Official Review: Vengeance and Secrets by John Ronald

jhmende · Post by **jhmende** » 05 Oct 2016, 10:16

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Vengeance and Secrets" by John Ronald.]

3 out of 4 stars

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Vengeance and Secrets by author John Ronald is a soaring, grand science-fiction space opera set in the distant future. Mankind has spread across the galaxy, terraforming planets and developing into a myriad of different cultures. The Confederacy is the largest governing body and claims to be 'the voice for humanity.' There are rebels and outcasts, though, who fight against the establishment and each other.

One thing that I love about this book is that, with a premise like that, you would almost expect to follow the narrative through the eyes of the rebels—sort of like Star Wars does. Vengeance and Secrets is clever, though. The protagonists are all soldiers and sailors of the Confederacy’s military, meaning that, while they do some stuff that may be less than legal, they still fight for the good of the main governing body. The tale is told in a way that, while there is a definite bad guy, there is no one reigning ideology or group that is wholly right or wholly evil.

In Vengeance and Secrets, one soldier, named Badiah, is the last survivor of a failed mission. He is recruited by a ship known as the Endeavor as they begin to track down a group of rebel spaceships that have threatened the stability of the Confederacy. What ensues is a chase across the stars—a proper epic, where our heroes travel to many different worlds and systems and make an array of startling discoveries.

It always helps a book to have convincing, likeable characters. I liked Badiah and the crew of the Endeavor. They all have their own personalities and backstories, and they don’t all feel like caricatures—they are unique, but balanced. The fact that the main character Badiah has to meet and get to know the Endeavor’s people means that we, the readers, also get to gradually know them.

John Ronald also does a good job at building a diverse universe. You really get the feel that, for each planet, there is a history. People from different regions in space or different worlds have unique cultures and philosophies, and those cultures and philosophies reflect in the way those characters behave. Another good thing about this book is that there are a number of good surprises that I wasn’t expecting.

The one major problem I have with this book is that, though it is definitely readable, there were quite a number of grammatical errors that I found. Some of them were pretty basic and, while I feel like the author did revise and edit his story, he should have done a more thorough job. Again, these weren’t overwhelming, but I did notice them.

Now, for some people, minor things like that don’t really annoy them. Usually, I’m the opposite. Those hiccups distract me from what I’m reading. With this novel, though, that didn’t happen. I noticed the mistakes, yes, but I actually cared about the crew of the Endeavor and what happened to them, so I kept reading. Though not perfect, this novel still carried my attention, and I found myself enjoying it. That may very well be the best compliment I can give any book.

I am rating this story 3 out of 4 stars. It is a likeable, fun adventure with a few surprises up its sleeve. If you enjoy space operas or science fiction, or if you just need another story to read, I recommend this book.

******
Vengeance and Secrets
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lane_vespertine · Post by **lane_vespertine** » 11 Oct 2016, 08:54

Just have to say it. Endeavor is kinda a Star Wars ship.
I know I know I know. It is also just a word, and it totally makes sense how two people could independently name ships Endeavor.
But... Star Wars did it first.
Well, now that I have gotten that out of the way: Great Review!
No, seriously, very good review!

jhmende · Post by **jhmende** » 11 Oct 2016, 10:45

lane_vespertine wrote:Just have to say it. Endeavor is kinda a Star Wars ship.
I know I know I know. It is also just a word, and it totally makes sense how two people could independently name ships Endeavor.
But... Star Wars did it first.
Well, now that I have gotten that out of the way: Great Review!
No, seriously, very good review!

Thanks!
I didn't even know that Star Wars had a ship named Endeavor. With as many space opera franchises as there are, it's not too surprising that there's a few repeat ship names. At least it wasn't named 'the Enterprise' or 'Millennium Falcon'

Thanks again!

kimmyschemy06 · Post by **kimmyschemy06** » 11 Oct 2016, 23:25

Sounds like a great book. I love Starwars and it seems like there is a similarity. Too bad, though, about the errors. They can really be quite annoying sometimes. Good job on the review.

jhmende · Post by **jhmende** » 13 Oct 2016, 17:23

kimmyschemy06 wrote:Sounds like a great book. I love Starwars and it seems like there is a similarity. Too bad, though, about the errors. They can really be quite annoying sometimes. Good job on the review.

Thanks!