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Hammond's Hardcases #1
Mozari Arrival
They brought death and destruction to Earth. Now it’s time to return the favor.
The massive Mozari spaceship struck without warning. In an instant major cities were leveled. Millions were wiped from the face of the Earth. The horrifying message to those remaining—your training starts now.
Pods scattered across the globe are filled with strange, alien wares and scientists of all backgrounds must come together to harness the advanced technology in a race to discover its secrets before the one-year deadline.
And before their experiments with the exo suits kill another soldier.
Few possess the rare antibodies needed to control the Mozari armor. But Daniel West soon discovers he’s one of the civilians selected to be fitted and trained to use the suit. Instead of following in his family’s footsteps, he joins the military and is assigned to a team on a mission to the Mozari ship. But when tragedy strikes his team, he must take command of a mission into enemy territory that promises nothing less than certain death.
What they discover on the ship changes everything.
This novel contains violence and profanity.
The massive Mozari spaceship struck without warning. In an instant major cities were leveled. Millions were wiped from the face of the Earth. The horrifying message to those remaining—your training starts now.
Pods scattered across the globe are filled with strange, alien wares and scientists of all backgrounds must come together to harness the advanced technology in a race to discover its secrets before the one-year deadline.
And before their experiments with the exo suits kill another soldier.
Few possess the rare antibodies needed to control the Mozari armor. But Daniel West soon discovers he’s one of the civilians selected to be fitted and trained to use the suit. Instead of following in his family’s footsteps, he joins the military and is assigned to a team on a mission to the Mozari ship. But when tragedy strikes his team, he must take command of a mission into enemy territory that promises nothing less than certain death.
What they discover on the ship changes everything.
This novel contains violence and profanity.
- GenresScience FictionAliens
392 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 27, 2019
196 people are currently reading
59 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
July 1, 2019
Well a new author and a new series. I was immediately drawn into this story because I like it when we get to meet the main character before he gets into the military. It’s always interesting to find out how or why they chose this career path instead of just doing what they were doing as a civilian.
Daniel West is not the military type. I doubt he ever even thought of joining the military before he went to college. His parents could afford to send him to Yale for his law degree so why would he even consider a military career. It’s unfortunate that he didn’t get to finish his law degree because that might come in handy latter down the line, but this is all made up anyway, so it probably just doesn’t matter, although it does signal one more think that he didn’t get fully qualified for.
Our story really begins when the Mozari ship shows up in the skies above Earth. It launches one projectile that destroys Sydney completely. It then begins sending a message over every Earth communication channel, “WE ARE THE MOZARI. TRAINING BEGINS NOW”. Of course, the countries of the Earth aren’t going to let an alien starship destroy one of it’s cities without retaliating. So, missiles are launched from the US and China. They are all destroyed very quickly and very easily. Then two more cities, Houston and Shenzhen, China, are obliterated by the Mozari ship. Then another message comes in, “UNITE AND LIVE, FIGHT AND DIE”.
Ok, so back to Daniel West. His best friend is a cop and his ex-wife is a nutcase! With the arrival of the Mozari starship, all the nutcases start coming out of the woodwork as usual. They’re raving about the Mozari being the true god and that humanity should be paying them the respect they deserve. Of course Cody’s ex-wife has fallen for this idiotic garbage which is fine, except she has Cody’s young daughter. The followers of the Mozari form their own church with a very large church established in Boston. That’s where Jill has taken Chloe. Now this Church of the Mozari is led by a deranged smooth-talker which always seems to be the case. He’s not so innocent in trying to convert others to his way of thinking. The church has turned into a stronghold in the middle of Boston that even the police won’t have anything to do with. So Cody convinces Dan to help him retrieve Chloe because that church definitely isn’t a safe place for a child.
Cody and Dan make good on their rescue. Chloe is safe at Dan’s parents house while Cody is working or she’s with Cody at his apartment. Then things turn worse. Cody gets a draft notice. Everyone that is not over 45 yet, are going to be drafted into the military to help fight what the military believes will be an invasion sooner or later. Cody obviously doesn’t want to go since he has no one to leave Chloe with and certainly doesn’t want his wife getting custody of her.
So, Dan solves his problem by taking Cody’s identification and his draft papers and going to the MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station [Been there, done that] ). Now you would think that the military would catch on to this pretty quickly, but no, this time Dan manages to get himself sent all the way to Army basic training and completes at least one day at Fort Leonard Wood, MO. Then he’s caught!
That’s where the real story begins and you won’t believe it. You’ll need to read the rest of the story to find out how Dan West, an almost attorney with absolutely no military background, winds up leading an elite special forces team against a Mozari starship. it’s quite a story, for sure!
Daniel West is not the military type. I doubt he ever even thought of joining the military before he went to college. His parents could afford to send him to Yale for his law degree so why would he even consider a military career. It’s unfortunate that he didn’t get to finish his law degree because that might come in handy latter down the line, but this is all made up anyway, so it probably just doesn’t matter, although it does signal one more think that he didn’t get fully qualified for.
Our story really begins when the Mozari ship shows up in the skies above Earth. It launches one projectile that destroys Sydney completely. It then begins sending a message over every Earth communication channel, “WE ARE THE MOZARI. TRAINING BEGINS NOW”. Of course, the countries of the Earth aren’t going to let an alien starship destroy one of it’s cities without retaliating. So, missiles are launched from the US and China. They are all destroyed very quickly and very easily. Then two more cities, Houston and Shenzhen, China, are obliterated by the Mozari ship. Then another message comes in, “UNITE AND LIVE, FIGHT AND DIE”.
Ok, so back to Daniel West. His best friend is a cop and his ex-wife is a nutcase! With the arrival of the Mozari starship, all the nutcases start coming out of the woodwork as usual. They’re raving about the Mozari being the true god and that humanity should be paying them the respect they deserve. Of course Cody’s ex-wife has fallen for this idiotic garbage which is fine, except she has Cody’s young daughter. The followers of the Mozari form their own church with a very large church established in Boston. That’s where Jill has taken Chloe. Now this Church of the Mozari is led by a deranged smooth-talker which always seems to be the case. He’s not so innocent in trying to convert others to his way of thinking. The church has turned into a stronghold in the middle of Boston that even the police won’t have anything to do with. So Cody convinces Dan to help him retrieve Chloe because that church definitely isn’t a safe place for a child.
Cody and Dan make good on their rescue. Chloe is safe at Dan’s parents house while Cody is working or she’s with Cody at his apartment. Then things turn worse. Cody gets a draft notice. Everyone that is not over 45 yet, are going to be drafted into the military to help fight what the military believes will be an invasion sooner or later. Cody obviously doesn’t want to go since he has no one to leave Chloe with and certainly doesn’t want his wife getting custody of her.
So, Dan solves his problem by taking Cody’s identification and his draft papers and going to the MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station [Been there, done that] ). Now you would think that the military would catch on to this pretty quickly, but no, this time Dan manages to get himself sent all the way to Army basic training and completes at least one day at Fort Leonard Wood, MO. Then he’s caught!
That’s where the real story begins and you won’t believe it. You’ll need to read the rest of the story to find out how Dan West, an almost attorney with absolutely no military background, winds up leading an elite special forces team against a Mozari starship. it’s quite a story, for sure!
May 30, 2019
Unite and Live👽
An alien entity👽 comes to earth, and from a huge planet like spaceship🚀, they bombard the largest cities with huge solid metal bombs that fall like giant rocks. They destroy like nukes, but leave no radiation.
The alien message is clear, Unite and Live. Stop fighting amongst countries and the Mozari👽 is also forcing their idea of training upon the earth. They are as yet unseen, but all of earth is controlled from their giant ship in space.
Daniel is a Young man trying to finish his college training as a lawyer when the Mozari👽 arrive. As secretly as possible, the U.S. Government begins forced recruiting of soldiers. Every one below the age of 45 is registered covertly, Dan is among the new people registered.
At the same time, a fanatical new cult worshipping the Mozari 👽begins to take hold. Leaders claim they were told by The Mozari👽 to start the cults, but to Daniel and his cop friend, Cody, they are clearly doomsday cults, in the style of Jim Jones and David Koresh!
ARC Received from Booksprout🌱
I also got the book with KU.
I really liked the author's story telling throughout this long, well written tale of aliens attempting to take over the hearts and minds of earthlings by coercion. The moral of this story seems to be....in times of war, nobody really wins, both sides lose something in the process.
An alien entity👽 comes to earth, and from a huge planet like spaceship🚀, they bombard the largest cities with huge solid metal bombs that fall like giant rocks. They destroy like nukes, but leave no radiation.
The alien message is clear, Unite and Live. Stop fighting amongst countries and the Mozari👽 is also forcing their idea of training upon the earth. They are as yet unseen, but all of earth is controlled from their giant ship in space.
Daniel is a Young man trying to finish his college training as a lawyer when the Mozari👽 arrive. As secretly as possible, the U.S. Government begins forced recruiting of soldiers. Every one below the age of 45 is registered covertly, Dan is among the new people registered.
At the same time, a fanatical new cult worshipping the Mozari 👽begins to take hold. Leaders claim they were told by The Mozari👽 to start the cults, but to Daniel and his cop friend, Cody, they are clearly doomsday cults, in the style of Jim Jones and David Koresh!
ARC Received from Booksprout🌱
I also got the book with KU.
I really liked the author's story telling throughout this long, well written tale of aliens attempting to take over the hearts and minds of earthlings by coercion. The moral of this story seems to be....in times of war, nobody really wins, both sides lose something in the process.
February 14, 2020
I didn't quite enjoy this book. It was not bad, but it was very gung ho about the alien tech, and it just didn't work for me. Worldbuilding was pretty OK, and it has potential, but the characters and character interactions left a lot to be desired. Not bad, but not my cup of tea.
July 25, 2019
I wasn't a huge fan of this book. I found it very hard to stay engaged in the story. The action picked up a little around 3/4 of the way through and then quickly died off again. The premise of the story was good, I was just unable to connect to the story at all. That ending.... not what I was expecting....
June 17, 2019
While this book was certainly page turning, fast paced with believable characters and a certain realism, I can say that I was perhaps not the target audience for this book. This fits into the military space opera genre, with an impressive knowledge of real military procedure, and the military's most fun pastime, referring to things by acronyms! I also enjoyed it having spent some of my life in the town neighboring the main character, Daniel West.
I can almost picture the author, Jack Colrain, coming up with an idea for advanced weaponry, and then building a story around the gear itself. Because of course, if you're going to get fancy new gear, you have to TRAIN with it! A good portion of the book deals with this training, and again-this military training trope is a genre in itself! But the weaponry is COOL, and no doubt, the author knows a great deal about such things.
Sadly, what this book does not do, is dedicate much time to the aliens themselves-the absence of which is almost conspicuous. And-again, even if the author were to discuss the aliens more-it likely would not have been what I was hoping for, a mind blowing romp through infinite possibilities of intelligences, body forms, histories, and capabilities of said race. But rather, I'd expect only to learn more about the aliens so we can kill them sort of detail. This is what I expect to see in Book 2. And yes, I will likely read Book 2.
Colrain's characters did what they had to do for an action movie. They had back histories, they had regrets, desires, spats with their parents, etc. But this is not a character driven story, and West's biggest change is to go from wastrel to warrior, lawyer to leader (which is slightly less believable because really, how does a wastrel get through law school?) Honestly, I hope book 2 will focus more on West's team of Hardcases, relationships between the solders, that particular brand of gallows humor that soldiers are so good at.
Mozari Arrival is not High Sci-Fi, it won't blow your mind and the film version won't star Matt Damon, but it might feature Chris Pratt, and I'm pretty sure he'll get to flex his awesome new suit powers much to the delight of audiences everywhere.
I got my copy from NetGalley, and I appreciate both the publisher and the author for the opportunity to review this title.
I can almost picture the author, Jack Colrain, coming up with an idea for advanced weaponry, and then building a story around the gear itself. Because of course, if you're going to get fancy new gear, you have to TRAIN with it! A good portion of the book deals with this training, and again-this military training trope is a genre in itself! But the weaponry is COOL, and no doubt, the author knows a great deal about such things.
Sadly, what this book does not do, is dedicate much time to the aliens themselves-the absence of which is almost conspicuous. And-again, even if the author were to discuss the aliens more-it likely would not have been what I was hoping for, a mind blowing romp through infinite possibilities of intelligences, body forms, histories, and capabilities of said race. But rather, I'd expect only to learn more about the aliens so we can kill them sort of detail. This is what I expect to see in Book 2. And yes, I will likely read Book 2.
Colrain's characters did what they had to do for an action movie. They had back histories, they had regrets, desires, spats with their parents, etc. But this is not a character driven story, and West's biggest change is to go from wastrel to warrior, lawyer to leader (which is slightly less believable because really, how does a wastrel get through law school?) Honestly, I hope book 2 will focus more on West's team of Hardcases, relationships between the solders, that particular brand of gallows humor that soldiers are so good at.
Mozari Arrival is not High Sci-Fi, it won't blow your mind and the film version won't star Matt Damon, but it might feature Chris Pratt, and I'm pretty sure he'll get to flex his awesome new suit powers much to the delight of audiences everywhere.
I got my copy from NetGalley, and I appreciate both the publisher and the author for the opportunity to review this title.
July 2, 2019
For me, this book was more about the development of our hero than it was about the action. Daniel West is one of those characters who pull me along into seeing what he does next, like Juan Rico in Heinlein's 'Starship Troopers' (the novel, not the movie) and Travis Long in Weber's 'A Call to Duty'. It was fascinating to observe a young civilian transition into an elite soldier (despite some bone-headed decisions). This is definitely a series I want to watch out for.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
May 2, 2020
(See all of my Book Reviews) - Author Jack Colrain published the novel “Mozari Arrival” in 2019. Mr. Colrain has published 6 novels.
I received an ARC of this novel through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this novel as “R” because it contains scenes of Violence and Mature Language. The story is set in the far future. The primary character is Daniel West.
An unexpected arrival has Earth on edge. A massive spacecraft from the Mozari has entered Earth orbit. Without warning, it drops projectiles on Houston, Sydney, and Shenzhen with massive destruction. A count-down timer appears along with the warning to train or die.
The Mozari spacecraft drops mysterious pods of equipment across the globe. The operation of the equipment is limited to a select few humans who have the right blood components. To the surprise of many, some of the included equipment are weapons.
The drafting of West's best friend drives him to take action. He does not want to see his friend separated from his daughter. West chooses to take his friend's place. The subterfuge does not last long. Being a lawyer, he expects to be court-martialed and imprisoned. Instead, he is offered a promotion to 2nd Lieutenant if he is willing to join a special unit. Once there he finds out about the pods and that he has the required blood to operate the alien equipment.
West and a handful of others train as a special operations team. He has some problems with his teammates. After months of training, the team is deployed in the US to counter terrorists. West becomes romantically involved with a teammate. She is their only pilot and is from China. They are finally sent to the Mozari ship to confront the aliens. What they find surprises them.
I thoroughly enjoyed the 8.5+ hours I spent reading this 393-page Science Fiction novel. I liked the plot. It is a little different from most Science Fiction novels. I look forward to reading more books in this series. I like the chosen cover art. I give this novel a 5 out of 5.
You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).
I received an ARC of this novel through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this novel as “R” because it contains scenes of Violence and Mature Language. The story is set in the far future. The primary character is Daniel West.
An unexpected arrival has Earth on edge. A massive spacecraft from the Mozari has entered Earth orbit. Without warning, it drops projectiles on Houston, Sydney, and Shenzhen with massive destruction. A count-down timer appears along with the warning to train or die.
The Mozari spacecraft drops mysterious pods of equipment across the globe. The operation of the equipment is limited to a select few humans who have the right blood components. To the surprise of many, some of the included equipment are weapons.
The drafting of West's best friend drives him to take action. He does not want to see his friend separated from his daughter. West chooses to take his friend's place. The subterfuge does not last long. Being a lawyer, he expects to be court-martialed and imprisoned. Instead, he is offered a promotion to 2nd Lieutenant if he is willing to join a special unit. Once there he finds out about the pods and that he has the required blood to operate the alien equipment.
West and a handful of others train as a special operations team. He has some problems with his teammates. After months of training, the team is deployed in the US to counter terrorists. West becomes romantically involved with a teammate. She is their only pilot and is from China. They are finally sent to the Mozari ship to confront the aliens. What they find surprises them.
I thoroughly enjoyed the 8.5+ hours I spent reading this 393-page Science Fiction novel. I liked the plot. It is a little different from most Science Fiction novels. I look forward to reading more books in this series. I like the chosen cover art. I give this novel a 5 out of 5.
You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).
September 18, 2019
Im more of a fantasy guy but I wanted to try something new and this was a good read there were parts that I saw coming but other parts not so much which i really enjoyed. Story really takes an interesting turn so try and hang on for that to happen. this is a pretty fleshed out world and all who are in it.
June 12, 2019
They came and attack earth causing destruction. Now it is time for earth to return the favour. Follow them as they build an attack team to go and attack them. Great action read
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
December 15, 2019
Good read
Real good tale. Story line is familiar, but with great twists and turns. I’m looking forward to reading the next book.
Real good tale. Story line is familiar, but with great twists and turns. I’m looking forward to reading the next book.
May 3, 2023
I’ll quote the Goodreads star rating guide here and say it was “okay.” I will also quote the first line of the blurb, “They brought death and destruction to Earth. Now it’s time to return the favour.” Now correct me if I'm wrong (and I'm sure you will). Why on earth would an advanced race of aliens bombard cities on Earth with large blobs of metal and then send them advanced technology to fight back? “To return the favour” just doesn’t make sense to me. Am I missing something here? Are we talking about the Yautja? Level the playing field before the hunting begins.
There were also some other inconsistencies in the story that I found rather annoying. I know it's fiction and all that, but come on man, give me a break! I should have just glossed over them, as the author did. But I’m pedantic, and I couldn’t leave it go. Sorry.
What irked me was the orbital bombardment of large nickel and iron meteorites. Wouldn’t that have caused some sort of nuclear winter or at the very least some sort of environmental catastrophe, but nothing, just a few million people dead? Several large cities were completely annihilated, and just keep calm and carry on! In just about every other sci-fi book I've read where Earth is hit by a meteorite, it's the end of days, and the end of civilisation as we know it, in this book it’s just the beginning, go figure.
Spoiler alert. Another thing that bothered me was the alien tech suits. while training and on exercise, nobody could see them, they were virtually invisible. They had to sacrifice and use Hammond as bait to draw Captain Ying out into the open, so they could tag her. Come actual battle, and engagement with the enemy/cult every Tom, Dick and Harry could see them, they got their asses kicked.
Oh, yes, another pearl of wisdom, to share before I forget, another spoiler alert, the guns the aliens provided, yes… gave us guns, I suppose that we could “return the favour,” Powerful railguns so powerful the projectile they fired was capable of going on indefinitely, 20 km/per/sec or something like that. Our MC used it in the first fight, in a church and blew half of it up, and when they boarded the alien spaceship, guess what they used, yes on a spaceship, in space! No worries about blowing up half the ship then. Oh, no; no worries at all.
So, basically, the whole crux of the story was the MC joining and going through the army’s basic and tactical training, and a big ta-da moment at the end.
There were also some other inconsistencies in the story that I found rather annoying. I know it's fiction and all that, but come on man, give me a break! I should have just glossed over them, as the author did. But I’m pedantic, and I couldn’t leave it go. Sorry.
What irked me was the orbital bombardment of large nickel and iron meteorites. Wouldn’t that have caused some sort of nuclear winter or at the very least some sort of environmental catastrophe, but nothing, just a few million people dead? Several large cities were completely annihilated, and just keep calm and carry on! In just about every other sci-fi book I've read where Earth is hit by a meteorite, it's the end of days, and the end of civilisation as we know it, in this book it’s just the beginning, go figure.
Spoiler alert. Another thing that bothered me was the alien tech suits. while training and on exercise, nobody could see them, they were virtually invisible. They had to sacrifice and use Hammond as bait to draw Captain Ying out into the open, so they could tag her. Come actual battle, and engagement with the enemy/cult every Tom, Dick and Harry could see them, they got their asses kicked.
Oh, yes, another pearl of wisdom, to share before I forget, another spoiler alert, the guns the aliens provided, yes… gave us guns, I suppose that we could “return the favour,” Powerful railguns so powerful the projectile they fired was capable of going on indefinitely, 20 km/per/sec or something like that. Our MC used it in the first fight, in a church and blew half of it up, and when they boarded the alien spaceship, guess what they used, yes on a spaceship, in space! No worries about blowing up half the ship then. Oh, no; no worries at all.
So, basically, the whole crux of the story was the MC joining and going through the army’s basic and tactical training, and a big ta-da moment at the end.
August 2, 2019
Good alien invasion story
This was well written, though I had some quibbles. The age of all the major characters was really young, yet they are tasked with portraying some well thought out mature appreciations of an alien incursion, sudden militarization on a global scale, a planet-wide attempt to adopt a myriad of alien technologies. It's finely done but 25 year olds embodying a 40 year old's perspectives, almost broke the believability barrier several times. I got around that by ignoring the ages of any of the characters and just focusing on their roles and the story works just fine.
The characters are almost mainstream fiction perfect, with nothing too exaggerated either in dialogue or motivations. The female characters are people (hallelujah) and the soldiers aren't steroid driven maniacs always shouting oorah, which makes the book a lot of fun to read. Molotov cocktail causing burns against powered armor didn't , doesn't and never will make sense to me. The Mozari are a hoot, ruthless but a hoot. I was more excited by their tech than almost anything else. The armor, the portable railguns and the rest are logical, consistent and described well enough that I could easily visualize them.
The MC going from law student to officer in less than 3 months (3days actually) was not explained very well. The Chinese pilot being transferred back to the PLAAF also wasn't explained well. The relationships on the other hand are kind of first rate. There's a lot of depth in the present day characters but their backgrounds are glossed over. The hints of global involvement against the aliens was nice but the explanation for a multinational powered armor training unit wasn't explained. Could be a very good series.
This was well written, though I had some quibbles. The age of all the major characters was really young, yet they are tasked with portraying some well thought out mature appreciations of an alien incursion, sudden militarization on a global scale, a planet-wide attempt to adopt a myriad of alien technologies. It's finely done but 25 year olds embodying a 40 year old's perspectives, almost broke the believability barrier several times. I got around that by ignoring the ages of any of the characters and just focusing on their roles and the story works just fine.
The characters are almost mainstream fiction perfect, with nothing too exaggerated either in dialogue or motivations. The female characters are people (hallelujah) and the soldiers aren't steroid driven maniacs always shouting oorah, which makes the book a lot of fun to read. Molotov cocktail causing burns against powered armor didn't , doesn't and never will make sense to me. The Mozari are a hoot, ruthless but a hoot. I was more excited by their tech than almost anything else. The armor, the portable railguns and the rest are logical, consistent and described well enough that I could easily visualize them.
The MC going from law student to officer in less than 3 months (3days actually) was not explained very well. The Chinese pilot being transferred back to the PLAAF also wasn't explained well. The relationships on the other hand are kind of first rate. There's a lot of depth in the present day characters but their backgrounds are glossed over. The hints of global involvement against the aliens was nice but the explanation for a multinational powered armor training unit wasn't explained. Could be a very good series.
October 1, 2019
( Format : Audiobook )
"Training begins now."
On the T.V.screen, an announcer had the same blank expression last seen during the events of 09/11 as an huge mushroom cloud rose above what had been Sydney, Australia. Words appeared, replacing internet access: "Unite and live. Fight and die. We are the Mazuri. Training begins now."
The world's population gears into defensive mode against the overwhelming alien threat...
Interesting back story as Daniel becomes the surprising military hero with fairly realistic characters along the way, all separately voiced by narrator Andrew Tell. Training, fighting, a touch of romance, a heavy use of acromyms, a dash of humour: this story holds the occasional surprise but, for some reason, failed to hold this reader's full attention until close to the end with the introduction of a new and really delightful character: she made the whole book worthwhile.
My thanks to the rights holder of Mozari Arrival 1, who, at my request via Audiobook Boom, freely gifted me with a complimentary copy. With all of the introductions made, perhaps, now, battle can fully commence in the next volume. This book was an easy listen, although I increased the playback speed to 1.25 as otherwise it felt slightly slow, and the alien invasion story was different from most. Worth trying, especially for readers drawn to military S.F.
"Training begins now."
On the T.V.screen, an announcer had the same blank expression last seen during the events of 09/11 as an huge mushroom cloud rose above what had been Sydney, Australia. Words appeared, replacing internet access: "Unite and live. Fight and die. We are the Mazuri. Training begins now."
The world's population gears into defensive mode against the overwhelming alien threat...
Interesting back story as Daniel becomes the surprising military hero with fairly realistic characters along the way, all separately voiced by narrator Andrew Tell. Training, fighting, a touch of romance, a heavy use of acromyms, a dash of humour: this story holds the occasional surprise but, for some reason, failed to hold this reader's full attention until close to the end with the introduction of a new and really delightful character: she made the whole book worthwhile.
My thanks to the rights holder of Mozari Arrival 1, who, at my request via Audiobook Boom, freely gifted me with a complimentary copy. With all of the introductions made, perhaps, now, battle can fully commence in the next volume. This book was an easy listen, although I increased the playback speed to 1.25 as otherwise it felt slightly slow, and the alien invasion story was different from most. Worth trying, especially for readers drawn to military S.F.
November 29, 2022
What would you do if your world was attacked?
This book is interesting. It is kind of like a combination of "Independence Day", "Starship Troopers" and "Ender's Game".
One day everything is normal and the next thing the people of Earth know is that they are attacked by an object from outerspace. They also see that when a couple of countries try to attack it that there is extreme reproctions. They are also given a massage that the attackers are the Mozari and that if they unite they will live and if they fight they will die. They also see other objects fall from the sky and then recieve another message that only went to the governments of the world that their training begins now with a countdown that would take about a year to complete.
Chaos reins around the world by people who claim to be Mozari followers. People are being drafted for the military and the draft now has a wider range then ever.
This book was fun to read to find out about the training and what the countdown was really about. I am not normally one for military style reading but I do like books that include surviving the odds and the hardships of life after disaster strikes.
This book is interesting. It is kind of like a combination of "Independence Day", "Starship Troopers" and "Ender's Game".
One day everything is normal and the next thing the people of Earth know is that they are attacked by an object from outerspace. They also see that when a couple of countries try to attack it that there is extreme reproctions. They are also given a massage that the attackers are the Mozari and that if they unite they will live and if they fight they will die. They also see other objects fall from the sky and then recieve another message that only went to the governments of the world that their training begins now with a countdown that would take about a year to complete.
Chaos reins around the world by people who claim to be Mozari followers. People are being drafted for the military and the draft now has a wider range then ever.
This book was fun to read to find out about the training and what the countdown was really about. I am not normally one for military style reading but I do like books that include surviving the odds and the hardships of life after disaster strikes.
January 27, 2025
It's not the worst book I've ever read, but this author has a long way to go as of writing this.
My main issues:
1. The author can't use subtext. Every character blurts out exactly what they are thinking at all times.
2. The characters are all shallow. This probably stems from the first con, characters aren't allowed to express who they are, they just tell you. There's no subtlety, no nuance, and thus everyone is 2d. Plus, I barely know any of them after the entire book.
3. The humor falls flat. Calling the Mozari worshippers "Mozzarellas" would have been fine if a single character had done it, but everyone picks up this stupid slur, and it's clear it's supposed to be amusing, but it really isn't. This applies to every ham-fisted humor attempt in the book.
4. Without characters to carry it, this book rests on how good its plot is. And it's not great. The book synopsis is way more interesting than the actual plot.
This isn't the Ender's Game we have at home. This is a moldy crust of the Ender's Game we have at home that needs to be tossed out.
My main issues:
1. The author can't use subtext. Every character blurts out exactly what they are thinking at all times.
2. The characters are all shallow. This probably stems from the first con, characters aren't allowed to express who they are, they just tell you. There's no subtlety, no nuance, and thus everyone is 2d. Plus, I barely know any of them after the entire book.
3. The humor falls flat. Calling the Mozari worshippers "Mozzarellas" would have been fine if a single character had done it, but everyone picks up this stupid slur, and it's clear it's supposed to be amusing, but it really isn't. This applies to every ham-fisted humor attempt in the book.
4. Without characters to carry it, this book rests on how good its plot is. And it's not great. The book synopsis is way more interesting than the actual plot.
This isn't the Ender's Game we have at home. This is a moldy crust of the Ender's Game we have at home that needs to be tossed out.
October 21, 2019
Book one
Mistakes: I didn’t find any, but there was one abbreviation late in the book that I didn’t know. There are also a couple of sentences that chop off part way through and pick up like the start of a new paragraph.
Plot: Hostile first contact, training with alien gear, boarding an alien ship, and hostile second contact.
Characters: The MC is interesting enough that I will check out book two.
8/10
Mistakes: I didn’t find any, but there was one abbreviation late in the book that I didn’t know. There are also a couple of sentences that chop off part way through and pick up like the start of a new paragraph.
Plot: Hostile first contact, training with alien gear, boarding an alien ship, and hostile second contact.
Characters: The MC is interesting enough that I will check out book two.
8/10
December 10, 2023
This is by far one of the best sci-fi stories I've ever read! It's just non-stop action and doesn't bore you with complex and intricate details but gives you enough information to easily understand what's going on. I've just purchased Trojan Colony, the 2nd book. Thank you Jack Coltrain for your books - I love your writing style!
May 31, 2019
Entertaining, Action packed, Smart
I loved it. A great story. Interesting, inventive and original. I didn’t understand a lot of the acronyms used since I was never military, but even if I didn’t know exactly what they meant I got the gist of it.
I loved it. A great story. Interesting, inventive and original. I didn’t understand a lot of the acronyms used since I was never military, but even if I didn’t know exactly what they meant I got the gist of it.
June 2, 2019
Incredible space opera with page-turning action-packed pages. As a retired military member, it was even better! I loved the story and cannot wait for the next story to come out!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
February 24, 2020
The concept was cool. The times when Daniel blamed himself for stupid crap was not cool, and made me think that the author struggled to insert emotion into the story. I won't continue this series as I think it was written for a younger audience.
November 17, 2021
I received a free copy via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.
I found this to be a thoroughly entertaining space opera.
The action came thick and fast with the characters engaging.
Although the ending felt a bit rushed it left me wanting to read more.
I found this to be a thoroughly entertaining space opera.
The action came thick and fast with the characters engaging.
Although the ending felt a bit rushed it left me wanting to read more.
October 3, 2019
Will read the next one, I think.
It’s more like ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2⭐️ , due to holes in the plot or story (IMO).
But still entertaining. Will read the next one, I think.
It’s more like ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2⭐️ , due to holes in the plot or story (IMO).
But still entertaining. Will read the next one, I think.
February 18, 2023
I liked it.
August 9, 2024
On its own, I would give this a three-star: decent writing, non-imaginative plot, but still enjoyable if you really ignore the weaknesses in the plot, in the science and in the consistency.
But book 2 just exploited these weaknesses, to the effect that I do not intend to read book 3 of the omnibus I bought.
But book 2 just exploited these weaknesses, to the effect that I do not intend to read book 3 of the omnibus I bought.
December 18, 2022
Really great series! Amazing characters and writing. I loved it so much. It’s been a while since I finished the series but just now getting around to reviewing.
I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a strong story of survival, redemption and determination, space travel, aliens and some origin of our species questions…. These books even have a love story throughout. I promise you’ll love it!!
Narration by Andrew Tell is always fantastic md this was no different. He is n excellent narrator!
I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a strong story of survival, redemption and determination, space travel, aliens and some origin of our species questions…. These books even have a love story throughout. I promise you’ll love it!!
Narration by Andrew Tell is always fantastic md this was no different. He is n excellent narrator!
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