Empire Rising · #18 / 22
The Call of Honor
The Karacknid Civil War has ended. Tanaka-lan is the uncontested Imperator of the Karacknid Empire. One task now dominates his desires: the complete conquest of Humanity.
On Earth, James and Christine are all too aware of what the end of the civil war means. For over two decades they have been preparing their civilization for the showdown they always knew was coming. Not content to sit back and let Tanaka-lan bring the war to them, James and his Admirals hatch a plan to go on the offensive first. By striking at the Karacknids’ distant colonies, they hope to goad Tanaka-lan into defending his worlds instead of attacking Humanity’s. Yet Tanaka-lan’s desires are not easily set aside.
Unbeknown to his father, Jonathan Somerville also finds himself thrust into the midst of the developing war. Forced by his sense of honor to lead his own foray into Karacknid space, he may very well ignite the Second Karacknid War before either James or Tanaka-lan desire.
The Call of Honor is the eighteenth book in D.J. Holmes’ Empire Rising series and marks the beginning of the Second Karacknid War story arc.
The series
In a future shaped by starships and shifting alliances, Empire Rising delivers a galaxy on the brink—and dares readers to step into its war-torn heart. This expansive military sci-fi series begins not with glory, but with the quiet tension of a commander burdened by duty. At its core is James Somerville, a Royal Space Navy officer navigating the fine line between loyalty and survival as humanity stretches its reach across the stars.
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What sets this space opera apart isn’t just the scope of its interstellar conflicts or the precision of its tactical warfare—though those are delivered with grit and clarity—but the weight of consequence that hangs over every decision. Empires don’t rise without cost, and here, each battle scars more than just hulls. The political games are as dangerous as the dogfights, and the galaxy is far from black and white.
With a tone steeped in realism and a clear respect for naval tradition, the series blends grounded strategy with far-reaching stakes. Readers are drawn into a universe where no victory is simple, and peace is always temporary. As alliances crack and new threats emerge, Somerville and his crew must navigate not only hostile alien forces, but the very ambitions of the human powers they serve.
Tense, deliberate, and steeped in atmosphere, Empire Rising offers a vision of the future shaped by conflict, command, and the unshakable belief that even in the darkest corners of space, leadership matters. It’s a series that rewards those who savor intricate world-building, evolving character arcs, and the moral grey zones of war among the stars.
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