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Steel on Target
An elite soldier. A new armored weapon. The invading aliens have finally met their match.
First Lieutenant Mike Sandhurst led an elite infantry platoon on a rescue mission to Tycho-3. Wearing state-of-the-art ATLAS powered armor, Sandhurst’s unit faced down a relentless, wasp-like enemy who tore through them and left Sandhurst for dead.
Rescued by ground forces, Sandhurst gets reassigned as humanity races to war against aliens they call Buzzers.
To fight the Buzzers, humanity turns to the modernized Centurion main battle-tank. Sandhurst must quickly learn the lexicon of “shoot, move, communicate” and lead his fast, self-sustained, and very lethal armored forces.
When the Buzzers appear again to threaten colonized worlds, Sandhurst’s regiment moves forward to hold the planet Heske by force. But they aren’t alone. The orbital carrier Yorktown and its space-capable wing dominate the skies while tanks take the fight and put Steel on Target.
Join the fight against the Buzzers in this new rollicking Science Fiction thrill ride from Kevin Ikenberry. With realistic military action, space and ground battles, and a vicious bug alien invasion, it's perfect for fans of Starship Troopers, Hell Divers 2, and Rick Partlow's Drop Trooper!
First Lieutenant Mike Sandhurst led an elite infantry platoon on a rescue mission to Tycho-3. Wearing state-of-the-art ATLAS powered armor, Sandhurst’s unit faced down a relentless, wasp-like enemy who tore through them and left Sandhurst for dead.
Rescued by ground forces, Sandhurst gets reassigned as humanity races to war against aliens they call Buzzers.
To fight the Buzzers, humanity turns to the modernized Centurion main battle-tank. Sandhurst must quickly learn the lexicon of “shoot, move, communicate” and lead his fast, self-sustained, and very lethal armored forces.
When the Buzzers appear again to threaten colonized worlds, Sandhurst’s regiment moves forward to hold the planet Heske by force. But they aren’t alone. The orbital carrier Yorktown and its space-capable wing dominate the skies while tanks take the fight and put Steel on Target.
Join the fight against the Buzzers in this new rollicking Science Fiction thrill ride from Kevin Ikenberry. With realistic military action, space and ground battles, and a vicious bug alien invasion, it's perfect for fans of Starship Troopers, Hell Divers 2, and Rick Partlow's Drop Trooper!
496 pages, Paperback
Published September 24, 2024
868 people are currently reading
1214 people want to read
About the author
Kevin Ikenberry
117 books108 followersKevin’s head has been in the clouds since he was old enough to read. Ask him and he’ll tell you that he still wants to be an astronaut. Kevin has a diverse background in space and space science education. As an adult, he's managed the world-renowned U.S. Space Camp program and operated two Challenger Learning Centers. A retired Army officer, Kevin continues to work with space every day.
Kevin is the author of the science fiction novel SLEEPER PROTOCOL (2016) which Publisher's Weekly called "an emotionally powerful debut." His military science fiction novel RUNS IN THE FAMILY (2016) has gained a growing legion of fans. He continues to work on sequels for both novels as well as short fiction and an alternate history novel.
Kevin is the author of the science fiction novel SLEEPER PROTOCOL (2016) which Publisher's Weekly called "an emotionally powerful debut." His military science fiction novel RUNS IN THE FAMILY (2016) has gained a growing legion of fans. He continues to work on sequels for both novels as well as short fiction and an alternate history novel.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
September 25, 2024
Combined Arms Excellence.
If the author were to strip out the sci-fi aspects of the story it would almost work as an FM for maneuver units. Filled with believable characters and hard hitting action. Steel on Target is an excellent fast paced read and a worthy beginning to a new series.
If the author were to strip out the sci-fi aspects of the story it would almost work as an FM for maneuver units. Filled with believable characters and hard hitting action. Steel on Target is an excellent fast paced read and a worthy beginning to a new series.
September 25, 2024
Literal CHILLS - mil scifi at its BEST!!
What's better than awesome military scifi written by an awesome military scifi author? When it's about tanks, and the author might just have hands on experience in that area!! So dang good!!
What's better than awesome military scifi written by an awesome military scifi author? When it's about tanks, and the author might just have hands on experience in that area!! So dang good!!
October 26, 2024
Nearly nonstop action!
We meet several members of the overly complacent ground & fleet air forces. Despite the fact that the concept of Combined Arms has been proven multiple times here on Earth the parochial attitudes and internecine dysfunctional competition between the different branches are ignored by most yet easily seen by anyone who cares to look.
First we meet a new officer who learns the hard way that the advanced high capability infantry armor isn’t as capable as the leadership thinks it is. Then we meet a pair of Fleet pilots who push things when they aren’t supposed to sully themselves to help out the guys down in the mud instead of only being pure fighter pilots that only fight the “clean” battles in the air and space above.
We meet several members of the overly complacent ground & fleet air forces. Despite the fact that the concept of Combined Arms has been proven multiple times here on Earth the parochial attitudes and internecine dysfunctional competition between the different branches are ignored by most yet easily seen by anyone who cares to look.
First we meet a new officer who learns the hard way that the advanced high capability infantry armor isn’t as capable as the leadership thinks it is. Then we meet a pair of Fleet pilots who push things when they aren’t supposed to sully themselves to help out the guys down in the mud instead of only being pure fighter pilots that only fight the “clean” battles in the air and space above.
October 6, 2024
War and romance.....
The characters are easy to love. The action thrilling, along with the interactions of the characters. Highly enjoyable read. Looking for more.
The characters are easy to love. The action thrilling, along with the interactions of the characters. Highly enjoyable read. Looking for more.
October 6, 2024
Very good!
Fantastic book my guy! I love the whole vibe of it and its really hard to write military science fiction and keep the personal relationships
Fantastic book my guy! I love the whole vibe of it and its really hard to write military science fiction and keep the personal relationships
October 4, 2024
Stunning book
So this take on military sci go is a little different it focus is on mainly tank battles with air support rather than Massive space battles and or just infantry battles which makes this story feel fresh and different but still enjoyable.
So this take on military sci go is a little different it focus is on mainly tank battles with air support rather than Massive space battles and or just infantry battles which makes this story feel fresh and different but still enjoyable.
October 2, 2024
Excellent Writing
Here's a story that's entertaining, well choreographed with a group of characters to make a believable tale! This is the first time I have read Kevin Ikenberry's work,
And am impressed.
Here's a story that's entertaining, well choreographed with a group of characters to make a believable tale! This is the first time I have read Kevin Ikenberry's work,
And am impressed.
October 2, 2024
Kevin why are you such a great writer
Get me the bug spray because I’m getting the kickass thoughts to genocide some bugs like my new hero’s in the GTF
Get me the bug spray because I’m getting the kickass thoughts to genocide some bugs like my new hero’s in the GTF
September 27, 2024
Outstanding !
This is the 1st book by this author That I've ever read. I am very impressed. I look forward to the next book in the series, Any other books this author writes. The story and the characters in it drew me in and the hours flew by as I read it front to back This book is well worth your time....
This is the 1st book by this author That I've ever read. I am very impressed. I look forward to the next book in the series, Any other books this author writes. The story and the characters in it drew me in and the hours flew by as I read it front to back This book is well worth your time....
September 25, 2024
Wow
I've been waiting for this series since the author first announced it on social media. And it's better than I could have hoped. The author's experience in the military shines through clearly in the bearing and dialogue of the characters, and I really enjoyed the realizatic portrayal of a military learning how to cooperate in spite of inter-service rivalries, and re-learning things forgotten every time a nation knows peace.
The main characters all start as Junior officers, them grow as leaders is quite well done.!
I've been waiting for this series since the author first announced it on social media. And it's better than I could have hoped. The author's experience in the military shines through clearly in the bearing and dialogue of the characters, and I really enjoyed the realizatic portrayal of a military learning how to cooperate in spite of inter-service rivalries, and re-learning things forgotten every time a nation knows peace.
The main characters all start as Junior officers, them grow as leaders is quite well done.!
September 26, 2024
Great read!
Starts off fast and never slows down. Great battle scenes and a nice showing of the internal politics and the inter forces conflict
between the ground and air forces. Whether your pro army or pro navy this is a great book! Will be ordering the next book!
Starts off fast and never slows down. Great battle scenes and a nice showing of the internal politics and the inter forces conflict
between the ground and air forces. Whether your pro army or pro navy this is a great book! Will be ordering the next book!
February 9, 2025
TLDR; fantastic book - you need to read it!
I finally, finally found a book and a series that is absolutely just what I like. I’ve never read anything by Kevin Ikenberry, but I guarantee you I’ll be looking for more. If you want detailed descriptions of what the battlefield looks like in the future and how it’s managed, then this is the book for you. Outstanding story-telling!
Humanity has gone to the stars in large numbers. We have colonized planet after planet and found nothing like intelligent life. It seemed as if the universe is humanities to conquer and settle. That is until the encounter on Tycho-3. The aliens came out of the tree lines moving faster than anything living should do. They reach a small girl on a path back to her village. The girl didn’t know who or what these things were but she extended her hand in friendly curiosity…and quickly got it amputated by the slashing arms of the alien! So, there were thousand of these aliens with short stubby wings that gave them the capability to fly short distances. The moved on to the town and began slaughtering its inhabitants. Some humans were quick enough to grab a weapon, but killing one or two of these aliens when they were being attacked by thousand upon thousands did little good.
Both of the larger cities on Tyco-3 were quickly wiped out. Every human was cut to pieces with very dead aliens littering the streets. An emergency call did go out to the Galactic Territorial Forces and they sent the Vanguard Recon Team One to find out what was going on. All they saw were burning cities. First Lieutenant Michael Sandhurst was in command of a Vanguard Team and while he had experience he was not sure what they were walking into. Most of their previous actions were again non-sentient lifeforms on various colony planets. They knew something was down there on Tyco-3 and they were going to find it and kill it.
Lt. Sandhurst’s team is a specialized unit of ATLAS armored recon infantry. The ATLAS is a unique set of armor that completely encloses the wearer in a cocoon of steel with a multitude of weapons available to the wearer. His unit was well trained with the ATLAS armor and they knew their business, but they didn’t know what they were going to face and that puzzled Lt. Sandhurst.
They were airdropped from their Chimera at an LZ near the town of Alsace where the initial attack appeared to have occurred. As his unit scouted through the town, they only saw human bodies sliced to pieces or burning along with everything else in the town. They moved onto the outskirts nearing the forest tree line when they picked up a strange noise. With no one around and the sounds of the town dead silent, the noise Sandhurst heard was like a buzz. Then that sound got louder. Sandhurst called for immediate backup since he was by now sure that he was facing something far more in number than his small team. Only he then realized that he had lost all comms with everyone except those immediately around him. He would later find out that the entire planet was in a electronics blackout of unknown origin. Still, Sandhurst believed they could meet this enemy, defeat it and then regroup at their designated pickup point.
That was until the buzzing got much louder. Then these things came flying from the tree lines just in front of his troops. Some of these aliens were firing some kind of plasma weapon which wasn’t having much effect on their ATLAS armor except for the fact that they were facing thousands of these three-meter tall beings. A significant number of small impacts started causing significant damage to the ATLAS armor but then the aliens were amongst them and they began slashing the armor with their blade like hands. Sandhurst was stunned to see some of his men actually cut in half by the slashing and several were losing arms and legs. That shouldn’t be happening. This was supposed to be hardened protective armor, the best humanity had ever made, yet his Vanguard Team was getting cut to pieces. Sandhurst was busy trying to call back to his HQ asking for additional help, fire support or even orbital strikes, but no one was hearing his plea. The one of his Sergeants was hit and knocked into Sandhurst so hard that the Lieutenant was thrown to the ground and knocked unconscious. His part of the battle was now over.
Meanwhile, high above this ground action, the Galactic Territorial Fleet had arrived and were flying sorties attempting to find where the largest concentration of the enemy was located. They also wanted to see if this enemy had air assets that they could engage and defeat. Lieutenant Vivian Llewelyn was a combat pilot flying the latest and greatest of human aircraft, the Peregrine. She and her squadron had launched above the planet finding nothing much to fight. Llewelyn knew that all comms with the ground had been lost, so she really wanted to fly a close to the deck reconnaissance with her Peregrine. Her flight commander didn’t agree with what she wanted to do, but finally relented and told her to take her wingman, go down and make one pass above the cities and return to report the situation.
She and her wingman, LTJG Page Dixon, headed down towards the burning cities. They saw nothing but dead bodies and noticing that most of the ground forces previously sent down were also among the dead. It was just as they were heading back up out of the atmosphere when they encounter the first aircraft for these aliens. Flying a series of dog-fights, Llewelyn and her wingman, Dixon, fought them off with two kills apiece. Once out of the atmosphere they were directed to recover at their carrier. Llewelyn wonder why they weren’t vectored to their squadron to rejoin up with them. Much later after she and her wingman are on the carrier, she finds out that her entire squadron had been routed, only a single other pilot had made it back.
So, you’re going to get a story about aviation and ground combatants that haven’t learned to fight together. Apparently the lessons of combined arms haven’t stayed with the military of 2121. Lots of learning is going to take place if humanity are going to ever be able to defeat the new enemy now called the Buzzers. Tyco-3 wasn’t lost because this enemy withdrew from the planet unexpectedly, but they will return again. Lt. Sandhurst finds himself the sole survivor of his ATLAS Vanguard team although those around him don’t understand why. He may find himself in trouble just for surviving this first encounter. Lt. Llewelyn is also not in a comfortable position since she didn’t stay with her squadron and went flying on her own even if she knows her commander gave his approval. Both of these individuals will have to fight just to clear their names. But, it’s going to be a long war with the Buzzers and neither of them are done yet.
Fantastic start to a new series. I can’t wait to get to book 2, “Forged by Fire”, now available on Amazon.
I finally, finally found a book and a series that is absolutely just what I like. I’ve never read anything by Kevin Ikenberry, but I guarantee you I’ll be looking for more. If you want detailed descriptions of what the battlefield looks like in the future and how it’s managed, then this is the book for you. Outstanding story-telling!
Humanity has gone to the stars in large numbers. We have colonized planet after planet and found nothing like intelligent life. It seemed as if the universe is humanities to conquer and settle. That is until the encounter on Tycho-3. The aliens came out of the tree lines moving faster than anything living should do. They reach a small girl on a path back to her village. The girl didn’t know who or what these things were but she extended her hand in friendly curiosity…and quickly got it amputated by the slashing arms of the alien! So, there were thousand of these aliens with short stubby wings that gave them the capability to fly short distances. The moved on to the town and began slaughtering its inhabitants. Some humans were quick enough to grab a weapon, but killing one or two of these aliens when they were being attacked by thousand upon thousands did little good.
Both of the larger cities on Tyco-3 were quickly wiped out. Every human was cut to pieces with very dead aliens littering the streets. An emergency call did go out to the Galactic Territorial Forces and they sent the Vanguard Recon Team One to find out what was going on. All they saw were burning cities. First Lieutenant Michael Sandhurst was in command of a Vanguard Team and while he had experience he was not sure what they were walking into. Most of their previous actions were again non-sentient lifeforms on various colony planets. They knew something was down there on Tyco-3 and they were going to find it and kill it.
Lt. Sandhurst’s team is a specialized unit of ATLAS armored recon infantry. The ATLAS is a unique set of armor that completely encloses the wearer in a cocoon of steel with a multitude of weapons available to the wearer. His unit was well trained with the ATLAS armor and they knew their business, but they didn’t know what they were going to face and that puzzled Lt. Sandhurst.
They were airdropped from their Chimera at an LZ near the town of Alsace where the initial attack appeared to have occurred. As his unit scouted through the town, they only saw human bodies sliced to pieces or burning along with everything else in the town. They moved onto the outskirts nearing the forest tree line when they picked up a strange noise. With no one around and the sounds of the town dead silent, the noise Sandhurst heard was like a buzz. Then that sound got louder. Sandhurst called for immediate backup since he was by now sure that he was facing something far more in number than his small team. Only he then realized that he had lost all comms with everyone except those immediately around him. He would later find out that the entire planet was in a electronics blackout of unknown origin. Still, Sandhurst believed they could meet this enemy, defeat it and then regroup at their designated pickup point.
That was until the buzzing got much louder. Then these things came flying from the tree lines just in front of his troops. Some of these aliens were firing some kind of plasma weapon which wasn’t having much effect on their ATLAS armor except for the fact that they were facing thousands of these three-meter tall beings. A significant number of small impacts started causing significant damage to the ATLAS armor but then the aliens were amongst them and they began slashing the armor with their blade like hands. Sandhurst was stunned to see some of his men actually cut in half by the slashing and several were losing arms and legs. That shouldn’t be happening. This was supposed to be hardened protective armor, the best humanity had ever made, yet his Vanguard Team was getting cut to pieces. Sandhurst was busy trying to call back to his HQ asking for additional help, fire support or even orbital strikes, but no one was hearing his plea. The one of his Sergeants was hit and knocked into Sandhurst so hard that the Lieutenant was thrown to the ground and knocked unconscious. His part of the battle was now over.
Meanwhile, high above this ground action, the Galactic Territorial Fleet had arrived and were flying sorties attempting to find where the largest concentration of the enemy was located. They also wanted to see if this enemy had air assets that they could engage and defeat. Lieutenant Vivian Llewelyn was a combat pilot flying the latest and greatest of human aircraft, the Peregrine. She and her squadron had launched above the planet finding nothing much to fight. Llewelyn knew that all comms with the ground had been lost, so she really wanted to fly a close to the deck reconnaissance with her Peregrine. Her flight commander didn’t agree with what she wanted to do, but finally relented and told her to take her wingman, go down and make one pass above the cities and return to report the situation.
She and her wingman, LTJG Page Dixon, headed down towards the burning cities. They saw nothing but dead bodies and noticing that most of the ground forces previously sent down were also among the dead. It was just as they were heading back up out of the atmosphere when they encounter the first aircraft for these aliens. Flying a series of dog-fights, Llewelyn and her wingman, Dixon, fought them off with two kills apiece. Once out of the atmosphere they were directed to recover at their carrier. Llewelyn wonder why they weren’t vectored to their squadron to rejoin up with them. Much later after she and her wingman are on the carrier, she finds out that her entire squadron had been routed, only a single other pilot had made it back.
So, you’re going to get a story about aviation and ground combatants that haven’t learned to fight together. Apparently the lessons of combined arms haven’t stayed with the military of 2121. Lots of learning is going to take place if humanity are going to ever be able to defeat the new enemy now called the Buzzers. Tyco-3 wasn’t lost because this enemy withdrew from the planet unexpectedly, but they will return again. Lt. Sandhurst finds himself the sole survivor of his ATLAS Vanguard team although those around him don’t understand why. He may find himself in trouble just for surviving this first encounter. Lt. Llewelyn is also not in a comfortable position since she didn’t stay with her squadron and went flying on her own even if she knows her commander gave his approval. Both of these individuals will have to fight just to clear their names. But, it’s going to be a long war with the Buzzers and neither of them are done yet.
Fantastic start to a new series. I can’t wait to get to book 2, “Forged by Fire”, now available on Amazon.
January 8, 2025
I've read some of Ikenberry's books and I've enjoyed them - this one, however - there's not much good to be said.
Let's start with the length, over 500 pages, which is far too long, infuriatingly arduous to get through. An unacceptable amount of superfluous text, conversations that nobody really wants to read. There's miltary-scifi and then there's military-with-a-background-of-scifi, this falls into the latter category. Most of the text is all about the daily lives, the training, the inner thoughts of our great heroes. None of which were likeable to me, apart from Snodgrass. Now, I understand that those aspects would be part of military life, but to sit and read through all of it is draining to say the least. I skipped most of this book due to this.
It is a fairly run-of-the-mill story, man is in space. Man meets aliens. Aliens & man go to war. Honestly, there are far better books to read and far better things to occupy yourself with than this book.
Let's start with the length, over 500 pages, which is far too long, infuriatingly arduous to get through. An unacceptable amount of superfluous text, conversations that nobody really wants to read. There's miltary-scifi and then there's military-with-a-background-of-scifi, this falls into the latter category. Most of the text is all about the daily lives, the training, the inner thoughts of our great heroes. None of which were likeable to me, apart from Snodgrass. Now, I understand that those aspects would be part of military life, but to sit and read through all of it is draining to say the least. I skipped most of this book due to this.
It is a fairly run-of-the-mill story, man is in space. Man meets aliens. Aliens & man go to war. Honestly, there are far better books to read and far better things to occupy yourself with than this book.
November 21, 2024
it’s…okay
Strangely American-centric for a future world government, multi-system military force. I mean, English as a common language is fine but using names for all military equipment that is US centered is weak writing.
To be clear, I’m not anti-American. I simply feel there would be a more egalitarian, quasi-multicultural feel. *Especially* in a US-led military. My last Marine Corps unit had a broader ethnic mix than this book portrays.
It seems to hit all the military buttons: boot LT in a hot LZ; arrogant CG; CAG loves pilots/maintenance hates them; etc. It completes the checklist.
I don’t know. It’s basically readable, but it lacks depth somehow.
Edit to add: okay, so it got a little more ‘multi-cultural’ later on. And somewhat of an explanation for how things got the way they are. Still a bit jarring to have it *so* US for most of the first third.
Strangely American-centric for a future world government, multi-system military force. I mean, English as a common language is fine but using names for all military equipment that is US centered is weak writing.
To be clear, I’m not anti-American. I simply feel there would be a more egalitarian, quasi-multicultural feel. *Especially* in a US-led military. My last Marine Corps unit had a broader ethnic mix than this book portrays.
It seems to hit all the military buttons: boot LT in a hot LZ; arrogant CG; CAG loves pilots/maintenance hates them; etc. It completes the checklist.
I don’t know. It’s basically readable, but it lacks depth somehow.
Edit to add: okay, so it got a little more ‘multi-cultural’ later on. And somewhat of an explanation for how things got the way they are. Still a bit jarring to have it *so* US for most of the first third.
December 18, 2024
I thought this was going to be the last book I read in 2024, since it’s a little over 500 pages. But I steamed through it in about five days, taking 100 pages at a time.
At first I wasn’t sure I liked this writing. There was so much detail. Other book jump larger gaps in time, but this one seemed to be describing every second of the character’s lives, as well as the details of armament and deployment. But after a while I began to appreciate it, because it helped me drop right into the middle of everything that was happening. I was immersed in the story by the detail.
The action is non-stop, and I had to put the Kindle down every once in a while to catch my breath. Then I’d pick it back up and dive back into the intensity.
I’m looking forward to the next in the series, and I think I’ll finish it before the end of the year, no problem!
At first I wasn’t sure I liked this writing. There was so much detail. Other book jump larger gaps in time, but this one seemed to be describing every second of the character’s lives, as well as the details of armament and deployment. But after a while I began to appreciate it, because it helped me drop right into the middle of everything that was happening. I was immersed in the story by the detail.
The action is non-stop, and I had to put the Kindle down every once in a while to catch my breath. Then I’d pick it back up and dive back into the intensity.
I’m looking forward to the next in the series, and I think I’ll finish it before the end of the year, no problem!
May 27, 2025
Engaging and satisfying
Might be considered a little simplistic, but...
It has all the right parts. Good and bad characters, men and women similar to many we've known, a military starting from a typical "fighting the last war" starting point, now making changes on the fly, winning with losses, humans being human with all the joys, sorrows, bs, infighting between ground and air elements, and infighting between armor and infantry and air and space elements.
Overall a solid read which keeps you engaged in the developing story and characters.
Heading to book 2 now.
Might be considered a little simplistic, but...
It has all the right parts. Good and bad characters, men and women similar to many we've known, a military starting from a typical "fighting the last war" starting point, now making changes on the fly, winning with losses, humans being human with all the joys, sorrows, bs, infighting between ground and air elements, and infighting between armor and infantry and air and space elements.
Overall a solid read which keeps you engaged in the developing story and characters.
Heading to book 2 now.
January 4, 2026
This is a pretty good book of the "aliens are alien" style of book, where you have a fairly unstoppable force except for one thing, tanks in this case. Pretty sure that's not a spoiler.
There's some good technobabble, the characters are pretty good, the coincidences aren't tooooo coincidental, the bad commanders are dispatched quickly mostly off the page or are redeamed, and I did buy the next book in the series.
This kinda reminds me of some John Ringo books, most of which I like so I guess that's a positive.
There's some good technobabble, the characters are pretty good, the coincidences aren't tooooo coincidental, the bad commanders are dispatched quickly mostly off the page or are redeamed, and I did buy the next book in the series.
This kinda reminds me of some John Ringo books, most of which I like so I guess that's a positive.
October 20, 2024
Meh
The author's bio says "retired Army armor...operations" and based on this book's grasp of combined arms or the lack thereof in the far, far future, one has to wonder if he even read the tank platoon SOP manual or any other basic doctrines while in service. If you are looking to check your intelligence at the door kind of book with the usual clichés, this one is for you!
The author's bio says "retired Army armor...operations" and based on this book's grasp of combined arms or the lack thereof in the far, far future, one has to wonder if he even read the tank platoon SOP manual or any other basic doctrines while in service. If you are looking to check your intelligence at the door kind of book with the usual clichés, this one is for you!
November 17, 2024
The best "space opera"!
Concise, technical, yet dialog I could understand. In future readings I will.sketch out maps so I can better follow the strategy and tactics. I loved how the ATLAS, Armor, and Air assets finally came together and forged an effective fighting force. Reminded me that I think the USMC needs armor....in my zero military experience opinion.
Concise, technical, yet dialog I could understand. In future readings I will.sketch out maps so I can better follow the strategy and tactics. I loved how the ATLAS, Armor, and Air assets finally came together and forged an effective fighting force. Reminded me that I think the USMC needs armor....in my zero military experience opinion.
November 29, 2024
Okay but not that exciting
I initially liked the characters but the training took too long and there was just too much discussion instead of action. I fast forward through the ending and the ending battle seemed too easy. And why don’t we see more of the aliens instead of just swarms?
I initially liked the characters but the training took too long and there was just too much discussion instead of action. I fast forward through the ending and the ending battle seemed too easy. And why don’t we see more of the aliens instead of just swarms?
December 7, 2024
Loved the characterisation
This book developed the two different sides well from the beginning, then started to develop the individuals. Also side stories are very interesting, the rush to cover up the failings of the equipment by putting the two main protagonist’s in deep do do. Very well written and extremely readable.
This book developed the two different sides well from the beginning, then started to develop the individuals. Also side stories are very interesting, the rush to cover up the failings of the equipment by putting the two main protagonist’s in deep do do. Very well written and extremely readable.
January 8, 2025
A book with over 400 pages of fast space and ground action
Is a big win for me , The action is very good and believable
be it space air,or ground ,The characters are good and believable be,So as it’s a very cold day and ive a quiet week
I’m going to say hi to the other two books in the series ,
Is a big win for me , The action is very good and believable
be it space air,or ground ,The characters are good and believable be,So as it’s a very cold day and ive a quiet week
I’m going to say hi to the other two books in the series ,
November 29, 2024
This an excellent military scif story. It deals with the differences in doctrine between different forces of the military and how change is handled in a difficult situation. I look forward you the next book.
January 5, 2025
Excellent! Ikenberry never disappoints.
May 12, 2025
An excellent read. A lot of military jargon. While I am not a military person, much of the tactics and command structure seem very realistic. Very believable in how all of the interactions occur.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews