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Forgotten Ruin #7

Never Shall I Fail

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Surrender is not a Ranger Word

History records massive ancient battles at Carthage, Megiddo, and Cannae. Soon it will record an even greater one... at Sustugul.


Surrounded in the desert port of Sustugul, the Rangers and their new allies must fight a desperate defense. The legions of the Lich Pharaoh, led by a fierce and brutal warrior queen medusa from the Land of Black Sleep, have erupted out of the tomb-haunted south, and overwhelming forces of savage orc hordes swarm the walls of the besieged city.

As the Rangers fight to hold their ground—or be slaughtered and driven into the sea—Corporal Talker struggles to forge a dangerous request that may bring back fallen comrades from beyond the Lands of Night... or destroy the very fabric of time and space.

At the center of this stunning massed infantry battle like something from the Age of Bronze, U.S. Army Rangers must use every war-fighting skill and battlefield trick, along with their legendary heroic intestinal fortitude, to turn the tide and break the forces of evil in a large-scale battle unlike nothing they’ve ever fought in before.

306 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2022

174 people are currently reading
134 people want to read

About the author

Jason Anspach

186 books839 followers
JASON ANSPACH is the author of Galaxy's Edge, Wayward Galaxy, Forgotten Ruin. and more.

He lives in Puyallup, WA with his wife and their seven (not a typo) children.

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5 stars
555 (72%)
4 stars
173 (22%)
3 stars
33 (4%)
2 stars
8 (1%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
Profile Image for Alan Mascall.
20 reviews1 follower
December 16, 2022
I’m about 30% through the book and I’m struggling with this one. The narrative is usually rambling and goes off at a tangent but this book is even worse. Long descriptions of killing (which is fine but now getting repetitive) and how Talker feels that ‘he ain’t that guy anymore’ and constant quotes of ‘Rangers gotta Ranger’ plus his obsession with coffee is beginning to wear a bit thin. This wouldn’t be so bad if it was before or after a battle scene but during? Seriously? It completely ruins the whole thing and loses the ‘moment’ as he relates what he’s seeing then goes off a very long diatribe about something else, to the point where I find myself thinking ‘get on with it for ****’s sake! I will finish the book as I want to see what happens next, but I’m going to read something else for a while as this one is getting on my nerves at the moment.
331 reviews5 followers
December 5, 2022
Everything you’ve come to expect from the Ruin.

Man what a story, in Talkers inimitable style, we get some amazing scenes here! As always the fights are top notch, and we get some juicy lore tidbits as well sprinkled in. Things that I’d been wondering about since book 1! To top it off, we get some cool new allies and assets, and an honest to God tear jerker scene. I literally had tears in my eyes! Keep up the good work guys! Rangers gonna Ranger!
Profile Image for Jim.
1,228 reviews50 followers
February 1, 2023
This book surprised me in that it was pretty interesting all the way to the end. Oh, there were parts that I wished I didn't have to slog through, but in the end, I liked the way the book ended.

Corporal Talker or Talk to most is again narrating this story as he has written it in his Journal. He's the Ranger linguist, historian, and story teller for this weird world they are in. As you'll remember, this company of Ranges has been accidentally sent ten thousand years into the future. They found themselves in a world totally different from the world they left and one that seemed to be derived from the game of Dungeons and Dragons. Yeah, there were orcs, wizards, witches, dragons and other such creatures which the Rangers quickly found out that they had to kill. Fortunately, there were stranded in this strange world with the Forge. This apparently was a device/machine that could make all sorts of equipment to keep the Ranger company well supplied in bullets and food. Only in this particular book, they are a long ways away from their main base and having to have resupplies sent in by chopper.

As Talker tells it, they have taken the desert stronghold of Sûstagul from the dragon/lizard men called Saur. They didn't like that and their King had began arranging with various tribes of orcs to take back the city. Theres orcs were pretty fierce warriors if not kind of short. There was one group in particular, the Guzzim Hazadi that were a kind of Ranger orcs and they were planning on hitting the Ranger in Sûstagul that night. As the book opens, Talker is interrogating an orc prisoner trying to find out where the orcs might make their attack. The orc isn't that cooperative until Talker starts cutting parts of him off. Now this isn't something that Talker normally does. But, he's just lost two of his heroes, Sergeants Brumm and Kurtz. Both were very instrumental in instructing him in the way of the Ranger. Talker is grieving but he doesn't really know it right now.

Anyway, Talker gets the information he needs and helps the Rangers prepare to defend themselves. He's placed in charge of the QRF for this defense, showing some leadership which something which every Ranger should have the opportunity to do. So, Talker will tell you the story of this defensive action, but sometimes he just drones on and on and I wish he'd just get to the point. There are some pretty spectacular things that happen in this battle, but it's not the only battle you'll read about. No, there's a lot more going on with the defense of Sûstagul.

They soon realize that without the Forge in the city, they are quickly running out of ammo. They are also running out of Rangers, now down to a hundred or so. The Captain says they need to bring in the C-5A with the Forge and all the ammo, supplies and food it can bring. This is going to be an epic battle getting that aircraft down and unloaded. They've had to prepare a run-way on the outskirts of the city and the Accordion Legionnaires have been doing a magnificent job of getting that ready. This will be a major battle as the Captain tells his Rangers in their oporder briefing.

Just so you know, Talker says they will be facing some sixteen thousand Saur's or dragon/lizard men along with their wizards and spell-casters and whatnot. This army is going to be lead by a tough medusa General that has never lost a battle. So, the Rangers know they are in for it. Talker does a good job of describing all the action throughout the book even though he wasn't part of everything. He's only a Corporal after all and he did something that almost got that taken away from him. Still, as long as he has his coffee, he's good to go and the Rangers will keep on Rangering.

I like the end of this story. It was well done and didn't leave me hanging like a lot of these books have. It looks like the series continues in book 8, "High Value Target", but it won't be out until 22 November 2023 so we got a bit of await for it. I'm still going to mark it down for my reading list.
Profile Image for Adam Quinn.
46 reviews3 followers
December 11, 2022
Short review : the book is awesome , the series is great. If you have any hesitation reading these books, trust me, just take the dive. I’m a Jack Carr, Tom Clancy and Brad Thor thriller reader , but these books are completely different and thrilling in their own right and they’re addictive.

long review for Im not crying you’re crying part 2:
The second battle for the port city of Sustagul is underway. We find the rangers fighting off overwhelming Orc hordes while the await the arrival of the Saur Legions. The rangers and their Allies find themselves on a role they hate , the defensive. Our favorite coffee addict, Talker, finds himself in a leadership role as a junior NCO for the first time. We watch him struggle to lead while dealing with the recent deaths of his comrades.

While our heroes await their resupply , things get bad. However, the Ranger creed, as the title states, dictate that Talker and the rangers can’t fail. Without adding spoilers, the book ought to be titled Im not crying you’re crying part 2 as it concludes the previous novel very well.

As always , the book is unique and crazy as these authors somehow must have some magical coffee to always keep you guessing and enjoying their work . Take the pill If you haven’t already and enjoy the ride .
Profile Image for Benjamin Espen.
269 reviews25 followers
April 7, 2023
Just in case you didn’t get enough of Rangers battling for control of Sustagul in the last book, Never Shall I Fail chronicles the second battle of Sustagul. But this time, we see things in a different way, insofar as Talker has to learn to see things in a different way.

Book 7 is about another kind of courage, the courage to face another day when you know that your brothers won’t be there to see it with you. And another day, and then another.

Survivor’s guilt is a thing many men who go to war must deal with. But for Talker, there is more to it than that. In the Rangers, every man is a leader, and to be a leader means to acknowledge and accept the death of men you are responsible for, without being utterly crushed by it.

So as Talker must learn to accept the things he cannot [or should not] change in order to become a leader, to embrace the bonds of brotherhood even though it hurts, he must also accept that a dream of a quiet life is not available to him, but that he must go on nonetheless without spiraling into despair and self-destruction.

More: https://www.benespen.com/2022-12-5-ne...
243 reviews3 followers
September 9, 2025
Talker and the Rangers in the thick of it capturing a city and smoking Lizard warriors and nasty wizards. Some new allies emerge from the desert sands at least one literally, hold on it is a wild ride and not everyone survives it. Rangers were able to hook up with a Socom combat air wing who deployed forward at the same time they did and hit the same timeframe in a different location. They bring helicopters and a giant C5 Galaxy to the fight and most of all a forge. If you have read the Ruin series this is one of the best but they are all good. Epic battles and painful losses are all part of the game here you won't be disappointed.
7 reviews
December 18, 2022
Extreme action packed. This book kept me riveted, wanting more each page. The book has a fast pace and good plot development.
The author continues to build the backstory of this series, giving better understanding and clarification of how, when, why all of this started. Yet leaving so much intrigue and excitement left out there to build on.
This could and should be a huge movie opportunity (next Game of Thrones, hmm).
It is a rough wait for the next book but each book has delivered and has been worth the wait.
Profile Image for Christopher Johnson.
4 reviews
March 17, 2023
The authors have dealt with the coffee talk complaints like masters. I know feel shameful for complaining about it! All done in good humor, very good job.

Love this series and the evolution of everyone. I found Vandaheirs comments about Gandalf and the word “Mexicans” laugh out loud funny. That’s saying alot since I’m a 40+ curmudgeon who distains things like “lol” and emojis.

Is it normal I spend time day dreaming about what I would do with a forge or a gin?

A Guatemalan pour over??!! give me a break 😖
18 reviews
December 8, 2022
A surprise worth waiting for...

I've enjoyed this series for its combination of fantasy and realistic telling of life as a soldier, as a ranger.
And without giving away the ending of this particular story, I will just say I hope that my fallen son, Nick, a Marine, and his cousin, Jim, who was my dear friend, are in a place just like where Talker's two fallen sergeants now reside.
That would be heaven for them.
RIP to all the fallen.
15 reviews
March 17, 2023
Field of Onions

Although some of the repetitiveness of some things in the story get a little old (just a Tuesday, Amirite?, etc.) but ultimately the raw story comes through, then BAM, all the feels.
If you’re reading this, then you know… if you haven’t read the series and a deciding to read or not. DO IT! READ IT ALL!
On a lighter note, the Easter eggs to Galaxies Edge series is nice…although the appearance of Tyrus is… interesting and making me think…
66 reviews
March 21, 2023
it could end here and I’d be happy

If you tell me that ending wasn’t all Nick Cole, I’ll call you a liar. The surprises, the annoying rabbit trails, the rambling of Talker trying to explain everything everywhere all at once, was all worth it for the ending.

Trust me. Push through the rabbit trails and digressions to reach the good stuff. And you may have to read this one again when you finish. Just wow.
Profile Image for John Slatton.
82 reviews
December 4, 2022
Scored again!

Another great story of Talker and Task Force Ranger. Picks up pretty much where book 6 ended and gives the wrap up of Sustagal. Talker as usual is coffee obsessed but is growing into a good NCO. The Rangers around him do much to mentor him and he struggles with his own inner battles. Action packed and a great next chapter. Can’t wait for the story to continue.
Profile Image for Steve.
1,612 reviews60 followers
December 7, 2022
4.5 stars. The story progresses as the campaign against the "big bigga bads" of the Ruin moves into its latter stages. There is still too much coffee bs from Talker, losing that 1/2 star, but it rarely interrupts the narrative too badly. A pleasant end-book reset for our narrator moderates the dark misery of this far future. Time to finish laying the hate on the Land of Black Sleep.
87 reviews3 followers
December 11, 2022
Read These Books

Well. You can't read these books... This series... Without becoming emotionally involved. I've read thousands of books in my life. Only about ten have gotten me so personally involved with the characters. This series counts as among those. An amazing accomplishment.
Profile Image for Jesse Fain.
52 reviews2 followers
December 12, 2022
I have to put off reading these, so the gap is smaller between books

Talker's journey continues to enrapture. Chronicling the Rangers trials through the Ruin, while also establishing himself as a lovable character. Love, loss and life or death combat all hit home in a fantastic novel and fantastic series. Be prepared to get emotional.
Profile Image for Jesse Mathewson.
43 reviews12 followers
December 31, 2022
Wonderful!

Absolutely great writing, even the tropes work well. If you are active duty or former, this series is for you. If you are anyone else, THIS SERIES IS FOR YOU!

Action √
Mystery √
Romance √
Middle age warriors meet fantasy warriors meets modern warriors √√√√√√√√√√√

Read them, and know, you'll be purchasing hard copies asap

8 reviews
January 5, 2023
Can't wait for the end

Another great job. It did finish a little fast toward the end, but so unexpected I can look past this. I'm excited to see how this series ends. I really hope we can all see what this damn genie can do right from the beginning and get that out of the way. Then lay some hate!
1 review
January 22, 2023
I have enjoyed all of the "Forgotten Ruin" books. This installment#7 wins hands down. Talker gets in your gut and sees the inner you. Only Talker can tell this story and the last chapter he bares it all! Talker shows and finally sees the love that he has for his brothers in arms and willing to give it his last full measure.
236 reviews
March 9, 2023
Diminishing returns

The action interrupting asides and digressions make this almost unreadable for me. Clearly there's real military experience here but more and more it's at the expense of effective storytelling. I have given up on this series.
I have hope that the authors will get back to coherent enjoyable narratives soon.
3 reviews
December 2, 2022
I didn’t think it could get better

Ok I am fan of this series and honestly didn’t think it could get better…I was wrong and I am glad I am wrong.
And like Talker and his coffee..I can’t wait for the next one.
25 reviews
December 9, 2022
Loves this authors story

In don't known what it is about this book, but it was written alot better than the others. I'm not complaining by any means, fantastic book. Same as all the others, fantastic. His combat telling is really well told. And there's alot of fighting
Profile Image for Joey Calvey.
113 reviews6 followers
December 25, 2022
Best one yet

I love the Forgotten Ruin series as much as Talker loves coffee. He has to make a hellishly difficult decision in this one. Truly excellent writing. I read this on Kindle Unlimited. Oh and I'm an insider.
13 reviews
December 30, 2022
Looking forward to 8

Good action, almost non-stop. Enjoy the story and characters. Like stories about Ranger more than space marines. Read all books in the series, and this one was the best.
10 reviews1 follower
January 10, 2023
Good story, better therapy

Persevere through Talkers obsession with coffee and the author’s ubiquitous blending of multiple fantasy tropes yields an hidden treasure. The violent, yet generous heart of this story, which is in order to survive pain and loss you must go through it to the other side. Thanks for the therapy!
222 reviews3 followers
January 13, 2023
Taller aces Adulting!

It's always fun to see kids grow up. And Smaj has seen many - including Tanner & Talker. Smaj knows Talker, the story's lead character, needs improvement to be "the best he can be". And Talk will improve, as long as Smaj has coffee.

(Hope I didn't spoil anything but loving the Book; as with the rest of the series of Forgotten Ruin)
6 reviews
January 13, 2023
Another fine romp through the ruin

Each of the books in this series is nigh on impossible to put down, and this is no exception. Flashes of hope in the ruined world set this one apart from the grimness of its predecessors. Can't wait for the next one
60 reviews
February 12, 2023
Best One So Far

This is by far the best book in the series. Action packed and the battles were described vividly. Totally different side to the main characters. Can’t wait for the final book.
Profile Image for Sabion.
274 reviews22 followers
April 5, 2023
Yet another awesome adventure. If you've made it this far you know what you are getting and this delivers. The excess coffee drops it a star. I mean come on. We get it. But otherwise very fun and I look forward to more from the Ruin.
10 reviews
December 5, 2022
Wow

A truly unique and remarkable series with an amazing really bitchin end. I will have to re-read again soon. Wow
Profile Image for Shana Pare.
910 reviews6 followers
December 9, 2022
Awesome

I hardly know what to say here. This tale incites, meddles and succeeds on many different levels. It is soul shaking. After all, Rangers gotta Ranger.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews

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