With the war against the Centaurs won, is a lasting peace finally at hand?
Staff Sergeant Reverent Pelletier has been attached to the Congress of Humanity’s Home Guard, tasked with keeping the home system safe.
Old rivalries and new enemies threaten the alliance, despite the counsel general’s mission to ensure humanity doesn’t fall into their old ways of conflict and war.
It’s a noble cause, but can humankind break the scourge that has affected them since they emerged from the trees? Has the war with the Centaurs that almost wiped humanity from existence taught them anything?
Experience says it is unlikely, but still, anything is possible.
Sorry to say, this was a tough read to get through...maybe if it was standalone, but compared to the other books in the series this one had almost no action. Feels like all the interesting storylines with the centaurs, new weapons systems, etc were left out and we are left with waiting for missions as a repeating topic. That might be realistic, but it sure is boring.
I like these characters, but I felt there was too much garritrooper in this one. I suppose you need to accept the time it takes to build the background for a burgeoning series, and I’ll read the next book, but I’d rather see more happening more often. I’m an old armor/Cav trooper, so bring on the heavies.
Part 5 in this series continues with Rev at the Home Guard, his unit having just returned from a successful mission to the planet known as ‘Cat Scratch’ to prevent a serious conflict between people who believed they had a right to live there, and a company who believed they had mining rights. Fox Company (Rev’s Unit), continues to be sent around the system to put out more ‘spot fires’ as these various factions all try to via for bits of power. This series continues to develop and grow, as it is not just a basic story about grunts killing each other with big guns, there is this intriguing political story that has been building since before the end of the Centaur conflict. With so many major powers making up the Human Sphere, each with their own beliefs, and financial interests, and more importantly, their own significant military assets, as they vi for control and power over planets, and other regions of space to control viable interests (Mining etc), the Congress of Humanity begins to struggle to bring unity to everything. This is where the Home Guard is brought into action, to enforce the CoA’s rulings, but they are made up of these different factions, and so elements of the Home Guard are suddenly acting against their own people, making things very difficult. Broken Alliance comes to a head, when the Manifest Destiny Sphere or Mad Dogs (MDS), pull out of the Congress of Humanity, and take several other factions with them, forming their own alliance. Within days of pulling out, War breaks out, as the MDS attacks multiple locations to lay claim to planets and other places, stating that these are under MDS control, and are rightfully theirs now. Whilst a diplomatic option is initially sought, it does lead to a small skirmish for Fox Company against the MDS and without spoilers, events happen that lead to significant impacts on both Rev and Fox Company. As a result, the remainder of this book becomes a rather intense set of battles with the Manifest Destiny Sphere. One of the other aspects of this book, is that the CoH have started to view Rev and the other IBHU marines as potential threats it becomes apparent, and each of them has been assigned a ‘Nanny’ as such. For Rev, that is Lt Bundy, his friend, for Randigold, it ends up being Tomiko, which is great for Rev who has been missing her. This opens up a new storyline arc though, as Rev starts to secretly investigate what is happening here, and why Punch has been acting so strange since the battle of BlueBonnet Meadows. This is a fascinating book, as with the others, there is some intense, often brutal and violent combat scenes that are written with outstanding skill to create this fast-paced action story. However, this book has also started to develop the character of Rev, so that he is not just a super-soldier, but he is also an incredible tactician and strategist. It has not been just blind luck that has gotten him through (as he once thought), it has been his instincts, training, and just an innate ability to assess and work out a situation. He is now applying these skills to the greater scenario, and we are starting to see the bigger picture as well – the human sphere and the fractured state it is in, the conflicts and how it is slowly pulling the alliances that stood against the Centaurs into multiple parts that are intent on killing each other. It isn’t just Rev that continues to grow, there is the addition of multiple new characters to this story (no spoilers), and several other characters continue to grow and develop (and of course, they take out several as well – no one is ever safe it seems!!) Sentenced to War continues to evolve and develop into an intriguing and intelligent series, it is the thinking mans Mil Sci-Fi, as it not only has the combat scenes that are so exceptionally well done, but it also has this fascinating and intriguing political aspect to it along with some extraordinary character driven storylines. Book 5 is easily the best book so far – I can’t wait to read book 6 – this is one of those must read series if you haven’t already!!
I’ve enjoyed this series as a bit of escape but this particular one was not nearly as exciting and I found myself putting it down in boredom once too often. A definite transition book in the series and while I expect the next duty station for Rev to be more exciting I hope a little more effort is being put into telling it.
I gave a poor review of book 4 whilst the first 3 were good and hoped that 5 would be the same. Thankfully 5 was worth a go Much more about the people rather than the politics. Politics still plays a part, just less so.
In far too many instances effectively captured the hurry up and wait (stand by to stand by) reality of the military service; which never need be written about as its a boring reality much less reading.
Staff Sergeant Reverent (Rev) Pelletier is still with the Home Guard and for the most part, he and his fellow Guardsmen have been doing nothing! His time with the Home Guard was kind of dragging on him in that he wasn't getting the leadership time he felt he needed. With a top heavy company of the "best of the best", there wasn't much room for movement upward into a Team leader or even a Squad leader position and due to him being an IBHU Marine, he was being used differently for different missions.
Now one of his best friends, 2nd Lt. Aristotle Bundy, also a Perseus Union Marine, had just pick another guy to become the squad leader. While Rev was disappointed, he knew Lt Bundy had his reason and it wasn't because Rev wasn't ready. In fact, he got a chance to talk to the Lt. in private and the Lt. brought up the subject himself. It was just the fact that with Rev being an IBHU Marine, his use was going to be somewhat different than other Marines. There was even some talk of moving all the IBHU Marines into the same company so as to maximize their firepower. Rev didn't agree with this idea, but the decision wasn't going to be his and he wasn't going to be asked his opinion.
In this book, they have a mission on Tian-X4 that starts out pretty badly. They hadn't exactly expected anyone to be shooting at them on their decent onto the planet, but that's exactly what happened. Their drop shuttle was hit and went in hard. This mission was going to be hard on the Congress of Home (CoH) troopers because of their strict rules of engagement (ROEs) and also, because they had Marines acting like cops! But, they got the job done and Rev was happy to leave the place. The CoH didn't exactly come out of this mission looking very good, but that was due to a lot of politics and not due to the Marines involved.
In-between different Home Guard missions, they trained and trained some more. It was good training for missions that might never happen, but if anything, Rev wanted to be ready since who knows who they would be fighting. Then they would get the word to form up and be prepared to depart for another hostile mission. Apparently, a couple of big corporations with their own military were becoming hostile and the CoH was called in to mediate. So, Rev and other cooled their heals waiting for the final work to deploy. This time it never came! They stood down after a very long period of doing nothing but waiting.
Then something strange happened to their IBHUs. Yes, when not actively engaged in warfighting activities, Rev and his other IBHU Marines don't wear their "weapon prosthetist". They are stored in a central warehouse and maintenance shack for easy maintaining. Only that made the easy to steal! Not all the IBHUs were stolen, only about 5, but one of those belonged to Rev. And, the thieves weren't gentle in their attacked because the senior tech, Mr. Daryll Begay, wound up in the hospital. Now, how long would it take to get the IBHUs back and what would have been done to them was the biggest questions.
They still had more missions to complete, but somethings were changing after the stolen IBHU incident. One of the Congress of Humanity nations will decide to withdraw and go their own way. That way will come into direct conflict very soon. It could be the start of a very long war or maybe not. But, it could also be the end of Rev's participation in the Home Guard. That would be an interesting development.
There's more book in the series. Book 6, "An Alliance Reforged" will be out on 24 November 2021 and is available for pre-order on Amazon now.
Book 5 of the series takes yet another turn. The Centaurs have been defeated (sort of. They mainly just gave up), and now human ambitions are coming to the forefront. The Manifest Destiny Sphere (MDS), home of the mad dogs who fight next to the Perseus Union marines, are pulling back from the Congress of Humanity.
No one knows what this will mean... until they do. MDS invades a bunch of smaller planets, which is part of their manifesto, and congress reacts by sending Rev, Tomiko and all the rest out to push them back.
It doesn't go as planned. The MDS have been planning this for a while, and just when it seems that they're going to secure victory, it turns into a bad defeat.
What this means for book 6, I'm not sure. I will say that the post-Centaurs books have been light on action and fighting, and more focused on personal relationships, training, politics and the like. It's not bad, but it's not as compelling a story (for me) as the Centaurs were.
Here's hoping that another threat to humanity will appear to pull this series out before it turns into romance :)
4/5* (and yes, I'm fine that Tomiko and Rev are sort of getting together)
Okay this was a WAY better book than book 4. Thank goodness! After #4, I almost gave up the series.
I really enjoyed all the deployments, the battles and reading as Rev grew into an even better soldier with the Home Guard than back home in the Union Marines. His assignment to the CoH was a good one… at first. Then shit goes crazy! There’s a theft, some infighting, broken allegiances between military factions, a massive issue with the IBHU’s during a battle and more. This one was filled with great stuff and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.
Punch is awesome and I really enjoyed the talktable and comms that him and Rev have. Although the jokes are rather simple and sometimes childish, most of them are pretty funny.
Miko!!! Yessss!!! Soooo glad she’s back! Totally missed her in book 4. She makes Rev a better man and a better warrior. They look out for each other a lot. The ending, I think, was a long time coming and it’s about damn time!
This book again feels like its treading water just waiting for the big skirmish to happen and war to break out. This may a true reflection of how a soldier feels when he is enlisted and sent on missions that aren't full out war but could lead up to it. Politics heavily influences outcomes and there are some major events. The MDS don't get their way in the Council of Humanity so they pull out of it. The IBHUs are stolen for long enough for the thieves to garner sufficient info about how they work. The MDS is suspected but no evidence is found to confirm this. This leads to the predictable outcome.... Skirmishes against the MDS occur with a mixture of results and Rev and Punch uncover more overwatch, but is it Union, marines or other entities.... Things are building to something big about to happen.....
Politics and Marines, makes me think of oil and vinegar! Even in the future, it sure looks like that is still the norm. These well written books do a great jobs of portraying how the military (Marines, Airmen, sailors, soldiers) have to March to the beat of the political machine, yet do their best to properly interpret those orders and fine the best way to accomplish them. The books also portray the human element in a truly realistic manner. You feel the frustration of questionable orders past down from governments, the angst of loosing teammates, the second guessing “did I do all I could do” to improve the outcome?
CoH, Home Guard/Manifest Destiny Sphere difference of opinion
I love military sci-fi; this book has amazing action, battles & side effects from battles. How one man battles it all on the off chance his team wins.
Politics messes up as much as it helps. But from a Marine point of view it can be deadly. This book has all the politics & actions taken in support of those policies & shows what it does to those warriors in Home Guard for CoH. Cause & effect; it can change lives.
Another fun book in the series. A bit more romance and the relationship that had been hinted for much of the series became real. Some interesting and typical intergovernmental dynamics are explored and our hero's weapon advantage is starting to show some weakness. Hoping for another weapons upgrade in the next book which I'm already 20 or 30 pages into. Still enjoying it but not looking forward to finishing the 6th book because I know the 7th isn't done yet. This will be a hard series to leave and come back to given all of the moving parts.
What I like about this series is that it's fresh. It doesn't hang back on the past, but keeps moving forward and keeps it interesting. I know when I write a series, the desire is to keep it moving, keep it fresh for the reader. While I do some of the admin stuff like promotions and unit business, like this series, it keeps the reader engaged and so on. I like to see what I can do with the time on my own book that I'm writing now, but this is a good series, and I will continue to read it, given that the content is good.
Rev and all of the other troopers have a slightly different name but frequently experience the same “hurry up and wait” situation so common in the military world. Being in the Home Guard is more problematic than ever as they are thrust into difficult situations with political decisions seriously affecting their work and their morale. When the events happen that break the Alliance they experience treachery that they hadn’t expected.
J.N. Chaney and Jonathan P. Brazee have yet again delivered another awesome entry into this series. Story had me constantly on the edge of my seat and engaged. Absolutely cannot wait to see what comes next!
Great story, good characters, and want more! Each new series is my favorite. As of now Rev and Mimi are my favorite characters of any story in any genre.
This is such a great book, it deals with the political ramifications of everything that's happened in the last books. Its lighter on the combat then the previous ones, but heavier on the story building. Great book. Can't wait to read the next one!
Intergalactic warfare and humans doing what they do best
An intergalactic alliance in danger of collapse. Human against human, politics and war. Great characters with realistic situations and lots of action and adventure. I look forward to more from this series.
Modern science fiction at its best and the plot twists and turns through this series as characters grow into their lives and deal with whatever may come in combat
A wonderful addition to.A good series, even if a bit verbose at times. A great story also! Just trim it a little and it will be perfect! Recommended for all space opera fans!
Well it's about tme the authors figure out that two young Marines that went to battle together might just have feelings for each other. Future Marines they may be but all parts that make them human are still there. Like the previous books before, a good read.
I'm amazed that this author can write so many fantastic novels, I hope that he never stops writing. His books are some of the best Entertainment I have read and worth the time to read them. Thank you for a very fun entertaining read.
The fifth book and I am still excited about reading this series. Great writing and captivating.
The fifth book and I am still excited about reading this series. Great writing and captivating. The story of the group surrounding Rev keeps surprising me.