Soldierina

by Better Hero Army

Everything's gone wrong. The battleship Timora has crashed into Earth on its arrival, leaving INA stranded on a planet occupied and controlled by mechanized invaders she shouldn't be able to feel with her empathic senses...but she does. Worse, rather than searching for the man she loves, she’s stuck with a vengeful platoon sergeant she hates more than anything in the universe.

In this hard-hitting, near-future military science-fiction thriller, the author behind the Better Hero Army name pens an unforgettable new twist on the sixth sense.

Genres: Science Fiction

Kindle Edition

About the author

Better Hero Army is the (really cool) pen name of American author Evan Ramspott. Under the Better Hero Army name, Evan writes about zombies, gargoyles, fairies, aliens, and pretty much anything that doesn't belong in the mainstream (i.e., he writes about cool stuff under the BHA name). He has a really cool website at www.betterheroarmy.com, he's sometimes active on Twitter @BetterHeroArmy, and he's in a bunch of cool GoodReads groups.

Evan's other (not so cool) works of fiction are mainstream stories about social inequities and hardships (and are real downers by comparison).

When Evan isn't being a (cool) writer, he has a family and a day job and enjoys all three equally. Oh, and he likes the beach because it's also cool.

Reviews

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book in a goodreads drawing.

After Earth is invaded by AI machines, a young lady augmented soldier drops back into Earth. Most of the time she wants to be with her lover, but she's stuck with her jealous, wounded Sergeant, instead. The two run and hide and shoot.

Way too long.

[TSN ☮ · Rating 5 out of 5]

re-read May 2024
Re-read December 2022
Re-read August 2020

I enjoy reading military sci-fi, and the blurb for this book sounded really amazing.
AND IT WAS!

“Earth's last hope has come from the stars”



Earth is invaded by mechanized AI's and the Farrun Republic, who have been at war with the AI in like forever, have sent a battleship to help mount a defense.
Everything goes wrong with the battleship crashing into Earth, and our heroine, INA finds herself alone and hunted by the AI.
We follow her quest looking for other survivors, especially a fellow soldier she's in love with. During her search, she pretty much single handled wage war on the AI.

This was very intense, and I enjoyed it so much that I couldn't stop reading until reaching the end. Making this an easy 5 star review for me.

☛ I requested an advanced copy of this title from NetGalley, and I'm voluntarily making this review.

[Dave Webber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absorbing Book

Excellent writing that lets you fall into the story even during the constant past flashes. Excellent character development and growth as the story progresses.

[Kiki Brosnan (Bookworm_KikiB) · Rating 3 out of 5]

You will like this book if: you like action scenes, military fiction, and science-fiction love stories

Plot: INA fights to save Earth from the AI robots and find her beloved IOT after disaster strikes on their battleship and threatens to destroy their mission. The story flips between INA’s past training and love affair with IOT and the harsh reality of the present dire situation.

Characters: INA finds herself on a strange world with strange customs as she is no longer in a battle training exercise, but rather fighting for survival. She is such an endearing character, with her background from a planet so different from those her peers are from, and so very different from Earth. Her experiences and growth as an empath were compelling. Her Earth companions are also very relatable, yet not very bright.

Setting: Each scene is described in such detail, from a parking garage on Earth to the flashbacks INA has of her mother comforting her in their huts. Most of the story is set in the midwest as well as at the military training facilities.

Conflict/Resolution: I enjoyed the pacing of the conflict and how INA learns to trust in her abilities despite her awful platoon sergeant always believing that INA would fail. The final battle scene is satisfying and once certain aspects are resolved there is a serene feeling of resolve. I would have loved an epilogue to know where our two Earth friends ended and how INA overcame the racism she faced for being an empath.

Writing: Very descriptive scenes, which helped visualize and immerse into the science-fiction aspects. At times during action scenes, I couldn’t visualize what was happening with a vague “they were thrown left.” I also had a hard time knowing when INAs flashbacks to her mother would end.

Overall/Other notes: This was a pretty long book, and it picked up about halfway through. I received a copy through a Goodreads giveaway.

[Ray Daley · Rating 1 out of 5]

I only read half of this book, mostly because I couldn't bear to finish it. The book started with promise and soon ran into its major stumbling block. It's too slow, far too drawn out and too much of the same thing constantly happening.

The story simply doesn't progress well (or at all) so you get bored (well, I did) waiting for the plot to advance. I didn't feel anything for any of the characters so I had no investment to keep me reading. The book feels like a first draft, if anything, and could stand to use a good edit & cut to improve the pace.

I've no issues with the military aspects but even the fighting scenes felt incredibly boring. The concept sounded great, which was the main reason why I downloaded it, it just failed to deliver on its potential. With some amount of fettling, this might become a decent read. I'd have to endure whatever ending there is to find out.

I just got so bored I deleted the title rather than struggling to finish it.

[Craig Pearson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Almost did not finish this book. Glad I did because the story finally became clear. Authors tend to get too fancy with their plot development, character presentation, and comlicated universes. The story line is very interesting but the writing could have been more to the point and clearer from the git go.

[Neil · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a free copy via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.

This was a good idea spoilt by the laying out of the story.

Jumping backwards and forwards throughout the story never gives to a good feel.

The ending also leaves a lot to be desired leaving you wondering what happens next?

[Lavender]

Placeholder

I won this book via Goodreads Giveaways.

[Clay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could not get through. Made it through 75% of a book full of boring details that did not move the story forward.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Soldierina

I think this is a great book. It did get a little repetitive in the middle but the ending was great.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was good, not great for me. Creative idea for a plot, and some interesting tech. I'm a hard sci-fi fan and this worked pretty well. The author shows talent, and suspect will get better with more experience.

I really appreciate the ARC for review!!