The Phoenix Reckoning - Richard L. Sanders

RATING: THREE STARS

The Empire is still divided, gripped in a brutal civil war where the heir of the Akiran throne, Queen Kalila, fights for recognition against the ursurping King, Caewyn of House Martel. There has already been a terrible battle that devastated both sides, weakening strength that the Empire sorely needs. For the Rotham are coming and only Kalila and her fleet stands to meet them in the Corridor. If that territory is taken, the Rotham will have free access into human space and will be able to conquer uncontested.

But what's more, the Polarian Dread Fleet is moving. It is a host of ships from the darkest legends, ships that leave every planet they encounter scoured, burned and lifeless. If they truly mean to bring their holy war into human space, then even united we cannot hope to repel them. Kalila needs the throne and she needs to unite humanity against this threat, trusting hope to the efforts of Calvin and his crew aboard the Nighthawk. Kalila doesn't know it, but Calvin has taken his ship deep into Polarian Forbidden Space and means to stop the Dread Fleet at its source. He is adamant that the leaders of the Polarian Faith have been replaced by replicants and, if so, it will reveal that the Phoenix Ring is more powerful an enemy than any have dared to dream . . .

The Good
The Phoenix Reckoning is another action-packed, powerful space opera by Richard L. Sanders. He has written an exciting story that carries the overall plot of the series forward well and he continues to build upon and develop his characters. There are as many battles and webs of intrigue as in the previous instalments and, once again, he has produced a book that is well worth reading.

The Bad
Once again, I found myself a little disappointed at the lack of description in Sanders' prose. He has created a dynamic universe, full and space ships, aliens and thrones, but they are largely left to the reader's imagination. While too much description can be a bad thing that detracts from the story, too little is likewise problematic and it's difficult sometimes to form a clear picture of the character's surroundings.

Final Thoughts
I was impressed with The Phoenix Reckoning and it was great instalment to The Phoenix Conspiracy series. It's fast paced and immersing, being a good example that indie authors can produce science fiction that's well worth reading. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and I'm glad that Sanders decided to split this book into two so he could complete the series in a way that was not rushed and did justice to his story. I recommended giving this series a go and I'm looking forward to concluding the struggles of Captain Calvin Cross and his friends in The Phoenix Requiem soon.

The Phoenix Darkness - Richard L. Sanders

RATING: FOUR STARS

The Empire is still in disarray and wanting for a legitimate monarch. Princess Kalila, scion of House Akira, is desperate to reclaim her father's throne and birthright from the usurper Caewyn Martel. The two have already clashed in a devastating battle that halved their fleets and destroyed the Apollo Shipyards - a resource that will be sorely missed in the impending war. For war is coming and the Rotham are mobilising their fleet outside of the Demilitarised Zone. Their ships are being called for one reason: the invasion and occupation of human space.

Calvin Cross is the sole provider of this information, having ventured deep into Rotham space with a small handful of his crew. His mission is dangerous and the warships he scans are not without scanners and he had a Rotham spy in his midst, whose loyalties are ambiguous at best . . . Calvin desperately wants the Nighthawk for this mission, but his ship has been entrusted to Summers. Summers, who must find and destroy the last of the isotome weapons before they can be brought to bear against humankind and its space.

The Good
Richard L. Sanders had written yet another story that is full of twists and turns, The book is exciting and difficult to predict with the sheer number of people trying to create the universe they desire through chicanery and deceit. This means that the story is fast-paced and it gets going straight away, maintaining tension and uncertainty throughout.

The Bad
Once again, Sanders' writing is sadly lacking in description and this did detract from my enjoyment of the book slightly. The Phoenix Darkness is full of novel warships and a whole host of different worlds and environments, yet none of them have been described so there's little guidance for their visualisation. It's a shame really because it means his writing is quite 'stripped down' and predominantly focuses on events. The same is true for his characters and alien races; except for a few vague descriptions here and there, Sanders largely glosses over what they look like.

Another issue with the book is the use of words like should've and hasn't in its prose. Although this isn't a major issue and doesn't really detract from the story, it just doesn't look professional and is a constant (and unnecessary reminder) that the novel is self-published.

My Thought
Overall though, The Phoenix Darkness is pretty good and makes for an exciting and enjoyable read. It's a great instalment to The Phoenix Conspiracy series as a whole and I had a lot of fun with it! It's part of what is one of my favourite science fiction series at the moment and Sanders remains one of my favourite indie authors! I would definitely recommend this book (and series) to anyone who is looking for a sci fi series of action and subterfuge!

The Phoenix War - Richard L. Sanders

RATING: FOUR STARS

The human Empire is on the verge of civil war, threatening to tear itself apart as House Akira and other prominent high lords fight each other for the right to sit upon the throne. But such civil division is a waste of effort and resources that mankind cannot afford to lose. The cogs put into motion by the Phoenix Ring are still whirring in the shadows and, as events quickly get out of hand, it begins to become clear that the selfish group of benefactors were never truly in control. The Enclave are stirring in their dark halls of exile and, in a far region of space, the Rotham are mobilising—a highly advanced race that had always coveted the affluence of the human empire; wanting our lush worlds and rich solar systems. But these are only the beginning of human worries and rumour has reached some that the Polarian Dread Fleet—an armada of ships that leaves nothing but dead worlds in its wake—is waking. The Polarians have no love of humanity either and fanatically believe that they have the right of dominion over the entire universe . . . 

Amidst all the chaos and violence, the Nighthawk continues its mission to find and destroy the last of the isotome weapons—missiles that are powerful enough to destroy whole solar systems and leave their suns blackened and cold . . . The success of their mission is crucial to both the future of the Empire and the human race, but they have few leads to go on and are almost literally searching for needles in an infinite haystack!

Meanwhile Calvin Cross, now the Imperial Executor by appointment of Princess Kalila, is ordered to gather as much intelligence as he can on the Rotham and assess whether their military deployment is a threat to the Empire. His mission takes him deep into Alliance space—a xenophobic government that has no sympathy for the Empire and is unknowingly riddled with Enclave agents . . .

The Good

The Phoenix War is an exciting instalment of The Phoenix Conspiracy series and begins to tie lose ends together ready for the final book (which will hopefully be released soon). It also begins to build the political turmoil and military threat from aliens in a fast-paced plot, getting ready for what I imagine will be a stunning end to the series!

The Bad

Once again, I feel like Richard L. Sanders could have included more description in his writing as it is very ‘bare’. His dialogue and tone are both good, but he has an annoying habit of skipping over the details of his environments and provides scant information. This is a shame really, as his characters are aboard an array of space ships that would be interesting to read about and visit a number of worlds where he could quite literally ‘go wild’ and paint stunning landscapes around his characters!

My Thoughts

Overall though, I was impressed with The Phoenix War and think that it's the best instalment of the series so far! I am eagerly awaiting the next (and final) book, although it will be a shame to finish the series off! The Phoenix Conspiracy is undoubtedly a true gem of a series in a genre that I've found somewhat stale of late!

Read an interview with Richard L. Sanders

As regular readers of this blog are no doubt aware, I frequently post reviews on Richard L. Sanders' work here and have to say that he is one of my favourite indie authors. Due to this, I was excited to find an interview with him on Indie Author Land and thought I'd share the link with you (click here)!

The Phoenix Crisis - Richard L. Sanders

RATING: FIVE STARS

With his ship in tatters and his crew worked to the brink of exhaustion, Lieutenant Commander Calvin Cross is forced to make a difficult choice as the Nighthawk limps through alteredspace. Does he do as asked and rendezvous with Raiden, his scrupulous contact in the Organisation responsible for resisting the elusive Phoenix Ring, or does he meet with Princess Kalila Akira as his duty to the Empire demands? Both have requested that he meets with them urgently and both claim that the fate of the Empire is in their hands alone.

But even as Calvin struggles to decide, he knows that he doesn't have much time. The situation on Renora is worsening by the day and the death toll is rapidly climbing into the millions as its people starve and rebel against the King’s relief troops, blaming them for the situation befalling them. Calvin knows that the conflict is all part of the Phoenix Ring’s grand scheme to destabilise the throne however, which, as a human terrorist attack on a Rotham world causes interstellar outrage, could prove the downfall of the Empire as it needs a strong king now more than it ever has.

Written with pages packed full of action and intrigue, The Phoenix Crisis is Richard L. Sanders’ best novel yet and is certainly the best instalment of The Phoenix Conspiracy series to date. It is exciting right from the off and Sanders does a great job in describing the seriousness of the conspiracy that Calvin is so desperately trying to expose, which adds an urgency to the book knowing that so many lives are at stake just for a small number of peoples’ political gain.

I would certainly recommend reading The Phoenix Crisis to any fan of science fiction then, and would recommend that you give the overall series a go if you haven’t already (beginning with The Phoenix Conspiracy).

Betraying Nexus - Richard L. Sanders

RATING: THREE STARS

Betraying Nexus is a short science fiction story by Richard L. Sanders that tells of a covert organisation called Nexus, which uses agents with the strange ability of mind bending to dissuade crime and protect the innocent from violence and hurt. 

When Jason, a young and naive mind bender, is raised to the rank of Wraith however, he discovers that Nexus isn't the shining beacon of humanity that he was led to believe and is distraught to learn that their hands are far from clean. As he struggles to come to terms with the dark implications of his findings, Jason decides that he must stop Nexus at any cost - regardless of any personal sacrifice that his plan might involve... 

My Thoughts 

I enjoyed reading Betraying Nexus, despite failing to notice its similarity to the Hollywood film: The Minority Report. Sanders' book is much better than the Hollywood shocker however, and reads with a flowing and bold prose that helps to bring his characters to life in an understandably short time. 

In fact there is little to fault with the story at all! Due to this (and especially since it's free as an ebook from Amazon), I would recommend reading Betraying Nexus to anyone looking to invest in a short telling of the classic struggle between good and evil.

The Phoenix Rising - Richard L. Sanders

RATING: THREE STARS

As Renora, a previously peaceful and industrious human colony, collapses and tears itself apart in the chaotic violence of civil war, Calvin Cross becomes ever more convinced that the elusive Phoenix Ring is responsible for instigating the conflict and seems to be one of the only people in the galaxy to notice the politicians, warships and transport ships that are vanishing throughout the Empire!

His investigations into this matter are hindered however, because Calvin and his crew are now fugitives themselves and have had no choice but to alienate themselves from the Empire and join Raiden's mysterious organisation in their search for answers. And so, believing Calvin to be a traitor, Captain Lafayette Nimoux, Intel Wing's most successful agent, is dispatched to bring Calvin and his crew to justice - chasing them across the Empire as they seek to save it from certain destruction and preserve human dominance in the galaxy.

My Thoughts

Although I enjoyed reading The Phoenix Rising, which was packed full of action and unpredictable plot lines, I was slightly disappointed with it as a whole and didn't feel that it was quite as good as its predecessor, The Phoenix Conspiracy. This is mainly because the book reads like it had been rushed in some places and, as a consequence, I feel that Richard L. Sanders has not developed its events and characters to their full potential.

Still, The Phoenix Rising is a worthy instalment to The Phoenix Conspiracy series and has a fast-paced plot right from the off that leaves you hungry for more once you've read the last page! Thus, I recommend reading The Phoenix Rising for fans of the first book and investing in the series if you enjoy sci-fi or just want to give it a go!

The Phoenix Conspiracy - Richard L. Sanders

RATING: FOUR STARS

The Phoenix Conspiracy tells the tale of Calvin Cross, the young captain of a highly advanced stealth warship, as he attempts to track-down an escaped criminal called Raiden, who has seized one of the most powerful warships in the galaxy. As Calvin investigates Raiden however, he begins to wonder why such a highly decorated hero would suddenly throw away his prospering career in the notorious and seemingly meaningless hate crime that he's responsible for, and begins to wonder if something larger and much more sinister than inter-species racism might be going on...

Due to the nature of Calvin's investigation, the Phoenix Conspiracy is relatively unique and reads more like a space-themed mystery adventure than a typical sci-fi story, which could be interesting to readers that usually steer clear of the genre and has the potential to greatly expand Conspiracy's audience base. Sanders also writes in a exciting manner that builds tension and intrigue well throughout the book, which left me desperate to find out what, if anything, was actually going on!

Sanders is also particularly good at using dialogue to tell the events of the story, which makes the book easy to follow and is perfect for 'light' reading'! His vivid characterisation also helps to add a depth to the story and Sanders' characters respond in very believable ways to the events that befall them - helping to add a rich, third dimension to his text. Saying this, Sanders' style does have a major flaw in that his prose often lacks description and he rarely describes the various environments and conditions that surround the characters, which is a shame really because he has a lot of creative freedom to play around with the myriad of colourful locations that Calvin and his crew visit.

Overall however, The Phoenix Conspiracy was very enjoyable to read and provides a fresh, rather innovative perspective on the long-established genre of science fiction. Furthermore, since Sanders is an independent author and wants to get people interested in The Phoenix Conspiracy series, the novel is free from most ebook platforms!

Release of 'The Phoenix Crisis'

As I was pointlessly trawling down my Facebook feed the other day, I was delighted to find that Richard L. Sanders, a remarkable and sadly underrated indie sci-fi author, has announced the release of the latest instalment of his Phoenix Conspiracy series - The Phoenix Crisis.

I have long been awaiting the release of Crisis and have to admit that, after discovering it was out, I treated myself to a late and rather cheeky Christmas present. Still, if you've read the prequels in this series you will understand why I simply had to buy it! And if you haven't, then the first book of the saga called The Phoenix Conspiracy is free as an ebook from Amazon (and probably from other platforms as well, though I haven't looked) and is definitely worth a read if you are interested in the genre; providing you with a gritty and realistic space opera with particularly well-used dialogue.