USA Today Bestseller Rhett C. Bruno’s debut sci-fi series is a gritty, space-opera epic perfect for fans of The Expanse! Earth is a dying planet. To survive, humanity founds the Circuit, a string of colonies across the solar system, dedicated to mining resources vital to preserving what remains of mankind. Here there are no heroes or villains, only those willing to do what’s necessary to … willing to do what’s necessary to survive.
The New Earth Tribunal, a powerful religious faction, has risen to rule the Circuit. They believe a Spirit within the Earth will one day appear and welcome humanity back home. Following a string of seemingly random attacks, the Tribunal suspects its mortal enemy, the Ceresians, have again rallied to challenge their absolute rule. But a new, sinister threat has arisen–and it plans to bring down the Tribunal once and for all.
Join an unlikely band of would-be saviors–the Tribunal’s best spy, a roguish Ceresian mercenary, a subservient android and a disgraced general–as they are drawn into a conspiracy destined to change the Circuit forever.
“Bruno has crafted a complex, multi-dimensional story that combines the best of his genre with age-old truths–and quandaries–about humanity, politics, religion, family, and, yes, love.” —Portland Book Review
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Interesting premise, well presented and with good characters. Reads very well and I finished all the books in the series within a few days
A story of a potential future that is depressing because is about a stagnant human society. It does have heroes and villains but none of the characters are pure meaning it was hard to become engrossed in success of failure.
It was an interesting examination of humanity.
I would have given this series 4 stars if it weren’t for the unacceptable amount of grammatical and spelling errors. I have never read a book with as many errors as this one; it is very distracting. (Note to author or proofreader – a persons’ midsection is a waist, not a “waste”)
Rhett is a great writer and this trilogy was a fun read.
Interesting story of adventure, friends and loyalty, and lost love. No concept of orbital mechanics, space distance, space flight, and physics in general. Requires too much suspension of disbelief!
Really good space opera…wish the follow on books promised would come out soon. Really good characters that you can root for.
“Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.” – Confucius
The Circuit is the omnibus compilation of author Rhett C. Bruno’s first trilogy of SF novels – Executor Rising, The Progeny of Vale, and Earthfall. I’m delighted to have read them in one longer work (thank you, RB, for the ARC), since each by itself is an incomplete picture. Together they form an epic on par with the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, but set instead eons into the future. Fascinating, a bit dark in tone, and in cinematic detail, the story of one man’s quest for humanity’s freedom is inextricably woven into his personal quest for vengeance against those he believes killed his only child. Once a Tribune, now an exile, Cassius Vale turns his back on past benefactors, abjures his oaths and his religion, and plays all sides against one another in a brilliant campaign of political maneuvering, military strategy, and guerrilla warfare using disinformation and a stealth weapon of his own creation. His dead son’s ex-fiancee, an ex-opeative for his former enemy, an innocent child, and various other characters in contributing roles keep the action rolling in multiple locations across the solar system, as they begin to see through the miasma of religious conflict, historical military defeats, terrorist acts and pointing fingers to discover the truth of Cassius Vale. Bruno’s occasional new-author awkwardness is far overshadowed by his detailed world building, tight and suspenseful plotting, and absolutely brilliant characterization. Major and minor, every character speaks with a unique voice, and leaves an indelible impression, making The Circuit an unforgettable journey into a pivotal moment in human development and, simultaneously, a portrait of one human’s flawed yet breathtaking brilliance. Some may see the story’s end as hopeful, others as dystopian, but no one who reads this will ever forget it.
Got about 100 pages in and still did not care about the characters or know what the plot was all about.
Enjoyed the first two books , liked the third. Reminiscent of Azamnof (sp)? Good story line, good characters. For me, the flow of the story as good as in the first two. I recommend them.
Great read, my kind of space opera
Okay trilogy. Liked the characters. Did not see the ending coming.
At first it was interesting, but then it started to lack clarity, couldn’t hold my attention, so I tossed it.
The author telegraphs the end-game early in the first book, so it’s a bit of slog to get through the rest of the trilogy.
Overall this set is 3.5 stars. This box set includes all three books in The Circuit series (Executor Rising, Progeny of Vale, and Earthfall). These books are not standalones. This set makes it easy to read them all in order without trying to find the next book. There is violence.
The book blurb adequately describes the storyline so I’m not going to repeat that all of that info here. There are clues in the storyline that keep you guessing what will be revealed next. It definitely kept me reading. Overall it is an interesting storyline and worth taking the time to read.
I received a copy of this set from the author and chose to leave a review for other readers.