More of the same with a solid resolution

The strength of this series, the story arc of humanity's war with the Aliens, comes to a conclusion in The Trafalgar Gambit. Christopher Nuttall does not leave many loose ends as he builds the story to a crescendo that results in a satisfying ending to humanity's first interstellar war.

Fundamentally this book is more of the same as far as the characters and plot goes. If you are already sick of being reminded that Ark Royal is old and the only ship that humanity has that can stand up to the Aliens then you should move on, but if you want to find out if the Old Lady can survive another confrontation with the Aliens then you won't be strung along. Humanity is losing the war and Ark Royal is sent out on a final mission to make contact with a peaceful alien faction as a last chance to save humanity.

I am not a fan of "trilogies" that get milked for extra books so I applaud the fact that Nuttall wraps up the story arc of the war very nicely with this book. It concludes a solid military sci-fi trilogy and yet still allows for more books to begin with a new story arc. If book 2 kept you engaged then there is no reason not to pick up book 3 and see how it all ends.

Ralph Lister remains consistent as the narrator so I am giving him 4 stars this go round for yet another 3.5 star performance. :)

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Satisfying conclusion to an enjoyable trilogy

The Trafalgar Gambit completes Christopher G Nuttall's Ark Royal trilogy. The story picks up immediately after the conclusion of Book 2 with Earth having been directly attacked by the aliens while Ark Royal was on her mission in enemy territory. In the concluding chapter, Ark Royal is given the mission to make contact and negotiate with any alien faction intent on peaceful resolution. Along the way, the crew must deal with sabotage attempts both external as well as internal. The battle scenes are brief, but intense. Prince Henry is recovered and plays a decisive role in both negotiations and battle.

The sci-fi elements are limited mainly to prior physics with some added alien biology and unique socio-cultural factors of the aliens, although there is little novelty. While the conclusion is satisfying, and likely signals the end of this series, there were some unanswered questions, from the mundane to whatever happened to Molly to how the geopolitical organization of Earth will evolve.

The narration is excellent with good pacing and range of voices. This is both an enjoyable and engaging listen.

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Heart of Oak - Ready, Aye, Ready

Christopher Nuttall brings the Ark Royal Trilogy to a resounding finish. I felt the Russian political intrigue, the Royal Family Press problems, and the Royal Navy references added to the meat of the story. The series builds to an all or nothing battle for Earth's survival in the spirit of the "Last Man Standing." It's an exciting, well performed, performance.

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royal pain

What disappointed you about The Trafalgar Gambit?

The author seems to be repeating the same topic so he can fill the book with word count. The book drones on and on about prince Henry's royalty, his relationship, and the media's fascination with royal gossip. I was so tired of those repeats, I skipped a 10+ minutes of the reading and still didn;t miss anything important. As a science fiction enthusiast I don't care for any gossip of the royal family. That is just one of the many uninteresting topics the author repeats. Really seems like he finished the book but was short on word count. So he went back to see what he can repeat to fill his quota. Book 1 and 2 was MUCH better then this last book.

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Great Continuation of the Story

I would like to hear more books from this series. Also if you have not already tried them, check out Christopher Nuttall's other series, Empire Corps.

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Much Better!

Book 3 The Trafalgar Gambit is by far much better then the first 2 books. That said it still has too much of who's sleeping with who in it. Way too Much. But it does have some very good action battles in it. It is well written and well narrated. The wole trilogy could have been so much better if it didn't spend some much time on whot everyone is sleeping with and other draw out things that no one cares about.

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Exciting

This is the last book in the Ark Royal trilogy. The book takes off immediately after the events in the previous book “The Nelson Force.” Warning you must read this trilogy in order starting with “Ark Royal”. All the familiar faces are present including the ones that the rest of humanity thinks are dead.

The writing has improved with each book. The characters are good, the story/plot compelling and the action is fast. Earth is losing the war with the aliens. Admiral Smith and the crew of the HMS Ark Royal are sent on a diplomatic mission. Complicating factor is the Russians and a sector of the aliens do not want to stop the fighting.

As the author cleans up all the loose ends of the story we at last find out the cause of the war. At the end of the book we have the excepted showdown between Ark Royal and a sector of Aliens that want to continue the war. What happens? Read the book. I am looking forward to more books from this talented new author. Ralph Lister does a good job narrating the trilogy.

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The Aliens repeat The Aliens repeat The Aliens, etc.

This series is a comedic mess. Christopher G. Nuttall has absolutely no imagination, and his writing skills are genuinely awful. Ironically, however, the books were so bad that I ended up enjoyed them.
The author felt it necessary to explain, and repeat, every single thing. Note: every sentence contains the word “aliens”; in fact, I stopped counting halfway through book one when I reached 500 (literally 500!). As for Ralph Lister’s narration, well, let’s just say he and Christopher make one heck of a team (insert multiple ‘LoL with tears’ emojis here).
Highly recommended for YA, and adults who used to enjoy watching soap operas and now enjoy listening to space operas.

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Passing at best...

As with the other books in this series this one continued on the same trends. Canned phrases, constant repeating of sentences when pointless and an overt obsession with sex and sexuality.

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Mr. Nuttall we get it...really...we do

What did you love best about The Trafalgar Gambit?

It is a good basic storyline, with a lot of room to expand in. The problem is the author tends to dwell on things over and over again. The Ark Royal is old, and armored and the only ship that can stand up to the aliens. OK. The Crown Prince is out there too. OK. There is some problems with the Royal succession. OK. Please stop repeating it aud naseum. The story is worth the listen, as long as you are prepared for the repeats. You do get involved in the storyline of what will happen, and will there be a breakthrough, and how will it happen. Stick with it and hope the author gets the message and the next book is cleaner and smoother.

If you’ve listened to books by Christopher G. Nuttall before, how does this one compare?

Mr. Nuttall seems to make the same mistakes in all three books, maybe he rammed them out at once. His editors let him down by not cleaning it up and asking for a rewrite.

Have you listened to any of Ralph Lister’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Not sure, he does a good job. Characters are distinct and clear.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Don't hold the repeats against me, please.....

Any additional comments?

A good, original way to treat first contact, and possibly a realistic one. The tramline idea is good and explains FTL transits well. The characters are good, if we just got one dose of them we would all be better off. But still a good listen.

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