Vaughn Heppner

* SPOILER ALERT *

I would have given this just two stars if it wasn't for its sheer likeability. Heppner mashes up a great deal of old American popular science fiction for nothing but entertainment, making it ideal for recovering from (say) an illness where you don't want to think too much.

The gung-ho hero (an ex-marine called Logan but aren't they all?) with his 'guardian of the galaxy' blue crystal in his pocket give us lots of fun dialogue with his little AI friend even if there are show more moments of lengthy exposition necessary to get the story from fire fight to fire fight.

There is a Flash Gordon-Dale Arden aspect with 'Debbie'. Our hero has the moral fibre of men more than half a century ago, trusting in his girl even when the evidence repeatedly points to her being a creature of alien forces. This is pre-feminist stuff but not the worse for that.

And Heppner does not stint on aliens - in addition to the blue crystal, the staff officer to Logan's man in the field, we have mercenary corporate aliens, an alien crystal intelligence gone rogue and about to become God and a lost race of arrogant super-aliens who may as well be gods.

Space ships fly through oceans and space piloted by someone who was a security officer for a solar energy plant in the Nevada desert only a day or so before while alien weaponry pummels the earth yet somehow is not noticed to be alien!

And our man Logan defeats all the bad aliens as well as their Neanderthal minions (allowing a nod to alternative evolutionary history straight out of the mind-set of the 1920s)! There is even a 'Twilight Zone' episode centred on a town of mind-slaves and robots lost in time.

Logan saves the universe and the earth and stops a nuclear confrontation between the US and China while remaining the supreme patriot to his country. Yes, a total throw-back to the adolescent scifi of the last mid-century and utter and absolute nonsense. But fun in its way. show less

My original The Lost Starship audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

Captain Maddox is just a little faster, stronger and more perceptive than those around him. So when the “New Men” attack and decimate a military convoy, he questions if he might be somehow related. These so-called “New Men” are human beings that have been genetically enhanced to better than old humans in every way. No one is sure what they want, but their superiority clearly threatens show more the survival of the human race.

There is an old space rumor of an ancient alien star ship with superior technology that might be humanity’s only hope. Captain Maddox and a ragtag group of scientists and soldiers fight their way across the void to find the star ship and more importantly, get it back home in time.

There is a classic tone of the novel, reminiscent of the 1940s and 50s. The larger than life Captain Maddox leads the barely held-together group of criminals and misfits into certain death only to find the only possible escape at the last possible second. The characters make the story; they are quirky, alcoholic, angry, dangerous, brilliant and unpredictable. You don’t know if they are going to save the galaxy or tear each other apart. It’s a fun ride that is well worth the listen.

The story is read by David Stifel. He has a unique character to his voice, dramatic and human; sometimes stumbling to pronounce a word correctly. Perhaps not as polished as many performers these days, his reading is enjoyable none-the-less. It is such a personal thing, but this listener found his voice enjoyable because of the flaws.

Lost Star Ship is the first in a series of unknown length. The story wraps up nicely, but leaves the door wide open for its sequel. This quirky and strange space adventure is a thoroughly entertaining ride. You’ll want to find out what happens to Captain Maddox and his crew of misfits in the next installment.

Audiobook provided for review by the narrator. show less

Set in 2039 the novel is about a Chinese invasion of America, specifically California.

It's not a terrible book, like a B grade action movie it has its merits. Those merits include detailed fighting scenes, futuristic weapons, drones a plenty, plausible invasion scenarios and choreographed battles. It also however has some geographical errors (there's no port in Santa Cruz, nor is it suitable for such) and the characters are rather shallow - but then this sort of detail isn't important for show more the target audience either.

It's entertainment for a rainy day. show less

Logan, the protagonist in this Sci-Fi action adventure, is a former military man who works as security for an energy company. When he interrupts aliens stealing the power (so they can cross interstellar space but need to tap into our solar panels?) he is swept up into three species race to get to the center of why the Earth has been labeled a forbidden planet.

While the writing wasn't terrible, the plot was very thin. It felt more like a narrative of a first-person shooter game than a novel. show more There was nothing Logan couldn’t do, all obstacles are neatly side stepped or swept away. show less