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Drop Trooper: Pirate Wars #2
Infiltration
All warfare is based on deception…
As the Commonwealth reels from the devastating losses at the Battle of Coracaesium, Ranger Antonin Murdock is determined to track down the source of Sanya Baretto’s top-of-the-line weapons.
The first problem? The one man who knows where they are is a ruthless crime lord; someone as brutal as he is unpredictable. And that’s just the start of a hunt which will propel Murdock from the murky underbelly of Commonwealth space to beyond its frontier.
And when there, amidst the largest battle since the Tahni War, Murdock will confront a harsh truth. The art of deception is not just confined to the enemy. Sometimes, the most treacherous betrayal can come from those closest.
Book 2 of a new Military SciFi Epic from the bestselling duo of Rick Partlow and Ralph Kern. Two legends in the genre bring you a new story filled with pulse-pounding action, realistic battles, and a soldier you can’t help but root for.
As the Commonwealth reels from the devastating losses at the Battle of Coracaesium, Ranger Antonin Murdock is determined to track down the source of Sanya Baretto’s top-of-the-line weapons.
The first problem? The one man who knows where they are is a ruthless crime lord; someone as brutal as he is unpredictable. And that’s just the start of a hunt which will propel Murdock from the murky underbelly of Commonwealth space to beyond its frontier.
And when there, amidst the largest battle since the Tahni War, Murdock will confront a harsh truth. The art of deception is not just confined to the enemy. Sometimes, the most treacherous betrayal can come from those closest.
Book 2 of a new Military SciFi Epic from the bestselling duo of Rick Partlow and Ralph Kern. Two legends in the genre bring you a new story filled with pulse-pounding action, realistic battles, and a soldier you can’t help but root for.
- GenresMilitary Science Fiction
305 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 28, 2023
75 people are currently reading
16 people want to read
About the author
Rick Partlow
207 books372 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 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 22, 2024
We’re picking up after the last screwed up mission to stop the pirates/rebels led by Sanya Baretto, a former Commonwealth fighter pilot. That mission didn’t go anywhere like they had planned it to go since the Commonwealth vasty underestimated Baretto capabilities. They thought they could send a sizable ship and that would be the end of this little uprising. Didn’t turn out that way because the guy they put in-charge of the mission was very incompetent and almost got everyone killed. He lost his ship and several others which Barrett’s people took for their own and are now reading them for another fight.
This time the Commonwealth isn’t going to do any underestimating and is going to send enough combat power to stop anyone from doing anything. Yet, before they do that, they need to find out where Baretto’s people are getting their hardware. They seem to be fielding some modern, state-of-the-art weapons and lots of them in the most recent battle. It’s also a little discerning that mixed in with the Commonwealth gear is a collection of Tahni captured material. How in the world Baretto’s people got hold of that is even more of a mystery.
So, our intrepid Range, Antonin Murdock is assigned this mission because it’s really an investigation that should be the domain of the Rangers. What he didn’t expect at the inquest on the last mission was that his brother, Henry Murdock, would be the chair of that review board. Now we found out that Murdock’s brother is not only the head of Murdock Industries, a major military hardware supplier, but also has a seat on the Corporate Council. That Council runs the Commonwealth although there are a few that don’t want to accept that fact. But with Henry Murdock obviously sitting as chair of the inquest board with flag officers deferring to him it was clear that he was an important figure in the governing of the Commonwealth. After the board meeting, Antonin Murdock was invited to visit with his brother at the previous home/estate. When Antonin arrived, he was surprised that also invited were a number of the military that had been involved in the last effort to corral Baretto.
This is where he gets the assignment to investigate how Baretto is getting all this military equipment. He comes up with a plan to infiltrate the larges arms dealers the Commonwealth knows of and that is the Diaspora or as it’s otherwise known as the Russian fleet. This fleet isn’t like a normal fleet in that it’s the entire Russian civilization or what’s left of it after they were wiped off the Earth by the Western powers. Now, they supply arms to those who need them at a cost so that’s who Ranger Murdock needs to talk to. He doesn’t think that they would be supplying the amount of arms he’s seen thrown at the Commonwealth, but it’s a starting point. He’s going along with a Marine Sergeant Covington. Their plan to act as colonist looking to arm their colony works as well as you’d figure, it lasted only a few minutes.
Once he woke up from the bashing to his head he received by on of Petrov’s body guards, Petrov asked him to start telling the truth because he knew they were Commonwealth spies and not merely colonist. So, Ranger Murdock told him they were and surprisingly, Petrov said he’d help Murdock figure this stuff out. See, whomever was suppling Baretto with the weapons was Petrov and the Diaspora, so that meant he was losing profit. He then told Murdock of a program the Commonwealth had put together not long after the last Tahni war. This was known as Pandora’s Box. All the excess/surplus gear and weapons were collected and placed in strategic locations around the galaxy just incase the Tahni ever decided to come back. These boxes contained not only Commonwealth weapons, but also captured Tahni weapons, all of which were aging, but not exactly old. Most was still very serviceable as shown in the second of two attempts to fight Baretto’s rebels.
So, that’s one mission in this book that Murdock undertakes. This will lead to some more important information like where Baretto is now hold up. As mentioned, the Commonwealth is ready to end this little rebellion and they are sending enough of the Naval fleet to make sure it is ended. Murdock will be part of this effort and he intends to be the one to capture Baretto alive. It seems that the Marines he’s going with are all about killing anyone and everyone that even looks like a rebel. There are times when you wonder just who the Marines are fighting for.
Ok, so this book was exciting although I didn’t really like the ending. It was done so that a third book could follow so maybe things turn out the right way in book 3, “Isolation”, available on Amazon now.
This time the Commonwealth isn’t going to do any underestimating and is going to send enough combat power to stop anyone from doing anything. Yet, before they do that, they need to find out where Baretto’s people are getting their hardware. They seem to be fielding some modern, state-of-the-art weapons and lots of them in the most recent battle. It’s also a little discerning that mixed in with the Commonwealth gear is a collection of Tahni captured material. How in the world Baretto’s people got hold of that is even more of a mystery.
So, our intrepid Range, Antonin Murdock is assigned this mission because it’s really an investigation that should be the domain of the Rangers. What he didn’t expect at the inquest on the last mission was that his brother, Henry Murdock, would be the chair of that review board. Now we found out that Murdock’s brother is not only the head of Murdock Industries, a major military hardware supplier, but also has a seat on the Corporate Council. That Council runs the Commonwealth although there are a few that don’t want to accept that fact. But with Henry Murdock obviously sitting as chair of the inquest board with flag officers deferring to him it was clear that he was an important figure in the governing of the Commonwealth. After the board meeting, Antonin Murdock was invited to visit with his brother at the previous home/estate. When Antonin arrived, he was surprised that also invited were a number of the military that had been involved in the last effort to corral Baretto.
This is where he gets the assignment to investigate how Baretto is getting all this military equipment. He comes up with a plan to infiltrate the larges arms dealers the Commonwealth knows of and that is the Diaspora or as it’s otherwise known as the Russian fleet. This fleet isn’t like a normal fleet in that it’s the entire Russian civilization or what’s left of it after they were wiped off the Earth by the Western powers. Now, they supply arms to those who need them at a cost so that’s who Ranger Murdock needs to talk to. He doesn’t think that they would be supplying the amount of arms he’s seen thrown at the Commonwealth, but it’s a starting point. He’s going along with a Marine Sergeant Covington. Their plan to act as colonist looking to arm their colony works as well as you’d figure, it lasted only a few minutes.
Once he woke up from the bashing to his head he received by on of Petrov’s body guards, Petrov asked him to start telling the truth because he knew they were Commonwealth spies and not merely colonist. So, Ranger Murdock told him they were and surprisingly, Petrov said he’d help Murdock figure this stuff out. See, whomever was suppling Baretto with the weapons was Petrov and the Diaspora, so that meant he was losing profit. He then told Murdock of a program the Commonwealth had put together not long after the last Tahni war. This was known as Pandora’s Box. All the excess/surplus gear and weapons were collected and placed in strategic locations around the galaxy just incase the Tahni ever decided to come back. These boxes contained not only Commonwealth weapons, but also captured Tahni weapons, all of which were aging, but not exactly old. Most was still very serviceable as shown in the second of two attempts to fight Baretto’s rebels.
So, that’s one mission in this book that Murdock undertakes. This will lead to some more important information like where Baretto is now hold up. As mentioned, the Commonwealth is ready to end this little rebellion and they are sending enough of the Naval fleet to make sure it is ended. Murdock will be part of this effort and he intends to be the one to capture Baretto alive. It seems that the Marines he’s going with are all about killing anyone and everyone that even looks like a rebel. There are times when you wonder just who the Marines are fighting for.
Ok, so this book was exciting although I didn’t really like the ending. It was done so that a third book could follow so maybe things turn out the right way in book 3, “Isolation”, available on Amazon now.
December 4, 2023
ADD ANOTHER HIT TO THE GREATEST HIT LIST IN THE DROP TROOPER: PIRATE WARS SERIES
Rick Partlow and Ralph Kern has done and created another well written book in the "Infiltration" book 2 in the DROP TROOPER: PIRATE WARS series. If you are looking for a great book to read that is action packed from the first to the last page, filled with intriguing twists and turns, loss, and the determination for justice, this is the book/series for you. Ranger Antonin Murdock, Carmalita (Carm), Phil Covington, Webb, and Soto are back fighting the pirate Sanya Baretto and her band out to show exactly what and who some of the Commonwealth miliary and some of the Corporate Council really are and how much disregard for life of the people out on the frontier are wroth to those who have money and power. I really enjoyed this book and the series so far and hope you do too.
Rick Partlow and Ralph Kern has done and created another well written book in the "Infiltration" book 2 in the DROP TROOPER: PIRATE WARS series. If you are looking for a great book to read that is action packed from the first to the last page, filled with intriguing twists and turns, loss, and the determination for justice, this is the book/series for you. Ranger Antonin Murdock, Carmalita (Carm), Phil Covington, Webb, and Soto are back fighting the pirate Sanya Baretto and her band out to show exactly what and who some of the Commonwealth miliary and some of the Corporate Council really are and how much disregard for life of the people out on the frontier are wroth to those who have money and power. I really enjoyed this book and the series so far and hope you do too.
January 18, 2024
Twist and turns everywhere. You have to keep reading and make sure you are paying attention.
When you think he's a hero he's not he's more than a hero. He's the last honest man in the galaxy meeting. Unfortunately his family sucks. Now the Marines want to kill him, the bad guys want to kill him. And who knows what's going to happen
When you think he's a hero he's not he's more than a hero. He's the last honest man in the galaxy meeting. Unfortunately his family sucks. Now the Marines want to kill him, the bad guys want to kill him. And who knows what's going to happen
September 21, 2024
Becoming a true war
Murdock is invited to join a major effort to interdict the leaders of the pirate movement. The Commonwealth is extremely determined to capture or kill any pirate who they can find, with a level of cruelty that Antonin fears will make them as bad as or worse than those who they seek.
Murdock is invited to join a major effort to interdict the leaders of the pirate movement. The Commonwealth is extremely determined to capture or kill any pirate who they can find, with a level of cruelty that Antonin fears will make them as bad as or worse than those who they seek.
February 19, 2024
I was on the edge of my seat as I read this
This is a very good read. Highly recommend! Will Murdock be able to get out of the fix he's in? You will have to read Book 3 to find out.
This is a very good read. Highly recommend! Will Murdock be able to get out of the fix he's in? You will have to read Book 3 to find out.
December 4, 2023
A certain point of view
Outstanding story. Are the pirates criminals, freedom fighters, or something else? All 3 from a certain point of view a la Obi Wan.
Outstanding story. Are the pirates criminals, freedom fighters, or something else? All 3 from a certain point of view a la Obi Wan.
December 10, 2023
Ranger Ranger
Action was good, bad language could be less; you can write a good novel without the language, action flowed well without a lot meaningless drivel.
Action was good, bad language could be less; you can write a good novel without the language, action flowed well without a lot meaningless drivel.
Read
December 22, 2023Best military sci-fi ever
Just super story I love the way it's developing and will keep my eyes pealed. Definitely read this series or you're missing out.
Just super story I love the way it's developing and will keep my eyes pealed. Definitely read this series or you're missing out.
May 5, 2024
Sci-fi Space Opera🚀💫💥
I got this e-book from Amazon📚 with Kindle unlimited.
This novel is written in 1st person.
I got this e-book from Amazon📚 with Kindle unlimited.
This novel is written in 1st person.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews