Spheres of Influence

Edge of Imperium, Book 1

By: Peter Nealen

Narrated by: Eric Michael Summerer

A peacekeeping mission that might be anything but...

Lieutenant Bannon and his phalanx of Corvanite warriors have already seen some of the worst that the irregular war between the reptilian otuchans and the human latecomers can offer.

Or so they think.

First Sergeant Draven, trying to hold his company of Zolarian citizen soldiers together, has been on the desolate planet of Zhogalgan longer than Bannon. He's seen even more.

Yet while they are both there as peacekeepers, they are not there to help each other.

Spheres of influence and empires clash on a dry, harsh world that might become the flashpoint in an interstellar war!

Includes a bonus short story, "Pacification."

©2024 Peter Nealen (P)2024 Podium Audio

Excellent

A damn good story in a hard sci-fi future. The action is fairly constant and presented with a lot of detail and realism. If you have read and enjoyed anything else by Peter, then you will thoroughly love this epic start to a new series.

A bit repetitive and a little over the top

Overall, I would argue the story was okay, but seemed like a far departure in story and character quality from Peter’s other books. I gave the title repetitive because it seems the author wanted to remind his readers in every sentence just how bad ass the Corvanite warriors are… and how Corvanties are refined warriors of battle from their time on the Ogogay field… blah, blah… The constant reminder really distracted from the story and its setting. Regarding the story itself… It was a little over the top with the “five” different power blocks that were all vying for influence and control over a meh planet.

This being said, I can’t say I wouldn’t be tempted to read (listen) to the next story. Peter did a great job of illustrating battle scenes and what future warfare might look like. However,