Valor's Stand: A Young Adult Military Science Fiction Novel

by Kal Spriggs

"In valor there is hope." - Publius Cornelius TacitusJiden Armstrong has gone up against pirates, smugglers, traitors, and murderers but she has never faced anything like this. Her homeworld of Century is looking down the barrel of a gun and the people behind it have not hesitated to kill, manipulate, and destroy.To save Century, Jiden will have to build alliances with people she's never met. She will need to fight battles both in the depths of space and face to face. There is a war coming, one where entire fleets, entire worlds, may burn. In that war, Jiden's family and friends, the Militia she has come to love, could be corrupted or destroyed. That war may well just be the prelude to something far worse.To save her world, Jiden will have to dig deep, to find the things that truly matter to her. She will have to understand pieces about herself, to understand why it is that she fights. Because valor is in her blood and she doesn't know how to quit, doesn't know when to stop... and that may be all that saves not just Century, but all of humanity.

Genres: Science Fiction

304 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 28, 2019

About the author

Kal Spriggs started reading science fiction and fantasy in elementary school. Eventually he was the only eight year old with permission from the local public library to check out books from the adult section because he'd read everything else. He's written ever since he started running out of 'good' stuff to read when he was twelve, although he likes to think his writing has improved, if only slightly.

Spriggs is a graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy with an engineering degree. He followed in his parents' footsteps and joined the US Army after graduation and currently serves as an active duty Engineer captain. As well as earning a masters degree in environmental engineering, he's been deployed to both Afghanistan and Iraq.

His website with free fiction, details on upcoming books, and other information can be found at
kalspriggs.com

Reviews

[Jermel Purse · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars but ………

Overall this is a five star book. From the beginning to the middle to the end there’s a cohesive story that you can follow and you will enjoy. Now if you read the other four books in this series they have better cohesion they have a better flow to them this book has some issues. You can divide the story up into three sections pretty much the beginning a middle and end. During the middle of the book things get bogged down a little too much. It clears out you get a lot of clarity by the time you finish the middle of the book but it could’ve been better written it didn’t rise to the standard I’m used to in this series. Now that does not mean this is not a five star book I just had a flaw actually true false there are a few not many but a few grammatical and spelling errors not many but you noticed him I never saw them in the previous box so they are worth mentioning.

Now I have to mention how this book finally focuses on other planets, species, worlds. No spoiler but there is a chapter during the beginning of the book that is very eye-opening and it really catches you off guard and makes you think. Now you need to be aware of this is the end of the series there is another series which is the continuation of this but it’s a different series all together. There’s also what you might consider a spinoff series you probably want to read that as well. Overall this book is five stars however it’s really good when you get to the end you will want to continue with whatever is next in the series.

[Francheska · Rating 3 out of 5]

Needs an editor, but still enjoyable

1st, I enjoy military academy books. I go in knowing the characters are young, and that sexual chemistry is likely to be introduced, but there is little chance of it being realistically addressed. This author attempts to bridge the age gap of characters and readers by making the planets year longer, so he has a protagonist between the experience and development of age 15-18. Unfortunately, it was cringy to read at times. There are continuity issues and grammatical errors throughout all 5 books. The to female supporting cast are often mixed up, as are their plot lines. Book 5 leaves you in a cliff hanger, never even addressing what happened to one of the love triangle interests. I was invested, but I had to skim most of book 5, so I wouldn’t get as lost as the writer must have been. I think he was trying to introduce the players and political leanings for the big war, and maybe panicking at trying to identify this big threat all of the “adults” keep mentioning. It is ok to be predictable dude, just write a good version of it.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this series even though I have a hard time understanding where the cadets fit in to the overall military structure on the planet. It's definitely different than what I think of when I think of a cadet. This 5th book in the series felt a little more disjointed and the pace was a little bit slower than the previous books but in my mind it was successful in transitioning the story line into a larger, more comprehensive picture of what is going on outside of the planet of Century. I am really, really looking forward to reading the next set of books when they come out. I also realized that there's a tie in to the Rising Wolf series by this author. I think I may venture into those as well. I very much enjoy this author's writing so far, especially the character development and story line.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Good stuff!

Lots of action! The mc really develops and various relationships
develop too. This story arc crescendos very nicely, and moves along to the next!

[Gail Schlosser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

This series has been excellent reading, however I think the author could do a whole lot better giving more involvement to the inserted brain_ ware.