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Off World: Ragnarok
When nuclear war erupts on Earth, the American colony in the Alpha Centauri system is left stranded. As the new day dawns, a furious attack by the native inhabitants threatens to overwhelm the colony's defenses. It's left to the thin red line of the US Army's 9th Regiment to stem the tide and ensure humanity's survival in this harsh new world. From two time Dragon Finalist and author of the best selling series "Irregular Scout Team One" and "Invasion" comes a new tale that tells of the struggle for survival on a brutal planet.
Now Cobb was down, gone, trampled into a red paste, and they were only two thirds of the way across. The team had spread out, Alverez falling further and further behind, the 240 slowing him down. Ahead the road was choked with dead bodies from the artillery, which had stopped falling a while ago. The tail end of the first Gvit column had just left the bridge, ignoring the COP.
“STOP! FIRING LINE! CLAYMORES!” yelled Johnson, and he wheeled around at the first corpse, setting his M-14 on the body, ignoring the smell of blood and guts, to line up a shot. The Gvit were close, less than three hundred meters, and he aimed for the throat of the nearest, firing as soon as he had a steady sight picture. No effect, and he fired again, the alien tumbling onto the pavement. Beside him, the rest of the scouts opened up with their weapons, firing low with their M-4s, aiming for legs and joints, Alvarez hosing them down with the 240 as he caught up with them, emptying his two-hundred-round box, and probably burning out the barrel.
Crane hastily dumped out a claymore, opened the legs, and set FRONT TOWARD ENEMY, muttering “No shit” to himself, then ran the cord back behind another body fifty meters away. “SET!” he yelled, and the team peeled off, running past him.
Baird stopped to help him, but Alvarez, who’d dropped the smoking 240, grabbed him by the collar, hauled him up on his feet, and shoved him into a run. Their fusillade had halted the charge momentarily, and Crane waited patiently until they were less than fifty meters in front of him, spears flying past him as he peered over the legs of dead Gvit. Then he hit the detonator, yelling, “FIRE IN THE HOLE!”
The claymore went off with a deafening CRACK! that made the specialist’s ears ring. Without looking at the result, he grabbed his rifle and ran as fast as he ever had in his life.
Now Cobb was down, gone, trampled into a red paste, and they were only two thirds of the way across. The team had spread out, Alverez falling further and further behind, the 240 slowing him down. Ahead the road was choked with dead bodies from the artillery, which had stopped falling a while ago. The tail end of the first Gvit column had just left the bridge, ignoring the COP.
“STOP! FIRING LINE! CLAYMORES!” yelled Johnson, and he wheeled around at the first corpse, setting his M-14 on the body, ignoring the smell of blood and guts, to line up a shot. The Gvit were close, less than three hundred meters, and he aimed for the throat of the nearest, firing as soon as he had a steady sight picture. No effect, and he fired again, the alien tumbling onto the pavement. Beside him, the rest of the scouts opened up with their weapons, firing low with their M-4s, aiming for legs and joints, Alvarez hosing them down with the 240 as he caught up with them, emptying his two-hundred-round box, and probably burning out the barrel.
Crane hastily dumped out a claymore, opened the legs, and set FRONT TOWARD ENEMY, muttering “No shit” to himself, then ran the cord back behind another body fifty meters away. “SET!” he yelled, and the team peeled off, running past him.
Baird stopped to help him, but Alvarez, who’d dropped the smoking 240, grabbed him by the collar, hauled him up on his feet, and shoved him into a run. Their fusillade had halted the charge momentarily, and Crane waited patiently until they were less than fifty meters in front of him, spears flying past him as he peered over the legs of dead Gvit. Then he hit the detonator, yelling, “FIRE IN THE HOLE!”
The claymore went off with a deafening CRACK! that made the specialist’s ears ring. Without looking at the result, he grabbed his rifle and ran as fast as he ever had in his life.
- GenresScience Fiction
226 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 24, 2019
101 people are currently reading
15 people want to read
About the author
J.F. Holmes
77 books76 followersJ.F. Holmes is a retired Army Senior Noncomissioned Officer, having served for 22 years in both the Regular Army and Army National Guard. During that time, he served as everything from an artillery section leader to a member of a Division level planning staff, with tours in Cuba and Iraq, as well as responding to the terrorists attacks in NYC on 9-11.
From 2010 to 2014 he wrote the immensely popular military cartoon strip, "Power Point Ranger", poking fun at military life in the tradition of Beetle Bailey and Willy & Joe.
His books range from Military Sci-Fi to Space Opera to Detective to Fantasy, with a lot in between, and in 2017 two are finalists for the prestigious Dragon Awards. As of August 2017, Mr. Holmes has eighteen books and two novellas published.
Feel free to join Irregular Scout Team One on Facebook, and get a chance to influence the course and plot of his next book!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/15294...
From 2010 to 2014 he wrote the immensely popular military cartoon strip, "Power Point Ranger", poking fun at military life in the tradition of Beetle Bailey and Willy & Joe.
His books range from Military Sci-Fi to Space Opera to Detective to Fantasy, with a lot in between, and in 2017 two are finalists for the prestigious Dragon Awards. As of August 2017, Mr. Holmes has eighteen books and two novellas published.
Feel free to join Irregular Scout Team One on Facebook, and get a chance to influence the course and plot of his next book!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/15294...
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 12, 2021
I took a chance on this despite the slightly cheesy cover.
The setup is straightforward: physicists on Earth discovered a way to create a portal to other locations, and the first one they found was a planet near Alpha Centauri. Just like Australia, everything here is deadly, from massive orcas in the sea to a race of giant Gvix's who stand 10 feet tall and can hit like a dozen sledgehammers.
There are roughly 70,000 people on the planet, divided into those working the oil rigs that send oil products back to Earth and the military, who are there to keep the oil rigs safe. There are signs of previous life on the planet, but it's debated what that life looked like or why they left.
And that's about all I can say without giving anything away. The book does start off slow as each chapter starts with the countdown to Ragnarok, but we don't know what is going to happen.
What sets this book above other military sci-fi books is the level of detail. There isn't one hero that saves the day, in fact it could be argued there aren't any heroes, just people doing there jobs, some better than others.
The action continues to ramp up until it's not a question of winning or losing, but of survival. This isn't a perfect book. The editing is decent, the cover is cartoonish, but none of that matters once you get pulled into the story.
I've already picked up book 2 and started on it, because I want to see what happens next.
Recommended for military sci fi aficionados. 5/5*
The setup is straightforward: physicists on Earth discovered a way to create a portal to other locations, and the first one they found was a planet near Alpha Centauri. Just like Australia, everything here is deadly, from massive orcas in the sea to a race of giant Gvix's who stand 10 feet tall and can hit like a dozen sledgehammers.
There are roughly 70,000 people on the planet, divided into those working the oil rigs that send oil products back to Earth and the military, who are there to keep the oil rigs safe. There are signs of previous life on the planet, but it's debated what that life looked like or why they left.
And that's about all I can say without giving anything away. The book does start off slow as each chapter starts with the countdown to Ragnarok, but we don't know what is going to happen.
What sets this book above other military sci-fi books is the level of detail. There isn't one hero that saves the day, in fact it could be argued there aren't any heroes, just people doing there jobs, some better than others.
The action continues to ramp up until it's not a question of winning or losing, but of survival. This isn't a perfect book. The editing is decent, the cover is cartoonish, but none of that matters once you get pulled into the story.
I've already picked up book 2 and started on it, because I want to see what happens next.
Recommended for military sci fi aficionados. 5/5*
February 2, 2023
Fun Junk
A fun read, but not a good book. An avalanche of characters and cliches. Gets to the action quickly, but the action isn’t original and the intensity is low when the characters don’t warrant tension.
It's a knockoff of Lost Regiment or Destroyermen or Island in the Sea of Time, where soldiers with advanced weaponry fight against powerful alien barbarian berserkers. Obviously not as good as those two series and that book, but it handles the premise well enough and is a quick and easy read. There is a decent amount of violence, but it isn’t gory, horrific, or realistic. The writing is competent and everything is clear. If that is what you’re craving, this book will satisfy. Otherwise, it isn’t worth reading.
A fun read, but not a good book. An avalanche of characters and cliches. Gets to the action quickly, but the action isn’t original and the intensity is low when the characters don’t warrant tension.
It's a knockoff of Lost Regiment or Destroyermen or Island in the Sea of Time, where soldiers with advanced weaponry fight against powerful alien barbarian berserkers. Obviously not as good as those two series and that book, but it handles the premise well enough and is a quick and easy read. There is a decent amount of violence, but it isn’t gory, horrific, or realistic. The writing is competent and everything is clear. If that is what you’re craving, this book will satisfy. Otherwise, it isn’t worth reading.
March 2, 2020
Read strait thru, couldn't sleep!
J.F. Holmes knowns his trade & his craft. Another brilliant military tale. Interesting characters. Fantastic worldbuilding. Sweeping battles which matter, from intimate and personal to world-changing clashes of armies.
I always love it when tiny character details factor into the tides of battle. When the fickle finger of fate can bring either side a bad or good luck turn.
This is is a place I'd love to go, commanders and Comrades I'd love to serve with, to fight alongside.
Can't wait for the more meat & potatoes I know will come.
J.F. Holmes knowns his trade & his craft. Another brilliant military tale. Interesting characters. Fantastic worldbuilding. Sweeping battles which matter, from intimate and personal to world-changing clashes of armies.
I always love it when tiny character details factor into the tides of battle. When the fickle finger of fate can bring either side a bad or good luck turn.
This is is a place I'd love to go, commanders and Comrades I'd love to serve with, to fight alongside.
Can't wait for the more meat & potatoes I know will come.
March 13, 2019
Book one
Mistakes: I found only two.
Plot: Colonization and military warfare. Military Science Fiction.
Characters: There are a lot of them. The body count is high though.
I love books like this. Heroes are forged in the heat of combat. Some live, most die, but reading their stories either true or fictional make me proud of the military.
Mistakes: I found only two.
Plot: Colonization and military warfare. Military Science Fiction.
Characters: There are a lot of them. The body count is high though.
I love books like this. Heroes are forged in the heat of combat. Some live, most die, but reading their stories either true or fictional make me proud of the military.
March 13, 2019
Great military sci-if
Excellent adult military science fiction. I’m a huge consumer of this genre and this author is absolutely fantastic. Good banter, realistic characters and world building, smart plot. Quite a few typos, but I’m willing to look past it given that everything else was awesome.
Excellent adult military science fiction. I’m a huge consumer of this genre and this author is absolutely fantastic. Good banter, realistic characters and world building, smart plot. Quite a few typos, but I’m willing to look past it given that everything else was awesome.
March 17, 2019
Couldn't put it down!
A blistering pace sets the tone for this Sci Fi/Military fiction novel. It was well written and fun to read. I encourage others to check out other stories by J.F. Holmes!
A blistering pace sets the tone for this Sci Fi/Military fiction novel. It was well written and fun to read. I encourage others to check out other stories by J.F. Holmes!
January 17, 2020
Very good!!
Politicians want security but don't give the armed forces enough to do the job. Of course, the armed forces ask for boondoggles. Want to read more about the powered suits and the people that used them.
Politicians want security but don't give the armed forces enough to do the job. Of course, the armed forces ask for boondoggles. Want to read more about the powered suits and the people that used them.
March 12, 2019
More please!
A great concept and an awesome idea. The Gvit make great enemies, and the surprise twist really establishes the setting!
A great concept and an awesome idea. The Gvit make great enemies, and the surprise twist really establishes the setting!
August 31, 2019
Riveting story with a desire to always turn that page. Frequently to the detriment of my sleep!
September 18, 2019
Good read
The story line was awesome, (but being former military and a Science fiction
Fan the book is a fast and good read with some heroic twists. Highly recommend
The story line was awesome, (but being former military and a Science fiction
Fan the book is a fast and good read with some heroic twists. Highly recommend
March 7, 2023
Woohoo!
Do you like gates linking worlds? How about hordes of pissed off medival rhinoceroces? What about a novel length battle? Here you go!
Do you like gates linking worlds? How about hordes of pissed off medival rhinoceroces? What about a novel length battle? Here you go!
March 10, 2019
Damn!!!!
This book was intense and I felt like I was runnin & gunnin with the character's.
Holmes gets better with every book he writes!
This book was intense and I felt like I was runnin & gunnin with the character's.
Holmes gets better with every book he writes!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews