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The Last Hunter #3

Alpha Strike

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Be where your enemy is not. – Sun Tzu

The time has come for Commodore Jack Romanoff and the crew of the battleship Delta Orionis to strike back at the robotic Locusts. He’s outgunned, outnumbered, and commands a battleship flown by battered and bloodied reenactors and trainees.

Yet they must win.

The Locusts control New Copenhagen, but that’s the only place they can get nuclear warheads for their missiles. They must launch an alpha strike to take the system and hold it against all comers. If they fail, they lose their most potent offensive weapons and leave billions trapped under the invaders’ robotic heels.

They must not fail.

321 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 16, 2022

1286 people are currently reading
134 people want to read

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J.N. Chaney

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5 stars
1,133 (51%)
4 stars
753 (34%)
3 stars
266 (12%)
2 stars
32 (1%)
1 star
10 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
Profile Image for C.T. Phipps.
Author 93 books672 followers
November 4, 2022
ALPHA STRIKE is the third installment of the Last Hunter series. A Battlestar Galactica-esque dreadnought is the last possible hope for humanity as Commodore Jack Romanoff is forced to lead his barely-trained crew as well as their museum ship up against the Drone Locusts. They've had to deal with incompetence and treason along the way but nothing prepares them for the battle against the Locusts on the world of New Copenhagen. As much as I enjoyed this book, I admit I liked it a bit less than the previous ones because it's human versus alien action versus human versus human. Still, I like the development we get for the invaders and signs they're truly alien.
Profile Image for Space Cowgirl.
4,133 reviews144 followers
April 28, 2023
Stomping🐺🚀🔫💥 Out🌏 The Bugs👽

Military🚀🔫💥 Space Opera.
Book three📚 in the series is somewhat slow sloughing for Commodore Jack, our hero, and his crew of volunteers, scientists, and ensigns.
A centuries forgotten cache of nuclear warheads must be extracted from underground to use against the locusts👽.
So some of this continuing war to save humanity takes place planet side🌏.
These books need to be read in order. Fortunately, they are available for Free from Amazon📚 with Kindle Unlimited.
Profile Image for Tony Hisgett.
3,011 reviews36 followers
June 25, 2022
I enjoyed the story and it has definitely developed into a decent Space Opera, but it did have a few irritations.
Towards the end I couldn’t help thinking that story was becoming a bit contrived, especially with the very specific damage the aliens were able to do to the Delta Orionis.
Profile Image for Jim.
1,235 reviews50 followers
August 22, 2022
This is one of the very best series although this particular book seems to slow down a little. Commodore Jack Romanoff commanding the Confederation starship Delta Orionis (a.k.a. Hunter), had just destroyed the last remaining Locust droids around a Confederation supply depot. They had found this depot occupied by a bunch of civilians and they apparently had been doing so for a long time. They had armed some of the missile platforms and that helped in finishing off this latest battle with the Locust. The quantum gate into the system had been destroyed so there wasn't a possibility of the Locust coming after them again for a while. It was time to find out who occupied the depot and if they were hostile to his Confederation Navy.

The apparent lead for the depot occupiers was none other than Mark Connor, a smuggler, that Jack had some history with. This guy was kind of lavish in his dress and manner and came off in appearance as a pirate, although he would make it clear that he hated pirates and was on a simple smuggler. Of course Jack Romanoff wasn't going to immediately trust this guy, but he's the one they had to deal with so that was that.

They set up an initial meeting which went well. Connor said, while he was the leader of the community of about thirty-thousand civilians, he did have to get concurrence with anything from his governing council. Commodore Romanoff also stated that he couldn't commit the Confederation to any kind of permanent agreement, but he was willing to do as much as he could to work an agreement between those occupying the depot and his Navy. The Hunter desperately needed access to the millions of missiles stored in the thousands of warehouses at the depot and numerous spare parts to fix his ship. He also needed to find out if any of the other battleships were combat capable or if they could be made combat capable. And finally, Jack knew that he had to get the people of the depot to consider his cause of defeating the Locust their cause since he needed more bodies to shore up his crew and possibly crew other battleships. So, it was a very good thing that the depot called "Port Royal" by the occupiers, was on friendly terms.

A lot of the book involves exploring the mechanics of getting these pirates, smugglers and otherwise criminals to work with the Navy personnel from the Hunter. Mark Conner was also getting resistance from the depot governing council since they want to ensure they got something out of this deal with the Confederation. They knew full well that a healthy Hunter battleship could do a lot of damage to the depot if so inclined, but they also knew it was in their best interest to help the Navy. If the Locust came back, it would be a lot more and probably more than the Hunter could fight off.

So, Romanoff and Conner agreed to cooperate and allow the Navy access to the warehouses to search for the missiles and spare parts. It wasn't an easy tasks and they found some of Port Royal's own people stealing from some of the warehouses. It appeared that one group was attempting to arm one of the battleships they had occupied. This couldn't be allowed, but Commodore Romanoff knew he couldn't just send in his Marines. So, the first joint effort was formed to capture these crooks.

Meanwhile, the Hunter's logistics experts found that while there were millions of missiles available, the nuclear warheads have been all shipped to New Copenhagen for storage. Jack started formulating a plan as to how they could get to New Copenhagen, fight off any Locust there and then secure the nuclear warheads. The problem was that without the nuclear warheads, his missiles weren't anywhere nearly as lethal at they should/could be and if the Locust were large in numbers, he would be able to defend anything!

So, they take the Hunter to New Copenhagen and find the storage area for the nuclear warheads. This wasn't done in secret since there were a large presence of Locust orbiting the planet. But, the Hunter managed to fight them off and destroy the immediate threat. Except the Locust had deployed on the planet and had at least two fortresses built. Romanoff didn't know what kind of land forces he would be facing since the Locust in past wars hadn't landed or attempted to occupy planets. Still, he sends in his Marine contingent to secure the nuclear warhead storage facility and they have a fight on their hands.

Meanwhile, another large group of Locust are coming towards the Hunter and they have to get the nuclear warheads from the planet, figure out how to get them installed on their missiles and then load a sufficient number in the Hunter's missile launchers or this was going to be a very short battle. While this seems like a very dangerous part of the story, it seems as though the author really played down the battle. The Hunter did as planned, they shot their now nuclear tipped missiles and destroyed the Locust motherships. And that was that! Pretty anti-climatic.

The only problem is that the Hunter is seriously damage. It can't go back to Port Royal. And that's were the story ends. It does leave you wondering what's going to happen in the future. You're reminded that New Copenhagen is one small planet in a small system of the Confederation. There are thousands of planets that the Confederation is supposed to defend and they are all probably or will be occupied by the Locust. Just how is this small Confederation Navy supposed to fight this huge enemy and take the fight to them? This story has a long, long way to good, I think.

It's good and I'll continue to follow this series. Book 4, "Enemy Revealed" is available on Amazon and already on my reading list.
351 reviews4 followers
June 29, 2022
The battle for New Copenhagen (or at least the preliminary rounds of ut)!

At the Navy depot is a group of people who have set up their own colony. Jack has to negotiate with a former frenemy(?) to regain access to the precious weapons and ships there. Not surprisingly, there are a few teething problems.
The nuclear warheads had been removed and stored at New Copenhagen, so the planet must be liberated from the Locusts so as to enhance their weapons as the missiles are relatively useless without warheads. They come up with a plan to lead the Locusts away from the planet and then to jump back, send down the Marines to get the warheads, rearm the missiles and then be ready for the attacking Locusts. Will everything go to plan?
There are also some incubating aliens on the Hunter. Can they be revived and can we communicate? Only time will tell....
While the lead up to the battle takes most of the book, the actual firefight is over fairly quickly. Fortunately the lead up is gripping enough to keep you entertained throughout.Another exciting and enthralling read in the Last Hunter series.
Profile Image for Leather.
570 reviews12 followers
February 21, 2024
A third part in line with the first two. Beyond an exciting plot, a large number of chapters do not serve much purpose, other than blackening paper or consuming electricity. The multiplication of points of view leads to a lot of rehashing, which is most certainly linked to the fact that the authors divide the chapters and thus send each other reminder notes on the development of the characters and the plot.
The rhythm is undermined by the rehash chapters and the spatial action scenes become very repetitive.
The characters are pretty bland and at this point, after about 1000 pages in this universe, I'm not attached to any of them. The Captain was interesting in the first part, but he turns into ectoplasm during the following parts.
The series is in its 12th or 13th part: at the stage I am at, I have great doubts about going that far, despite my desire to discover the ins and outs of the plot.
310 reviews4 followers
April 8, 2023
Great Read

These books just keep delivering the goods! If you could take the science fiction out of the books and was left with just the governments, military, and civilians, would would discover a realistic battle scenario. Imagine during World War Two having a large force cut off with no support or resupply coming and superior enemy forces pushing into your area. You have to adapt, live off the land, find supplies, equipment, personnel when and where you can. You can’t give up. You found out the the enemy force driving towards you are looking to supplies those back home with a decisive strike that would cripple or bring down the country you swore to protect. Even if it means sacrificing yourself and your command, you must stop the enemy!!
Profile Image for Ford Miller.
723 reviews6 followers
April 8, 2023
Good story with a lot of plot building in this book.

I've enjoyed the first books here in the story continues with the main character and supporting cast trying to save future human existence. This book got a little bit bogged down trying to keep developing the world building in the plot however it didn't over explain and tried to move it along. The action seemed a little more slow-paced and it really only happened towards the end of the novel. It felt more as if the author sort of walked us through this is what happened instead of the feeling I was living the experience like the first two battles in the books he wrote previously. So I'm enjoying the series and will continue to do so and I look forward to book number four.
1,019 reviews4 followers
May 31, 2024
A mixed bag

The story is rapidly evolving with some positive developments for Jack in getting the Hunter in better shape in her capabilities and the ever expanding need for more parts and the experienced techs to install them.
Jack & his crew are still trying to figure out what Connor actually wants and whether they should trust him or not. We have several major developments that only time will tell if they are good, bad or something else. But Jack continues to be impressed by the various members of his crew who were either civilians or Basic Trainees so recently. Their willingness to work hard to learn the skills they need to work together as a team is inspiring. But Jack also has to be realistic about how much work remains before Hunter is up to even 50% capacity…
Profile Image for Beau.
311 reviews7 followers
June 23, 2022
In the 3rd episode of The Last Hunter, the rag-tag crew of the Delta Orionis decides to take the fight to the enemy. That means a dangerous trip to the system where the nuclear warheads have been stored by the Navy.

They also are working to understand the aliens.

It's a great series, and another great episode. I would pick one nit, that the enemy occasionally does the exact thing that the good guys say they intend to prevent. I guess the authors don't want things to be too easy for our heroes, right?

I received an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
821 reviews3 followers
April 8, 2023
Book 3

Book 3 had errors throughout and was a fun read. Again the characters and plot are developed well enough. The plot has started to be strung out and reads a bit slower than the others. The characters are developing well and adapting to new problems on the way with creative insights on the aliens. The team must find the warhead's and nettle the locust's in order to save the sector and find their payloads for the missiles. O dos enjoy the overall of the book, bit could of been a bit faster in the telling.
Profile Image for fred jones.
1,793 reviews11 followers
February 6, 2023
I love this type of military science fiction and this series is shaping up to be a really good one. The storyline is strong, the characters good and the science realistic. Hunter needs warheads for its missiles so it has to make a dangerous trip into enemy space. Some intense action sequences at the climax make for a great ending. The ending makes reading the next one essential. . Jeffrey Kafer is a good narrator with an excellent range.
21 reviews
April 25, 2024
Good

So far really good.
One complaint in the story line so don’t read further if you don’t want to know. A ship the size of , or made out of, an asteroid is all good. So how in the wide world of sports do you lose your jump drive, hyperdrives, and most ridiculously, the gate you brought with you that was absolutely necessary for your survival. Did you strap it to the outside of the ship? Come on man. Rant over. Don’t let this keep you from an excellent series. I forge on!
336 reviews
May 10, 2024
Battles and betrayal.

As you would expect of any mixed bag of people, some take it into their heads to look out for themselves first. Fortunately for the Confederation, honor means something to the Navy seeking to defend its people.

The invaders seem to have the upperhand, but our heroes continue to fight and gather more defenders.

That's why it's a series. The story continues to unfold.
Profile Image for Tom Steele.
97 reviews8 followers
May 21, 2024
A fun space opera

This is a solid piece of the Last Hunter series with one minor flaw… it tends to drag along a bit slowly with politics and short battles surrounded by long drawn out setups. It would be more exciting if the battles were longer and the political aspects were summarized more quickly.

Also there is a large cast of important players and it can be hard to keep up with them all.

Still a fun space opera with a solid four stars and great characters and plot.
Profile Image for Julie Sherman.
1,465 reviews23 followers
June 20, 2022
FantastiC

I have been waiting for the third book for weeks and I wasn't disappointed.
I love how slot of the characters are brought together in this third book. The ship, crew, worlds and more have to work together even know they never have and also some have not gotten along.
Looking forward to the next book
Julie of ARC annonymous.
Profile Image for Keith.
2,154 reviews6 followers
July 6, 2022
Middle of the Road

Lots of battles and conflict, with significant lives lost, leaving us with questionable outcomes for our heroes. The future is not certain by the end of this installment and while the storyline demands another installment, we only have a hope that the future will improve.
178 reviews1 follower
July 22, 2022
Improving Story line

The story is starting to get its legs under it and the quality of the writing is improving. I think, like with any good sitcom, it takes time to get these characters the feel of who they are and how they interact.
I almost quit reading the series after the first book but happy I stuck it out.
I look forward to the next book in the story arc.
386 reviews3 followers
July 25, 2022
want more action but still good

This is almost more of a drama than more details about the battles that I’m more interested in. I’m a little disappointed in the action description in these series but I like the story so I’ll keep reading it. Also like the characters. Looking forward to learning more about the aliens.
120 reviews
December 26, 2023
Action building in this installment

Another very good book. The team works hard with the locals in Port Royale to get Hunter in better shape. Naturally, the path is littered with obstacles, but the stalwart team rises to the challenges. The Hunter and its crew sees more action in this installment. Very satisfying.
15 reviews
May 27, 2024
Book three feels more formulaic than the previous 2. It’s entering the territory of video game where you are constantly pulled on to side quests that really don’t love the story forward. Also it seems to draw out the length of the series everything always goes wrong. I don’t mind hurdles and obstacles but when that is all that occurs than you are not moving story along but leaving it spinning
Profile Image for DAVID.
583 reviews5 followers
July 22, 2022
Great storyline

Well another fine mess you got the Hunter into lol about time you have them a break with getting sorted. That said great storyline with plenty of action and twists and turns in the plot.
Profile Image for E.R..
Author 1 book7 followers
July 30, 2022
another good one

This series is really good. It’s in the stretch now where it can get bogged down in minutiae so let’s hope the authors can avoid that. I can’t wait until things turn and the humans start kicking butt.
1,014 reviews11 followers
March 4, 2023
riveting reading

There is a large cast of characters, each of which is entirely believable. And more to come. That’s exciting. Then there are the battles in space and on land. Breathtaking and you’re there! Hunter rocks under your feet. In all the most riveting read yet!
165 reviews1 follower
April 8, 2023
Third book as good as the first!

Continues with the writing quality as books one and two. New characters are interesting and contribute to the overall plot. The plot is still interesting and engrossing.
Profile Image for Denzil Ernstzen.
188 reviews1 follower
November 16, 2023
Better and Better

The story just gets better and better with each new book released. I love that the story always evolves and grows. With new characters added it makes the entire story telling process really fun and great to read.

Hope you enjoy the next book in the series.
Profile Image for Jim.
757 reviews
July 26, 2024
Book 3 in the series

Jack and his crew are able to repair and rearm their ship, Hunter, and prepare for another battle with the aliens; this time in the Copenhagen system. A great story.
Profile Image for Tom.
221 reviews3 followers
April 12, 2025
Very intense

This book is full of action and communication. The action speaks for itself however the communication is something that you fall into and recognize along the way. I recommend reading this book after you've read the first two in the series. It will make much more sense
596 reviews5 followers
June 19, 2022
Very good

I like how the writers brought everything together. Very smooth and of course they always leaving you wanting more. But now I have to wait for the next book.
48 reviews
June 20, 2022
Damn I wish these books were longer

Another great installment with more problems to overcome.

I love some of the new characters and look forward to the next book
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews

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