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Tinaree: Trial by Inferno
Survival is only the beginning.
A covert mission. A devastating ambush. A battle they were never meant to win.
When rookie operative Mark Taylor and his team crash-land on Tinaree, the latest battleground in a brutal galactic war, survival becomes a harrowing test of endurance. Captured by enemy forces and sold to a mine as slave labor, they are thrust into a world of torment, shifting alliances, and buried secrets.
As Taylor suffers ruthless torture, his team moves in the shadows, gathering intel and planning their escape. But the deeper they dig, the clearer it becomes—their survival wasn’t a coincidence. Someone orchestrated their capture, and the truth behind it isn’t just about the war—it’s about Taylor himself.
With trust fraying and the enemy always one step ahead, Taylor must decide how far he’s willing to go, not just to survive, but to uncover a conspiracy where the enemy knows more about his past than he does—one that could tip the balance of the war itself. Because on Tinaree, escaping is only the beginning and survival may have been part of the plan all along.
Survival was never the goal.
A covert mission. A devastating ambush. A battle they were never meant to win.
When rookie operative Mark Taylor and his team crash-land on Tinaree, the latest battleground in a brutal galactic war, survival becomes a harrowing test of endurance. Captured by enemy forces and sold to a mine as slave labor, they are thrust into a world of torment, shifting alliances, and buried secrets.
As Taylor suffers ruthless torture, his team moves in the shadows, gathering intel and planning their escape. But the deeper they dig, the clearer it becomes—their survival wasn’t a coincidence. Someone orchestrated their capture, and the truth behind it isn’t just about the war—it’s about Taylor himself.
With trust fraying and the enemy always one step ahead, Taylor must decide how far he’s willing to go, not just to survive, but to uncover a conspiracy where the enemy knows more about his past than he does—one that could tip the balance of the war itself. Because on Tinaree, escaping is only the beginning and survival may have been part of the plan all along.
Survival was never the goal.
ebook
Published May 9, 2025
About the author
Nic Plume
9 books13 followersNic Plume is a Writer in Progress, Sufferer of Wanderlust, Human Sidekick, who learned English from Dragons and is always in search of the next “wheeee” moment.
Born and raised in Germany, Nic spent most of her adult life married into the US Army life. English is her second language which she learned through school and refined through daily lessons with Dragons once she moved to the States (Ok, fine. She improved it through reading books, more specifically the Pern and Dragonlance series, but close enough!).
A question-asker and seeker of understanding, Nic explores the world and people around her. She currently lives full-time in an RV with her husband and German Shepherd, and travels all across the US. Always looking for the next adventure, she prefers the roads less traveled - and loves to startle her copilot with a well-timed “wheee” right before the water hits the windshield.
She’s always made up stories, but never had the urge to write any of them down until the idea and characters of ‘Shadows of Peace’ refused to leave her alone. Now she’s plotting along and typing away daily to give the voices in her head an opportunity to be heard and seen by the rest of the world. Her stories tell the triumphs, tribulations, failures, and pains of the human experience through a lens formed by her association with the military.
Born and raised in Germany, Nic spent most of her adult life married into the US Army life. English is her second language which she learned through school and refined through daily lessons with Dragons once she moved to the States (Ok, fine. She improved it through reading books, more specifically the Pern and Dragonlance series, but close enough!).
A question-asker and seeker of understanding, Nic explores the world and people around her. She currently lives full-time in an RV with her husband and German Shepherd, and travels all across the US. Always looking for the next adventure, she prefers the roads less traveled - and loves to startle her copilot with a well-timed “wheee” right before the water hits the windshield.
She’s always made up stories, but never had the urge to write any of them down until the idea and characters of ‘Shadows of Peace’ refused to leave her alone. Now she’s plotting along and typing away daily to give the voices in her head an opportunity to be heard and seen by the rest of the world. Her stories tell the triumphs, tribulations, failures, and pains of the human experience through a lens formed by her association with the military.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 29, 2020
Great Military SF!
Taylor, Kaydeen, Salayla, and Tonee are CHiTs (Combat Heroes in Training)--rookie Special Forces on their first mission. This first book in the series follows the team through their first mission, while hinting at larger mysteries behind the team members and the world they are operating in. I look forward to seeing how future volumes expand upon this.
June 9, 2026
I picked this up on a recommendation from a discord server i'm in for sci fi readers and honestly the person who suggested it owes me an apology because i lost an entire weekend to this book and i have no regrets and also several regrets.
let me tell you what makes this different from other military sci fi i have read. most books in this genre give you competent soldiers doing soldier things in space and the tension comes from the action. tinaree does something smarter. it gives you four rookies CHiTs, combat heroes in training, on their very first mission and then it puts them in a situation so far beyond anything they were prepared for that the tension comes from watching them figure out in real time what they are actually made of. that is a completely different kind of reading experience and plume handles it brilliantly.
taylor going through what he goes through while his team operates in the shadows is brutal to read in the best possible way. the split perspective what is happening to him versus what the others are doing trying to get them all out creates a momentum that had me reading faster and faster without meaning to.
the conspiracy underneath everything is what elevates it above a straightforward survival story. the slow dawning realisation that their capture was not random that someone with a lot of power knows things about taylor that taylor does not know about himself layers a psychological thriller underneath the action that i was not expecting and absolutely loved.
knowing that plume grew up in germany, learned english through reading pern and dragonlance, and has spent years living the military life through her husband gives this book a texture that you cannot fake. she understands what soldiers carry and how teams function under pressure and that understanding lives in every scene.
kaydeen and salayla and tonee are all distinct and fully realised and i cared about every single one of them which made every close call genuinely stressful.
fantastic start to a series. already into the next one.
let me tell you what makes this different from other military sci fi i have read. most books in this genre give you competent soldiers doing soldier things in space and the tension comes from the action. tinaree does something smarter. it gives you four rookies CHiTs, combat heroes in training, on their very first mission and then it puts them in a situation so far beyond anything they were prepared for that the tension comes from watching them figure out in real time what they are actually made of. that is a completely different kind of reading experience and plume handles it brilliantly.
taylor going through what he goes through while his team operates in the shadows is brutal to read in the best possible way. the split perspective what is happening to him versus what the others are doing trying to get them all out creates a momentum that had me reading faster and faster without meaning to.
the conspiracy underneath everything is what elevates it above a straightforward survival story. the slow dawning realisation that their capture was not random that someone with a lot of power knows things about taylor that taylor does not know about himself layers a psychological thriller underneath the action that i was not expecting and absolutely loved.
knowing that plume grew up in germany, learned english through reading pern and dragonlance, and has spent years living the military life through her husband gives this book a texture that you cannot fake. she understands what soldiers carry and how teams function under pressure and that understanding lives in every scene.
kaydeen and salayla and tonee are all distinct and fully realised and i cared about every single one of them which made every close call genuinely stressful.
fantastic start to a series. already into the next one.
October 16, 2026
The title Tinaree: Trial by Inferno immediately caught my eye! It creates a strong sense of danger and adventure, making me curious to explore Nic Plume’s imaginative world.
June 23, 2023
This book took me a bit by surprise, as it didn't meet my expectations, in the positive sense of the word.
Namely: you get 4 rookie SF troops on their first combat drop on a hostile planet, you kinda expect that not everything will be roses, but here, well, it goes on a whole new level.
After that, it is a wild ride, where you don't really understand why events happen, till, step by step, the whole picture begins to take form and some apparently illogical actions suddenly make sense.
Of course, as it is only the first part of a trilogy, one can expect a cliffhanger at the end.
Solid characters, good action, excellent plot and pacing. Can't wait for the next one.
Namely: you get 4 rookie SF troops on their first combat drop on a hostile planet, you kinda expect that not everything will be roses, but here, well, it goes on a whole new level.
After that, it is a wild ride, where you don't really understand why events happen, till, step by step, the whole picture begins to take form and some apparently illogical actions suddenly make sense.
Of course, as it is only the first part of a trilogy, one can expect a cliffhanger at the end.
Solid characters, good action, excellent plot and pacing. Can't wait for the next one.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews