Equilibrium (Scattered Stars: Conviction) Paperback – January 18, 2021

Glynn Stewart is outstanding in many ways, aside from the quirky bit of writing each series in its own universe, his well developed characterisations, his crafty dialog, his sense of pace in military conflict he actually is quite good in telling stories - just an opinion of someone who can barely put two words together without mangling the language.This book (3 of the series) Equilibrium, as you might expect, brings all the forces of Redward, the Memorial alliance with Conviction and the Equilibrium Institute (the big Nasty) together in a sweeping tale of conflict. The military conflict drama is deeply involved and complex and told with good pace.What the Equilibrium Institute brings us is a revisit of Hari Seldon's psychohistory calculations (see Isaac Asimov's classic Foundation series), which did contain an error. Thank you Glynn Stewart for this new gleaning.For the reasons stated above I thoroughly loved this book and look forward to the next installment - enjoy.

Glynn. I'm going to start with a request. Could you raise your right hand and then repeat the following. "I will strive to avoid making my villains ridiculous by lower the amount of power I give them."Yes, in this third book in the series the villain ends up being a bit over the top. Supposedly the Equilibrium Institute is some band of rich "busybodies" who thanks to some obscure (and outright impossible) mathematical formulas some of their scientists Mad scienced up, are convinced that the only way to get galactic peace is to create local hegemonies where one system dominates its 10-12 neighbors, but is incapable of projecting much power beyond that. They've spent at least 40 years in the shadows, identifying systems they believe they can coax into becoming these hegemons, and no price is too high to create these sectors. And they are positive their way is the only way.I just can't find that villain another other than completely and utterly ridiculous. Their formulas would have to be something thought up by Rube Goldberg. I've seen the level of math used by top PhD level Economists who specialize in trying to predict economies through what they call "Econometrics". This is multi-dimensional calculus level equations and the professors admit the accuracy is less than 50%. It can be used as a guideline, but its not and can never be perfect (humans are too random for any equation to be accurate at a high level.) The "Seldonian equations" discussed here would be just as inaccurate. And after the 40+ years the Institute has been engaging in its shadow war through a section of the galaxy you'd think some of their little pocket empires would have collapsed. In fact since book 2 they've claimed that Redward's push for a Free Trade Zone is destined to die in 20-40 years because they've seen it happen. (but not one of their satrapies failed? I'm sorry, I'm not cynical enough to believe that.)Sorry, rant off. Honestly, other than the level of financial support the institute seems to have, and the fanatical support some groups give them despite the fact they would have seen multiple failures at some point, the story is very good.I still think Glynn leaves too much character development behind. Kira gets lots of time, and her new lover has some good scenes, but the rest of her squadron is missing from most of this tale other than a couple of brief conversations.The action is good, but there was a bit of a quantity problem. The villain's have more ships, or better ships, or both and while it does clearly have the purpose of heightening the scene of danger, it also steals a lot of the emotion. This is not a story like Die Hard where John McClane is always in danger, but never seems to be completely outclassed. In Equilibrium there is a period where the villains DO have Redward and its allies on the ropes and only the fact that the rules of the universe make it impossible to take out a fortified planet easily gives the heroic side time to build ships to even the odds. And there is still a great sacrifice at the end.And while I don't want to spoil anything, I can say that the ending felt abrupt and a bit unfair. it's not "cliffhanger" levels of atrocity, but there is not cathartic moment at the end where we learn who made it through. We know of a couple of definite "these people died", but there were a few that I cared about that I wasn't sure if they lived or not, because the post climactic battle section went by a bit too quickly.Still its a good story in a solid space opera series, so I can give it 4 stars. But I felt that it wasn't quite at the level of the first 2 books.

I have read more of this authors books than I can count and she continues to deliver good stories than hold my interest. For this story I like how she pulled in Selfinian (sic) math which I remember from a sci-fi series that had to be at least 30 years old.

Notice: I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for a review. The opinions expressed are my own and based on a reading of the book.. i have purchased a copy of thr book in support of the author's work.The third book in the Conviction series picks up a few months after the battle against the mysterious "Institute " that is determined to direct humanity on a predetermined course.The Institute is on the move again, the the mercenary force that is Memorial squadron is once again called into battle against overwhelming force in defense of the government of the planet Redward.New alliances and new friends, old enemies will come to the forefront. In the struggle for freedom sacrifices will be called for.An excellent installment in compelling series, with well developed characters occupying a well thought out and crafted world.A book worth reading

Hello! I received a copy of this book for free, in exchange for an honest review. I also bought the book because I wholeheartedly support this author.Equilibrium is a decent installment in Glynn Stewart's series focusing on Kira Demirci, a war pilot turned mercenary. Frankly, her job hasn't changed much, because she is still a pilot. Scratch that - she just ACTS like her job hasn't changed much.Kira is a fearless leader, and a spectacular main character. In this book, she opens up a little more to the people in her life, and that development is nice to see. She's not an outwardly emotional person, though she's not one for hiding her feelings, either. She's frank, honest, and brave.I would have to give this book 3 stars if I were only comparing Glynn against himself. There was a lack of depth to this particular plot when the others in the series have shined so well. I do think this book potentially set up the next one to be spectacular.I rated the book as a 4, however, because I think Glynn is an exceptional author. So when I say there was a lack of depth to the plot, I only mean there were 3 or so plot twists instead of 5. It by no means is a bad book. I'd recommend it to anyone that appreciates: space books; strong, moral characters; futuristic alternate universes with well thought out technology. Oh, and did I mention plot twists?

Scattered Stars carried the story forward very well. The team helped Redward rebuild and fight back at the Institute and its mercenaries. Conviction and the Memorial squad had tough battles, but ultimately helped Redward regain its footing. There was unfinished business which will likely lead to another exciting installment in the series!

I had an advanced reader copy of this in exchange for a fair review. To date I've reviewed 90% of Glynn Stewart's books and can honestly say I've enjoyed them all. I've not failed to buy any to show my support for the author and encourage him to get my next fix published sooner.Onto this specific book. The book was a good continuation making use of the setup the previous books established. The twists weren't predictable and the ending was very well written. I'm happy to encourage people to read this series and I feel it has great potential to carry forward for many books to come.

I follow this Author because he doesn't disappoint. Yet again the characters come to life in this book / series, and I am hanging out for book 4, Fortitude, in which I am hoping to see the bad guys get handed their head. Sometime in the future I and many others would like to see some of Glynn Stewart's stories come alive on the big screen.

I like this author for his humour and ability to ratchet up the excitement. Have followed several of his books which I use mainly for airplane reading.

Kira and company back in non-stop action . Very enjoyable space opera which has now joined my "must read as soon as it comes out" category . There is sufficient characterisation to make you care for the main participants and the space battles are well described and exciting. You don't get the humour of Craig Alanson or the depth of David Weber so maybe not 5 stars - but for a rollicking good tale told with pace - and space combat with sufficient but not excessive technical detail , you will do well to give this series a try.

Like the 2 books before it equilibrium shows just how good of a story teller Stewart is and how good a series Conviction has become as we watch the actions and consequences of the previous books come to fruition in this one. Looking forward to more.