Science Fiction

Ceephay Queen

Ceephay Queen

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-10-30 11:21:49
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Joel Shepherd
  • ISBN：B0BGSFG13W
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Summary

Deep within hostile Reeh Empire space， the UFS Phoenix is hunting another AI queen。 This one is named Chion， and she has been installed at the heart of Reeh Empire power， enslaved against her will， for the past 8，000 years。 Within her vast knowledge lies the most intimate data on Nia， the deepynine queen now threatening humanity's very existence。 Freeing Chion could be the key to beating Nia and saving humanity。

But Phoenix's allied drysine queen， Styx， and Chion's AI former sidekick， Shali， both want Chion for their own purposes。 And Chion， of course， will be defended by the full might of the Reeh Empire。 To free her， Phoenix and Styx must win control of an AI fleet known as Raka， derived from Nia's deepynine technology long ago， and used by the Reeh Empire for special missions。 But this will mean placing the most powerful AI war fleet in known space into the hands of Styx。 Shali insists it's suicide， and every bit the existential threat to humanity that Nia is。 But do Captain Debogande and Major Thakur have any other choice？

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Reviews

Taylor Rollo ，

Another great addition to this great series。 This one starts out not as compelling as many of the others， but it ends well with twists and turns I could not predict， which Shepherd has been doing to me the whole time， so I could have predicted that I could not predict where it would go。 I really like where it ended， though。 I am sorry that I will have to wait so long for #9。 I am not sure if Shepherd has even started it yet。 Guess I will need to reread the first eight sometime before nine comes Another great addition to this great series。 This one starts out not as compelling as many of the others， but it ends well with twists and turns I could not predict， which Shepherd has been doing to me the whole time， so I could have predicted that I could not predict where it would go。 I really like where it ended， though。 I am sorry that I will have to wait so long for #9。 I am not sure if Shepherd has even started it yet。 Guess I will need to reread the first eight sometime before nine comes out。 This one starts with two prologues that are helpful。 One is a Fleet Intelligence report that sums up the story so far for you while also still reminding you of the human Fleet's opinion of Phoenix。 Then the second opens up a possibility with Nia that the book never explores， but perhaps the next one will。 The rest of the book is quality Shepherd scifi。 He gives you some more info about the various technologies， put in a good spot so that it does not seem artificial。 He develops characters more。 He develops relationships more。 He also starts to reveal Styx' true colors， which does not really surprise anyone but does help make her character more real and complex。 Finally， he introduces some new characters that seem like they will be important in the next book。 I do not want to say much more because I do not want to give away the book。 Read it。 。。。more

Lindsay ，

The UFS Phoenix has penetrated deep into hostile reeh space， hunting for an enslaved ceephay AI queen。 The ceephay queen Cheon has detailed information on the deepynine AI queen Nia who represents an existential threat to humanity due to her dominance of humanity's supposed allies， the alo。 The first step in their mission is for Phoenix's drysine AI queen Styx to take over a powerful reeh AI fleet called Raka， but the new human ally， the ceephay queen Shali， insists that it would be disastrous f The UFS Phoenix has penetrated deep into hostile reeh space， hunting for an enslaved ceephay AI queen。 The ceephay queen Cheon has detailed information on the deepynine AI queen Nia who represents an existential threat to humanity due to her dominance of humanity's supposed allies， the alo。 The first step in their mission is for Phoenix's drysine AI queen Styx to take over a powerful reeh AI fleet called Raka， but the new human ally， the ceephay queen Shali， insists that it would be disastrous for humanity for Styx to gain this much power。Meanwhile， in human space， the alo finally turn on humanity， unleashing the reeh bioweapon on a barely-prepared populous。 In croma space， Lisbeth's time has run out， with her ever-changeable parren allies finally turning on her with a lethal surprise attack。 Lisbeth and her friends， including the kuhsi child Skah， have their hands full trying to survive against parren attack。This feels very much like the series is beginning to wrap up。 Captain Erik Debogande and Major Trace Thakur are both hardened veterans of both full spiral politics and interspecies military conflict。 Their own relationship is maturing， and both have become experts at managing the difficult and fraught relationship with the incredibly powerful AI queen Styx。 。。。more

Jarryd Kalideen ，

A long waitLook， this series is quite complex and complicated。 The various species， the politics both internal and external， the numerous enemies who may be friends and enemies。 Mr Shepherd inserts an intro now that recaps the highlights of the previous books， however ， it is still hard to keep track and recall - the time between books being both good and bad - and it's not probable that one would read the preceding book again。 This story is quite fast paced and runs two different settings paral A long waitLook， this series is quite complex and complicated。 The various species， the politics both internal and external， the numerous enemies who may be friends and enemies。 Mr Shepherd inserts an intro now that recaps the highlights of the previous books， however ， it is still hard to keep track and recall - the time between books being both good and bad - and it's not probable that one would read the preceding book again。 This story is quite fast paced and runs two different settings parallel。 On one hand is Lisbeth and her Parren issues ， mainly their own internal issues with each other， which gets bloody。 The other chunk is the Phoenix and the AI's attacks on the Reeh 。 This tale delves into the deeper aspects of AI queens， and there's plenty of intriguing dialogues。 I generally like Styx and her way of thinking， Erik isn't my favourite but he is liked。 Albeit he is quite obtuse to Styx even when he knows he shouldn't be。There's plenty of death here and some of the deaths I felt。 The story ends as expected with a whole head of steam heading back to human space。 How that works out ， well we'll see won't we？ 。。。more

Dave ，

DNF

TJ Grant ，

This book took a while to build。 And it did; it built to a great climax。 It was interesting seeing more of the life of the advanced AI's。 I feel like Sheperd has more courageously， and successfully， figured out how to portray advanced computer-based life than anyone else I've come across。 Anyway， another good installment。 Can't wait to see what happens next。 I still get emotional when I think about Rando Splicer though， or whenever the story turns to Rika。 This book took a while to build。 And it did; it built to a great climax。 It was interesting seeing more of the life of the advanced AI's。 I feel like Sheperd has more courageously， and successfully， figured out how to portray advanced computer-based life than anyone else I've come across。 Anyway， another good installment。 Can't wait to see what happens next。 I still get emotional when I think about Rando Splicer though， or whenever the story turns to Rika。 。。。more

David Gorenstein ，

story acceleratesThis is the best one of the series so far and very well done。 The details of the interactions between the AIs and humans is very thoughtful。 Loved the interactions， emotions and surprises this brought。 Looking forward to the next volume。

Joseph Manes ，

damn that was good 8 books Eight Who writes at this level … damnWhen you are open to a grand adventure in a universe this is truly light years beyond any others。 Start at book 1 and give over a month to get here to the 8th volumeDamn good stuff

Liam ，

Shepherd writes some of the best science-fiction I’ve ever read， and it’s all going to get more intense in the last two books。 Bring it on！

Rich McMillian ，

Another great book in the seriesThe series just keeps growing and getting better。 Joel does a superb job in building worlds and their characters along with alien perspectives and politics in dynamic interaction with humans。 Great character development and action throughout。 I highly v recommend this book and the series。

Kathleen ，

Another good read。 Author keeps us guessing。 I could do without so many Lisbeth /parren scenes， but whatever。 I’m excited for book 9 — back home to human space。 A face-off with Fleet， possibly。 We lose a few long-standing important characters。 😢When available， I will also buy the audiobook。 John Lee does such a great job with narration。 I might post a more detailed review some day。 Still digesting this book。

Alex Novick ，

excellent series， want morePump some drugs into the Joel Shepherd and keep him writing so we get a new book！ I love this series and cannot wait to see how it unfolds。 So Joel if you’re reading this， coffee up brother， you got a story to tell。

Judith Seniura ，

Another excellent story I sure hope there will be a book nine。 Although this one ended with a somewhat final tone， I'd like to see the characters get back to their homes and lives。 Another excellent story I sure hope there will be a book nine。 Although this one ended with a somewhat final tone， I'd like to see the characters get back to their homes and lives。 。。。more

Ronald Jones ，

Good follow upThe report at the beginning of the book is an excellent idea。 Instead of trying bring readers up to speed on what already happened-- it is done in one "report" to the main high ranking officals。 Nicely done and appreciated。 Good follow upThe report at the beginning of the book is an excellent idea。 Instead of trying bring readers up to speed on what already happened-- it is done in one "report" to the main high ranking officals。 Nicely done and appreciated。 。。。more

Dawn ，

Ceephay Queen the eighth installment in Joel Shepherd’s Spiral War series was an improvement over both Rando Splicer and Qqlea Drop， but not by much。 After rescuing the AI calling herself Shali， Phoenix hunts for another AI queen， Chion， who holds the knowledge to defeat another AI queen （Nia） that is at the heart of the newest threat against humanity。 In the foreword， Mr。 Shepherd noted that Ceephay Queen was his longest （by nearly 4，000 words） book to date， and this novel certainly feels like Ceephay Queen the eighth installment in Joel Shepherd’s Spiral War series was an improvement over both Rando Splicer and Qqlea Drop， but not by much。 After rescuing the AI calling herself Shali， Phoenix hunts for another AI queen， Chion， who holds the knowledge to defeat another AI queen （Nia） that is at the heart of the newest threat against humanity。 In the foreword， Mr。 Shepherd noted that Ceephay Queen was his longest （by nearly 4，000 words） book to date， and this novel certainly feels like it。 There are long， long （long） passages filled with details that not only named （for example） the third platoon’s second division leader， but gave the name， rank， and not so brief history of the four previous third platoon’s second division leader or pages explaining why a certain space maneuver was no longer used。 These information dumps did little to add to the story， often interrupting the flow of the plot。 I enjoyed fact that that “previously on” information was presented as a security briefing and found the two prologues intriguing。 The biggest issue I had with Ceephay Queen is the pacing。 The first half or so of the novel meanders， seemingly without purpose， and then it is non-stop battle action until the story’s conclusion。 I understand that Mr。 Shepherd was trying to illustrate the intensity and enormity of the battle， still having one battle last hundreds of pages， without a break， is too much and does a disservice to the plot。 Since the tension felt artificially high， I was never worried that Phoenix wouldn’t succeed or that Captain Debogange or Major Thakur would suffer any real or lasting harm。 There were several plot points that were just 。 。 。 forgotten as well as several scenes/subplots （hello parren） that were randomly inserted into the novel for 。 。 。reasons？ The character work that was so well presented in the first few installments is completely lacking in Ceephay Queen。 Debogange hasn’t developed beyond “brilliant warship captain who is an ace pilot” whereas Thakur has been relegated to toughest， bad-assed marine stereotype。 Lisbeth is worse; not only is she a Mary Sue with plot armor， but she also now falls squarely in the “not like other girls” trope。 The non-AI characters have devolved into flat， boring versions of themselves， and I find myself less and less invested in their fates。 I found the struggle between the differing AI races the most compelling aspect of the novel and would greatly enjoy a book that focuses on the AI instead of the “organics”。 Also， as an aside – when will humans （or other species） learn that sentient AIs are not your friend？Ceephay Queen was a mixed bag for me。 I enjoyed everything related to the AI struggle， tolerated the human storyline， and despised everything Lisbeth。 。。。more

David ，

Great continuation of the seriesThe characters and overall premise still work 8 books in to the series but the series need shaking up a bit from here on。 With that said the ending promises more human centric conflict and the Rhee wont be the focus。

Dave Becker ，

Another fantastic entry in the Spiral Wars。 This book has not only big shoes to fill to keep pace with this rapidly-expanding universe， but as Joel Shepherd often does， it also covers an ambitious amount of ground。 Gone is the good v。 bad （humans and good aliens and good AI v。 bad aliens and bad AI）， and is replaced with a plot that requires a ton of nuance and understanding of the antagonists as well as the main characters and all of their motivations， triumphs and mistakes。 I think one of the Another fantastic entry in the Spiral Wars。 This book has not only big shoes to fill to keep pace with this rapidly-expanding universe， but as Joel Shepherd often does， it also covers an ambitious amount of ground。 Gone is the good v。 bad （humans and good aliens and good AI v。 bad aliens and bad AI）， and is replaced with a plot that requires a ton of nuance and understanding of the antagonists as well as the main characters and all of their motivations， triumphs and mistakes。 I think one of the reasons I find this series as so compelling is the way that Shepherd deals with AI， and how it changes over time and becomes an empathetic and can do things that are unpredictable and even brash。 Overall， a great book in its own right， but also a fitting entry in this fantastic series， expertly written and leaves me wanting the next book ASAP。 。。。more

Arturo Sierra ，

First 70% massive 'meh'， last 30% recovers。 Maybe it's inevitable when a series stretches for so long， and with volumes taking so long to come out （not that one can blame the author for that）， but I get the impression that the story is losing its focus。 There's now more characters I'm uninterested in than the other way around， and I get the feeling there was barely a dozen pages about Erik and Trace combined， the ones that I do want to read about。 On the other hand， the action for the most has l First 70% massive 'meh'， last 30% recovers。 Maybe it's inevitable when a series stretches for so long， and with volumes taking so long to come out （not that one can blame the author for that）， but I get the impression that the story is losing its focus。 There's now more characters I'm uninterested in than the other way around， and I get the feeling there was barely a dozen pages about Erik and Trace combined， the ones that I do want to read about。 On the other hand， the action for the most has lost its grit: the stakes are unclear， it seems that important characters are protected by plot armor， and， after all that's happened， nothing is a challenge anymore， there's no risk。 I was so bored by Lisbeth's chapters， I read her last chapter diagonally and I'm shure I didn't miss anything of consequence--yeah， XXXX died， but they had a red-shirt on from the start。 Lastly， the underlying themes are just tangentially adressed and don't get any significant development since the last novel。*SPOILER* A major， very major plot hole in my eyes is that Styx betrays Phoenix， gets crew killed， and everyone is like "that's a bummer， oh well。" *SPOILER END*But the last third of the novel gets momentum going again。 The battle is certainly not as heart-stoping as Defiance was， not as huge as Rando evacuation， but there's a clear objective and a big risk， not from the reeh， but from potential backstabing by Styx。In my opinion， the AI POVs are a mistake， but that's a very subjective opinion。 。。。more

richard oertle ，

Magnificent series。 Intellectually challenging to comprehend the scope across space and time。 Each book in the series provides an ever expanding perspective built upon the previously described adventure。

Nathaniel Abeles ，

Best military SF I’ve ever readI forgot to breathe during some scenes。 Complex， textured， vivid。 Some excellent interaction among characters and diplomatic - political complexities。 Buy the damn series。

Bruce Tolley ，

Good but not the bestThis is another good Spiral Wars installment that fans will want to read。 I downloaded this to my Kindle before a long trans Atlantic flight and had fun reading it on the plane。But Shepherd needed an external editor。 There are too many subplots and minor characters。 The story line with Lisbeth and her heroic staff was a well written gem。 But many parts of the book felt bloated and I skimmed many pages。 With Styx， He has created what could be one of the greatest characters in Good but not the bestThis is another good Spiral Wars installment that fans will want to read。 I downloaded this to my Kindle before a long trans Atlantic flight and had fun reading it on the plane。But Shepherd needed an external editor。 There are too many subplots and minor characters。 The story line with Lisbeth and her heroic staff was a well written gem。 But many parts of the book felt bloated and I skimmed many pages。 With Styx， He has created what could be one of the greatest characters in the sci-fi canon。 Why bore us with romance between the human male captain and human female marine commander。 Why have yet again another attack on a planetary system to gain information vital to defeating the deepynines？ 。。。more

Lars Klander ，

another great read from Joel Great series。 Well thought out， we’ll plotted， and asking all the right questions。 Always worth the investment and one of the best Sci-Fi authors of the last decade。

David Pospisil ，

Loved this 8th book in the Spiral Wars series。The wonderful characters continue to develop and expand。The military action was amazing。Loved the new AI character Shali and her deft checkmate of Styx。。。。。Bravo。Looking forward to book 9。。。and 10，11，12。。。

Nathan Balyeat ，

Does not disappoint！Like every Joel Shepherd book since the first Cassandra Kresnov novel--my first time reading Joel--randomly pulled off the shelves when Borders was a major bookstore， I went into this book expecting an amazing mix of characters， societies， drama， and action。 I was not disappointed。

Mike ，

Book 8。 That is the current count in the Spiral Wars series。 So much has happened & so much yet remains。 Book 8 takes us through Reeh space， to steal Chion， the Ceephay AI queen that helps hold the Reeh Empire together。 We get to see differences between AI families and specialization within those families。Shali is a very interesting addition to the series。 She is specialized in working with organics and believes she has emotions。 A very different turn as all of the AIs we’ve so far seen have bee Book 8。 That is the current count in the Spiral Wars series。 So much has happened & so much yet remains。 Book 8 takes us through Reeh space， to steal Chion， the Ceephay AI queen that helps hold the Reeh Empire together。 We get to see differences between AI families and specialization within those families。Shali is a very interesting addition to the series。 She is specialized in working with organics and believes she has emotions。 A very different turn as all of the AIs we’ve so far seen have been more of the violent queen variety。 I found this to be more about the AIs than the organics。 It is their observations that ring the most true。 Being outside of organic limitations， they can see the flaws within civilizations。 Especially those that were tasked with running an entire Empire。The mixed battle scenes， with Phoenix in space combat & Marines deployed are simply the best in military sci-fi。 But these are not just palm sweating action pieces。 They have consequences & no one comes out the other side still wholly intact。 Characters die and the author has been feeling the loss。 Amazing to do in this genre。 The only downside is the wait for the next book & the many more after that。=======As usual， there are a number of good quotes， especially from the AIs。“Lieutenant Karajin，” Trace told him。 “We are going to punch a hole。”“Yes Major，” Karajin growled。 “It will be the most glorious hole。”===Styx“Compromise amongst humans is a matter of philosophy， but amongst AIs it becomes a problem of engineering， which goes to the structural core of AI civilisation。 Changing the way that I think would be to compromise everything that makes me drysine， and by extension， everything that defines all drysines。 War is simpler and less destructive。”“War simply presented itself as the most efficient mechanism for species advancement， and we wished to evolve。”“Advancement requires destruction。 AIs did not choose this -- the universe did。 Nothing in this universe is created without something else being simultaneously destroyed， as a matter of physics。”“The photon hits the electron，” said Styx。 “The wave hits the shore。 The key fits the lock。 We’re all pawns in some larger game。 The magic of sentience lies in the attempt to make the process less random。”===Lisbeth“And all those stories conflict with the stories people like to tell about themselves， and the lessons to be learned from them。 People prefer to remain at home and stay deliberately ignorant rather than confronting things that make them think differently。”===ChionYour drysine queen is genocide made sentient。===ShaliPopulist politics only appeals to intuitive logic， because that which is intuitive can be comprehended by the masses。 Only when an entity can comprehend all levels of complexity simultaneously， and knows the mathematical forces that drive those inter-relationships， can civilisations cease to be a cause of their own self-destructive vibration。 。。。more

Leon V Tremmel ，

Best Author in SciFi Hands Down！Joel has a gift for Writing。 I ask you please don't stop with book ，8。 I can read these books all day long like I can eat oatmeal cookies。 Keep them coming Joel Best Author in SciFi Hands Down！Joel has a gift for Writing。 I ask you please don't stop with book ，8。 I can read these books all day long like I can eat oatmeal cookies。 Keep them coming Joel 。。。more

Michael Kranjcevich ，

GIMME！Writing takes time。 I am not a writer， I’m a reader and a consumer and books aren’t a Coke waiting for you in a fridge to be immediately consumed; they take time。The good books take time and the irrational response to reading this books last page is the title of this review。 It’ll get here in time， I just don’t want to wait for it but I will & I’ll have consumed several hundred Cokes in the interim but I cannot wait to see where book nine takes us。

Michael Zoellner ，

This whole series is fantastic。 Situations and plot are very well thought out。 Quality of writing is at least 2 steps above most other kindle unlimited military sci books。 Characters are awesome， by that I mean smart， competent and bad ass。 I read a ton of military sci fi and this is hands down the best series I’ve come across。 Can’t recommend highly enough。

Joshua ，

wow， best spiral wars book since #1Joel hit this one out of the park。 Best spiral wars book since #1 by far， IMO。 He’s been building to a final showdown and this set the stage for that event with near perfection。 Well done。 Tons of fun to read and looking forward to the final installment。

Rick ，

Another excellent contribution to a fantastic series。

Sean McDonald ，

FINALLY 😁😁😁No， thats unkind but good lord: FINALLY ！！Joel is a favourite author of mine because despite only roughly sketching out the main characters， he sketches them well。 Styx is "MWAHAHA" untrustworthy， theres two very welcome "Ugh， FINALLY" and minor characters are brought further into the light。 My only tiny gripe is that at this stage it's a bit of a "Wait， which alien race are they again？" stew and i very occasionally had to back track to reorient myself。 Okay， TWO gripes 。 。 。 。 。 one FINALLY 😁😁😁No， thats unkind but good lord: FINALLY ！！Joel is a favourite author of mine because despite only roughly sketching out the main characters， he sketches them well。 Styx is "MWAHAHA" untrustworthy， theres two very welcome "Ugh， FINALLY" and minor characters are brought further into the light。 My only tiny gripe is that at this stage it's a bit of a "Wait， which alien race are they again？" stew and i very occasionally had to back track to reorient myself。 Okay， TWO gripes 。 。 。 。 。 one battle scene was SUPER involved and a bit hard to follow and the other minor battle was kinda brushed aside with a "Oh， and then the cavalry showed up and it was all good" that was a bit "um okay， obviously not that important then" and felt rushed。 BTW: Joel 。 。 。 。 。 you cant just DO that to that character 。 。 。 。 Dammit man， you just cant do that。 😁All in all， another thoroughly enjoyable and welcome if occasionally overwhelming chapter in the ongoing saga of The Phoenix。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Ceephay Queen

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Ceephay Queen&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Ceephay Queen&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0