47 Echo

47 Echo

by Shawn Kupfer

Russia, 2019. Combined Chinese and North Korean forces have taken increasing amounts of territory in a war that is devastating the world.

Nick Morrow is a convict conscript assigned to 47 Echo—a suicide squad. No one cares whether they live or die, as long as they complete their missions. Under the command of a Marine Corps with nothing but contempt for its squadron of felons, they are on a mission to defend what's left of war-ravaged Russia.

A half-Chinese drifter, much isn't expected of Nick. Like the other members of 47 Echo, he's viewed as little more than cannon fodder. However, Nick's sense of honor, analytical mind and skills on the battlefield just might be what the squad needs to survive the meat-grinder that is the front lines of this bloody war. But can Nick himself survive the brutal crimes that haunt his past?

72,800 words

Genres: Science Fiction, Ebooks, Fiction, Military Fiction, Action, Thriller, Audiobook

470 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 15, 2010

About the author

Shawn Kupfer was born on Ellsworth Air Force Base in the Rapid City, South Dakota area in July 1978. Most of his childhood was spent bouncing from one military town to another, travelling across the United States and the world on the dime of the U.S. Air Force. In his younger days, he had stints working as a semi-professional kickboxer, a defense contractor, a magazine editor, and a general "pick this up and put it over there" laborer.

In February 2009, Shawn anonymously started the Twitter Novel Project, where he posted novel-length works in 140-character chunks. In July of that year, he abandoned the anonymity factor. The second Twitter Novel Project book, 47 Echo, was picked up for publication by Carina Press soon after. He continues to update the Twitter Novel Project several nights a week, as well as working on other novel projects (both in and out of the 47 Echo universe). He currently lives in the Dallas Fort-Worth Metroplex with his wife, Lisa, and their two dogs, Sadie and Edie. In his spare time, he enjoys travelling to Las Vegas and New Orleans.

Reviews

[Jess the Romanceaholic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Normally, the only books I read are romance novels -- paranormal romance, contemporary romance, historical/period romance, romantic suspense, romantic fantasy, GLBT romance, you name it, but it's always romance.

When I read the blurb for 47 Echo, however, I was intrigued enough to give a non-romance a shot.

I'm very glad that I did.

This book was amazing. The slightly futuristic world was fantastic, the characters were given depth, the pacing and the action kept you on the edge of your seat for the entire ride.

What worked for me:
* I absolutely adored the basic storyline -- the Convict Conscription Act of 2019 which sent all persons convicted of a crime which received over 6 months of jail time into military service. I also loved that Nick wasn't an "innocent" who'd been wrongly convicted, making him some freak paragon of virtue. Although he may be more cunning, intelligent, courageous, and loyal than most, underneath all of that he's still human with human reactions, which I found very appealing.

* I liked that most of the convict soldiers had no idea about military terms or protocol, and that things were explained to them (and subsequently, the reader) without slowing down the action.

* I also liked that it was set in the not-so-distant future, so that none of the military technology seemed implausible. There was not a single device or piece of technology that felt as though it existed solely in the author's imagination. The stealth tech, medical advancements, weapons, etc., all felt as though they very well could be available to the military by 2019 if they're not already.

* I greatly approved of the development in the story that changed Nick's circumstances in the convict unit.


What didn't work for me:
* Overuse of the word "smirk". Everyone was constantly smirking at everyone else, and after a while, the term got very annoying.

* There were a few instances where Nick's miraculous recovery time seemed completely implausible. The main one that stood out in my mind was how quickly he was back in working order after the box. I found it highly unlikely that a shower and a bottle of water, laced with amphetamines or not, would have him completely back to normal practically immediately after that experience. Sure, everyone kept telling him how awful he looked, but functionally, he was just the same as always.

* The big guy who joined their team, to me, could've been cut completely out of the story and I feel it wouldn't have missed anything. That also would've taken care of the pesky bit about the instant recovery from the box as well.

Points of note:
* Squeamish readers should note that this is a war novel set on the front lines, and as such, there is quite a bit of gore. In my opinion, here's nothing really vomit-inducing, but more sensitive readers may wish to be careful.

* There is quite a bit of racism in this novel (as one character says, "Asian is the new Black"), and there are several instances of racial slurs being used. While I didn't find this disturbing, as none of it was gratuitous, some readers may find this offensive.

I have to say, even though I'm a romance addict, I would love to see this as a movie. The edge-of-your-seat action, the attachment the reader gains to each of the characters, the thrill of sabotage and covert missions, all of it, I think would translate beautifully to the big screen. Not in 3-D though -- I don't think my heart could handle it lol

Overall, I am very glad I gave this story a chance. 5/5 Stars

[Shirin Dubbin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The motley squad of hardknock convicts/soldiers in 47 ECHO kept me equally enthralled and on edge, one explosive mission on the tail of another. There's no doubt war is hell but in this Military SF adventure it's a helluva good time too.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

You're going to have to let me work out my thoughts on this review because in a lot of ways this isn't the type of book that I normally read. There might be some rambling. Then again, there might not be. Oh, who am I kidding, I go off on tangents on every other review I put up, why would this one be any different?

Here's the thing, while I enjoy a good space battle, a good street fight, a good witch vs. demon showdown in the streets, I very rarely dive into books that are almost straight military. While some might argue that this is a futuristic military-type book and, thus, can be lumped in with my sci-fi books, I'm still standing firm and saying that it's not my normal genre.

I'm going to pause here for a moment and go on record as saying that I did enjoy this book. It was an interesting and gritty take on what a future war might look like. I mean, if I lived in this place and time I'd be deader than dead, but I can see the potential behind what Shawn Kupfer has created here. And it's a little bit chilling.

I do have something that I have to get off my chest: The dialogue is a bit stilted. No, it's a lot stilted. BUT WAIT! Since I think that most real-life military dialogue is stilted and so peppered with acronyms and slang that I can hardly follow it, I'm not knocking this. I do think that every character in the book spent over half their reactionary time smirking, but that's just me. And as long as I'm talking about characters, Nick Morrow, our erstwhile hero, is completely perfect. The guy can do anything and he can't fail, regardless of the odds. It would have been nice to see him a bit more flawed, a bit less than super-powered. I will give props and say that he used his team's strengths (sniper, hacker, demolitions expert) to carry out his missions, showing a willingness to lean on others in times of need, but ... he's perfect, guys. Absolutely perfect. Flaws make people intriguing. Flaws make them easier to relate to. I felt more of a connection to Daniel and Bryce and their forbidden love than I did to the man driving the entire story.

Okay, I go and say all that and then I have to say (again!) that I really did enjoy the book. From the time that Nick settles into his new unit and starts out-thinking the bad guys it had my attention. The ending really came together for me and I was impressed with the twists and turns the plot took.

So, while 47 Echo is not my normal type of book, I liked stepping out of my comfort zone and reading something a little grittier, a little more realistic than my usual. Not that I'm admitting in any way that psychic humans, shapeshifters, vampires, demons and fallen angels aren't realistic. BECAUSE THEY ARE! At least in my world.

-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a futuristic society, Nick Morrow is a convict who is assigned to 47 Echo, a suicide squad in war-torn Russia. 47 Echo has only the hardest criminals, and from the start you get the sense that Nick doesn't really belong. He's smart and has a great analytical mind, but he's half Chinese, and in a world where China attacked the U.S., that doesn't do him any favors. This one grabbed me right from the start.

Nick is a great character, and was definitely one that I could really root for. There were so many other soldiers coming in and out of the story so that, besides one or two others, I couldn't even remember who was who. That made it a little harder to care about what happened to some of the characters. Someone could die, and since I had no idea really who they were, it didn't really phase me. It was just a character name.

47 Echo is set in a future world that is at war, and is classified as science fiction, but I didn't really see a whole lot in the way of sci-fi. Sure, it takes place in the future, which I guess already takes it out of the realm of regular fiction, but for the most part it just felt like military fiction with a few things that I didn't recognize, like the vehicles. The story is so straightforward and to the point that you really don't get many details on how things look or what the world is really like.

This one started off so good, but I was a little disappointed as I continued reading and found the writing lacked depth. It was great as a quick, entertaining read, but I kept wondering when I was going to get to the meat of the story. Where were the intricacies, the surprises, the plot twists . . . anything? I couldn't really get a feel for what the story was supposed to even be about besides a group of soldiers. And that's when I realized that was the story. It's like the mindless action movies you watch when you don't want to have to think and you just want to see stuff blowing up.

In fact, as I was reading, I kept thinking this would make a great action movie. Maybe the author should look into writing movie scripts. There is quite a bit of language in this one, and violence, of course. And if the word "smirk" bothers you, steer clear of this one because the author uses it constantly. All in all, I would probably read another book by this author, and would recommend it to someone who was looking for a quick action-style read.

[Cringe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book, but did have to force myself to ignore many things to actually finish it. There are sometimes errors in books, be it a typo or two either missed by an editor or created by the publisher when converting it from one format to another. There are sometimes errors of a factual nature that exist because the author failed to do the proper research. I am aware that in reading fiction you need to exercise your suspension of disbelief, however, I did find it a bit exhausting initially. After I abandoned all hope I blasted through the remainder of the material. I think the story itself is good, and the premise is very interesting, but a little effort on the front end would have made it great! Stop reading right here if you don't want to read any spoilers.

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This whole thing just fell apart for me almost right away. Convict sent to fight, I can accept that. Treated like cannon fodder? Still with you. But I am supposed to believe that just because his daddy was a SEAL and took him shooting once or twice that he is suddenly an operator? Of course there were also the factual errors, such as the Marine Corps issuing .40 caliber Glock pistols which later are referred to as a Glock 50 for whatever reason. Then the CDM is described as having multiple GAU8 cannons. The GAU8 has recoil that is close to 5-tons, and this thing has many mounted on the hull? Not to mention, the GAU8 was meant to kill Cold War era tanks. Modern armor is much improved, but a Cougar would not survive a hit from one while the T90's would more than likely shrug it off, but that is not what happens in the book.

Again, I enjoyed the story, I just wish some more research had been done or maybe the author had an Alpha reader who served in the military give it a good once over before calling it finished. That said, if there were ever a revised version I would be more than happy to check it out!

[Erik Sapp · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is not at all realistic. As other reviewers have said, it just does not make sense that someone with no real military training turns out to be a tactical and strategic genius. However, the book is just FUN! Action-packed and entertaining, with some humor thrown in. The reader does a good job of giving the major characters their own voice, which helps. All of that said, it isn't perfect. There are a lot of characters to keep track of, and (as I said above) it isn't at all realistic. But it is worth the listen.

[Scooby Doo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Simplistic military action with a slight futuristic twist and the novel angle of a platoon of convicts unwilling conscripted to fight. Not quite as macho and testosterone laden as most of the weapon-fetishizing entries in this genre. And thankfully less profanity than most. The action is so prominent and the characters so hastily drawn that this can be easily construed as a comic book. I quit halfway through.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good action oriented storyline. The hero was a little too untouchable at times. But clearly it was good enough to keep me entertained and reading.

[Veronica DelaCruz-Araki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Woo hoo!!
There were a few places that made me go, "What? Uh-uh. Not possible."
However, it was a fast paced, action packed thrill ride!

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

L'histoire se passe dans dix ans. Pour une raison que l'on n'apprendra jamais (mais y a-t-il besoin d'une raison pour partir en guerre ?), la Chine a bombardé Los Angeles, ce qui a lancé les hostilités totales entre les deux pays. Les Nord-Coréens se sont joints aux forces chinoises, et le gros des batailles se déroulent sur le territoire de la Fédération russe. Les Russes, puisqu'on en parle, se partagent entre alliés des Américains et alliés de leurs camarades ex-communistes…

Le récit suit les aventures de Nick Morrow, moitié chinois par sa mère, qui, suite à un jugement sommaire et injuste, se retrouve envoyé dans les unités de condamnés de l'armée. Parmi ces unités, les "Echo" sont réputées pour être les pires : de la vraie chair à canon. Pourtant, pas bête et doué d'un talent inné pour la guerre, Nick mène son unité d'exploit en exploit. Des amitiés se nouent.

Ce roman n'était pas réellement ce à quoi je m'attendais, ni ce que je suis habituée à lire, mais je me suis régalée. En fait, cela a éveillé en moi tout un intérêt pour le genre… J'avais oublié à quel point j'aimais les histoires de guerre. Ce qui n'est pas pour moi l'équivalent d'histoires de militaires. La parade, la hiérarchie et toutes ces bêtises m'ennuient ; heureusement, au moins dans la première moitié de 47 Echo, on a affaire à des condamnés, à des hommes qui n'ont pas choisi d'être là et qui essaient simplement de survivre dans des conditions excécrables.

On est loin de la romance… ou l'est-on ? Il est impossible de lire ce roman sans que le mot "bromance" vienne à l'esprit. Pour tout son côté dur et violent, 47 Echo n'est pas exempt d'une certaine sorte de guimauve. Alors que la première partie du livre tourne vraiment autour d'une question de survie, la seconde se décline sur le thème : "can't leave my men out there, they're the only friends I have".

Les hommes en question, s'ils n'échappent pas au cliché d'avoir chacun une personnalité et un physique bien distincts, en sont de ce fait facilement reconnaissables. Malgré leur nombre, je ne les ai pas une seule fois confondus entre eux ; l'auteur parvient à leur conférer rapidement une réalité, une épaisseur, même lorsque leur rôle est réduit. Or je ne résiste pas aux équipes qui gagnent… L'idée d'un groupe hétéroclite de héros qui vainc le mal ensemble est ce qui m'attire en fantasy, et je m'aperçois que cela marche ici aussi.

Des faiblesses ? Il y en a une que je suis prête à reconnaître, bien qu'elle ne m'ait pas en soi gênée dans ma lecture. Ce n'est pas que le héros soit trop parfait, mais seulement que cela semble tomber du ciel. En gros, on a un type qui se retrouve envoyé au front parce que le juge qui a traité son cas était raciste, et le jour même de son arrivée, il se fait remarquer avec une super technique de kickboxing… Mon problème n'est pas que cela arrive, mais que c'est là la fin de l'histoire. Enfin, pas tout à fait : l'histoire, c'est que son père était dans l'armée et lui a appris à tirer en cachette, et que sa mère était chinoise et l'a mise au kung fu (LOL). Franchement, vraiment ?

Pendant au moins un tiers de l'histoire, j'espérais que ce type avait un sombre secret, une sorte d'explication originale, inattendue et pourtant imparable de ses talents remarquables. Quand j'ai compris qu'il n'y en aurait pas, je m'y suis faite. N'empêche qu'automatiquement, la décision que prend Nick après qu'il est libéré et renvoyé chez lui perd plusieurs points sur l'échelle de la coolitude… Ça devient presque une histoire de militaires ; bof (heureusement, l'action et les personnages continuent à porter l'histoire).

En tout cas, un roman très efficace et plaisant, que je recommande si vous aimez l'action et les trucs de guerre autant que moi !

[Larry Corn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. The idea behind it is very believable. One of the best and

most descriptive books that shows how people really fight a war. They don't do it for mom or Apple pie, they do it for their friends.

[Tad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stumbled across this book when it was mentioned in a book discussion thread. I went to the website to check it out. There was an excerpt available and after the first few paragraphs, I was hooked.

47 Echo is about a near future war against the Chinese and North Koreans that is going so badly that prisoners are being offered the opportunity to fight in exchange for freedom. The worst of the worst, the murderers, are assigned to Echo. Nick Morrow is the latest recruit. Echo gets the assignments so dangerous they are little better than suicide. 47 Echo is his story of perseverance and redemption.

This book is first and foremost an escapist military sci-fi thriller. Not a lot of time is spent on the brutal crimes that put these convict-solidiers in the spot they find themselves in. They quickly develop into a group of characters that you love rooting for.

47 Echo reminds me of Starship Troopers or Old Man’s War without the aliens. You have a bunch of guys thrown into action who become almost impossibly heroic and improbably good at their jobs. But you don’t care because the ride is so much fun. The book is well-written and well-paced. You’ll read it in big gulps if not all at once. Highly recommended.

[Lukas Lovas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Initially, I was very excited to read this book. It captured my imagination, and I had dreams of hardship that binds, of struggle and victory. And the book gave all that....but in a slightly different way. The story was there, no doubt about it. And it has a lot to offer. But story isn't all....and for me, there was a little something missing from this book. I didn't feel the struggle. The author wrote about it, people died, limbs were thorn away...and yet, I felt nothing. Somehow, the whole concept came over as "yeah, so that happened, but the main thing is, this is our perfect most awesome commanding officer." Don't take me wrong, he is lovable...but he throws a shadow over everything, and so everything is dim compared to the main character's good soul. I love strong characters (Ender, Kvothe, Arlen...), but....not like this. Not when they take away from the story for themselves, and don't really give back to it.

Anyway, that was probably the only thing that made me enjoy the book a little less....other than that, very good work. Short, interesting, with good plot and lot's of action.

[Jacqueline J · Rating 4 out of 5]

First let me just say that the word smirked is not a synonym for said. It was absolutely jarring how often the dialog was spattered with "he smirked" in place of "he said." Probably 20 or 30 times in the book. That's a lot of smirking.

Barring that I really liked this near future military thriller. The main idea of using convicts for cannon fodder was really interesting. The setting of a war with China was plausible. The future tech seemed a rational extrapolation of current technologies. The story was faced paced and intricate enough to be interesting but not so convoluted that you couldn't keep track of what was going on. There weren't really any dragging spots and the story was told through action not character introspection. There were no big info dumps. My only real complaint is that the convicts straightened up so quickly and easily after Nick took over. Some of the gritty feel was lost once they became a well oiled and highly functioning military team.

Still a quick fun read for military thriller enthusiasts.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

47 Echo is one of the most unputdownable books I have read in a long time. At first I was a little hesitant to start reading. With a premise that convicts are given the option of death or being impressed into the armed forces to fill ranks being rapidly depleted by a war with China and Korea, I figured the book would be ultra violent and disturbing. BUT 47 Echo wasn’t at all what I expected. It ended up being a great military thriller about redemption in the face of sure death.

[J.L. Hilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed it, in spite of being the kind of book I wouldn't normally enjoy -- near-future military science fiction that felt more like a video game than a novel. No love story, lots of driving about in military vehicles and shooting things up, cool characters but not much character development. Not to say that's a bad thing. I've recommended it to several people (males and military gamers...) because it would suit them perfectly. :)

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Free download.

In general I really enjoyed the concept of this book. It was a quick read and I was interested to see what happened.

What brought my rating down to 3 stars was that despite the book's obvious potential, it just seemed a bit superficial. Not that every military action thriller needs to go into the detail that a Tom Clancy novel does, but this one just seemed to gloss over dialogue and situations a little too much.

[Karin Wollina · Rating 4 out of 5]

just read it again (the first time I had the audiobook) and I really very much like the MC and the story. I still had the same problem with the many acronyms especially since I am not so used to the military.
I am still very surprised that it was published at Carinapress since I didm`t find any romance in it.
But they sure know good books !

[JoAnn J. A. Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story this book tells is great. I would have probably given it a five if it was not for the over and inappropriate use of the word smirked throughout the novel. The tale of a group of convicts made soldiers and their exploits is well told. Most of it seems very authentic.

I recommend this novel to those looking for a good futuristic read. I enjoyed the book.

[Piotr Mierzejewski · Rating 5 out of 5]

A military techno-thriller with a unique twist, 47 ECHO is about a possible world war between the United States and China. But there's a twist, some of the front-line U.S. troops are conscripted convicts. Fast paced and well developed, Shawn Kupfer manages to portray a near future world without the info dumping. My only wish is that there will be a sequel.

[Anandh Sundar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book. Since the age of the Romans, to Genghis Khan and beyond, armies have used conscripts as their cannon fodder. The author has twisted this conventional plot a bit. The action scenes as such are like any other book on SEALSs, Marines etc, but the unique setting and end, earns this 5 stars. Also, with hardly 250 pages, the book is written very concisely.

[Chris Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book! The only problems I had with it was the overuse of profanity and the homosexual couple in it (I'm a Christian with a very closed-minded view on certain issues), as well as the fact that it ended too soon. Still, a good read!

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is about a group of convicts conscripted into a war against China and North Korea. The story starts out a little slow so I was dubious about the rest of it. But, when it started moving, wow! The pace picked up in short order and kept you entranced right to the end.

[Joshua · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, fast read about a future war with China and N.Korea where we have to help out the Russians from the invading Chicomm. Written like a soldier would think, a tiny bit juvenile, and the author gets some geography stuff wrong, but otherwise it's an alright read.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a pretty darn good book. This is one of my favorite kinds, the reluctant hero, who in the end does the right thing for him and his team, kicking ass while doing so.

If you like military scicene fiction (of the ground pounder varity) then you'll probably like this book...

[Loren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick, not very heavy but very enjoyable. You'll fly through it in a few days and enjoy it. Not very deep as far as technical military thrillers go and there's a few things left unexplained and unanswered (like why we are at war in the first place) but the story is still enjoyable.

[Nicole Luiken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Military SF. Premise: U.S. at war with China, fighting on U.S. soil with convict troops. Read this one in a day. Likeable main character, lots of action, well-done military background. Looking forward to the sequel Supercritical.

Minor quibble: the word smirk was overused

[Dan Lockhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kick ass book! Fantastic read

[Mark V2 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly good--reads like a 1st effort (don't know)from an author with talent to be honed. Interesting premise. Liked the leadership depiction.

[Tad Hanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the better near future science fiction apocalyptic books out there. I really enjoyed this book. It doesn’t fit real well into any sub-genre, but does not need to.