Endi Webb

ABR's original The Terran Gambit audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

It is about 600 years in the future and the Imperial forces are working hard to wipe out a struggling resistance. There are dozens of colonized planets tightly controlled by the iron fist of the Emperor, and the Senate, both based on the Roman Empire, complete with Roman gods and goddesses. Earth, the original planet, but also the most rebellious, continues to fight for its freedom, nearly winning a desperate battle until Imperial forces decimate Dallas, Texas with a nuclear strike. The resistance is nearly wiped out until it reforms three years later in a desperate struggle for its life.

The back-story of a futuristic Rome is interesting enough, though not explained in any depth. We know that a Roman-like empire runs the galaxy, but not how it came to be this way. One assumes this is revealed in subsequent volumes. The action revolves around a handful of undisciplined and erratic rebel fighter pilots and their crews. Fun loving, and fast living, they don’t expect to live much beyond their current battles.

The story flips back and forth to the Imperial Admiral consumed with finding and crushing the resistance once and for all. He is a brilliant sociopath who throws lives around without a thought. Though his schemes often work, they also destroy as many soldiers on his side as from the resistance. If you like evil geniuses, you’ll like this one.

There is plenty of action to satisfy any space military junky. It is fast paced and fun, moving forward briskly all of the time. There isn’t much in the way of political explanation or development, but many readers prefer it that way. The characters, though developed at great length remain two-dimensional caricatures, rather than real people. They seem disposable, with some memorable exceptions: the Italian scientist and the evil Imperial Admiral.

The story is read by Greg Tremblay. He does an excellent job and his character voices are well defined and a pleasure to listen to.

Pax Humana is a fun ride. If you enjoy the military space genre, you should not hesitate to listen to this one. While the back story of the futuristic Roman Empire is not explored in any depth, it is still interesting enough, and makes us want to hear what happens in part 2. And isn’t that the definition of a book worth listening too?

Audiobook provided for review by the narrator.… (more)

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have mixed feeling about this book. I loved the storyline it was well written and characters were well developed. However, the twists did not come as a surprise to me. I like to be completely thrown for a loop. You could tell the author is a huge fan of sci-fi, some of the characters seemed to be developed from characters of other sci-fi stories. While this book does start off a little slow, once the pace picks up it is hard to put down. I am looking forward to reading the next episode though.… (more)