Sophia Rose Reviews––The Sagittarius Command by RM Meluch

I'm happy once again to turn over the blog to Sophia Rose. Today she's reviewing the audible version of The Sagittarius Command by RM Meluch, narrated by John Glouchevitch.
Sophia Rose take it away!!
Enjoy!!

The Sagittarius Command by RM Meluch, Narrated by John Glouchevitch

#3 Tour of the Merrimack

Space Opera, Sci-Fi

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Published:  5.23.17

ISBN: 1536671185

Time:  11 hours 31 min

Rating: 4

Format: MP3

Source:  Brilliance Audio

Sellers:  Amazon-Barnes& Noble

Goodreads blurb:

After the finest battleship-class spaceship in Earth's fleet, the U.S.S. Merrimack, rescues a near-space Roman world besieged by a destructive alien life-form known as the Hive, the Romans' leader, Caesar Magnus, insists on honoring the ship's captain, John Farragut. But when Caesar is assassinated, Farragut must lead a mission into the heart of Hive territory in search of a Roman who has been presumed "dead" for decades.

Sophia's Review

A swarming alien threat to all human life has forced a galactic war to be put on hold making uneasy allies of would-be enemies.  The attack on a near space planet near Earth and Palatine has both races determined to take the war to the Hive's home space.  And, a raving genius once thought dead might have the answers to victory or destruction.

The Sagittarius is the third installment of the fantastic military space adventure series, The Tour of the Merrimack.  It definitely needs to be read in order for the reader to have a strong inkling of what is going on in this ongoing story that carries over from book to book.

I continue to be riveted to the story of this battleship crew who represent the US Navy and Marines in space.  It's sci-fi future, but also has a bit of historical Age of Sail style ship, ship's operations, and fighting.  Fighting off space monsters with a sword or scythe?  Yeah, it’s been a blast. 

And added to that old-style fun, let's not forget the two warring human groups are the USA versus the Roman Empire.  Yep, you read that right.  The Roman Empire never fell, but went into hiding until it could set up on another planet and begin to conquer and add to their Empire in space including the desire to re-take Earth.  Naturally, the US among others has something to say about that and send their best into space in the form of Captain John Farragut and his savvy, gritty crew who repel Romans and alien Hive monsters equally well.

 This latest adventure has the Romans under the US military authority and it is volatile peace that Farragut has to be at his wily best to keep them all working together against a deadly, common enemy.  Someone is naturally attempting to sabotage this from within while others are taking advantage of the military focus on the alien monster hive to further their own agendas.  So much going on, always.  Just when I think the Merrimack is backed into a corner and pulls off a miracle survival, there's a nasty twist and its more intense than ever.

The characters are colorful and exciting though not very deep matching the overall tone of the writing and the plots.   My favorite intriguing friendship- well, antagonistic and wary allies- of Farragut and the Roman patterner, Augustus as well as the very acrimonious relations of Captain Callista Carmel and Roman Numa Pompeii.  The last book really dug into Farragut and Callie Carmel's background and this one explores Augustus' which I have been waiting for since book one.  This is space opera so there are some interesting situations brewing aboard ship and from ship to ship between the danger scenes which there are a plethora.

I enjoyed The Sagittarius Command in audio format narrated by the excellent John Glouchevitch.  I am convinced I wouldn't enjoy these half so much if I was reading this one in print version.  Glouchevitch brings the crew, the Romans, and the other characters to life and I can't praise his work enough for catching the rhythm of the author's writing which can be choppy (though personally I think it suits the stories), the tone and emotion of the story.  I see it all so clearly in my mind. 

In summary, I am addicted to this space opera- military adventure series and can't wait to get the next installment after all that went down there toward the end of this one.  These are for those who want fast moving, gritty space adventure and war action, some twisting intrigues and a large cast of colorful quirky characters.

My thanks to Brilliance Audio for the opportunity to listen to this book in exchange for an honest review.

Author’s Wikipedia Bio:

From 1979 to 1992, Meluch wrote several novels treating a variety of subjects, followed by a period in which she published rarely. In 2005, she published the first of the Tour of the Merrimack series of military sci-fi/space opera novels. The series is set on the warship U.S.S. Merrimack in a future where the United States and a recreated Roman Empire are at war with the alien "Hive".

RM Meluch’s Website:  http://www.rmm

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Sophia’s Bio:

Sophia is a quiet though curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, and gardening. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes Region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, Baseball, Cats, Scooby Doo, and Chocolate.

Sophia’s Social Media Links:

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GoodReads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13418187.Sophia_Rose