Review of EVE: Templar One By: Tony Gonzales

EVE: Templar One
By:  Tony Gonzales
Release Day: December 6, 2011
Release for Kindle:  January 3, 2012

Summery from Amazon:

“There will be neither compassion nor mercy;
Nor peace, nor solace
For those who bear witness to these Signs
And still do not believe."

Book of Reclaiming 25:10

New Eden: the celestial battleground of a catastrophic war that has claimed countless lives.

The immortal starship captains spearheading this epic conflict continue their unstoppable dominance, shaping the universe to their will and ensuring a bloody, everlasting stalemate.

But a powerful empire is on the verge of a breakthrough that could end the war and secure their rule over mankind forever. For deep in a prison reclamation camp, a secret program is underway...one that will unlock dangerous secrets of New Eden’s past.

It all begins with inmate 487980-A . . . Templar One.

Prepare for DUST 514.

My Review:

The empires of the Eve universe are at war.  Whether it is a direct and obvious shoot-on-site, or a more subversive one that uses treaties and negotiations to hide their true agendas.  They are all competing to see who will rule New Eden.
The starship captains who are "immortal" already take deadly amounts of lives.  Why should they shy from battle, when death means nothing to them? In an instant they are in a clone body, memories intact ready to go to war for their respective home worlds once again.  But now the Amarr have discovered a way to make their soldiers immortal as well. They believe their warriors will will their holy crusade, but is all hell about to break lose?


I had been looking forward to reading this one since I saw it listed in the Goodreads giveaway, and I'm glad to say I wasn't disappointed. This is pure science fiction. I'm not going to say I understood every teeny, tiny technical word of how everything in the story worked, but that is more my failing then the authors.  (My eyes sometimes glaze over when technical things are explained, especially when the technology doesn't even exist.  As long as it all  makes sense to some extent I'm happy and don't try to figure out if it would be possible outside of the book's universe.) To me the story is more important then if I can build my own spaceship from the technical specs that I've gleaned from the story, and Gonzales world and story drew me in and held me captive.  I was sad when it ended if only because I kept wanting to read more!(Fortunately for me, while this is the newest by Gonzales, there are others out there by him that take place in his EVE universe, so I can content myself with those until the next book comes out.) Even though this is not the first book in the EVE universe, it still is quite capable of being a stand alone novel.  Gonzales's characters are well rounded and I love the way he brings all of them together. I also really liked the way he described his multiple settings and people.  He really brought them to life for me.  The book is a cliff hanger, however it is not a complete cut off. So while I was left wanting to read more, I wasn't agitated and wanting to throw the book across the room.
As I said before, this is pure sci-fi, not a Romance in outer space. So if you or someone you know is into this genre, this book is definitely a great choice. I would say it is for more mature readers, there is gore and violence, but it doesn't really detract from the story itself.
 It is scheduled to be released December 6th so just in time for the holidays, if you are looking for a gift. Or \ for a book to cozy up indoors with during these cold winter months.

****In compliance with FTC guidelines, I'm disclosing that I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads Giveaways.****
(I recommend everybody should go check out all the awesome first read giveaways they have!)