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 author has not only an interesting, imaginative storyline which will interest hard core science and physics enthusiasts, but he also has a great sense of humor. Joe Bishop and Skippy the Magnificent (the ancient AI) are absolutely laugh-out-loud hilarious. RC Bray is an outstanding performer and he makes the audiobook entertaining beyond belief. In the first book, I thought, "this is just a weird, cheesy story" and I almost stopped listening to it. I am glad I stuck with it. At first, it seems a little cheesy, but you quickly realize it is not. It is a great blend of science, humor, military strategy/tactics, and Albert Einstein. Any serious science fiction or military fan will love it.

After the HUGE and unconscionable cliff-hanger at the end of the last book, he at least leaves the story in a much better place. It's also gotten more interesting again after sputtering along in the last couple of books from one disaster to another, ad nauseam. If not for the HUGE cliff-hanger, I probably would not have read this one. Note to author: that's a cheap and dirty way to treat your readers. DON'T do it again. ALSO -- I REALLY wish that you would take your writing seriously enough to learn proper sentence structure. You repeatedly leave awkward, run-on sentences lying around on the floor for your readers to stumble over, leaving us to our own devices to sort out the meaning. It's sloppy writing and disrespectful of your readers. You're making a lot of money when we buy your books; show us a little courtesy and clean up your writing. HINT: use semicolons or conjunctions in long, complex sentences. Don't just slap a bunch of phrases together with commas and move on.

Twists, turns, and surprises await in this latest installment. A delightful read with philosophical what ifs. This is one of the best in the series!

This is an awesome book series. I started September of 2024 and I’m just finishing book 16 of 18. I tried slowing down but I’m so deeply into the characters and story that it is almost impossible to put down. I keep saying that I’m going to email the author to tell him that I love the book, but haven’t as of yet.

Alanson has improved almost every aspect of his writing. Over the course of the series, I would get tired of constant reminders and summaries of previous books. It felt like filler and it was almost like the author didn't trust his readers to remember previous books. There are still references to previous missions, but the filler is gone. It was a welcome and refreshing change of pace. Characters developed well. Alanson tries to add additional dimensions to well estanlished characters, and he succeeds. Traumas should be traumatizing, and the characters react believably to what they experienced in earlier books. The addition of a new character added fresh comic relief that was very welcome. Banter is funny and snappy and has been a consistent strength in the series. As always, events are wild and unpredictable. I've never been too great at predicting what will happen next, but Alanson is particularly good at resolving problems in unexpected and exciting ways. Overall, this book is fantastic and showcases Alanson's growth as a writer and storyteller. It was so good I finished it less than 24 hours after purchasing. I was weary after Valkyrie, and this book has left me energized and excited for the next installment.

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.

Great read. Can't wait to move onto book 11 and the Mavericks side stories. This book opens up more questions for the future.

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 Publish Best Regards Exforce Fan

Ten books in and Craig Alanson still manages to hit the reader with a late plot twist that I for one did not see coming. That said the early portions of the book did at times read as a bit formulaic. I am interested to find out what destination Joe and Skippy reach, but part of me hopes that we find out soon and not have what has been an excellent series turn into some sort of endless soap opera.

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.