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Gold Medal Marine #1
Gold Medal Marine
Cullen Bright is the greatest athlete in human history. With over fifty victories in the Enhanced Pentathlon, no one can fight, shoot, or run like him—but it's not enough.
Adrift and bored with wealth and fame, he finds his cause when an alien enemy launches a savage war of extermination against The Ten human star systems under Unity control.
In a flash of anger, he enlists in the Unity Marines, determined to bring his limitless talent to a cause that is spiraling into chaos and madness.
But Cullen will learn that being a Marine isn't a solo sport, and respect isn't given—it's earned. Taught by hard lessons and harder people, he enters the battlefield where losing is not an option, and there are no medals.
Join Cullen and his squad as he pushes back against an enemy that doesn't just want victory—they want humanity erased. But Cullen never gave up on the field, or the ring, or during an upbringing of pain and sorrow, and he's not about to start now.
Still, he's only one man, and there are questions out there in the endless black of space that he must answer—
Can a former athlete lead Marines into battle. . . and can one man be a catalyst for victory in the greatest war humanity has ever known?
Adrift and bored with wealth and fame, he finds his cause when an alien enemy launches a savage war of extermination against The Ten human star systems under Unity control.
In a flash of anger, he enlists in the Unity Marines, determined to bring his limitless talent to a cause that is spiraling into chaos and madness.
But Cullen will learn that being a Marine isn't a solo sport, and respect isn't given—it's earned. Taught by hard lessons and harder people, he enters the battlefield where losing is not an option, and there are no medals.
Join Cullen and his squad as he pushes back against an enemy that doesn't just want victory—they want humanity erased. But Cullen never gave up on the field, or the ring, or during an upbringing of pain and sorrow, and he's not about to start now.
Still, he's only one man, and there are questions out there in the endless black of space that he must answer—
Can a former athlete lead Marines into battle. . . and can one man be a catalyst for victory in the greatest war humanity has ever known?
484 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 7, 2025
About the author
J.N. Chaney
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
April 12, 2026
I’ve been waiting to read this book for a long time. I didn’t really have any expectations other than I know Chaney & Maggert are both very good writers. Still, the title sounded very, very interesting. Turns out the whole book is interesting and has a very surprising twist on how our main character becomes a reluctant hero at the end.
Cullen Bright is an Olympic Champion many, many, times over. In 2206 AD he’s won the Olympic Gold Medal for the Enhanced Pentathlon three times now…and now he’s bored! He’s risen to the demanding challenges all his life to reach his goal of championship competition. Not only does he desire to win, but he wants to destroy his opposition at every single event he participates in. He’s been doing this for quite some time and has amassed wealth far beyond what he could ever use. So, what’s in store for this champion of champions?
Well, it was during his last Olympic awards ceremony when he had just received his third gold medal, when everything began to change. The large screens around the stadium erupted with the astounding news that humanity was under attack! The supposedly friendly Hardshells had suddenly and without provocation attacked Charon Naval Station destroying Unity Explorer Fleet One in its entirety which numbered in death to 4,219 humans.
Cullen decided right then and there that he had to become involved in this new war. He had numerous business interests, including charities, academies, and other ventures all capably managed by his attorney, Denise Sudmann. She was practical and had contacts that had turned Cullen into a multi-billionaire and a universal celebrity. Yet, when it came down to it, she couldn’t talk Cullen out of his decision to do something during this war. And his decision was to enlist in the Unity Marine Corps!
The only problem with this idea was that the Marines at the Marine Corps Recruiting Station didn’t take him seriously. When he showed up, so did a huge number of his adoring fans. It was looking like some publicity stunt and even the Marines at the station couldn’t believe that the real Cullen Bright had shown up in their offices. The had to call in MPs to contain the crowd and that was becoming more and more difficult. Cullen tried to convince the Marine Officer in Charge that this wasn’t a stunt, but that he really did want to join the Marine Corps, then and there.
About the time he was talking to the Marine Officer, Denise contacted him via his comm device and asked him if he had gone stark-raving mad! She said he just couldn’t do this and needed to let her work it so he went in with a commission as an officer at the minimum. The Marine Officer was also telling Cullen that the crowd was getting too large and someone might get hurt so he needed him to go somewhere else and take the TV cameras and reports with him! I believe it was also one of the Marine Sergeants that then yelled to Cullen that he was 32 years old and too old to enlist in the Marines! That stopped Cullen immediately. He just couldn’t believe that they wouldn’t allow him to join no matter his age.
So, Denise got to work and she does very good work. She had gotten the ear of the top brass and told them that Cullen Bright, yes, that Cullen Bright was determined to join the Unity Marines and that they needed to make it happen. Of course the brass started thinking about what a fantastic recruitment tool having Cullen Bright in a Marine Corps dress uniform might look like so they did what the usually do in these situations, they granted an age waiver. But, they also only did this because Cullen had done his own work in gettin them to see things his way. He had learned that a survivor of the attack on Charon Station was being treated in a local hospital.
Cullen walked into the hospital and went to the injured Marine’s room only to find a guard at the door. But, with the offer of an authentic autograph from the real Cullen Bright, he got access to the room. Once there he found out that the Marine wasn’t being treated as best as he should have. He was missing a leg and the one they have given him, didn’t fit! So, this Marine was definitely upset. Cullen offered right then and there to buy the Marine the best new leg or even finance a regenerated leg if the soldier would just tell hime about the attack.
So, it turns out that this wasn’t the first time the Hardshells had attacked humanity. The fighting had been going on for the last three months and humanity was losing big time! While they had been reporting 4,000 casualties for this latest attack, the Marine said the total number was upwards of 32,000 over the last three months. Everyone knew the Hardshells or Turts (yeah, they looked like turtles), were more advanced than humanity, but they had also professed to be the silent, contented, studious type species that abhorred war, until now.
With this knowledge and with Denise’s inside work, it wasn’t long before Cullen Bright did, in fact, become a Unity Marine. What they were going to do with this almost perfect specimen of humanity was to even enhance his abilities even further. They knew that he could be the spark that set humanity on the winning track if the things they were going to do to him just worked. Unfortunately, the Turts also knew of Cullen Bright and they also had the feeling that this one individual human could have a significant impact on their war with humanity.
This book is very exciting and well written in my opinion. Could all this stuff really happen? Of course not. But this military science fiction for a far future that’s much different from our own. The book is entertaining and fun to read so in that it does what books should do. I’ll be looking forward to reading book 2, “Blood Meteor”, and every other book in this series, which right now shows four books.
[Note 1 (12/23/2025): I’m no longer associated with Amazon and will no longer provide any links to books from that website. You can usually find books that you like at your usual source.]
[Note 2: As of 12/03/2023, this will not be posted on Amazon since I have been banned from posting reviews for some unknown reason. ]
Cullen Bright is an Olympic Champion many, many, times over. In 2206 AD he’s won the Olympic Gold Medal for the Enhanced Pentathlon three times now…and now he’s bored! He’s risen to the demanding challenges all his life to reach his goal of championship competition. Not only does he desire to win, but he wants to destroy his opposition at every single event he participates in. He’s been doing this for quite some time and has amassed wealth far beyond what he could ever use. So, what’s in store for this champion of champions?
Well, it was during his last Olympic awards ceremony when he had just received his third gold medal, when everything began to change. The large screens around the stadium erupted with the astounding news that humanity was under attack! The supposedly friendly Hardshells had suddenly and without provocation attacked Charon Naval Station destroying Unity Explorer Fleet One in its entirety which numbered in death to 4,219 humans.
Cullen decided right then and there that he had to become involved in this new war. He had numerous business interests, including charities, academies, and other ventures all capably managed by his attorney, Denise Sudmann. She was practical and had contacts that had turned Cullen into a multi-billionaire and a universal celebrity. Yet, when it came down to it, she couldn’t talk Cullen out of his decision to do something during this war. And his decision was to enlist in the Unity Marine Corps!
The only problem with this idea was that the Marines at the Marine Corps Recruiting Station didn’t take him seriously. When he showed up, so did a huge number of his adoring fans. It was looking like some publicity stunt and even the Marines at the station couldn’t believe that the real Cullen Bright had shown up in their offices. The had to call in MPs to contain the crowd and that was becoming more and more difficult. Cullen tried to convince the Marine Officer in Charge that this wasn’t a stunt, but that he really did want to join the Marine Corps, then and there.
About the time he was talking to the Marine Officer, Denise contacted him via his comm device and asked him if he had gone stark-raving mad! She said he just couldn’t do this and needed to let her work it so he went in with a commission as an officer at the minimum. The Marine Officer was also telling Cullen that the crowd was getting too large and someone might get hurt so he needed him to go somewhere else and take the TV cameras and reports with him! I believe it was also one of the Marine Sergeants that then yelled to Cullen that he was 32 years old and too old to enlist in the Marines! That stopped Cullen immediately. He just couldn’t believe that they wouldn’t allow him to join no matter his age.
So, Denise got to work and she does very good work. She had gotten the ear of the top brass and told them that Cullen Bright, yes, that Cullen Bright was determined to join the Unity Marines and that they needed to make it happen. Of course the brass started thinking about what a fantastic recruitment tool having Cullen Bright in a Marine Corps dress uniform might look like so they did what the usually do in these situations, they granted an age waiver. But, they also only did this because Cullen had done his own work in gettin them to see things his way. He had learned that a survivor of the attack on Charon Station was being treated in a local hospital.
Cullen walked into the hospital and went to the injured Marine’s room only to find a guard at the door. But, with the offer of an authentic autograph from the real Cullen Bright, he got access to the room. Once there he found out that the Marine wasn’t being treated as best as he should have. He was missing a leg and the one they have given him, didn’t fit! So, this Marine was definitely upset. Cullen offered right then and there to buy the Marine the best new leg or even finance a regenerated leg if the soldier would just tell hime about the attack.
So, it turns out that this wasn’t the first time the Hardshells had attacked humanity. The fighting had been going on for the last three months and humanity was losing big time! While they had been reporting 4,000 casualties for this latest attack, the Marine said the total number was upwards of 32,000 over the last three months. Everyone knew the Hardshells or Turts (yeah, they looked like turtles), were more advanced than humanity, but they had also professed to be the silent, contented, studious type species that abhorred war, until now.
With this knowledge and with Denise’s inside work, it wasn’t long before Cullen Bright did, in fact, become a Unity Marine. What they were going to do with this almost perfect specimen of humanity was to even enhance his abilities even further. They knew that he could be the spark that set humanity on the winning track if the things they were going to do to him just worked. Unfortunately, the Turts also knew of Cullen Bright and they also had the feeling that this one individual human could have a significant impact on their war with humanity.
This book is very exciting and well written in my opinion. Could all this stuff really happen? Of course not. But this military science fiction for a far future that’s much different from our own. The book is entertaining and fun to read so in that it does what books should do. I’ll be looking forward to reading book 2, “Blood Meteor”, and every other book in this series, which right now shows four books.
[Note 1 (12/23/2025): I’m no longer associated with Amazon and will no longer provide any links to books from that website. You can usually find books that you like at your usual source.]
[Note 2: As of 12/03/2023, this will not be posted on Amazon since I have been banned from posting reviews for some unknown reason. ]
October 19, 2025
really good book, fast paced, well written, fun characters
This is the first for me, 2 5 star books in a row and they’re both military sci-fi themed. Haven’t read a J and Cheney book in quite a while I believe since renegade. I enjoyed this book tremendously. Fast pace, very likable characters. Good world building in good Science Fiction elements. Don’t have much to say about this book. That’s bad. That is a surprise for me since I have been very critical of some of Mr. Cheney‘s books in the past. I will definitely go and read the next book in this series.
This is the first for me, 2 5 star books in a row and they’re both military sci-fi themed. Haven’t read a J and Cheney book in quite a while I believe since renegade. I enjoyed this book tremendously. Fast pace, very likable characters. Good world building in good Science Fiction elements. Don’t have much to say about this book. That’s bad. That is a surprise for me since I have been very critical of some of Mr. Cheney‘s books in the past. I will definitely go and read the next book in this series.
September 14, 2026
Who wrote this?
This book is such a departure from what I’m used to reading from Chaney and Maggert - ostensibly the team behind Backyard Starship, which is actually coherent and well-written. This… is not. It really makes me wonder who actually put digital pen to paper, as the writing style, character voice and overall quality of work is entirely different and definitely not in a positive way.
The story is so disjointed and the character interactions are so weird and awkward, there’s no way these veteran writers could be the ones producing this drivel. At least, I hope not.
This book is such a departure from what I’m used to reading from Chaney and Maggert - ostensibly the team behind Backyard Starship, which is actually coherent and well-written. This… is not. It really makes me wonder who actually put digital pen to paper, as the writing style, character voice and overall quality of work is entirely different and definitely not in a positive way.
The story is so disjointed and the character interactions are so weird and awkward, there’s no way these veteran writers could be the ones producing this drivel. At least, I hope not.
October 12, 2025
Great new series
I picked this book because JN Chaney and Terry Maggert have written some great books even though I was skeptical of the premise. I choose wisely. I really like the principal character. The first book in a series sometimes has to much setup but not in this case. It moved along in a solid organic fashion. I look forward to the next book.
I picked this book because JN Chaney and Terry Maggert have written some great books even though I was skeptical of the premise. I choose wisely. I really like the principal character. The first book in a series sometimes has to much setup but not in this case. It moved along in a solid organic fashion. I look forward to the next book.
February 15, 2026
Good start and interesting premise...
I'm quite familiar with the work of Mr. Chaney, but I haven't read anything from Terry Maggert.
It took me a while to accept and embrace the storyline, but once I did it's been pretty solid.
I'll write another review of the final book in the series to share my thoughts.
I'm quite familiar with the work of Mr. Chaney, but I haven't read anything from Terry Maggert.
It took me a while to accept and embrace the storyline, but once I did it's been pretty solid.
I'll write another review of the final book in the series to share my thoughts.
June 4, 2026
Excellent read
Hard hitting, action packed. JN and Terry have hit the mark on an excellent adventure. Cant wait to read more about Cullen adventure and the role Denise will play. Who are the Hardshells running from, and will Cullen celebrity swell the Marine and RAID temms get more hulls that the Navy can repurpose for whoever the hardshells are running from.
Hard hitting, action packed. JN and Terry have hit the mark on an excellent adventure. Cant wait to read more about Cullen adventure and the role Denise will play. Who are the Hardshells running from, and will Cullen celebrity swell the Marine and RAID temms get more hulls that the Navy can repurpose for whoever the hardshells are running from.
October 11, 2025
I enjoyed this book. It flowed well and the main character in it and the premise behind him stood out strongly. The next book in the series comes out in January and I am looking forward to seeing if it’s as good. I can recommend this book.
October 21, 2025
superbly written, not your run of the mill SciFi.
This book grabbed me from the first chapter and did not disappoint all the way through the last page. Already marking the date for the next installment, so I can drop whatever I’m reading to start on it!
This book grabbed me from the first chapter and did not disappoint all the way through the last page. Already marking the date for the next installment, so I can drop whatever I’m reading to start on it!
October 30, 2025
A Fun Read!
This was a fun read with plenty of action. There were times when it was more like reading a comic book but overall was good. I recommend this book. Looking forward to the next book in the series.
This was a fun read with plenty of action. There were times when it was more like reading a comic book but overall was good. I recommend this book. Looking forward to the next book in the series.
November 8, 2025
enjoyed just spoke thoroughly
A typical Marine Corps book, but not typical. It was exciting and uplifting in its own way, even though it’s pure fiction it still tells a story of a marine, not an athlete, but of a 100% engaged marine
A typical Marine Corps book, but not typical. It was exciting and uplifting in its own way, even though it’s pure fiction it still tells a story of a marine, not an athlete, but of a 100% engaged marine
October 17, 2025
good read, well executed
Started out slow. Methodical, built to a good completion. Cullen Bright’s journey to become a Marine is very well done.
Started out slow. Methodical, built to a good completion. Cullen Bright’s journey to become a Marine is very well done.
November 16, 2025
Excellent start to a series. The main character is such a great guy, no longer full of himself and ready to go to war as a regular guy.
There is quite a bit of suspension of belief required. This guy gets fast-tracked to OCS and has to go through things like a regular guy. But that ends up working to his favor because of his attitude.
I was invested in the characters and the story. Anytime any character died, as of course they do, it was a blow. I hope this is a great start to a great series. I'm in. Mark Boyett was spectacular.
There is quite a bit of suspension of belief required. This guy gets fast-tracked to OCS and has to go through things like a regular guy. But that ends up working to his favor because of his attitude.
I was invested in the characters and the story. Anytime any character died, as of course they do, it was a blow. I hope this is a great start to a great series. I'm in. Mark Boyett was spectacular.
December 27, 2025
great book
I enjoyed the book. It started a little slow but it built great character development. It’s a prelude to the Sentenced to War series
I enjoyed the book. It started a little slow but it built great character development. It’s a prelude to the Sentenced to War series
January 2, 2026
Excellent new series!
Chaney and Maggert strike again. Heroes to be proud of and Plots, while stock, that are engaging. I look forward to the next tale in this series.
Chaney and Maggert strike again. Heroes to be proud of and Plots, while stock, that are engaging. I look forward to the next tale in this series.
January 6, 2026
Great story with really well developed characters
May 15, 2026
Gold Medal Authors
Fun, exciting read. Following Cullen Bright's rise from sports hero to Marine was fun. Looking forward to seeing what his team will do for humanity next.
Fun, exciting read. Following Cullen Bright's rise from sports hero to Marine was fun. Looking forward to seeing what his team will do for humanity next.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews