Echoes of Empire provides a surprising ending that caught me off guard. This sci-fi adventure takes Van and his crew on an unexpected journey as they unintentionally topple an empire. With evolving tactics, mysterious allies, and a philosophical exploration of existence, the book concludes in a way that I didn't see coming. If you appreciate a story with an unforeseen ending, this one is worth checking out.

This is the 11th installment in the Backyard Starship series and, although there are starting to appear signs that the series should perhaps conclude or change the main story arc to something new and fresh, it is still a quite enjoyable read.

Van and his team of daredevils are what makes this installment worthwhile. Their bantering, antics and ass-kicking are really the things that carries this book for me.

The story is okay but it really feels like the author(s) are dragging it out now. I would much rather have had a new fresh story at this point instead of this nonsensical scam trial which had as much such legitimacy as, for example partisan commissions run by political asshats. Hint, that would be zero.

Still there’s plenty of action and, as I wrote, the book is carried by Van and his merry band of misfits.

There where a few points in the books that annoyed me and where just silly or unnecessary or both though.

This rubbish about “training” someone by exposing them to “motion-induced hysteria” was on the silly side of things. The unnecessary woke harping about burning hydrocarbons and the equally nonsensical, uneducated statements implying that things were glowing all over the place in Chernobyl was both silly and unnecessary. It is really annoying when such woke preaching just pops up for no good reason other than appease certain loudmouthed groups.

Anyway, an enjoyable installment as I wrote, but I hope the author either concludes the series or starts a new fresh story arc with the next installment.