War Horses Book 6: Sunstone Imperative

by Scott Warren

A long-awaited opportunity for payback against a brutal enemy.
Only a few things in the galaxy can stop the Catalan Archon and Emirs of the Heracles Gulf from each other's throats, and a Wyking Civil War tops that list. When a joint intelligence operation reports a vulnerability in the border systems, it's all hands on deck. Newly promoted Vandal and the rest of the Chevaliers are pulled from their contract to drive a spearhead deep into Wyking tribal territory.

But the tribal raiders have never lost a war on their home turf. It will require new weapons and new ways of waging war if the joint fleet doesn't want to return with a new crew and a coat of savage paint. And it will rely on not just uprights and marines, but a state-of-the-art battle suit made with the sole purpose of overwhelming an unbeatable enemy. Vandal must balance his new responsibilities as a leader with the dangerous new duties on the front lines in order to pull himself and his comrades through dangerous new challenges.

Genres: Science Fiction

238 pages, Paperback

Published January 10, 2026

About the author

More than one author on Goodreads is named Scott Warren.

Reviews

[Daniel Shellenbarger · Rating 4 out of 5]

When an operation to disarm a renegade mercenary company (who were selling arms to the people their employers were paying them to keep in line) goes wrong, our protagonist, Vandal, finds himself unexpectedly (and unwantedly) thrust into a position of command. As if this wasn't enough of a challenge, the Autumn Chevaliers have their contract bought out to participate in a rare joint Templar/Emiri operation against the one thing in the Heracles Gulf that can bring the two ancient enemies together: Wykings. Intelligence believes that the Wykings are in the midst of a massive and convoluted civil war and as such, there is an opportunity to seize a border system to use as a buffer to keep the Wykings bottled up and hopefully prevent them from launching their perennial bloodletting raids. With the two superpowers combining their might, this seems like an easy win, but the Wyking worlds are notoriously tough nuts to crack, particularly since most of the habitations are underground and designed for defense (given that the Wykings are fighting each other as much as outsiders), so a lot of the Templars and Emiris' advantages can't really be brought to bear and fighting generally devolves into bloody corridor brawls favoring the defense, giving time for the Wykings to receive reinforcements. Fortunately, the Allies have not one but two aces in the hole. First, the Emiri have been developing a sort of mini-upright power armor which can be operated in human-sized corridors which would be inaccessible to conventional upright tanks. Second, the Allies have negotiated a cooperation agreement with one of the Wyking factions which is willing to moderate its behavior and rule the border region in exchange for allied support. This is where the Autumn Chevaliers come in as they're practically the only extant group with any history of cooperation with Wykings and, thanks to our protagonist's relationship with the Emiri scientist running the mini-upright development project, they also have an in there. Of course, just because the Allies have a good plan and new weapons and the element of surprise and their enemies are bitterly divided doesn't mean that it's all going to go according to plan...

Another excellent addition to the series, I didn't rate it as highly as Grand Melee just because I thought that book was just pure fun from cover to cover and while this was just as well written, it's not that kind of book, much more gritty and dramatic. As with many great plans, the Allies may have bitten off more than they can chew and Vandal and the Autumn Chevaliers are the ones going to be left trying to hold the line when it all falls apart.

[Justin Wei · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great, not perfect

Solid entry in the series. Continues with the mech action and the minor dramas of semi-military life.

Minor spoiler, underutilized pointing out what makes the Wykings foreign and so good. They have some nice tech, but it feels like their advantage isn't so great that that tech would be a big secret.

A lot of it doesn't make the most sense from a high level. But it's easy to overlook when the main meat of the book is another great entry in the series.

[Scott Fry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great piece. Devouring the series

Literally borrowed the day of release. Read in two days. Enjoying the allusions to ancient Western and Middle East history. Loving the mechs, and the armor suit. Fun work. Great characters.

[Derek L Belcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Non-Stop Action

One of my favorite series and this book didn’t disappoint. El Rascador is starting to come into his own, and I look forward to seeing his arc through completion.

[Camran Hansen]

Good book!

A solid continuation of the series. Keep up the good work, thanks.


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[sean luehmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

Scott Warren is doing a phenomenal job of keeping this setting and plot alive and fresh. I highly recommend enjoying this series.