Genesis (Holy War, #1) by Rick Partlow

Genesis (Holy War, #1) Reviews

• 
  Jefrois

  IN MY OPINION, this is just the same old trite bullsht.
  
  The wimmins is waaayyyy stronger and smarter than the mens. If they push a man, he gets HURT!!!
  
  Lots of Asian names or whatever are scattered thought this scat-trot.
  
  YES! Wimminses are the strongest, smartest, bestest at EVERYTHING!!!!
  
  “She was short and her shoulders strained against the bright red sleeves of her dress jacket, though Miller knew it was all muscle. Dr. Francesca Miller was far too proud and well-disciplined to allow herself to get fat. She didn’t even use the medical supplements available to shed weight, preferring to sweat it off the old-fashioned way in an MMA gym. Her face shared the same broad, solid lines, like a shield maiden from some ancient Viking band, but her eyes showed her true strength….”
  
  At 9% into this I have to stop reading. I just can NOT read this POS!
  .
• 
  Jim

  Whew! A lot of stuff happening in this book. I guess it has to get started pretty quickly to get into the real story. This book seems to tie in to the "Drop Troop" series also by Mr. Partlow. This is kind of the lead in to what was happening in that book.
  
  We start off with getting introduced to Captain Travis Miller our main character right off the bat. Well, there is the initial story of the mining ship Kiruna which is Captained by Jeremy Crews. They are out far away from Earth checking out asteroids for their metal content and when a suitable one was found, they would send it on it's way back towards Earth using fusion bombs. Now, this wasn't the most glamorous work in the Commonwealth, but it was necessary for the space program and had to be done my someone. And it was relatively safe if you paid attention to what you were doing. Captain Crews had his crew well trained and they knew how to conduct their business so as not to blow themselves up or send the asteroid on the wrong path, straight at Earth!
  
  So, they were having a little difficulty with this one particular asteroid and had just rigged the fusion bombs to it and then set them off! What resulted wasn't expected. The asteroid was gone and in its place appeared to be a rip or some kind of tear in space itself. You could see stars through the tear and then they noticed that the tear had a gravitational pull of some kind and the Kiruna was being dragged into it. Try as the might, they were forced through the tear and came out?
  
  Now we're about four and half years later with the Commonwealth Space Fleet cruiser Herculean. Her captain is Travis Miller as identified as the main character and he's in a bit of trouble. It seems that the Commonwealth Space Fleet has been keeping itself busy by putting down minor rebellions and fighting off pirates. These types of action were interesting and could be dangerous at times, but the rebels nor the pirates ever had much in the way of deadly hardware or spacecraft to really threaten a Commonwealth Space Fleet cruiser. During this particular mission, he was up against a group of Uzbek Separatist that some how had managed to acquire some rather advanced starfighters and they were preparing to attack. The irony of his mission was that to outright kill these Separatist would turn them into martyrs for their cause and wouldn't set right with the public nor his HQ. But, these starfighters gave him no choice. There were four and he had to stop all of them from bombing McAuliffe Station which also happened to be where Space Fleet HQ was located. HIs ship did just that. He launched missiles which obliterated the starfighters and the Separatist!
  
  Now he's headed back to Earth to attend an inquiry to his actions and possible, but highly unlikely, a courts-martial. While Admiral Worthington had told him that she didn't think a courts-martial was going to happen, she also told him to take some leave time to think about what he had done and to stay out of the lime-light for awhile. Then just as he was preparing to eat a nice home cooked meal with his parents on Earth, he was immediately recalled back to Space Fleet HQ. He had no idea why he was being recalled on such short notice and the recall message didn't give him as hint as to what this was about.
  
  Once at Space Fleet HQ, he went into a meeting with Admiral Worthington and a Captain Santana, master of the CSS Forrester, the Herculean's sister ship, and two other Captain's he didn't know. The Admiral began the meeting by asking if anyone of them had heard of the CSS Kiruna? None had which was surprising. She explained that that ship had been suddenly lost in a mining accident over four and a half years ago! Then she told them that Space Fleet HQ had just received a message from Captain Jeremy Crews! She further stated that this message had been traveling via drone for the past four and a half years and just recently got to Earth. It contained a video message from Captain Crews stating what had happened to the CSS Kiruna after it went through that tear in space!
  
  Captain Crews said while they didn't at first understand where they were at, they finally got a navigational fix on the closest star and to his shock they had arrived in Proxima Centauri, some 4.3 light-years from Earth! He went on to tell them that they tried everything they knew to re-create the tear and return, but it just didn't work. Then they started exploring where they were and found they were near a planet with a moon and both appeared similar to Earth and our Moon. It looked like the planet had some life on it, but not anything intelligent. Still, he and his mining ship had no way of going down to either the moon or the planet which meant that they were going to die right there. Still, his crew were resourceful and they attempted to jury-rig three potential shuttle re-entry vehicles and launched them towards the planet. None of them made it. Now, Jermey Crews was preparing to evacuate the oxygen in the Kiruna and die this way rather than slowly starve to death. And that was his story.
  
  Now comes the part where the rest of the story starts. Admiral Worthington was ordering the CSS Herculean to "voluntarily" attempt to cause another tear and then go through to Proxima Centauri just like the Kiruna, but this time they would be prepared to either stay or fine a away back through another tear or even come back the long way which wasn't really practical. If they couldn't make a return tear in space then they might have to stay and start a life on the mysterious planet until humanity could find a what to travel 4.3 light-years in some kind of reasonable time. Of course she told Captain Miller that his crew had to all be volunteers and the other Captains in the meeting were from the sciences who were going along as experts in their field. Others would be added to his crew as necessary.
  
  So, this is the story of how humans started traveling to the stars. You'll read that it wasn't all that much of a desperate gamble since the CSS Herculean did take the right tools to figure out how to get back. They also find out that someone or something has had a hand in recreating life on this planet in Proxima Centauri. What they find on that planet eventually leads them to other stars. Everything they see is amazing and hard to believe. It seems that someone or something has prepared these stars for humanity to exploit, colonize and grow. Nothing could have been better for humans from Earth, that is until the came into a new star system and found the Tahni!
  
  Now everything has changed. What was a world of exploration and mystery, has now become an interstellar war and Earth has got to find the will and the resources to fight back because the Tahni are going to wipe out humanity every place they find them. A good start to what should be a very interesting new series. Book 2, "Judgement Day" and book 3, "Revelation" are in the works and should be available on 29 June and 24 August 2021, respectively.
• 
  Nooilforpacifists

  Series of four books: The prelude to the Drop Trooper series has much stronger characters and more interesting (Weber-esque) space battles. But it’s ultimately kinda a bummer.
• 
  Tony Hisgett

  The book starts with a prologue that introduces a whole set of characters and then leaves them in a precarious situation. Chapter one then ignores them and begins with another group of characters. The prologue is relevant later in the story, but I don’t like this way of starting a book. Actually I find the way the author organises his books to be very irritating. After a very slow build-up there is the first bit of action after a hundred plus pages, instead of following up on this, the author jumps four years into the future to a different set of characters in what appears to be a totally different story.
  
  After finishing I read through quite a few reviews and I really thought I must have been reading a different book. This really wasn’t even a mediocre space opera never mind a good one.
  
• 
  Brian

  What started out as a good sci-fi novel along the lines of 2001 meets Starship Troopers devolved into more of a political statement. The narrative of action in space was interrupted by a war raging on Earth. Not even using sci-fi based weapons, but ones in common use today. It took me out of sci-fi mode completely. If I wanted conventional warfare, that is the genre I would have chosen.
• 
  Swords & Spectres

  I was hoping to pick up a sci-fi series to fill that void left by the Expanse. What I seemed to find was something that feels (and I can't say for certain) heavily influenced by The Expanse. Not exactly what I'd hoped for, but I pushed on.
  
  I absolutely loved the concept of someone, in this case a mining vessel, stumbling across a rip in space that transports them to another star system. The intricacies that could go into world building and storylines with a start like that got me excited. Which is why I was a little let down when the author decided that time jumps were the best way to get to the next bit in the story he wanted to tell.
  
  This whole book feels like there is an awful lot either going on or that the author wants to happen. Because of this, we get time skips and little bits here and there shoe-horned in at the expense of character development, world-building and any kind of in-depth look at what's truly going on. I'd have enjoyed it more if the entire thing was more a journey of discovery rather than part discovery, part 'this is what we figured out in the past few years so here's a run down of why everything is happening the way it is'.
  
  One of my main gripes is the lack of character development. Other than names, jobs and ranks ... not a great deal goes into fleshing anyone out. I don't honestly remember many of the names other than the odd surname here or there. Which, considering the story is peppered with time jumps, I find it a bit strange that the characters haven't altered/developed at all in the intervening years. Nothing much about them has stayed with me and, regarding the whole novel the same could be said. Other than the opening, and the concept that got me so hooked, nothing much stands out in my memory.
  
  So many people seem to have enjoyed this (at the time of writing, 89% of it's ratings on Amazon are either 4 or 5 star ratings and that's out of a total of 985 ratings). It's just not for me, though. The above issues and there being no obvious reason why the main character was given the opportunities he was given other than 'well, you survived that one time,' just make it a bit too much of an idea running wild than a cohesive story keeping me hooked.
• 
  Kim

  Great start to the series!
  
  Really enjoyed this book, excellent characters, action, surprises! Satisfying battles, realistic tactics. I can't wait for the next in the series, going to start it right now.
• 
  Damian Stelmach

  Would’ve rated it four stars but I had to dock one star because of one glaring detail that kept annoying me throughout the book:
  How are they experiencing multiple G’s of acceleration for hours on end in deep space?
  To paraphrase one of the passages-“He felt the weight of an elephant sitting on his chest… the next three hours are going to suck, he thought, as he struggled to breathe”
  It makes no sense, unless I’m dumb and don’t understand physics at all.
  It’s mentioned so many times in the book that it becomes tedious.
  
  Other than that the book was just ok, nothing groundbreaking, no character development at all and interesting characters being introduced just to be never heard from again.
  I’m glad it was free on Audible so I didn’t have to waste my credit.
• 
  R.G. Tully

  A decent space story that took a while for me to get into it. Once there, it was a good story even if a little predictable. I don’t mind predictable in this genre, after all there’s nothing new in this world.
  
  I thought that the voice acting was good and added to the story, helping bring it to life. I didn’t like that this book was clearly written as in introduction to a series, it was never going to be a standalone book. But I think that is a small quibble rather than an actual problem.
  
  It is a book that you would expect from the genre, not pushing the boundaries but a decent offering to the space battle genre.
• 
  Lyndon

  Excellent. Everything you want in a mil-sf adventure - an origin story, first-contact goes south, intergalactic war, fierce space battles, thrilling boots on the ground fire fights, the introduction of mech, believable science and space travel and weaponry, great characters, a defeat to vindication story arc, and a solid set up for the rest of the series. Want to know the 'genesis' of the Holy War with the Tahni? Here's where to start. (I came into Partlow's universe via the Drop Trooper series - and that's a great gateway, but this is where it all begins. Really enjoyed this book.)
• 
  Larry Southard

  Genesis is the beginning.
  
  A great book helping to fill out the War with the Tahni universes created by Rick Part low. We are treated to the background of the original meeting out the Tahni. From first contact through the first battles of the war, Partlow writes a fast paced misery science fiction novel that Silk keep you hooked. Highly recommend not only this novel but all written in this universe.
• 
  Jim Grimes

  Fast and exciting...Holds your attention
  
  Five stars.....because its a book you WANT to keep reading. Great pace....enough detail to make it immersive yet it doesn't bog you down.
  
  A words form woods reader like myself can feel like the book is moving right along without feeling too simplistic.
  
  Character development and interactions are great. Clearly written with an adult perspective.
• 
  David Kennedy

  Im adding Partlow to my good author list
  
  I read a lot of military SF, or perhaps I should say I start a lot of military SF books, and finish some. While I would continue to put Marko Kloos at the top of the current heap, Mr Portlaw gets into my top five. He has fully developed characters that are human, not mere stereotypes. However, his dialog seems forced in places, and not as real as Kloos or SM Stirling’s.
• 
  Hutch Morzaria

  Good military scifi
  
  Started a bit slow and at times send to jump around a bit but overall was a really good read. I liked the multiple viewpoints provided from the grunt in the field all the way to the commander of the ship. Looking forward to reading the next one to see what happens
• 
  Wayne Burdett

  Another Great Series
  
  Book 1 in the Holy Wars Series didn’t disappoint. Rick does it again as with all his series this one sets the stage for more great stories to come. Great lead character and sub characters and storyline great read from beginning to end. Highly recommended! Now onto book 2.
• 
  Bob Harris

  This was better than I expected from an author it had not previously read. Although the main character is the typical outcast after making a the decision to destroy an alien ship on first contact, he, nevertheless has the opportunity of a second chance. This is a good space opera and I look forward to more of the trilogy.
• 
  K Saju

  Fast paced and enjoyable. First contact against an alien civilization is nerve wracking and not for the faint hearted. Any action can result only in two counteractions: Peace or War .
  Good storyline and narrative, promises to be a good mmilitary based space opera.
  Worth a read.
• 
  Erick Mertz

  I Feel An Excellent Series Coming On
  
  A great read, in a series I’ll be following closely. Good military science-fiction elements. Great world building. Absolutely stupendous characters, very relatable.
  
  Looking forward to the next one!
• 
  Martin Milush

  One of the you will read!
  
  Partlow's writing is easy to read, even with the large amount of details he includes in his stories. I have not been disappointed with any of his books I have read! Neither will you!