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Order of the Centurion #4
Through the Nether
Nether Ops works in shadows, and those shadows taint all they touch.Soren Voss believes in the Republic. But when he puts a promising Navy career on hold to serve as a covert agent, he encounters truths that throw everything he knows into turmoil. After weeks in deep cover living life with ruthless gangs, Soren uncovers a stolen cache of weapons, a mysterious upgraded form of legionnaire armor, and a written oath of loyalty for someone named...Goth Sullus. The agent follows leads that bring him face-to-face with crooked legionnaires, slimy politicians, and a powerful smuggler and gunrunner named Scarpia. Soren follows a darkening path to the heart of the Republic, and what he uncovers leaves him wondering not only if the Republic can be saved, but if he's even on the right side.US Army veteran Richard Fox, author of the Ember War Saga, teams up with Anspach & Cole to deliver this thrilling stand-alone set in the aftermath of Galaxy's Edge: Kill Team!
310 pages, Paperback
Published December 17, 2019
228 people are currently reading
157 people want to read
About the author
Richard Fox
131 books613 followersRichard Fox is a Nebula Award nominated author, and winner of the 2017 Dragon Award for Best Military Science Fiction or Fantasy novel, author of The Ember War Saga, a military science fiction and space opera series, and other novels in the military history, thriller and space opera genres.
He lives in fabulous Las Vegas with his incredible wife and three boys, amazing children bent on anarchy.
He graduated from the United States Military Academy (West Point) much to his surprise and spent ten years on active duty in the United States Army. He deployed on two combat tours to Iraq and received the Combat Action Badge, Bronze Star and Presidential Unit Citation.
The Ember War Saga:
1. The Ember War
2. The Ruins of Anthalas
3. Blood of Heroes
4. Earth Defiant
5. The Gardens of Nibiru
6. Battle of the Void
7. The Siege of Earth
8. The Crucible
9. The Xaros Reckoning
Terran Armored Corps
1. Iron Dragoons
2. The Ibarra Sanction
3. The True Measure
4. A House Divided
5. The Last Aeon
6. Ferrum Corde
Terran Strike Marines
1. The Dotari Salvation
2. Rage of Winter
3. Valdar's Hammer
4. The Beast of Eridu
5. Gott Mit Uns
The Exiled Fleet:
1. Albion Lost
2. The Long March
3. Finest Hour
4. Point of Honor
The Terra Nova Chronicles
1. Terra Nova
2. Bloodlines
3. Wings of Redemption
4. Hale's War
Subscribe to Richard's spam free email list and get free short stories set during the Ember War Saga (and more as they become available) at: http://eepurl.com/bLj1gf
Like him on Facebook (best place to reach him): https://www.facebook.com/Richard-Fox-...
Website: www.richardfoxauthor.com
He lives in fabulous Las Vegas with his incredible wife and three boys, amazing children bent on anarchy.
He graduated from the United States Military Academy (West Point) much to his surprise and spent ten years on active duty in the United States Army. He deployed on two combat tours to Iraq and received the Combat Action Badge, Bronze Star and Presidential Unit Citation.
The Ember War Saga:
1. The Ember War
2. The Ruins of Anthalas
3. Blood of Heroes
4. Earth Defiant
5. The Gardens of Nibiru
6. Battle of the Void
7. The Siege of Earth
8. The Crucible
9. The Xaros Reckoning
Terran Armored Corps
1. Iron Dragoons
2. The Ibarra Sanction
3. The True Measure
4. A House Divided
5. The Last Aeon
6. Ferrum Corde
Terran Strike Marines
1. The Dotari Salvation
2. Rage of Winter
3. Valdar's Hammer
4. The Beast of Eridu
5. Gott Mit Uns
The Exiled Fleet:
1. Albion Lost
2. The Long March
3. Finest Hour
4. Point of Honor
The Terra Nova Chronicles
1. Terra Nova
2. Bloodlines
3. Wings of Redemption
4. Hale's War
Subscribe to Richard's spam free email list and get free short stories set during the Ember War Saga (and more as they become available) at: http://eepurl.com/bLj1gf
Like him on Facebook (best place to reach him): https://www.facebook.com/Richard-Fox-...
Website: www.richardfoxauthor.com
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
April 11, 2023
New twist for the Order of Centurion. A fascinating title that dives deep into Repub covert operations and the twisted world Nether becomes. Really enjoyed this one.
February 8, 2020
Ouch, Readable But...
Read Reservist first, plus a few others in this series. Really enjoyed Reservist, and kinda dumbfounded by this one. Possibly a two n half ... Trying hard here on no spoilers but?
Bottom line, only one character you could latch onto, the MC. He was boring. A stereotypical hard core patriot who plods, and plod, and .... He wasn’t that all interesting.
So, one overly boring, simple minded patriot and Anyone else who was interesting, didn’t stay in story for long. There was a busted up bot... Came close to stopping after very interesting character wasn’t followed up.
Consider plot to be a mystery, partial resolution, more mystery...... but inconsistent throughout and author pixie dust smoothing plot out. Overall, Authors went through a long, boring setup for a patriot and show how he comes to reconciliation when reality doesn’t match up w patriotic expectations.
If there’s a point, I guess it’d be when you read about bad guys, keep in mind, some were boring good guys.
I’ll not read any more books w this character. Three stars is generous .
Read Reservist first, plus a few others in this series. Really enjoyed Reservist, and kinda dumbfounded by this one. Possibly a two n half ... Trying hard here on no spoilers but?
Bottom line, only one character you could latch onto, the MC. He was boring. A stereotypical hard core patriot who plods, and plod, and .... He wasn’t that all interesting.
So, one overly boring, simple minded patriot and Anyone else who was interesting, didn’t stay in story for long. There was a busted up bot... Came close to stopping after very interesting character wasn’t followed up.
Consider plot to be a mystery, partial resolution, more mystery...... but inconsistent throughout and author pixie dust smoothing plot out. Overall, Authors went through a long, boring setup for a patriot and show how he comes to reconciliation when reality doesn’t match up w patriotic expectations.
If there’s a point, I guess it’d be when you read about bad guys, keep in mind, some were boring good guys.
I’ll not read any more books w this character. Three stars is generous .
November 22, 2020
Get.A.Better.Editor.
July 20, 2021
Nether Ops is a strange operation. It's supposed to be a spy outfit that is part, but not part, of the Legion. We start off with Agent number 99-337, Voss, Soren K. on a mission to find some stolen Republic weapons that should only be in the hands of Legionnaires. That shipment was now being brought in front of him by another member of one of the gangs on planet Starch IV. Soren had been on the planet for awhile and had entrenched himself in one of the other gangs and now his boss was preparing to acquire the shipment of weapons for a huge price. Of course his gang boss didn't know of Soren's affiliation with Nether Ops, nor did the other gang know that one of their members was also part of Soren's team.
When the purchase of the weapons took place, Zelle, the other member of Soren's team, secretly booby-trapped the weapons case. When one of the gangsters attempted to open it to show Soren's boss the contents, all heck broke loss with both sides shooting everything they could as fast as they could. Of course Soren and Zelle knew what was going to happen so they were the first to duck behind cover. They were the only ones left alive. Now they had the weapons in hand, they needed to find out how it had gotten where it was. So, they started investigating where the weapons came from and who they should have gone to. This was going to be an interesting case until Zelle got killed!
It's not often that one of the two main characters in a book/story gets killed off right at the beginning. But, she does and it was not because of something she did wrong. Soren just got them in a bad situation and he barely got out himself. Her death didn't necessarily hit him as hard as everything else he comes up against during his continued investigation of these weapons. While he assumes the role of a normal hauler/trader, it takes him to some pretty rough places. He's constantly subjected to poverty stricken planets that want to gouge the life out of anything that approaches them through landing taxes and any other method they can of taking money from someone who has it. Soren isn't wealthy and he certainly can't claim Nether Ops money since it could be traced to him, so he occasionally has to actually transport legit cargo.
Soren is an idealist. He believes in the Republic and believes what he is doing is worth doing since it will rid the Republic of various criminals and traitors. While he's investigating the trail of these weapons he slowly finds out that the Republic might be in worse shape than he thought. He gradually learns that all is not well in the Republic. He knows of the Mid-Core Rebels (MCR) and their efforts to destroy the Republic so they are his enemies, but he doesn't have much contact with them except possibly through this weapons shipment gone astray. Upon further investigation, he also finds out that there is something else besides the MCR that is threatening the Republic and it goes by the name of Goth Sullus.
For some reason, Soren wants to meet with Goth Sullus. Why is never explained. What happens at that meeting is somewhat unexpected, but not all that surprising.
When the purchase of the weapons took place, Zelle, the other member of Soren's team, secretly booby-trapped the weapons case. When one of the gangsters attempted to open it to show Soren's boss the contents, all heck broke loss with both sides shooting everything they could as fast as they could. Of course Soren and Zelle knew what was going to happen so they were the first to duck behind cover. They were the only ones left alive. Now they had the weapons in hand, they needed to find out how it had gotten where it was. So, they started investigating where the weapons came from and who they should have gone to. This was going to be an interesting case until Zelle got killed!
It's not often that one of the two main characters in a book/story gets killed off right at the beginning. But, she does and it was not because of something she did wrong. Soren just got them in a bad situation and he barely got out himself. Her death didn't necessarily hit him as hard as everything else he comes up against during his continued investigation of these weapons. While he assumes the role of a normal hauler/trader, it takes him to some pretty rough places. He's constantly subjected to poverty stricken planets that want to gouge the life out of anything that approaches them through landing taxes and any other method they can of taking money from someone who has it. Soren isn't wealthy and he certainly can't claim Nether Ops money since it could be traced to him, so he occasionally has to actually transport legit cargo.
Soren is an idealist. He believes in the Republic and believes what he is doing is worth doing since it will rid the Republic of various criminals and traitors. While he's investigating the trail of these weapons he slowly finds out that the Republic might be in worse shape than he thought. He gradually learns that all is not well in the Republic. He knows of the Mid-Core Rebels (MCR) and their efforts to destroy the Republic so they are his enemies, but he doesn't have much contact with them except possibly through this weapons shipment gone astray. Upon further investigation, he also finds out that there is something else besides the MCR that is threatening the Republic and it goes by the name of Goth Sullus.
For some reason, Soren wants to meet with Goth Sullus. Why is never explained. What happens at that meeting is somewhat unexpected, but not all that surprising.
July 22, 2025
Another spy thriller story in the series. Better than the first. Much better. No silly perspective changes. Still great pacing. Good characters, I guess. Thinner than before. And the change from the main character feels like Anakin Skywalker turning to Palpatine with even less motivation if he thought about it for a half a min. This series frustrates me greatly. The idea of the story is great. The reveals are good. It's very engaging and keeps you page turning. It is certainly riveting. But then the tissue thin skin they put on things. Feels so lazy and the obvious ties to real life political issues brings me back to the real world instead of escapism. I don't want to remember them, I want to enjoy your story. I'm very torn on ranking all of this series a star higher or lower at any given moment depending on if I feel the story is good enough to rate it yet the laziness makes me want to punish with lower stars. But if I'm going to be honest I'm going to say I enjoyed it. Just wish I could have enjoyed it more.
October 21, 2021
As good as the rest, maybe
This is a Lone Wolf story and in some respects it is sort of like a Tyrus Rechs story, but lacks the violence and Soren Voss reads less like a hero and more like a hapless whiner. Something about him just annoyed me to no end. Whereas all the books in this universe are centered on visceral violence and duty to the Legion or their friends, this deals with the black Ops side of things and wasn't as enjoyable.
It is still a good story, but to me in making Soren more human and relatable, we lost some of the superhero elements that make a great character in these books. Soren feels like a hapless lover with no charisma and is a by the book guy, yet he works for Nether Ops which we all know has no book and no moral code.
It just seemed an odd pairing. I expected more out of this book because it was Nether Ops and instead I got less.
This is a Lone Wolf story and in some respects it is sort of like a Tyrus Rechs story, but lacks the violence and Soren Voss reads less like a hero and more like a hapless whiner. Something about him just annoyed me to no end. Whereas all the books in this universe are centered on visceral violence and duty to the Legion or their friends, this deals with the black Ops side of things and wasn't as enjoyable.
It is still a good story, but to me in making Soren more human and relatable, we lost some of the superhero elements that make a great character in these books. Soren feels like a hapless lover with no charisma and is a by the book guy, yet he works for Nether Ops which we all know has no book and no moral code.
It just seemed an odd pairing. I expected more out of this book because it was Nether Ops and instead I got less.
December 31, 2019
The story line is great - Soren is a complex character and there are lots of unexpected plot twists along the way. It was a compelling read, and I had trouble putting it down. As others have noted, there are several salient spelling errors and jarringly placed homonyms that made it a bit difficult to stay focused on the story. I'll give it 5 stars for the excellent storytelling, and let others take points off for spelling... :-)
January 6, 2020
Good writing. Some noticeable editing missed
I enjoyed this book. All of the books in the Galaxy’s Edge series are well written.
This one, though, had a number of simple mistakes that were missed in editing. I could still tell what was intended, but sometimes had a reread a sentence here & there, interrupting the flow.
I still liked it, despite that.
I enjoyed this book. All of the books in the Galaxy’s Edge series are well written.
This one, though, had a number of simple mistakes that were missed in editing. I could still tell what was intended, but sometimes had a reread a sentence here & there, interrupting the flow.
I still liked it, despite that.
April 20, 2020
A lot of times side stories like this, written by someone besides the main authors, feel either too disconnected from the world we know or too slavishly bound to what we know. Through the Nether walks a tight line between the two, giving us a glimpse at new facets of the Republic while not divorcing us from the story we’ve come to love.
October 1, 2023
This is the five-star rating system I use:
★★★★★ 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.
May 29, 2025
I didn’t read this during my first read through of the main Season 1. I liked how it ties into and continues the story from Kill Team, and the undercover spy mixed in politics and revolution worked well once again. I appreciate the context it added knowing how things go moving forward. Definitely a worthwhile read
December 25, 2019
Good book hurt by editing errors.
This book needs to have an editor burn through it and fix the spelling. Looks like an auto check was run and it changed a number of words to things that do not make sense. Otherwise not a bad story.
This book needs to have an editor burn through it and fix the spelling. Looks like an auto check was run and it changed a number of words to things that do not make sense. Otherwise not a bad story.
June 5, 2020
Another winner in the series that has been beyond expectation. Simply the best SF series out there in my opinion and creeping on my all-time favorite list. Great action while keeping the stories deep enough to care about them.
August 19, 2020
So far my favorite of the 5
One more to go, but I like this one the best of the four in this series. Interesting to see the weave with the main story arc, but also I enjoyed the characters and plot flow.
One more to go, but I like this one the best of the four in this series. Interesting to see the weave with the main story arc, but also I enjoyed the characters and plot flow.
May 26, 2021
Adding depth to the galaxy edge saga!
These novels in the order of the centurion provide greater dimension on how the main storyline of the corrupt republic evolves....and the dangers of trusting revolutionary charismatics to lead the way.
These novels in the order of the centurion provide greater dimension on how the main storyline of the corrupt republic evolves....and the dangers of trusting revolutionary charismatics to lead the way.
January 18, 2025
Nether Ops in a New Light
It’s good to see that Nether Ops, always shrouded in a specter of a shadowy, sinister, light does have true believers of right a wrong. Well written story.
It’s good to see that Nether Ops, always shrouded in a specter of a shadowy, sinister, light does have true believers of right a wrong. Well written story.
January 22, 2020
Another good read. He can continue to write these books.
May 8, 2020
This was a three- or four-star book until ... Well, let's just say some interesting twists resolve the story of Nether Ops agent Soren.
August 24, 2020
Definitely the best book out of the Order of the Centurion series so far with great conflict, characters, betrayal, and twists. Definitely a must read for fans of Galaxy's Edge.
December 10, 2020
Very well done
One thing often lacking in current books is good banter. This book has that on top of a good story and characters.
One thing often lacking in current books is good banter. This book has that on top of a good story and characters.
May 28, 2025
Different take
An interesting and unique take on the Oder of the Centurion. The disillusioned main character is interesting. The ending is real and tough.
An interesting and unique take on the Oder of the Centurion. The disillusioned main character is interesting. The ending is real and tough.
February 1, 2020
What are you fighting for?
What does it take for someone to turn their back on all they believe in, to turn to the enemy?
A hard lesson to learn, to take off the blinkers and see how it really is.
Fascinating stuff, emotional.
What does it take for someone to turn their back on all they believe in, to turn to the enemy?
A hard lesson to learn, to take off the blinkers and see how it really is.
Fascinating stuff, emotional.
October 26, 2019
What is it that makes good men willing to see the world burn? To see justice done, tho the heavens may fall? The recent Joker movie directed and written by Todd Philips could described as a character study in what makes a hopeless loser willing to do so. Soren Voss, however, is going somewhere in life. Bright, driven, and self-sacrificing, Voss is willing to do what it takes to serve others, until it all comes crashing down.
Through the Nether is a little different from some of the other volumes in the Order of the Centurion series, insofar as it looks at the aftermath of the events of Kill Team, the third volume of Galaxy’s Edge season one. I think the book stands well on its own, but it is much more interesting if you see it as the other side of the coin of the events in the main series. Much like Kill Team, this book is about the seedy underbelly of counter-intelligence work.
A perusal of the Church committee report will give you an idea of the kinds of things intelligence agents in our world have felt were justified. Programs described in the report range from the shady, to the bizarre, to the perverse. Which is a pretty good description of Nether Ops, Soren Voss’ employer.
Intelligence work of course suffers from the same kind of arms race as warfare does. You cannot defend yourself unless you employ weapons that can counter those of your enemies. However, since so much of intelligence work is secret, it seems to have a pretty natural affinity for descending into the darkness. Plausible deniability plus an arguable need for constant dealings with all players in the game means that you never really know whose side anyone is really on. Hence James Jesus Angleton’s famous dictum that counter-intelligence is a wilderness of mirrors.
The narcissistic and the self-serving will clearly do well in such an environment. The idealistic are just targets for everyone else. Yet, for PR reasons at least, such men are needed in intelligence work. Thus we come to Soren Voss, Soren left the Navy to join Nether Ops, paralleling “Tom”, the former Navy man who was at the heart of the events in both Legionnaire and Kill Team. Soren just wants to protect the galaxy from monsters. He just hasn’t yet figured out that he works for the monsters.
In a galaxy of business as usual, the enormities that Soren commits in a day’s work would simply be swept under the rug. However, nothing is normal anymore, and in a sense, anything can happen, with will and luck. The fun for us is going along for the ride to see what happens.
I was provided a copy of this ebook by the publisher for free.
Through the Nether is a little different from some of the other volumes in the Order of the Centurion series, insofar as it looks at the aftermath of the events of Kill Team, the third volume of Galaxy’s Edge season one. I think the book stands well on its own, but it is much more interesting if you see it as the other side of the coin of the events in the main series. Much like Kill Team, this book is about the seedy underbelly of counter-intelligence work.
A perusal of the Church committee report will give you an idea of the kinds of things intelligence agents in our world have felt were justified. Programs described in the report range from the shady, to the bizarre, to the perverse. Which is a pretty good description of Nether Ops, Soren Voss’ employer.
Intelligence work of course suffers from the same kind of arms race as warfare does. You cannot defend yourself unless you employ weapons that can counter those of your enemies. However, since so much of intelligence work is secret, it seems to have a pretty natural affinity for descending into the darkness. Plausible deniability plus an arguable need for constant dealings with all players in the game means that you never really know whose side anyone is really on. Hence James Jesus Angleton’s famous dictum that counter-intelligence is a wilderness of mirrors.
The narcissistic and the self-serving will clearly do well in such an environment. The idealistic are just targets for everyone else. Yet, for PR reasons at least, such men are needed in intelligence work. Thus we come to Soren Voss, Soren left the Navy to join Nether Ops, paralleling “Tom”, the former Navy man who was at the heart of the events in both Legionnaire and Kill Team. Soren just wants to protect the galaxy from monsters. He just hasn’t yet figured out that he works for the monsters.
In a galaxy of business as usual, the enormities that Soren commits in a day’s work would simply be swept under the rug. However, nothing is normal anymore, and in a sense, anything can happen, with will and luck. The fun for us is going along for the ride to see what happens.
I was provided a copy of this ebook by the publisher for free.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews