First Command Audiobook By Michael Simon cover art

First Command

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First Command

By: Michael Simon
Narrated by: Ryan Kennard Burke
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An alien attack leaves them adrift in space.

Survive, rebuild, and rejoin the war.

Fresh out of the Academy, Ensign Cole Jackson’s first posting to Freedom couldn’t have come at a worse time. All over the Alliance, planets and colonies are suddenly under attack by the vicious Coven Empire.

Freedom and her sister ship, Hood, are ambushed by alien warships, leaving Hood drifting dead in the void.

Cole is ordered to salvage parts from the powerless Hood, but when he arrives on the unpowered hulk, Freedom is called away, marooning him and a group of malcontent techs in deep space.

With the timer on survival ticking down, Cole must find the confidence to take control, whip his tiny crew into shape, bring Hood back to life–repairing communications, propulsion and even weapons.

He's got one chance to transform the derelict ship into a combat-ready vessel. One he can take into battle and alter the course of the war.

Don't miss the start of this science fiction thrill ride about a crew of young soldiers mustering the courage to fight back against both a vicious alien enemy, and the terrifying void of being stranded in space. It's perfect for fans of Daniel Gibbs, J.N. Chaney, and Vaughn Heppner!

©2025 Aethon Books (P)2025 Aethon Audio Hard Science Fiction Military Science Fiction Survival War
Compelling Storyline • Likable Hero • Distinct Character Voices • Fleshed-out Aliens • Fast-paced Action • Dynamic Povs
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If you like "On Basilisk Station" by David Weber, you will like this. Purchased 2 & 3 just before 1 ended.

Purchased 2 & 3 just before 1 ended.

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good book with decent performance. I was getting tired of the hit and miss of the run of the mill military sci fi with the hero wielding a gun in each hand battling 10 feet tall aliens...

If you like Honor Harrington series read this

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This story rides a very thin line between thrilling and punishing. Explosions and gore that are entertaining and visiral. Yet it's a story that presses you every step of the way.

very well done characters

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This is a fun read. It has me wanting to know what was coming next often enough that I would sit in my car listening after getting home. I will say that it has a lot of Star Trek to it. some of it felt taken directly from it. Still they managed a good story.

First listening to both the author and narrator. I do recommend.

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Well written simple story. Better than average. A bit linear but still enjoyable. I'll be continuing in this series

Nicely Executed Story

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Listener received this title free

Cole is a likable hero embarking on a once in a lifetime adventure. I enjoyed his challenges and how he responded tactically. Sergei was my second favorite character, with the humorous friendship he has keeping engineering in line whilst hell is breaking loose. Ryan Burke has solid vocals for a cast including alien soldiers.
All in all you’re getting what you hope for with a blend of character building and space fighting tactics. I had a lot of fun picturing it and enjoyed the lifelike dialogue.
Thanks for the read! I’m looking forward to book 2!

Admirable First Comand

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seatbelts, harnesses, who needs them let's just let our bridge crew get thrown into shit every time something hits the ship. also the lack of a single eye is an absurd non issue, I'm saying this from the perspective of someone with just one eye, bad vision is a way worse disability then the lack of a single eye so it would be completely absurd to deny someone a role cause of that loss of an eye.

straightforward but not bad, just don't expect reasonable logic.

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Listener received this title free

First Command is the kind of book that plants you firmly in the captain's chair of a half-dead starship and says, "Good luck, kid." And while there’s a fair amount of eyerolling required to stay buckled in for the ride, it’s still an enjoyable journey through war-torn space with a cast you can’t help but root for.

Michael Simon’s military sci-fi debut gives us Ensign Cole Jackson—an inexperienced but well-meaning Academy grad who gets tossed into the deep end when his small savage crew gets stranded on a drifting, disabled ship. With only a skeleton crew, Cole has to lead a desperate effort to restore the derelict vessel and rejoin the fight against the aggressive Coven Empire. As a setup, it’s solid. As a plot, it’s fast-paced, cliche-heavy, and just improbable enough to give you whiplash if you think too hard about the logistics—it works. Mostly.

There’s plenty of action, tight pacing, and a well-balanced rotation of POVs that keep the story dynamic. Sure, you’ll have to suspend disbelief for things like starship bridges with exploding control panels (seriously, who’s still designing these death traps?), and a miraculous repair montage that takes a shattered hulk of a ship and turns it combat-ready in just a few days. And yes, enemies keep magically showing up in the same sector over and over, but if you can look past that, there’s something compelling about this underdog story.

It has heart. I got to like the original salvage crew and not to go into too many spoilers, but I felt bad when bad things happened to them (even when it felt a bit too conveniently plotted). Cole’s character arc is satisfying; he’s inexperienced enough to think outside the box and human enough to feel the weight of every choice. He’s the protagonist you want to see succeed, if only because he hasn’t been ground down by military bureaucracy.

Unexpectedly, Simon also does a nice job fleshing out the alien enemies, giving them depth and culture rather than leaving them as faceless villains. It’s not groundbreaking, but it adds a welcome layer of complexity to the conflict.

As for the audiobook, Ryan Kennard Burke delivers a clean, professional performance. His character voices are distinct, his pacing is on point, and his tone matches the narrative. It’s not a performance that will stick with you long after it’s over, but it does the job without distraction. Think of it as steady hands on the helm—not flashy, but precisely what the mission needs.

In short, First Command is a fun, fast listen with some emotional punches and a decent payoff. It’s not perfect, and if you are a stickler for logic and hard sci-fi, you may not like it. But if you like military sci-fi with underdog heroes, some tactical action, and just enough character depth to pull at your heartstrings, this might be worth queuing up next.

Special thanks to Aethon Books for providing this book at my request.

Military Sci-Fi, Exploding Consoles, and a Rookie

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Listener received this title free

l enjoyed listening and reading this book, where we meet Cole who finds himself and a small crew pressed into turning a wreck into a fighting ship again.

interesting start

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Good storyline and strong character development. Was a tad bit wordy. Looking forward to the second book in the series

Naval tactics

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