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Gladiator by Jonathan P. Brazee


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Death Comes But Once


Eric Thomson - 2014
    But his temper and his loathing for careerist officers cost him dearly. Forced into early retirement, with a wife who left him long ago, no job, no friends and no future, the former sergeant crawled into a bottle and stayed there, moving from planet to planet, looking for some reason to keep on living. Until, that is, he wandered into a bar owned by an old Marine buddy who offered to help. On the run after killing a corrupt cop, and nowhere to hide, he accepted. Decker would have done better to head for the hills, or surrender to the militia, however old friends could be persuasive and he soon found himself signing on as security officer of a starship with dubious owners and a dubious crew, doing things for his new employer that tested the old saying 'Once a Marine, always a Marine.' Curiosity was Decker's other major failing and in short order he was on the run, hunted by a shadowy government organisation, and in possession of a secret that could destroy the Commonwealth. It was a secret to die for, and the people on his trail wanted to make sure he did. Along the way, they forgot that he could still fight like one of the Few...

Sins of Her Father (Privateer Andromeda series Book 2)


Mike Kupari - 2018
    Zander Krycek made a choice that saved his world of Ithaca, but doomed his reputation and banished him to a planet far, far away. THE EVIL EMPIRE: The Orlov Combine intends to swallow Ithaca in the same way they have devoured so many worlds, creating a “company planet” where the residents are litle beter than slaves. THE DAUGHTER: Adisa Masozi never knew her father, but was taught he was a monster. Now she must reclaim her father’s legacy of leadership. And the place to start is with the mysterious aliens who also inhabit Ithaca. THE NATIVES: The saurians have held themselves aloof from galactic politics for eons in order to regain the strength to exact their revenge on an ancient foe. They have the means to resist the Combine. If they can be convinced to help. THE PRIVATEER: Enter privateer Captain Catherine Blackwood and her ship, the Andromeda. Blackwood and her crew have handled dangerous cargo and dicey situations before. Now, they’ll have to navigate assassination attempts, warring factions, and civil unrest. But Catherine has made a promise, and the freedom of a world hangs in the balance. The Privateer Andromeda series continues! At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). Praise for the prequel, Her Brother's Keeper: “After co-writing Dead Six and Swords of Exodus with Larry Correia, Kupari makes his solo debut with this space opera that is bound to attract fans of Mike Shepherd’s Kris Longknife series or Elizabeth Moon’s Vatta’s War books. An excellent choice for both teen and adult sf readers.” —Library Journal "Mike Kupari is an awesome storyteller."—Larry Correia Mike Kupari is the author of debut science fiction novel Her Brother's Keeper, as well as coauthor, with Larry Correia, of the best-selling Dead Six miltary advanture series including Dead Six, Swords of Exodus, and Alliance of Shadows. Mike grew up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and enlisted at the age of seventeen. Mike is recently returned from his second active duty overseas with the U.S. Air Force, where he was an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician in the US Air Force. Mike also served six years in the Army National Guard. He has worked as a security contractor with several firms, did a tour in Southwest Asia with a private military company, and is an NRA certified firearms instructor.

Echo of Tomorrow: Book One


Rob Buckman - 2014
    They say that vengeance is a dish best served cold, but to the men and woman who went with him over the border to deliver that vengeance, it was dish served hot, and out of the barrel of a gun and cannon, and from the air. Yet in victory came defeat as he found three hundred years later in the world he woke up in. One far different from the one he'd left behind when he went into cold sleep. Now he had to find a place in this strange new world, one without the means to wage war against an alien race raping the planet of its young people. First, he had to build an army, navy and air force from scratch while fending off attacks from the aliens and the secret government that wanted to put him and his men back into cold sleep or the grave.

War To The Knife


Peter Grant - 2014
    Overwhelmed, its Army switched to guerrilla warfare and went underground. For three years they've fought like demons to resist the occupiers. They've bled the enemy, but at fearful cost. The survivors are running out of weapons, supplies, and places to hide. Then a young officer, Dave Carson, uncovers news that may change everything. An opportunity is coming to smash the foe harder than they've ever done before, both on and off the planet. Success may bring the interplanetary community to their aid – but it'll take everything they've got. Win or lose, many of them will die. Failure will mean that Bactria will at last rule unopposed. That risk won't stop them. When you're fighting a war to the knife, in the end you bet on the blade.

Gehenna Dawn


Jay Allan - 2012
    An unimaginable nightmare. A searing hot world, covered with cracked, burning deserts and sweltering jungles. A hostile planet far from Earth, it was the most hellish place men have ever tried to survive. Called Gehenna by the condemned men sent to fight there, it forged the few who survived its murderous battles into the strongest soldiers in history.Jake Taylor was a New Hampshire farmboy who wanted nothing more than to marry his girlfriend, work on the farm, and maybe one day write a great novel. But mankind was fighting the alien Tegeri and their bio-mechanical cyborg soldiers, and UN Central needed men…men to go to war on hostile worlds like Erastus.Jake wasn’t given a choice, not a real one. He found himself torn from home and family, conscripted for life and shipped to Erastus to take his place in the battle lines, never to return. In this alien hell, Taylor and his cybernetically-enhanced comrades fight their never-ending war against the servants of the Tegeri, the manufactured soldiers they call simply, the Machines.Jake survives battle after battle, rising steadily through the ranks, giving all to the desperate fight to save Earth. But endless combat in hell carries a cost, and Taylor can feel himself losing what little is left of his spirit, his humanity. When he finally discovers a terrible secret…that everything he’d believed, all he’d fought for his entire life, was nothing but a monstrous lie, he must decide who is the real enemy, and how far he is willing to go to right a horrific wrong.And if he does what he must to prevail against overwhelming odds and win the final victory, will he be able to control the growing madness inside…or will he be become the very thing he has sworn to destroy?The Crimson Worlds SeriesBy Jay AllanCrimson Worlds I: Marines Crimson Worlds II: The Cost of Victory Crimson Worlds III: A Little Rebellion Crimson Worlds IV: The First Imperium Crimson Worlds V: The Line Must Hold Crimson Worlds VI: To Hell's Heart Tombstone: A Crimson Worlds Prequel Bitter Glory: A Crimson Worlds Prequel Coming December 2013: Crimson Worlds VII: The Shadow Legions

Mission Zero


S.J. MacDonald - 2011
    After a PR disaster has activists and media storming the Admiralty gates, First Lord Dix Harangay sends Minnow out on a makework patrol. Inspector Mako Ireson goes with them to investigate what’s really going on. Mako has never been on a starship before. He can’t tell port from starboard, doesn’t know what the 0-G sign means at freefall hatchways, and may need to change his underwear after the launch.Nobody is expecting that the “mission zero” they've been sent on will turn into a real operation. When it does, the Minnow’s crew has to rise to the challenge and justify their skipper’s faith in them.This is the first mission of the legendary Fourth Fleet Irregulars, the unit you send for when you need a miracle.For Mako Ireson, it will be the adventure of a lifetime.

Salvage Marines


Sean-Michael Argo - 2015
    Hazard pay is high for a reason, and Samuel must endure grueling tours of duty in the abandoned scrapyard quadrants of a war-torn universe. Endless wars rage across every galaxy, leaving damaged starships, rusted factories, and broken planets in their wake, all ripe for plunder by the desperate and the daring. Samuel must seize his destiny in frenzied combat against murderous scavengers, horrific monsters, and the elite mercenaries of rival corporations. Left with no choice but to fight, he must win freedom with a combat rifle and his blowtorch.

Runs in the Family


Kevin Ikenberry - 2014
    With little hope of leaving the outer rim of the Milky Way, Mairin agrees to participate in a classified experiment offering her genetic perfection and a chance to see the galaxy. Now, armed with her great-grandfather's military knowledge and combat-refined instincts, Mairin is tasked with leading inexperienced troops in a war against a shadowy enemy using hauntingly familiar tactics. But the first rule of the military is "hurry up and wait," and Mairin learns this firsthand. Without transport to the fight, Mairin spends the downtime on a lush paradise world, getting to know her new body, her imprint, and her heart. Mairin meets Tallenaara, a beautiful Styrahi architect whose mission and past will come to challenge them both. Faced with the most difficult choice of her young life, Mairin Shields can only watch as her world spins out of control.

Map Runners


Arthur Byrne - 2015
    Three years into a twenty year mission to a new solar system, the colony ship Magellan and its ten million residents sent their last pulse message… "Peace with the Navereen is at an end." Trapped in Cargo Bay 37, fighter pilot Fristion Nash and twelve hundred others lived through the Magellan apocalypse. They have survived for a decade under Frank Block's exacting leadership. Now survival isn’t enough. Nash wants answers. Frank Block wants only control and obedience.Praise for Map Runners: “I found the book funny and exciting. I can't wait for the rest of them to come out.”

Inception


Andrew Beery - 2012
    Had I known how often I’d be expected to die over the next several millennia, I might have made a stronger effort to stay dead. The year actually started off rather nice. I finished my PhD in high energy physics and was promoted to Lieutenant Commander in the United States Air Force. My first posting after the promotion was to the Lunar One Air Base where I worked with my father, Dr. Robert Kimbridge on “The Project.” “The Project” was our name for a VASIMR Ion Drive interplanetary space craft that used Thorium LFTR reactors for both shielding and power. Capable of a sustained point one G of acceleration, our prototype was expected to make the Mars run in less than a week. By the end of November the ESX Arizona was ready for her first trial runs and I was her pilot. History has an odd way of repeating itself.

Steel Walls and Dirt Drops


Alan Black - 2009
    She is a larger-than-life combat veteran and a bonafide war hero. She knows combat. She also knows that combat is one thing and that command is a warthog of a different and dubious color. Misha wonders if she has the necessary skills to turn this group of slackers, petty criminals and losers into an effective fighting unit in the short time she has left before being tossed out the back end of a spacecraft to fight in ground chewing warfare. APES are supposed to be an armored infantry fighting force. However, this unit’s last commander retired in the saddle leaving his unit to unravel and fend for themselves. Their assigned space forces transport captain is less than no help at all. The war with the Binders is heating up and there are secrets swirling around mixed with gossip about the last big battle against the aliens. Some secrets could mean life or death for the ground pounders who wear metal armor in dirt side warfare. Combat is on the horizon and even the veteran APES doubt they will be ready for what is coming. All Misha can do is crack a few heads, kick some backsides and see what happens. Her APES might live through the next battle if she is successful. If not…

Dark Operator


Doc Spears - 2020
    Tasked with performing covert missions, its kill teams are filled with the best warriors from within the ranks of the Legion.Kel Turner is one of the youngest legionnaires ever to be selected to its ranks. After many battles and trials, he is faced with the greatest challenge of his life - operating by himself on a remote planet at the galaxy’s edge, a foot soldier for the policies of the duplicitous House of Reason, tasked with solving a crisis that would take ten kill teams to resolve.Diplomats, spies, shadowy terrorist groups, and an enigmatic general work with and against Kel as he fights to save a society from itself. What can one operator do alone, separated from his kill team, fighting a war that has no name?This lone operator doesn’t know what it will take to win. He only knows he’s not going to lose.

Resistance


Michael Z. Williamson - 2019
    WILLIAMSON. Featuring all-new stories by Larry Correia, Michael Z. Williamson, Brad R. Torgersen, Mike Massa, Kacey Ezell, and more! When the UN invaded the Freehold of Grainne, the intent was simple: Force a noncompliant star nation back into the collective. What the politicians hadn't accounted for was that the Freehold had spent 200 years as the haven for every independent, rebellious, self-reliant adventurer in human space. Its military are scattered remnants, its bases smoking ruins, its cities occupied. But Grainne and its space habitats have resources beyond measure. Retired intelligence agents, disabled veterans, animal handlers, petty smugglers, half-lame computer specialists, research scientists, planetary engineers, all have one goal in mind: Make the invaders suffer for their presumption. This isn't just resistance. It's vengeance. Stories by: Larry Correia Michael Z. Williamson Brad R. Torgersen Mike Massa Kacey Ezell Robert E. Hampson Aaron Haskins John F. Holmes Marisa Wolf Justin Watson Jason Cordova Jamie Ibson Jessica Schlenker Christopher Dinote Rob Reed Chris Smith Jaime DiNote Philip Wohlrab At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). Praise for Forged in Blood: “The anthology celebrates soldiers and their tools. . . . Most of all, it celebrates warriors and the stuff that makes them so—the mettle more than the metal.”—Tangent "Fans of combat science fiction will find this collection irresistible…an entertaining and engaging book."—The Daily News of Galveston County About Michael Z. Williamson: “A fast-paced, compulsive read . . . will appeal to fans of John Ringo, David Drake, Lois McMaster Bujold, and David Weber.”—Kliatt “Williamson's military expertise is impressive.”—SF Reviews Novels of Michael Z. Williamson's Freehold Universe: Freehold series Freehold The Weapon The Rogue Contact with Chaos Angeleyes Freehold: Forged in Blood Ripple Creek series Better to Beg Forgiveness . . . Do Unto Others . . . When Diplomacy Fails . . . Standalone A Long Time Until Now Michael Z. Williamson is retired military, having served twenty-five years in the U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force. He was deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Desert Fox. Williamson is a state-ranked competitive shooter in combat rifle and combat pistol. He has consulted on military matters, weapons and disaster preparedness for Discovery Channel and Outdoor Channel productions and is Editor-at-Large for Survivalblog, with 300,000 weekly readers. In addition, Williamson tests and reviews firearms and gear for manufacturers. Williamson’s books set in his Freehold Universe include Freehold, The Weapon, The Rogue, Better to Beg Forgiveness . . ., Do Unto Others . . ., and When Diplomacy Fails . . .. He is also the author of time travel novel A Long Time Until Now, as well as The Hero—the latter written in collaboration with New York Times best-selling author John Ringo. Williamson was born in England, raised in Liverpool and Toronto, Canada, and now resides in Indianapolis with his children.

Decisively Engaged


C.J. Carella - 2015
     A NATION AT WAR: The United Stars of America. Born in the conflagration of unprovoked alien attack, the newest entrant to galactic politics took the few crumbs of hypertech gifted to it and ran with them, soon expanding over dozens of star systems and establishing a wide trade network, protected by its powerful Navy and the dreaded Warp Marines. A FIGHT TO THE DEATH: A single Marine platoon, tasked with protecting an embassy on a hostile alien planet. An embassy – and the human enclave around it – that soon finds itself surrounded by armed mobs. Can the Marines and a ragtag band of civilian and Navy personnel survive long enough to be rescued?

The Log of the Gray Wolf


Shane VanAulen - 2011
     “The Log of the Gray Wolf" is a self-published science fiction novel. Readers have found it to be a fast-paced and packed with action. This is a story crafted around a young man becoming a man, an officer, and a hero. It is a story set against incredible odds, where this underdog crew of gray wolves and young pups must somehow escape their world, steal a damaged ship and fight their way through enemy forces while raining pain down on the enemies of mankind. The adventure begins in a future time when Earth has colonized new worlds and has also found new enemies. The Karduans are a race of blue-skinned humanoids ruled by a matriarchal society. The Blues, as they are nicknamed - are aggressive and militant with their female rulers possessing telepathy to control their subservient male population. Most human worlds are ruled by the United Confederation of Earth, which had evolved from the old United Nations format after the Apocalypse War. At this time period, Earth has been at war for several years. Our hero, Mike Collins former midshipmen, now an Ensign, finds himself trapped on a breakaway world that has made a deal with the Karduans. This leads him and his classmates along with a group of retired veterans to plan an escape to rejoin Earth's forces. Join the fight! Note from Author: This book has been revised and re-edited since first self-published. Ratings and comments from early readers about editing are from before latest edits. Please look at reader ratings talking about content as editing has been pretty much fixed. I hope you enjoy it.