The Cost of Victory

Crimson Worlds #2

by Jay Allan

The Third Frontier War is raging, and all across human-occupied space worlds are burning. Massive fleets struggle for dominance and kilometer-long war ships exchange thermonuclear barrages.

Battered in the early years of the war, the Western Alliance is resurgent. The brilliant Admiral Augustus Garret leads the Alliance fleet from victory to victory, taking the war to the very heart of the enemy empires. And on the ground, Colonel Erik Cain, hero of the Marine Corps, leads his crack troops again into combat, seeking the final battle.

In the background, the secretive intelligence agencies of the despotic Superpowers plot and scheme, using their own soldiers as pawns in the great game for control of space.

But the final battle will be fought in the reddish sands of a backwater world, and the prize will be the staggering secret that has lain hidden in a remote cave for untold centuries.

All the Powers struggle for the ultimate victory, but at what cost?

The Cost of Victory is the second book in the Crimson Worlds series and the sequel to Marines.

The Crimson Worlds Series:

Marines (Crimson Worlds I) - Available Now!
Tombstone (A Crimson Worlds Prequel) - Available Now!
A Little Rebellion (Crimson Worlds III) - December 2012
The First Imperium (Crimson Worlds IV) - March 2013

Genres: Science Fiction, Military Fiction, Fiction, Military Science Fiction, Space Opera, Audiobook, War

266 pages, Paperback

First published October 16, 2012

Reviews

[Little Timmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice Military SiFi series. well written and a good solid read. The writer has a good feel for the mind and emotions of the military characters he writes about. Very recommended

[Per Gunnar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parts of this book is much better than the first one in the series and first one was fairly good. However, parts of this book is, in my opinion, much worse as well. The parts that are better, well that is simply a fact. The writing of the author have improved substantially from the, sometimes boring, report style telling of facts that was present in the first book. The parts that are worse, well that is more due to my personal taste than any fault of the authors writing. I will get to that.

As I said, the writing is definitely improved. The storytelling is not as dull. It is quite enjoyable to read the parts with Eric Cain in them and how he rapidly moves up in the ranks and gets more and more responsibility. I also really like the character of General Holm. There are a fair bit of action in the book and this time we get some real fleet action in space as well which I of course liked a lot. Eric gets to see his favorite doctor again as well.

So, what about the “much worse” stuff? Well, as I said this is more a matter of personal taste. This book ventures a lot into the area of space (soap) opera, politics and treachery. The corrupt Earth government, which I did not really like already in the first book, plays a much bigger role. Not only that but the book is really going over the top with the “badness” of this. The politicians appears to have no qualms whatsoever of slaughtering millions of their own people, even their own troops, and goes as far as to scheme to eliminate their best commanders in the middle of a war just to gain more power.

I really really really hated those parts of the book. I normally do not like politics and scheming and this book is just full of the worst and most outrageous kind of this. I would have liked to give this book a lot higher rating due to the improvements in the writing and the space action but this just put me off so much that I found myself speed-reading through these parts towards the end of the book.

The next book have the encouraging title of “A Little Rebellion” which gives me some hope of these politician bastards getting disposed of so I have not given up on this book series yet but, for me, the series certainly took a downturn. However, if you are not put off with politics then this book should be nothing but an improvement from the first one.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! These are great books! If you like space battles and tactics then you've got to read these books. This one starts out with a pretty interesting space naval battle led by an Admiral in the Alliance Navy who is already a hero and ready to prove his extreme abilities once again. Unfortunately, he becomes a target of the enemy and they will try whatever it takes to get him eliminated. And, not only is this Admiral targeted but his Marine counterpart is also on the assassination list. Our previous hero, Col Eric Kane hasn't quite drawn enough attention to himself so he's not on the list yet. And that is a big mistake.

Of couse, if the Alliance Navy and Marines were only fighting the enemy, then they would have an easy time of it. But, it appears they now have to fight against some weird and threatening actions of their own Alliance Intelligence Agency. Good intelligence can win a battle even against extreme odds; bad intelligence can get a lot of people killed quickly; and the wrong intel can get an entire Marine Division wiped out! That's the goal of our own Alliance Intelligence Agency. They want our Marines to be under their control and the best way to get that done is to eliminiate the two toughest Marines, Gen Holm and Col. Kane. You'll need to read the book to find out who survives and what is this secret the Alliance is willing to loose their best people in order to keep secret.

A very good read. I just hate the fact that I seem to read these books very fast. Please keep them coming.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, this is better than the last book in some ways, and worse in other ways. I did at least feel a bit more invested in the story than the last book: more was happening. However, since it mostly happened at a much higher plane than the last book (upper echelons of government discussing huge invasions, compared to an individual soldier describing his life in the trenches), the inventiveness of the technology and the well-crafted world (the only thing that got book 1 a 3-star rating from me) was totally missing from this book. This book is more engaging, but much less creative, if that makes sense.

I felt like all the plot twists were telegraphed long in advance, so I wasn't on the edge of my seat at all. Maybe I'm just jaded from too much sci-fi reading, maybe this just isn't my style: anyways, it's okay but nothing very impressive. I'll read book 3 because I already bought it, but not expecting to follow this all the way out to the bitter end, when Erik Cain returns to earth at the head of a Marine army to root out the corrupt politicians who tried to have him killed (that's not a spoiler, because I don't know if that's what happens, but the whole series seems so predictable that I have no doubt that it will end with that eventually).

[Jon Wells · Rating 4 out of 5]

I admit that the first book in Jay Allan's Crimson Worlds series was a bit of a slog for me. However, this book is such a vast improvement that I'm now fully invested in the story. This feels more like a true narrative than the last, and the characters and action seem much more realized and three-dimensional. Politics and intrigue begin to center stage among the well-described futuristic space combat, and the universe of the novel comes to life in this action-packed page turner. I commend the author for switching gears and stepping up his game - he's transformed what could have been a very mediocre series into an interesting and engaging one.

[Alex Shrugged · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book in the Crimson Worlds series and we get a hint as to why it is called the Crimson Worlds series. Pay attention, though. It flies by quickly. In any case, we find out why the war was started over a miserable second-rate planet that no one could really wanted except for some mining possibilities.

The story: Colonel Erik Cain (Hey! He's a colonel now!) is fighting a war on the planet he fought over when he was still Private Cain. Admiral Augustus Garret (another hero introduced to this story) cannot figure out why his entire fleet has been sent to fight over this miserable planet. He smells a rat so he sends his best people to check things out first. That would be Cain and his Marines. (FYI, men and women are part of the Marines, like Cain's true love, Dr. Colonel Sarah Linden who also goes down to the planet.) The CAC attacks the Marines and the Marines are hard-pressed, but Cain still sends out a dedicated search party of Marines looking for something more and they find it. It is something in stealth and it is big.

Any problems with this story? Sometimes the explanations of how things happen are too short. There is no real explanation about how ships get from place to place. Very little about how fast the ships are going. It seems that the ships get to where they need to go in enough time, but the actual stress the ships and people would take to do all of that would normally tear ships and people apart. Here is what the author says about it in full.

"The vessels of the fleet were executing controlled burns to build velocity, cutting thrust at precise intervals so the crews could physically recover from massive g forces and analyze incoming data. While enduring the pressures exerted by maximum acceleration, even experienced crews could do little but lie motionless on their couches."

According to an article I read, a fighter pilot wearing a pressure suit could endure 8-9 Gs. Most healthy people without a pressure suit could endure 10 Gs for about 1 minute before passing out. So, what the author was suggesting was that the ships were firing their rockets (or whatever propulsion they were using) for 1 minute, coasting to give everyone a break, and then firing for 1 minute again to build up speed.

Given what I read of the space battles in the book, it seemed barely plausible.

Any modesty issues? The F-word was used a number of times... maybe 5 times. Obviously, Erik Cain and Sarah Linden were sleeping together every chance they had, but I don't recall any sex being described.

The ending was intriguing, but no real cliffhanger. It did leave a big opening for a sequel, but the author set that idea aside to cover a slightly different aspect of the story, the separation of the colony worlds from Earth's domination. That book is "A Little Rebellion".

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished this excellent novel, and have already started on the third installment. As other reviewers have noted, the writing is better than the first book and the format/timeline is much easier to follow.
Even though this book could be a stand-alone, I am hindered by the fact that I read the first book first. As such, there was some duplication of items of character development, weapons, and tactics. Admittedly, I started to gloss-over some of the character descriptions from the first book, but there was enough new info to make me stop and actually read it. I had started reading the books in the follow-up series, and really enjoyed seeing how and why the characters in those books came about. The battle scenes were adequate, not too much detail, but enough to keep you interested. Frankly, if you want really excellent military blood and guts-type stories, read the Posleen cycle by Johnny Ringo. 'Nuff said...
The character development in this book builds upon information provided in the first book. The view of the various factions of all the worlds, and their motives, become a mainline plot tool. As we often see, the government is the bad guy. No surprises there...We get a very good look at the behind-the-scenes scheming and motivations of the people who actually rule the western world.
Without giving up too much info, there are quite a few references to future actions of the government and its interaction with the Marines and Navy. I have already started the third book in this series, and thoroughly enjoyed the first two.

[Dennis Zimmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robert Heinlein one science fiction’s grandmasters has long been considered the master of military science fiction. Jay Allan can give him a run for his money as proved in Book 1 of the Crimson Worlds Series, Marines.

He has managed, as Heinlein did in Starship Trooper, to identify and develop a character who has all the attributes to succeed in a military environment but doesn’t realize it. His main character, Erik Cain, had lost his family and ended up joining a gang. In the dystopian world he found himself in his crimes caught up with him. He was captured, tried, and sentenced to death by lethal gas.

At the last possible moment he is offered a chance to join the marines. The choice was death or marines. He took marines and began an odyssey that would take him from the dystopian world he had ended up in to far away worlds as part of an elite fighting force. Along the way he learns about leadership and overcomes his feelings that he might be able to do the job. He is thrust into leadership roles and rises up through the ranks, becoming responsible more and more people under his leadership and command, from squad leader to regimental commander.

Allan has captured the confusion found in battle and the fear and uncertainty war fighters feel going into battler. He also captures to despair military leaders, the really good ones feel, when they lose someone under their command.

If you like a syfy military story that will not let you put down your Kindle or book, then this is one for you.

[Sgt Maj · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too Bad

First, the Mil, SciFi, Fiction part of the story, book was entertaining. Book 1 was better, IMO, more detail and action , story reasonably consistent throughout. However, the MC was consistently promoted and it wasn't until this book where he showed some solid military acumen. His accomplishments in book 1 didn't merit his rise.

But my issue, and reason I'm going to stop reading series, is authors political agenda or essentially major story line. I believe this book transitions plot to the familiar SciFi theme of evil earth, evil earth government, evil mega corps -- anything associated w earth. Oh, and the colonies walk on water of course. The story has major portions of political meandering that was incredulous and boring.

The greed, lust for power prevalent in all earth superpowers -- I don't get it as to why, everything considered. Author tried a time or two to explain and didn't hold up at all. You're asking me to believe Hitler, I hate this example, would have disbanded the Waffen SS because they fought for Germany, not him. Nope and there were no peculiarities to setup this evil earth as there was for WWII. Both my grandfathers were bitter to the day they died because of the Treaty of Versailles . Just in case, Western Front, WWI, Germans. Hitler's rise, understandable but excuses nothing. Here.....?

Series has turned into popular SciFi author political rant.

[Julian White · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book widens the focus of the narrative somewhat - so we have a naval commander's eye view of the ongoing war as well as the planet-based Marine view. Erik Cain continues his rise, as does General Holm and the newly introduced Admiral Garrett, as the war continues and reaches a climax on the very planet where Cain experienced his first battle. We also catch glimpses of the Earth beyond the Alliance - particularly the CAC ruling committee as a contrast to the Alliance Directorate.

An enjoyable and thought-provoking book, somewhat different to my usual fare but nevertheless a definite page-turner!

[Rosemary Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is told from various sources, in the relative time span.
This multifaceted approach sees what each of the various players in this game of war is thinking and plotting.
We return to the planet where we originally found the green private Erik Cain, strapped into a transport for his first mission. The man that descends to the soil of a planet that has no colonists, and appears to be deserted. However, the fine hairs on more than one veteran's neck, say that there is a great danger here.
Yeah, it's interesting what is behind all the intrigue and deaths. I wonder if it is truly worth fighting over.

[Trent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much better! More character dialogue, more details regarding the shadow government, and a story that flowed with intensity and anticipation. Mr. Allen did a nice job developing the characters and giving them a bit more personae. The only thing I’m a little confused about is the notion the a ship in space being rocked by a shockwave caused by a nuclear explosion. No biggie but just something that doesn’t make sense. Regardless, I’m going to read to start the third book in a few minutes.

SPOILER ALERT: when a certain Admiral came through the warp gate with four battleships and one was named the “Hampton Roads”, I wanted to scream “Fuck Yea!” Why? Because I live in the area!

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the expanded scope of the book compared to its predecessor and appreciated the multiple threads of the evolving plot. I noticed a few more escapes from the proofreading/editing process in this one, and it seems the author repeated short explanations of power armor's adverse impact on face-to-face communications several places, as though he had forgotten having used almost the same words in earlier chapters. These distractions were not enough to make me quit reading, however. I'm moving on to the 3rd in the series immediately.

[Harold E Britt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moving on up

With this novel Jay Allan is moving up in the ranks of military science fiction authors. Having dealt with "Armored Troopers" previously, he continues his march to higher levels of space battle. The action is solid and fast paced with human interest and character development.
While Allan is not up to Weber, White or even Charles Gannon, he is moving in that direction. His ground combat is coming along as well. This is an author I can follow.

[Elaina Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent book by Jay Allan!

I read the later books first and am just now going through the first books. I am enjoying reading them, even though some parts are gritty (it is war after all) and hope these books end up as movies some day.

I am, of course, rooting for the Marines (even though they are fictional characters ;). Semper Fi!

[Gwinf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good series by Jay Allan. I find the characters to be my kind of people and look forward to reading the entire series. The only negative I have is to comment on the somewhat more than necessary rehashing of previous events. As this is a series and I am going to read it in order, I feel there is not so much need to talk about what happened in previous books. Keep things flowing, we know what happened before.

[Suki Rickey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought the bundle for books 1-3. Book 2 was a fun read and had a few errors throughout. The overall concept of book 2 was interesting and the development of each character was enjoyable to read. I like the worlds Erik and his team go too, and how different each are. The struggle of the characters has changed a bit with the advancement of Erik and other within the Core. I look forward to book 3.

[Roland Laking · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic voyage in to conflict in space

This book takes you further into the service life of a marine as no other book I have read it takes you on a vertual tour of a large scale tactical encounter and into a strategic encounter of massive proportions. I cannot wait to start the next book in the series

[Joel B Champagne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Story

Interesting concept, very believable, and very good character development. I would have liked some additional description of the relationship of the Doctor and Cain. Still, the reading left a huge amount of possibilities for the future. Enjoyed this first installment on the series.

[Janetta Bitting · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another exciting read in the series

I enjoy military action science fiction. This book has it. This novel also has a very well developed plot. I enjoy the characters. I look forward to the next volume.

[dan petty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better then the first book

This book has more character interactions then the first. The storyline is starting to fill up. If you like naval and boots on the ground action this is a good series

[Vancil C. Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Series!

This is the series to read if you love love hard core space battles. There is also the development of characters along the way that gives the stories a more personal touch. On book 3 now, let you know about it later, but the title is intriguing: A Little Rebellion.

[Jean-Raymond Raynal · Rating 3 out of 5]

The copy I read had some mistakes, more frequents towards the end of the book. That was a bit annoying. Otherwise, I really enjoyed the military SF. Characters introspection seems to be a bit repetitive, but the book is action packed, just want I need to read those days :).

[Brent Markee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great continuation

At first I was worried when the perspective shifted to admiral Grant, but my fears were quickly allayed as the cast of the first book took control. Looking forward to seeing how it all turns out.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another spellbinding adventure

Jay does it again integrating well developed characters with white-knuckle military action. Some real time bombs are laid for the ongoing stories and the evil presented is all too credible given human nature. I have been enjoying the ride.

[Steven Reneau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intrigue, Treachery and Traps

An escalation of the first book in the series, the stakes become incredibly high as the Alliance executes plans to cement their control and eliminate all its "enemies", even the Marines. Excellently told!

[Luke Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didnt like it as much as the last book but it seems like a good setup for the next story. Trouble is brewing. I will read the next book.

[Danny Bernier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much better than book one. Enjoying the series so far

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story following Erik Cain as he progresses through the ranks of the the marine corp.
A non stop epic from start to finish highly recommended

[A.R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book with non stop action!