What do you think?
Rate this book
The Sleeping Legion #2
Fortress Beta City
Thirty-five years ago, Lance Scipio pulled most of Beta City into an emergency cryo-freeze.He is woken to a catastrophically changed world.THE TIME FOR FREEDOM IS NOW!
2601AD. Tranquility-4 near the frontier of the White Knight Empire. Lance awakes to a world where unidentified Marines have raided his city, the enemy is occupying the unflooded portions, and oh by the way, the city is slowly dying. Lance must find a way for his Marines to survive.The tasks ahead seem all but impossible – but Lance doesn’t give up, he is a Marine! The end result will either be freedom or death.
The Sleeping Legion is an action-filled sequence of military science fiction novels set in the worlds of the hit Human Legion series by Tim C. Taylor, which has sold 200,000 copies across 18 novels. The completed series consists of four novels and one prequel novella. All are available in audio, paperback and eBook editions.
2601AD. Tranquility-4 near the frontier of the White Knight Empire. Lance awakes to a world where unidentified Marines have raided his city, the enemy is occupying the unflooded portions, and oh by the way, the city is slowly dying. Lance must find a way for his Marines to survive.The tasks ahead seem all but impossible – but Lance doesn’t give up, he is a Marine! The end result will either be freedom or death.
The Sleeping Legion is an action-filled sequence of military science fiction novels set in the worlds of the hit Human Legion series by Tim C. Taylor, which has sold 200,000 copies across 18 novels. The completed series consists of four novels and one prequel novella. All are available in audio, paperback and eBook editions.
472 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 20, 2016
About the author
J.R. Handley
52 books262 followersJ.R. Handley is a pseudonym for a family writing team. He is a veteran infantry sergeant with the 101st Airborne Division and the 28th Infantry Division. His family is the kind of crazy that interprets his insanity into cogent English. He writes the sci-fi while they proofread it. The sergeant is a two-time combat veteran of the late unpleasantness in Mesopotamia where he was wounded, likely doing something stupid. He started writing military science fiction as part of a therapy program suggested by his doctor and hopes to entertain you while he attempts to excise his demons through these creative endeavors. In addition to being just another dysfunctional veteran, he is a stay-at-home parent, avid reader and all-around nerd. Luckily for him, his family joins him in his fandom nerdalitry.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
November 4, 2017
Good start but too many different POV at the second half of the book. too confusing.
September 7, 2017
This is a 2-star review of a book I did not finish.
This is one of the hardest reviews that I have ever had to write. Book 1 in the series was also the author's debut novel. I gave it 4 stars and nominated him for this year's Campbell Award. It was that good.
All of the heart, all of the connections to the characters, all of the MILsf action are gone in this sequel.
In its place are the fascinating implications of an ever-shifting TO&E. That is a Table of Organization and Equipment for those non-military folks. It is a paper-pusher's dream. People get promoted at the drop of a hat and the TO&E gets updated. Gripping action! There are no events that show characters struggling to fill these new roles. There are no challenges that foster character growth. Paperwork gets updated and the next chapter is up.
Another factor is that all of the "action" occurs over a handful of days after the characters come out of a cryogenic deep sleep. They go from being popsicles to being promoted and in charge of "doing things" within a couple of days. That includes fixing a leaky underground living space for tens of thousands of Marines and then decontaminating it to eliminate a nasty bug that would kill some of their alien allies in the span of a couple hours.
I like the author. From what I read about him and have exchanged with him elsewhere, he seems like a nice guy.
But this book was a big step backward.
Unless you fancy the tale of office pogues in the headquarters company winning battles with papercuts. In which case read on!
This is one of the hardest reviews that I have ever had to write. Book 1 in the series was also the author's debut novel. I gave it 4 stars and nominated him for this year's Campbell Award. It was that good.
All of the heart, all of the connections to the characters, all of the MILsf action are gone in this sequel.
In its place are the fascinating implications of an ever-shifting TO&E. That is a Table of Organization and Equipment for those non-military folks. It is a paper-pusher's dream. People get promoted at the drop of a hat and the TO&E gets updated. Gripping action! There are no events that show characters struggling to fill these new roles. There are no challenges that foster character growth. Paperwork gets updated and the next chapter is up.
Another factor is that all of the "action" occurs over a handful of days after the characters come out of a cryogenic deep sleep. They go from being popsicles to being promoted and in charge of "doing things" within a couple of days. That includes fixing a leaky underground living space for tens of thousands of Marines and then decontaminating it to eliminate a nasty bug that would kill some of their alien allies in the span of a couple hours.
I like the author. From what I read about him and have exchanged with him elsewhere, he seems like a nice guy.
But this book was a big step backward.
Unless you fancy the tale of office pogues in the headquarters company winning battles with papercuts. In which case read on!
March 1, 2017
Great military sci fi
February 12, 2017
Fun
I enjoyed both of the Sleeping Legion books. They are good tales, but not great tales. I look forward to the third book.
I enjoyed both of the Sleeping Legion books. They are good tales, but not great tales. I look forward to the third book.
February 11, 2017
outstanding.
Great reading, action packed. Can't wait for the next book. Didn't want to put the book down, thoroughly enjoyed this series.
Great reading, action packed. Can't wait for the next book. Didn't want to put the book down, thoroughly enjoyed this series.
February 4, 2017
The First Handley Volume was Good, This One is BETTER!
I enjoyed the first Sleeping Legion book that JR Handley wrote. It had some darkly humorous passages. In this second volume, Handley has written a Military Space Opera that is even better. This is constant action as Marines fight and die for their own freedom. Characters undergo changes as they learn and fight the New Order Rebels. More than half of the characters die. Some parts of the battle seem very accurate. I felt like I had met some of the officers in a previous life.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, even more than the first Handley/Sleeping Legion volume.
I enjoyed the first Sleeping Legion book that JR Handley wrote. It had some darkly humorous passages. In this second volume, Handley has written a Military Space Opera that is even better. This is constant action as Marines fight and die for their own freedom. Characters undergo changes as they learn and fight the New Order Rebels. More than half of the characters die. Some parts of the battle seem very accurate. I felt like I had met some of the officers in a previous life.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, even more than the first Handley/Sleeping Legion volume.
May 3, 2017
This is a fantastic sequel to the first book. It's better, more action packed, and more emotionally powerful. The connection to the characters is higher, and the action sequences feel even more realistic. If the first book was interesting, this book will probably get you hooked on the series.
January 13, 2017
Great book!
I love the concepts of this story and the characters are well thought out in a future that I could see happening.
BUY THIS BOOK!
I love the concepts of this story and the characters are well thought out in a future that I could see happening.
BUY THIS BOOK!
January 13, 2017
Keep it going
Good offshoot to the original series. Helps fill in some of the blanks and my questions from the other books. Looking forward to reading future installments.
Good offshoot to the original series. Helps fill in some of the blanks and my questions from the other books. Looking forward to reading future installments.
March 28, 2022
Handley captures the chaos of battle with a realism that it rarely matched. It is brutal, visceral, and drenched in humanity. As he leaps from engagement to engagement, we are met by a multitude of fully formed characters wrestling with life and death decisions.
This same strength is also a weakness, as the dizzying array of set pieces clouds the plot and diminishes the impact of each loss. It is near impossible to keep track of the tangled threads as they are dropped, and retrieved, seemingly at random. What is left feels more like an anthology of short stories than a novel.
This same strength is also a weakness, as the dizzying array of set pieces clouds the plot and diminishes the impact of each loss. It is near impossible to keep track of the tangled threads as they are dropped, and retrieved, seemingly at random. What is left feels more like an anthology of short stories than a novel.
August 24, 2018
Good read
It gets somewhat tedious and boring when the book gets bogged down with all the different characters and stories going at once but it’s a good story. Has all the makings of a fantastic read if it weren’t for the boring parts. I wish it moved along a little quicker.
It gets somewhat tedious and boring when the book gets bogged down with all the different characters and stories going at once but it’s a good story. Has all the makings of a fantastic read if it weren’t for the boring parts. I wish it moved along a little quicker.
July 22, 2021
Riveting
Lots of battles with believable action. Very well done. Characters are well written and vivid in how the words seem to come alive.
Lots of battles with believable action. Very well done. Characters are well written and vivid in how the words seem to come alive.
March 31, 2021
I read and enjoyed the first Sleeping Legion book a while ago, so while struggling to put our six-month old asleep, I figured I'd give the next book a try. One of the nice things about ereaders is that you can read in the dark without killing you eyes. I think I started this one right after I got a new kindle paperwhite for my birthday.
The first half of the book was good, but a bit confusing in parts. It took a little while for the action to really start, and in the meantime, there was a lot of reorganizing and figuring out the new command structure as our heroes woke up from cryo to a world turned upside down. In contrast, much of the world-building was either implied or given to us in media res, without much explanation. This is a shared universe, and if you haven't read the Human Legion books you really have to just roll with it and pick up what you can from context.
The second half of the book is where the action really gets going, and it's fantastic. Huge battles with lots of explosions, where none of the characters are safe and everyone is locked in a genuine struggle for their lives. More than that, though, they fight their sacred honor, with lots of heroic sacrifices and glorious last stands. That's what I really like about this book: all of the characters, even the bad guys, all value their honor more than their own lives, and are willing to fight to the death for it. That's a very refreshing thing to read about, especially in today's world. Besides all that, JR Handley is an Iraq War veteran, so the battle scenes all felt very real and visceral.
The ending was very satisfying, though it definitely set things up for the next book. Everyone who needed killing got killed, except for the big bad of the sequel, which I assume is all about the struggle between the good guys and the mutineers from the Human Legion who want to rejoin the evil White Knight Empire and exterminate the Sleeping Legion once and for all. Sounds like another great book!
The first half of the book was good, but a bit confusing in parts. It took a little while for the action to really start, and in the meantime, there was a lot of reorganizing and figuring out the new command structure as our heroes woke up from cryo to a world turned upside down. In contrast, much of the world-building was either implied or given to us in media res, without much explanation. This is a shared universe, and if you haven't read the Human Legion books you really have to just roll with it and pick up what you can from context.
The second half of the book is where the action really gets going, and it's fantastic. Huge battles with lots of explosions, where none of the characters are safe and everyone is locked in a genuine struggle for their lives. More than that, though, they fight their sacred honor, with lots of heroic sacrifices and glorious last stands. That's what I really like about this book: all of the characters, even the bad guys, all value their honor more than their own lives, and are willing to fight to the death for it. That's a very refreshing thing to read about, especially in today's world. Besides all that, JR Handley is an Iraq War veteran, so the battle scenes all felt very real and visceral.
The ending was very satisfying, though it definitely set things up for the next book. Everyone who needed killing got killed, except for the big bad of the sequel, which I assume is all about the struggle between the good guys and the mutineers from the Human Legion who want to rejoin the evil White Knight Empire and exterminate the Sleeping Legion once and for all. Sounds like another great book!
April 17, 2017
Continued excellence!
While I sometimes find it difficult to follow who is who, after reading a bit it becomes clearer. I really like the way honor is bestowed on Auxes and any soldier doing something meritorious. That's a concept that I wished had happened in the military when I served. I'm on to book 3!
While I sometimes find it difficult to follow who is who, after reading a bit it becomes clearer. I really like the way honor is bestowed on Auxes and any soldier doing something meritorious. That's a concept that I wished had happened in the military when I served. I'm on to book 3!
April 25, 2017
Enjoyment
I really enjoyed this book so much I could not tear myself away .keep them comming please 5stars.very good book
I really enjoyed this book so much I could not tear myself away .keep them comming please 5stars.very good book
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews