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Fury of Heaven
Captain Mike Sandhurst and the battered 157th Tank Regiment are back in the fight for Paradise, a large island on the planet Honalee, but the Buzzers won’t go quietly.
Task Force Victory has one land, hold, and drive the Buzzers back into the sea. The arrival of the Rhinos, a potential ally, changes all that. Their arrival should be potential salvation. Instead, it throws everything into chaos. Leadership falters and the Buzzers attack, cutting off a regiment and sending Task Force Victory reeling.
As Thunderbolt pilots clash with a heightened aerial threat and betrayal guts the air wing from within, Lieutenant Commander Vivian Llewelyn fights to keep her squadron in the sky. On Earth, recent ace-turned-recruiting asset Paige Dixon discovers there are others wanting an end to the war by ceding ground to the Buzzers and vows to find a way back to the fight. Major Shawn Davies and Commander Kathy March deploy their intelligence teams searching for answers and opportunities only to find themselves too close to the fight for comfort. The Buzzers, having drawn the EMF forces in spring a devastating trap, and Task Force Victory will pay the price.
As tensions rise and new alliances are tested in fire, the fate of the human race will hinge on a single island, a single battle, and the courage of those willing to stand when all else falls.
The fight against the Buzzers rages on in the Buzzer War Series, by Kevin Ikenberry. With realistic military action, space and ground battles, and a vicious bug alien invasion, it's perfect for fans of Starship Troopers, Hell Divers 2, and Rick Partlow's Drop Trooper!
Task Force Victory has one land, hold, and drive the Buzzers back into the sea. The arrival of the Rhinos, a potential ally, changes all that. Their arrival should be potential salvation. Instead, it throws everything into chaos. Leadership falters and the Buzzers attack, cutting off a regiment and sending Task Force Victory reeling.
As Thunderbolt pilots clash with a heightened aerial threat and betrayal guts the air wing from within, Lieutenant Commander Vivian Llewelyn fights to keep her squadron in the sky. On Earth, recent ace-turned-recruiting asset Paige Dixon discovers there are others wanting an end to the war by ceding ground to the Buzzers and vows to find a way back to the fight. Major Shawn Davies and Commander Kathy March deploy their intelligence teams searching for answers and opportunities only to find themselves too close to the fight for comfort. The Buzzers, having drawn the EMF forces in spring a devastating trap, and Task Force Victory will pay the price.
As tensions rise and new alliances are tested in fire, the fate of the human race will hinge on a single island, a single battle, and the courage of those willing to stand when all else falls.
The fight against the Buzzers rages on in the Buzzer War Series, by Kevin Ikenberry. With realistic military action, space and ground battles, and a vicious bug alien invasion, it's perfect for fans of Starship Troopers, Hell Divers 2, and Rick Partlow's Drop Trooper!
448 pages, Paperback
Published September 16, 2025
About the author
Kevin Ikenberry
123 books111 followersKevin’s head has been in the clouds since he was old enough to read. Ask him and he’ll tell you that he still wants to be an astronaut. Kevin has a diverse background in space and space science education. As an adult, he's managed the world-renowned U.S. Space Camp program and operated two Challenger Learning Centers. A retired Army officer, Kevin continues to work with space every day.
Kevin is the author of the science fiction novel SLEEPER PROTOCOL (2016) which Publisher's Weekly called "an emotionally powerful debut." His military science fiction novel RUNS IN THE FAMILY (2016) has gained a growing legion of fans. He continues to work on sequels for both novels as well as short fiction and an alternate history novel.
Kevin is the author of the science fiction novel SLEEPER PROTOCOL (2016) which Publisher's Weekly called "an emotionally powerful debut." His military science fiction novel RUNS IN THE FAMILY (2016) has gained a growing legion of fans. He continues to work on sequels for both novels as well as short fiction and an alternate history novel.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 26, 2025
This is an outstanding military science fiction series. It’s almost one of the best I have read in a long time and I think I’ve stated that before. We’re back with the 157th Tank Regiment and specifically with Captain Mike Sandhurst and his Calvary Scout Troop. They are operation on an island called Paradise against what appears to be three Buzzer divisions. Right now, and strangely, everything is pretty quiet. The Buzzers aren’t doing anything but holding ground so that’s what Brigadier General Jeff Justice is doing also.
Yet, something very interesting has just came up. The Rhino’s have shown up on the beaches. They have several large ships that have just emerged with a contingent of crab-like infantry moving directly onto the beach. These crab things appear to be setting up some kind of security perimeter but aren’t shooting. So BG Justice orders his troops to hold their fire so he can find out what’s going on. One of the Rhino ship’s extends a gangplank and out walks a huge Rhino alien. He moves to the beach and stands there as if waiting for something. BG Justice thinks he must be wanting to talk so that’s better than fighting. He decides to go out and see what this huge alien wants. If there’s a possibility of the Rhino’s becoming allies with the humans, it might just start now.
So, Justice starts some very slow dialogue with the Rhino. He’s got Major Shawn Davies on his earbud helping with the translations. Things were going pretty well and they were building a workable translation program when something unexpected happened. That interruption was Admiral Waumbo, the Task Force Commander. He had just been chewed out by his boss, General Pegg who was very unhappy with the lack of anything really happening on Paradise. General Pegg ordered Admiral Waumbo to get the island cleared of Buzzers and standby for further actions. Admiral Waumbo was wanting to do that, but so far the Buzzers weren’t making a move out of their staging areas. So, he figured it was time to get his forces moving.
But, he managed to interrupt BG Justice just as he was talking to the Rhino. That alien had a strong dislike towards Admiral Waumbo, so much so, that he withdrew all his troops from the beach and that was the last they saw of them. BG Justice was understandably upset since he had almost secured an ally in the Rhinos, but now he didn’t know where they stood.
Still, Admiral Waumbo had to get his forces moving. They were going to start moving scouts much further forward trying to find out what the Buzzers were up to. When the Buzzers were not active, they always had some kind of electronic screen over their troop locations, so it was very difficult to tell what they were doing. So, this is where Captain Sandhurst and his counterpart, Captain Laura Hall of the 361st Tank Regiment were to coordinate their movements forward along the central spire of the island.
This is where a good order of battle diagram would come in hand so the read could easier follow the movement of all these units. Still, it appears that the 157th Tank Regiment and the 361st Tank Regiments will be going forward deployed on either side of the central ridge up the middle of the island. Now we’re going to find some intense combat with the Calvary Troop of the 361st getting caught too far forward and eventually encircled by the Buzzers. They are setting a trap hoping they can catch the 361st Regiment coming to rescue their Calvary unit which will get everyone destroyed.
Meanwhile, the Intelligence assets to the Task Force have identified some ancient ruins that have some kind of interest by the Rhinos and the Buzzers. They are told to stay away from these ruins until they can get teams of scientists into them to determine how they relate to these two alien species. One of the Intel teams will be lead by Commander Kathy Marsh, who happens to be in a very close relationship to Major Shawn Davies. Commander March is going to take a team forward to one of the ruin sites, but the weather over the island is getting increasingly ugly.
So, operations are taking place on the island as they should just before the weather really hits hard. This storm is unlike anything the humans have ever seen. They will have to hunker down and turn off all electronics which will make them blind until the storm passes in about three to four days! Eventually, they get through that only to find the Buzzers starting to stir.
Then one of Capt. Sandhurst’s ATLAS ground troops spots a huge flying alien circling a specific spot on the ridge-line. She asks if they can get some kind of UAV up to see what’s there. The Intel units take the lead and do send a UAV up. It spots something that is definitely not supposed to be there. Plans are then developed to destroy whatever it is and see if it has any effect on the Buzzers.
So, there’s going to be a lot of engagements in this book. Various units are going to come under attack but the author has some idea of how combat arms are supposed to work. He’s got air cover with two Air Wings operating on each side of the major island spire. They have aircraft that can secure the skies and help the ground troops as they should. Except on Air Wing has the wrong commander and that’s going to be a problem.
I really like that there are a lot of authentic sounding use of radios and communications throughout the book. Yeah, they have things that aren’t even developed right now, but most of it is stuff that should be coming in the future. Getting UAVs up to allow the ground forces to actually see the land they will fight and maneuver on is going to be a tremendous asset. Still, not everything works perfectly. The enemy doesn’t do what we want in most all cases and that can result in the deaths of troops that should have been protected. This book doesn’t shy away from that. We’re going to loose characters that have been around awhile so get prepared for that.
I don’t exactly know why this book was entitled “Fury of Heaven” since all the action takes place on the island of Paradise. But, that’s for the author to figure out. I’m really looking forward to book 6, “Against the Swarm”, which won’t be out until 8 September 2026! Wow! That’s almost a whole year away! Just gotta’ wait, I guess!
==[Note: As of 12/03/2023, this will not be published on Amazon since I have been banned from posting reviews for some unknown reason. Once the ban is lifted, assuming it does get lifted, I’ll go back and post this to Amazon.]==
Yet, something very interesting has just came up. The Rhino’s have shown up on the beaches. They have several large ships that have just emerged with a contingent of crab-like infantry moving directly onto the beach. These crab things appear to be setting up some kind of security perimeter but aren’t shooting. So BG Justice orders his troops to hold their fire so he can find out what’s going on. One of the Rhino ship’s extends a gangplank and out walks a huge Rhino alien. He moves to the beach and stands there as if waiting for something. BG Justice thinks he must be wanting to talk so that’s better than fighting. He decides to go out and see what this huge alien wants. If there’s a possibility of the Rhino’s becoming allies with the humans, it might just start now.
So, Justice starts some very slow dialogue with the Rhino. He’s got Major Shawn Davies on his earbud helping with the translations. Things were going pretty well and they were building a workable translation program when something unexpected happened. That interruption was Admiral Waumbo, the Task Force Commander. He had just been chewed out by his boss, General Pegg who was very unhappy with the lack of anything really happening on Paradise. General Pegg ordered Admiral Waumbo to get the island cleared of Buzzers and standby for further actions. Admiral Waumbo was wanting to do that, but so far the Buzzers weren’t making a move out of their staging areas. So, he figured it was time to get his forces moving.
But, he managed to interrupt BG Justice just as he was talking to the Rhino. That alien had a strong dislike towards Admiral Waumbo, so much so, that he withdrew all his troops from the beach and that was the last they saw of them. BG Justice was understandably upset since he had almost secured an ally in the Rhinos, but now he didn’t know where they stood.
Still, Admiral Waumbo had to get his forces moving. They were going to start moving scouts much further forward trying to find out what the Buzzers were up to. When the Buzzers were not active, they always had some kind of electronic screen over their troop locations, so it was very difficult to tell what they were doing. So, this is where Captain Sandhurst and his counterpart, Captain Laura Hall of the 361st Tank Regiment were to coordinate their movements forward along the central spire of the island.
This is where a good order of battle diagram would come in hand so the read could easier follow the movement of all these units. Still, it appears that the 157th Tank Regiment and the 361st Tank Regiments will be going forward deployed on either side of the central ridge up the middle of the island. Now we’re going to find some intense combat with the Calvary Troop of the 361st getting caught too far forward and eventually encircled by the Buzzers. They are setting a trap hoping they can catch the 361st Regiment coming to rescue their Calvary unit which will get everyone destroyed.
Meanwhile, the Intelligence assets to the Task Force have identified some ancient ruins that have some kind of interest by the Rhinos and the Buzzers. They are told to stay away from these ruins until they can get teams of scientists into them to determine how they relate to these two alien species. One of the Intel teams will be lead by Commander Kathy Marsh, who happens to be in a very close relationship to Major Shawn Davies. Commander March is going to take a team forward to one of the ruin sites, but the weather over the island is getting increasingly ugly.
So, operations are taking place on the island as they should just before the weather really hits hard. This storm is unlike anything the humans have ever seen. They will have to hunker down and turn off all electronics which will make them blind until the storm passes in about three to four days! Eventually, they get through that only to find the Buzzers starting to stir.
Then one of Capt. Sandhurst’s ATLAS ground troops spots a huge flying alien circling a specific spot on the ridge-line. She asks if they can get some kind of UAV up to see what’s there. The Intel units take the lead and do send a UAV up. It spots something that is definitely not supposed to be there. Plans are then developed to destroy whatever it is and see if it has any effect on the Buzzers.
So, there’s going to be a lot of engagements in this book. Various units are going to come under attack but the author has some idea of how combat arms are supposed to work. He’s got air cover with two Air Wings operating on each side of the major island spire. They have aircraft that can secure the skies and help the ground troops as they should. Except on Air Wing has the wrong commander and that’s going to be a problem.
I really like that there are a lot of authentic sounding use of radios and communications throughout the book. Yeah, they have things that aren’t even developed right now, but most of it is stuff that should be coming in the future. Getting UAVs up to allow the ground forces to actually see the land they will fight and maneuver on is going to be a tremendous asset. Still, not everything works perfectly. The enemy doesn’t do what we want in most all cases and that can result in the deaths of troops that should have been protected. This book doesn’t shy away from that. We’re going to loose characters that have been around awhile so get prepared for that.
I don’t exactly know why this book was entitled “Fury of Heaven” since all the action takes place on the island of Paradise. But, that’s for the author to figure out. I’m really looking forward to book 6, “Against the Swarm”, which won’t be out until 8 September 2026! Wow! That’s almost a whole year away! Just gotta’ wait, I guess!
==[Note: As of 12/03/2023, this will not be published on Amazon since I have been banned from posting reviews for some unknown reason. Once the ban is lifted, assuming it does get lifted, I’ll go back and post this to Amazon.]==
October 1, 2025
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. As well as all the books in this series from book one. I can honestly say I can recommend it and all the previous book to anyone. BUT… As I looked into the information about the next book I saw it was over a year until its availability. While I have enjoyed the Authors efforts in his storyline I don’t think I will be waiting that long for the next installment. This may very well be the end of the line for me. Maybe he’s involved in putting out other stories and titles (everyone needs to make a living after all) but I don’t think I want to wait for October 2026 to see how the next installment turns out. It just seems a little in excess to me. If I notice it at release time I may or may not be interested in it. I give the Author 4 Stars for this book. But I give him ONE Star for his progress and expectation of how long a reader must wait for a next book in an obviously popular series. Thank you for your time and effort in reading this review.
September 19, 2025
Relationships, war, politics, and questions!
I'm still following the story and because of questions cab only give this iteration 4 stars. Maintaining relationships, in time of war, especially between military members, is inherently a difficult propersition. Politicians attempting to armchair quarterback military operations has always been another source of frustration during war. Unanswered questions, that put lives and the future at stake, are all in this book; nuff said!!!
I'm still following the story and because of questions cab only give this iteration 4 stars. Maintaining relationships, in time of war, especially between military members, is inherently a difficult propersition. Politicians attempting to armchair quarterback military operations has always been another source of frustration during war. Unanswered questions, that put lives and the future at stake, are all in this book; nuff said!!!
September 24, 2025
Excellent
Reads like an after action report. Have occasion to read same from Patton HQ while before and after battle of the bulge friends father was with him wrote them up. Keep up the good work
Reads like an after action report. Have occasion to read same from Patton HQ while before and after battle of the bulge friends father was with him wrote them up. Keep up the good work
September 29, 2025
more of the same
Good writer. Story continues, heavy on repetition. Emphasis on very detailed reporting of mechanical action sequences with minor to moderate character involvement and development.
Good writer. Story continues, heavy on repetition. Emphasis on very detailed reporting of mechanical action sequences with minor to moderate character involvement and development.
September 17, 2025
The plot thickens
The Buzzer War might just be my favorite series right now. The characters are compelling, combat scenes intense, and no character is safe from the whims of glory.
The Buzzer War might just be my favorite series right now. The characters are compelling, combat scenes intense, and no character is safe from the whims of glory.
September 26, 2025
Good addition to series
Good book. Keeps the story moving. Slows a bit with some of the in the background story. But main story line is great.
Good book. Keeps the story moving. Slows a bit with some of the in the background story. But main story line is great.
October 1, 2025
Military science fiction at its best.
October 10, 2025
I. Love this series
The characters, the story line, all are grist for my mill. I'm a-twitter waiting for the next installment. I see expect to encounter another species soo n.
The characters, the story line, all are grist for my mill. I'm a-twitter waiting for the next installment. I see expect to encounter another species soo n.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews