Hearts of Darkness: Strange Company, Book 3

by Nick Cole, Christopher Ryan Grant (Narrator)

Caps to pop and bodies to drop.

As intergalactic civilization collapses and descends into chaos, the Strange Company must journey to the edge of human-controlled space to board and destroy the last ship of the corrupt Monarch Empire—in order to both satisfy a debt and salvage what remains of their reputation as hard-bitten and dangerous private military contractors.

But things are never easy for mercenaries. Eccentric warrant officers running amok—when they can be found, plots to kill one of them abound, and a bad case of serious PTSD about what lies ahead for Sergeant Orion plagues his waking nightmares as the Cult of Hot Soup grows. The company must "get gud" or die trying as they master boarding operations and prepare for the worst kind of combat a space marine can get their kill on compartment-to-compartment fighting on a ship so advanced in technology, it's almost… alien.

Stinkeye, Hauser, Chief Cook, Sergeant Orion, and new and old Strange Company brothers are here for the violence with a ticket to ride the lightning and settle accounts with the fallen tyrants as they get their stack on and get paid. If they can make it back to their ship and a safe world beyond the limits of the known, then perhaps the company can avoid the tragedy they've been sucked into.

The only way out lies beyond a praetorian guard of heavily armed commandos, emplaced guns, and enigmatic psy-powered operators. The Heart of Darkness waits at the Oblivion Gate, for the Strange Company to make one wrong move and disappear forever.

Live. Laugh. Launch.

Audible Audio

Published September 16, 2025

About the author

Nick Cole is a working actor living in Southern California. When he is not auditioning for commercials, going out for sitcoms or being shot, kicked, stabbed or beaten by the students of various film schools for their projects, he can often be found as a guard for King Phillip the Second of Spain in the Opera Don Carlo at Los Angeles Opera or some similar role. Nick Cole has been writing for most of his life and acting in Hollywood after serving in the U.S. Army.

Reviews

[Timothy Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

What is a hero? This conclusion book in the Strange Company Trilogy ends with a standing ovation. I loved the characters, the war stories, the action, the inventive colloquialisms, the narrator’s perfect performance… in the end you want to feel like you were glad you bought a book. In the end, I’m thrilled to have chosen this series. If there are more I will preorder and thank Heaven.

[PJ Wolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a ride. There were some slow parts in the first few chapters, and I was a little worried because of how long of a read this book would be. However, I found myself craving more and struggling to put it down. I may be an old ruck hobo, but this was a great way to end the trilogy.