoyed the well thought out space battles, the maneuverings of ships and crew, and the politics of the nations at war.

Thanks Mr. Hudner. This Victorian is waiting for round two!

24 of 28 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fast-paced, engaging, plausible science fiction September 4, 2012

By Allan

Amazon Verified Purchase

Alarm of War weaves classic military strategy considerations into a fast-paced sci-fi narrative. The result is an wholly believable and completely absorbing story, which transports the reader into the future, and into the minds and motivations of the protagonists. Alarm of War is intelligent, stimulating, and well-written---it left me hungry for sequels. I thoroughly recommend it.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Accessible Military Sci-Fi August 23, 2012

By Dan

Amazon Verified Purchase

Alarm of War is a solid new entry in the field of military science fiction. It will appeal as much to followers of international relations and military history as traditional sci-fi readers. It offers an in-depth world which feels similar to our own, with space ships. The plot takes a little while to build momentum, although we do get a great training sequence for some of the characters in the military. When the action starts, it really starts, and events quickly build up to an action-packed finale. I'd absolutely recommend this to fans of military history or someone looking for a less technology-heavy sci-fi read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Start Over April 24, 2013

By myles gilvarry

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This book started out promisingly but flagged badly towards the end. The training sequence was one of the better descriptions of bootcamp I've come across, but it rapidly went downhill from here. The Obsessional Geek is inexplicably loved by everyone, including the Amazonian Cookie, the spoilt son of the Admiral is a mere cypher and a one dimensional character at best, the tactical genius has to be saved by a deus ex machina moment, the plot lines are illogical and self contradictory, the reference to British Empire formations irritating.
This writer has the first chapter of a good book , a good editor is needed to help find the rest.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Okay read but could have been better developed March 14, 2013

By Jeffrey Zweig

Amazon Verified Purchase

This was the first of a trilogy. The basic idea for the story was kind of entertaining but i didn't think the plot and characters were well developed enough. Having said that, it was still a relatively enjoyable read and i would buy the second book in the set when it becomes available.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Military Sci-fi at it's Finest! October 5, 2012

By B. T. Y. Kruschwitz

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After reading through this book, one could be forgiven for forgetting that it is the author's debute title. Mr Hudner demonstrais an innate sense of timing as he switches between the various viewpoints of the story. The plot is spilt not just between the four main characters but also their adversaries and allies. It serves to heighten the reader's interest in the characters and plot early on and maintains a sense of tension and suspense once the war itself gets going. The technology of this future is less fanciful and more hard science (more BattleStar Galacitica than Star Treck). While inter-stellar travel is possible, human colonization still greatly relied bassed upon the convenient discovery of wormholes, which also play a key roll in the plot of this story.

One thing that becomes clear early on in this story is that this book was most definitely NOT written by a military man. However this turns out to be more of an asset to the writing in that Hudner makes his characters more human. Where as someone with military experience would be willing to write off mistakes as "an inevitable part of war" or pass the blame further up the faceless chain of command, Hudner is more than willing to point fingers. He is not afraid to show military officers are more than just their uniforms and still just as human as the rest of us. Arrogance, vindictiveness, distrust, self-doubt, cowardice, power struggles, blind optimism are all revealed during the course of the story and each one comes with a price. One Aspect of the military this author is quite fluent in is military history. There are several references to actual historical events and trends which guide the characters' actions. Hudner also shows an appreciation for how much personality and different preconceptions can drive history....

If there is any real fault to found with the book is in the imagery. Certainly there is some leeway to be given to the book only being released on Kindle or the lack of visual accompaniments but by and large the appearance of this world Hudner has created is largely left up to the imagination of the reader. It is also difficult at times to maintain a sense of scale when space battles taking place over areas larger than the size of a planet. Many times battles will be concluded before the opposing forces have come closer than the Moon is to the Earth. One hopes that this will be rectified when this ongoing series gets the wider publication it most definitely deserves.

Henry Kruschwitz Read more ›

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid Space Opera March 3, 2013

By J. Geyer

While not without flaws, Alarm of War is a fun read. The four main characters are likable enough (well, three are likeable from the start, the other one has to grow on you), the storyline is rather unique and the action is bloody and frequent. Most SF fans will enjoy the ride. I read this as a "borrowed" book, but will most likely purchase it once the next is published so I can read them both together.

As for the flaws mentioned above, this novel would have benefited greatly from one more round of editing. It never gets too distracting, but the small errors are certainly noticeable. And while the space battles are without question thrilling, I'm not so sure the laws of physics are being obeyed to the letter. That's not a problem for me, but for hard SF fanatics, it may be. Keep that in mind if that describes you. And lastly, yes, the circumstances surrounding the rise to greatness for our heroes is a bit too easy and quick, but again, it doesn't ruin the story for me. I will say the only thing that had me wanting to yell at the author was the fact that our main hero sat on her hands to hide her nervousness about 75 times in the last battle. We get it, Mr. Hudner. No need to bash us over the head again and again with it.

Overall, I recommend this book to most science-fiction fans, with the possible exception of those who demand perfect science at all times. If you're more interested in well-fleshed out characters put into harrowing situations and conquering their fears and doubts, then you WILL enjoy this one.