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Nate and his video gamer friends are given the chance of a lifetime, a six-month tour aboard the Alliance’s newest battleship, ANS Dreadnought. Two years at the Academy has tested Nate’s flying, combat, and technical skills to the limit. But nothing will come close to his greatest test. Captain Gaunt, one of the Alliance’s most decorated officers plans to use Dreadnought to start a war, one that will engulf the region and cost many lives.
Nate has a talent for space combat after hundreds of victories in the Star Crusader videogame simulation. His skills are unique, enough to gain him a rare privilege: the chance to join five other Alliance cadets and escape the dull routine of the classroom. They will enter a fierce competition light-years away in the ancient Byotai Empire. Yet days after their arrival a rebellious faction begins a bloody mutiny that spreads like wildfire. The time for competition has ended; the time of war has begun.
The Confederation has fought three wars against the forces of the totalitarian Union. Three generations of its warriors have gone off to war, held the line against the larger, more powerful enemy. Now the fourth conflict is imminent, and the Confederation's navy is on alert, positioned behind the frontier, waiting for the attack it knows is coming.
Spartan is a living legend, a veteran of the Alliance Marine Corps, victor of a multitude of military campaigns including the horrific Biomech War. He is both loved and reviled by friend and foe alike, and now lives out on the fringes of the Alliance. He has fought for money, for his people and for the very survival of his species, and lost everything in the process. But when two of his closest friends are captured supplying weapons to the desperate Byotai settlers of Karnak, the fight becomes personal.
Black Widows is a thrilling science fiction series about the infamous all-female mercenary unit. Aboard their heavily-armed ship Medusa, they embark on secretive missions throughout the crumbling Confederacy as it wages a terrible and bloody civil war.
The Hundred Worlds have withstood invasion by the relentless Hok for decades. The human worlds are strong, but the Hok have the resources of a thousand planets behind them, and their fleets attack in endless waves. The long war has transformed the Hundred Worlds into heavily fortified star systems. Their economies are geared for military output, and they raise specialized soldiers to save our species. Assault Captain Derek Straker is one such man among many.
Nate and his video gamer friends are given the chance of a lifetime, a six-month tour aboard the Alliance’s newest battleship, ANS Dreadnought. Two years at the Academy has tested Nate’s flying, combat, and technical skills to the limit. But nothing will come close to his greatest test. Captain Gaunt, one of the Alliance’s most decorated officers plans to use Dreadnought to start a war, one that will engulf the region and cost many lives.
Nate has a talent for space combat after hundreds of victories in the Star Crusader videogame simulation. His skills are unique, enough to gain him a rare privilege: the chance to join five other Alliance cadets and escape the dull routine of the classroom. They will enter a fierce competition light-years away in the ancient Byotai Empire. Yet days after their arrival a rebellious faction begins a bloody mutiny that spreads like wildfire. The time for competition has ended; the time of war has begun.
The Confederation has fought three wars against the forces of the totalitarian Union. Three generations of its warriors have gone off to war, held the line against the larger, more powerful enemy. Now the fourth conflict is imminent, and the Confederation's navy is on alert, positioned behind the frontier, waiting for the attack it knows is coming.
Spartan is a living legend, a veteran of the Alliance Marine Corps, victor of a multitude of military campaigns including the horrific Biomech War. He is both loved and reviled by friend and foe alike, and now lives out on the fringes of the Alliance. He has fought for money, for his people and for the very survival of his species, and lost everything in the process. But when two of his closest friends are captured supplying weapons to the desperate Byotai settlers of Karnak, the fight becomes personal.
Black Widows is a thrilling science fiction series about the infamous all-female mercenary unit. Aboard their heavily-armed ship Medusa, they embark on secretive missions throughout the crumbling Confederacy as it wages a terrible and bloody civil war.
The Hundred Worlds have withstood invasion by the relentless Hok for decades. The human worlds are strong, but the Hok have the resources of a thousand planets behind them, and their fleets attack in endless waves. The long war has transformed the Hundred Worlds into heavily fortified star systems. Their economies are geared for military output, and they raise specialized soldiers to save our species. Assault Captain Derek Straker is one such man among many.
The Ixa smashed the galaxy to bits before they were defeated. Captain Husher has sounded the alarm in the decades since: the Ixa’s creators will return to finish the job. But unlike Husher, the galactic government didn't battle the Ixa, and the politicians have convinced themselves that maintaining peace means limiting the ability to wage war.
Seventy years ago, the interstellar supercarrier Ark Royal was the pride of the Royal Navy. But now, her weapons are outdated and her solid-state armour nothing more than a burden on her colossal hull. She floats in permanent orbit near Earth, a dumping ground for the officers and crew the Royal Navy wishes to keep out of the public eye. But when a deadly alien threat appears, the modern starships built by humanity are no match for the powerful alien weapons.
Earth has been a scarred ruin for three decades, its scattered people struggling to survive amid the poisoned and radioactive wreckage of the final war between its despotic superpowers. While the people of Earth struggle to survive, out on the frontier, on a thousand worlds, mankind thrives and grows, building new civilizations and looking boldly to the future. But man has never been able to live in peace, and even Earth's sad fate has failed to slow the call to war.
The Nazis and their allies won the war, but peace in the twenty-first century is proving much harder to keep. It's twenty years since the failed British Mutiny left London a burnt-out husk. A reminder of the new world order that covers most of the globe. Yet even in this dark time there are rumours of growing resistance movements deep inside North America.
Soldiers of the Terran Armor Corps wage war across the stars. Wired into mechanized battle suits, they fight the terrifying battles which must be won, no matter the cost. Their deeds are legend, their reputation feared by the enemies of Earth and her allies, but how the Corps forges young men and women into mighty warriors is shrouded by mystery. Roland Shaw lost his parents to war, he volunteers for the Armor Corps to honor their memory and discover just how far he can push himself.
Avalon was the flagship of the Castle Federation in the last war, now 20 years past. The first of the deep space carriers, no other warship in the fleet holds as many honors or has recorded as many kills. No other warship in the fleet is as old. Accepting the inevitable, the Federation Space Navy has decided to refit her and send her on a tour of the frontier, showing the flag to their allies and enemies as a reminder of her glory - and then decommission her for good.
When the human race faces extermination at the hands of an expanding species the last survivors travel a thousand years to reestablish the race ten thousands light years away. It is now a thousand years after the birth of the New Terran Empire. The race has aggressively expanded during that time, with a fleet that has never lost a war against an alien species. But the signs are there, the old enemy is back, and the Fleet will face its greatest challenge in a foe fifty times their size.
Ten thousand years ago, a single alien super-ship survived a desperate battle. The vessel's dying crew set the AI on automatic to defend the smashed rubble of their planet. Legend has it the faithful ship continues to patrol the empty battlefield, obeying its last order throughout the lonely centuries.In the here and now, Earth needs a miracle. Out of the Beyond invade the New Men, stronger, faster and smarter than the old. Their superior warships and advanced technology destroy every fleet sent to stop them.
They hunt us. They bomb our worlds for target practice. A star cluster in the constellation of Orion rotates once every thousand years. Those who rule there have an ancient tradition: When each cycle ends, they train their fleets by spilling the blood of lesser beings. The enemy fleets are coming again. In response, the Rebel Worlds gather their starships to face the terrifying threat, and this time humanity is asked to stand with them.
The war appeared lost before it had begun, and the despotic Queen Bolormaa, seemed unstoppable. Until an unlikely alien ally paved the way to victory. Zaya was the exiled son of the Mohrotan Queen. A powerful, and resourceful fighter who could yet provide the key to victory, but at what cost? Zaya cared for nothing and nobody. He had a single ambition, to destroy his mother.
Noah Cage is a cybernetic supersoldier, a war hero and a man on his fifth and final life. He's a Lifer, an enhanced warrior. Repaired, rebuilt and improved after four lifetimes of soldiering. With each death comes further modification and enhancement, although at the loss of yet another piece of his dwindling humanity. Cage is thrust into the debacle of the Third Martian War. One that sees every man in his unit killed, including his best friend Rob Romero.
The Phage War had been a devastating conflict for the Terran Confederacy. Even with the destruction of their terrifying, implacable foe, humanity is still reeling. Political alliances are crumbling, and their mighty fleet is in tatters. There is nothing to celebrate, even after such a complete victory. They soon learn that there are other stellar neighbors - and they've been watching the conflict with great interest. One species comes with an offer of friendship and alliance, but humanity is weary and distrustful.
Nate and his friends in Ironclad Squadron are returning to the fleet when they detect a mysterious signal. Sensing a trap, Colonel Gun sends Nate out alone in his captured fighter to scout the source. The signal is emitting from inside the heart of the abandoned Kalar Anchorage. This massive facility was once the Byotai Empire's greatest shipyard, but now it lies cold and lifeless. Or does it? Upon arrival Nate runs headlong into the center of a fierce battle. On one side are the numerous forces of the insidious Orion Interstellar Empire. On the other, the powerful attack cruisers of the Byotai outlaw, Warlord Katanga.
Kalar Anchorage has become a refuge for the lost and the damned. The former facility is populated by displaced people and wounded soldiers that have fought, and lost against Star Empire incursions. As well as the exhausted crews of a number of ships. Yet the forces of Katanga, though weakened by the fighting, still wish vengeance upon those that seek their utter annihilation. Katanga's desire for further violence may come earlier than expected. An entire fleet along with numerous ground forces has entered the system, and they will not leave until every defender is dead or captured. With no time to fully abandon the station, the preliminary skirmishes erupt into a major battle. The last stronghold that stands between the Orion Interstellar Empire and the hastily mobilized fleets of the Alliance. The Siege of Kalar has begun.
Any additional comments?
The galactic battles continue in this fast paced military S.F. series, with enough action to satisfy the most ardent fan. Without being overly technically detailed, the fight scenes are exciting as the dreaded Star Empire push forward. And there are surprises in store with the discovery that not as many Byotai ships had been destroyed as previously believed - and they are commanded by the legendary Warlord Katanga.
Although this can be heard as a standalone, the plunging directly into battle status is initially confusing without knowledge of the previous books. But only briefly, as the individual characters emerge in their distinct situations. The writing is thrilling, if a little Boys' Own in style, with some silly sentences such as , "...She pushed her body to the limit, and then further." But, overall, good fighting fun.
Narrator Andrew Wehrien helps bring tension to the action with his fast, intense reading and his dramatisation of the various protagonists breathes life into individual personalities. A good performance throughout which definitely enhances the written text.
My thanks to the rights holder who gifted me my copy of Star Crusaders: Seige of Kalar, via Audiobook Boom. I enjoyed the quirky incidents amongst the battles and, although not the best, this is a worthy inclusion in the battle for the stars of military fiction.
I got this book because Andrew Wehrlen narrated it. It was a good book, I enjoyed it. It did start off somewhat slow. It's supposed to be a stand alone story but you really do need the background from the series to understand it. Otherwise it's hard to follow.
I have other books narrated by Andrew Wehrlen, I really love how he brings the books to life. Great performance.
I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.
Welcome to a galaxy at war. Space battles, ground battles, drama and romance abound. Alien races, crazy tech and more. If your a sci-fi fan who loves a Star Wars/Star Trek style romp through the galaxy then this is for you. Great series well written and well narrated. Listened to many of them and enjoyed them all. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.
Any additional comments?
3.5 stars for the story
Entertaining, engaging and enjoyable. Another great addition to the series and the continuing intergalactic adventures of Nate and his crew.
Full of action, space battles, suspense. If you enjoy intergalactic military stories that are not full of overly technical jargon, has a great well rounded cast of characters, a good story and is entertaining this is a good series.
The Ironclad Squadron have been through their share of battles. It's not in their nature to back away from a fight or give up. This time is no different.
Technically, I would say that the story can be read as a stand alone but it is the 6th book in the Star Crusader series. If you have not read any of the previous stories it may take a bit to get all the characters straight.
Andrew B. Werhlen once again does a fantastic job with the narration. Pleasant voice. Easy to listen to for long periods of time. Clearly spoken with a smooth even pace. Wide range of great character voices. Perfect tone and delivery. He pulls you into the story and brings it to life through his narration. Very enjoyable
I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator or publisher.
Any additional comments?
Enjoyable listen. Liked the story and enjoyed the interaction between the different characters. I received this audiobook for free through Audiobook Boom for my unbiased review.
It took me a while to get into this story. There were a lot of new scifi-esque names thrown around in the beginning that was jarring and difficult for me to get through. I probably would have been just fine if I had not been new to the series and had listened to the previous book. That didn't last long however, and the story and the characters easily provided the opportunity for me to become entertainingly engrossed until the end.
I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher in exchange for an unbiased review.
Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
Its ok,but not the best for stand alone. Too much background info needed to make it a story you can just jump into.
How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?
As one of larger set of stories there is not much that can be done without overloading the book with background info..
Any additional comments?
First, to get it out of the way I need to post this “I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.”
With that done I'll start by saying I had not incountered this author before. That with starting several stories along in Michael's series I found it hard to be drawn in for several chapters, and alway felt somewhat lost. Still, this book is worth your time if you like military SF. but I would recommend starting at the beginning.
This is a great series for those who don't like a lot of complex science, hard to follow story lines, dozens of different characters, or drawn-out discussion. These books are relatively simple but great for someone who just wants to listen to military space sci-fi without all of the fluff.
This was another great Star Crusader book full of action, space battles, romance... and did I mention action?
I really would not start with this book. I think the reader will be lost without the backstory that leads up to this point. The others are just as good though.
The narrator for this series is quite good. He has a good pace, tone, and is exactly the right voice type for the main character.
I requested and received a free copy of this audiobook from the author, publisher, or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review. I was NOT required to write a positive review and this reflects my honest opinion of the work.
11 of 52 people found this review helpful