The war has taken a nasty turn. The Free Army's fleet is all but destroyed. Only a handful of ships remain. Now the Free Army needs the help of an ally if it wants to survive, if it wants to continue the fight.
Just trying to imagine presenting the highlights of ME sets off alarm bells in my head. Why would anybody want to know anything about me? What about me is remarkable enough to tell?
When I think about these questions, I recall lying on my bed back in high school, headphones muffed over my ears, heavy metal blasting through my head. As with most teens, music’s power seduced me, and as I listened, I found myself admiring the albums' cover art (yeah, I’m old enough that I used to by LP’s) and I found myself reading about the singers and guitar players and drummers in the liner notes. Why? Because those musicians had created something that was deeply personal, passionate, and wonderfully emotional, and they’d shared it with the world. They’d shared it with me.
It made me want to know them through more than just their music. So, I read.
Through the years, I found myself reading about writers I’d enjoyed, historical figures I’d admired, politicians who weren’t dipshits, and business leaders who’d built great companies. Again, why? Who the hell knows? We’re all just people. I think we find each other interesting. We like to feel connected.
And that was my answer, at least as to the WHY.
On the WHAT I can say about me, for those who feel moved by my work: I’ll give it a quick go.
I was born an Air Force brat and lived in a dozen states before I graduated high school. I’ve worked my way through a wide variety of jobs, left most on a whim, owned businesses, lived through times when I had more money than I knew what to do with, and worried my way through times when I wondered how I’d pay the rent.
Life has been boring at times, and it’s been plenty exciting, too. So far.
I’ve traveled to India, stood atop the tallest mountains around, swam with sharks, smarted-off to cops, and been arrested. I’ve tried beer and weed, but never made a thing of either one. I’ve been brushed too close by death a few times. Thankfully, doctors, EMT’s, and nurses were kind enough to put all the pieces together again. I've ridden my bike so deep into the mountains it felt like I was alone on the edge of heaven, and I've watched the red sun sinking on an evening so clear it looked like it was falling off the edge of the world.
I’ve always had a hard time being where I am, wherever that is. My daydreams forever call from just over the horizon.
I’ve been asked by a dozen bosses where I see myself in five years, and I've lied every time, always telling them what they wanted to hear. Because the only thing I knew for sure, was that I wanted to be anywhere but there.
This is the fourth book of a series and this series must be read in order. In this one humans take the fight to the aliens as we finally take the offensive.
Once again there is a quality book in this series. This one was also a quick read as it is just over two hundred pages. I liked how this book delivered the progression of the overall story arc. It was time for this fight to go into the outer limits of space and not just in our galaxy. It was time to show the aliens that they have more than they bargained for in this war. Once again a book in this series is a serious book with very few moments of levity. This book is all about hope for humankind. While this book is a very enjoyable read it is not my favorite from this series. I can attribute this to the drama. The drama was somewhat lacking in this book even though we end up in two different action situations. I never really felt any tension in these situations. I get it. Our crew is operating at efficient levels as they have their act together. There are little mishaps in their action scenes but nothing that gave me pause to wonder if they would survive.
I am really enjoying this series and I am really surprised it is not a more well known series. This book and series is more about humans than it is about the individuals. At the beginning it was about survival. Now the tide is turning and it is about hope and the outcome that we might win. I for one cannot wait to see if and how it happens.
As with all great sci-fi, you have to eventually leave the solar system to up the ante; and this is no different. Our protagonists take the fight to the supply chain as ancient tactics get applied convincingly to three dimensions.
Of course, leaving the solar system allows the 3 book pointless sub plot of the forbidden fruit (aka paedophilic) to finally blossom, but hey, she’s 18 now, so it’s OK right? It’s so frustrating, but it’s not the only unnecessary flaw that leaks into the characterisations. The machismo is excessive but forgivable in a militaristic sci-fi, but jars when you note that all the women in the series are subservient as the Troggs. It would be a clever reflection, it the author meant it; but it comes off as hypocritical.
This is a 5 star story with serious flaws; if you can let your imagination fill in the holes it remains enjoyably formulaic.
Bobby Adair came to my attention when I found Slow Burn book 1 in a dystopian box set. I immediately skipped the rest of the set to read books 2 and 3, then waited impatiently for each following book. The Freedoms Fire series has become no different. His characters have incredible depth and introspection and each is incredibly unique. Looking forward to the next book.
I'm currently on a run getting through the fourth book in as many months of the Freedom's Fire series now. July was book four Freedom's Fist by Bobby Adair. This series continues to be a lot of fun for me. The story is engaging and they are such short listens, I can find time to slide them in almost any point of the month.
Freedom's Fist did start off with some interesting twists. We introduce or progress with a couple of relationships that I either didn't see coming or wasn't sure we'd see actually happen.
Beyond that, this continues to be a fast paced space opera tale with plenty of action to move things along!
The pacing of this series has been very fast paced. I feel the names and vocabulary in general contribute to this. Not to mention the length of these books again. I wouldn't feel right if I didn't continue to mention the performance by Greg Tremblay on my audiobook version. I've gotten very comfortable with his narration by this point of the series.
The world building continues to expand. I mean we are in a story set in the unknown expanses of the universe. Freedom's First takes us on the offensive though and the team sets out to take the fight to the Trogs and Greys. I'd categorize this book into the expanding the world but also those details as we start to understand a bit more about our enemies and how they operate in this read.
Finally, the character development ramped up a bit in the fourth book. As I mentioned we have some relationships that get rolling early on in this book. One I wasn't sure whether it would ever happen even if it had been eluded to previously. But the other caught me completely off guard. Beyond that, I feel we've kind of settled into most of these characters at this point and we tend to know what to expect with them.
This series continues to be a cozy little quick science fiction story I can easily squeeze into each month. The six book set has been a fantastic Audible purchase for me so far. It's truly exceeded my expectations when I picked it up earlier this year. At this point, I'm looking forward to checking out some more works from Bobby Adair in the future. I'm leaning towards either Dusty's Diary or Slow Burn depending on how large of a series I want to commit to. I'm sure both will be entertaining though!
I don't have much to recommend on this series for readers. I mean if you've made it to book three of the series, then by all means keep going as book four gives us more of the same world, only expanding on some of the character relationships and the fight for humanities survival!
There are certainly many battles in this installment of the series. I have the omnibus edition so just wanted to say - well-written, fast-paced, humorous, dark, philosophical and loads of action.
The characters make it a compelling read. I will say, however, that although the Trogs and especially the Grays are seen as cruel and will do anything for power, um, the same could be said of the human race. We only have to look at those in charge today to understand how ruthless they are.
I've got to say, this book is like night and day compared to the previous volumes in the series.
It's a shame you have to get through 3 sub-par books before it improves.
Much of the weak/unrealistic dialog which plagues the previous books are absent in think one, Dylan Kane (the main character) is actually somewhat likeable in this volume.
Honestly ever since Blair has not been involved in the story I've been enjoying it alot more.
A very will written Sci-Fi novel in the series. The characters are interesting and will developed. The story line is violent as the characters go to war. I would recommend this novel to all Sci-Fi lovers. Enjoy reading 🚀🛰🌠200
Another great series from Bobby Adair! I was originally hooked by his Slow Burn series and chewed through those at a frenzied pace. I was saddened when the series was finished and half heartedly thumbed through more works to fill the void. I'm not much of a space and sci-fi guy, or so I thought. I'm LOVING the Freedom series! The character development, much like slow burn, keeps you rooting for the good guys flaws and all. Starting number 5 right now!
The backstory of the Invaders is displayed in full force in this installment. I found it to be okay yet engaging. Overall, all of these books could have been put into one good size book and that would be much better than to split them up into individual books that I would rather call parts. I'm gearing up to finish the storyline with book 6, or rather should I say, part 6. I don't think I would recommend this series to anybody I know but if you found your way to it and it interests you, then it's an okay read.
This book really fell together well. Characters, tech, and just good old cerebral stress (good kind). Bottom line I enjoyed it , thanks for the imaginative ride. I noticed at least three wrong words the spell check wouldn't catch, just typo. I didn't note where, but it doesn't really affect the quality to me. I just have an eye for it. Nice work.
I really enjoyed this series and hope there are more coming. The action and characters roped me in. If you enjoy good sci-fi with plenty of combat action, you'll love it. I gave it five stars because it is a great story with believable characters, is well written, and had me staying up late to see what happens next. More please!
Its a great and fun read. Maybe they can give the rusty turd some camo skin. An exterior algorithm skin that can project the image of a cruiser , destroyer, and mimick a friend or foe signal to really give them a fuck you and your trog mother too, weapon. Just saying
This book explains a lot of the back story as to how the aliens who rule Earth and their slave labor Trogs came to be. It also is an excellent “Dirty Dozen” style raid story that brings the fight to the enemy. Good read.
I have enjoyed the series to this point. It was a little slow going in the beginning of book one, but I'm very glad I stuck it out. The author seems to come into his own for this book. Keep up the good work!
Short, quick and too the point. The characters take the battle to the enemy and things stay interesting throughout.
While this story has a clear beginning, middle and end it would be interesting to see this as an omnibus edition with each book being a part of the whole story in one book.
Freedom’s Fist was a real treat. While the other books were interesting and creative they were still a bit downbeat. This book marks the first time the story takes a more upbeat tone. Good sci-fi adventures.
Work on typos...and there is no selection to report typos for book 4, just other, by the way. You are using “there’ll” which is very informal...not sure it was dialect. Hope this helps. Looking forward to the next one!
I have read all his previous books in this series. They were all very good, and this book didn't disappoint either. Thoroughly enjoyed the plot and characters. I would happily read another book written by this author.
Intriguing plot, interesting characters, and an entertaining narration — no cliffhangers. Like the author’s style though there’s some profanity and sexual stuff--use fast forward. A pleasant reading experience.
I read the first book in this series in early 2021, but was not compelled to continue the series. On a business trip in 2023 I grabbed the entire series and found it to be a good distraction from the grueling meetings.