Blood of Heroes

The Ember War Saga #3

by Richard Fox

The planet Takeni needs a miracle to survive a Xaros invasion. They’ve got the Breitenfeld.
The Xaros, a galaxy wide scourge of murderous drones, have their sites set on a peaceful planet. Against the odds, and the orders of his superiors, Captain Isaac Valdar sends his ship to the planet's defense. The battle against the onslaught can’t be won, and escape with the world's civilians demands a terrible price.

Pressed by an alien fleet and a horrifying foe on the planet’s surface, the Breitenfeld must risk everything for a chance at victory.

Blood of Heroes is the latest installment in this epic military sci-fi series. The Ember War saga continues!

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Space Opera, Military Fiction, Audiobook, Fantasy, Space

218 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 5, 2015

About the author

Richard Fox is a Nebula Award nominated author, and winner of the 2017 Dragon Award for Best Military Science Fiction or Fantasy novel, author of The Ember War Saga, a military science fiction and space opera series, and other novels in the military history, thriller and space opera genres.

He lives in fabulous Las Vegas with his incredible wife and three boys, amazing children bent on anarchy.

He graduated from the United States Military Academy (West Point) much to his surprise and spent ten years on active duty in the United States Army. He deployed on two combat tours to Iraq and received the Combat Action Badge, Bronze Star and Presidential Unit Citation.

The Ember War Saga:
1. The Ember War
2. The Ruins of Anthalas
3. Blood of Heroes
4. Earth Defiant
5. The Gardens of Nibiru
6. Battle of the Void
7. The Siege of Earth
8. The Crucible
9. The Xaros Reckoning

Terran Armored Corps
1. Iron Dragoons
2. The Ibarra Sanction
3. The True Measure
4. A House Divided
5. The Last Aeon
6. Ferrum Corde

Terran Strike Marines
1. The Dotari Salvation
2. Rage of Winter
3. Valdar's Hammer
4. The Beast of Eridu
5. Gott Mit Uns

The Exiled Fleet:
1. Albion Lost
2. The Long March
3. Finest Hour
4. Point of Honor

The Terra Nova Chronicles
1. Terra Nova
2. Bloodlines
3. Wings of Redemption
4. Hale's War

Subscribe to Richard's spam free email list and get free short stories set during the Ember War Saga (and more as they become available) at: http://eepurl.com/bLj1gf

Like him on Facebook (best place to reach him): https://www.facebook.com/Richard-Fox-...

Website: www.richardfoxauthor.com

Reviews

[Damaged142 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

*Mild spoilers*


The story is progressing nicely, I'm really enjoying seeing this conflict from multiple angles. Richard does a good job showing us a perspective from the Xaros while still maintaining their mystique.

A lot of the combat felt pretty...repetitive. there was a new enemy introduced for the Xaros, something that wasn't a drone. But even with this new enemy, it's the same descriptions that have been used since the beginning of the series. The space battles are worse. Aside from the battle of the crucible in the first book, all of the space battles have been pretty bland.

I don't really know how to feel about the book. There were good parts and "eh" parts. It's definitely not as good as the last 2 books. Time to see if this is remedied in the next book.

[Bogdan Epure · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cartea vine cu un twist interesant, dar overall mi s-a părut mai lungă decât ar fi putut să fie. Prea multe personaje noi de care nu văd momentan de ce m-ar interesa, prea multe situații demne de orice film de acțiune care se respectă, prea mult din tot practic.

[Joey Calvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cod mittens!

This is the best new military Sci fi series I have read this year. Marines, aliens, space and ground combat, powered armor. The Ember Wars has it all. I read this on Kindle Unlimited.

[odedo1 Audio book worm. · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I wrote on my review of The first couple of the audiobooks of this series, reviewing a series is a tricky thing because you really don’t know what’s coming next and how good will it end but as of now no complaints whatsoever, the author imagination is amazing if not more then.
Incredible universe with so many worlds and different aliens that I have no idea where does he gets the ideas, truly amazing!

Narration of every person or alien is so perfectly done that you can tell who is talking just by the voice without needing to be told who is talking or screaming, the only reason names or races are mentioned are a must because many are reading the books not listening is my understanding.

Any way this third audiobook does not disappoint what so ever and have my full recommendations.

[Lars · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent story arc

I love it when a story gets me emotionally engaged. I work in a job where my decisions effect directly the quality of the people’s lives I touch both cognitively and physically. The toll of those decisions can be emotionally draining for me and the source of nightmares and what ifs. I feel that Fox does this feeling justice. I think it can be hard for the general population to relate and I appreciate that Fox gives a window into the weight that soldiers bring back from war. Hopefully these stories give some understanding to those that read this story arc about how much we should appreciate the sacrifices made by soldiers as they come back from war and conflict sites.
God bless them all.

[Leslie Baptiste · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is aptly titled.

First of all let me say I was not sure how I would rate this book. I had to read the next book in the series and get my thoughts in order. This book was sad and depressing which basically war is. They were characters in this book I was beginning to enjoy reading about, they had nascent personalities that I thought the author would develop. But alas he killed them off that’s why I found this book depressing. I feel sad and disappointed when they are characters I like and have grown an attachment to. But the way they died gave them honor. It was a well written story and as I said in appellee titled book. If you don’t mind some character loss you will enjoy this book.

[Gavin Wask · Rating 5 out of 5]

Catpain Valdar of the Breitenfeld is taking his ship and crew on a mission to rescue the last survivors of the Dotok race. So, of course that means Lt. Hale, Cortaro, Torni, Bailey, Orozco, Yarrow, Steuben and Standish are front and centre of any action.

Ibarra's secret plan to add to humanity inadvertently causes problems when during the rescue mission, our heroes come up against the hungry Toth, who has history with Steuben's race as well.

Throw in the Xaros as well and you've got another action-packed, character led, great fun piece of military sci-fi. These characters are fast becoming some of my favourite fictional marines in my imagination.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

No shortage of excitement in book 3 of the Ember Wars series. This story took an interesting step away from the drones of the first two books, which kept my interest peaked. Lots of action, lots of drama, no pansy lovey-dovey nonsense in this book at all. I was happy to finally find some sort of commander for the Xaros in this story, and it looks like we will see more of "the General" in stories to come. Good series for the space-war sci-fi enthusiasts out there.

[Jim Kratzok · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent story! The odds against humanity surviving keep increasing. First it was the Zaros bent on wiping out any sign of intelligent life on Earth. Then, after losing most of the planet's population, the Toth discover we taste good. And they are hungry! Drastic measures are the only way we can expect to survive but some of them may not be very popular....

[Connie Fogg-Bouchard · Rating 5 out of 5]

survival

the Breitenfeld has been rerouted to save the remaining survivors of the Dotok people. forcing the ship through a wormhole and bringing it to a place where it is initially hard to tell friend from foe, the Captain and crew make some hard decisions when confronted by the ultimate enemy

[Michael Porter · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Triumphant Return To The World Of Richard Fox

Blood of Heroes is my favorite entry into the series so far. The action grabs hold of your eyes and never lets go, further expanding the world and lore of the Ember Wars. It touches on the nature of heroism and what it means to be human.

[Marie M Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic!

The action was amazing and made my heart race. This book showed the best of what humans can be. At time it broke my heart when we lost friends and made me cheer when we did the seemingly impossible. Yeah Marines!! Ohhh Rah!

[Bradley Flower · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much like this series of books, yes it is a bit predictable, but they are well written and the voice acting is spot-on. Cannot wait to start the next one after a small break, on to other books so that it keeps me looking forward to the next one.

[Todd Gutschow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Common space opera with a solid underlying story

The usual space and terrestrial battles you find in a space opera. Nothing really exciting here. However, the underlying story is intriguing enough to keep going.

[Jay Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good series

I’m reading this series again so I don’t have to wait until the next book is released (binge reading). It has great characters and an intriguing storyline with lots of action.

[William Newbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sacrifice

Lots of heroic sacrifice for aliens in this series. It’s even referenced in the future books too so the author did a good job connecting it all. Excited to see how they do against the toth!!

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great

Fantastic read again. Cant fault this series. Looking forward to the next book as an old foe makes an appearance.

[Jeffrey Robbins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally, the IronHearts are unleashed and they know how to throw down. A much more action-oriented book in the series so far.

[Don Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much fun!! I really dig the situations that humanity gets into in these books. I love the premise and the road to redemption in the story line.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book in the series

[Panos Panagiotidis · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always, so good. The war just gets bigger and bigger :)

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable book

The Breitenfeld and her crew manage to pull off another nearly impossible mission, with the loss of several heroes as a result. Looking forward to the next mission.

[John Slatton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read!

A great continuation of Hale’s story in the Ember War Saga. The characters are well developed and the reader will come to love them.

[Dennis E. Flynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tons of action

Very good read and easy to follow the story line. Lots of action to keep the story going. Looking forward to the next book in the series.

[Jon Silvester · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have listed to all of them they are brilliant I highly recommended this is the third time 👍 great story and there are other books to go with the series 😃

[Carlos · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story continues

The story continues, lost friends, new. battles, startling secrets...and off we go...looking forward to the next chapter in the saga!

[Lemongrass · Rating 2 out of 5]

These books are all the same, and they’re non-stop action. There’s not much to the characters. Right now, I don’t intend to read any more of them.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This third book of the series continues to be a bloody struggle for Earth’s remaining humans. Except, this time they go looking for trouble. Isaac Valdar, Captain of the starship Bieitenfeld, has decided to send his meager forces on a rescue mission. It’s not to rescue humans but a sizable planetary colony of Dotok, an alien species on the brink of extinction caused by the Xaros. He has decided to take the Breitenfeld to the planet Takeni which is the last stronghold for the Dotok. If the settlements on Takeni get wiped out, it’s the end of the Dotok species.

So, although this seems like a simple rescue mission, no one knows if the Xaros have found the Dotok on Takeni yet. As expected, upon reaching the space near Takeni, Captain Valdar flies right into a massive space battle. This one is a little strange. It appears the Dotok fleet is firing on their own colony ships! After some trial and error, Captain Valdar makes contact with the Dotok Admiral and demands to know what’s going on. Thousands of Dotok survival pods are ejecting from the Dotok colony ships and the Dotok fleet is firing on them!

Once the translators come on line, Valdar gets an explanation. The Xaros have captured these colony ships, killing all aboard and are using mindless banshees as their soldiers occupying the life pods. The Dotok Admiral tells Captain Valdar not to let any of the life pods land on his ship. Unfortunately the warning comes to late. These banshees stand six and half feet tall and are all teeth and claws. They have armor and weapons, but are just as dangerous without either. Not only are they landing on the Breitenfeld, but thousands are landing on the planet.

Well, the humans have their job cut out for them. They find that the initial estimate of Dotok colonist remaining on Dotok is much greater than anticipated. The number to be rescued won’t fit in the Breitenfeld, so what are they going to do. It so happens that the Dotok society is based on a ranking system. Each Dotok is ranked according to their ability to contribute to the society at large. Higher ranked Dotok get better living conditions, food, clothing and other things first. This ranking include men, women and even children. So, when the Dotok learn that only a limited number might be rescued, they begin lining up according to rank. Guess who is at the front of the line. It’s not the women and children!

Lots of good Marine combat in this one. I can’t believe how tough these Space Marines appear to be. Not a one seems to have broken and turned to a slobbering idiot even thought the Banshees are about anyone’s worst nightmare. Our group of Marines, led by Lieutenant Hale is slowly being decimated. We get to know a few more things about each one of his Marines only some of them won’t make it through the entire book.

The writing is great. The editing was almost perfect. I couldn’t find a single instance of a missing word or bad sentence, but with the action so fast paced, I probably wasn’t looking for such errors. If you’ve read the first two books, then you’ll need to read this one. And, yes, there is another book in the series coming in February 2016!

[Wally · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy this series, but Richard Fox overuses the trope of military members sacrificing themselves to save others. It really doesn't need to happen several times in each book.

[Michael Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Third, in a String of Ember War Hits!

The Ember War Saga becomes a bit more complicated in this third novel. Humans try a recon on a planet, that it turns out, may not be dead. The planet supposedly contains some relics that MIGHT BE HELPFUL to the few human survivors left. New enemies join the old enemies; new potetial allies emerge; new strategies may have to be created to defend Earth from a return strike by the Xaros.

Fox really ramps up the action for this novel. There is almost non-stop action -- one battle is followed by another. Interestingly, in "Blood of Heroes", Fox slowly develops a theme: what is a friend; is a man form or function? What gives a man a soul? The small group of human survivors desperately need quick, additional people to defend Earth. What is the best way to develop the large army necessary to protect this small group?

There are quite a few new developments in this novel. I actually lost count of the number of interesting plot twists hurled at the readers. This book held my attention, and is a very satisfying read. All three "Ember War" books that I have read so far, including this one are Highly Recommended