Book Review — A New Beginning by E. J. Isaacs

(See all my Book Reviews and Author Interviews) — This is E. J. Isaacs’ (https://www.solinterests.com/) first published novel. A New Beginning was released last October and is the first title in his The Unforgiving Stars series. It is the 68th title I’ve completed reading in 2025.

I received an ARC of this book for free through https://www.netgalley.com and I am voluntarily leaving this review. My opinions are unbiased and entirely my own. Due to scenes of violence, I categorize this novel as R.

Following Earth’s unlikely victory over the Angels — an alien empire that has dominated the galaxy — Captain Rena Sheets has wagered her career, reputation, and every favor she can claim on one bold undertaking: Excalibur II. The most advanced starship ever built, it is designed to push beyond charted space and uncover what the Angels left behind.

But where she’s headed, technology alone won’t save them. Sheets has gathered a crew of explorers, scientists, and soldiers — many with secrets they’d rather keep buried. Her first officer is a former intelligence operative whose loyalties remain uncertain. A promising cadet has been promoted far beyond her experience. A stowaway lurks somewhere in the lower decks. And deep within the ship’s systems, a sentient AI — strictly forbidden under Earth law — guides Sheets from the shadows, at great risk to them both.

Twelve years earlier, Lieutenant Sheets served aboard the original Excalibur during one of humanity’s final clashes with the Angels. When the ship was crippled in battle, her captain chose to ram the enemy flagship. Sheets led the surviving crew in a desperate boarding assault that helped break the Angels’ campaign. The next encounter was won by the Earth fleet. This caused the Angels to disengage from battle and retreat to their original space.

Now, as Captain, Sheets leads Excalibur II on a ten-year mission: to explore, to seek out new life, and to uncover any sign of the Angels before they return.

Their voyage brings them to worlds both wondrous and perilous. On one, they encounter a young civilization not yet ready for contact — forcing the crew to decide whether to protect or disrupt its growth. On another, they find survivors of a lost Earth colony, fighting to coexist with the planet’s native species. Sheets and her crew must navigate diplomacy, survival, and the fragile boundaries of what it means to be human among the stars.

Because every world they visit, every discovery they make, brings them one step closer to learning the truth:

The Angels did not retreat. They are waiting.

I enjoyed the 7.5 hours I spent reading this 306-page science fiction novel. I give this novel a rating of 4.2 (rounded to 4) out of 5.

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