Due to this thread, I got the first book. It's not terrible though the way the author romanticises British nobility is really preposterous, but it's a fairly small detail. The FTL mechanics are definitely fresh and quite interesting. The main character goes through actual growth and development, which is good because early on he's quite a jackass. It was quite amusing to read the battle descriptions where these big, dangerous ships fire a handful of missiles at each other, when our Aurora missile salvos are easily hundreds and hundreds strong.
That bit about the second book sounds annoying chrislocke2000 but not surprising. The first book already had some warning signs of going space opera full ham style.
