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Star Crusades Mercenaries #1
Lords of War
Lords of War is the first novel in the bestselling Star Mercenaries series that follows the violent struggles of the Alliance, mankind’s first interstellar empire. Spartan is a living legend, a veteran of the Alliance Marine Corps, victor of a multitude of military campaigns including the horrific Biomech War. He is both loved and reviled by friend and foe alike, and now lives out on the fringes of the Alliance. He has fought for money, for his people and for the very survival of his species, and lost everything in the process. But when two of his closest friends are captured supplying weapons to the desperate Byotai settlers of Karnak, the fight becomes personal. The Great Biomech War left millions dead, colonies burned, and cities turned to ash. Millions more continue to endure in the harshest of conditions. The Alliance attempts to restore order, yet already new enemies have begun to strike at will, encouraged by their weakness. Border planets succumb to the raids of warlords, and many doubt how long the peace will last, after it was won at such cost. Since the end of this war, Spartan and his friends have worked to create an elite fighting force based at Taxxu, for use by the Alliance. Using the latest high-energy weapons, armoured fighting suits and a prototype Confederate-class warship, it will be a force unlike any the Alliance has seen before. Spartan will use this and every other asset at his disposal to save his friends. Nothing, not even the entire might of the invading Anicinàbe clans and their fearsome clan leaders, can stop him, even if it means starting his own private war. Star Mercenaries is the third Star Crusades series, and is set in the aftermath of the apocalyptic Biomech War. The war may have been won, but after nine long years the future still looks bleak. Entire planets remain devastated, and millions of citizens are homeless. It falls on the military, and the growing numbers of mercenaries and freebooters to keep the peace between the great empires and ensure the survival of the overstretched Alliance. Check out all the novels by Michael G. Thomas STAR MERCENARIES Lords of War (Star Crusades Mercenaries, Book 1) Ghost Soldiers (Star Crusades Mercenaries, Book 2) Flames of War (Star Crusades Mercenaries, Book 3) Battle for Karnak (Star Crusades Mercenaries, Book 4) Warzone (Star Crusades Mercenaries, Book 5) STAR CRUSADES UPRISING Siege of Titan (Star Crusades Uprising, Book 1) Tears of Kerberos (Star Crusades Uprising, Book 2) Fires of Prometheus (Star Crusades Uprising, Book 3) Battle for Proxima (Star Crusades Uprising, Book 4) Fall of Terra Nova (Star Crusades Uprising, Book 5) Slaves of Hyperion (Star Crusades Uprising, Book 6) STAR CRUSADES NEXUS Legions of Orion (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 1) Machine Gods (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 2) Heroes of Helios (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 3) The Great Betrayal (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 4) Prophecy of Fire (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 5) Call to Arms (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 6) Battle for Helios (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 7) Wrath of the Gods (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 8) The Black Rift (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 9) Star Crusader Hero of the Alliance (Star Crusader Book 1) Knighthawk Squadron (Star Crusader Book 2) Operation Hellfire (Star Crusader Book 3) Battleship Furiosa (Star Crusader Book 4) Battle Fleet Victorious (Star Crusader Book 5) All these books are available on Amazon.
370 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 16, 2014
97 people are currently reading
160 people want to read
About the author
Michael G. Thomas
217 books130 followersMichael G. Thomas, is a writer, martial artist and military historian. He has written books on European martial arts and military history as well as Zombie Survival books and fiction. He is the co-founder of the prestigious Academy of Historical Fencing that teaches traditional armed and unarmed European martial arts. His specialist subject areas are teaching the use of the medieval two handed longsword and the German long knife in both the UK and other parts of Europe.
His academic background is as varied as his writing with degrees in Computing, Classical Studies and Machine Learning. In recent years he has undertaken substantial research in the fields of machine learning and artificial intelligence as well as Ancient Greek and Byzantine military history.
Michael is currently completing his Champions of the Apocalypse Series and Star Crusades science fiction series.
His academic background is as varied as his writing with degrees in Computing, Classical Studies and Machine Learning. In recent years he has undertaken substantial research in the fields of machine learning and artificial intelligence as well as Ancient Greek and Byzantine military history.
Michael is currently completing his Champions of the Apocalypse Series and Star Crusades science fiction series.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 15, 2014
Spartan rules again
Typical excellence from this author. I've read all the books. I can hardly wait for the next one. If you are new to military sci fi this is a great author to start out with.
Typical excellence from this author. I've read all the books. I can hardly wait for the next one. If you are new to military sci fi this is a great author to start out with.
October 29, 2018
Lords of War is the first book in the Star Crusades: Mercenaries series. There is a lot of violence. While this is book one in the series, you feel like you have entered into a book farther along as it seems like the story is already in progress. Or at least many of the main characters had history together previously. The story was average but worth reading.
September 13, 2017
Fast, Constant Action
Michael G. Thomas has written a novel of such intense, unmitigated battle action that, as I read it, I felt out-of-breath! Without a doubt, I have never read a space opera featuring such dense battles, one after another.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
Michael G. Thomas has written a novel of such intense, unmitigated battle action that, as I read it, I felt out-of-breath! Without a doubt, I have never read a space opera featuring such dense battles, one after another.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
September 25, 2018
Fun read
Liked the story, the interplay of various alien species, New toys yet easily grasped concepts. Space combat, ground combat, to the death fights, interesting use of terrain, jury rigged ambushes, and a clear path for series to come
Liked the story, the interplay of various alien species, New toys yet easily grasped concepts. Space combat, ground combat, to the death fights, interesting use of terrain, jury rigged ambushes, and a clear path for series to come
September 15, 2017
I felt like I was there.
August 19, 2015
Spartan never quits. The Alliance won’t let him and neither will the bad guys! He’s always got to be in on the action or he gets real bored real quick. Although, after the last war with the Biomechs, Spartan is recovering from the loss of his Wife and Son. Surprising that that happened, but that’s war and Spartan could do nothing about it.
He’s now being contacted by his old friend, Gen. Daniels and Colonel Black from Alliance Intel. They are wondering what Spartan and the CTC corporation are doing on the other side of the Black rift. It just so happens that Spartan is in the process of developing a new fighting tactic involving an Interstellar Assault Brigade. General Daniels just happens to mention to Spartan that there is a growing disturbance of the peace between the Byotai and the Anicinàbe. Apparently, the Byotai were happily occupying a planet which now the Anicinàbe want. The Anicinàbe are out to exterminate the otherwise peaceful Byotai. General Daniels goes on to tell Spartan that the Alliance can’t really do much about this squabble since they have to maintain the peace over a much vaster Alliance since the war was won.
Spartan wants no part of this fight. He knows what Gen. Daniels is trying to do and although they are friends from way back, Spartan has no desire to fight right now. His friend, Kan, a BioMech turned good guy, can’t wait for his next battle. That’s what he was made for and he can’t stand just waiting around. Same goes for Olik, the other BioMech who I believe works with Gen. Daniels and the Intel Colonel, Colonel Black.
So, Gen. Daniels goes off to help the Byotai defend themselves. He’s bringing in weapons they desperately need to fight back against the Anicinàbe. And of course, he gets captured. He’s not there representing the Alliance so they are not going to come rescue him. And, even worse, he has brought along and has been captured with, Gun, the BioMech Leader and Spartan’s best friend. So, who do you think is going to have to rescue these two?
Right, Colonel Black immediately goes back to Spartan in the Black Rift and tells him what has happened. Time to kick some booty!
This is another fighting mad story. There’s both the Naval battles and the ground fighting. Both types of fighting get very confusing. I would like to see this kind of story in a movie so I could better understand what’s happening. At times it sounds like Spartan, Gun, Khan and Olik all get shot so many times I don’t know how they are even standing. Of course they all usually wear some type of fantastic armor, which helps, but still it’s got to hurt.
The writing gets fast and furious at the end. We meet some new characters that may be in the next book of the series, but I don’t think this series will ever end. Yes, Spartan is getting older, but he’s doesn’t seem to be slowing down much.
A great read if you like Science Fiction battles, lots of blood and violent descriptions. Sounds like fun!
He’s now being contacted by his old friend, Gen. Daniels and Colonel Black from Alliance Intel. They are wondering what Spartan and the CTC corporation are doing on the other side of the Black rift. It just so happens that Spartan is in the process of developing a new fighting tactic involving an Interstellar Assault Brigade. General Daniels just happens to mention to Spartan that there is a growing disturbance of the peace between the Byotai and the Anicinàbe. Apparently, the Byotai were happily occupying a planet which now the Anicinàbe want. The Anicinàbe are out to exterminate the otherwise peaceful Byotai. General Daniels goes on to tell Spartan that the Alliance can’t really do much about this squabble since they have to maintain the peace over a much vaster Alliance since the war was won.
Spartan wants no part of this fight. He knows what Gen. Daniels is trying to do and although they are friends from way back, Spartan has no desire to fight right now. His friend, Kan, a BioMech turned good guy, can’t wait for his next battle. That’s what he was made for and he can’t stand just waiting around. Same goes for Olik, the other BioMech who I believe works with Gen. Daniels and the Intel Colonel, Colonel Black.
So, Gen. Daniels goes off to help the Byotai defend themselves. He’s bringing in weapons they desperately need to fight back against the Anicinàbe. And of course, he gets captured. He’s not there representing the Alliance so they are not going to come rescue him. And, even worse, he has brought along and has been captured with, Gun, the BioMech Leader and Spartan’s best friend. So, who do you think is going to have to rescue these two?
Right, Colonel Black immediately goes back to Spartan in the Black Rift and tells him what has happened. Time to kick some booty!
This is another fighting mad story. There’s both the Naval battles and the ground fighting. Both types of fighting get very confusing. I would like to see this kind of story in a movie so I could better understand what’s happening. At times it sounds like Spartan, Gun, Khan and Olik all get shot so many times I don’t know how they are even standing. Of course they all usually wear some type of fantastic armor, which helps, but still it’s got to hurt.
The writing gets fast and furious at the end. We meet some new characters that may be in the next book of the series, but I don’t think this series will ever end. Yes, Spartan is getting older, but he’s doesn’t seem to be slowing down much.
A great read if you like Science Fiction battles, lots of blood and violent descriptions. Sounds like fun!
March 2, 2015
So far so good.
So far this is a good read and have already bought the next one before I was halfway through the first. The only reason I'm giving it 4 stars is because it's just started to get into the thick of it. After I get done with the next one in the series, I'll let you know more , but so far so good.
So far this is a good read and have already bought the next one before I was halfway through the first. The only reason I'm giving it 4 stars is because it's just started to get into the thick of it. After I get done with the next one in the series, I'll let you know more , but so far so good.
May 20, 2015
Serious action!
Intense! The characters are pretty hard-scrabble but likeable. In some of the scenes I kept asking why the enemy didn't just bomb the place, but the hand to hand fighting scenes are highly entertaining!
Intense! The characters are pretty hard-scrabble but likeable. In some of the scenes I kept asking why the enemy didn't just bomb the place, but the hand to hand fighting scenes are highly entertaining!
June 26, 2017
This book started out slow with all of groundwork of who was who? What was going on? And where everything and everyone was, at the time of this story! Halfway through, it picked up and finished of really well. Hopefully the next book takes off where this one finished. Great Characters and scenarios! I would recommend the reading of this book. So you know where the second book is all about! Just a fair read at this time.
Santa Mike
Santa Mike
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July 21, 2018Excellent story that is easy to follow
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews