True Allegiance

Halberd #3

by John Spearman

The end of the war should bring peace, right?

In the midst of what should be a time of celebration, Halberd is called to duty to respond to a surprise threat. His task force of three Royal Navy ships that employ advanced technology is needed to counter an attack in a non-aligned system. Taking advantage of Halberd’s absence and a Royal Navy weakened by war, the other inter-stellar superpower, the Chinese Republics, invades the Commonwealth.

Provided by a traitor with the technology that provided the Royal Navy with the edge it needed to win the war with the Rodinan Federation, the Republican navy obliterates a good chunk of the fleet, and nearly wins the war in the first battle. Outnumbered, the Commonwealth’s survival is in doubt. The Royal Navy is forced to bring warships out of mothballs in order to mount a defense.

Hope do you keep your hopes alive in the face of such losses?

True Allegiance is the third book in the thrilling Captain Halberd Series. If you love classic military sci-fi with compelling characters, innovative tactics, and explosive space battles, you'll be captivated by John J. Spearman's fast-paced adventure.

Join HMS Cumberland on her maiden voyage and discover what it truly means to lead, to fight, and to win against impossible odds.

Genres: Science Fiction, Military Fiction

337 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 13, 2026

About the author

John Spearman is an award-winning author. In the past, he served a Latin teacher and coach at a prestigious New England boarding school. Before joining the world of academia, Spearman had been a sales and marketing executive for 25 years.

Reviews

[Colin Northmore]

The raw emotion you feel at the end turns this from a good book into a great one

The raw emotion you feel at the end turns this from a good book into a great one. I will not spoil the story for readers starting this story. This book is a masterpiece in its genre. It has all the space battles and derring do that you would expect but then it takes the first three of the trilogy to lead to an emotional rollercoaster that left me feeling breathless.

[Wayne Franklin]

rare

This is one of those rare space operas that takes on a solid ride beginning to end. It is filled with characters that become real with complex personalities. It takes you through emotional developments that you can understand and relate to.

[Chris Johnson]

What can I say. Another ripper of a story that keeps you wanting to know what happens next to your favourite Characters.

[Charles Rosenau]

It's always great to reading these books, Captain Halberd...

I am very much focused upon turning the pages of these books.

Realizing I'm reading faster as time takes me through book 3 now.

Hard to slow down and make it last longer !

Great characters and a very good story line with humor and romance.

Warning though !

The unexspected - is exactly that.... Unexspected !!

But I have found these books very rich in the relationships of true friends who hold to doing what is the right thing to do regardless to any cercumstances....

Love this series much more than I expected.....

Going in to open book 4 now....

CharlesR

[Jim Purcell]

Jonah's success continues personally as well as professionally. Unfortunately, there are now two targets for the bad guys to pursue. Weapons development now requires rethinking their tactical planning and use. Jonah and his fellow admirals manage it well for victories but casualties mount and often can include long-time friends. One enemy falls but the remaining Chinese worlds become a very dangerous threat. Fortunately, episode four is available so I can continue this very readable ad interesting story.

[Sgt Maj]

Started Skimming Book 2, continued thru 3

I should have stopped after first book, but I continued and regret it. Hence the 3 stars that it doesn't deserve,

Bottom line: Reads like a teen male romance fantasy that has uneven pacing, dull action, short on tech n mil and spends more time on fashion, pomp and circumstance. MC isn't very engaging and author is Inconsistent with MC's so-called 'leadership' and tactical skills.

[David Scoins]

errors!

Spoiled by discrete and discreet, by Victoria’s cross (she would have been) and similar lack of attention to detail that a good editor would have spotted. This is not an author issue - fine tale and I’ll read the next one today - but a publisher and support problem. I continue to disbelieve that a ‘customer support specialist’ Will react to any reporting. Should have been four stars.

[Jsmcmullen]

Best of the series so far

This series has grown on me. The battles are still told clinically, but less so than in the earlier books. In fact, there is a whole world of emotion being explored in the non-battle portions, and the characters have grown significantly. On to the next book…

[GREGG CORDELL]

Good read.

This was also a very good book , it kept me up late just to read on to see what would happen next. The book was full of space battles and a few new upgrades in technology that put the good guys ahead a little but they were still up against a good enemy that had studied them well and in the end heart brake happened . On to the next.

[Elwain McKeen Jr]

Excellent series

This series does leave u hanging but also has a good continuance possible , it is spell binding and a tearjerker if you are at all emotional. I thoroughly enjoyed it and am looking for more from this author.

[Dan Donovan]

Good storyteller

I’ve read several books by this author. Once I adapted to his style of writing I found myself thoroughly enjoying his stories. Not too deep, not too political, just right on several levels.

[Jim Sitlington]

A wonderful combination of military, politics and interpersonal relationships

Take Aubrey and Hornblower and add much more complexity.... in a Space Opera.... Wonderful stuff. The meshing of current events in a 1000 years from now environment works.

[Raymond Marshall]

A not total surprise but a little disappointing.

The story is again full of non-stop action and lots of tender moments. The characters continue to become more interesting. The politics are getting more complicated. The plot gets more twisted. A very fun read.

[William Perry]

Halberd series

This series has lots of action and intrigue. The complexity of war is apparent at the level of Admiral. Spearman brings out the complexity without getting bogged down in the details. I enjoyed this book. I was a nice fresh viewpoint.

[Charles Hagberg]

Excellent book

What John Spearman did in this book Was a great thing and great writing And in the main relationship between the hero and his wife I feel he must be talking about his own wife and how he would feel if he lost her the last part of this book is a tearjerker

[Alison Shanahan]

Amazing!

I thoroughly enjoy John Spearman's writing. It's energetic, emotional, politically aware and human. I'm about to start the next book in this series right away.

[Volpot]

3 stars. Simplistic and dry writing. Comes across as if you're reading a 3rd person diary. Or perhaps a history text. Still, there is plenty of space warfare action, so there is that.

[gerald morson]

A brilliant book

Once again a very enjoyable read, john spearman does a fantastic job his storytelling and details are spot on .

[Tony Hisgett]

I began to think that the author was running out of ideas, so he did what every Soap Opera producer does when the rating start to flag, he kills off one of the main characters.

[Cheryl Crockett]

So we'll written

This book was an unexpected emotional rollercoaster. The character development is on point, you're on the ride right next to them.