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Chronicles of Promise Paen #2
Indomitable
Promise Paen, commander of Victor Company's mechanized armored infantry, is back for another adventure protecting the Republic of Aligned Worlds.
Lieutenant Paen barely survived her last encounter with the Lusitanian Empire. She's returned home to heal. But the nightmares won't stop. And she's got a newly reconstituted unit of green marines to whip into shape before they deploy. If the enemies of the RAW don't kill them first, she just might do the job herself.
Light-years away, on the edge of the Verge, a massive vein of rare ore is discovered on the mining planet of Sheol, which ignites an arms race and a proxy war between the Republic and the Lusitanians. Paen and Victor Company are ordered to Sheol, to reinforce the planet and hold it at all costs.
On the eve of their deployment, a friendly fire incident occurs, putting Paen's career in jeopardy and stripping her of her command. When the Lusitanians send mercenaries to raid Sheol and destabilize its mining operations, matters reach crisis levels. Disgraced and angry, Promise is offered one shot to get back into her mechsuit. But she'll have to jump across the galaxy and possibly storm the gates of hell itself.
Lieutenant Paen barely survived her last encounter with the Lusitanian Empire. She's returned home to heal. But the nightmares won't stop. And she's got a newly reconstituted unit of green marines to whip into shape before they deploy. If the enemies of the RAW don't kill them first, she just might do the job herself.
Light-years away, on the edge of the Verge, a massive vein of rare ore is discovered on the mining planet of Sheol, which ignites an arms race and a proxy war between the Republic and the Lusitanians. Paen and Victor Company are ordered to Sheol, to reinforce the planet and hold it at all costs.
On the eve of their deployment, a friendly fire incident occurs, putting Paen's career in jeopardy and stripping her of her command. When the Lusitanians send mercenaries to raid Sheol and destabilize its mining operations, matters reach crisis levels. Disgraced and angry, Promise is offered one shot to get back into her mechsuit. But she'll have to jump across the galaxy and possibly storm the gates of hell itself.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published July 26, 2016
19 people are currently reading
468 people want to read
About the author
W.C. Bauers
10 books68 followersW. C. Bauers is a boy-dad, speaker, believer, bibliophile, and author of children's books and science fiction. His works include the TINY BIBLE TALES, and UNBREAKABLE and INDOMITABLE (both Promise Paen novels).
Bauers' first novel, UNBREAKABLE, was an Amazon and B&N, Science Fiction & Fantasy Best Book-of-the-Month pick. His second, INDOMITABLE, was a B&N, i09, and Kirkus Best of the Month Pick. The novels feature Promise Paen - a blend of Katee Sackhoff's Starbuck meets STARSHIP TROOPERS, with a dash of Summer Glau from FIREFLY.
Bauers lives in the Rocky Mountains with his three sons.
Bauers' first novel, UNBREAKABLE, was an Amazon and B&N, Science Fiction & Fantasy Best Book-of-the-Month pick. His second, INDOMITABLE, was a B&N, i09, and Kirkus Best of the Month Pick. The novels feature Promise Paen - a blend of Katee Sackhoff's Starbuck meets STARSHIP TROOPERS, with a dash of Summer Glau from FIREFLY.
Bauers lives in the Rocky Mountains with his three sons.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
July 30, 2016
Originally published at Reading Reality
Her name may be an absolutely terrible pun, but Promise T. Paen’s story is absolutely terrific. And her strength of will is exactly as the title states, indomitable.
The cold war between the Lusitanian Empire and the Republic of Aligned Worlds is definitely heating up in this second book in the Chronicles of Promise Paen. And Promise, and her Marines are in the thick of the action.
Even when Promise isn’t supposed to be.
The story begins with Promise as a still raw but very promising (puns all intended) Lieutenant in the RAW-MC. That’s the Republic of Aligned Worlds Marine Corps to the rest of us.
Promise is who and what Torin Kerr in Tanya Huff’s Confederation series would have been if the Gunny had ever accepted any of the many, many invitations she received to go to Officer Candidate School.
When Promise’s time came, she didn’t feel she had much of a choice. In her first story, Unbreakable, Promise accepts a field commission when her Captain and Lieutenant are taken out of the fight, and she is left as the highest-ranking noncommissioned officer in her company. But now that they’ve been through hell together, the janes and jacks of Victor Company are Promise’s Marines.
Even after they take them away from her.
The story in Indomitable is all about Promise’s fall and rise, in that order. And how she copes (and often doesn’t) with the survivor’s guilt that haunts her sleep and dogs her at every step. Because war is coming, and Promise is one of the few officers who is willing to look at the oncoming storm, see it for what it is, and still run forwards to meet it.
Escape Rating A-: I loved this book, but I don’t want to give too much of the plot away. If you love military SF or military space opera, get this series, and start with Unbreakable. You won’t be sorry.
For this reader, the Chronicles of Promise Paen read like a combination of Tanya Huff’s Confederation series and David Weber’s Honor Harrington. While Promise as a character is much, much closer to Torin Kerr, the setting owes a lot to the Honorverse, at least so far. The conflict that is spinning up between the Lusies and RAW reads too much like the war between Haven and Manticore in the Honorverse to feel like coincidence. At the same time, it is entirely possible that both stories are drawing from the same source material – the Napoleonic Wars. We’ll just have to wait and see on that.
So far, we haven’t seen a lot about the motives of the Lusies. They are fighting a proxy war, and they are gobbling up territory, while winning the public relations war. There are also some pointed callbacks to our history, as the peace movement in RAW directly reflects some of the “peace in our time” rhetoric before our World War II.
There’s a lot going on in this book. On the surface, the action is all about guerrilla warfare on a fringe world. The Lusies are again using proxies, just as in Unbreakable. RAW is forced to send in its own overstretched and under-strength troops, and the effects are predictably devastating. To call the situation a FUBAR is understating the scope of the clusterf**k by several degrees of magnitude.
At the same time, we see the impacts of events back home, as powerful individuals attempt to block defense spending, oust anyone in favor of building up the fleet, and paint a big, fat target on Promise’s back. She’s playing in the big leagues, whether she planned to or not.
And because we see inside of Promise’s head, we see her doubts and her fears. She knows she’s been much more lucky than she has been good, and we feel her wondering if she has done enough. If she has been enough. We feel for her pain, and we see her grow, change and marginally cope.
In the end, the story is about Promise dealing with the hand she is dealt, and finally deciding to play it for all she’s worth. No matter the cost. Indomitable is filled with nearly non-stop action, but it ends on a pause, as Promise waits to take up her latest challenge.
I can hardly wait to see what she tackles (and what tackles her) next.
Her name may be an absolutely terrible pun, but Promise T. Paen’s story is absolutely terrific. And her strength of will is exactly as the title states, indomitable.
The cold war between the Lusitanian Empire and the Republic of Aligned Worlds is definitely heating up in this second book in the Chronicles of Promise Paen. And Promise, and her Marines are in the thick of the action.
Even when Promise isn’t supposed to be.
The story begins with Promise as a still raw but very promising (puns all intended) Lieutenant in the RAW-MC. That’s the Republic of Aligned Worlds Marine Corps to the rest of us.
Promise is who and what Torin Kerr in Tanya Huff’s Confederation series would have been if the Gunny had ever accepted any of the many, many invitations she received to go to Officer Candidate School.
When Promise’s time came, she didn’t feel she had much of a choice. In her first story, Unbreakable, Promise accepts a field commission when her Captain and Lieutenant are taken out of the fight, and she is left as the highest-ranking noncommissioned officer in her company. But now that they’ve been through hell together, the janes and jacks of Victor Company are Promise’s Marines.
Even after they take them away from her.
The story in Indomitable is all about Promise’s fall and rise, in that order. And how she copes (and often doesn’t) with the survivor’s guilt that haunts her sleep and dogs her at every step. Because war is coming, and Promise is one of the few officers who is willing to look at the oncoming storm, see it for what it is, and still run forwards to meet it.
Escape Rating A-: I loved this book, but I don’t want to give too much of the plot away. If you love military SF or military space opera, get this series, and start with Unbreakable. You won’t be sorry.
For this reader, the Chronicles of Promise Paen read like a combination of Tanya Huff’s Confederation series and David Weber’s Honor Harrington. While Promise as a character is much, much closer to Torin Kerr, the setting owes a lot to the Honorverse, at least so far. The conflict that is spinning up between the Lusies and RAW reads too much like the war between Haven and Manticore in the Honorverse to feel like coincidence. At the same time, it is entirely possible that both stories are drawing from the same source material – the Napoleonic Wars. We’ll just have to wait and see on that.
So far, we haven’t seen a lot about the motives of the Lusies. They are fighting a proxy war, and they are gobbling up territory, while winning the public relations war. There are also some pointed callbacks to our history, as the peace movement in RAW directly reflects some of the “peace in our time” rhetoric before our World War II.
There’s a lot going on in this book. On the surface, the action is all about guerrilla warfare on a fringe world. The Lusies are again using proxies, just as in Unbreakable. RAW is forced to send in its own overstretched and under-strength troops, and the effects are predictably devastating. To call the situation a FUBAR is understating the scope of the clusterf**k by several degrees of magnitude.
At the same time, we see the impacts of events back home, as powerful individuals attempt to block defense spending, oust anyone in favor of building up the fleet, and paint a big, fat target on Promise’s back. She’s playing in the big leagues, whether she planned to or not.
And because we see inside of Promise’s head, we see her doubts and her fears. She knows she’s been much more lucky than she has been good, and we feel her wondering if she has done enough. If she has been enough. We feel for her pain, and we see her grow, change and marginally cope.
In the end, the story is about Promise dealing with the hand she is dealt, and finally deciding to play it for all she’s worth. No matter the cost. Indomitable is filled with nearly non-stop action, but it ends on a pause, as Promise waits to take up her latest challenge.
I can hardly wait to see what she tackles (and what tackles her) next.
August 13, 2017
DNF.
The characterizations and dialogue are better in this book than the first in the series, but the plot bogged down in explaining too much of the politics, and I lost interest. I prefer character-driven novels where the world extends off the page ... this book was unsatisfying in that regard, as it felt like things happened to advance the plot / create action, rather than because the world demanded it.
The characterizations and dialogue are better in this book than the first in the series, but the plot bogged down in explaining too much of the politics, and I lost interest. I prefer character-driven novels where the world extends off the page ... this book was unsatisfying in that regard, as it felt like things happened to advance the plot / create action, rather than because the world demanded it.
July 29, 2016
While I loved the first book this one seemed to be a series of connected novellas. Different stories being told with the same characters within the same series but feeling separate. Definitely a middle book where it's a stepping stone to something else rather than closure in itself.
I'm still sold on the series and will read more.
I'm still sold on the series and will read more.
May 5, 2017
Full of adventure, battles & 'Hoo-rah,' this second of the series I found a bit of a letdown from Unbreakable. Lt Paen is burning nonstop, both domestically & at work, manages to lose a soldier in a peacetime training op, and ends up losing command of 'her' company.
A bit of a transition novel to set up book 3, I believe.
A bit of a transition novel to set up book 3, I believe.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 10, 2016
Good read
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March 9, 2019
Not as good as the first one
January 15, 2020
(Spoiler Alert)
The book picks up almost right where the first one leaves off. The book starts with Promise going through a nightmare of all the soldiers who died under command (ie the ones at the battle of Montana). After that psychotic session, she has a lovely conversation with her mother. Then she starts running PT with the Company. The company is remarked to be too green and doesn't pass combat readiness standards. The Company is then deployed on a training exercise on Mt. Bane, Exercise is notorious for its failure rate. It is later learned that the exercise is meant to create a negative exercise outcome. However, after losing 90% of her unit strength, she miraculously beats the exercise. However, this results in the death of Gunnery Sergeant Ramuel. Promise is then called before a senate committee to justify her actions that resulted in the death of the gunnery sergeant. Victor Company is then deployed to Sheol a planet that is rich in a mineral that is key to a new armor the RAW MC (the Republic of Allied Worlds Marine Corps) is developing. What follows is the second massacre of men under Promise's command. (including Montana).In the end, Promise loses a finger and Kathy loses an arm. Then after a heartfelt goodbye from her company, she is then grounded for a few months. Then she is offered to join SPECOPS (Special Operations Forces).
I find this to be one of the best Military Science Fiction books out there. I believe this because it deals with real-life topics like PTSD and Survivor's guilt. It also brings in a philosophical aspect in the Senate hearings."That may be true, depending on your point of view, of course. But we are not at war, Lieutenant, a fact I must constantly remind some of my fellow senators of" We are not YET at war, Senator"(127). I personally must agree with Promise on this front, I believe that we should always have a military on standby. However, I am not advocating a country run by the military. My position on this matter is summed up perfectly, "War is too important to be left to the politician. they have neither the time, the training, nor the inclination for strategic thought"(Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper, Dr. Strangelove). This just means that I believe that it should be up to the generals when we are at war, not the politicians. This book also explores how nobody truly wins a war they only survive. This is exemplified by the deteriorating mental state and post-traumatic stress disorder of Promise. This all in all is one of the best Military science fiction books I have ever read.
The book picks up almost right where the first one leaves off. The book starts with Promise going through a nightmare of all the soldiers who died under command (ie the ones at the battle of Montana). After that psychotic session, she has a lovely conversation with her mother. Then she starts running PT with the Company. The company is remarked to be too green and doesn't pass combat readiness standards. The Company is then deployed on a training exercise on Mt. Bane, Exercise is notorious for its failure rate. It is later learned that the exercise is meant to create a negative exercise outcome. However, after losing 90% of her unit strength, she miraculously beats the exercise. However, this results in the death of Gunnery Sergeant Ramuel. Promise is then called before a senate committee to justify her actions that resulted in the death of the gunnery sergeant. Victor Company is then deployed to Sheol a planet that is rich in a mineral that is key to a new armor the RAW MC (the Republic of Allied Worlds Marine Corps) is developing. What follows is the second massacre of men under Promise's command. (including Montana).In the end, Promise loses a finger and Kathy loses an arm. Then after a heartfelt goodbye from her company, she is then grounded for a few months. Then she is offered to join SPECOPS (Special Operations Forces).
I find this to be one of the best Military Science Fiction books out there. I believe this because it deals with real-life topics like PTSD and Survivor's guilt. It also brings in a philosophical aspect in the Senate hearings."That may be true, depending on your point of view, of course. But we are not at war, Lieutenant, a fact I must constantly remind some of my fellow senators of" We are not YET at war, Senator"(127). I personally must agree with Promise on this front, I believe that we should always have a military on standby. However, I am not advocating a country run by the military. My position on this matter is summed up perfectly, "War is too important to be left to the politician. they have neither the time, the training, nor the inclination for strategic thought"(Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper, Dr. Strangelove). This just means that I believe that it should be up to the generals when we are at war, not the politicians. This book also explores how nobody truly wins a war they only survive. This is exemplified by the deteriorating mental state and post-traumatic stress disorder of Promise. This all in all is one of the best Military science fiction books I have ever read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 18, 2024
First I’ll mention I did not finish the book. Maybe I’ll go back and finish another time. The writing style was fine. I enjoyed the first book well enough. My problem with this book was the plot or lack of. I agree with another reviewer who stated that the book felt more like a collection of novellas vs a full novel. When I stopped reading the book, it was in the middle of the 3rd sub plot of the book to that point. I was about halfway through the book as a whole. Most annoying part is when I realized that 3rd sub plot had no point to it and didn’t go anywhere. Further research showed me that the book would end suggesting a continuing storyline, yet 8 yrs later there is no further book in the series.
Overall very disappointing 2nd book after a promising first book.
Overall very disappointing 2nd book after a promising first book.
Read
August 13, 2020The main character's mother's ghost irritated me the hell out of this book. You never know if the main character is just cracked up crazy, or she somehow sees her mom's ghost. Regardless, it got on my nerves to the max. She's trying to meet her new CO for the first time, and the ghost is actively fucking her up. I give. It's about as bad as stories that have talking pets or stupid AIs that seems like talking pets.
June 2, 2017
Goodreads win
This book felt over the top. At times hard to follow. I will admit I have not read the first book. Besides that i really enjoyed the characters and world that was between these pages.
This book felt over the top. At times hard to follow. I will admit I have not read the first book. Besides that i really enjoyed the characters and world that was between these pages.
January 9, 2018
This is the second book of who knows how many. I liked both books in the series. Kind of a gritty look at what future interstellar armored combat would be. The book is a quick easy read. After reading some 1000+ epics this was a fun change of pace.
October 17, 2020
Seems like a decent follow up
Not as good as the first. But it’s a good transitional book and shows the progress of promise. I will definitely be waiting for the next one.
Not as good as the first. But it’s a good transitional book and shows the progress of promise. I will definitely be waiting for the next one.
November 20, 2021
I do wish there was a #3 forthcoming. [not overly excited, however, by the mother's role]
November 17, 2016
A quick over the top romp with the RAW-MC.
August 16, 2017
This was a good story of a young military woman in the Marines. Fairly well told, with several good action scenes. We see more of Promise's pigheadedness get her into trouble, and we some more of the cracks in Promise's armor.
Promise is smart seeking the help of someone who can help her work through her problems. As someone who suffers PTSD nightmares as well, I can empathize with her.
We see that Promise carries her dead with her like all good officers. I like the way that she memorializes those she lost. She truly cares for her troops, and does not squander them needlessly.
No real love interest in this book unlike the first, so if you are seeking romance this book lacks it. As a young, career-minded woman, Promise does not have time for romance. She so far, has not engaged in any kind of sex. I thought perhaps with the young girl she rescues that there might have been some lesbian sex as it seemed the young lady offered herself to Promise.
For a new author, I thought (imagine eye roll) here we go Promise is going to have her first encounter with a woman, and the author is going to write a typical hetero male lesbian fantasy. I was pleasantly surprised that as not what happened.
I admire Promise moral compass. She does not engage in meaningless sex, one night stands, or is promiscuous unlike characters in other books I have read. Possibly an undercurrent of religious bent there with her father being rather devout.
I hope the second book comes out soon as I would like to see where the author takes Promise next. I also wonder how many more Promise books the author has planned and what the story arc looks like.
Promise is smart seeking the help of someone who can help her work through her problems. As someone who suffers PTSD nightmares as well, I can empathize with her.
We see that Promise carries her dead with her like all good officers. I like the way that she memorializes those she lost. She truly cares for her troops, and does not squander them needlessly.
No real love interest in this book unlike the first, so if you are seeking romance this book lacks it. As a young, career-minded woman, Promise does not have time for romance. She so far, has not engaged in any kind of sex. I thought perhaps with the young girl she rescues that there might have been some lesbian sex as it seemed the young lady offered herself to Promise.
For a new author, I thought (imagine eye roll) here we go Promise is going to have her first encounter with a woman, and the author is going to write a typical hetero male lesbian fantasy. I was pleasantly surprised that as not what happened.
I admire Promise moral compass. She does not engage in meaningless sex, one night stands, or is promiscuous unlike characters in other books I have read. Possibly an undercurrent of religious bent there with her father being rather devout.
I hope the second book comes out soon as I would like to see where the author takes Promise next. I also wonder how many more Promise books the author has planned and what the story arc looks like.
August 4, 2016
I read the first book in this series and thought it was a pretty good start. This is the second in the series and I absolutely loved it! The ground pounding action is what I really love in a military sci fi read and this story had plenty of it. I also enjoyed the emotional side and internal turmoil of the main character in particular, and the interaction between rank. I didn't want the story to end and I cannot wait to read the next one. The only issue I had was occasionally having to reread the odd sentence or paragraph to determine what was actually being said or conveyed. I like the author's writing style but there was a few places where I wasn't catching the drift of the conversation. This was few and far between however.
December 3, 2016
Lt. Paen has been tasked with bringing the Viper unit up speed and fast as they are needed on Sheol. But a wargaming incident turns into a political boondoggle that lands her on political hit list. Then a forced off-world vacation lands her in more hot water, a reprimand, and a roommate. After Paen and the Vipers land on Sheol, they are immediately attacked by insurgents, and end up on the short end of the stick, again. Paen manages to save the day, but at a cost in bodily injury. Plenty of build-up to very quick action sequences. I need to go back and read the first book in the series.
September 22, 2016
Excellent story.
Not your normal military sci fi storyline but yet it feels familiar while your reading.
Not your normal military sci fi storyline but yet it feels familiar while your reading.
January 30, 2017
nice variation to the "usual" future military action thriller--I enjoyed the psychological aspects added by W. C. Bauers
April 18, 2017
The second book in the series, the character gets caught up in some political shenanigans, which slows the action a bit, and also loses some of the nuance of the elements that are truly supposed to be affecting her and her comrades. It builds up toward the end, but a decent amount of action occurs 'off-screen', with the main character side-lined. It was a really odd choice for a mil-SF book.
It's a bit of a sophomore slump, but still a decent read.
It's a bit of a sophomore slump, but still a decent read.
September 4, 2017
Not quite as good as the first book. It took a looong time to ramp up to the main storyline of the book. And by the time the main conflict kicked in, I thought it was a prelude - until I ran out of pages.
[spoiler alert] Still a good thriller, but I wish Bauers had gotten a bit more into how their robots were hacked, and explored that side of the plot a lot more. It was just kinda one of those 'oh yeah, and all the military robots got hacked, killed a ton of people. Because that happens.' Right...
I'm gonna treat this as a filler. If/when the third book comes out, I think it's going to be set up really well, based on all that happened in this book.
[spoiler alert] Still a good thriller, but I wish Bauers had gotten a bit more into how their robots were hacked, and explored that side of the plot a lot more. It was just kinda one of those 'oh yeah, and all the military robots got hacked, killed a ton of people. Because that happens.' Right...
I'm gonna treat this as a filler. If/when the third book comes out, I think it's going to be set up really well, based on all that happened in this book.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews