Customer Reviews

Declination (Edge of Apocalypse Series, Book 2)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

"Declination", David Derrico's sequel to "Right Ascension", begins a decade after the first novel's conclusion. Admiral David Atgard, the hero who saved humanity from annihilation by the Lucani Ibron, remains retired and the members of his crew have moved on to other ships and other missions. The old team of Dex Rutcliffe, Zach Wallace, and Anastasia Mason (now a starship captain in her own right) finds itself drawn back together, as Zach faces court martial for destroying a fleeing SPACER (Society for Pacifism and Continuing Ethical Reform) vessel following its assault on a Confederation colony--in defiance of orders to take the terrorists alive.

What follows is a fast-paced, somewhat convoluted narrative of Confederation politics in a time of crisis--of would-be rebels exploiting that crisis --and of the alien Vr'amil'een taking advantage of the conflict among humans to launch their own assault. Anastasia Mason must face not just the strategic dilemmas of fighting the Confederation's enemies, but a series of wrenching moral conflicts as she plays the role of diplomat as well as that of captain. Which loyalties should she put first, when giving each obligation its due proves simply impossible? Under what circumstances can she justify using a powerful new weapon, whose horrific effects carry echoes of the massacre that a decade ago drew the Lucani Ibron's wrath? And when the final crisis comes (with, perhaps, the Lucani Ibron putting in another appearance...), will we be hearing from Admiral Atgard again?

Although I found "Declination" a bit harder to follow than "Right Ascension" and some of its terminology distractingly reminiscent of Star Trek, I enjoyed my hours in Captain Mason's company quite thoroughly. The Vr'amil'een make me hope to meet more Derrico-created alien species, his human characters have more depth here than in his first novel, and he brings his tale to a wrenchingly ironic (and surprising) conclusion. He offers a morality play transformed into high adventure and that's a working definition of science fiction at its best.

--Reviewed by Nina M. Osier, author of 2005 EPPIE winner "Regs" and the "High Places" series

This sequel picks up where Derrico left off at the end of Right Ascension. I really like science fiction that creates a new world while at the same time posing massive ethical dilemmas relevant to our own world. In the tradition of Star Trek, but with the moral ambiguity of Battlestar Galactica, this story challenges readers to ask the question what does it mean to be human. Like the first, this is an excellent read from a brilliant new voice that deserves to be heard.

This is another great book by David Derrico. Although this book is a sequel to Derrico's first book, Right Ascension, in many ways it can stand alone - especially the first half. Like Right Ascension, I was reminded quite a bit of the Star Trek series (the better episodes), but this time the crew is split up and they have their own adventures. Each one is dealt with separately leaving the reader hanging on cliffs as the story returns to the other characters and their cliff hanging situation. From time to time, the characters are reunited with each other.

The challenges are once again nearly impossible, but due to strong moral fiber, excelllent combat skills, good leadership and a bit of luck, these challenges are successfully met. Before even starting this book, I somehow knew they would do it, but it was still very entertaining to read how it was done. Although there were a few places in the first book that made me raise an eyebrow, I didn't really experience that with this book. Some ethics and morality issues are touched upon to provide a bit more depth than just space combat adventure story.

This books has left me hungry for more space combat books. Fortunately there are a lot of recent good ones out there to choose from. Despite the cheap price, this book and its prequel compare quite favorably to the more expensively priced e-books.
I gave it 5 stars.

If you liked Derrico's first novel, you'll almost certainly enjoy the sequel as well. As before, the book is brimming with action, while continuing the theme of the first book and posing ethical questions for the reader. I enjoyed the extra development of the secondary characters from Right Ascension, and the conclusion was especially well done. Bravo for a meticulously crafted second half to complete this excellent series.

Declination is an excellent read and a great sequel to Right Ascension. Declination actually gets better as it goes along, which is just what you want in a good book. Derrico does a very nice job of making the advanced technology believable. A lot of sci-fi books take the lazy route and avoid any basis for the advanced technology they introduce which essentially makes it "magic." I really liked Derrico's explanation of the Lucani Ibran ship's materials and the innovative offensive strategy to beat it. I know one reviewer criticized this as implausible. Perhaps rather than "new element" what the author was referring to was a "new material" which is absolutely credible and not technically flawed. It isn't too far of a stretch to extrapolate today's "smart materials" research out a few hundred (or thousands of) years or so and envision this technology. This is very good science fiction -- stretching our imagination about the way things might be in the future - both in technology and human nature. Good job David!

I say that as a compliment - so many sequels basically repeat the storyline of the first book. This second book, however, adds a nice change of pace in terms of character development and plot. The main threat still remains, however the consequences from the actions in the first spark an entirely new set of events that gives you better insight into the other characters of the first book, without focusing entirely on the main hero from the first book. My only complaint, tongue firmly planted in cheek, is that it was too short '. By no means am I a writer, so please take this as a review from someone who just likes a good read, you will enjoy this book.

I'd like to see more of these characters in another book please.

this is book two , a continuation of his first book .... but it can and does stand alone.. each of his books are stories on thier own.. you can read one without the other and not be left hanging...
it is a future that you believe could happen.. and another all nighter..
easy to read and follow in plain every day language and you will want to follow ..
david write more books ,, maybe from an alien family point of view...
buy it.

ps: read this on my laptop ,kindle for mac, free download, no bookshelves buldging , wonderful option..very affordable choice,, and because i am 64, the fact that i can adjust the size of the print is priceless..

This is the sequel to Right Ascension and takes place 10 years after the events in this book. We meet the two old foes from the first book, the Vr'amil'een and the mysterious Lucani Ibron and also a new enemy called the SPACER's.
The book is action-packed from the very beginning until the very end.
Our friends from the first book, the crew from the Apocalypse, are not together anymore but as the story unfolds they inevitably cross paths in the fight against the forementioned enemies.
This is a great book for lovers of space Science Fiction and if you are a Star Trek fan, this is just the book for you. You get a lot of space fights and meet alien races.
I can highly recommend it.

Before I begin, this is the second book of a series - if you haven't read Book 1, you need to read Right Ascension (Edge of Apocalypse). Otherwise, you'll be saying "huh?" throughout the story.

I judge my science fiction on a modified version of the Baen criteria: the scientific advances / future technology needs to be somewhat believable, if there are aliens they need to be presented in some realistic format with names I can pronounce in my head while I read, and must have some type of plot with circumstances - good or bad - with their resolution I can get my head around, believe, and be interested in turning to the next page to learn more; that's quite a mouthful, but we've all read a lot of bad science fiction over the years.

With all that being said, this book hits it on most fronts - like Book One of the series I still can't pronounce the names of the alien races, but Book Two seems a bit rushed and incomplete to me. There's not too much interaction with Daniel, and (without having a spoiler) I found a couple of the situations near the end a bit unrealistic. The author did a great job setting the stage for ten years since the conclusion of Book One, then about two-thirds into the Kindle version it seemed as if there must have been a mad push to get this story told, completed, and out the door. Many scenes could / should have been developed more as they were incomplete.

I still enjoyed the series overall. The author left it open at the end as if there might be a sequel, but I will probably wait and see what other reviewers think of it instead of immediately rushing out to buy it as I did with this one. The author has a nice writing style, and I would like to see him try his hand at more sci fi.

These books by Derrico are the most over-hyped pieces of illiterate trash i've had ever read. I bought the paperback of both books thiniing they would be a geat (and quick) read. I was wrong, the one time my gut filling let me down. I grant, the beginning of the first book was good, with the admiral's son, but all hope in a good story died with him. There is no command structure in this militristic future society, much like Cap'n Kirk doing as he pleases, roaming the univerese for reasons i can't remember with an alien named Nathan (chalk one up for creativty!) who is a lot like Spock, if he had tentacles. People have expressed that they like Derrico's alien species but their bland. I think the author tried too hard with all this science crap, and the overall books feel rushed. I admit the first half of the second book starts well enough but the ending was just too abrupt, no suspence or any other form of buildup. The whole book is supposed to be about a civil war or something but i think Derrico forgot about that. The fate of every character is left in the darkness of space at the end. Oh, i'm sorry, i thought i would get decent ending that DOESN'T have the main character MUSING on IRONY!!!! These books were a waste of time, money, and now i have lost all hope in human progression. Derrico tried to make up his lack of story telling and writng style by conveying moral issues, but you'll from the ten thousand other Douglas Adams and Asimov wanabes. These books as not as bad as i rant. Not everyone will enjoy a single book. Chances are there's some 8 year old whose gonna grow up to become a hollywood producer and make these into a movie (Oh God no) Only then will i be conviced that it is the edge of apocalypse. To think i went from Dance with Dragons to this >:(