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Wars: The Battle of Phobos
Wars: The Battle of Phobos (Vol.1) - Preludes
Against a backdrop of a fractured humanity far along the path to war... The On a quest to recover a rogue scientist and an ultra-rare piece of technology XeLabs' Rangers, Rogan Hallard and Jerlen Krae, and CGC Troopers, Jossel Swin and Jannett Yens, will discover they are caught in a crossfire of hidden agendas, controversial tech, and deadly personas. The Orochito will risk his reputation and family's legacy todiscover a truth that is far bigger than either he or his forefathers could ever have imagined. A truth that brings home the reality that war is inevitable, and 'Grandfather' Shocho intends for the Gongen to be on the winning side. The One family is already good as gone, and Jack Wilgress will be damned if he loses another. He will have to face an old Earther nemesis if he wants to preserve his Maverick 'family'. But is he willing to lose a piece of his priceless freedom and be dragged into the brewing system-wide conflict? Featuring popular characters, locations, and tech from Decipher Inc.'s WARS™ trading card game, including story lines developed by New York Times Bestselling author, Michael A. Stackpole. This trilogy collection of novellas detail events from the WARS™ universe in the 24th century leading up to the largest battle humans have ever experienced--THE BATTLE OF PHOBOS.
352 pages, Paperback
First published May 17, 2011
4 people want to read
About the author
Nathan P. Butler
16 books16 followersNathan P. Butler is a high school teacher by profession. He graduated from the University of Evansville in southern Indiana with a BS in Secondary Education in 2002 and soon began teaching in the Atlanta Metro area. In 2009, he completed graduate work through Walden University to earn an MS in Education with a specialization in Integrating Technology in the Classroom. He is also certified by the College Board to teach their Advanced Placement World History course.
Butler is likely best known as the writer of the Star Wars story Equals and Opposites (2004) in Dark Horse Comics’ Star Wars Tales, which has been reprinted in collected form and also released with two action figures, based on the story, through Hasbro. He has also made other minor contributions to the Star Wars mythos, most notably including the development of in-universe dates for several historical maps in Star Wars: The Essential Atlas by Daniel Wallace and Jason Fry.
In 2009, Butler joined Grail Quest Books to write two Earther faction novellas (Healers and Hunters and On Red Soil) for the WARS: The Battle of Phobos series, based on the Decipher, Inc. science fiction property.
In 2006 and 2009, Butler self-published the original versions of his novella Echoes and the Greater Good novel. Beginning in 2011, new editions were developed for both, and they are now seeing professional release through Grail Quest Books in 2012 and 2013.
Originally from Evansville, Indiana, he now lives in the Atlanta area with his two cats and is engaged to his fellow sci-fi fan and sweetheart, Jodi. He currently teaches Advanced Placement World History and regular World History at Creekside High School in Fairburn, Georgia.
Butler is likely best known as the writer of the Star Wars story Equals and Opposites (2004) in Dark Horse Comics’ Star Wars Tales, which has been reprinted in collected form and also released with two action figures, based on the story, through Hasbro. He has also made other minor contributions to the Star Wars mythos, most notably including the development of in-universe dates for several historical maps in Star Wars: The Essential Atlas by Daniel Wallace and Jason Fry.
In 2009, Butler joined Grail Quest Books to write two Earther faction novellas (Healers and Hunters and On Red Soil) for the WARS: The Battle of Phobos series, based on the Decipher, Inc. science fiction property.
In 2006 and 2009, Butler self-published the original versions of his novella Echoes and the Greater Good novel. Beginning in 2011, new editions were developed for both, and they are now seeing professional release through Grail Quest Books in 2012 and 2013.
Originally from Evansville, Indiana, he now lives in the Atlanta area with his two cats and is engaged to his fellow sci-fi fan and sweetheart, Jodi. He currently teaches Advanced Placement World History and regular World History at Creekside High School in Fairburn, Georgia.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 15, 2011
This book is entitled Preludes because it is actually three stories, each told from the perspective of a different faction on the brink of war with the other two. That being said, I enjoyed all three. There are two things I like about the WARS property, and this book in particular.
The first thing I like is the tone. I find the three authors are very consistent in the way they describe events and write dialogue. It all carries a definite note of pulp-era flavor. Often the stories will read like a comic book that has been translated into prose (in a good way). In a market that has become absolutely glutted with antiheroes and tirelessly dark overtones, here it's easy to decide whom to root for, and whom to despise. At the same time, there's plenty of scheming and politicking going on behind the scenes, if that's what you're into.
The second draw here is how well-thought-out the setting itself is. All the technological and political terrain is extrapolated in great detail from what we see in the present day. Furthermore, each of the major characters has his or her own motivations, so that the factions are not rigidly defined alliances in which everyone stoically agrees with each other, a flaw seen all too often in the sci-fi genre. WARS was originally developed for a trading card game published by Decipher, Inc. They hired a team of writers to flesh out the story of WARS, including Michael A. Stackpole (of Star Wars writing fame).
The first thing I like is the tone. I find the three authors are very consistent in the way they describe events and write dialogue. It all carries a definite note of pulp-era flavor. Often the stories will read like a comic book that has been translated into prose (in a good way). In a market that has become absolutely glutted with antiheroes and tirelessly dark overtones, here it's easy to decide whom to root for, and whom to despise. At the same time, there's plenty of scheming and politicking going on behind the scenes, if that's what you're into.
The second draw here is how well-thought-out the setting itself is. All the technological and political terrain is extrapolated in great detail from what we see in the present day. Furthermore, each of the major characters has his or her own motivations, so that the factions are not rigidly defined alliances in which everyone stoically agrees with each other, a flaw seen all too often in the sci-fi genre. WARS was originally developed for a trading card game published by Decipher, Inc. They hired a team of writers to flesh out the story of WARS, including Michael A. Stackpole (of Star Wars writing fame).
July 6, 2017
After getting fed up with several long running Sci-Fi book series, I was looking for something new, and found this. After getting tired of dry and soulless series releases, I wanted something with some heart and found this.
Frankly, though it sounds ridiculous, reading this book was kind of magical. The three stories, each a little over 110 pages, portray nearlyy concurrent events from the viewpoint of three completely different cultures in a Sci-Fi universe. Each is portrayed with love and care, and sees the other cultures in their own way. I was carried off by each of the author's tales, and yet each was so different, yet they all fit together. I was quite pleased!
There's quite a bit going on here: action, adventure, tales of corperate espianage, commando infiltration, battles, intrigue...
If you're looking for a Sci-Fi series to latch onto, check this out. As a standalone read its great- but it will leave you yearning for more.
Frankly, though it sounds ridiculous, reading this book was kind of magical. The three stories, each a little over 110 pages, portray nearlyy concurrent events from the viewpoint of three completely different cultures in a Sci-Fi universe. Each is portrayed with love and care, and sees the other cultures in their own way. I was carried off by each of the author's tales, and yet each was so different, yet they all fit together. I was quite pleased!
There's quite a bit going on here: action, adventure, tales of corperate espianage, commando infiltration, battles, intrigue...
If you're looking for a Sci-Fi series to latch onto, check this out. As a standalone read its great- but it will leave you yearning for more.
March 7, 2012
Three solid military scifi/space opera tales with solid pace and lots of action and strong characerization. Based on the WARS card game, partially developed by Michael Stackpole, there's a thru line here I am not familiar with. But the stories held up fairly well on their own. I liked each for different reasons, although I think the middle, by virtue of its focus on Asian cultures, was my favorite, despite having the least action. It also added good variety given the similarities of its bookends.
June 15, 2013
If you ever played the card game, you gotta pick this up.....book two is now out as well!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews