A End to the War

Debt of War by Christopher G. Nuttall
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Kat and William work to end this war. The surprising information from the end of the last book leads to the two working together again. Plenty of danger and tension with a satisfying ending. I do wonder if we have seen the last of these two as they take off on a five year assignment.

View all my reviews

New Series

In the Black by Patrick S. Tomlinson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This has that edge that Tomlinson is so good at writing. Two ships with the same problem, some one has set them up. It takes a Captain that takes risks to change the outcome. Great plot with many surprises. This is just the first in the series. It quits when all the main characters are in the same place. Love the series and waiting for the next book.

I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.

View all my reviews

is There a Set Up

Debt of Loyalty by Christopher G. Nuttall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Kat is back and with her return so do the problems. There are enough space battles for any military science fiction fan. Look for friends to be on separate sides. The readers get to follow the important characters on both sides. There is tension and betrayal as the battle for control pushes on. I think someone is being set up but will have to wait for the next book to know for sure

View all my reviews

Of Treasons Born (Treasons Cycle) by J.L. Doty

Military Science Fiction

From Goodreads:

A gripping military science fiction adventure starring the hero of A Choice of Treasons

As a lifer in the Imperial Navy fighting in a war that has lasted for generations, York Ballin’s only hope for an honorable discharge is the grave. But what events led up to his reluctant enlistment? What spawned York’s almost fanatic loyalty to his friends—and his doubts regarding the imperial uniform he once wore with such pride?

York rarely recalls his childhood, which began with a mystery and ended at age eleven when he was given a harsh choice: Join the navy or face certain death on a prison asteroid. The navy has its own code of justice, but a youngster with curiosity and grit is able to rise in the ranks . . . if he’s given a fair shot. Trained as a pod gunner, York discovers skills he never could have used in his hardscrabble life on the planet Dumark. And though some of his crewmates would rather destroy him than see him succeed, others encourage his intelligence and teach him what it means to thrive within the military traditions.

Assignments come and go, and young York moves up in the ranks until, as a newly commissioned Ensign, he’s assigned to the hunter-killer ship The Fourth Horseman. But when an unexpected foe kills his superior officer and leaves the crew stranded in enemy territory, York must do whatever he can to save the ship—even if he’ll be court-martialed for treason.

Of Treasons Born is a novel of the Treasons Cycle; the series was written so that it can be read in any order.

I found the story to be typical of Military Science Fiction.  There is a war that has gone on for years.  York Ballin, the hero, has not had an easy life.  His past is full of bad choices.  At 12 he is pressed into the Navy and after some trial and error finds a place where he belongs.  Even in the Navy he faces some very dangerous challenges.

There is action, tension, and danger as we follow York during his first 10 years in the Navy.  There is a mystery in his past and we only get hints.  The war is never explained it just is so it was hard to connect to why they were fighting.  

The characters were stock but interesting.  The main purpose of the book was to explain York’s background and while it did a good job at that at times it did seem to just drag on.  This is part of a series.  I plan to read A Choice of Treasons to find out more about this world and how York fits into it. 

Open Road will release Of Treasons Born by J. L. Doty in April of 2016.

I received an ARC Of Treasons Born from Amazon Vine in return for an honest review.

War Dogs (War Dogs #1) by Greg Bear

Science Fiction

From Goodreads:

AN EPIC INTERSTELLAR TALE OF WAR FROM A MASTER OF SCIENCE FICTION.

One more tour on the red.

Maybe my last.

They made their presence on Earth known thirteen years ago.

Providing technology and scientific insights far beyond what mankind was capable of. They became indispensable advisors and promised even more gifts that we just couldn't pass up. We called them Gurus.

It took them a while to drop the other shoe. You can see why, looking back.

It was a very big shoe, completely slathered in crap.

They had been hounded by mortal enemies from sun to sun, planet to planet, and were now stretched thin -- and they needed our help.

And so our first bill came due. Skyrines like me were volunteered to pay the price. As always.

These enemies were already inside our solar system and were moving to establish a beachhead, but not on Earth.

On Mars.

Look for the unexpected in War Dogs.  Bear takes some familiar themes and really turns them around.  There are the aliens (The Gurus) who show up first and seem helpful.  Then there are the aliens  (The Antags) that show up on Mars. The Gurus recruit humans to fight the Antags on Mars..  Sound familiar but it gets all turned around when something new is discovered.

War Dogs is the first book in a new series and most of it is devoted to back story and world building.  Told from the first person view of  Master Sergeant Michael Venn, a Skyrinen, after he  made it back from Mars.  His story moves back and forth from the present on Earth to the past on Mars. 

At times I found the story very slow going.  What kept me reading were the unusual things that kept happening.  It was hard to tell where the story was going.  That did not change. Don’t expect to understand everything by the end of the book.  Do expect to be left hanging and in the dark.  Even so if you are a big SciFi fan I think you will enjoy this Military Science Fiction story full of plot twists and turns.

Sky Dogs is an interesting start to a new series.  I am waiting for the next book Killing Titan to see if at least some of my questions are answered.

Orbit published War Dogs by Greg Bear in 2014.

King of Thieves (Star Rogue #1) by Evan C. Currie

Science Fiction/Space Opera

From Goodreads:

Earth’s survivors face devastating new challenges in the wake of recovering from an alien conflict. Battered and mourning tremendous losses, the once fractious peoples of enemy nations must work together to rebuild their shattered world—and prevent the possibility of their attackers’ return. What they don’t know is that a new, deadlier enemy unlike anything they’ve ever faced will usher in the dawn of another war.

Captain Morgan Passer commands the Rogue Class destroyer Autolycus, charged with an interstellar recon mission to detect traces of the repelled enemy while gathering information for the fortification of Earth’s defenses. What the expedition finds instead is a deeply disturbing mystery: a discovery that redefines everything they thought they knew about Earth’s place in the galaxy…and reveals deadly new horrors. In this original story set in the Odyssey One world, former enemies unite for their own survival, and Passer and his intrepid crew seek answers to help them save their people. Instead, they find that the invasion may be over, but the danger is just beginning.

King of Thieves is set in the world created by the Odyssey One but works well as a stand-alone.  Back-story is there but in very small doses and that is all you really need.  The world building for King of Thieves is simple.  A new and unusual structure is the focus and setting of the story.

That is where the danger and the thrust of the story reside.  Captain Morgan Passer and his crew face new and unusual threats both in and around the structure.  There is a large cast of characters who are caught up in the danger that is at the heart of King of Thieves.  The action drives the characters and there is a lot of action to do that.

For fans of military science fiction this is a good choice.  This appears to be the first book in a new series so it will be interesting to see where else Passer and his crew go.

47 North published King of Thieves by Evan C. Currie in 2015.

I received an ARC of King of Thieves from Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Impulse: The Lightship Chronicles by Dave Bara

Science Fiction/Military Science Fiction

From Goodreads:

Lieutenant Peter Cochrane of the Quantar Royal Navy believes he has his future clearly mapped out. It begins with his new assignment as an officer on Her Majesty’s Spaceship Starbound, a Lightship bound for deep space voyages of exploration.

But everything changes when Peter is summoned to the office of his father, Grand Admiral Nathan Cochrane, and given devastating news: the death of a loved one. In a distant solar system, a mysterious and unprovoked attack upon Lightship Impulse resulted in the deaths of Peter’s former girlfriend and many of her shipmates.

Now Peter's plans are torn asunder as he is transferred to a Unified Space Navy ship under foreign command, en route to an unexpected destination, and surrounded almost entirely by strangers. To top it off, his superiors have given him secret orders that might force him to become a mutineer.

The crisis at hand becomes a gateway to something much more when the ship’s Historian leads Peter and his shipmates into a galaxy of the unknown -- of ancient technologies, age-old rivalries, new cultures, and unexpected romance. It’s an overwhelming responsibility for Peter, and one false step could plunge humanity into an apocalyptic interstellar war.

If you are a fan of military science fiction you might give this one a try.  It was easy reading.  There was a lot of world building and back story scattered throughout the book. For me the weakness in the book were the characters and their action.  The action drove the characters instead of the characters driving the action.  As a result some things just did not ring true.  As a result it is not one of my favorites.  It just rates an OK.

It will be interesting to see where Bara goes with the series.  I really want to know more about the Earth Historians.   They play a big part in the story but their back story is sketchy at best.

There were some interesting new concepts in Impulse.  It is an action filled book that uses some of the old and some of the new to tell an story filled with adventure.

Del Rey published Impulse by Dave Bara in 2015.

I received an ARC of Impulse from Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Master Sergeant: The Makaum War: Book One by Mel Odom

Military Science Fiction

From Goodreads:

They call it The Green Hell. A maze of tangled jungle, the planet Makaum is one of the most dangerous places in the universe. And for Terran Military Master Sergeant Frank Sage, it is now home.

The war between the Terrans and the Phrenorians rages, and both sides have their sights set on Makaum. If the planet's rich resources fall into enemy hands it could mean devastation for the Terran Army. To ensure that doesn't happen, Sage is sent to assess the Makaum troops and bring them in line with Terran Military standards. But soon after arriving at his post, he realizes the Phrenorians are not the only threat. Heading up a small but fearless unit, Sage must stop a brewing civil war with the power to unleash a galactic cataclysm unlike anything ever seen.

Master Sergeant Frank Nolan Sage is not where he wants to be.  After spending 6 years training troops he wants back in the war against the Phrenorians.  Instead he is sent to Makaum, a planet that appears to be on the sidelines of the war.  We readers are much smarter than the Master Sergeant.  We know that Makaum is going to be something much different.

World Building: Odom does a great job of building the universe where Master Sergeant is set.  From the first page that world is developed using action and dialog.  By the time I was halfway through the book I understood what and where the story was set.

Back Story:  Again that is told in the action and dialog that moves the book.  There is not that much back story required and much of it is presented early in the book.  The rest is worked into the plot as required. 

Plot:  While Master Sergeant sets up the series there is a definite danger that must be addressed.  There are numerous problems that are presented.  Some are pretty straight forward but some require Sage and his fellow soldiers to bend if not break the law.  The heart of this plot is drug running and production but it leads to the bigger problem – what the Phrenorians are planning for Makaum.

Characters:  Master Sergeant Sage is the main character that moves the story.  His development follows familiar lines for Military Science Fiction books.  His is backed up by an interesting cast of secondary characters.  While both the Master Sergeant and the secondary characters are often a stereotypes it is because that is what works in this type of novel.  It works well in Master Sergeant.

Writing: This is a well written story that uses great dialog and action that entertains the reader.  There are not any new ideas but everything is so well done that any Military Science Fiction fan will enjoy the book.  It is also a great introduction to those new to Military Science Fiction.

I enjoyed Master Sergeant.  I knew what was going to happen but really liked how the plot developed.  I look forward to more books in the series.

Harper Voyager published Master Sergeant by Mel Odom in 2015.

I received an ARC of Master Sergeant from Edelweiss in return for a honest review.

The Chaplain’s War by Brad R. Torgersen

Military Science Fiction

From Goodreads:

ORIGINAL TRADE PAPERBACK. A chaplain serving in Earth's space fleet is trapped behind enemy lines where he struggles for both personal survival and humanity's future.

The mantis cyborgs: insectlike, cruel, and determined to wipe humanity from the face of the galaxy.

The Fleet is humanity's last chance: a multi-world, multi-national task force assembled to hold the line against the aliens' overwhelming technology and firepower. Enter Harrison Barlow, who like so many young men of wars past, simply wants to serve his people and partake of the grand adventure of military life. Only, Harrison is not a hot pilot, nor a crack shot with a rifle. What good is a Chaplain's Assistant in the interstellar battles which will decide the fate of all?

More than he thinks. Because while the mantis insectoids are determined to eliminate the human threat to mantis supremacy, they remember the errors of their past. Is there the slightest chance that humans might have value? Especially since humans seem to have the one thing the mantes explicitly do not: an innate ability to believe in what cannot be proven nor seen God. Captured and stranded behind enemy lines, Barlow must come to grips with the fact that he is not only bargaining for his own life, but the lives of everyone he knows and loves. And so he embarks upon an improbable gambit, determined to alter the course of the entire war.

Torgersen has written a Military Science Fiction book that features a different way to end a war.  Harrison Barlow is a Chaplain’s Assistant who does not believe in religion.  What he does is fulfill a promise to the dying Chaplain and everything unfolds from there.

There are some familiar things in the story.  The aliens are all-powerful and resemble super strength bugs.  They have killed off two other races.  Humanity is on the ropes and in danger of being exterminated.  What saves the human race is the big difference in the story.  The Chaplain’s War is well written and tightly plotted.  It is also filled with interesting characters both human and alien. 

I like stories that are more than I expected and this fits the bill. The Chaplain’s War is an interesting story with an unusual twist.

Baen published The Chaplain’s War by Brad R. Torgersen in 2014.

Lieutenant Henry Gallant by H. Peter Alesso, Blog Tour, Review and Giveaway

Lieutenant Henry Gallant

by H. Peter Alesso

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The author will be awarding a $50 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter.

BLURB:

In an era of genetic engineering, Lieutenant Henry Gallant is the only Natural (non-genetically enhanced) officer left in the fleet. Many of his superiors, including rival Anton

Neumann, have expressed concern he is not up to the challenge. However, his unique mental abilities have proven essential to the defense of the United Planets in its fight against the Titan invaders.

Serving on the first FTL prototype, the Intrepid, on its maiden voyage to Tau Ceti, Gallant finds a lost colony on the planet Elysium. Cyrus Wolfe and his son, manipulate planet politics against the democratic opposition led by James Hepburn and his granddaughter Alaina. Wolfe has allied himself with an ancient Artificial Intelligence which had lain dormant on the planet for millennia, but is now willing to protect the colonists against the Titans.

With Alaina’s help, Gallant discovers the ancient AI has a sinister ulterior motive and he matches his unique and exceptional mind against the complexity of machine intelligence to escape the ultimate trap and prevent the extermination of humanity.

In Lieutenant Henry Gallant, one man pits the naked human mind against the perspicacity of machine intelligence.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 My Thoughts on Lieutenant Henry Gallant:

When we first meet Lieutenant Henry Gallant he is wounded but still fighting after the surprise attack on his ship.  I felt like I was dropped into the middle of a book with that start but the next scene was days before the attack and everything fell in place.  In spite of the exciting start the book is actually rather low key.  Gallant is assigned to the unexpected human colony.  His job is to get the supplies and help to repair the ship.  There is the chance of a romance with Alaina Hepburn but duty comes first for both.  There are some twists in the plot.  The Ancient AI is not what it seems.  Some people in the colony do not want the ship to get back to Earth.  Gallant has to deal with sabotage on the planet and a Captain who is hard to work with.  This is book #2 in the series but works well as a stand-alone.

Excerpt 

Gallant ran—gasping for breath, heart pounding; the echo of his footsteps reverberated behind him.

He hoped to reach the bridge, but hope is a fragile thing.

Peering over his shoulder into the dark, he tripped on a protruding jagged beam, one of the ship’s many battle scars. As he crashed to the deck, the final glow of emergency lights sputtered out leaving only the pitch black of power failure—his failure.

He lay still and listened to the ship’s cries of pain; the incessant wheezing of atmosphere bleeding from the many tiny hull fissures, the repetitious groaning of metal from straining structures, and the crackling of electrical wires sparking against panels.

Thoughts flashed past him.

How long will the oxygen last?

He was reluctant to guess.

Where are they?

The clamor of dogged footsteps drew closer even as he rasped for another breath.

Trembling from exhaustion, he clawed at the bulkhead to pull himself up. His hemorrhaging leg made even standing brutally painful.

Nevertheless, he ran.

The bulkhead panels and compartment hatches were indistinguishable in the dimness. Vague phantoms lurked nearby even while his eyes adjusted to whatever glowing plasma blast embers flickered from the hull.

As he twisted around a corner, he crashed his shoulder into a bulkhead. The impact knocked him back and spun him around. Reaching out with a bloody hand, he grasped the hatch handle leading into the Operation’s compartment. Going through the hatch, he pulled it shut behind him.

He started to run, then awkwardly fought his own momentum and stopped.

Stupid! Stupid!

Going back to the hatch, he hit the security locking mechanism.

It wouldn’t stop a plasma blast, but it might slow them down, he thought. At least this compartment is airtight.

Finally able to take a deep breath, he tried to clear his head of bombarding sensations. He should’ve been in battle armor, but he’d stayed too long in engineering trying to maintain power while the hull had been breached and the ship boarded.

Now his uniform was scorched, revealing the plasma burns of seared flesh from his left shoulder down across his back to his right thigh. He had no idea where the rest of the crew was; many were probably dead. His comm pin was mute and the ship’s AI wasn’t responding. He had only a handgun, but, so far, he didn’t think they were tracking him specifically, merely penetrating into the ship to gain control.

Gallant tried to run once more, but his legs were unwilling. Leaning against the bulkhead, like a dead weight, he slid slowly down to the deck.

Unable to go farther, he sat dripping blood and trembling as the potent grip of shock grabbed hold. The harrowing pain of his burnt flesh, swept over him.

Hope and fear alike abandoned him, leaving only an undeniable truth; without immediate medical treatment, he wouldn’t survive.

I’m done.

Closing his eyes, he fought against the pain and the black vertigo of despair. He took a deep breath and called upon the last of his inner resolve and resilience . . .

No! I won’t give up.

Exhaling and opening his eyes, he caught sight of a nearly invisible luminescent glow of a Red Cross symbol, offering him a glimmer of hope. He stretched his arm toward the cabinet.

“Argh.”

He heard a cry of agony and only belatedly realized it had escaped his own lips as he strained to pull away twisted metal from the door to a medical cabinet. Reaching inside, he grabbed a damaged medi-pack.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

As a scientist and author specializing in technology innovation, H. Peter Alesso has over twenty years research experience at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). As Engineering Group Leader at LLNL he led a team of computer scientists and engineers in innovative applications across a wide range of supercomputers, workstations and networks. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy with a B.S. and served in the U.S. Navy on nuclear submarines before completing an M.S. and an advanced Engineering Degree at M.I.T. He has published several software titles and numerous scientific journal and conference articles, and he is the author/co-author of seven books.

You can visit his Web site at: http://www.hpeteralesso.com/Default.aspx

Author Social Media:

Author Web site at: http://www.hpeteralesso.com/Default.aspx

Goodreads Address: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/413852.H_Peter_Alesso

YouTube trailer for Henry Gallant Saga: SciFi Book Trailer: Midshipman Henry Gallant

Facebook for Henry Gallant Saga: https://www.facebook.com/MidshipmanHenryGallantInSpace

Author Blog Address: http://cosmologysymmetrybreaking.blogspot.com/

Amazon link for Volume 1 of the Henry Gallant Saga: http://www.amazon.com/Midshipman-Henry-Gallant-Space-Volume/dp/1482640325/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

Volume 2: http://www.amazon.com/Lieutenant-Henry-Gallant-Saga-Book-ebook/dp/B00MOLJ4Y6/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1407955491&sr=1-1

 Book Reviews for Volume 1:

Past Reviews of the first volume: Midshipman Henry Galant @2013

"The author has created a wonderful piece of work with his first novel in the Henry Gallant Saga. Between Henry Gallant beginning his new life on the United Planets' battle cruiser Repulse and trying to save the world the author has came up with it all. Henry Gallant is an admirable character with many wonderful features such as courage, intelligence, humility, kindness and special powers. ... the odds stacked against him pretty high. But maybe through it all, Kelsey will see the remarkable things about him." Ashley Patts, Teenage Rush teenagerush.blogspot.com

"This story moves along at a swift pace, with interesting character development and plot surprises. The characters are complete and engaging. This could develop into a good series." Rae

"Its style and flavor reminded me of The Lost Fleet series by Jack Campbell." - JJH

"Space Opera at its finest. Rousing read, introverted young man against impossible odds, a girl to win or lose, an enemy or is he? Way too much fun...can't wait for the next one." - vrzepka

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Musing Mondays, May 12, 2014.

TC is in the sun musing about the chipmunk she sees out the window.

Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…Musing Mondays is sponsored by Should Be Reading.
• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it! 
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!

• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

One of my son's was visiting last week.  We share some similar reading tastes and I pulled out several hard copy Military Science Fiction titles that I liked.  Two were part of new series, H. Paul Honsinger's Man of War Series,Marko Kloos'  Frontline Series and Gordon Savage's Peacemaker which is a stand-alone.  He looked them over and decided to give them a try.  The books were right in front of him but instead of reading the hard covers he purchased the ebook copies.  He told me he just could not read a paper copy any more.  (That meant he could not read Peacemaker as it is not available as an ebook.)  He only reads ebooks.  I was surprised as I read both.  I love paper but also like ebooks.  How about you?  Which do you prefer?  Do you know anyone else who will not read paper copies anymore? 

Book Beginnings and The Friday 56 April 4, 2014

I'm linking up with Rose City Reader for Book Beginnings and Freda's Voice for Page 56.

 Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Pick the closest book on your book stack and

Come Join us!

My choices this week are from Task Force Ombra: Grunt Life by Weston Ochse

Book Beginning:

"It was my love of movies that made me choose the Vincent Thomas Bridge to kill myself."

Friday 56:

"We need to invent new words to describe our fear. Scared and terrified can't aptly describe how we felt when our Earth was taken away from us." 31% on Kindle