New monsters. New terrain. New threats. Welcome to Australia.
The battle for Panama is over, and King Xavier Rodriguez secretly deploys the airship Vanguard to Queensland. The hunt for the Coral Castle is on. The rest of the fleet returns to the Vanguard Islands with new ships and supplies, but tensions rise with rumors of a hidden food cache.
When two sky people are murdered, Chief Michael Everhart knows the stage is set for mutiny. And with King Xavier off in search of the Coral Castle, he feels the target on his back. At Panama, a new leader emerges as an ancient evil threatens Outpost Gateway. The only hope of defeating it is a youth who has learned to survive in the deadly ruins.
On Australia's Sunshine Coast, King Xavier leads the search for the Coral Castle while Captain Rolo deploys the Hell Divers to hunt for a new source of seeds. As losses from both missions mount, the king wonders if finding this place is worth the cost. But turning back to the Vanguard Islands without a new food source could doom all humanity to starvation. Or to all-out war.
Nicholas Sansbury Smith is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than forty novels with two million copies sold. Before his writing career, he served at Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management, a background that inspired many of his story concepts. A two time Ironman triathlete, he enjoys running, biking, and hiking. Nicholas also loves traveling, especially to his cabin in Northern Minnesota where he weaves his tales. He lives in Iowa with his wonderful wife and their son and daughter.
Note: Nicholas is no longer an active user on Goodreads and does not use the platform. If you want to connect with him on social media here are some links. He would love to hear from you.
Radioactive continues the high velocity Hell Divers series with nonstop intense action, thrills, and tons of horrific chills. I was literally on the edge-of-my-seat as King X, his team of Hell Divers, and other survivors battle through unbelievably heart-pounding life and death situations in a desperate quest to find a new food supply. Without it, all humankind may very well be fated to starve. Radioactivity, battles, betrayals, deaths, and mistrust abound in this extremely difficult to pause electrifying edition.
As always, narrator R.C. Bray rocks it out. Can't wait for Fallout (Hell Divers, #10) to be released in February, 2023.
Easily my favorite series, maybe of all-time. The Hell Divers series always leaves me with this insane feeling of “Woah, what was that” in the best possible way. Hell Divers 9 takes us to what’s already the most dangerous place in the world, Australia. I never thought about how crazy Australia would be until I read How Green This Land, How Blue This Sea by Mira Grant. Then I thought “how come there aren’t more Post-Apocalyptic books that take place there?
One of my favorite parts of the audiobooks for this series is Bray’s randomness to the words. The people in these stories have been flying for so long that places that we call would change into a more phonetic way of speaking. In the older books places like Florida (we say “floor-duh” and Bray pronounced it Floor-e-dah”) but in this one, since they’re visiting Australia – he said “Aus-trah-lia” instead of “Aus-trail-ya”). It’s a small thing but genuinely makes these audiobooks so much more enjoyable.
Now that I’ve gone on for longer than most reviews already are. Good god was Radioactive great. I hate feeling like these books just keep getting better and better but Smith’s writing just absolutely shines in a book like this. Every piece of it was perfect or darn near perfect. The characters, the emotions, the settings, the battles. Are of them are just *chef’s kiss* perfect. Smith is able to write these sprawling books that take place literally all over the world over nine books and each one of them leans perfectly on the books that came before but also forges their own ways.
I was thinking, and I probably mentioned it before, but Miles really grounds X as a character. He might be a bit too… lots of things if Miles wasn’t there and numerous times throughout Radioactive I was reminded of that. I won’t go into why but a few times I shed a tear worrying, with X, about what was going on.
Overall, Radioactive was excellent. I cannot think of anything I would change. Just know that in this one because it’s Australia, Smith turns it up to 11. Everything was already out to kill them but in Australia – it was even worse. I particularly liked the vine-centric storyline that kept coming up and weaving its way through (much like the vines). I can’t say any more for fear of spoiling but it really added a bit of “I never thought of that” to a series that keeps surprising me.
Nicholas Sansbury Smith has hit it out of the park with this one!! With as intense as this series is, I didn’t expect brining it up a notch was possible, but Yes, yes it is! You think the animals of Australia can be scary now? 250 years into this post apocalyptic, war ridden world and those creatures are now terrifying! The intensity had me on the edge of my seat. The storyline is fantastic. I can’t wait to go on more adventures with the Hell Divers Series!
Once again Nicholas Smith knocks it out of the park. Usually a series tends to wane over time and become more or less formula... but not Hell Divers! The fast paced action will keep you on the edge of your seat and the twists and turns will keep your head spinning. The latest adventure to Australia introduces new challenges and lots of danger. Can they survive? Who will survive? Just when you think you have it figured out, wham... plot twist. Just make sure you have lots of sleep before starting this one because you won't want to put it down.
Another awesome installment to Hell Divers. This is my absolute favorite series in the apocalypse genre and Nick Smith never disappoints. Larger than life characters and harrowing events bring the story to life.
Awesome awesome awesomeness cobber. A worthy edition to this amazing series and this time the Hell Divers are in Australia. If you thought they had nasty creatures now, read this. I love this series! So many great characters. More please
Awesome story. Xavier's mission to Australia, Michael's time as Regent of Vanguard Islands and Rodger's new job as Director of Outpost Gateway were all interesting. However, I can't help but find the focus put on Rodger and Outpost Gateway a bit annoying. Rodger wanted to be someone important, but his incompetence ruined everything far faster than expected. I thought Rodger would finally shine as a true hero, but his efforts proved to be useless and his own carelessness got him killed and ruined what he was supposed to protect. Also I thought the Korean guy would reveal a way to defeat the evil threatening Outpost Gateway, but no such luck. Anyways, I hope the series' remaining heroes would be able to save Outpost Gateway and the Vanguard Islands, before it's too late.
Anyways, it's nice to see that the new human antagonists, Captain Rolo and Charmer have completely descended into villainy. The other villains, Travis Eddie, Alex, Leon Jordan, El Pulpo, Horn, Colonel Vargas and Colonel Moretto, were dangerous in there own ways. If I had to compare Charmer and Rolo to any of them then it would be Colonel Vargas and Horn. In a way, both Charmer and Rolo represent the threat of civil war X wanted to avoid by killing Vargas, and the war waged by Horn was technically a civil war for control over the islands, which Rolo and Charmer have decided to take over through violent and unjust means.
Anyways, can someone please write the name of the next book in a review. I really want to know the name of Hell Divers Book X.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Can the Immortal King Xavier find supplies and food to keep the people of the Vanguard Islands alive? Can Michael keep the snake Charmer under control? Or will the slimy spawn of a defector and a siren get away with his evil plans? Can Roger dodge this time? Or will Magnolia lose her way? Will Captain Rolo really help the Hell Divers? Stay tuned for more cliffhangers!
Is it finally time to let go of our favorite characters as their charmed lives wind down? Man, I hope not! I really love these Hell Divers and their enigmatic leader, and hate leaving them all hanging by their cracked and broken fingernails from the edge of this huge cliff! What an amazing storyline! More than 500 pages and every paragraph filled with action! My poor old heart! Only the master storyteller could twist me into a slobbering mindless creature tearing out words and choking them down with an alphabet soup chaser. The amazing cast, the overwhelming storyline, told by the master storyteller, all are combined here to make an outstanding read!
I have never read a series that has rubbed human faces in it so bad!! It never fails! Just when there is a light at the end of the tunnel, Wham!!! It slams shut with a vengeance! Man I just want them to survive to relax some day. As usual I have burned through this story so into the next. Read this series unless you have a weak heart , breathing problems or fear of being eaten!
This was all the things you'd expect in terms of action and suspense, but it made me mad. It ends on such a desolate note that I'm not even sure I want to read Hell Divers 10, which with the way things were left, has to be a certainty.
In fact the whole story was depressing. Traitors. Senseless murder. Senseless deaths of characters you love, when clearly one murderer character gets to live with zero consequences. I felt like I was being set up to expect good things over and over again, only to be met with tragedy for almost every single main character.
All the villains were left with the power. Not cool, Mr. Smith.
When you're someone like me who gets emotionally caught up in a book, you end up devastated by a story like this one. No thank you. I am not up for another one of those. Even when R. C. Bray is at the audiobook helm.
This novel has an excellent storyline, engaging narration and excellent character development. Be prepared to mourn the loss of some of your favorite characters! This book sets up a story arc for a future book and ends in a cliffhanger. This never ending element to the Helldivers feels a little unsatisfying to me.
This series is imaginative, exciting, and very hard to put down. It is worth the read!
I don’t know how this is still going strong but I’m here for it. Nine books in and I’m still surprised when shit goes sideways but this was one of the best ones yet.
Also, I’m unsure how it wasn’t already surmised by the group but in a radioactive world with mutant creatures everywhere, I certainly would NOT be keen to visit Australia of all places. 😅
Listened on audiobook as always for this series! This was a good one! Lots of action. And the author spares nobody from death, so you’re kept on the edge of your seat never knowing who will survive; if anyone.
9 books and each one pulls the reader into thinking "this is it, no one can survive this one"! Love this series and Book 9 tops the list with friendships, betrayals, life and death. Everything we would imagine in a post apocalyptic world where life hangs on a thread. Nicholas Sansbury Smith has an uncanny ability in describing scenes, even with wild crazy mutated humans and animals, where the visualization for readers is as easy as looking at a photo. This ability to meld character relationships and pull the reader into feeling like we are right there on the ship, the bridge, the jungle with our friends and enemies on every page, is a true talent. Fast paced action, you will not want to put this book down.
I can't get enough of this series. But now the books seem to take too long to come out (I am impatient), so I will need to do a reread to keep track of all the crazy stuff that has happened. Lots of adventure happened in this book well and just when you think they might finally live happily ever after....
Love the creative monsters and toxic plants in this future world - it gives me nightmares.
I held my breath, squished closed my eyes and yelled! There was laughter and tears. I can't believe where we are in this story!! And that I have to wait until next year for book 10...
Damn! Couldn't put it down! What a solid instalment in the series. Packed to the brim with action, kinda like Michael Bay movie, but actually good!
Edit. There is one thing that still pisses me off - the incorrect pronunciation of the various places. They now had Timothy Pepper for how many books? Surely, the AI would pronounce the locations properly and let the characters know how to do so.
Science Fiction action excellence! A great continuation of the Hell Divers novel series. All the characters are back and a few new ones. When you think the world is safe, Smith throws in more bad guys. I love the series and it's still one of my all-time favorites. R.C. Bray continues as a fantastic narrator for the audible version. I will read these so long as they keep coming out. If you haven't read these books and you like action fiction, pick them up, they are great.
I really like this series, I think it's just taken me a bit to get back into it after a break (read 1-7 about a year ago, just read 8 and will read 10 next). Space opera, even though our characters are back on Earth for the most part. The story takes place in a few locations. There are a number of ships, in the air and on the water (ie Vanguard, Immortal, Frog, etc) ... Michael Everheart and others are heading up the Vanguard Islands, there is Outpost Gateway (Roger heading this project), X and others are in Aus-tr-Leah (Australia) searching for the Coral Castle and seeds that will help with the food situation.
Kade is a main character this installment, and there are a lot of flashbacks to earlier in his life. Listening to audio (RC Bray narrating - great job with all the voices and fun pronunciations) while multi-tasking, I'd get a little confused sometimes as I'd start/stop/start the book. Are we in the past, in the present? Some books that are written in two tenses, that can help. This was all 3rd person, past tense. There are/were so many characters though, I had a bit of a hard time keeping track of everyone (might have been easier in e-book, taking notes or utilizing the search function to review).
This was a little bit longer, 500+ pages, but it went quickly. I was getting a little complacent, even amidst all the action ... at times it felt a little like a scene from one of the Jurassic Park movies, where our heroes are about to be eaten by a horrible monster (think raptor) when a bigger and badder dinosaur comes along (mr. T-Rex) and attacks, then something even bigger (Giganotosaurus) comes along ... and our heroes escape while the monsters fight. So many mutated monsters! So many horrible deaths.
At the end, this got super exciting with tons of conflict, all coming to a head. Some may complain of it being a cliff-hanger, this one is certainly the most built-up for the next book I think. Definitely felt the need to continue immediately, and am so glad that I had the audio on hold and ready, and I went ahead and purchased the Kindle copy of 10, as I like to be able to refer to the text (I was able to access e-books for 8 and 9, but in Libby, which is not as user friendly as Kindle, but better than nothing. Just a note, I noticed that books 1-9 should be included in Kindle Unlimited (text). I don't have a current subscription, but just nice to note.)
Oh so incredibly good! Lots of tension, action, wondering who may betray who, and who is going to die. I was definitely wrong about some of my guesses regarding betrayers and others were very obvious.
I listened to this back to back with the previous book. The narrator does a fantastic job with making each person recognizable. I personally love Jojo. I want one. Later in the book it was mentioned that she is twice as big as X. In my mind I had envisioned her about the size of a chimp so I can’t quite put my mind around that. I wish that there was a picture of all the beasts because they sound pretty fantastic.
There was one thing that didn’t seem to fit with King Xavier. His decision to leave the home to trek across the world did not make sense with the responsibilities of a leader. X is a smart guy who is always looking ahead so realistically I don’t think he would’ve chosen to leave, especially for the 2nd trip. The islands were falling apart after a massive storm, starvation looming, and groups of people angry at each other. A wise ruler would know he would be needed at home to solve those crises and keep the peace and to send other folks out to look for what he wanted. However, I thoroughly enjoyed his storyline back fighting the beasts and frequently about to be eaten. So I’m glad X went.
This book wrapped up with a delicious ending and I’m eager to get my hands on #10.
This book is number 9 in the Hell Divers Series following a quasi-military unit of skydivers of using a flying method to move around hostile territory and settlements. These Divers are a highly trained combat team whose first loyalty lies with the citizens of the survivors and then to each other.
In this entry of the series, the survivors have recently come from a devastating conflict over a region called Panama along Australia’s Sunshine Coast. The team takes on new monsters and terrain to attempt to procure resources for a society nearing starvation.
This is an action packed adventure series following descendants of the survivors of World War III. After two centuries, earth is adapting to circumstances created by a worldwide nuclear war. It is a good entry into the Series but it is limited in its ability to stand alone and would be well received by fans of the Series. Although I finished it if I were to continue with the series, I would go back and pick it up from the beginning. I don’t plan to read farther in the Series, but recommend to fans of Science Fiction, Post Apocalyptic, Dystopia, Adventure, and Thriller Genres.