Human slavers attack. Despite trying to fight back, there is nothing the young Leefe can do to save his family and friends. But he doesn't have to. The Imperial Marines arrive in the nick of time, and they hate slavers. Three tri-years later, when the new emperor issues a proclamation to integrate the imperial military with non-human citizens, Leefe is among the first to volunteer.
Integration to resurrect the empire as a force for good is challenged by centuries of prejudice against the "dung races." Leefe and the other Wyntonans only want to prove their worth and fight for the empire, but their greatest battles are closer to home.
With threats to the empire from both within and without, this grand experiment has the potential to save it . . . or tear it apart.
I am a retired Marine colonel and now a full-time writer living in Colorado Springs with my wife, Kiwi, and infant twin daughters, Danika Dawn and Darika Marie.
I published my first work back in 1978, a so-so short story titled "Secession." Since then, I have been published in newspapers, magazines, and in book format in fiction, political science, business, military, sports, race relations, and personal relations fields. I returned to writing fiction in 2009, and I currently have over 85 titles published, 52 being novels. My novelette, "Weaponized Math," was a finalist for the 2017 Nebula Award, and my novella, "Fire Ant," was a 2018 Nebula finalist. My novel "Integration" was a 2018 Dragon Award finalist, and my novel "Sentenced to War" was a 2021 finalist. I am a USA Today Bestelling writer.
My undergraduate degree was earned at the U. S. Naval Academy (Class of 1979), and I have attended graduate school at U. S. International University and the University of California, San Diego, earning a masters and doctorate. I am a lifetime member of the Disabled American Veterans, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the US. Naval Academy Alumni Association, and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.
I have rather eclectic tastes. I have won awards in photography, cooking, wrting, and several sports, earning national championships in rugby and equestrian events. When I'm not writing, I'm reading, cooking, going to the gym, or traveling. I attend quite a few cons over the course of a year, and love meeting other people who love books.
I write because I love it. I only hope that others might read my work and get a bit of enjoyment or useful information out of my efforts.
As an author, I don't think it is fair for me to rate any other author's books here on Goodreads if that rating is less than five stars. I have certainly read many books that do not deserve five (or four, three, or even two). However, I will not rate any of those here while I am a Goodreads author. Consequently, I will only be listing books that I really like and feel deserve five stars.
This is...repeat is...a good read. That said I want to comment on it a little as it's not a simple military sci/fi.
The entire book/story is about racism. It could have become a screed but avoided it and held it's plot and characters above water (so to speak). The novel revolves around (another) human space empire. The empire is getting older and is a bit shaky. There are 8 races in the empire aside from humans and by law...that is on paper they are all equal and have equal rights.
In practice this isn't actually so. Most races (other than we evil humans) are at least in some ways second-class citizens.
The book opens with our protagonist (Leaf [that is his humanized name]) as a boy on the brink of adulthood. His home planet is hit by (human) slavers but just as they are being "herded" aboard the slaver ship they are rescued by (human) Imperial Marines. Leaf has seen the "vids" of humans and the Marines but now he's impressed.
As an adult he is among the first group of his people allowed to enlist in the Imperial Marines. He "has a chance" to become a marine.
We then follow him through training (boot camp) and on. You have probably read books where people go through boot camp or basic training (or you may have been in the military and "enjoyed" the real thing).
The book is handled well and many of the situations, attitudes and so on mirror attitudes we've seen in the history of racism.
Can I say I "like" the book? Well I think we can say the story is (at least in some ways) enjoyable. BUT you will (at least I hope you will) experience anger and the bigotry and injustice faced by these marine Recruits.
That is of course the point of the book.
I can recommend it and I plan to put the next book in my queue.
Some writers produce literary wonders that nobody ever voluntarily reads. Others produce fun, fast books that you don't want to end. Colonel Brazee is the latter. Integration deals with the problems of minorities in the military in a new and fresh way, and a fun way, and I'm damned glad he wrote it.
2018 Dragon Award Finalist in 'Best Military Science Fiction Novel' category
I obtained this book through the Kindle Unlimited program, because it's a finalist in the 'Military Science Fiction' category. A more exhaustive treatment of the book may be found on my blog, Papa Pat Rambles.
It works GREAT as a straight up, pure fiction book. The reliance is not on gadgets, but on the stuff that men are made of. As such, if you think of Captains Courageous or Starship Troopers, and think of the path those characters followed, then you'll see where this book derives its' main strength.
What that strength CARRIES, however, is a bigger burden: the story of the admission into all ranks of the military of blacks. While the author's experience is as a marine, and mine in the army, the problems of going from an all-white service (the marines), or a service which refused to allow blacks to serve in combat roles (the army), to full integration are remarkably similar.
He addresses the institutional resistance to the integration of services. At the highest level, the last person to hold the title of 'Secretary of War' was relieved and forced to retire, due to his refusal to proceed with the ordered desegregation. He also addresses the well-intentioned meddling on the part of political figures, which never works well, and often brings results exactly the opposite of what was intended. The greatest struggle, however, was that taking place in the squad bays. Individual troops HAD to be able to trust the person they were fighting next to, and some simply couldn't make the accommodation. Those who could, however, found fellowship in an identity that transcended all lesser forms. It's not as simple as saying 'they are all green to me;' because there is much more to a trooper than the uniform. Brazee uses the spice that wyntonsin flavor their food with to make that point. No, they AREN'T all the same. It's the job of the people running the show to determine what matters, and what doesn't.
The young main character never loses his first impression formed of the Imperial Marines, as they descend on his village to rescue his people from slavers. Without that image, he might never have been able to make it through the wretched treatment he often received. However, he DOES make it through, and we have the hope that future generations of desolate children will find an armed rescuer there to assure them of safety. One person found this helpful
Just finished reading the FIRST Ghost Marines book - thanks for the clue that there will be MORE. So enjoyed this book, could not put it down. Jonathan Brazee has a wonderful gift of transporting the reader into the worlds he creates with such great skill that it almost feels like you are there taking part in the adventure. Loved every minute!
I’ve been a fan of several of the military sci-fi series put out by Jonathan P. Brazee, having read everything he’s produced except for his Ghost Marines series. They were uniformly superb, reeking of authenticity (something I know a bit about from second hand tales as half my family has served both as enlisted soldiers - my dad was a senior NCO - and officers - my uncle was a army Colonel and his son, my best man, is a navy Commander), and with imaginative plots abs truly well crafted characters. Well, now I’ve done and cleaned up, reading the few books that had been unread. I tried holding off reading Ghost Marines until the series was completed but just could not resist. I’m sorta glad I didn’t. I’ve now binged through Integration, Unification and Devotion (Books 1 to 3). Wow were these incredibly good. A main character who is an alien historically treated as a second class citizen abs in the first group now permitted to serve in combat arms (shades of integration of Blacks into the US military), an Empire in decay but potentially resurgent. Politics on the grand stage. Perfectly crafted action. Character and race creation that wonderfully imaginative. These books have it all, and they’re all perfectly done. My only regret, even though each book does end in a “Happily Enough for Now” even if not a “Happily Ever After”, is that now I have to actually wait for Book 4, Fusion to come out. I’m greedy and really hope that happens soon. In the meantime, each of these books, and the entire series so far, are highly recommended.
This might be an exception to the rule - because you actually can judge this book by its cover - but it's still well worth your time to read. Fans of "hard sci-fi" might not appreciate the main thrust of this story, but the title makes it very clear. Integration of different types of beings into a tradition-laden military organization comes with challenges. Col Brazee clearly did his homework on how minorities were brought into the USMC - and this short, tight story is a metaphor for that challenge. The intentional desocialization of boot camp is flavored here by different-ness of the new recruits - not only physiology, but cultural mindset, social cues, and even diet. The conflict between higher-ups - who need this to all work out, for political reasons and those sharing barracks with these ....these ....."F---g ghosts!" is completely believable. In the end, these differences (and prejudices arising from them) become subordinate (mostly) to the fact that "they" are now marines, like us. When the proverbial excrement encounters the rotating ventilation device, they have our backs and won't leave us behind, so we do the same for them - even if they look and smell funny. I really appreciated the fact that outcomes for the Wyntonan recruits spanned the full range of outcomes that "normal" humans would have experienced. There were wash-outs for both mental and physical reasons; as there was acts of selflessness and even ultimate sacrifice. Looking forward to catching up with more from this author.
Although the story focuses on the imperial marines, I can certainly see overtones.of.the integration of our US military in the 50's.through the 80's, confirmed by his reading list of 2 books at the end. I appreciated his making Leave aware of the political ramifications for his and his people's service, of the awareness that sex, racism, group dynamics, etc all come into play as part of his story. I also want to point out a similar issue with the British army in India, or its integrating the commonwealth forces into its army throughout the 18th thru the 20th century. If there is one thing that set a warning buzzer for me, it was the practice of virtually approving execution of the pirates at both the beginning and the end. Personally, I don't have an issue with it, but it runs counter to my own indoctrination into the U.S. Military, which adheres to the Geneva convention. Apparently, the imperial marines have deleted that portion of their history. Still, good story, likable characters, interesting personal dynamics, looking forward to next book.
If you're into a thoughtful story line then this title is the one for you. The author has one upped his wildly successful stories with this title... He has embraced a subject that has been a source of friction for at least the last 75 years within the military. What is normal and how do I best respond when someone is not normal. The truth is exactly as the author portrays... Can an individual perform as expected when required according to the dictates of the mission... I will continue to enjoy this series in the future...
I found The first few chapters extremely slow and dull but... from there on I found this story very accurate and why the Marines ars a brotherhood and a tradition few can really understand. Once through training and though battle, a bound, a closeness that all feel regardless of all differences.
This was book expressing just some of the problems, feelings and bonds, one goes from boot camp end of service. As a retired Msgt. USMC, This book is worthy of five stars
Multiple species, some based on earth human, so not, all together … but not really. A young emperor bent on truly integrating the military as an example to the empire decides to start with a group of fifty training to become marines. Thus starts the story we see through one young man from an outcast species. There is so much in this story, love, honor, as well as battle and death. While the scenes are set in the future, the truth is in the marines of today and yesterday.
A mixture of fiction and history. Put out in story form. I didn't know what to expect about reading this book. I read the information about the integration of the Marines and the Army. My own service in the Army was enhanced by meeting of lots of different persons at basic, recruit first, then tankers.
Sometimes it takes a story like this to make an impact on people
The author continues to enhance his reputation for excellence in this gripping new novel, the start of a new series. The characterization is well rounded and the treatment of prejudice in military/social situations is realistic but not overblown. I look forward to the next installment. (Write faster!)
Pretty good "boot camp" story, with additional twists. Good editing, believable characters.
One big problem (for me at least): after reading the book, I still don't know how the ghosts actually look. Some details are in the book, but the actual look (and reason why they are called ghosts) is not mentioned anywhere.
It reads almost like a fairytale in that you know how the ending will be but the path to that ending leaves a nice warm feeling behind. The story itself was well written and flowed smoothly. In itself it was a fairly simple tale but the integration of different groups into a single working force was well done.
This was SIFI, universe building, tall tales at its best, our human society is in the toddler stage of life, but these folks are one step up in the scheme of life,solidly walking and able to learn from their mistakes at least most of the time, if we dont kill ourselves off we will make it there also. Good job Jonathan good read
Ghost Marines is more about this day's USA than aliens, as aliens and humans are a bit too similar to my taste - but there is reason for that. The story does have many military scifi elements like aliens, pirates, spaceships and is enjoyable reading up to a little joke in the final chapter. If you like space marine books then you probably like this one, too.
A fast-action military SF story with a refreshing perspective: a not-so-thinly-veiled look at the integration of the first Black Marines in the US during World War 2. This was nominated for Best Military Science Fiction in the Dragon Awards and I can see why: it gives an interesting perspective on the US Marine Corps from the point of view of an outsider.
I enjoyed reading this book and I loved how the subject of racism/ specism was handled. I could empathize with the characters and the situations in the story. It reminded me of the story of the wind talkers in the second world. I look forward to more from this series 😁
Colonel (retired) Brazee does it again. In this book, he takes the battle to the most pernicious enemy of freedom anywhere, prejudice and racism. What does it take to be an Imperial Marine? Is it based upon from where you come or upon whom you are? I recommend this book.
Integrating other races into the Imperial Space Marines is tough, but the Wyntonans are tougher. Leefe and his companions endure a lot of racial BS but win over their fellow Marines and eventually kick some butt together.
Inspirational reading of the reasons soldiers make the choices they do. Ultimately it is to defend what they have sworn to do preserve and defend the constitution and those under its borders
Jonathan Brazen has the start of another hit series on his hands. I've read almost all of his books, and have yet to be disappointed. "Integration" carries on that tradition.
Don’t expect extreme space battles. At least not yet. Leif had gone into a skirmish or 2 gettin his bearings but his main battle is of perceptions. Can he, our alien, really connect to the hoomins? If they are Marines then what does it matter?
Science fiction, Marines, discrimination and a great story
The author uses a science fiction background to address the thorny problem of racism in a straightforward if optimistic manner. Great story telling and character building.
Standard boot camp to first tour story. However Brazee is really good at character development. Not just the main character. Supporting cast includes enough variety and details to create the right mix of interactions.
Well that was a very interesting storyline with plenty of blood and guts lol as I have come to expect. Totally looking forward to the next episode keep them coming lol
....that delves into how races can join together and how the camaraderie gets past all prejudices to create tough marines. A heartwarming story, rather than an outright warmongering sci-fi novel. Looking forward to the next book.