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Birthright #1
Birthright
Caleb Mitchell is a human weapon, engineered into a biologically enhanced killing machine in the war with the alien Tahni. The war is long over and now he just wants to live a normal life as a constable on his homeworld of Canaan...but his life is torn apart when a Corporate Council mineral scout comes to him with a tale of discovering incredibly advanced alien technology from the fabled race known only as the Predecessors. Someone in the monolithic, power-hungry Corporate Council doesn't want that story to get out...and they'll kill anyone to stop it, including Caleb and his family.
- GenresScience FictionAction
427 pages, ebook
First published August 1, 2011
103 people are currently reading
141 people want to read
About the author
Rick Partlow
229 books377 followersRick Partlow is that rarest of species, a native Floridian. Born in Tampa, he attended Florida Southern College and graduated with a degree in History and a commission in the US Army as an Infantry officer.
His lifelong love of science fiction began with Have Space Suit---Will Travel and the other Heinlein juveniles and traveled through Clifford Simak, Asimov, Clarke and on to William Gibson, Walter Jon Williams and Peter F Hamilton. And somewhere, submerged in the worlds of others, Rick began to create his own worlds.
He has written over 70 books in over a dozen different series, and his short stories have been included in many different anthologies.
He currently lives in norther Wyoming with his wife and their dog. Besides writing and reading science fiction and fantasy, he enjoys outdoor photography, hiking and camping.
His lifelong love of science fiction began with Have Space Suit---Will Travel and the other Heinlein juveniles and traveled through Clifford Simak, Asimov, Clarke and on to William Gibson, Walter Jon Williams and Peter F Hamilton. And somewhere, submerged in the worlds of others, Rick began to create his own worlds.
He has written over 70 books in over a dozen different series, and his short stories have been included in many different anthologies.
He currently lives in norther Wyoming with his wife and their dog. Besides writing and reading science fiction and fantasy, he enjoys outdoor photography, hiking and camping.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
May 13, 2021
I guess I read and reviewed this book the first time in Jan of 2013. I usually don't re-read and re-review books, but this author has put out so many good military books lately and the previous review of this book was pretty bad. I think I've somewhat upgrade my review capabilities so I'm going to do this second review like it should have been done the first time.
It does seem that we've been with Constable Caleb Mitchell and his wife, Rachel, are living on the planet Canaan after having gone through a very disturbing and extensive war with the Tahni. He is now a Constable semi-enjoying his new life with his wife. Then he gets called to a meeting with some strange dude name "Skinner". This guy was responsible for making modifications to humans so they could be "enhanced". Mitchell just thought they were freaks and there were a lot of t hose around the office they were meeting in. But, he was actually introduced to another person there by the name of Captain Kara McIntire. From that meeting all sorts of problems arise. The first of which was the sudden and unexpected attack on the entire building they were in for the meeting. And this attack wasn't just some guns and robbers thing. No, they have heavy weapons and were bringing down the building.
Mitchell manages to get himself and Captain McIntire out of the mess and finds out later that the attack was done by a cult group called the Predecessors. They believed that an intelligent ancient alien race, our Predecessors, were coming back to uplift humanity to a higher plane of existence. They had no proof whatsoever and were considered a nuisance until today. Mitchell didn't know who their target of the attack was until he had time to talk with Captain McIntire. She had some story to tell about an archeological find that appeared to be of alien origin. She had reported the location of the archeological site to her superiors within the Corporal Council and thought that was the end of it. She knew something was wrong when here shuttle was blown up by what appeared to be members of the Corporate Security Force. Now she's on the run and asking for Caleb Mitchell's help.
You'll find out that Caleb Mitchell is not your ordinary Constable. He's an enhanced human from the war and is almost impossible to put down for any length of time. While he can take a lot of punishment, he can also dish it out and people who get in his way don't last very long. So, he and Captain McIntire go to find the leader of this Cult on planet Canaan to find out who told them to make the attack. You'll find out that Mitchell doesn't do much in the way of subtle actions. He invades the cult compound and takes what he needs back for interrogation. Now we're going to find out just how big this whole mess is going to get and it includes the current President of the Commonwealth and the discovery of aliens.
Has the Predecessor Cults predictions come true. Is there a master race of aliens coming to Earth? We'll read and find out. It's pretty exciting reading and there are a few mistakes made by people that should have have known better. One big mistake was the kidnapping of Caleb Mitchell's wife, Rachel. If there's one thing people should know, it's that you don't mess with Mitchell's family! Very good story line and I'm glad I re-read this book. I didn't know the first time I read it that it was going to be a series, but there is a second book out, "Northwest Passage" and it's on my reading list. In fact, this is a three-part series with "Enemy of My Enemy" being the third and final book. All are available on Amazon.
***** Old Review *****
25 Jan 2012
This is the second book I've read by Rick Partlow and I like his writing. The first book was "Duty, Honor, Planet" and it was an excellent read although a little liberal with the young characters.
In this book, the characters are well described and appear very capable of doing what is described. The author gets pretty technical in describing everything from the bionic implants in certain individuals to describing the star drive and how it works. He also likes his weapons, describing a number of them in great detail usually while they are in use.
I like the story line and if you like good old detective stories, this will fit right in. The only difference with this and a Sam Spade story is that this takes place way in the future and has people flying around to different planets. I like that kind of stuff. Some you can relate to and some you cannot. The story flows pretty rapidly with some kind of action on every page. While I hated to stop reading for a night, there were places that felt right to just stop and continue on the next day.
I hope there are more books with the same characters. The story leaves it open to that happening although there is nothing in this Kindle version that would lead me to believe that a sequel is forthcoming. Too bad.
I need to find more books by this author. If you read the two I've mentioned, you won't be disappointed.
It does seem that we've been with Constable Caleb Mitchell and his wife, Rachel, are living on the planet Canaan after having gone through a very disturbing and extensive war with the Tahni. He is now a Constable semi-enjoying his new life with his wife. Then he gets called to a meeting with some strange dude name "Skinner". This guy was responsible for making modifications to humans so they could be "enhanced". Mitchell just thought they were freaks and there were a lot of t hose around the office they were meeting in. But, he was actually introduced to another person there by the name of Captain Kara McIntire. From that meeting all sorts of problems arise. The first of which was the sudden and unexpected attack on the entire building they were in for the meeting. And this attack wasn't just some guns and robbers thing. No, they have heavy weapons and were bringing down the building.
Mitchell manages to get himself and Captain McIntire out of the mess and finds out later that the attack was done by a cult group called the Predecessors. They believed that an intelligent ancient alien race, our Predecessors, were coming back to uplift humanity to a higher plane of existence. They had no proof whatsoever and were considered a nuisance until today. Mitchell didn't know who their target of the attack was until he had time to talk with Captain McIntire. She had some story to tell about an archeological find that appeared to be of alien origin. She had reported the location of the archeological site to her superiors within the Corporal Council and thought that was the end of it. She knew something was wrong when here shuttle was blown up by what appeared to be members of the Corporate Security Force. Now she's on the run and asking for Caleb Mitchell's help.
You'll find out that Caleb Mitchell is not your ordinary Constable. He's an enhanced human from the war and is almost impossible to put down for any length of time. While he can take a lot of punishment, he can also dish it out and people who get in his way don't last very long. So, he and Captain McIntire go to find the leader of this Cult on planet Canaan to find out who told them to make the attack. You'll find out that Mitchell doesn't do much in the way of subtle actions. He invades the cult compound and takes what he needs back for interrogation. Now we're going to find out just how big this whole mess is going to get and it includes the current President of the Commonwealth and the discovery of aliens.
Has the Predecessor Cults predictions come true. Is there a master race of aliens coming to Earth? We'll read and find out. It's pretty exciting reading and there are a few mistakes made by people that should have have known better. One big mistake was the kidnapping of Caleb Mitchell's wife, Rachel. If there's one thing people should know, it's that you don't mess with Mitchell's family! Very good story line and I'm glad I re-read this book. I didn't know the first time I read it that it was going to be a series, but there is a second book out, "Northwest Passage" and it's on my reading list. In fact, this is a three-part series with "Enemy of My Enemy" being the third and final book. All are available on Amazon.
***** Old Review *****
25 Jan 2012
This is the second book I've read by Rick Partlow and I like his writing. The first book was "Duty, Honor, Planet" and it was an excellent read although a little liberal with the young characters.
In this book, the characters are well described and appear very capable of doing what is described. The author gets pretty technical in describing everything from the bionic implants in certain individuals to describing the star drive and how it works. He also likes his weapons, describing a number of them in great detail usually while they are in use.
I like the story line and if you like good old detective stories, this will fit right in. The only difference with this and a Sam Spade story is that this takes place way in the future and has people flying around to different planets. I like that kind of stuff. Some you can relate to and some you cannot. The story flows pretty rapidly with some kind of action on every page. While I hated to stop reading for a night, there were places that felt right to just stop and continue on the next day.
I hope there are more books with the same characters. The story leaves it open to that happening although there is nothing in this Kindle version that would lead me to believe that a sequel is forthcoming. Too bad.
I need to find more books by this author. If you read the two I've mentioned, you won't be disappointed.
March 30, 2019
( Format : Audiobook )
"Just like old times."
Buried deep within this book is a rattling good story but it's hard to find beneath the almost universal barrage of non stop extreme action. Cal Mitchell was a survivor from the War, one of only a small handful of young people modified to become fearsome killer assassins. After it was over, he was awarded the role of Constable for life over the mostly agricultural Caanan, the home to which he returned and settled with his family. A favour is called in and, once again, Cal finds himself fighting for his life, a beautiful feisty woman, and his fami!y against, it seems, the entire solar population. Politics, intrigue, betrayal, religion, ancient artefacts, explosions, new weapons, cybourgs, aliens, crime lords, corruption, conspiracy, assassins, full on battles, family and Federal Government, it's all here, and more.
Told largely in the first person by Cal himself, there are inserts covering other key members of the protagonists as well as flashbacks from Cal's life to assist in character development. And the world building is mostly good, creating a visual, if depressing, backdrop for all that is ha happening. Narration by Evan Harris fits well with this reader's mental picture of Cal: the pace is fast, no pausing for breath well intoned and with good voicing of the other characters. But with an almost machine like quality which this reader found hard to listen to after a few minutes - a constant barrage of words and action which created a minor mind block.
My thanks to the rights holder of Birthright, who, at my request, generously and freely gifted me a complimentary copy. This is a book that I hope to return to at a later date. There was a lot packed into it and my mental drift kept me jerking back, realizing that I had missed part of the story and having to rewind: so not, for me, a comfortable read this time around, hence the middling star rating.
However, I would certainly recommend it to anyone who enjoys imaginative non stop S.F.battling action.
"Just like old times."
Buried deep within this book is a rattling good story but it's hard to find beneath the almost universal barrage of non stop extreme action. Cal Mitchell was a survivor from the War, one of only a small handful of young people modified to become fearsome killer assassins. After it was over, he was awarded the role of Constable for life over the mostly agricultural Caanan, the home to which he returned and settled with his family. A favour is called in and, once again, Cal finds himself fighting for his life, a beautiful feisty woman, and his fami!y against, it seems, the entire solar population. Politics, intrigue, betrayal, religion, ancient artefacts, explosions, new weapons, cybourgs, aliens, crime lords, corruption, conspiracy, assassins, full on battles, family and Federal Government, it's all here, and more.
Told largely in the first person by Cal himself, there are inserts covering other key members of the protagonists as well as flashbacks from Cal's life to assist in character development. And the world building is mostly good, creating a visual, if depressing, backdrop for all that is ha happening. Narration by Evan Harris fits well with this reader's mental picture of Cal: the pace is fast, no pausing for breath well intoned and with good voicing of the other characters. But with an almost machine like quality which this reader found hard to listen to after a few minutes - a constant barrage of words and action which created a minor mind block.
My thanks to the rights holder of Birthright, who, at my request, generously and freely gifted me a complimentary copy. This is a book that I hope to return to at a later date. There was a lot packed into it and my mental drift kept me jerking back, realizing that I had missed part of the story and having to rewind: so not, for me, a comfortable read this time around, hence the middling star rating.
However, I would certainly recommend it to anyone who enjoys imaginative non stop S.F.battling action.
July 12, 2017
"Wolverine" Wannabe Allies With Alien "Terminator"
"Birthright," part of Mr. Rick Partlow's "Glory Boys" series, takes a souped up, "Wolverine" wannabe, allies him with an alien "Terminator," and a amateurish conspiracy war ensues. The writing is simply not very good, the plotting and plot devices are repetitive, contrived, and often ludicrous, and overall reading was a chore, not entertaining.
This reviewer read "Birthright," following reading of the author's recently published "Recon" series. The twisting and abject reworking of the genesis concept of "Recon," from "Birthright," clearly shows the author's low level writing skill set.
This book is not recommended and was fully read via Kindle Unlimited.
"Birthright," part of Mr. Rick Partlow's "Glory Boys" series, takes a souped up, "Wolverine" wannabe, allies him with an alien "Terminator," and a amateurish conspiracy war ensues. The writing is simply not very good, the plotting and plot devices are repetitive, contrived, and often ludicrous, and overall reading was a chore, not entertaining.
This reviewer read "Birthright," following reading of the author's recently published "Recon" series. The twisting and abject reworking of the genesis concept of "Recon," from "Birthright," clearly shows the author's low level writing skill set.
This book is not recommended and was fully read via Kindle Unlimited.
January 5, 2018
Decent story but I have trouble with some of his hard science
Literary devices. For example his look could have frozen mercury... Well the melting point of mercury is -37°F, which is cold but not all that cold. Hydrogen might have been a better choice. Then there are lasers that put out kilojoules of energy. 10,000 joules is only 0.003 kwh, not a lot. The present day laser of record is the MIRACL laser which puts out several megawatts for 70 seconds which can knock down a middle is about 16 kilowatt hours of energy. I haven't done the math but I don't think his laser would hurt you.
Literary devices. For example his look could have frozen mercury... Well the melting point of mercury is -37°F, which is cold but not all that cold. Hydrogen might have been a better choice. Then there are lasers that put out kilojoules of energy. 10,000 joules is only 0.003 kwh, not a lot. The present day laser of record is the MIRACL laser which puts out several megawatts for 70 seconds which can knock down a middle is about 16 kilowatt hours of energy. I haven't done the math but I don't think his laser would hurt you.
April 5, 2020
The best of Starship Troopers and Enders Game, but from a guy whose seen the elephant.
Its rare to find a universe that beings together the things I loved about RAH Starship Troopers and improves upon them with the dirty nasty reality of humanity, amd yet, you still want the white picket fence ending, and you even get it... until the next book.
Rock on Rick, you write good stuff
Its rare to find a universe that beings together the things I loved about RAH Starship Troopers and improves upon them with the dirty nasty reality of humanity, amd yet, you still want the white picket fence ending, and you even get it... until the next book.
Rock on Rick, you write good stuff
October 18, 2021
Plenty of violence and space opera with continuous plot
Development. Amazing to find so many characters still
Alive at the end. The good guys finally make it after spending
Time in hospital for reconstruction.
Development. Amazing to find so many characters still
Alive at the end. The good guys finally make it after spending
Time in hospital for reconstruction.
August 9, 2023
kinda felt like a tom cruise movie you sat down to watch cause your little brother wanted to watch it, and you ended up actually enjoying (most) of it
not the most amazing writing, but Mr. Partlow does try with his sciency wording and fun plot- all in all, would read again
not the most amazing writing, but Mr. Partlow does try with his sciency wording and fun plot- all in all, would read again
December 8, 2017
Well worth the read.
You keep on the edge and keeps you wondering what is going on , you might think you know what will happen next but you will be wrong.
You keep on the edge and keeps you wondering what is going on , you might think you know what will happen next but you will be wrong.
August 7, 2020
lots of action from start to finish. I enjoyed the read. Having read some other story lines though I already had some insights so the big reveal was not there for me.
August 19, 2020
An intriguing book
This book has great characters and an intriguing storyline that will keep you wanting to keep reading. Looking forward to reading the next book in this series
This book has great characters and an intriguing storyline that will keep you wanting to keep reading. Looking forward to reading the next book in this series
September 8, 2016
Kick Butt Military SciFi
Conspiracies, alien progenitors, fixed elections, assassinations, secret underground laboratories, Imperial cyborgs, commando raids, space battles, orbital explosions - what's a former Spec Ops guy supposed to do when it all comes crashing in his lap? He is Caleb, Constable of Caanan - a basically agrarian planet before the Corporate Commonwealth moved in and screwed everything up. He's a nice guy with a wonderful wife, but the rich bad pretty dudes (RBPD) crossed the line when they started messing with his family. Now, Caleb is out for blood!
Caleb hooks up with his buddies from the war, as he tries to evade the rich, bad pretty dudes, and all hell breaks loose. Caleb and his warrior pals are being hunted because they know too much, while leaving leaving a swath of destruction a mile wide in their wake. Where will it end?
Will the rich bad pretty dudes get a blemish? Oh no!
Will everyone be sucked into a black hole? Probably not...
But there will be amazing battle scenes with many weapons? Yes...
Lots of scheming, sneaking and strategizing by the RBPD? You bet!
The Battle Royale will kick butt? And take names too, it's that good.
It's more fun than plasma rifle in a scrapyard.
Just read the book and find out.
Highly Recommended!
Conspiracies, alien progenitors, fixed elections, assassinations, secret underground laboratories, Imperial cyborgs, commando raids, space battles, orbital explosions - what's a former Spec Ops guy supposed to do when it all comes crashing in his lap? He is Caleb, Constable of Caanan - a basically agrarian planet before the Corporate Commonwealth moved in and screwed everything up. He's a nice guy with a wonderful wife, but the rich bad pretty dudes (RBPD) crossed the line when they started messing with his family. Now, Caleb is out for blood!
Caleb hooks up with his buddies from the war, as he tries to evade the rich, bad pretty dudes, and all hell breaks loose. Caleb and his warrior pals are being hunted because they know too much, while leaving leaving a swath of destruction a mile wide in their wake. Where will it end?
Will the rich bad pretty dudes get a blemish? Oh no!
Will everyone be sucked into a black hole? Probably not...
But there will be amazing battle scenes with many weapons? Yes...
Lots of scheming, sneaking and strategizing by the RBPD? You bet!
The Battle Royale will kick butt? And take names too, it's that good.
It's more fun than plasma rifle in a scrapyard.
Just read the book and find out.
Highly Recommended!
January 25, 2016
Certainly an improvement on his debut. Characters are introduced in a much more natural way, and the action flows well without getting bogged down. But I still don't understand Partlow's obsession with having his chiseled male leads sleep with multiple hot women per book - one of which they're clearly committed to, the other of which they are clearly not - and blithely decide that it's ok and there are no consequences by the end of the book, let's just move on. He's done this frequently enough, and specifically enough, that one has to start wondering about the author's own personal life. Heinlein could (usually) get away with defying sexual mores in his works; but Partlow is no Heinlein.
February 10, 2017
This is a well written, entertaining story, with characters the reader can get behind and cheer for. The worlds created also lend to the story and keep the reader wanting more. Though, some of the enhancements/body augments people in this fictional future receive somewhat creep me out, they also lend a, "what will they reveal to us next?" mystique. Looking forward to the next one.
October 3, 2016
Mr. Partlow has another winning series!
Set further in the future with human augmentation running wild, a former special operations soldier stumbles into a dangerous web. Bravo to Mr. Partlow for creating another series as powerful as his first.
Set further in the future with human augmentation running wild, a former special operations soldier stumbles into a dangerous web. Bravo to Mr. Partlow for creating another series as powerful as his first.
August 27, 2017
Way to go Partlow
Rick Partlow's continuing journey with the "Glory Boys" is exceptionally well written, and continues the story logically. I highly recommend this series of you like military science fiction.
Rick Partlow's continuing journey with the "Glory Boys" is exceptionally well written, and continues the story logically. I highly recommend this series of you like military science fiction.
October 19, 2011
Good adventure
January 12, 2012
Very good yarn
August 9, 2012
Fun read. Kind of gets a little corny withy the weapons and battle scenes, but good characters. Nothing new, but not bad for a free book
February 13, 2013
A good story, liked all the different points of view. For an adventure tale, pretty decent.
November 3, 2015
Engaging...
Waned to keep reading but it felt like the fight descriptions were the whole story. I wanted to finish because the setting an characters were still engaging.
Waned to keep reading but it felt like the fight descriptions were the whole story. I wanted to finish because the setting an characters were still engaging.
January 25, 2016
Alien Technology
The hero of this novel is a veteran of an interstellar war on a search for technology from a long dead alien race. Be warned this is the first volume of a series.
The hero of this novel is a veteran of an interstellar war on a search for technology from a long dead alien race. Be warned this is the first volume of a series.
February 19, 2016
Well written
This was an enjoyable read. Good action.....believable characters with a sense of humor. Will buy Rick again. In fact will go back and purchase them all
This was an enjoyable read. Good action.....believable characters with a sense of humor. Will buy Rick again. In fact will go back and purchase them all
Read
November 20, 2019DNF see the review for why.
My Review
My Review
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews