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 shallow SCI Fi.

Liked the characters, hated the writing. Even tried to return the title.Not sure how this got so many good reviews.

Purchased 2 & 3 just before 1 ended.

If you like "On Basilisk Station" by David Weber, you will like this. Purchased 2 & 3 just before 1 ended.

Weak science, but an excellent story

This book has a host of problems: the copy editing is weak, the author has absolutely no sense of scale in space, there are far too many situations where engineering is apparently accomplished by the gritting of the teeth of the brave engineers, and don't even get me started on the absurd Star Wars asteroid belts.

In spite of all that, I considered giving this book five stars.

The author has a good feel for writing military SF, giving the story a strong feeling of verisimilitude. The characters are written very well, with good differentiation of personalities and solid development. The plot is compelling and tightly crafted (leaving aside the scale issues noted above). And the author made me care deeply about the fates of all the people aboard the Hood.

Overall, this was compelling and entertaining throughout, and I will definitely be continuing the series soon. Recommended.

An old style meeting the stars

Reminiscent of WW2 naval novels about men and woman performing deeds like that of legends, First Command offers a basic yet heroic story of courage and the indomitable human will.