Unlawful Orders: A Military Sci-Fi Adventure

by Rick Partlow

Bestseller Rick Partlow is back with an explosive military science fiction adventure filled with tactical space combat.

To save the future, he must stand against his own Fleet.

Cole Ransom, Captain of the ICA cruiser Mistral, is a man with a checkered past and a crew of misfits held together by loyalty and stolen parts. He's made a career bending the rules.

And after being blamed for an incident that nearly restarted a galactic war, he's used to being the Fleet’s favorite scapegoat.

But when a routine investigation leads Cole to stumble upon a conspiracy that reaches the highest levels of the United Systems Senate, everything changes.

He's the only thing standing between a rogue supersoldier program built from illegal human augmentation and a cyborg army.

Hunted across outlaw worlds and outgunned at every turn, Cole must decide how far he's willing to go—and what he's willing to sacrifice—to stop a war no one is ready for.

The orders are illegal. The mission is suicide. The Captain is a Renegade.

Jump into the next epic military science fiction series from Rick Partlow (Drop Trooper), filled with tactical space fleet combat, realistic military strategy, explosive action, and heroes you can't help but root for.

This is military Sci-Fi the way it's meant to be!

421 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 14, 2026

About the author

Rick Partlow is that rarest of species, a native Floridian. Born in Tampa, he attended Florida Southern College and graduated with a degree in History and a commission in the US Army as an Infantry officer.
His lifelong love of science fiction began with Have Space Suit---Will Travel and the other Heinlein juveniles and traveled through Clifford Simak, Asimov, Clarke and on to William Gibson, Walter Jon Williams and Peter F Hamilton. And somewhere, submerged in the worlds of others, Rick began to create his own worlds.
He has written over 70 books in over a dozen different series, and his short stories have been included in many different anthologies.

He currently lives in norther Wyoming with his wife and their dog. Besides writing and reading science fiction and fantasy, he enjoys outdoor photography, hiking and camping.

Reviews

[Meenaz Lodhi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent start to a new series by Rick Partlow I will definitely follow. From beginning to end, it kept me on my toes

5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Brian Easley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Action packed space thriller

Very fun. Nonstop action. Characters that grow. Excellent plot with exciting twists. Patlow never fails to deliver. Try his other series as well.

[Ichiro · Rating 2 out of 5]

Absolute blast of a first third, paint-by-numbers final third

Partlow knows how to do a rollicking adventure, but the final third of the story was kinda uninspired. No real surprises; some villains chewing scenery. If you go in expecting that, it's fine.

There was a bit too much of phrases in the form, "It's not X--it's Y," which has been popping up in writing a lot these days. If that sticks out to you, it'll really begin to bug you here.

[Muyojoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great characters

I spent ten years in the Navy on thirty year old ships, and these characters feel like home. The characters, universe, science, and story are great and thought provoking.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Partlow writes old-school space opera that will keep you turning pages if you don’t ask too many questions. Cole Ransom—got to love a macho name like that—is a disgraced starship officer who is sent on a dangerous mission with a mismatched crew. His first officer, Lyra Vale, had a strict moral education in The Way of Resonance and has been assigned to watchdog Ransom. He is a bad influence on her, or a good one, if you ask Ransom.

[Phil X. Katz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mr. Partlow Does it Again

I have no idea where Rick Partlow gets his inspiration, his understanding of astrophysics, or his command of battle tactics, but I'm grateful for them all.

Mr. Partlow writes books that are very difficult for me to put down, and this is no exception.

Take your seat, buckle your harness, and strap in for an adventure that doesn't end until the last page has been turned!

[Richard Beal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written science fiction and great plot

Enjoyed reading this. Science fiction book. Interesting characters will thought out plot. Looking forward to reading book two of this series.

[William Newbury · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed it but should describe action more

I liked the characters but was kind of disappointed at the end because the action was a little boring. Could have been more exciting and descriptive. I’ll still read the second book thought

[Robert Cabrera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story and even better writing. Good character buildup throughout and none of them are safe.

[Marta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn’t put it down. There were some parts I rushed through because seriously, we are in a crisis, do I really need that much description???

[Samuel Sweetser · Rating 4 out of 5]

good read but to many heroes

Good story but hard to follow all the heroes and kinda lost interest because of it. Overall a good read and I’ll try the follow on book.

[Kenneth Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Enjoyable

It’s not the absolute best Written book (the flux drive thing gets too much time), but it’s definitely a First Class Story! Great characters, interesting universe and settings. Good action. I absolutely want to read more. Highly recommended.