Shadow of Empire audiobook

I read a previous book titled, “Blackhawk (Far Stars Legends)” by Jay Allan and liked what I read. He introduced the character Arkarin Blackhawk in that first book and he was a pretty tough dude with some kind of strange background. Apparently, he’s done some jobs in the past that he’s definitely not proud of and wants to forget. In the “Legends” book, I think he was kind of drifting along going no where when he befriended a guy that was trying to win a war. Anyway, Blackhawk took his side and command his army to victory. At least that’s how I remember it.Now, we’re back with Arkarin Blackhawk and he’s immediately in big trouble. Seems like he was on a mission to rescue the daughter of a very close friend. He’s kind of accomplished that since the daughter, Astra Lucerne of Celtiboria, is aboard the Wolf’s Claw and ready to be transported back to her father, Marshal Augustin Lucerne. Marshal Lucerne was engaged in a planet-wide battle to control Celtiboria. He wanted to dispense with all the Warlords fighting over everything on Celtiboria and consolidate the planet under one government. He was just about to finish off the last Warlord when his only daughter was kidnapped. He sent his only really trusted friend, Arkarin Blackhawk, to attempt to return his daughter. He didn’t really think Blackhawk had much of a chance, but he knew that no one else stood any chance of finding and returning his daughter.So, the Wolf’s Claw and it’s crew set out for the planet Kalishar where they believed, rightly, that Astra Lucerne was located. The only problem right now is that Blackhawk has ordered his ship and crew to immediately take Astra back to her father even though he has been captured and is now facing death in the pit. Little does he know that his crew of loyal misfits have ignored his orders and are bringing the Wolf’s Claw directly to the pit area intent on rescuing their Captain. His crew is comprised of various unordinary people that have been saved from some terrible ordeals at one time or another by Blackhawk. He’s the Captain of the Wolf’s Claw and his crew isn’t about to leave Kalishar without their Captain.As you can see, the book starts off pretty exciting and gets better from that point on. We get to meet each one of his crew and find out the backstory on how they came to be with Blackhawk. They have multiple talents and have formed a great team aboard the Wolf’s Claw, but they have a tendency to ignore Blackhawks orders if Blackhawk is in any kind of danger. In this latest rescue of Blackhawk, the Wolf’s Claw gets damaged and they wind up stranded on a planet in the middle of a Civil War. They only need to steal a jump drive core from the only Imperial Star Ship on the planet to get back into space and back to Celtiboria. Should be a simple operation of the crew of the Wolf’s Claw!It appears that book two, “Enemy in the Dark” and book three, “Funeral Games” are already on Amazon so I’ve got some great reading ahead of me.

Not much science in this thar fiction...Make no mistake, this is good ol fashioned pulpy space opera, like grandpa Edmund Hamilton used to write. In all seriousness, as I read it, it reminded me of Hamilton's Captain Future stories. With hyperdrive. And profanity. Ark Blackhawk, a free booting adventurer (with a guilt ridden past) with his loyal crew of cutthroats, vagrants, n'er do wells, itinerants, soldiers and assassin, roam the Far Stars worlds, away from Imperial influence, in search of profits and adventure.Their current job is to free the daughter of a friend of Blackhawk from a corrupt warlord.A chase ensues through multiple planets, Blackhawk is tortured, allies are made, Blackhawk inspirationally leads soldiers into battle, and his loyal crew repeatedly disobey his orders in order to rescue him. Blackhawk finds and tries to resist an unexpected love.Just throw out any expectations of hard science based, epic mind blowing space opera and enjoy the ride... Because sometimes, you just want a Big Mac...

A great story from a great author.Military Science Fiction. Ark runs a ship that looks like a pinto but is really a Ferrari in disguise.Tasked with finding a generals daughter he soon finds himself fighting both in space and planet side as the forces of evil try to prevent peace on the far stars worldsLots of actionA great read

This was a very enjoyable science fiction adventure. Lots of action. It doesn't do anything groundbreaking, but it's a fun book in the vein of an action movie. It would probably appeal to fans of the TV show Firefly and fans of Chris Wooding's Ketty Jay series. You get the same kind of fun group dynamic in the crew. I'm excited to read more in this series.Rating: 9/10

Shadow of Empire by Jay AllanArkarin Blackhawk is a mercenary and a smuggler operating in the Far Stars. The Far Stars are just that, far from the tyrannical empire that appears to have made Blackhawk the man he is. Blackhawk has a crew of extraordinarily loyal misfits who excel at mayhem. Blackhawk has lifted each and every one of them out of an untenable situation and earned their undying loyalty. Blackhawk is tasked with finding his friend’s daughter, Astra, who has been kidnapped. Blackhawks sordid past is referred to but never back storied so we have nothing but inferences as to how his body and character have been built. He spends a lot of time agonizing over his past sins with no reference to what they were. His crew doesn’t care who he was before only that they owe him their lives and they stand stalwartly behind him. This is a space opera that was a delight to read and I look forward to the second volume.

An exciting Sci-Fi read, greatly enjoyed the world that was created and was intrigued from the beginning. Things seemed to slow down towards the end, and a lot of characters seemed to be lacking or really similar to one another but the overall premise was excellent. Loved all the different names and weapons that the author chose for this novel and would definitely check out a sequel to see how things may develop.

Another gemJay Allan has penned another gem. Although penned earlier in his writings, it’s still very well written and entertaining. Can’t wait to read the next book of this trilogy

Great!I am re-reading this book! Books two and three were not completed when I first read Far Stars. Very good!

Reminds me of an updated Doc Savage adventure..Good character development and the villains are convincing.I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

A very good and entertaining novel. I enjoyed reading this novel and recommend this book to everyone.

Another Great ReadHad this book for sometime now. Just got around to read it.More great and enjoyable characters. On to book 2

Shadow of empireExcellent read. Jay Allan never disappoints. Easy to keep reading the whole series. Highly recommended if you you like action

4.0No longer dusty. There are actual relationships in process. I find Blackhawk’s self fear a bit overdone but do find this story worth following

Arkarin Blackhawk is an anomaly. His crew of misfits are capable team thought to be nothing more and average pirates or mercenaries. His ship nothing more than a barely capable piece of junk. But Blackhawk, called Ark, has a secret, one that only his closest friend Augustin Lucerne knows. Ark was genetically enhanced, has an AI embedded in his brain, and heals extremely fast. He has also done horrible things. He thinks of himself as a monster, and he has managed to keep that monster caged, but it still haunts him.On a mission to rescue Augustin's daughter Astra who was kidnapped. In the process of getting Astra away from her kidnappers, Ark and his crew of the Wolf's Claw are engaged by the pirates space fleet and are seriously damaged. They manage to get away but end up in the red lined system of Saragossa where no one is allowed to go. The system is off limits and the Wolf's Claw's hyperdrive core irreparably damaged. Their only choice is to find a hyper core on the planet. Their only choice is to steal one from a ship that shouldn't be there, an Imperial Intelligence ship. This leads Ark and his crew on a fight for their lives to steal the hyper core and survive not only a 3 way revolutionary war and the Imperial Intelligence on the planet. Little does Ark or his crew know they have stumbled upon something that will threaten the hole Far Stars system.Another well written book by Jay Allen. As with his other books, I feel this is a must ready book if you are a follower of Jay Allen's books.

A Rare Mastery of Science Fiction Story-telling and Writing Skills !!!It has been a long time that a science fiction book has been produced with such attention-to-detail towards the quality of the story, it's characters, and to the perfection of the grammar and writing itself.This book should receive a Platinum Award for the rebirth of true science fiction and writing quality and precision.It has been awhile since I have had to look-up the definition of so many words; words used so eloquently, and with perfect position, as possible using the English grammar!The book is written in the style of the great novels of the past; equivalent to those stories and novels produced by the early 20th century authors.If that was the intent of the author, then I say, "Bravo...and very well done!!!".I thank the author for his meticulous hard work creating and writing this story...especially with keeping the tradition of good quality writing and using the finest teachings of English grammar.

If I had to define this book in one word it would be, epic. This book goes out of it's way to make sure everything is interesting from the memorable characters and the sweeping story in which the stowaway adventurer Arkarin Blackhawk, and his crew of fellow cast-aways all with uncertain pasts are sent on a quest by Arkarin's old friend to recover his daughter who has been captured. They then find themselves in many uncomfortable situations like a cross fire war of a revolution and being hunted by pirates. This book is amazing and I will be reading the second book. This gets a full 5/5 stars for it's deep story and characters also for it's intense, smart and interesting battle sequences. Anyone who is looking for a great action book that is rich with plot,this is the book for you.