What do you think?
Rate this book
I, Soldier #5
Ares Unleashed
Personal for Lead a four-soldier strike team deep into enemy territory and destroy their leadership cabal.
You will be delivered by a captured enemy scout to the Skinnie home world where you will find and decapitate the enemy's military.
Your success will remove the single greatest threat to humanity.
A victory still means you will fight to the end.
This is a one-way trip. Accept your role in Earth’s future history. You were born for this task. It is now your time to fulfill your destiny.
By order of Janus Seven, Leader of Humanity
For fans of Starship Troopers, Halo, Battleship Leviathan, and other military science fiction.
Your success will remove the single greatest threat to humanity.
A victory still means you will fight to the end.
This is a one-way trip. Accept your role in Earth’s future history. You were born for this task. It is now your time to fulfill your destiny.
By order of Janus Seven, Leader of Humanity
For fans of Starship Troopers, Halo, Battleship Leviathan, and other military science fiction.
249 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 25, 2026
9 people are currently reading
2 people want to read
About the author
Craig Martelle
330 books7,893 followersVisit Craig's web page, craigmartelle.com for the latest posts and updates or find him on Facebook, Author Craig Martelle. Send an email to craig@craigmartelle.com to join his mailing list for the latest on new releases, information on old releases, and anything related to his books.
I see my other lives, a career in the Marines, those damn hand-written tests in law school, a business consultant, as if they're stories from a book. I see my books as if I lived there, as if I were friends with the characters. All things we remember are behind us, only those we imagine lie before.
I'm not sure which place I prefer, but I don't have to choose. They live together in my mind. My books have some award nominations, they have bestseller tags across multiple countries. I write about justice, honor, and loyalty because that's what I care about. My stories are mostly set within worlds that haven't been, but could be. We have to be ready for when those times come.
No matter where I went, I always had a book with me. Thanks to 21st Century technology, I now have hundreds of books loaded on my phone and always with me. This breakthrough allows me to binge read my favorites. How many books would I have read on deployments had I not had to have a physical book with me? I paced myself so I wouldn't finish too quickly.
We aren't encumbered like that now. I love the works of Robert Heinlein, Anne McCaffrey, JRR Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, and so many more. I have been compared to Andre Norton and that is humbling - she was an incredible author with a huge list of novels to her credit. With every new book, I aspire to live up to those that you, the readers, have compared me to.
Through a bizarre series of events, I ended up in Fairbanks, Alaska. I never expected to retire to a place where golf courses are only open for four months out of the year. But that's the way it is. It is off the beaten path. My wife and I get to watch the northern lights from our driveway. Our dog has lots of room to run. And temperatures reach fifty below zero. We have from three and a half hours of daylight in the winter to twenty-four hours in the summer.
It's all part of the give and take of life. If we didn't have those extremes, then everyone would live in the sub-arctic.
I see my other lives, a career in the Marines, those damn hand-written tests in law school, a business consultant, as if they're stories from a book. I see my books as if I lived there, as if I were friends with the characters. All things we remember are behind us, only those we imagine lie before.
I'm not sure which place I prefer, but I don't have to choose. They live together in my mind. My books have some award nominations, they have bestseller tags across multiple countries. I write about justice, honor, and loyalty because that's what I care about. My stories are mostly set within worlds that haven't been, but could be. We have to be ready for when those times come.
No matter where I went, I always had a book with me. Thanks to 21st Century technology, I now have hundreds of books loaded on my phone and always with me. This breakthrough allows me to binge read my favorites. How many books would I have read on deployments had I not had to have a physical book with me? I paced myself so I wouldn't finish too quickly.
We aren't encumbered like that now. I love the works of Robert Heinlein, Anne McCaffrey, JRR Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, and so many more. I have been compared to Andre Norton and that is humbling - she was an incredible author with a huge list of novels to her credit. With every new book, I aspire to live up to those that you, the readers, have compared me to.
Through a bizarre series of events, I ended up in Fairbanks, Alaska. I never expected to retire to a place where golf courses are only open for four months out of the year. But that's the way it is. It is off the beaten path. My wife and I get to watch the northern lights from our driveway. Our dog has lots of room to run. And temperatures reach fifty below zero. We have from three and a half hours of daylight in the winter to twenty-four hours in the summer.
It's all part of the give and take of life. If we didn't have those extremes, then everyone would live in the sub-arctic.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 29, 2026
Ares Unleashed - a review by Rosemary Kenny.
In Craig Martelle's Ares Unleashed, keeping the bodycount as low as
possible is Ares' objective - but the best-laid plans of combat rarely survive first contact, as they say and that's certainly true in Ares Unleashed.
With many twists and turns he, Frodo, Doc, Tin Man, Stubby, (Skinnie ally) Anjali-San, plus the peskily dogged reporter Daryl, must think on the go and cope with one unforeseen circumstance after another, to end an evil regime, ahead of a well-deserved R&R.
One thing's for sure - once you pick up Ares Unleashed you won't be able to put it down until the end.
Get it today...Comply!
In Craig Martelle's Ares Unleashed, keeping the bodycount as low as
possible is Ares' objective - but the best-laid plans of combat rarely survive first contact, as they say and that's certainly true in Ares Unleashed.
With many twists and turns he, Frodo, Doc, Tin Man, Stubby, (Skinnie ally) Anjali-San, plus the peskily dogged reporter Daryl, must think on the go and cope with one unforeseen circumstance after another, to end an evil regime, ahead of a well-deserved R&R.
One thing's for sure - once you pick up Ares Unleashed you won't be able to put it down until the end.
Get it today...Comply!
Displaying 1 of 1 review