Critical Mass: Expeditionary Force, Book 10

It used to be the rock...now its the Fluffernutter...If you know the former then you'll recognize the latter when you get to it.So I'm giving the book 5 starts, I really feel that it should only be 4 but the factor that makes it 5 for me is that I feel satisfied and happy with how things progressed and resolved and I'm already reading it again to find all the little details I missed the first time through, that alone makes it a 5 start book to me.To try and stay as Spoiler free as possible I will say only this, DAMN! OK, maybe it needs a little more than that.Valkyrie ended on a massive cliff hanger that was sort of like the biggest WTF moment of the whole series, seriously, Monkey's were losing their sh@t over this left and right! I liked seeing the fallout of that and the repercussions of that and how Craig told that story. The moments of despair and desperation, the feeling that you've lost all hope then to have it dangled in front of you like the carrot on the stick. I liked how it was resolved and the way everything sort of came together, it did feel a little too fast in some instances and I would have liked to see some of those interactions and plot bunnies exploited a little further but at the end of the day I was happy with how the story started and moved forward.As I was reading through this one a lot of the key moments call back to events in earlier books,, that is not a bad thing, most authors do throw out comparative or comparable events from time to time as a way of tying things together throughout such a long running series; the way Craig does it I much prefer to how some other authors do it. I don't need a page and a half recap of something that happened 3 books ago when a single line does the trick. That is all part of knowing the audience and Craig definitely knows his audience. As we learn more about past events and triggers in the overall story prompt refreshers they are done in a way that is unobtrusive and don't detract from the story, if anything they get integrated into the story and actually help move the plot along.Critical Mass takes the story in a direction that we seem to have been doing everything possible to avoid for the last 9 books, yet it makes sense when we finally go down the rabbit hole; everything has been building to this and the truth shall come out at last.As usual there is a lot of the typical back and forth banter between Joe and Skippy but as Joe matures as a character and the experiences define the character further, the juvenile aspect of Joe and Skippy takes a back seat; don't get me wrong, its still there and its part of the story, but its less of a story element now and more or less just there. Skippy is still an A$$hole though, that will never change. We get introduced to a couple of new characters in this one and a lot of familiar faces are just as prevalent in the story as they have been, some might be surprising but they are a welcome addition, I can't wait to see how this all turns out. We also see a lot of character development in minor characters as they take on a larger overall part of the plot, something we were sorely lacking in Renegades and Armageddon.How the book ends definitely threw me for a loop and I actually screamed by my tablet when I read the last few chapters; Joe casually saying to the reader, "oh yeah, I skipped some details, I should explain" my response was 'YA THINK!!!" and quite possibly the biggest deepest breath and sigh of relief I've ever felt.I enjoyed it, I'm reading it again, my wife enjoyed it, shes reading it again, its just good fun and anyone who tells you otherwise, well that is their opinion as this is mine. I know at this point some readers and worn out and just want the series to end because its getting repetitive and predictable; to a point they are correct but I'm still able to be surprised by some of it and I still find myself thinking, "how are they going to get out of this one?" I also find myself learning things, like tap codes... so take it for what it is, enjoy it and TTA!

This epic saga just keeps getting better each book. I really enjoyed the joining of the Mavericks story line with the main ExForce story. Well done. I'm eager to get onto the next book!

Probably the best series I've ever read.Great twists and the comic relief had me laughing out loud. Of course I'm just a filthy, monkey brained human. I'm amused easily.And Skippy came back.GET THIS SERIES!

Good read and wrap up for multiple books would definitely recommendGoing to try the rest and see what is next

Poor Joe. We learn how big an a$$ Skippy really is. I had to stop reading for awhile because my heart was breaking. 💔Now we wait to see how the universe is going to punish the pirates.

Alanson's main character, Colonel Joe Bishop has been juggling lots ofballs. Or perhaps a more apt metaphor is the spinning plates you usedto see on variety shows, with the performer starting more and more platesspinning on sticks and then ending up having to run frantically fromplate to plate, re-spinning them until finally there are just too many,and they start crashing to the stage.Bishop has been working frantically behind the scenes to keep the galaxy'swarring races from realizing that Earth still exists and that it is notunder any other species control. Since Earth does not have galactictechnology, all he has is two ships and the help of the absent-minded andegotistical Elder AI, Skippy, who has his own reasons to help. Having runfrom plan to plan, and then to deal with the consequences, from scheme toscheme, Bishop is all in. After the last scheme collapses, it is nowinevitable that the galaxy's top races will visit Earth, see what is goingon and casually wipe out Humanity. They are on the way, there is nothingBishop can do to stop it, and Skippy is.. not himself, or more than himself.This book marks a turning point in the series. Up to now, Bishop has beenworking at one thing. That having failed, and Bishop having introducedthe galaxy to an unloved, but effective, 20th century strategic concept,the focus will have to change to understanding the Big Picture and unravelingwhy things are so awful.I am not totally happy with this book, as Joe was mopey for so longthat it was detracting from things. That is the problem with asetting where you, the reader, know that things will, more or less,work out but the characters do not. I tend to get a bit impatientwith "woe is me" when I know that "woe" is not the endgame. I alsodock it a bit for a thinly justified deus-ex-machina involvingthe bolt-hole system. Given that Alanson just used deus-ex in his"Mavericks" sub-series, I thought he had way overplayed that card.I hope the new direction for the series brings in some fresh air asI felt the last few books (main series and sub-series) were subpar.

The ending seemed a bit rushed, but was satisfying. Let’s be honest that this is pulp with no literary value. But at $6 a book, reading one, even when I skip the silly conversations between Skippy and Joe, still takes longer than drinking a beer of the same value. Having a lead character with the emotional maturity of a 14 yr old limits where the story can go. I’m not trying to harsh your buzz, but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

There was some formulatic plot that will please those who have already enjoyed the series.(Minor spoilers if you haven't read the previous book)Yet I really enjoyed the portion where Joe is damaged and healing. I don't know how much the author researched the topic but it felt genuine, engrossing, and appealing to me.End spoilersTo the author, kudos. This was your best yet and I look forward to more. Nice work with the ending, allowing for the Law of Unintended Consequences to create future stories.

I read this from front to back in less than two days, it is an excellent addition to the series and much like the other books has us flying by the seats of our pants. Drama, intrigue, fight for survival and everything else. If you've read any of the others, make sure to read all of them up until this book. It's great.

It is one of the book series which I am reading since it is started. This book is also an awesome creation... I can only recommend it for every scifi fan. Once again Thanks Craig! It is awesome that the audio book is being released parallel now. But..... Sadly I read it by myself and not by my favourite book reader and it is nothing like I don't appreciate the creator, I think they doing an awesome work. Even better if I get really desperate one day (thanks to this Pandemic situation) then I might buy the audiobook for 44$. But for now sadly I didn't buy the audio... Why? Because I was disappointed. Because I check the prices for the previous audiobooks in this series which I bought and none of them costed double-digit. Anyway... I hope this is just price fault from the German Amazon and not some sort of bad campaign/tendency from Podium PublishBest RegardsExforce Fan

Craig alanson did a great job to make us think humanity was destroyed but pulled a great ending out of his ass!

Seit 10 Bänden lässt der Autor nun seinen Protagonisten von einer aussichtslosen Situation in einen noch schlimmeren Schlamassel stolpern. Ich mag den Humor und der Einfallsreichtum mit der sich die Crew um Skippy und Joe immer wieder rettet, ist erstaunlich. Ich muss aber feststellen, dass sich dieser Plot für meinen Geschmack langsam abgenutzt hat. Die unglückliche und unerfüllte Liebe von Joe könnte auch mal zu einem Schluss geführt werden, lieber ein Ende mit Schrecken als ein Schrecken ohne Ende.

Another awesome read in the Ex Force series. Def looking forward to the release of the next book, I’ve been hooked since book 1.