Two weeks ago, I came home to a package from Berkley Publishing. Inside, they’d given me a copy of each book in Sean Danker’s Admiral series. I got a hardcover Admiral and paperbacks of Free Space and The Glory of the Empress. Thank you Berkley and Mr. Danker! In exchange for their generosity, I thought I’d review the novels as I read them. Back in 2016 when Admiral was debuting, it got a lot of press, and it caught my interest. Later that month, I purchased a first edition hardcover and read it right away. On this second reading, my first impressions held up. This is a good story.
TL;DR
Admiral by Sean Danker is a fun, fast, tense stand-alone novel that introduces the Evagardian Universe. Recommended.
From the Publisher
I was on a dead ship on an unknown planet with three trainees freshly graduated into the Imperial Service. I tried to look on the bright side.”
He is the last to wake. The label on his sleeper pad identifies him as an admiral of the Evagardian Empire—a surprise as much to him as to the three recent recruits now under his command. He wears no uniform, and he is ignorant of military protocol, but the ship’s records confirm he is their superior officer.
Whether he is an Evagardian admiral or a spy will be of little consequence if the crew members all end up dead. They are marooned on a strange world, their ship’s systems are failing one by one—and they are not alone.
Story
This is a survival story. Four people are on a dying spaceship, and three of them are recent graduates of the military headed to their first posting. The other wakes to find he’s been promoted to Admiral, but there’s a few inconsistencies with his sleeper. One graduate trusts the newly promoted Admiral; one thinks she knows his secret; and the final suspects that he’s a spy. But they all have to work together to figure out where they are, why help hasn’t come, and how to survive until they can get off the planet.
This story hits the ground running and maintains a break neck pace. It rests occasionally, but there’s information coming at the reader all the time. In a manner, it reminded me of Alien because there’s a constant tension throughout the text. This is psychological horror; the ship and planet feel oppressive and uncaring. Problems escalate as the story progresses, and all characters have to use and extend their skills to survive. But the planet has surprises of its own.
Characters
The main character is likable, and throughout the text, we’re not sure if he is an Evagardian or a spy, and he’s not going to tell. His skill set keeps the group alive and keeps them focused on the next goal. When the book is over and you learn his identity, you can see the hints laced through the story. He is focused on survival through most of the book, but in rare moments, we get to see him wrestling not only with their situation but his past.
Before the accident, the recruits were headed towards the most prized posting in the Evagardian empire; so, naturally, they’re the best of the best, which is exactly what’s needed to survive. A technician, a medical officer, and a negotiator round out the party, and each has an opportunity to show their skill. Each of these were distinct personalities, but I don’t remember much physical descriptions, except for the negotiator. Even then, it was a description in relation to another person within the novel. Each has an interesting backstory, but it’s the negotiator that has the most interesting, even more so than the Admiral. I would love to see her get her own story.
Worldbuilding
In Admiral, worldbuilding is kept to a minimum in order to maintain its high pace. While I read this, I divided the worldbuilding into two categories: 1.) the immediate surroundings, and 2.) the larger world of the Evagardian universe. By necessity, we get more of the first. The whole novel takes place on one planet with one point of view. So, we see a wrecked ship, the planet, the small cast of characters more than anything else. But throughout, hints and gems from category two are dropped. These hints describe a much wider and complicated universe. We learn that the empire is ruled by an empress and has a multi-layered aristocracy. A war with another civilization just finished. To put it simply, there’s plenty to be explored in the next two books. I look forward to seeing how the universe is fleshed out in the future volumes.
Thoughts
Even though this is book one, it’s very much a self-contained novel. The story ends; it doesn’t leave open plot threads, but it’s easy to see future plot opportunities. It made me very happy that we don’t end on cliffhanger, waiting for book two. It’s a very tightly focused story in the Evagardian universe that lays enough worldbuilding to make book two intriguing on its own merits. I liked that throughout the book, we’re unsure of the Admiral’s true loyalties, and the survival necessity means that those loyalties don’t matter. Watching the characters wrestle with their suspicions adds an extra layer of drama.
The publisher notes that they’re not alone on the planet, but other than a few, low-key hints, it doesn’t matter for two-thirds of the book. When it does matter, it feels sort of like a different book. In this way, it reminded me of the movie Event Horizon because the source of the horror changes seemingly abruptly. I think the author was too sparse with the hints early on for such an overwhelming presence in the end. After all was said and done, I can’t say why we didn’t see more earlier on. Unlike Event Horizon, this change didn’t ruin the book for me.
Conclusion
Sean Danker’s Admiral is a fast-paced, deep space survival novel. It’s is an excellent, stand-alone introduction to the wider Evagardian universe. Mr. Danker filled it with interesting characters that I easily became attached to by the end. The tense, weird world makes for a fun, fast read. Recommended.