The Galaxy is growing...and it's more dangerous than ever before.
An all-out war within humanity has been narrowly avoided, and peace is finally at hand.
Yeah, right.
Human ships are being taken, their crews disappearing. Has an old enemy returned? Or has the galaxy revealed a new threat?
With humanity’s very existence at stake, Rev and the Perseus Union Marines have to put old rivalries aside and help form a last line of defense if the human race is going to have a fighting chance to survive.
I really like this series. Staff Sergeant Reverent Pelletier has really grown on me and he keeps getting better although I'm leery that he's going to become too smart for his own good. He's now a Platoon Sergeant and a very good one. As this book starts, he's also heavily engaged in battle. It appears that the Centaurs have broken the peace that has been in effect for quite some time now. He and his Heavy Infantry Battalion are on Brahmaloka to find out where and just how many Centaurs were on the moon. His unit was definitely not supposed to engage with the Centaurs, only find out what kind of force they had fielded and then report back to HQ. That's all his mission entailed...until it didn't!
Rev's forward outpost had spotted a group of five Centaurs coming towards their position. As his outpost wasn't to engage the enemy, Rev told them to hunker down and just watch this patrol to see where they went. But, that didn't happen. Some how the Centaurs knew the outpost was watching them so they decided to engage the human Marines. That brought Rev and the rest of the platoon forward into the fight. It seemed like the Centaurs were putting out a lot of fire for only five guys. They were also very hard to find even though it didn't look like they were much different than any other Centaur unit. Rev actually got into a hand-to-hand battle with one Centaur how strangely brandished a sword! Once Rev looked around he noticed the other Centaurs were also brandishing swords and using them with deadly results, except the Perseus Union Marines had no swords so they fought back by blasting the Centaurs which quickly ended the fight! Rev did notice that these Centaurs seemed different than the ones he had previously fought in hand-to-hand combat. He couldn't pin it down, but he thought there was something different about these aliens.
After this short skirmish, he reported back to HQ, got chewed out for not maintaining his scouting only mission and then was told the entire human contingent was pulling out. They were turning over the small moon to the Centaurs with no real explanation provided to the rank and file Marines. So, it was back to base which in Rev's case was Safe Harbor. Once there he wanted to get back to Tomiko, his girl friend and now fiancée. As you read in the previous book, Tomiko was recovering from her resurrection and had a long period of therapy and rehab to undertake. She was staying with Rev's parents which kept her close to the base. He managed to get time to see when his duty schedule allowed, but she was also busy going through rehab. She and Rev had decided that she wanted to stay in the Marines even though she had agreed to get married. But now, she had to go through rehab and prove she was qualified to stay on active duty.
One usual training day, Rev was told to report to the RAB (Restricted Access Briefing) room. Here he was shown a video clip of what appeared to be inside a building on what he was told was Planet Aurilious, a resupply station. The video showed four civilians sitting against a wall being guarded by Centaurs. While the Centaurs all initially had their backs to the security camera feed, one was nudged by something off camera and it turned around. That drew loud gasps from the assembled Marines for this wasn't a Centaur nor was it human, there now was a third alien race in the galaxy. So who were these aliens and why were they attacking human planets?
But, who they were didn't really matter, jus the fact they were attacking human settlements meant the Union was going to war again! ?So the base was locked down tight. Rev's platoon started getting in replacements real quick and he was in the process of seeing to their training. He knew they would get deployment orders pretty soon, but didn't know just when. The, again, he was called to the RAB for another classified briefing. In this one he was shown a video of a meeting between a human Lieutenant Commander of a battalion and a Naxli, which is what this new aliens species called themselves. For some reason, a single Naxli had marched forward to between the opposing lines while the Lt. Col., under a white flag, met him face-to-face. The Lt. Col. was surrendering himself and his troops. They had already been pretty much decimated to the point of it being no longer reasonable to fight. Unfortunately, the Naxli didn't seem to understand the concept of surrender. He asked the human if he intended to fight and the Lt. Col. said no! That seemed to enrage the Naxli who then shot the Lt. Col. while his Naxli troops came forward and shot every human present!
Of course that enraged all the Marines present, but Rev was wondering why it happened the way it did. So, their deployment got turned on full blast. As they were preparing for departure from Safe Harbor, they heard other stories of encounters by other humans and the Naxli. It seems the Naxli were always coming forward as a single soldier seemingly wanting to talk to someone on the human side. If the humans responded, they did so with a leader or officer, but when that officer was asked by the Naxli how many in his unit would fight, he definitely didn't proved the answer, but he definitely told the Naxli that they were still going to fight. Upon hearing this, the Naxli moved back to his side while allowing the human officer to do the same. Then the fighting started. Rev thought this action strange and wonder just what it meant. Maybe he would have a chance to find out!
This is a very good story well written with an interesting twist. I certainly wouldn't like to fight under the conditions the Marines will fight in this book, and I don't know how some of them can continue to fight after they have suffered some pretty bad wounds. Still, fighting in their armor kind of makes them feel invincible. And they medical aspect of this century is really amazing. The fact is the IBHU Marines are actually combat casualties who have amputated limbs. While they have fixed the physical side of these wounds, I don't know how the individual soldier or Marines in this case, manage the tremendous psychological trauma of losing a limb and then having to go back to war.
Still, I'll continue reading this series. Book 8, "What Lies Behind", should be available on Amazon by 8 May 2022.
This has been an awesome series of books to read, I've enjoyed every minute! These have been among the best military science fiction books I have ever read (including those from David Weber, Orson Scott Card, Timothy Vaughn and Eric Flint).
Colonel Brazee made sure all of the military structure was correct, both general and specific (officers being the "brains" and the NCO's being the backbone of the military [especially the "boots on the ground], Infantry, Artillery and Armor]).
As an Army guy, I had to do some rough translation from Marine to Army, but after a quick review from my Marine brother, I was good to go.
As a retired Army mustang, I could relate to the feelings Rev had about wanting to be a leader and at the same time, being unsure if he had what it took to accept the responsibility for the lives of "his" troops.
The personal side of the military is almost always given short shrift by writers. These books haven't spent too much attention, but they have given an idea that being a soldier, sailor or Marine doesn't preclude being a husband wife or parent. We're just like civilians in that aspect. Thanks, gentlemen.
This is an awesome series of books. I highly recommend that you read them.
I'm hoping six weeks pass quickly. Then I can read book eight!
Overall, a good story. As I go along, though, and in reflection before finishing the book, the IBHU concept is a bit well... far-fetched, I have to say. The idea that one person can carry around 2,000 rounds and not break a sweat... Not going to happen. Sure, you can take 20mm around, and it's not "that" big, but around that amount, you'd need a quite large magazine to be combat-effective. I liken this to the powerguns of Hammer's Slammers. It was powerful, and while scientifically it made sense, it just made the impossible a little too possible. But the story is good and well worth the read, but I had to knock it down because of the IBHU concept. Again, it makes for good storytelling, but in a sense, it's not really practical for a human-sized platform. I can accept the beamer and the blade, but everything else seems a bit far-fetched. But that doesn't stop me from moving on to Book 8.
good story now unfortunately I have to wait for the next one
If you like gritty sci-fi military action marine on alien you will enjoy this book. It is fast paced full of plenty of action as well as downtimes for the main protagonist. What I do not like and will not give it a five until Marines start winning some decisive battles because after all these books everything seems so depressing. Every book the Marines are getting the hell beat out of them. When is Rev and his people going to catch a break? As I was reading the book I was also wondering when all the Marines equipment such as the IBHU weapons getting upgrades? I’m glad the authors give rev some happiness while all this destruction and death is going on around him. As far as the subplots with the intelligence division that needs to be solved or gotten rid of. Besides that this is a good story and a good book.
At the end of the previous novel, it looked like the Centaurs may be attacking again. In this novel we find out that they are like Centaurs, but are not Centaurs. Also a second more humanoid race also appears to be attacking. The marines are called in to defend a number if world's with mixed success. Rev of course starts to understand more about what they are up against.... One advantage of the new alien threats is that everybody wants to create more augmented people thus reversing the moratorium on this. War is here and the new enemies are intriguing.....
I thoroughly enjoy everything written by this duo. From the ongoing character development through interaction with others and the increasingly detailed battle scenes I have a hard time putting the books down. The only disappointment I had with this particular series is that the Is solution for interaction with the enemy is a repeat of an earlier story theme.
Good books the few downsides are the constant references to the same military actions throughout the series. That coupled with what seems like abandoning certain story lines altogether or forgetting about them and rarely bringing them up. But overall well written, engaging, exciting books. I do love the connection to Marines throughout time and how Marines will always be Marines and explaining why the modern corps does some of the things it does.
Rev has grown so much throughout the series, but this installment is no different. He's a stand-out Marine, #1 IBHU & still fells like he's doing nothing special. Yet, the story is about how special this Marine is. He's one fine man, & honors his family, his troops the PUMC, &his World. It's hard to put this book & the others down! Love this series.
It seams that Rev has a sixth sense on certain things when he is in the field. He adjusts accordingly to protect his unit and learns how to make others see what he sees, even if they don’t like it. His gut has helped him survive even after the loss of his arm and that of some friends and others. With Punch acting a like weird, it will be interesting to see who is listening in on what Rev and Punch are saying and how they will react to what transpires in the future between the two.
As usual the Authors present the augmented space marines as tough , brave ,and sort of smart. . Plenty of fighting for any space opera fan. Pathedic attempt at romantic interludes fight . Leaves the reader satisfied with the progress of Rev and his comrades and ready for the next book in th seris
The seventh book in a series, I recommend that you start with Book #1, Sentenced to War, where the protagonist gets drafted into the marines in an interstellar civilization.
This book isn't as bloody as the previous, and the aliens this time are somewhat humanoid and seem to like limited person-to-person fighting. We see some politics of the human government, but not much about the aliens.
Rev back to his old tricks. New aliens, new war, same person works it all out It's a good story, interesting development compared to the previous aliens and war, but does seem to be regurgitating a similar storyline to the centaurs war. Will be interesting to see if it does diverge to any extent
I am slow in catching up in the total story. Some of this I can see in the forward parts. Making the reader more excited. I have to keep saying to myself that my favorite characters will not be killed? That the heroes will continue on with the rest of the unit. The writers have been know to surprise me though.
Rev is very frustrated with the combat losses of his Marines, and even more so with some of his posse being hurt or killed. After fighting in several major actions he has been a significant player in major events that have future ramifications. Then a new player arrives to challenge humanity.
I'm a retired Navy Seabee and very proud of my service. It's really nice to find an author who in his storied mentions the Seabees. All the books In this series are wonderful and easy to read and follow along. And I'm a firm believer that there are in fact, aliens out there, some friendly and some not so friendly.
This volume takes Rev and friends in an interesting new direction. 7 books in and still going strong as the variety in environments keeps the battles entertaining. I very much enjoyed it and look forward to the next installment.
I enjoy this series and think it is a good read, very creative writing and a lot of simple common sense to it I would recommend it to anyone. it makes for a nice pleasant evening of reading or waiting at an airport or other things. Go for it. David Schlosser.
Well another great storyline with Rev getting into all kinds of trouble lol. What is the problem with Omega Division guessing they don't like a grunt having better brain power than them lol. Totally looking forward to the next episode😁😁
Another well written and scripted book in this series. The storylines with nits plots and twists make it hard to put the book down. The plot twists keep the storyline fresh and interesting.
Chaney never fails, and this story brings it! A fantastic continuation of an amazing universe. It leaves you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.
All I can say is... The tactics and combat strategies portrayed in this book are simply PATHETIC ! A roasted duck would've been capable of devising a better military OP ! C'MON!!! (quitting the series right now)
Guys, you did it again. You've brought Rev to life like few people can. What a great and enjoyable read. Do yourself a favor. Don't even hesitate - get this book. It's well worth it. Keep up the good work.
Good read. I noticed this in the continue series section and realized I have four more books to look forward to reading this week. Enjoying the new aliens and the battles.
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.