A Sword Into Darkness Thomas A Mays Books
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“Solid adventure, intrigue and speculative space-tech, from a rising star in military science fiction.” — DAVID BRIN, Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author of ‘EXISTENCE,’ ‘THE POSTMAN,’ and ‘STARTIDE RISING’ HUMANITY IS NO LONGER ALONE IN THE UNIVERSE. AN UNKNOWABLE THREAT APPROACHES EARTH . . . AND WE ARE COMPLETELY UNPREPARED TO FACE WHAT'S COMING. Aerospace tycoon Gordon Elliot Lee cannot stand idly by while a mysterious alien presence from Delta Pavonis bears down upon mankind's only home. Shut out from NASA and military support, Gordon is forced to go it alone, to sow the seeds for an entirely new sort of planetary defense a space-based naval force. Joined by Nathan Kelley -- a bloodied naval warrior, scarred by his own actions in the waters off North Korea -- and Kris Munoz -- an avant garde scientific genius with more ideas than sense -- these three will scour the very edges of fringe science and engineering to attempt development of Earth's first space navy in time to oppose the Deltan invasion. Beset by ridicule, government obstruction, industrial espionage, and their own personal demons, it will take a miracle just to get off the ground. But the challenges on Earth are nothing compared to what awaits them in space. Against an unknown alien enemy with vastly superior technology, a handful of human scientists and warriors must become the sword that holds the darkness at bay. MISSILES WILL FLASH, RAILGUNS WILL RUMBLE, LASERS WILL BURN, AND DEFENDERS WILL DIE. IF THEY FAIL, OUR END IS AT HAND. “There are brilliant first contact stories, great space combat stories, and amazing stories of technological discovery. Rarely do you find all three in the same novel. Remember the name Thomas A. Mays. You’re going to be seeing it on the bestseller list.” — JEFF EDWARDS, Award-winning author of ‘SEA OF SHADOWS,’ and ‘THE SEVENTH ANGEL’ “Sharply written, suspenseful and tightly plotted, A SWORD INTO DARKNESS reads like the best Tom Clancy novels, with a science fiction heart provided by Arthur C. Clark. Can’t wait to read more from Thomas Mays!” — GRAHAM BROWN, #1 New York Times Bestselling author of ‘ZERO HOUR,’ ‘BLACK RAIN,’ and ‘THE EDEN PROPHECY’
A Sword Into Darkness Thomas A Mays Books
Mr. Mays certainly seems to be familiar with his science fiction. This book appears to borrow ideas and themes freely from previous authors; Larry Niven and Robert A. Heinlein in particular. That being said, this book is not a rethread of those authors, but a truly original work that plots its own course.Set in the near future, one man recognizes a change in the color of the star Delta Pavonis for what it really is, the signature of an alien star drive heading for Earth. Unable to convince the government, he sets out to do what he can. The early parts of the novel deal with developing the technology that will enable the Earth to do something about it (being that there is a spaceship on the cover, I don't think I am giving away too much :)). From there things get interesting.
The space battles are tense, and to fans of pure military sci-fi, might go a bit quickly, but I don't believe the author ever intended them to be the center of the action. Rather they are necessary to moving the plot forward. Tension is built and sustained in other ways. All of this makes for an enjoyable novel. One of the better independent science fiction novels I have read in the last year or two. Definitely worth the relatively modest price. I will definitely be looking forward to the sequel and will probably re-read this in a year or two.
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A Sword Into Darkness Thomas A Mays Books Reviews
I haven't seen a lot of good hard-science fiction recently. I think Mays handled the science aspect very well. Some plot elements were familiar but in all the story is quite original and characters were well-developed. First-contact stories and military-sf themes are common but allow for enough flexibility to entertain. The most interesting aspect to me was Mays' handling of the motive of the aliens to visit earth and the internally-consistent reason for why they presented a threat. I was also impressed by the setup for subsequent books that would be easier to write because the story could advance into more well-plowed ground.
There’s an ongoing debate in Science Fiction at the moment. One very loud faction says people are abandoning SF because all our stories are “social justice novels” and we’re handing out awards not for good work but to hit a racial / ethnic / gender checklist. Since I vote on one of the awards (the Hugos) I found that argument rather unconvincing.
One of the gentlemen on the other side, I discovered, had penned an SF novel entitled A Sword Into Darkness. The ebook price was right, so I bought it and read it.
Overall, it's a pretty good book - I'd give it three stars. The action is engaging, the science is solid, and his invading aliens have unique motivations and modes of travel. (It's important to figure out why they are moving so slowly.)
But it's not a 4 or 5 star book.
Sword is in many ways old-fashioned. Chapter 1 is a temper tantrum thrown when a wealthy alt-space guy can't convince NASA with five (5) (five!!!!!) months of telescopic data that the aliens are coming. After five months, with dozens of telescopes and hundreds of astronomers looking, everybody would know the aliens are coming. Yet NASA somehow keeps the lid on the invasion for decades.
So, in Chapter 3, wealthy industrialist decides to invest his billions in developing and building the type of tech we'd need to defeat the invasion. This goes surprisingly smoothly, despite government interference (of course the government interferes - ignore the fact that they're paying SpaceX and others) and has few technical glitches. (It's only rocket science, after all.)
Oh, and there's a hijacking of a ship that I saw coming for a while. And the US Secretary of Defense has to be fired in order to put a stop to his obstructionism. (It's only an alien invasion.)
Now, despite all of this I did find the story entertaining. Also, the aliens were unique, so it's not all recycled material. But there's a lot of recycling going on. It was enjoyable, but cotton candy for the mind. It will not be on my Hugo list.
I’m a retired military engineer so this book hit me in my sweet spot. It probably would not appeal to those who think swords and sorcery is science fiction. The military characters act like real military people would act and the science was either right on or got you wondering if it might really work. It was a good vacation from what passes for science fiction these days. The true test of a novel is would you by the sequel; oh yes, and eagerly.
Mr. Mays certainly seems to be familiar with his science fiction. This book appears to borrow ideas and themes freely from previous authors; Larry Niven and Robert A. Heinlein in particular. That being said, this book is not a rethread of those authors, but a truly original work that plots its own course.
Set in the near future, one man recognizes a change in the color of the star Delta Pavonis for what it really is, the signature of an alien star drive heading for Earth. Unable to convince the government, he sets out to do what he can. The early parts of the novel deal with developing the technology that will enable the Earth to do something about it (being that there is a spaceship on the cover, I don't think I am giving away too much )). From there things get interesting.
The space battles are tense, and to fans of pure military sci-fi, might go a bit quickly, but I don't believe the author ever intended them to be the center of the action. Rather they are necessary to moving the plot forward. Tension is built and sustained in other ways. All of this makes for an enjoyable novel. One of the better independent science fiction novels I have read in the last year or two. Definitely worth the relatively modest price. I will definitely be looking forward to the sequel and will probably re-read this in a year or two.
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