I'm the author of the Living Sword series and an avid reader of both speculative fiction and history.
3 Books
See allBefore I start, I will note that I was a beta reader for this story so my experience is based on that version.
Even having said that, what I read was a very enjoyable read. It reminded me of the Lost Fleet series, except this is a cast of characters dealing with a first contact situation.
As I want to avoid spoilers I won't go into many specifics, but the author fleshes out both human and alien characters and avoids portraying any one side as simply evil or incompetent.
My one disappointment was that there's no sequel yet. While the story does have an ending, the book sets up so much more and I can't wait to find out what happens next. But I will have to.
A solid 4.5 cookies from me.