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Murphy's Lawless #3
Man-Eater
Taken from their planet and their century, they are…the Lost Soldiers.
Some of the hijacked Twentieth Century troops known as the Lost Soldiers have made planetfall on the planet R’Bak and accomplished their first main objective: capturing much-needed combat vehicles. Now reinforced by the nomadic locals, this rump company—known as Murphy’s Lawless—are moving to prevent the local J’Stull aristocrats from calling their off-world overlords to take care of the “unidentified invaders.” The J’Stull plan: use spies and call in favors to find the vehicles and camp from which the “Terran” invaders plan to mount their offensive. The only countermove that Murphy’s Lawless can make in time is to identify—and eliminate—the spies.
Fortunately, orbital SIGINT has intercepted a radio transmission from a J’Stull agent near the village of Clarthu, and it’s up to Warrant Officer Horace Chalmers—a disgraced Criminal Investigation Division officer—and his partner Sergeant Jackson to find and eliminate the spy. With extreme prejudice.
But Chalmers is trying to achieve yet another goal on this operation: redemption. To start being a better human than the one who got shot down in a helicopter off Mogadishu on his way to Fort Leavenworth: a dirty cop whose misdeeds guaranteed that his partner Jackson would be on that chopper, too—and so lose everything and everyone he ever loved.
But Chalmers has never been very good at turning over a new leaf, and he knows nothing of the indigenous tribes. To make matters worse, there’s no room for failure; Murphy’s Lawless are already on the move. Their attack force will soon roll past Clarthu and be reported—and targeted—by the spy there. If Chalmers and Jackson can’t identify and eliminate that menace, the convoy will not only be prevented from completing its mission, but might be wiped out entirely.
And with it, every other time-stranded soldier in Murphy’s Lawless.
Some of the hijacked Twentieth Century troops known as the Lost Soldiers have made planetfall on the planet R’Bak and accomplished their first main objective: capturing much-needed combat vehicles. Now reinforced by the nomadic locals, this rump company—known as Murphy’s Lawless—are moving to prevent the local J’Stull aristocrats from calling their off-world overlords to take care of the “unidentified invaders.” The J’Stull plan: use spies and call in favors to find the vehicles and camp from which the “Terran” invaders plan to mount their offensive. The only countermove that Murphy’s Lawless can make in time is to identify—and eliminate—the spies.
Fortunately, orbital SIGINT has intercepted a radio transmission from a J’Stull agent near the village of Clarthu, and it’s up to Warrant Officer Horace Chalmers—a disgraced Criminal Investigation Division officer—and his partner Sergeant Jackson to find and eliminate the spy. With extreme prejudice.
But Chalmers is trying to achieve yet another goal on this operation: redemption. To start being a better human than the one who got shot down in a helicopter off Mogadishu on his way to Fort Leavenworth: a dirty cop whose misdeeds guaranteed that his partner Jackson would be on that chopper, too—and so lose everything and everyone he ever loved.
But Chalmers has never been very good at turning over a new leaf, and he knows nothing of the indigenous tribes. To make matters worse, there’s no room for failure; Murphy’s Lawless are already on the move. Their attack force will soon roll past Clarthu and be reported—and targeted—by the spy there. If Chalmers and Jackson can’t identify and eliminate that menace, the convoy will not only be prevented from completing its mission, but might be wiped out entirely.
And with it, every other time-stranded soldier in Murphy’s Lawless.
112 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 20, 2020
62 people are currently reading
18 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 5, 2020
Full disclosure, I jumped right into the Lawless series at book three, so it took me a few pages to get caught up on the political situation surrounding the book. There are three groups--called the SpinDogs--vying for control of a local population by providing them with bribes, weapons, and outright invading their land. Caught in the middle are Chalmers and his buddy Jackson, and that's where the book really shines.
This is a story about friendship between imperfect people. They're surrounded by warlike natives they don't always understand (the universal translator doesn't catch everything), there are shots going off every couple pages, there's a traitor in the village, and some goat-lizard thing just humped the protagonist's leg during a stakeout, but it's still very much about two guys trying to stay friends through a constant stream of lies, **** talking, and saving each other's lives. It has a lot of heart, and you'll be really attached to the pair by the end of this very fast read.
Recommended if you enjoy war movies, particularly ones like Three Kings, Blackhawk Down, or the Colonial Marines in Aliens.
This is a story about friendship between imperfect people. They're surrounded by warlike natives they don't always understand (the universal translator doesn't catch everything), there are shots going off every couple pages, there's a traitor in the village, and some goat-lizard thing just humped the protagonist's leg during a stakeout, but it's still very much about two guys trying to stay friends through a constant stream of lies, **** talking, and saving each other's lives. It has a lot of heart, and you'll be really attached to the pair by the end of this very fast read.
Recommended if you enjoy war movies, particularly ones like Three Kings, Blackhawk Down, or the Colonial Marines in Aliens.
August 12, 2020
Third instalment in the Murphy’s Lawless series of novellas set in the Caineverse created by Chuck Gannon.
Once again, I was impressed by the quality of the novella. The bar was set quite high with Shakes and Obligations and yet Man-Eater is clearly on the same level.
Once again, we keep the same setting but change the PoV a bit… Shakes was a typical Spec-Op operation, Obligations, a cavalry mission and Man-Eater a counter-intelligence / criminal investigation setup.
Two operators are tasked with identifying a mole who could warn the antagonists that their opposition is a lot more than what it seems… Chalmers and Jackson are two CID agents who were displaced from earth and from their time and wake up onbard an alien vessel and get sent by Major Murphy on a mission, namely find the mole, to ensure that the allies of the terrans can gather before the antagonists have a chance to crush them.
The novella is beautifully crafted with reminiscences of the past of Chalmers and Jackson. Chalmers has a lot on his conscience and swears to do better this time, Jackson is as tough, smart and street-smart as they come. Both CID investigators soon have their hands full, with not everything being what it seems to be.
In spite of everything, they confront adversity, with an ace in their sleeve… Man-Eater.
You want to know the identity of Man-Eater? Read the book! 😊
Really can’t wait for the next instalments!
Once again, I was impressed by the quality of the novella. The bar was set quite high with Shakes and Obligations and yet Man-Eater is clearly on the same level.
Once again, we keep the same setting but change the PoV a bit… Shakes was a typical Spec-Op operation, Obligations, a cavalry mission and Man-Eater a counter-intelligence / criminal investigation setup.
Two operators are tasked with identifying a mole who could warn the antagonists that their opposition is a lot more than what it seems… Chalmers and Jackson are two CID agents who were displaced from earth and from their time and wake up onbard an alien vessel and get sent by Major Murphy on a mission, namely find the mole, to ensure that the allies of the terrans can gather before the antagonists have a chance to crush them.
The novella is beautifully crafted with reminiscences of the past of Chalmers and Jackson. Chalmers has a lot on his conscience and swears to do better this time, Jackson is as tough, smart and street-smart as they come. Both CID investigators soon have their hands full, with not everything being what it seems to be.
In spite of everything, they confront adversity, with an ace in their sleeve… Man-Eater.
You want to know the identity of Man-Eater? Read the book! 😊
Really can’t wait for the next instalments!
June 9, 2020
I liked the book. It moved well and the pace was pretty constant. The Historical references will probably slide by some readers. The character development was well done and could be used as an example to some authors on how not to devote 20 pages to character background. Something I see a lot of lately. I look forward to following the series.
July 11, 2021
Fits well within the series but could not relate to the main character. Nice finish.
June 14, 2020
Delightful Story
Spies, traitors, and factions!
Great story where you don’t know who is on your side, till the end. Very realistic, when dealing with insurgent allies.
Spies, traitors, and factions!
Great story where you don’t know who is on your side, till the end. Very realistic, when dealing with insurgent allies.
June 14, 2020
What is trust? Who has it? Where can I find it? It's all about (no) trust. Good story.
November 17, 2022
Decent story but kind of short.
Nice extension to the plot, though the back and forth is a little wonky. Figured it out eventually but then the story ended. Not sure exactly what was the point. Still, nice continuation of things.
Nice extension to the plot, though the back and forth is a little wonky. Figured it out eventually but then the story ended. Not sure exactly what was the point. Still, nice continuation of things.
July 20, 2025
I liked it.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews