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Paladin #2
Paladin 2: Battleborn
- GenresScience Fiction
275 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 24, 2026
43 people are currently reading
4 people want to read
About the author
Kevin McLaughlin
36 books83 followersFor the Fantasy/Sci-fi/Litrpg author, try Kevin O. McLaughlin
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 25, 2026
Nakatomi Plaza with Spacecraft
I was waiting for Kira to say yippee ki-yay. Bad guys in body armor, an enhanced Hans Gruber wannabe plus Kira fighting in a swimsuit. Loved it!
I was waiting for Kira to say yippee ki-yay. Bad guys in body armor, an enhanced Hans Gruber wannabe plus Kira fighting in a swimsuit. Loved it!
March 1, 2026
The action is solid, the plot is problematic
The main characters make decisions based on emotion, with very little strategy or planning.
In the middle of a firefight, the leader makes announcements for dramatic impact rather than preparing his team with the information they need ahead of times so they can do their job the best and have the best chance of succeeding. If this was a real story, the boss would be a passive aggressive a hole, and micro manager. In this case, it’s pretty clear that it’s done for dramatic impact on the reader.
Overall, the tactical decisions of the “experienced mercenary“ who’s doing security on the planet are laughable.
The fact that they have a high profile event in a secure space and no one’s getting checked for weapons is ridiculous.
There’s a moment of set up where Keira is placed in the most vulnerable possible position with no weapons or tools. That scene is telegraphed literally from the first moment she walks into the building.
At the end of the book, we hand wave in the whole sort of new characters whose motivations make no sense, and whose political realities don’t map to any kind of sustainable system.
TL;DR: the author is good at character building and action scenes. Not very good at planning or keeping the story realistic enough not to jar the reader when it comes to strategy and human decision-making.
This reads more like YA novel then something aimed at adults.
I may read stuff by this author again, but I’m probably not gonna read more in the series unless I’m desperate
The main characters make decisions based on emotion, with very little strategy or planning.
In the middle of a firefight, the leader makes announcements for dramatic impact rather than preparing his team with the information they need ahead of times so they can do their job the best and have the best chance of succeeding. If this was a real story, the boss would be a passive aggressive a hole, and micro manager. In this case, it’s pretty clear that it’s done for dramatic impact on the reader.
Overall, the tactical decisions of the “experienced mercenary“ who’s doing security on the planet are laughable.
The fact that they have a high profile event in a secure space and no one’s getting checked for weapons is ridiculous.
There’s a moment of set up where Keira is placed in the most vulnerable possible position with no weapons or tools. That scene is telegraphed literally from the first moment she walks into the building.
At the end of the book, we hand wave in the whole sort of new characters whose motivations make no sense, and whose political realities don’t map to any kind of sustainable system.
TL;DR: the author is good at character building and action scenes. Not very good at planning or keeping the story realistic enough not to jar the reader when it comes to strategy and human decision-making.
This reads more like YA novel then something aimed at adults.
I may read stuff by this author again, but I’m probably not gonna read more in the series unless I’m desperate
April 30, 2026
Sci-Fi "Die Hard"
It's Die Hard 1, with a female protagonist. We even have the blonde long haired lead mercenary and the fights in the air ducts
Get passed all of that and it's a good read. Kira does what she's good at and fights against massive odds. The Dauntless and crew are there to help out along the way and it all ends almost exactly as DH1 does, even down to the car ramming
I can only assume the author wanted the similarities to be this obvious
Interestingly the last few chapters not only give some insight to Kira's past, but also the Dauntless and crew and what is most likely going to be the focus of book 3. Can't wait
It's Die Hard 1, with a female protagonist. We even have the blonde long haired lead mercenary and the fights in the air ducts
Get passed all of that and it's a good read. Kira does what she's good at and fights against massive odds. The Dauntless and crew are there to help out along the way and it all ends almost exactly as DH1 does, even down to the car ramming
I can only assume the author wanted the similarities to be this obvious
Interestingly the last few chapters not only give some insight to Kira's past, but also the Dauntless and crew and what is most likely going to be the focus of book 3. Can't wait
May 6, 2026
Seems ripe for a few more books!
We meet Kira early in the book yet don’t truly understand her at the end of this book. However just as Kira begins to learn more about her abilities & potential origins, we are given glimpses into her background along with a very small amount of data regarding how she came to possess her augmented abilities.
The author chooses to keep us ignorant of the full scope of both. I’m looking forward to reading the next book so I can learn more about her & her world.
We meet Kira early in the book yet don’t truly understand her at the end of this book. However just as Kira begins to learn more about her abilities & potential origins, we are given glimpses into her background along with a very small amount of data regarding how she came to possess her augmented abilities.
The author chooses to keep us ignorant of the full scope of both. I’m looking forward to reading the next book so I can learn more about her & her world.
March 8, 2026
If you're a Fan of the movie Die hard....
Not a bad read, but a little bit too much of a knockoff of Nakatomi Plaza.
If you can picture the movie Die Hard, in the future, on another planet and involving spaceships. That's this book.
Hopefully, the next book in the series will be a little bit more original.
Not a bad read, but a little bit too much of a knockoff of Nakatomi Plaza.
If you can picture the movie Die Hard, in the future, on another planet and involving spaceships. That's this book.
Hopefully, the next book in the series will be a little bit more original.
March 4, 2026
A Great SiFi Story
I started reading this story at the beginning of this, 'book 2' and never felt that I was missing out on information until near the end. I was then led to get book 1 of this story, which I did. So, a very well written story that was fun to enjoy.
I started reading this story at the beginning of this, 'book 2' and never felt that I was missing out on information until near the end. I was then led to get book 1 of this story, which I did. So, a very well written story that was fun to enjoy.
March 19, 2026
Excellent
But I got bored after Kira (who you sometimes stupidly wrote as "Kara") didn't kill the main bad guy when she had the clear chance (the scene in the office). And that caused me to begin scanning... Which is a real book killer for me. So bye bye.
But I got bored after Kira (who you sometimes stupidly wrote as "Kara") didn't kill the main bad guy when she had the clear chance (the scene in the office). And that caused me to begin scanning... Which is a real book killer for me. So bye bye.
March 23, 2026
Die Hard on another world.
Quick read and interesting hero, but lazy writing. Plot is straight steal from Die Hard. Cliche of avoiding bad guys by moving through vents is laughable.
Quick read and interesting hero, but lazy writing. Plot is straight steal from Die Hard. Cliche of avoiding bad guys by moving through vents is laughable.
February 28, 2026
Great Read
I throughly enjoyed this book. It had a good story line and kept me interested throughout the entire story. I recommend reading this book.
I throughly enjoyed this book. It had a good story line and kept me interested throughout the entire story. I recommend reading this book.
April 21, 2026
and the game continues
More secrets are revealed more battles, more plots to unravel.. what more could you want highly recommend Brittany anyone who likes a good story
More secrets are revealed more battles, more plots to unravel.. what more could you want highly recommend Brittany anyone who likes a good story
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews