I've read this series from the beginning. The stories are starting to repeat. The reason I gave this 4 stars instead of 3 is because of the revelations about what happened to the old empire, and how the Highborn came about to be. The rest of the story is just an amplified version of previous books. More powerful ships, more fighters, etc. So to sum up the series, Tyler and the Confeds fight the Alliance and win. They then become fast friends and allies. Then Tyler and the Confeds fight the Union. A Union Fleet and admiral defects and becomes fast friends and allies. Then Tyler fights the Hegemony and wins. They become fast friends and allies. Now all of them, including Tyler, are fighting the Highborn. It's revealed that the Highborn are fighting a powerful foe on another front. Please, please Mr. Allan don't have Tyler and friends become allies with the Highborn. Please come up with something new.