Prose Supplements - Shop now
Kindle Unlimited
Unlimited reading. Over 4 million titles. Learn more
OR
$9.99

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

The Colony Ship Vanguard: The entire eight book series in one bundle Kindle Edition

4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 35 ratings

The Earth is nearly dead. The only survivors live in Dome 17, and it is failing. There is a risky plan with unproven technology: find and use one of seven lost hundred-year-old colony ships. This is the story of one team’s attempt to save a remnant of humanity. The entire Colony Ship Vanguard series is now available in one omnibus bundle. Over 550,000 words, and about 1800 pages. Finding the Vanguard (Colony Ship Vanguard Book 1) Trapped on the Vanguard (Colony Ship Vanguard Book 2) Danger on the Vanguard (Colony Ship Vanguard Book 3) Searching the Vanguard (Colony Ship Vanguard Book 4) Enemy on the Vanguard (Colony Ship Vanguard Book 5) Escaping the Vanguard (Colony Ship Vanguard Book 6) Defending the Vanguard (Colony Ship Vanguard Book 7) Fate of the Vanguard (Colony Ship Vanguard Book 8)
Due to its large file size, this book may take longer to download

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00S6JBIK8
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Automacube Enterprises (January 12, 2015)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 12, 2015
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 10.2 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 2275 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 35 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
John Thornton
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Hi everyone,

Over THREE MILLION pages have been read in my books through Kindle Unlimited.

And the books are out in audio format done by excellent, professional narrators! Please check out those options! The narrators have done a superb job. All of the books in the Colony Ship Universe will be made into audio books. I sure hope you listen to those.

As to me, I have read science fiction since I was a small child. For over thirty years I have been making notes, writing outlines, and drawing deck plans of various colony ship. These jumbled ideas have finally coalesced into book form in my writing.

I guess I was inspired by many works in sci-fi which cover the idea of colony ships. Damon Knight's "The World and Thorinn" and Robert Heinlein's "Orphans of the Sky" showed me how bizarre and interesting a generational space ship environment could be and how so much could go horribly wrong. Those books, and many others in that same genre, have given me hours of pleasure in reading. There also have been board games and video games which cover similar situations. There are so many variations on the lost colony ship theme it almost seems like a trope. So, now I have added my own contributions to this genre of adventure fiction.

I worked as an RN for 10 years in various critical care units—cardiac, surgical, and medical. I saw lots of people die, and I also listened to some really amazing people share their life stories with me. I have worked part-time as a visitation pastor for my church for twenty years now.

I graduated from a variety of colleges, all of which helped shape and mold me into what I am today. After finishing a doctoral degree, I decided to focus on informal educational endeavors. I still love to learn.

I enjoy reading very much. I read all kinds of literature (romance, mystery, historical fiction, science fiction, dystopias, post-apocalyptic, fantasy, theology texts, to how-to books). Did I miss any genres? Oh, here is a pet peeve of mine. Science fiction and fantasy are SEPARATE GENRES! Forgive me for yelling, but I am sick of seeing two unique genres lumped all together under “speculative fiction.” To me, and I could be wrong, but putting fantasy and science fiction in the same box is like putting romance novels in with erotica.

And as you may be about to discover, I also like to write.

My first project was the Colony Ship Eschaton series, which is finished with its ten books.

The second project was a parallel series, The Colony Ship Vanguard. That series is finished with eight books.

The third series is the Colony Ship Conestoga, which is complete with eight books.

One of my books is somewhat different. Hey, some people will say all my books are different, and I think they do not mean that in a good way. Well anyway, “The Battle on the Marathon” is written in first person. That book is stand-alone work, and while it is in the same universe as the other works, is not as directly connected as are the other series. Or is it? Well, check it out and let me know.

The Colony Ship Trailblazer is a great addition to the Colony Ship Universe. The eighth book, and the series finale, was completed in October 2019. The series is out in audio format.

The Colony Ship Warren is completed with seven books, and lots of plots twists. I think you will like it.

Pursuit of the Zubalamo is out now, and is the first book in the Colony Ship Zubalamo series. This series is my current work in progress.

And yes, I am planning on making all seven of the colony ships into books. If you have read my work, you will know what that means. Ideas for these books have been bouncing around my mind and in scribbled notes and campaigns since the 1970s.

I also have plans for a series of books which take place during the Jellie War.

You may have noticed, that I also have a few short stories out now, and those are pretty exciting. I have delved into unusual areas on those, and I think you will like them. The narrators did a superb job on the short stories.

I have developed a board game, Divided America: the Next Civil War which you can play on VASSAL. The rules and scenarios are available on Amazon. This game has been in my mind since the 1970s.

And, I am working on a Role Play Game (RPG) based in the Colony Ship Universe.

If you are new to my works, you can start with any series, or “The Battle on the Marathon” and I think you will enjoy the series no matter which order you read them in. Some readers have discussed which series is their favorite to start, but that is all personal preference. They are all set in the same "universe" or "alternative reality" or "cosmos" I invented. I call it the "Colony Ship Universe" but I hope you call it a fun read!

Back to reality. I have four grown-up daughters, nice sons-in-law, terrific grandkids, a delightful wife, a silly cat, and a goofy dog. Over the years we have had numerous dogs and cats. We did have two ancient cats, but they have departed now after eighteen and nineteen years of life. In the summer of 2018 our beloved dog of fourteen years died, and our miracle cat died in fall of 2018. Another beloved dog died on Christmas Day, 2022. He is missed. May their new adventures be thrilling and fun for them.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
35 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2021
    A great take on the post apocalypse survival story merged with the great stellar diaspora of humanity and Terran lifeforms. Can humanity survive itself and what else the Universe throws at us? I recommend this box set.
  • Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2018
    One of the main characters is too whiny about everything. Unfortunately I know too many people like that. As the characters progress they do get their "stuff" together and seem to decide to fit in. This series so far is well written and has kept my interest for several collections so far.
    2 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2018
    This is the second of his series packs I have bought. Good book series, needs a good editor and proof reader. Sometimes the character choices seemed flawed, but they are flawed like normal people I guess. Looking forward to the third pack I bought already.
    One person found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on December 25, 2017
    Good reading.
    One person found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2018
    Good series. I read the other series on the Eschaton colony ship and now am reading the Conestaga one.

    I grew to hate Paul(ie) as I read the books. What a complainer, he never changed in how much he complained. You would think that at some point he would have sucked it up and just powered on through all of it. But at the end of the last book he did stepped up the plate and did good.- you'll have to read it to get it. I won't give it away.

    There were some editing errors that should have been caught by a human editor, but overall a nice story. It kept me interested even with Paul in the story. I'll keep reading the other series.
    2 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2018
    Good and enjoyable read. I would recommend these books for anyone who is tired of general THEOTWAWKI books this guy really ends the world, but not without hope.
    One person found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2017
    The books have great stories, but could you please employ an editor? Software can't fix the typos that a human would.
    One person found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2020
    This seems like a great premise for a great story. Unfortunately, the dialogue is very very stiff, almost inhumanely so, and the characters lack any depth. It seems that in the terrible dark future no one uses contractions anymore. It's rare for me to put a book down before finishing but the stiff, awkward, computer-like dialogue is too difficult to get past.

Report an issue


Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?