Layers of Force

<strong>Great final to the Star Kingdom Series</strong><br /><br />I have enjoyed Miss Buroker’s books since I discovered her Hidden Empire series. She excels at Science Fiction mixed with a touch of Harlequin Romance. Being an admitted romantic, I love the stories that result. When reading a Lyndsay Buroker series you can count on a number of things. Interesting characters of various ethnic backgrounds, plenty of Sci-Fi action, and eventual couples you will root for to get together. <br /><br />The Star Kingdom series is no different. I also like that Miss Buroker has no qualms in giving her characters a happy ending. So many authors think there is something cheap about not having some tragedy befall in the end. Yes, that can happen in a story but it’s nice to have a series finish and feel good about what transpired in the end. I won’t go into detail here but if you read from the first book in the series till Book 8, you will not be disappointed. <br /><br />I also highly recommend the audiobook series for this collection. As narrated by Fred Berman, it is a great rendition. Berman does such a great job that by Book 8, (where the audiobook is not ready yet) as I read it, I imagined his voices for the characters. Check it out and all of Miss Buroker’s books. She really has a gift for Sci-Fi and Fantasy storytelling.

I'm going to miss this series. I might also have to reread the lot very soon.

<strong>So Sad . . . </strong><br /><br />. . . that this is the end. The Star Kingdom series has been a fun departure from the usual shoot-em-up space operas with slimy crustaceans and a focus on the size of weapons (I have a name for that that I won't publish here).<br />Of course, it is absurd to think that Casmir could be such a Pollyanna and survive in the cut throat halls of academia let alone the environs of space pirates, megalomaniacal monarchs, and semi-mechanical beings. But when one is looking for a science fiction (fantasy?) story that doesn't focus on some evil being trying to enslave/destroy Earth, Buroker more than fills the bill.<br />I'm hoping for more (I've already read Knight Protector) especially about Rache/David and Kim. Oku and Casmir stories would be nice too, though one would hope the idealistic/naive robotics genius would grow up; otherwise I can't see him as any more than another pet for Queen Oku. Stories about Zee and his kind would be fun, too as they survive their unique qualities and become independent individuals.<br />Last words: it you're looking for stories that are outside the usual genre, read this series. It'll make you smile, chuckle, and ignite one of those episodes of "just one more chapter!"

<strong>Spectacular!</strong><br /><br />And a bag of mixed feelings to boot since it's the end of the series... Not gonna lie, going to miss Kim's and Casmir's quirkiness, not mentioning all the other characters! Excellent volume in a most amazing Space Opera series! Highly recommended. Lindsay Buroker is an excellent writer, with a flawless style and flair for epicness :D

Casmir has found himself in the middle of a WHOLE BUNCH of charged, dangerous situations since his adventures began and he always somehow ends up squeaking out with new allies and a a growing group of robots who will do anything to keep him safe. Remaining true to form, this adventure starts with Casmir imprisoned and alone in the bowels of the Kingdom's castle and ends with a massive shake-up of everything under the sun.<br /><br />Casmir's allies are on the move to free him before his public execution, the princess he's interested in is taking a stand so that a terrible injustice isn't committed, and Casmir's still using his big, ole brain to figure out how to do right in the face of overwhelming odds.<br /><br />I must say, there's a lot going on here. In the best possible way. There are a lot of happy endings. A lot of people getting their just desserts (both of the good and the bad variety). A lot of fighting. A lot of danger. A lot of daring escapes made possible only because one scholarly roboticist refuses to stop fighting for the things that matter to him.<br /><br />I've enjoyed every second of Casmir and crew's adventures and WOW did I like how things ended. *thumbs up*<br /><br />-Kelly @ <a href="https://paranormalbookreviews-kelly.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow noopener">Reading the Paranormal</a><br />

Darn! Aw I'm sad this adventure has come to an end! I'll admit in the beginning when I read the premise I had my doubts this would be a favorite....but yet again, Ms. Buroker reeled me in and I was hooked!! I really hope she will write more from this universe. There's so much more to explore! I'm diving in to the 2 prequels, and especially that 'postquel' to get a little more on our multilayered villain.

This review is for whole series, not just this last book.<br /><br />4.5/5 stars – a delightful space opera spanning eight books, with a good plot, excellent pacing and interesting characters! Although it is one series with an over-arching plot, each book has its own mission and goal, which concludes at the end of the book.<br /><br />The premise – 2000 years ago, 24 colony ships arrived in the 12 systems via 12 wormhole gateways and started a new life for humanity. None of the gates lead back to Earth and the gate technology was long thought to be lost i.e. no new gates can be built (and nobody wants to dismantle and study one of the 12 gates in case they break it, cutting off the 12 systems from each other).<br /><br />Only one system is ruled entirely by one government, a monarchy, the Star Kingdom. In this system is also the most earth-like planet of all the systems (other systems have habitats, moons and terraformed planets). The Kingdom is considered backwards and arrogant by the other systems. Although they have the same level of technology, they are antiquated in their laws forbidding many things from genetic engineering to gay marriage. The current king Jager is also an ambitious narcissist.<br /><br />But now, the pieces of a 13th gate have been found by an archaeological team on a lifeless moon. And everyone wants it for themselves.<br /><br />Into this conflict the two main characters are drawn against their will.<br /><br />Casmir Dubrowski is a robotics professor at a Star Kingdom university, a genius who has built advanced robots for the monarchy (think T-1000 from Terminator 2), and is a nerd who loves comic books and has some health problems (allergies, seizures and motion-sickness – it becomes a running joke in fact that nobody wants to lend him a shuttle or space-armor if he doesn’t promise not to throw up in it).<br /><br />With him in their flight from the planet is his best friend and house-mate, Kim Sato. She is a genius bacteriologist who writes allegorical fantasy novels in her spare time and a literature expert. She is also trained in kenjutsu, as her father and brothers run a dojo in the planet’s main city, and she has some serious social contact issues (i.e. a bit like Sheldon from Big Bang).<br /><br />After an assassination attempt on Casmir, the two protagonists flee the planet and so meet Captain Bonita Lopez, a bounty hunter, her sentient ship Viggo, and her muscle-employee, Qin who is a genetically engineered cat-woman and a fearsome warrior. The main character cast is later joined by the two Asgers, father and son knights from the Kingdom.<br /><br />The villains are mostly well-written too, some are just ambitious, some are evil, and a few have very good reasons for what they do.<br /><br />Flaws IMO are that Casmir is over-power i.e. he can hack into any system within 10 minutes, and that his character growth is less than it should be. It might be good thing, as he remains the cheerful pacifist who is naive about humanity and believes that everything can be sorted out if people just talked to each other. It does become irritating at times though, as he refuses to see the sense in some actions from other characters.<br /><br />TLDR – if you love space opera with interesting characters, a good premise, very good writing and pacing, with villains and heroes, friendship and some romance, and a lot of action, give it a read! It is free on KindleUnlimited for reading at the moment.

"Layers of Force" was the perfect ending to the Star Kingdom series. However, I have to admit, I would have preferred that this series with the quirky characters that I have grown to love would continue on for at least a few more books. <br /><br />In the previous book we were left with the knowledge that Casmir had been captured by King Jarg and is going to be taken back to the Kingdom to be publicly executed. Of course, Jarg has set a trap to capture those who might come to Casmir's rescue. He is especially hoping to capture Rache. Jarg is also angry that is son, Jorg was killed. His son Finn wants the new position and is not above perpetuating the most egregious crimes to make it happen. This is evidence when Rasche kidnaps him in an effort to trade him for Casmir's release and he propositions Rasche. Little does he know that he was being recorded.<br /><br />Meanwhile, someone is going around stealing the pieces of the gate and Jarg wants it to stop. Jarg takes command of the battleships himself and sets off to locate and destroy anyone who attempts to get into his way. Bonita and Viggo are at a loss missing Qin but manage to rescue a group of Kingdom soldiers and return them to safety. She is also recruited Rasche to release the video of Finn after he is released.<br /><br />Meanwhile, Princess Oku sets out on a mission herself to rescue Casmir from the castle dungeon. She also messages Casmir's parents to meet her in order to secure their safety. Asger, Qin, her sisters, Bjarke and Tristan are also included in on this mission. <br /><br />There is so much going on in this read as well as so much to recommend this series. I would love to live in a world where a nerdy professor who builds robots who are thinkers and programs to value life is the norm. But that is not the way our world is wired. I did discover there is a 9th book in this series ( a kind of stand alone) about Moonrazer. I will definitely be going on to read it and I hope there will be more to come.

I found this a disappointingly lukewarm ending to the series. There were a few different reasons for this but they all essentially boil down to the vast majority of characters being useless to the story and the major conflicts we've been building up for 8 books actually getting resolved almost by accident rather than through the intentional actions of our characters. Now to expand on this a little:<br /><br />Firstly, all the "secondary" characters have already paired up so their romantic plots are more-or-less resolved. This isn't an issue in and of itself except now they are left to pretty much hang out as background- they don't grow or change, they don't have any interesting personal conflicts, they don't actually affect the plot in a meaningful way and overall their presence doesn't actually affect anything.<br /><br />Secondly, everyone except Casmir and Rache has become utterly useless. I found this especially annoying with Kim and Oku because they were supposed to present some kind of moral counterpoint to the violent solutions preferred by their male love interests but every plan/action they took throughout the book turned out to be dangerously naive.<br /><br />Thirdly, for a book where Casmir and Rache finally confront the series villain, King Jaeger actually never "appears" in the story. He is off somewhere in the background doing something not quite clear that doesn't affect the plot and he doesn't know or care about the actions of our protagonists until the very end.<br /><br />Finally, the book just ends with a series of increasingly unbelievable deus ex machinas. I have to say the one I found the most disappointing is the book that Kim spends the whole book writing- <input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="fbb62785-d389-4536-8022-6398f5c4efea" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="fbb62785-d389-4536-8022-6398f5c4efea">we are just told that between one chapter and the next it was written, edited, published, read by billions and spawned a long-reaching powerful social movement that pushed for constitutional change. We are never given so much as a title or clue of what the actual content might have been.<input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="33281ad9-2bb6-4dfc-8c79-da141f509de4" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="33281ad9-2bb6-4dfc-8c79-da141f509de4"></label></label>

Well, that explains....a lot.... Casmir did call it in the second book, though if humans had stolen the tech, I do wonder why the security on the gate specifically allowed humans through. I am also intensely curious about the Collective and really want to see Casmir (and his crushers) pay them a visit.<br /><br />I'm kinda disappointed that David followed his obsession and killed Jager. I acknowledge that Jager's death made a lot of things easier, especially since he definitely wouldn't have stepped down voluntarily. But I still wish that Rache hadn't been the one to kill him. The Main Event is certainly an interesting path (mainly because of Casmir's goofiness) and I hope David engages in less criminal activities in his new superhero role ?.<br /><br />I also hope Amit can find a companion. And I am very happy that Zee and Tork have committed themselves to each other. Hopefully the other crushers can find companions too.<br /><br />I wonder what the astoshamans (and Moonrazor) are going to do now. Will they actually be able to build a gate? Will Casmir help them? Will other scholars and governments try to insert themselves? Are they going to work on getting more acceptance from the general population?<br /><br />In all, a satisfying conclusion to the series, but still so much to explore! I am looking forward to whatever comes next ☺