The space carrier Avalon is on a one-way trip to be decommissioned due to its age, outdated technology and built. Along the way the crew face numerous difficulties from crew member conflicts to betrayals to a war being declared forcing Avalon to get involved in numerous battles they are scarcely equipped for.

The plot was good with a great blend of action, suspense and world building. I found some parts with military decorum too drawn out and boring. But it is a military science fiction so that is expected. I love world building so it was exciting to learn about the different planets in the system they visited. The characters were good but they weren’t as well fleshed out as I had hoped they would be. They were really well written but I still felt they were defined by one or two traits only instead of having numerous emotions and traits. I expected that this is because Glynn Stewart is a newer author and as he writes more novels the characters will become more indepth.

In summary it was a good military science fiction novel. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC. I already bought book 2 and plan to continue the series.

While I enjoy Stewart's books and have read a few now, I will definitely say that fans of hard core military sci fi might not find enough meat on the bone here. But that said, the stories have interesting characters that tend to be somewhat upright but also without the usual conservative constraints. Stewart doesn't tend to follow normal storytelling rules, often moving between side and major characters randomly and often not using the rule of three. As well, the tale will move from big picture to small picture somewhat haphazardly. But there is always a good story with decent characters to be found and Space Carrier Avalon is no exception.

Story: The Avalon is an aging ship used by the rejects of the military - as a dumping ground of the people deemed 'difficult' and as a place to take advantage of lax military regulations to make money on the side. But with new management in place, things are going to change on Avalon - and the vessel will find itself on the forefront of a new war.

Along with the big story of a new CAG and new Captain trying to bring order to the chaos of Avalon, there are side stories about fixing a situation where crewmembers are being raped with impunity and a smuggling ring is seeing valuable munitions and vessels secretly sold to the black market. Stewart typically matches the big stories with the little stories and it can be a bit distracting and make the book lose focus at times. But he always pulls back to the big story in the end. It can feel like he ran out of things to write about or pushing an agenda, however, with the smaller stories of side characters.

There is plenty of action and the story is very easy to follow since it is people-focused and not technology driven. It may not be on the level of e.g., CJ Cherryh, but I think those who enjoy books by authors like David Webber or Jack Campbell will enjoy this series.

"Space Carrier Avalon" eBook was published in 2015 and was written by Glynn Stewart (https://www.glynnstewart.com). Mr. Stewart has published nearly 30 novels. This is the first in his "Castle Federation" series.

I categorize this novel as ‘R’ because it contains scenes of Violence and Mature Situations. The story is set in the far future of the 28th century. The primary character is Wing Command Kyle Roberts.

The Space Carrier Avalon is a legendary craft, though now approaching the end of its useful life. Roberts is reporting aboard to take command of his first fighter group. The mission of the Avalon, and probably its last,  is to make a sweep through Castle Federation Space. More of a diplomatic mission that a show of force with the aging carrier. 

As soon as Roberts is aboard he begins to notices things that are amiss and the details soon surface of widespread abuse of the role the Avalon has been playing in the Castle Federation Navy the past few years. Roberts has many obstacles to overcome with some lazy and thieving crew members. This all begins to turn into a desperate situation as the delicate peace the Castle Federation has enjoyed several years is suddenly shattered. Roberts and the crew of the Avalon are thrust into one desperate situation after another.  

I thoroughly enjoyed the 8.5 hours I spent reading this 343 page science fiction thriller. I liked the characters developed for the story. While I have read other novels with the same basic plot of 'space force at peace, then attacked and must respond', I did enjoy this interpretation. This is a series that I would like to read more of. I have to say that now that I have read and enjoyed two Glynn Stewart novels, I will be looking for more from this author. I give this novel a 4.5 (rounded up to a 5) out of 5.

Further book reviews I have written can be accessed at https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/.

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

Great book that treats sci-fi as proper and it is not just action it also develops characters correctly so you will enjoy this book

The book starts slowly, laying the groundwork. Then ramps up rapidly. Science mentioned in book is believable and story has several twists and turns to keep the reader on their toes. The characters are well developed and you feel their emotions. Thoroughly enjoyed reading this.

My wish was granted through NetGalley and the publisher to receive this book to read free for an honest review.
Space Carrier Avalon is on it's last journey before it is decommissioned and scrapped. But things are never easy and before Avalon can go anywhere, corruption, theft and treason have to be dealt with first and then the fun starts. I really enjoyed this book. You like the characters. The action is top-notch and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Looking forward to reading the next one in the series.

Glynn Stewart has shown himself to be a great author, bringing believable problems into his stories, and letting the consequences of peoples actions hold sway. I greatly enjoyed this book and it starts off well with the new person coming in and cleaning house.

Librarian: Honestly, I won't be recommending this one for purchase. Let's just get that out of the way. It's not that I think that this is a bad book. (it's not.) Or that it isn't going to be great in some libraries. (It will.) It just doesn't work for MY library. For one thing this is very clearly an adult book, and I'm a school librarian. For another, space military dramas are a very particular genre that only certain people really love. And my kids aren't showing signs of being that sort of people. Maybe they'll grow into them, but they haven't yet.
Reader: As a reader, I found myself greatly enjoying this book. This surprised me, because Space Military isn't normally my genre. I mean I can't even finish David Weber, no matter how hard I try. Yet something in this book spoke to me. The plot wasn't anything spectacular, but it held my interest, and I actually do want to find out what happens next. And hey, I bought the next book, so at least they succeeded there.
3.5 Stars

Avalon is getting ready to start her last tour of duty, one that is just showing the flag on the border of Federation space. Sounds simple but as new crew arrives they find that things are not what they should be. From start to finish this military space opera keeps popping surprises. What should have been a simple cruise starts finding surprises at the first stop. I loved the action. Stewart gave this a different twist from other ministry science fiction stories. The story needed minimum world building and back story but what was needed was there. The characters are pretty standard with a nice mix of main and side ones, just what again are needed to keep the plot going. It was a hard book to put down. A very nice start to the Castle Federation series.

I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.

Space opera lovers rejoice! Anybody who loves reading about the adventures and improbable successes of Admiral Honor Harrington will will be enthralled by this series. The Space Carrier Avalon is an outdated starship on its last voyage but it has a heritage unlike any other. Glynn Stewart is one of my new favorite authors.