First Command

By: Michael Simon

Narrated by: Ryan Kennard Burke

An alien attack leaves them adrift in space.

Survive, rebuild, and rejoin the war.

Fresh out of the Academy, Ensign Cole Jackson’s first posting to Freedom couldn’t have come at a worse time. All over the Alliance, planets and colonies are suddenly under attack by the vicious Coven Empire.

Freedom and her sister ship, Hood, are ambushed by alien warships, leaving Hood drifting dead in the void.

Cole is ordered to salvage parts from the powerless Hood, but when he arrives on the unpowered hulk, Freedom is called away, marooning him and a group of malcontent techs in deep space.

With the timer on survival ticking down, Cole must find the confidence to take control, whip his tiny crew into shape, bring Hood back to life–repairing communications, propulsion and even weapons.

He's got one chance to transform the derelict ship into a combat-ready vessel. One he can take into battle and alter the course of the war.

Don't miss the start of this science fiction thrill ride about a crew of young soldiers mustering the courage to fight back against both a vicious alien enemy, and the terrifying void of being stranded in space. It's perfect for fans of Daniel Gibbs, J.N. Chaney, and Vaughn Heppner!

©2025 Aethon Books (P)2025 Aethon Audio

Shallow characters speaking in cliches.

Overall premise of the book was decent and hard sci fi story was enjoyable. Not sure if it was the way they were narrated or written but the characters seemed shallow and the interplay was juvenile.

very well done characters

This story rides a very thin line between thrilling and punishing. Explosions and gore that are entertaining and visiral. Yet it's a story that presses you every step of the way.

Somewhere between Star Trek fan fic and a 2 star action movie.

The story used hard scifi terms in ways that showed the author did not have the rules of their universe well defined. These ill defined rules left blatant holes in descriptions where the same event could yeild different results based on the drama of the moment.

The captain is a rookie savant that seems to run a. entire ship on his own, with the crew being lackeys who turn wrenches to meet his secret design.

I just could not buy into it.

Definitely worth it.

This novel does keep you in the action, few sections of the story get bogged down, and the author does well in making you care about the characters.
My only gripe is how long it takes for the MC to accept the consequences of awful choices. Understandably, the whole story happens within a month I think? Just a little frustrating for me as a person.

I will definitely be getting the next book!

Military Sci-Fi, Exploding Consoles, and a Rookie

First Command is the kind of book that plants you firmly in the captain's chair of a half-dead starship and says, "Good luck, kid." And while there’s a fair amount of eyerolling required to stay buckled in for the ride, it’s still an enjoyable journey through war-torn space with a cast you can’t help but root for.

Michael Simon’s military sci-fi debut gives us Ensign Cole Jackson—an inexperienced but well-meaning Academy grad who gets tossed into the deep end when his small savage crew gets stranded on a drifting, disabled ship. With only a skeleton crew, Cole has to lead a desperate effort to restore the derelict vessel and rejoin the fight against the aggressive Coven Empire. As a setup, it’s solid. As a plot, it’s fast-paced, cliche-heavy, and just improbable enough to give you whiplash if you think too hard about the logistics—it works. Mostly.

There’s plenty of action, tight pacing, and a well-balanced rotation of POVs that keep the story dynamic. Sure, you’ll have to suspend disbelief for things like starship bridges with exploding control panels (seriously, who’s still designing these death traps?), and a miraculous repair montage that takes a shattered hulk of a ship and turns it combat-ready in just a few days. And yes, enemies keep magically showing up in the same sector over and over, but if you can look past that, there’s something compelling about this underdog story.

It has heart. I got to like the original salvage crew and not to go into too many spoilers, but I felt bad when bad things happened to them (even when it felt a bit too conveniently plotted). Cole’s character arc is satisfying; he’s inexperienced enough to think outside the box and human enough to feel the weight of every choice. He’s the protagonist you want to see succeed, if only because he hasn’t been ground down by military bureaucracy.

Unexpectedly, Simon also does a nice job fleshing out the alien enemies, giving them depth and culture rather than leaving them as faceless villains. It’s not groundbreaking, but it adds a welcome layer of complexity to the conflict.

As for the audiobook, Ryan Kennard Burke delivers a clean, professional performance. His character voices are distinct, his pacing is on point, and his tone matches the narrative. It’s not a performance that will stick with you long after it’s over, but it does the job without distraction. Think of it as steady hands on the helm—not flashy, but precisely what the mission needs.

In short, First Command is a fun, fast listen with some emotional punches and a decent payoff. It’s not perfect, and if you are a stickler for logic and hard sci-fi, you may not like it. But if you like military sci-fi with underdog heroes, some tactical action, and just enough character depth to pull at your heartstrings, this might be worth queuing up next.

Special thanks to Aethon Books for providing this book at my request.