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The Tau Ceti Agenda #5
Kill Before Dying
BOOK #5 IN THE BEST-SELLING TAU CETI AGENDA SERIES, SEQUEL TO TRAIL OF EVIL. Humanity takes to interstellar space to face conflict and an extermination threat from an evil artificial intelligence, and an alien menace from beyond.
A century and a half after the Martian Separatist Wars, Alexander Moore returns to the stars with the Sienna Madira, a United States Navy supercarrier spacecraft outfitted with advanced FTL and endlessly strange, extremely effective, quantum-based weapons and remote sensing technology. And, of course, he's brought Marines, and lots of them. These are troops superbly trained for space battle, and equipped with advanced powered armor and artificial intelligence backup.
Moore's task: hunt down remnant weaponry platforms left by the brilliant, mad artificial intelligence known as Copernicus, the being ultimately responsible for the Solar System-wide civil war. Now Copernicus has formed an alliance with something else out there with a similar goal: wipe humanity from the galaxy forever.
At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).
About Travis S. Taylor
“[E]xplodes with inventive action.—Publishers Weekly on Travis S. Taylor’s The Quantum Connection
“[Warp Speed] reads like Doc Smith writing Robert Ludlum. . . You won’t want to put it down”—John Ringo
Travis S. Taylor, Ph.D. is the co-creator and star of the National Geographic Channel’s hit series, Rocket City Rednecks and can be seen on the Weather Channel on 3 Scientists Walk into a Bar. Taylor is a physicist who has worked on various programs for the Department of Defense and NASA for the past twenty years. His expertise includes advanced propulsion concepts, very large space telescopes, space-based beamed energy systems, future combat technologies and next generation space launch concepts. Taylor is also the author of pulse-pounding, cutting edge science fiction with the Tau Ceti Agenda series including One Good Soldier, The Tau Ceti Agenda, One Day on Mars, and Trail of Evil, as well as his ground-breaking Warp Speed series, with entries Warp Speed and The Quantum Connection.
A century and a half after the Martian Separatist Wars, Alexander Moore returns to the stars with the Sienna Madira, a United States Navy supercarrier spacecraft outfitted with advanced FTL and endlessly strange, extremely effective, quantum-based weapons and remote sensing technology. And, of course, he's brought Marines, and lots of them. These are troops superbly trained for space battle, and equipped with advanced powered armor and artificial intelligence backup.
Moore's task: hunt down remnant weaponry platforms left by the brilliant, mad artificial intelligence known as Copernicus, the being ultimately responsible for the Solar System-wide civil war. Now Copernicus has formed an alliance with something else out there with a similar goal: wipe humanity from the galaxy forever.
At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).
About Travis S. Taylor
“[E]xplodes with inventive action.—Publishers Weekly on Travis S. Taylor’s The Quantum Connection
“[Warp Speed] reads like Doc Smith writing Robert Ludlum. . . You won’t want to put it down”—John Ringo
Travis S. Taylor, Ph.D. is the co-creator and star of the National Geographic Channel’s hit series, Rocket City Rednecks and can be seen on the Weather Channel on 3 Scientists Walk into a Bar. Taylor is a physicist who has worked on various programs for the Department of Defense and NASA for the past twenty years. His expertise includes advanced propulsion concepts, very large space telescopes, space-based beamed energy systems, future combat technologies and next generation space launch concepts. Taylor is also the author of pulse-pounding, cutting edge science fiction with the Tau Ceti Agenda series including One Good Soldier, The Tau Ceti Agenda, One Day on Mars, and Trail of Evil, as well as his ground-breaking Warp Speed series, with entries Warp Speed and The Quantum Connection.
370 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 7, 2017
19 people are currently reading
82 people want to read
About the author
Travis S. Taylor
54 books224 followersTravis Shane Taylor is a born and bred southerner and resides just outside Huntsville, Alabama. He has a Doctorate in Optical Science and Engineering, a Master’s degree in Physics, a Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, all from the University of Alabama in Huntsville; a Master’s degree in Astronomy from the Univ. of Western Sydney, and a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Auburn University. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Alabama.
Dr. Taylor has worked on various programs for the Department of Defense and NASA for the past sixteen years. He is currently working on several advanced propulsion concepts, very large space telescopes, space based beamed energy systems, future combat technologies and systems, and next generation space launch concepts. He is also involved with multiple MASINT, SIGINT, IMINT, and HUMINT concept studies.
He has published over 25 papers and the appendix on solar sailing in the 2nd edition of Deep Space Probes by Greg Matloff.
His first science fiction novel is, Warp Speed, and his second is The Quantum Connection published by Baen Publishing. He is also working on two different series with best-selling author John Ringo also by Baen Publishing. He has several other works of both fiction and nonfiction ongoing.
Travis is also a Black Belt martial artist, a private pilot, a SCUBA diver, races mountain and road bikes, competed in triathlons, and has been the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of several hard rock bands. He currently lives with his wife Karen, his daughter Kalista Jade, two dogs Stevie and Wesker, and his cat Kuro.
Dr. Taylor has worked on various programs for the Department of Defense and NASA for the past sixteen years. He is currently working on several advanced propulsion concepts, very large space telescopes, space based beamed energy systems, future combat technologies and systems, and next generation space launch concepts. He is also involved with multiple MASINT, SIGINT, IMINT, and HUMINT concept studies.
He has published over 25 papers and the appendix on solar sailing in the 2nd edition of Deep Space Probes by Greg Matloff.
His first science fiction novel is, Warp Speed, and his second is The Quantum Connection published by Baen Publishing. He is also working on two different series with best-selling author John Ringo also by Baen Publishing. He has several other works of both fiction and nonfiction ongoing.
Travis is also a Black Belt martial artist, a private pilot, a SCUBA diver, races mountain and road bikes, competed in triathlons, and has been the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of several hard rock bands. He currently lives with his wife Karen, his daughter Kalista Jade, two dogs Stevie and Wesker, and his cat Kuro.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 13, 2017
Very good, a superb addition to the series.
November 21, 2018
Borderline five, but only for those who like nonstop space opera action. The attempt at introducing sappy human relationships amongst the chief characters is a bit off-key and perhaps even juvenile. Otherwise the action is indeed nonstop. The layered in pseudo-science is obfuscated and the classic modern apparent necessity of authors to indulge in jittering about among multiple viewpoints almost, but not quite, kills it all. It certainly detracts from the object of the exercise which is discovery, which begins well but then sorta peters out way too fast. Naturally the women are as tough if not tougher than the men and while we are told repeatedly how tough the aliens are and what a numerical advantage they have with superior weapons they all seem to be killed amazingly easily. In the end the ... well end is rather anti-climatic. Left a number of holes. But action yes and only for a narrow spectrum audience.
July 31, 2017
While there were some non-combat portions of this book it's not a high percentage. I would have liked seeing more of the mysterious aliens and their cities rather than tons of close combat. I started skimming the short combat sections , just looking to see if that character lived. I won't be reading further in this series.
March 2, 2018
Lots and lots of action with both space battles and ground action to please anyone ! But it became over kill by the end of the book with it becoming redundant and overly repetitive with the same thing over and over !
February 5, 2018
Fun read
Good addition to the series. Looking forward to the next book. Did have a bit of a deus ex machina but still a fun read.
Good addition to the series. Looking forward to the next book. Did have a bit of a deus ex machina but still a fun read.
December 12, 2018
A good story lines. I enjoyed the characters.
March 25, 2017
I love this series, meshes all my adolescent dreams for a mech warrior, battle tech and add in a space navy plus don't forget the marines...
Awesome
Awesome
February 16, 2017
This is the 5th book in the "Tau Ceti Agenda" series by Travis S. Taylor. This book is action packed from the first page to the last and is a great example of Military Science Fiction. In this one the forces from Earth have taken the battle to the Chiata who are set on destroying all life in the galaxy. An alien ally of Earth has tipped Alexander Moore, the Commander of the Earth fleet, about a planet where there may be a secret that can help defeat the Chiata. He takes the Earth fleet there and finds a very large force of Chiata ships in the system and he must battle them in order to find out what secrets the planet may hold. His own daughter crashes on the planet along with a contingent of Marines and he must leave them there while he regroups his battered ships and comes up with a plan to defeat the Chiata whose weapon technology far exceeds that of the Earth fleet and rescue his daughter and the other Marines. I recommend this one to fans of Military Science Fiction and fans of Travis S. Taylor.
February 14, 2017
Another excellent Tau Ceti book from Mr. Taylor. Action from start to finish and certainly kept you in suspense over who might die. Overall the book was well written smooth dialogue and enough science talk to make your nose bleed. ;) Excellent job, Travis and a must read for those who love Sci Fi..
February 9, 2017
Kill Before Dying by Travis S. Taylor
Trail of Evil was the first Taylor book I read. It only earned three starships mostly because I felt out of it having not read the three previous books. This jumps to 4 starships due to having had some background, the story makes more sense. Former President Alexander Moore has taken his task force to the enemy, the Chiata. The Chiata are a locust like scourge trying to cleanse the galaxy of all life but their own. Moore doesn’t see that as a viable option and takes the war to a distant star system that may hold a key to human survival.
This, the fifth book in the series, made more sense having read it’s immediate precursor. The characters were more familiar and the action was as non-stop as before. Taylor’s books are a bit light on story line and very heavy on action. That is not a criticism, merely an observation.
I enjoyed the book, the addition of new entities and the guns, guns, guns action.
http://www.baen.com/authors/travis-s-...
Trail of Evil was the first Taylor book I read. It only earned three starships mostly because I felt out of it having not read the three previous books. This jumps to 4 starships due to having had some background, the story makes more sense. Former President Alexander Moore has taken his task force to the enemy, the Chiata. The Chiata are a locust like scourge trying to cleanse the galaxy of all life but their own. Moore doesn’t see that as a viable option and takes the war to a distant star system that may hold a key to human survival.
This, the fifth book in the series, made more sense having read it’s immediate precursor. The characters were more familiar and the action was as non-stop as before. Taylor’s books are a bit light on story line and very heavy on action. That is not a criticism, merely an observation.
I enjoyed the book, the addition of new entities and the guns, guns, guns action.
http://www.baen.com/authors/travis-s-...
February 15, 2017
While not a bad book I've started to lose enthusiasm with the series. I enjoy the science and the combat scenes (with the exception of having to read GUNS GUNS GUNS over, and over, and over) yet the characters have, for me, become lackluster. They're ultra-ultra-capable and that gets tiresome after a while as even side characters make a point of mentioning just how damn bad ass the mains are except when they're talking like seven year olds.
So, nothing wrong with the series. It's just not for me anymore I think.
So, nothing wrong with the series. It's just not for me anymore I think.
April 17, 2017
For the most part I enjoyed the novel. I like the fact that most of TravisTaylor books take place in the course of 24 to 48 hours it makes the writing tight and tense. Taylor was to able make me care what happens to the characters. There are is a good balance between strong male and female characters. The fact that Taylor does this while writing a story about galaxy conquering space aliens speaks well about this novel. The novel is able to stand on its own despite being the fifth book in the TauCeti Agenda series. It would be helpful to have read the prior four books in the series none the less it is not necessary to have read them in order to enjoy this story.
I was not happy with Taylor's tendency to assume the reader knows military jargon. A sentence such as "The CHENG spoke to the STO and the XO about AO while CDC gave input. " did not endear me to the book. To add insult to injury Taylor mixes Marine , Navy, Air Force and his unique to the story military jargon in the same sentence. Using Google to look up the terms at times was no help. The series needs a website to help the those who have no familiarity with his jargon to go to for explanations and definitions of terms. The lack of it made me lower my rating of the book.
Looking beyond this weakness , this book and the series will give the reader many hours of reading pleasure. It is an action series and does not make any attempt at social or political commentary beyond usual pro military stance common to the military science fiction genre. While I would not purchase this book, I would encourage readers to get their libraries to purchase the series. It is good solid adventure military science fiction writing .
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews