Grunt Hero

Task Force Ombra #3

by Weston Ochse

It is a time for heroes, for killers, for Grunts.

In this thrilling conclusion to the breakout military SF series, we find Earth plagued with millions of miles of terraformed cities, black vines crushing concrete, revealing iron and steel. Those unable to escape the vines are empty vessels waiting to be filled, living storage for alien algorythmic thought. What else can happen? What more can be done? This has always been a time for for heroes, for Killers, for Grunts, but are they enough?

Benjamin Carter Mason will be asked to return to OMBRA to help them find these answers, and what he finds will send him over the edge. In the end, his efforts won't be about survival, they'll be about revenge, and his revenge will be served in a blaze.

Genres: Science Fiction, Military Fiction, Post Apocalyptic, Aliens, Apocalyptic, Military Science Fiction, Action

416 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published April 25, 2017

About the author

The American Library Association calls Weston Ochse “one of the major horror authors of the 21 st Century.” He has been praised by USA Today, The Atlantic, The New York Post, The Financial Times of London, Publishers Weekly, Peter Straub, Joe Lansdale, Jon Maberry, Kevin J. Anderson, David Gerrold, William C. Dietz, Tim Lebbon, Christopher Golden, and many more of the world’s best-selling authors. His work has won the Bram Stoker Award, been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, and won multiple New Mexico Arizona Book Awards.

A writer of nearly thirty books in multiple genres, his military supernatural series SEAL Team 666 has been optioned to be a movie starring Dwayne Johnson and his military sci fi trilogy, which starts with Grunt Life, has been praised for its PTSD-positive depiction of soldiers at peace and at war.

Weston has also published literary fiction, poetry, comics, and non-fiction articles.
His shorter work has appeared in DC Comics, IDW Comics, Soldier of Fortune Magazine, Cemetery Dance, and peered literary journals. His franchise work includes the X-Files, Predator, Aliens, Hellboy, Clive Barker’s Midian, and V-Wars. Weston holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and teaches at Southern New Hampshire University. He lives in Arizona with his wife, and fellow author, Yvonne Navarro and their Great Danes.

Reviews

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good conclusion to the trilogy but I thought Ochse ran out of steam as the series progressed. 4.5 ⭐ for the first one, 4 ⭐ for the sophomore and 3.5 ⭐for Grunt Hero, rounding up.

After the trials and tribulations of Mason in L.A., destroying the hives there with backpack nukes, Mason (with the help of Mother, a 'gang leader' in L.A.) heads to the artic circle where he lives with the Yupik people for some time to restore his sense of humanity. Mason's peace is shattered, however, when an Ombra task force shows up in a plane with a message for him; alien starships are falling from the sky and one crashed close to him in BFE Russia. Can he go check it out before the Russians get there? Even odder, some of the aliens who died there look just like humans...

I do not want to go deeper into the plot to avoid spoilers so I will just comment on the series as a whole. I loved the PTSD theme which animated it. Ombra started out collecting soldiers suicidal with PTSD. After the invasion, when most humans came down with PTSD, 'recruiting' became easier. The struggles most of the characters had with PTSD really made the series, as did the feelings of comradery among the 'grunts', brothers and sisters all. While definitely military fiction, do not expect one action-packed scene after the other as Ochse takes him time fleshing out the emotional struggles of all the characters. If you dig military science fiction, I highly recommend at least the first volume.

[Shawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Throughout this final book I kept thinking how this series could have been a really amazing duology. But as it stands as a trilogy this third book fell short for me. Everything that was so great and exciting and entertaining from the first book is nowhere to be found, instead replaced with a pretty underwhelming reveal of the alien(s) who have been invading/inhabiting Earth. I expected so much more.
There are still a few good moments, but they felt kinda recycled from the other two books.

A good series all-in-all, but better suited as a duology I think.
:::::
Cover: Again, great cover, BUT I'm surprised the EXOs didn't make it to a single cover. They're such a huge part of the series, especially this final book, but they're never pictured. Ah well, nice set of covers regardless.

[James (JE) Gurley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished Grunt Hero, the final entry of the Weston Ochse's Grunt series. The continuing story of Mason is compelling. You love, hate, and feel sorry for him, but he does what needs doing when the world needs a hero. Weston's military lingo and rationale is superb, a leftover from his military service.

As a military novel, it is superb. As a science fiction military novel, it exceeds the norm. I haven't read a bad novel or short story from Weston. He's my real life Grunt Hero.

I was tempted to give it 4 1/2 stars only because I wanted more of mason. Who knows?

[Jayrchase · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grunt Hero is the 3rd book in this series. I recommend reading the first two in order to fully enjoy this novel. Grunt Hero is a continuation of our hero Ben Carter Mason's journey through the post- apocalypse of alien invasion. Mason has grown through the first two books, but still identifies as a "grunt" in the continuing conflict, and considers those under his command as fellow grunts. This is a continuing theme in this trilogy, the effort to discover/describe what makes people fight with/for others against untenable odds. The book is filled with poignant moments that really hit home for me. Good conclusion to the story... off chance that maybe there will be a follow-up trilogy??? :)

I highly recommend this book!!

All the best,

Jay

[Abdul Azeez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Military scifi at it's finest

This is the end to the three-book series Task Force Ombra by Weston Ochse and what an ending it is! It's jam-packed full of action, shows us a side of Mason that we would never otherwise experience and throws all what you thought about the Cray into the dustbin.

What I like
-The Cray backstory.
-The true nature of humans is revealed.
-The absolute epic ending.
-Explanations for occurrences in book 2. (The people gathered near the hives, remember?)

What I don't like
-I couldn't find anything to complain about in this book. Good job and kudos to Ochse.

Recommended for
-Scifi fans
-Alien invasion fans
-Military-styled thriller fans.

[Kerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Published 2017. This is actually #3 in the series and I haven't read the first two. I was enjoying how this story started out with a the protagonist having secluded himself with a group of Yupik and their society on St. Lawrence Island as an effort to reclaim himself. The rest of the book is a combination of gung ho fighting scenes, too many references to various tv shows and some less than astute aliens. Through out the author tries to keep up the self evaluation for the protagonist (and others) as the body count rises. After a while it rather slows things down rather than enhancing the plot and became wearing.
Good beginning and so-so for the rest.

[Beach Bum · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent end with the potential for a spin off

I have found the previous books hard going, but kept with it because the concept was enthralling. I am glad I did, the revelations in book 3 are worth the wait and the underlying reason behind it all quite startling
If not you are reading this and thinking of just reading this book stand alone DONT. Read all 3 in sequence it really is worth it
The end is the end of this thread, but if the author wants to, the option to keep this going is obvious

[David Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, this is book three of three, and it got better with every volume. Mr. Oche presented a vision of the trials of military personnel that was moving and provocative. The growth of the Antagonist was the real story, and superbly depicted. I am a true believer in the credo ‘we are here for one another, we will fight for one another’, and Grunt Hero lives it. The story itself was creative and fast-paced, but the grade is more about development and construction than ‘did we beat the bad guys’. Thank you, David

[Thad · Rating 5 out of 5]

The final book in a heck of a trilogy. It's military science fiction dealing with an alien invasion of Earth, but it's also so much more. A private army is recruited to help fight and it's made up of soldiers with PTSD. The protagonist, Ben Mason, is a rich three dimensional character and you can see the care that was taken to make him that way.

[Juan Mora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, I was not aware it was part of a Trilogy. But it can be enjoyed without reading the previous one. This on is good, fast, over the top. Yeah it has some cliches but overall, it just what I expected, although the cover is kinda deceiving.

[Peter Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent end to a series which was both thoughtful and action-packed.

[D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! What a ride.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent conclusion (I assume) to the series.

[Natasja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spectacular finish to an amazingly interesting series.

[Eddy M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Final battle felt rushed and not sure about the need for some of the character deaths. Nonetheless action packed and couldn't put it down. Ending was open-ended. More to come perhaps?

[Mark Baller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

[Trevor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the final book in the Grunt trilogy and Mason has broken ties with OMBRA, trying to make sense of what has happened and come to terms with the lose in LA. This is a good final book and Mason finally makes peace with his inner demons to finally stop the invasion. The PTSD is again handled well, with lots of humourous TV and film references. This has been a good series, that has moved at a nice pace with good characters.

[Paul Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

What more can aliens throw at the humans of planet earth than they already have? First came the Cray with their power-destroying EMP; then came the mind-controlling infestations; finally, the earth itself is being Terra-formed to become a breeding ground for aliens. This is truly the end times.
The world as we knew it is no more; The United States no longer exists as a political entity, although Russia apparently still does (and China, too). NUSNA (the New United States of North America) has formed an alliance with the Cray and their masters. So Mason and Team OMBRA reluctantly ally with other aliens who call themselves Khron. If you thought author Ochse threw in everything including the kitchen sink in the first two novels, this third novel includes Aliens from captured UFOs who’ve been held hostage at Area 51 for more than 70 years. The fast-paced storyline doesn’t stop, and people close to him continue to die on Lieutenant Mason’s watch just as they did when he was a simple grunt. But true heroes — even reluctant heroes like Mason — don’t let the dead and dying slow them down. They forge ahead because it’s all they know to do.
Although we learn the war between the human-like Khron and the more alien Umi has been going on almost forever, the battle for earth is almost over. The warring parties will have to continue the fight elsewhere.
What the world needs now — perhaps more than ever before — is a hero. But who is left to step up to the plate and pinch-hit for humanity? The author has already polished off most of hero squad. Fort Irwin and everyone still there was flattened by an asteroid. Are there no grunts left to be canon fodder?
This third volume in the Grunt-series raises as many questions as it answers. It’s action-packed like the first two books, and it’s a fast and fun read. I recommend Grunt Hero to all lovers of military sf.

[Brett Grossmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly fun ride. It's a solid four stars cause of the research and thought that went into the book. Great great writing keeps it moving and action packed.
I was hoping the book would close the trilogy. I was dissapointed that it left an opening wide for the next book. That and some overly heavy handed quotes at the beginning of some chapters had me eye roll. Quoting Nietzsche will always get an eye roll from me. That said, the rampant quotes were much better than the first novel. That's the bad it ain't much...