New Dawn Rising

by Scott Gamboe

A year has passed since the end of the conflict between the United Systems Coalition and the Bromidian Empire, and from the ashes of war a democratic government has arisen, with both governments working to form a fragile peace. But behind the scenes, a conspiracy is growing, threatening to destroy the stability Captain Arano Lakeland and his elite unit have fought to protect. When a coup d'état overthrows the provisional Bromidian government, Arano finds himself trapped behind enemy lines and has to lead an unlikely band of companions against a shadowy foe. Fighting for their very survival, the group waits for word about who is behind the insurrection and prepares to hunt down the intergalactic terrorist responsible for a series of deadly bombings. Before it is over, the unit's search will expose a vast and terrible conspiracy that could destroy the Coalition. At that point, their task will be not just to save the galaxy—but to stay alive long enough to get back to their headquarters.

Genres: Science Fiction

400 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2009

About the author

I was born and raised in Peoria, Illinois, the youngest of four children. My mother, who passed away in 2002, was a nurse. My father recently retired from being principal of a local high school, and he is a veteran of the Viet Nam War. I graduated from Richwoods High School in 1986, then attended Illinois Central College for a year, where I studied Police Science. In November of 1987, I went on active duty in the United States Army. After going through basic training, infantry training, and Airborne School (that's jumping out of planes, not flying them!) at Fort Benning, I was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, NC. My home for the next 3 1/2 years was Bravo Company, 4th Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment.



The early morning hours of December 19, 1989, found me (with about 2,000 other paratroopers) parachuting into Omar Torrijos International Airport in Panama as a part of Operation Just Cause. The three weeks that followed shaped many of the combat scenes in my novels. On Christmas morning, my company awoke on a bed of rocks and broken glass in downtown Panama City, climbed onto trucks, and rode through town to the Papal Nuncio, where Manuel Noriega was hiding. We learned later that there were over 1,000,000 people in the streets that day, cheering us on and waving American flags. On January 10, we parachuted back to Fort Bragg on national TV and with over 10,000 spectators in attendance.



I managed to stay out of trouble until August 2 of that year, when Saddam Hussein's forces invaded Kuwait. Less than 24 hours later, my battalion was flying to Saudi Arabia to be America's "line in the sand." In fact, we were the first planeload of troops on the ground. We spent the next 8 months in the Middle East, not quite the 12 month tour our soldiers are doing now, and nowhere near as dangerous. At any rate, our time there was made interesting by the constant threat of attack from a little-known terrorist named Osama Bin Laden. His organization was casing our positions, and we were warned to keep an eye out for him. On more than one occasion, our reactionary forces went after suspect vehicles, but on the open road, a HUMVEE is no match for a BMW. Later, as part of the ground invasion, we drove due north toward Baghdad before turning east and cutting off the retreat of the Republican Guard. After solidly defeating Saddam's 1,000,000 man army in the "mother of all battles," we returned home on August 8, 1991. I'd like to take this time to thank the people of Bangor, Maine, for the tremendous reception they gave us when we landed to refuel. Fire trucks, police cars, cheering spectators, and 300 pizzas nearly overwhelmed us.



I returned to civilian life in September of 1991, and finished my Associate's Degree at Illinois Central College. I received my B.A. in Criminal Justice in 1995 from the University of Illinois. The next year, I met Jill, and at that point I had to stop laughing at people who talked about love at first sight. After two dates, we knew we would be married. We were engaged 6 months later, and married the following July. Oddly, a friend of hers from Texas had saved her horoscope from her birthday the year we met. It said she would meet someone in the spring, be in love by the fall, and marry the next summer. There was also a mention made that her husband would have something to do with books...



This brings us to current events. I work for the Peoria County Sheriff's Department, where I am serving as a crime scene investigator and a Traffic Accident Reconstructionist. Although I have now been part of the investigation of a serial killer, this had no bearing on the serial killings in The Killing Frost. The book was finished long before the killings started. As for my family, we have a beautiful daughter named Erica, who is in the seventh grade and doing well. Five years ago, when we found out Medallion Press was going to publish my book, Erica wanted to know i

Reviews

[Frode · Rating 2 out of 5]

My wife picked this up at a library sale for me because it had spaceships on the cover and it was cheap. I had never heard of the book, the series, or the author before. I finished my previous book and was waiting for another book that was on hold so I figured, sure why not, I'll read it.

It's very run-of-the-mill sci-fi action. The writing style is very simple and really turned me off. The story and plot itself is OK although I constantly found myself questioning events that were taking place.

It probably would've helped to read the first book. There's a bunch of different characters from different alien races and I found it hard to keep track of what character was what. To the point where eventually I just didn't care.

For 50 cents punt sure I guess it was an OK read. But it didn't entice me to read anything else in the series.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fast paced story that had a decent plot and characters. At some points in the middle of the book, the POV jumped too often that I had to stop to determine who was in the scene, and where it was taking place. I also would have liked to learn more about the back story of the main character, especially when he was face to face with someone of his own race. That conflict resolved itself too quickly for my tastes.

A decent and quick read, it held my attention. I would read the next book in the story.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gamboe is getting better the more he writes. I am now attached to his characters. If you read Killing Frost, please read this book. If you haven't read Killing Frost, read it first, then read this one!