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The Last Reaper #1
The Last Reaper
When a high value scientist is taken hostage inside the galaxy's most dangerous prison, Halek Cain is the only man for the job.
The last remaining survivor of the Reaper program, Hal is an unstoppable force of fuel and madness. A veteran amputee-turned-cyborg, he has a history of violence and a talent for killing that is unmatched by any soldier.
With the promise of freedom as his only incentive, he'll stop at nothing to earn back his life from the people who made him, imprisoned him, and were too afraid to let him die.
Experience this exciting beginning to a brand new series set in the Renegade Star universe.
The last remaining survivor of the Reaper program, Hal is an unstoppable force of fuel and madness. A veteran amputee-turned-cyborg, he has a history of violence and a talent for killing that is unmatched by any soldier.
With the promise of freedom as his only incentive, he'll stop at nothing to earn back his life from the people who made him, imprisoned him, and were too afraid to let him die.
Experience this exciting beginning to a brand new series set in the Renegade Star universe.
402 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 8, 2019
1519 people are currently reading
1316 people want to read
About the author
J.N. Chaney
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 126 reviews
February 11, 2019
What a fantastic cover! Just knowing it’s being written by these two excellent authors is enough to give me the thrills, knowing it’s going to be another fascinating read to a brand new series in the Renegade universe. Non-stop action and chills abound in this astounding science fiction novel. This book has a thrilling plot, complete with formidable characters, magnificently blended with heart-pounding scenes filled with intrepid and gripping fights. It starts with a bang and continues to build to an explosive finish... All the elements in the story mesh well together to form an extraordinary novel that will enthrall those who enjoy books set in In corrupted government environment with a touch of violence and high tech augmentation twist. The first person narrative is excellent, the protagonist is magnificent, with his witty, sarcastic dialogue with a dash of humour. A Reaper, as always are Chaney’s and Moon’s books! An excellent start for a new series. Impatient for the next installment.
October 14, 2019
Cain is in prison for taking the law into his own hands. He's on death row and the only way to get a reprieve and maybe a chance to escape is for him to go on a mission that he may not return from. There he finds a lot of people who shouldn't be there. He tries to do what's right when sometimes it means he may get killed. Enjoyed the book. Plan on reading more of the series.
February 10, 2019
Kickass sci-fi!
I absolutely loved this book. The main character, Hal Cain reminded me of Snake Plissken in all the right ways. Already can’t wait for the next!
I absolutely loved this book. The main character, Hal Cain reminded me of Snake Plissken in all the right ways. Already can’t wait for the next!
May 20, 2023
He's the Man🐺💪🗡🔫? For the Job
Military Science Fiction.
ADULT language throughout.
An incarcerated Cyborg killer with cybernetic enhancements is sent on a dangerous mission in space to rescue a scientist.
I got this ebook from Amazon with KU
Military Science Fiction.
ADULT language throughout.
An incarcerated Cyborg killer with cybernetic enhancements is sent on a dangerous mission in space to rescue a scientist.
I got this ebook from Amazon with KU
December 24, 2019
Enjoyable, quick read.
Follows well with the Renegade series.
Follows well with the Renegade series.
November 9, 2020
This starts with a fairly unlikable character being treated badly. Do I care? Sort of. The adventure that ensues is pretty good, culminating in a fairly anti-climactic ending. However, Ray Porter's narration makes this series worth continuing.
September 14, 2020
A hostage rescue set in space, on a space-colony-outcast-dropoff that is ticking down to self destruction. Our hero (?) is a cyborg assassin (a "Reaper") plucked from death row. That all sounds like a great place to start, but maybe it should have been left at the "good concept" stage. There's not much story here.
Various gangs and groups are set against each other, without much back story as to who hates who... or why... except everyone is against our cyborg. Action sequences flit from one to the next with barely decipherable transitions in between. You're often left guessing where exactly everyone is... who, what or where, they are running to (or from). Dialogue is hard to track. Responses, reactions pop up with little reason. Back stabbing and double crossing, but we're not really told why that occurs. Bad guys all have terrible aim. Snarky one liners really seem to be the driving force of this book.
This one really turned into a trudge for me. I won't be following the series moving forward.
Various gangs and groups are set against each other, without much back story as to who hates who... or why... except everyone is against our cyborg. Action sequences flit from one to the next with barely decipherable transitions in between. You're often left guessing where exactly everyone is... who, what or where, they are running to (or from). Dialogue is hard to track. Responses, reactions pop up with little reason. Back stabbing and double crossing, but we're not really told why that occurs. Bad guys all have terrible aim. Snarky one liners really seem to be the driving force of this book.
This one really turned into a trudge for me. I won't be following the series moving forward.
February 22, 2019
Decent enough for an hour, not good enough for a novel.
While it intends well, this book is entirely too find of wooden characterization, hazy and undefined communication of spaces, and generally just too fond of tell-don't-show. Which is a terrible shame because despite having a well worn premise and the potential for good snark-porn, it just never establishes voice strongly enough to carry it off. Overall, the pacing felt like escalating video game levels and the protagonists might have been better served by being more traditionally mute. Still, a breezy light read with decent action despite its other flaws.
While it intends well, this book is entirely too find of wooden characterization, hazy and undefined communication of spaces, and generally just too fond of tell-don't-show. Which is a terrible shame because despite having a well worn premise and the potential for good snark-porn, it just never establishes voice strongly enough to carry it off. Overall, the pacing felt like escalating video game levels and the protagonists might have been better served by being more traditionally mute. Still, a breezy light read with decent action despite its other flaws.
January 14, 2020
I enjoyed this introduction to the Reaper series. I began reading this as a filler between other military science fiction series’ but it now one of my go to series.
February 5, 2022
This audiobook was amazing, due to the amazing narrator!
December 20, 2022
This book just didn't read well to me, but I can't really pin down why. The story's main character is a bad-ass Special Operator called a "Reaper". A Reaper is a genetically engineered and physically modified human fighting machine which in this case is also named Halek Cain, prisoner of the Bluesphere Maximum Security Prison-Ultramax IX. I guess it's more correct to call him a former Reaper because he certainly isn't a special operator for the Union any more. They have him securely looked away for good and hadn't planned on releasing him any time soon. Until now.
His former Reaper commander shows up at the prison and offers Reaper Cain a deal that could get his sentence commuted, if he survived the mission. Apparently, Reaper Cain is the only Reaper still alive. While they are very capable at running special operations they are not immortal. Others died one way or another until the cost of creating new Reapers just wasn't worth it. And with the fact that Reaper Cain had gone "off the reservation", so to speak, killing eighteen or more civilians on his own that put kind of put a damper on creating any new Reapers. Why he went on this killing spree is for his own reasons, but it wasn't an sanctioned operations so he was paying the price. Except they once again needed his services for a special operation that supposedly couldn't be done by anyone else.
That right there sounds ridiculous as you read the story. There are other special operators working for the Union, battalions of them, but for this mission they only wanted Reaper Cain. The mission was something he was a specialist at and that was retrieving high profile hostages under very difficult conditions. This particular mission involved his securing a scientist from a very strange prison planet. How this scientist had gotten captured and by whom wasn't really explained nor what he was doing at this prison. It was just explained that he was there and Cain's mission was to rescue him alive. For this he would be brought back into the fold and become a Union special operator just like before.
Of course Cain didn't believe any of this and after listening to the mission brief decided that this was definitely a suicide mission for which they didn't expect him to come back. This prison planet was supposed to be run by the Union with Union guards managing the prisoners, but that wasn't exactly the case any more. The prisoners had long taken over the place and had splintered into various gangs that now ruled specific territories of the prison. Cain was later to find out that there were actually civilians not related to any of the gangs living on the planet having been placed there for one minor reason or another by the Union. Most of their crimes were not violent and just didn't justify this kind of imprisonment. But, someone had to run and maintain the prison planet/moon so these civilians did most of that. The other gangs had an understanding that if they want the gravity dome to remain operating and functional, then they had to leave these civilians alone. Also, these civilians operated a sort of smuggling operation that brought certain necessary supplies to the prison moon and the gangs benefitted from this so again, they didn't harass the civilians in their sector that much.
But, every where else on this prison moon was chaos. And right smack in the middle of it was where they scientist was held. Cain was also to find out that the scientist's daughter was a hostage to and of course he was going to have to rescue her along with her father. Now as deadly as Cain was, they weren't going to give him the latest and greatest equipment, but dropped him on the moon in some older gear and told him to make do. They gave him a pickup point and told him to bring the scientist there at a specific time.
The only problem, other than the crazy prison gangs was that the moon was about to self destruct. Even the civilians managing the place couldn't keep it going forever. Once the gravity generators quit, the place was fly apart. It was now just a gamble as to which would come first, Cain's mission accomplishment or everybody dying.
Again, I just don't know why I didn't really care for this story. It could be that the author didn't really give much of a picture into who Halek Cain was prior to becoming a Reaper. The author also didn't really explain what a Reaper was or how they became one. And then the fighting on the moon just didn't seem that terrible or difficult. Oh, it did include the Union turning on Cain with no intent on him getting off the planet, but that was expected. And to find out they had a new and improved Reaper that they didn't use on this mission is kind of dumb.
I have the next book, "Fear the Reaper", but I don't think I'll be in any hurry to read it.
His former Reaper commander shows up at the prison and offers Reaper Cain a deal that could get his sentence commuted, if he survived the mission. Apparently, Reaper Cain is the only Reaper still alive. While they are very capable at running special operations they are not immortal. Others died one way or another until the cost of creating new Reapers just wasn't worth it. And with the fact that Reaper Cain had gone "off the reservation", so to speak, killing eighteen or more civilians on his own that put kind of put a damper on creating any new Reapers. Why he went on this killing spree is for his own reasons, but it wasn't an sanctioned operations so he was paying the price. Except they once again needed his services for a special operation that supposedly couldn't be done by anyone else.
That right there sounds ridiculous as you read the story. There are other special operators working for the Union, battalions of them, but for this mission they only wanted Reaper Cain. The mission was something he was a specialist at and that was retrieving high profile hostages under very difficult conditions. This particular mission involved his securing a scientist from a very strange prison planet. How this scientist had gotten captured and by whom wasn't really explained nor what he was doing at this prison. It was just explained that he was there and Cain's mission was to rescue him alive. For this he would be brought back into the fold and become a Union special operator just like before.
Of course Cain didn't believe any of this and after listening to the mission brief decided that this was definitely a suicide mission for which they didn't expect him to come back. This prison planet was supposed to be run by the Union with Union guards managing the prisoners, but that wasn't exactly the case any more. The prisoners had long taken over the place and had splintered into various gangs that now ruled specific territories of the prison. Cain was later to find out that there were actually civilians not related to any of the gangs living on the planet having been placed there for one minor reason or another by the Union. Most of their crimes were not violent and just didn't justify this kind of imprisonment. But, someone had to run and maintain the prison planet/moon so these civilians did most of that. The other gangs had an understanding that if they want the gravity dome to remain operating and functional, then they had to leave these civilians alone. Also, these civilians operated a sort of smuggling operation that brought certain necessary supplies to the prison moon and the gangs benefitted from this so again, they didn't harass the civilians in their sector that much.
But, every where else on this prison moon was chaos. And right smack in the middle of it was where they scientist was held. Cain was also to find out that the scientist's daughter was a hostage to and of course he was going to have to rescue her along with her father. Now as deadly as Cain was, they weren't going to give him the latest and greatest equipment, but dropped him on the moon in some older gear and told him to make do. They gave him a pickup point and told him to bring the scientist there at a specific time.
The only problem, other than the crazy prison gangs was that the moon was about to self destruct. Even the civilians managing the place couldn't keep it going forever. Once the gravity generators quit, the place was fly apart. It was now just a gamble as to which would come first, Cain's mission accomplishment or everybody dying.
Again, I just don't know why I didn't really care for this story. It could be that the author didn't really give much of a picture into who Halek Cain was prior to becoming a Reaper. The author also didn't really explain what a Reaper was or how they became one. And then the fighting on the moon just didn't seem that terrible or difficult. Oh, it did include the Union turning on Cain with no intent on him getting off the planet, but that was expected. And to find out they had a new and improved Reaper that they didn't use on this mission is kind of dumb.
I have the next book, "Fear the Reaper", but I don't think I'll be in any hurry to read it.
April 27, 2019
Videogame on a page
This was written by someone with a Masters of Fine Art? American education doesn't look good after reading this book. I forced myself to finish it, in order to discover whether there have been any changes in the world of awful writing. The good news is "No!", it seems unchanged.
The background universe has no substance. It's more of a suggestion. No world, nothing on which to hang a plot. That works out for this book because it doesn't have one. The book consists of loosely connected close combat sequences, running, assault rifle fire, more running, grenade throwing (much like the "Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch - very decisive weapons), hiding, stabbing, punching, more running. You may lose track of who is attacking whom but don't feel embarrassed, since it seems that the writers did the same numerous times. If you nod off trying to track the flow of dialogue, no worries. One of the strengths of the book is that the dialogue is an afterthought, so no important "story" (is it really a story though) details are lost.
The writers do manage to balance the hint of a social background with an elegant nod to the concept of a general tech base for this "universe". It's quite the well done effort. It may be the finest example of such an effort that I have ever encountered.
The characters are the true "Jewel in the Crown". From Mario Brothers emotional depths to personal journeys that rival those of "Iron Man" or "Thor", this book (this series, I suspect) will challenge Hesse, Tolstoy, Pushkin, Austen or Hugo. I would suggest preparation and contemplation in advance of attempting such an intellectual and literary challenge. Or you could just give these two a pass, until they learn to or decide to write a novel.
This was written by someone with a Masters of Fine Art? American education doesn't look good after reading this book. I forced myself to finish it, in order to discover whether there have been any changes in the world of awful writing. The good news is "No!", it seems unchanged.
The background universe has no substance. It's more of a suggestion. No world, nothing on which to hang a plot. That works out for this book because it doesn't have one. The book consists of loosely connected close combat sequences, running, assault rifle fire, more running, grenade throwing (much like the "Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch - very decisive weapons), hiding, stabbing, punching, more running. You may lose track of who is attacking whom but don't feel embarrassed, since it seems that the writers did the same numerous times. If you nod off trying to track the flow of dialogue, no worries. One of the strengths of the book is that the dialogue is an afterthought, so no important "story" (is it really a story though) details are lost.
The writers do manage to balance the hint of a social background with an elegant nod to the concept of a general tech base for this "universe". It's quite the well done effort. It may be the finest example of such an effort that I have ever encountered.
The characters are the true "Jewel in the Crown". From Mario Brothers emotional depths to personal journeys that rival those of "Iron Man" or "Thor", this book (this series, I suspect) will challenge Hesse, Tolstoy, Pushkin, Austen or Hugo. I would suggest preparation and contemplation in advance of attempting such an intellectual and literary challenge. Or you could just give these two a pass, until they learn to or decide to write a novel.
June 1, 2019
Wow!
Hal is a specially modified special operations soldier. The PTB, the Union in this case, gave him an artificial arm and wired his brain to communicate with the AI in his arm. They also coated his bones with tungsten and made him even more invulnerable than the best of spec ops! They called him and his colleagues reapers. Then they used them to infiltrate situations that others couldn’t; sometimes to deliver information, retrieve somebody or kill someone! Then, Hal discovered that the gangs at home had killed his father and that sent him on a rampage that had never been seen before. He hunted down and killed them all. For that he was sentenced to death. While he was on death row they decided that they needed him to carry out one last retrieval, this one from the largest prison in existence, the Dreadmax. Once built to be a battle station it had since been turned into the ultimate prison. If he accepts the job they’ll rethink his death sentence. Anything is better than rotting away on death row so, he accepts. But this may be more than even he can bite off! He knows that the Union is not to be trusted but even he is stunned by their refusal to arm him properly or to allow him to be involved with the planning. It makes you wonder if they really want their man back! This book is full on action and gives us another view of the Union of Renegade. Definitely 5 stars.
Hal is a specially modified special operations soldier. The PTB, the Union in this case, gave him an artificial arm and wired his brain to communicate with the AI in his arm. They also coated his bones with tungsten and made him even more invulnerable than the best of spec ops! They called him and his colleagues reapers. Then they used them to infiltrate situations that others couldn’t; sometimes to deliver information, retrieve somebody or kill someone! Then, Hal discovered that the gangs at home had killed his father and that sent him on a rampage that had never been seen before. He hunted down and killed them all. For that he was sentenced to death. While he was on death row they decided that they needed him to carry out one last retrieval, this one from the largest prison in existence, the Dreadmax. Once built to be a battle station it had since been turned into the ultimate prison. If he accepts the job they’ll rethink his death sentence. Anything is better than rotting away on death row so, he accepts. But this may be more than even he can bite off! He knows that the Union is not to be trusted but even he is stunned by their refusal to arm him properly or to allow him to be involved with the planning. It makes you wonder if they really want their man back! This book is full on action and gives us another view of the Union of Renegade. Definitely 5 stars.
April 4, 2019
After reading this futuristic, action-packed, special ops, one man army, killing machine story "The Last Reaper" by JN Chaney and Scott Moon, I went to leave a review on Amazon as I am always apt to do. Amazon notice pops up "Sorry, you do not yet meet the minimum eligibility requirements to write a review on Amazon. For more information, please reference our Community Guidelines." Turns our purchasing with Amazon Gift Cards does not count as a purchase. Must use Credit or Debit Card. Wow, what a hassle. Of course not near the hassle our hero has in trying to fulfill his mission that will supposedly save his life. Other reviewers have compared this character to Snake Plissken (excellent comparison) or Rambo in Space with an onboard AI (yeah, kinda). Whatever your take is on this hard to stop hero, you will be rooting for him as he takes on overwhelming odds. Some reviewers took exception with the writing, I went with the flow of whatever was happening and was happily entertained. Especially happy that the story did not end with a cliff hanger! Awesome! And now that I know the characters fairly well I can't wait to see what trouble they get into in the next book. I did receive this book free as an ARC and am giving an honest, hopefully helpful, review.
March 22, 2021
I listened to the Audio Book of this title narrated by Ray Porter who, as usual, brings this book to life and perhaps saved the book.
Hal Cain is the last reaper - the top elite spec-ops working for the "Union". He is the best of the best. We find him on death row because he killed some people who killed his father. He is offered a mission to rescue some scientist on a prison base out in some star system in exchange for freedom that we all know is B.S.
I found the book interesting at first. Ray Porter leveraged his Joe Ledger persona as Hal Cain and delivered a great performance. But it became apparent the whole book would be about him going to this prison and rescuing this asshole doctor who experiments on his daughter. A couple of hours in, it started to get repetitive: infiltrate - kill - retreat - rinse and repeat. There was no real plot to speak of - but then some people would only find a plot distracting from the violence.
At the time of this writing there are 9 more books - sorry can't do it. Throw in some intrigue (like the Joe Ledger series) and I might do it. Otherwise, it is too repetitive.
Hal Cain is the last reaper - the top elite spec-ops working for the "Union". He is the best of the best. We find him on death row because he killed some people who killed his father. He is offered a mission to rescue some scientist on a prison base out in some star system in exchange for freedom that we all know is B.S.
I found the book interesting at first. Ray Porter leveraged his Joe Ledger persona as Hal Cain and delivered a great performance. But it became apparent the whole book would be about him going to this prison and rescuing this asshole doctor who experiments on his daughter. A couple of hours in, it started to get repetitive: infiltrate - kill - retreat - rinse and repeat. There was no real plot to speak of - but then some people would only find a plot distracting from the violence.
At the time of this writing there are 9 more books - sorry can't do it. Throw in some intrigue (like the Joe Ledger series) and I might do it. Otherwise, it is too repetitive.
March 18, 2023
Because of similar books I have read this came up on my recommended list. An ex-space military operator, who is on death row for unknown reasons, is recruited to go on an impossible mission to rescue a scientist, who performs research in an unknown field, is betrayed by his government, for unknown reasons, meets the scientist daughter, who has unknown enhancements performed on her in the unknown scientific field of the scientist. There is a ton of action which had be continue to the end of the book and even more unknowns which will have me reading the sequel but at this point, I am regretting I am starting this series.
★★★★★ Great book! Can’t wait to read it again (and I will).
★★★★☆ Good book. I am glad I read this.
★★★☆☆ OK book. Nothing special but not bad.
★★☆☆☆ Not good. Why did I waste my time?
★☆☆☆☆ Lousy. I didn’t finish.
If for whatever reason, I go back and reread a good book, I will change the rating to five-star because I read it again.
★★★★★ Great book! Can’t wait to read it again (and I will).
★★★★☆ Good book. I am glad I read this.
★★★☆☆ OK book. Nothing special but not bad.
★★☆☆☆ Not good. Why did I waste my time?
★☆☆☆☆ Lousy. I didn’t finish.
If for whatever reason, I go back and reread a good book, I will change the rating to five-star because I read it again.
March 27, 2024
The job is simple, rescue a scientist from a maximum-security prison and bring him back alive. Never seen that one before.
This book is a serious run-and-gun romp from the beginning. It pastes up the "Union" as the corporate bad guys. The protagonist is tapped from death row to accomplish the mission. It launches obstacle after obstacle at the protagonist and it's obvious that nobody likes him. Especially not the Union. There is no chance of growth or character development in this book. But that is not necessarily a bad thing. Like most people change takes time. And most of this book literally takes place in less than 48 hours. If you came here looking for literature; move on. If you think Snake Plisken is a Hero, read this book.
I am looking forward to the next book. I want to see what this guy will do next.
This book is a serious run-and-gun romp from the beginning. It pastes up the "Union" as the corporate bad guys. The protagonist is tapped from death row to accomplish the mission. It launches obstacle after obstacle at the protagonist and it's obvious that nobody likes him. Especially not the Union. There is no chance of growth or character development in this book. But that is not necessarily a bad thing. Like most people change takes time. And most of this book literally takes place in less than 48 hours. If you came here looking for literature; move on. If you think Snake Plisken is a Hero, read this book.
I am looking forward to the next book. I want to see what this guy will do next.
June 5, 2019
Enjoyed the world building
The "few good men" are really few and far between and not really good - good so much as good shoots, good soldiers, and good when trouble is around. The Last Reaper is sitting on death row when he "accepts" a at probable suicide mission. Once he begins, he is given old out dated gear, two older guns, but with his cybernetic gear still locked down. He's never run an extricate mission locked down. From there, the situation just goes downhill. I loved all the battles, seeing the different groups on the Dreadmax prison space station. I really like the main character Hall Cain, the last reaper, who had an AI in his body along with all the other cybernetics installed. I couldn't stop reading, so finished this in one sitting.
The "few good men" are really few and far between and not really good - good so much as good shoots, good soldiers, and good when trouble is around. The Last Reaper is sitting on death row when he "accepts" a at probable suicide mission. Once he begins, he is given old out dated gear, two older guns, but with his cybernetic gear still locked down. He's never run an extricate mission locked down. From there, the situation just goes downhill. I loved all the battles, seeing the different groups on the Dreadmax prison space station. I really like the main character Hall Cain, the last reaper, who had an AI in his body along with all the other cybernetics installed. I couldn't stop reading, so finished this in one sitting.
April 22, 2023
Not sure what to make of this book.
A cybernetic soldier is nothing new to the world of sci-fi, and this book did not introduce anything new to the genre. In fact, there was a fair amount of sci-fi troupes that was lifted from other stories and movies. We had Mad Max prison, Kurt Russell Soldier out with the old in with the new, and a few others. All of this would have been OK if it was properly executed, but this book felt was.it was written by and written for teenage boys. The overuse of profanity, military commando cliches, and all around tough guy attitude every one seemed to have, to include a teenage girl, got old rather quickly. I hope the rest if the series gets better from here, or i might have to skip this series.
A cybernetic soldier is nothing new to the world of sci-fi, and this book did not introduce anything new to the genre. In fact, there was a fair amount of sci-fi troupes that was lifted from other stories and movies. We had Mad Max prison, Kurt Russell Soldier out with the old in with the new, and a few others. All of this would have been OK if it was properly executed, but this book felt was.it was written by and written for teenage boys. The overuse of profanity, military commando cliches, and all around tough guy attitude every one seemed to have, to include a teenage girl, got old rather quickly. I hope the rest if the series gets better from here, or i might have to skip this series.
January 24, 2020
Betrayals and double crosses in space
This is a military sci-fi novel that focuses on spec ops and dark ops. The main character is ex special forces and spent time doing dark ops before winding up on death row. The blurb for the book is pretty spot on and it reminded me in ways of escape from New York. The mc has an AI that gives him grief the whole way through the book. The good guys are good, but flawed so not always awesome and don't always win and the bad guys are pretty damn evil.
I was looking for something different to read and glad that I accidently bought this. Enjoyed it so much I finished it in a day and I am now looking forward to reading and enjoying book 2.
This is a military sci-fi novel that focuses on spec ops and dark ops. The main character is ex special forces and spent time doing dark ops before winding up on death row. The blurb for the book is pretty spot on and it reminded me in ways of escape from New York. The mc has an AI that gives him grief the whole way through the book. The good guys are good, but flawed so not always awesome and don't always win and the bad guys are pretty damn evil.
I was looking for something different to read and glad that I accidently bought this. Enjoyed it so much I finished it in a day and I am now looking forward to reading and enjoying book 2.
June 26, 2021
This was good, but mostly bad!
Dr. Hastings was a complete idiot and his daughter, Elise, was a foul-mouthed little bitch, for a teenager. In the beginning it was okay but her attitude lasted until the very last page of the book.
As for Halek Cain, I can't even decide if I liked him either. BUT Ray Porter made Cain fabulous, so there's that! I loved X-37, he was a smartass and funny at the same time.
As for the story itself? I found it to be repetitive and confusing. There was too many bad guys, and lots of killing. I'm not sure I want to go any further with this series.
No romance and the F-bomb was used 90 times.
As for the narrator: Phenomenal!
Dr. Hastings was a complete idiot and his daughter, Elise, was a foul-mouthed little bitch, for a teenager. In the beginning it was okay but her attitude lasted until the very last page of the book.
As for Halek Cain, I can't even decide if I liked him either. BUT Ray Porter made Cain fabulous, so there's that! I loved X-37, he was a smartass and funny at the same time.
As for the story itself? I found it to be repetitive and confusing. There was too many bad guys, and lots of killing. I'm not sure I want to go any further with this series.
No romance and the F-bomb was used 90 times.
As for the narrator: Phenomenal!
July 14, 2022
Great science fiction action! Halek Cain is a Reaper, and one of the last Reapers made by the Union for infiltration and assassination. After going rogue and being put on death row, he's offered a chance for redemption by rescuing a Union scientist from a maximum security prison. Simple and straightforward mission, what could go wrong? The character of Cain is humorous and practical and so is his AI sidekick X37. The story was fun, fast, and entertaining. This is my first read by JN Chaney and Scott Moon and the first in the Last Reaper series. I'll keep them on my to-read list. As expected, Ray Porter does an excellent narration for the audible version.
April 15, 2023
A good military sci-fi story with one fairly well developed character (ok, two when you count spec-ops Callus).
Good plot line, plenty to build on for the future story arc. I’ll be reading the rest of these unless something unexpected causes me to think otherwise.
I liked it. That’s usually enough for a four star rating (which I’m giving it) but I’m tempted to drop it to a three because of two things. 1) A couple of annoying misses by the editors/proofreaders. 2) The lack of character development for anyone outside of our Reaper. Too little character and too many open questions because of that.
But still, it’s worth a read and hoping things flesh out as we go forward.
Good plot line, plenty to build on for the future story arc. I’ll be reading the rest of these unless something unexpected causes me to think otherwise.
I liked it. That’s usually enough for a four star rating (which I’m giving it) but I’m tempted to drop it to a three because of two things. 1) A couple of annoying misses by the editors/proofreaders. 2) The lack of character development for anyone outside of our Reaper. Too little character and too many open questions because of that.
But still, it’s worth a read and hoping things flesh out as we go forward.
April 27, 2023
Really fun, fast paced, enjoyable read!
Really enjoyed this book as it took the main characters point of view and really captured the feeling of the struggles. It's not groundbreaking writing but it was very enjoyable. The authors did a good job bringing the character to life without giving us an overly boring backstories, which allowed you to find out about the character as the story went along. I'm not really familiar with this world universe that the authors use but I really enjoyed it and look forward to reading more in the series. It's a good, quick, fast-paced, decent dialogue, enjoyable book.
Really enjoyed this book as it took the main characters point of view and really captured the feeling of the struggles. It's not groundbreaking writing but it was very enjoyable. The authors did a good job bringing the character to life without giving us an overly boring backstories, which allowed you to find out about the character as the story went along. I'm not really familiar with this world universe that the authors use but I really enjoyed it and look forward to reading more in the series. It's a good, quick, fast-paced, decent dialogue, enjoyable book.
April 24, 2025
I picked this up because it was narrated by Ray Porter, and unfortunately, it was the only attractive thing about the book. The characters were very one dimensional, for example, I'm not sure why we needed to be reminded every time the female character spoke that she was a rebellious teenager with a foul mouth.
The plot was predictable and if they wanted Hal to be a character with depth the author should not have made him so indestructible, short of decapitation there was endless moaning about his parts hurting but them not actually physically impacting his actions turned him into a Gary Stu (I think that's the male equivalent of a Mary Sue?).
Not a series for me.
The plot was predictable and if they wanted Hal to be a character with depth the author should not have made him so indestructible, short of decapitation there was endless moaning about his parts hurting but them not actually physically impacting his actions turned him into a Gary Stu (I think that's the male equivalent of a Mary Sue?).
Not a series for me.
February 25, 2019
Action packed & enjoyable
I enjoyed this book and really look forward to the next addition. I think the endearing expert killer who has a heart is written well in Reaper Cain and I enjoyed Elise and X-37. The book is seemingly fast paced though they do run into the same issues many times just in a different way. I would mention there is a significant amount of typos at the time of my review and I would hope that can be remedied. It truly distracts from the flow of the book and is uncommon for one of JN Chaney’s books to have so many.
I enjoyed this book and really look forward to the next addition. I think the endearing expert killer who has a heart is written well in Reaper Cain and I enjoyed Elise and X-37. The book is seemingly fast paced though they do run into the same issues many times just in a different way. I would mention there is a significant amount of typos at the time of my review and I would hope that can be remedied. It truly distracts from the flow of the book and is uncommon for one of JN Chaney’s books to have so many.
November 21, 2019
A good introduction
Interesting first book.
Really liked the MC and the overall plot and the potential it has to expand is there.
The problems I had when reading this was that there were some parts that was interesting to read but then later became dull and bored to read.
That sometimes the description of the places the novel mentions did not make sense to me, so I it was hard for me to picture the locations in my head.
Still, it was a good book and will give the second book a try.
Interesting first book.
Really liked the MC and the overall plot and the potential it has to expand is there.
The problems I had when reading this was that there were some parts that was interesting to read but then later became dull and bored to read.
That sometimes the description of the places the novel mentions did not make sense to me, so I it was hard for me to picture the locations in my head.
Still, it was a good book and will give the second book a try.
August 10, 2020
I really liked the character of Hal Cain. He does remind you of Snake Plisskin from Escape from New York. So I have a young long haired Kurt Russell with a cybernetic arm and eye in my mind while I am reading this book. He is a bad ass even if he is obsolete. I read it to enjoy it, not to pick it apart so I didn't notice some of the things the other reviewers wrote about it. I followed the story and got that he does have a good heart and is doing what he thinks is right despite what the Union wants him to do. I would highly recommend this book as I enjoyed it very much.
December 17, 2020
I really liked the character of Hal Cain. He does remind you of Snake Plisskin from Escape from New York. So I have a young long haired Kurt Russell with a cybernetic arm and eye in my mind while I am reading this book. He is a bad ass even if he is obsolete. I read it to enjoy it, not to pick it apart so I didn't notice some of the things the other reviewers wrote about it. I followed the story and got that he does have a good heart and is doing what he thinks is right despite what the Union wants him to do. I would highly recommend this book as I enjoyed it very much.
October 12, 2021
Vigilante mayhem and double crosses galore!
Cain was enhanced to be a lethal soldier/ puppet, but goes Awol when gangs kill his dad. The Union throws him in Jail to rot. But then a doctor needs rescuing so they enlist his help. Turns out the doc is being held captive on a prison ship that's about to fall apart.... Also he has experimented on his daughter, augmenting her too.... Fights galore as the prison fangs try to reclaim the doc and daughter and the Union betrays Cain...! An action packed near continuous fight ensues.
Cain was enhanced to be a lethal soldier/ puppet, but goes Awol when gangs kill his dad. The Union throws him in Jail to rot. But then a doctor needs rescuing so they enlist his help. Turns out the doc is being held captive on a prison ship that's about to fall apart.... Also he has experimented on his daughter, augmenting her too.... Fights galore as the prison fangs try to reclaim the doc and daughter and the Union betrays Cain...! An action packed near continuous fight ensues.
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