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Kill Chain
Book 16 in the Amazon Bestselling Drop Trooper series by Rick Partlow is here.
It's Military Sci-Fi the way it's supposed to be!
It's Military Sci-Fi the way it's supposed to be!
294 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 17, 2024
329 people are currently reading
20 people want to read
About the author
Rick Partlow
213 books374 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 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 8, 2025
Guys… I’m sorry. I really wanted to like the final book in the Drop Trooper series 😭. But man, that ending was just so anticlimactic it hurt.
Now, this is just my opinion — I always say, read the whole series yourself and draw your own conclusions. But after spending over a year reading these books off and on, I was hoping for a big, satisfying payoff. Sixteen books later… and that ending just deflated everything I’d been building up since book 12.
Anyway, here are my pros and cons.
⸻
Pros
Awesome Military Sci-Fi Tech
This has been my favorite part of the Drop Trooper series from the start. Rick Partlow knows how to throw readers into a world packed with futuristic tech — theories of space travel, energy production, AI-human interfaces, nano bionics, super soldier upgrades — you name it. The man does his research. There were moments that straight-up blew my mind. I don’t think I’ve read another sci-fi series that mixes so much advanced tech so naturally.
It’s Never Boring
As simple as that sounds, the story flows well. There’s good pacing, plenty of action, and some solid world-building. We get new characters and nods to other series in the Drop Trooper universe. Even without reading those, I could tell there were Easter eggs sprinkled throughout. It definitely makes you curious to explore more of Partlow’s work.
⸻
Cons
The Ending… Sucked.
My God, why. Just why. The ending was so rushed and uneventful it killed the whole series for me. I can’t spoil anything, but the way it wrapped up had me genuinely mad. It’s like being handed a whole pizza, getting one bite, and then watching someone toss the rest in the trash. There was so much potential to give this series a powerful sendoff, but it felt like the author just didn’t know how — so he wrapped it up as quickly as possible.
Weak Character Development and Dialogue
The conversations between Cam, the AI, Vicky, and the others were just… flat. There wasn’t any emotional punch or memorable moment. After sixteen books, I expected something deep, something that made me feel it. But the dialogue felt basic and predictable — no real spark, no “wow” moment to end it all on.
Predictable and Uneventful
Honestly, by about 40% in, I knew exactly where it was going. And the worst part? I was right. No big twists, no major surprises — just a straight path to a disappointing finish. Even the final battle scene felt chaotic and rushed, like it was thrown together at the last minute. After investing in this world for so long, that really stung.
⸻
Final Thoughts
I don’t regret reading the series. There are some incredible moments and books I’ll always enjoy — you can see that in my earlier reviews. But this final chapter? It killed the momentum and excitement for me.
Still, that’s just my opinion. Take it for what it’s worth and see for yourself — it’s been a ride, just one I wish had ended a little differently.
– Alex
Now, this is just my opinion — I always say, read the whole series yourself and draw your own conclusions. But after spending over a year reading these books off and on, I was hoping for a big, satisfying payoff. Sixteen books later… and that ending just deflated everything I’d been building up since book 12.
Anyway, here are my pros and cons.
⸻
Pros
Awesome Military Sci-Fi Tech
This has been my favorite part of the Drop Trooper series from the start. Rick Partlow knows how to throw readers into a world packed with futuristic tech — theories of space travel, energy production, AI-human interfaces, nano bionics, super soldier upgrades — you name it. The man does his research. There were moments that straight-up blew my mind. I don’t think I’ve read another sci-fi series that mixes so much advanced tech so naturally.
It’s Never Boring
As simple as that sounds, the story flows well. There’s good pacing, plenty of action, and some solid world-building. We get new characters and nods to other series in the Drop Trooper universe. Even without reading those, I could tell there were Easter eggs sprinkled throughout. It definitely makes you curious to explore more of Partlow’s work.
⸻
Cons
The Ending… Sucked.
My God, why. Just why. The ending was so rushed and uneventful it killed the whole series for me. I can’t spoil anything, but the way it wrapped up had me genuinely mad. It’s like being handed a whole pizza, getting one bite, and then watching someone toss the rest in the trash. There was so much potential to give this series a powerful sendoff, but it felt like the author just didn’t know how — so he wrapped it up as quickly as possible.
Weak Character Development and Dialogue
The conversations between Cam, the AI, Vicky, and the others were just… flat. There wasn’t any emotional punch or memorable moment. After sixteen books, I expected something deep, something that made me feel it. But the dialogue felt basic and predictable — no real spark, no “wow” moment to end it all on.
Predictable and Uneventful
Honestly, by about 40% in, I knew exactly where it was going. And the worst part? I was right. No big twists, no major surprises — just a straight path to a disappointing finish. Even the final battle scene felt chaotic and rushed, like it was thrown together at the last minute. After investing in this world for so long, that really stung.
⸻
Final Thoughts
I don’t regret reading the series. There are some incredible moments and books I’ll always enjoy — you can see that in my earlier reviews. But this final chapter? It killed the momentum and excitement for me.
Still, that’s just my opinion. Take it for what it’s worth and see for yourself — it’s been a ride, just one I wish had ended a little differently.
– Alex
September 21, 2024
Enjoyed the series but finished suddenly and fizzled at the end. All about the journey I suppose but a good destination helps!
January 21, 2025
I really like these books at the outset, but it got pretty bad towards the end. At least Partlow had the decency to finally put this series out of its misery.
November 13, 2024
We’ve come a long way with Cameron Alvarez and Vicky Sandoval. We followed their careers as Marines and then watched them go into civilian life and then wind up right back in the military. They have had some wild rides even surviving the Tahni War and fighting off a Tahni General that wanted to let loose something that had killed the Predecssors. Cam and Vicky along with a ship full of Navy and Marines headed off to find the Predecessor seeking the reason for all the trouble they had caused humanity.
They found most of what they were looking for, but they also found themselves, tired and worn out, only wanting to go back home. They had fought and fought hard, but now a new enemy, the Unity says it’s coming for humanity and Cam and Vicky have to get back to the Commonwealth to warn everyone as to what’s coming. Yet, Cam doesn’t feel that a warning will make a difference, humanity just doesn’t have the assets to fight off the Unity.
So, after a long, long journy in transition space, they finally arrive in the Commonwealth. They recognize a planet that once had a thriving colony located deep inside a miles wide crevasse, the only place on the planet that life could exist. Yet, when they went down deep, they found nothing resembling what should have been a colony of humans. They did find bones and structures that had been worn down by time. Cam knew this colony was alwasy going to struggle since they were so far from everyone else, but this shouldn’t have happened, unless there was something else going on.
What they did find was a last series of communications with the colony from the Commonwealth government. It was system wide emergency announcement telling of an extremely contagious virus that had been spreading throughout the colonies via independent cargo vessels. This virus caused the human brain to become violent and destructive. People infected began to tear everything and everyone apart and there wasn’t an easy way to stop them or the virus. What was most disturbing was that this virus had even gotten out to the remote colony and the results were obviously devastating. Lastly, this virus had gone though the Commonwealth in just the two years.
So, Cam had some idea of what this virus was and he knew that him and his people were already noculated against it. And they wanted to go home, to Earth, hoping against hope that humanity had found a way to treat the virus. Yet the closer they got to Earth, they knew something wasn’t right. There weren’t any of the usual space traffic coming and going around the planet or any other planets in the Solar System. Even the once proud space stations orbiting around Earth seemed dark and dead. Upon closer look, they had been wrecked and were now nothing more than floating junk piles.
Yet, the did eventually find a single blip of warmth coming from the planet. Apparently someone had a nuclear generator buried underground out in Wyoming. There were humans there and Cam was going to go down and find out just what happened to everyone he had ever know. The rest of his crew could only stare at the desolation and lack of any activity, bright lights or signs of life on the planet they had called home.
What Cam finds leads them on another mission to another colony, one that had survived. It was the only known gathering of humans in the Solar System and they were trying to recover. What Cameron will find is a fledgling reconstruction of the Commonwealth government that was trying to keep humanity alive. They certainly were in no shape to face the coming Unity.
Could this be the end of all humanity. It seems as though the Humanity is specifically seeking out Cameron Alvarez and wants to destroy him along with anyone he associates with. How will this new government react to the new threat? Fortunately, you’ll find out in this book. And yes, this does appear to be the end of the Drop Trooper series.
They found most of what they were looking for, but they also found themselves, tired and worn out, only wanting to go back home. They had fought and fought hard, but now a new enemy, the Unity says it’s coming for humanity and Cam and Vicky have to get back to the Commonwealth to warn everyone as to what’s coming. Yet, Cam doesn’t feel that a warning will make a difference, humanity just doesn’t have the assets to fight off the Unity.
So, after a long, long journy in transition space, they finally arrive in the Commonwealth. They recognize a planet that once had a thriving colony located deep inside a miles wide crevasse, the only place on the planet that life could exist. Yet, when they went down deep, they found nothing resembling what should have been a colony of humans. They did find bones and structures that had been worn down by time. Cam knew this colony was alwasy going to struggle since they were so far from everyone else, but this shouldn’t have happened, unless there was something else going on.
What they did find was a last series of communications with the colony from the Commonwealth government. It was system wide emergency announcement telling of an extremely contagious virus that had been spreading throughout the colonies via independent cargo vessels. This virus caused the human brain to become violent and destructive. People infected began to tear everything and everyone apart and there wasn’t an easy way to stop them or the virus. What was most disturbing was that this virus had even gotten out to the remote colony and the results were obviously devastating. Lastly, this virus had gone though the Commonwealth in just the two years.
So, Cam had some idea of what this virus was and he knew that him and his people were already noculated against it. And they wanted to go home, to Earth, hoping against hope that humanity had found a way to treat the virus. Yet the closer they got to Earth, they knew something wasn’t right. There weren’t any of the usual space traffic coming and going around the planet or any other planets in the Solar System. Even the once proud space stations orbiting around Earth seemed dark and dead. Upon closer look, they had been wrecked and were now nothing more than floating junk piles.
Yet, the did eventually find a single blip of warmth coming from the planet. Apparently someone had a nuclear generator buried underground out in Wyoming. There were humans there and Cam was going to go down and find out just what happened to everyone he had ever know. The rest of his crew could only stare at the desolation and lack of any activity, bright lights or signs of life on the planet they had called home.
What Cam finds leads them on another mission to another colony, one that had survived. It was the only known gathering of humans in the Solar System and they were trying to recover. What Cameron will find is a fledgling reconstruction of the Commonwealth government that was trying to keep humanity alive. They certainly were in no shape to face the coming Unity.
Could this be the end of all humanity. It seems as though the Humanity is specifically seeking out Cameron Alvarez and wants to destroy him along with anyone he associates with. How will this new government react to the new threat? Fortunately, you’ll find out in this book. And yes, this does appear to be the end of the Drop Trooper series.
January 1, 2026
Great series, quick, uninspiring ending
I knew it had to end sometime but I’ll have to say it felt rushed, less than what I would have expected. It was okay, less than anticipated, I suppose, but that’s on me, probably, versus the writer. I’m glad they got their happy ending. What I’m most grateful for is the length of the series. Ii have enjoyed this eries very much with 5 stars reviews to each book. The ending, its abruptness and enemy aliens still out there was the reason for the four stars reviews this time. I can understand an authors burn out with a series and I hope next time it can be a little smoother than this one. As a reader, if you are on the fence,,don’t wait, jump and begin this series., You won’t be disappointed!
To the author: Thanks again for this wonderful series & the many books/adventures brought by each one.❤️
I knew it had to end sometime but I’ll have to say it felt rushed, less than what I would have expected. It was okay, less than anticipated, I suppose, but that’s on me, probably, versus the writer. I’m glad they got their happy ending. What I’m most grateful for is the length of the series. Ii have enjoyed this eries very much with 5 stars reviews to each book. The ending, its abruptness and enemy aliens still out there was the reason for the four stars reviews this time. I can understand an authors burn out with a series and I hope next time it can be a little smoother than this one. As a reader, if you are on the fence,,don’t wait, jump and begin this series., You won’t be disappointed!
To the author: Thanks again for this wonderful series & the many books/adventures brought by each one.❤️
September 17, 2024
Building to a big climax!
Having dealt with the Rescharr technology and with the new unexpected enemy having “helped” Cam deal with the ghosts, Cam & Vicky take the remaining Drop Trooper Marines back to familiar territory. Problem is, a LOT has changed during their time away.
Partlow has thrown a lot of events into the final Drop Trooper book so instead of quietly coming to an end the series keeps the reader involved and interested to the last page!
Having dealt with the Rescharr technology and with the new unexpected enemy having “helped” Cam deal with the ghosts, Cam & Vicky take the remaining Drop Trooper Marines back to familiar territory. Problem is, a LOT has changed during their time away.
Partlow has thrown a lot of events into the final Drop Trooper book so instead of quietly coming to an end the series keeps the reader involved and interested to the last page!
September 28, 2024
Great Finish
In this last book in the Drop Trooper epic, Mr. Partlow does an awesome job bringing the Glory Boys and Drop Troopers together.
I won't tell you how this ends, and if you don't read it, you'll be sorry you didn't.
And if you haven't read the Glory Boys series yet, you'd better get cracking on that one too! You won't be sorry!
In this last book in the Drop Trooper epic, Mr. Partlow does an awesome job bringing the Glory Boys and Drop Troopers together.
I won't tell you how this ends, and if you don't read it, you'll be sorry you didn't.
And if you haven't read the Glory Boys series yet, you'd better get cracking on that one too! You won't be sorry!
October 5, 2024
Excellent ending
I feel like there's more to come in this front. Cam has a whole series in front of him. Maybe how to be a Colonel and not be an ahold(e) - no cursing -. I'd think it would do well in paperback.... Just kidding about the title. I feel as if this isn't the end of the story! Unity will be back!
I feel like there's more to come in this front. Cam has a whole series in front of him. Maybe how to be a Colonel and not be an ahold(e) - no cursing -. I'd think it would do well in paperback.... Just kidding about the title. I feel as if this isn't the end of the story! Unity will be back!
June 8, 2025
This book concludes this 16 book series in a satisfying way. It took me nearly 2 years to finish it, but I liked it a lot. A perfect palate cleanser between other, more intense, reads. This last book was a step up from the one before it. More action and a better storyline. There is some room for a follow up, but I am not sure I would be interested.
September 21, 2024
Great addition to the series.
Waited about a month for this release and it reads so smoothly and it's so descriptive I feel like I just got it yesterday. Great read and not as repetitive in previous facts as the other books.
Waited about a month for this release and it reads so smoothly and it's so descriptive I feel like I just got it yesterday. Great read and not as repetitive in previous facts as the other books.
September 27, 2024
Excellent
This last book of the "Drop Trooper" series makes an excellent capstone for an excellent series. I highly recommend it and the other books in the "Drop Trooper" universe.
This last book of the "Drop Trooper" series makes an excellent capstone for an excellent series. I highly recommend it and the other books in the "Drop Trooper" universe.
December 26, 2024
The end but not.
Absolutely brilliant military sci-fi action.
Great characters with realistic situations and lots of action.
Alien hive mind versus A.I. Give mind.
I look forward to the next one.
Absolutely brilliant military sci-fi action.
Great characters with realistic situations and lots of action.
Alien hive mind versus A.I. Give mind.
I look forward to the next one.
October 7, 2024
16 along series.
Enjoyed but last few kinda short. Gonna quit reading for a while. Many things to do but life is short . byb.
Enjoyed but last few kinda short. Gonna quit reading for a while. Many things to do but life is short . byb.
October 16, 2024
awesome
an excellent book in a long line of wonderful books. great story and outstanding characters with tons of action and humor
an excellent book in a long line of wonderful books. great story and outstanding characters with tons of action and humor
October 18, 2024
Good Series
A good well thought out conclusion to a good series! A lot of people lost, planets wrecked, but many survived.
A good well thought out conclusion to a good series! A lot of people lost, planets wrecked, but many survived.
October 26, 2024
A fitting end
A fitting end to a good and fun military science fiction series in a wide ranging and interesting universe. Recommended series
A fitting end to a good and fun military science fiction series in a wide ranging and interesting universe. Recommended series
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews