Red Team Alpha Released!

Red Team Alpha is a brand new Crimson Worlds Adventure, a story of first contact.  If you haven't read the Crimson Worlds, Red Team Alpha is a standalone story.  And if you have read the original series, you won't want to miss the first encounter between Gavin Stark and Roderick Vance.

And it's just 99 cents for the first few days, so get your copy now!

Red Team Alpha at Amazon

 

Red Team Alpha.  An elite military unit.  Twenty highly-trained veteran warriors, Mars’ best.  They are ready to face whatever dangers threaten the Confederation.  They are capable, dedicated, armed with the best technology Mars has to offer.  And they don’t exist, at least not officially.

Now the team will be called upon to face its greatest test.  On a planet in a newly-discovered system there is a mysterious wreck, the remains of an ancient ship.  The discovery is a momentous one, first contact and proof that mankind is not alone in the universe.

It is a job for the Team, but even these crack soldiers will be tested to the limit of their abilities as they uncover the dark horror within, a technological nightmare that threatens the very future of humanity.  The soldiers of Alpha will fight, ignoring the odds as usual, but this time they will be caught between two enemies.

For they are not the only ones who know about the ruins.  Even now, the notorious Gavin Stark and his Alliance Intelligence forces are on the move, seeking to seize the ancient vessel and the priceless technology within for their own purposes.  And they are ready to do whatever is necessary to gain the priceless ship…including wiping out Red Team Alpha completely. 

Duel in the Dark Released!

Duel in the Dark is the first book in my new Blood on the Stars series.  I'm really excited about this one...I was very happy with the way it turned out.  I think this new series captures the scope and strength of the Crimson Worlds series, but I've written two million words since I published Marines, and I feel like it shows in this new book.

I also know you don't like to wait too long for the next book.  Book two, Call to Arms, is already available for preorder, and it will be released on January 27.

Duel in the Dark (exclusively at Amazon)

Duel in the Dark

A Gripping New Adventure by the Author of the Bestselling Crimson Worlds and Far Stars series…

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.

The battleship Dauntless has spent the past ten months patrolling the border, deployed far forward of the main fleet, a forlorn hope, an advance guard positioned to give the warning of invasion.  But no attack has come.  Her crew is exhausted, and the aging battleship needs maintenance.  With the fleet mobilized and the forward bases overloaded beyond capacity, she is sent clear across the Confederation, to a planet along the quiet and peaceful far frontier.  Her crew is looking forward to a rest, and Dauntless herself is scheduled for a long-overdue maintenance session.

But the quiet frontier isn’t what it seems…and when a distress call is received from one of the mining colonies on the edge of Confederation space, it falls to Captain Tyler Barron to take Dauntless forward, to find out what is happening, and to put a stop to it.

Barron and his crew have their ship—and each other—but they can expect no other help.  Suspicion is strong that Union deceit is at play, that the attack is some sort of diversion, intended to draw Confederation forces from the disputed border.  The orders are clear.  No ships will be transferred from the prospective battle line.  Stopping whatever is happening on the rim is Barron’s responsibility, and his alone.

Barron is the grandson of the Confederation’s great hero, the father of the modern navy.  His family name has always carried privilege with it, and crushing responsibility.  And now he must prove that he has inherited more from his famous grandfather than name and privilege.  He must face the enemy, and win the victory…before the Confederation is caught between two enemies and destroyed.

Blood on the Stars Reading Order

Book 1:  Duel in the Dark

Book 2:  Call to Arms (January 2017, Available now for preorder)

Duel in the Dark (exclusively at Amazon)

Winds of Vengeance Available on All Retailers!

Winds of Vengeance Available on All Retailers!

Book four of the Refugees series is now available on all other retailers (and in print)!  Winds of Vengeance begins the Vengeance Trilogy, the next chapter in the adventures of the Refugees.

 I don't like pestering readers for reviews, but they are very important, and I have been getting fewer of them recently, so I will just say,  if you have time, a review is greatly appreciated.  It really matters!
 

Winds of Vengeance at Amazon

Winds of Vengeance Print Edition

Winds of Vengeance at Barnes & Noble

Winds of Vengeance at Kobo

Winds of Vengeance at iBooks

Winds of Vengeance at Amazon

Winds of Vengeance Print Edition

Winds of Vengeance at Barnes & Noble

Winds of Vengeance at Kobo

Winds of Vengeance at iBooks

Earth Two.  A new home for the survivors of the fleet, the men and women who battled against seemingly insurmountable odds to survive the assault of the First Imperium and to destroy the homicidal Regent, the artificial intelligence committed to their destruction.

They have prospered in the years since their arrival, adapting the technology of the First Imperium to build a new and prosperous republic.  But as the fear of the First Imperium recedes, cracks have begun to appear, conflicts looming that threaten to destroy all they have worked to achieve.

There are rivalries between the clones known as “Tanks” and the “NBs,” naturally-born humans, disputes driven by envy, resentment.  And on the fringe of the new society, the enhanced genetic hybrids known as “Mules” are feared by both groups, though they continue to decipher First Imperium technology for the benefit of all.

But there is a far greater threat lurking in deep space, for the Regent was one of two, and its copy activated automatically upon its destruction.  It has been planning, exploring, building vast fleets of new warships, and now it is ready to strike at a divided republic, to accomplish what the Regent failed to do.  It is ruthlessly single-minded, existing for a single purpose.  And that purpose is vengeance.

Homefront Released

The third and final book of the Portal Wars series is now out.  If you preordered, you should have Homefront already. If not, it is now available on all platforms.

It took longer to get this one out than I'd intended, and I'm very happy to have finally completed the story.  If you haven't read Portal Wars yet, book one, Gehenna Dawn is available at a special price of $2.99.  Book two, The Ten Thousand is available for $3.99 (reg. $4.99).

Homefront at Amazon
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Homefront at Apple

The stunning conclusion to the Portal Wars trilogy…

Jake Taylor and his cyborg soldiers have fought their way from one Portal planet to another, moving steadily homeward with one goal in mind - the utter destruction of the corrupt rulers who sent them to hell to fight and die as pawns in a dishonest war, one started not by the alien enemy, but by Earth’s own government, as a tool in its plot to seize total power.

And now, after the fighting, the suffering, the bitter losses…finally, it is time.  Time for the final invasion of Earth.  Time to liberate their homeland from the totalitarian government that controls it utterly, to find those responsible for all that has happened…and to kill them all.

Jake and his warriors are hopelessly outnumbered, but they are determined to battle to the last, to sacrifice all for any hope of victory, however small.  But Taylor and his soldiers are not alone in their fight, for in Earth’s shadows, in the rotting slums and the remote countryside, in dark corners and crumbling cellars, a spark of defiance has survived and grown, men and women who remember liberty, and are willing to die for the chance to regain what they lost a generation before.  They are preparing…and waiting.  Waiting for the chance to strike a blow for freedom.

But those who cling to power will not give it up easily.  Indeed, the politicians who run UNGov will see Earth a charred ruin, the dead lying in unburied heaps before they will yield their positions.  The battle is about to begin…and it will not end until only one side remains.

Is Jake Taylor willing to go all the way, to fight to the end, do whatever he must…to accept nothing less than death or total victory, whatever the cost?

Gehenna Dawn

Book one of the Portal Wars trilogy is available at a special price of $2.99 (reg. $4.99) for a limited time only.

Gehenna Dawn at Amazon
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Gehenna Dawn at Apple

Book One of the bestselling Portal Wars series...

Erastus. 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 Ten Thousand

Book two of the Portal Wars trilogy is available at a special price of $3.99 (reg. $4.99) for a limited time only.

The Ten Thousand at Amazon
The Ten Thousand at Barnes & Noble
The Ten Thousand at Kobo
The Ten Thousand at Apple

General Jake Taylor and his army of cyborg soldiers are veterans of Erastus, a planet so brutal, so hellish, it is called Gehenna by the men sent to fight and die there. He and his comrades battled for years in the most appalling conditions human beings have ever endured, believing the entire time they were protecting Earth from bloodthirsty alien monsters. But it was all a lie, the cynical propaganda of the totalitarian regime that rules over all mankind.

The alien Tegeri, and their bio-mechanical soldiers Taylor’s men call the Machines, were the victims, targeted by a regime that needed an enemy to consolidate its absolute rule over mankind. For decades, men like Taylor and his soldiers were the aggressors, unwittingly fighting an unjust war. But when the Tegeri chose Taylor as their contact and finally told him the horrible truth, he rallied the veterans of Erastus for a new battle, one to free Earth from its self-appointed masters.

Taylor’s soldiers begin the long campaign back to Earth, toward a reckoning with the brutal government they are sworn to destroy. The heart of this force is the Ten Thousand, surgically-altered Supersoldiers, products of an experimental enhancement program, and the first of their kind. But they are not the last, and on the planet Juno they will meet their counterparts, the Black Corps, a force created by Earth’s government specifically to destroy them. The Black Corps outnumbers Taylor’s soldiers 2-1, and they have a vast advantage in supply and logistical support. But Taylor’s men are veterans of the furnace of Gehenna, and they don’t die easily.

But there is more at stake than the freedom of humanity, greater consequences to their fight than even Taylor can imagine. For there is another alien race, one shrouded in legend and myth, known to the Tegeri only as the Darkness. Long ago the Darkness made war on the Ancients, the mighty beings that built the interstellar Portals. The Ancients are remembered in Tegeri lore as wise and powerful…almost as gods. But they fell ages past, destroyed utterly by the Darkness.

Now that great evil is returning, and this time it will destroy not only mankind and the Tegeri, but all the fledgling races the Ancients planted, hundreds of young sentient species, only now grasping for civilization.

The Ancients long ago foretold that an alliance of men and Tegeri would stand and defeat the Darkness and save the galaxy from destruction. But if this prophecy is to come to pass, Taylor and his men must destroy Earth’s totalitarian government and bring the dark truth to mankind, that there is another war to fight, one vaster and more terrible than any in human history or legend.

Funeral Games Released

Funeral Games Now Available

The stunning finale to the Far Stars series is now available at all retailers.
 

Funeral Games at Amazon (Kindle, print, audio)
Funeral Games at Barnes & Noble (Nook, print)
Funeral Games at iBooks
Funeral Games at Kobo

The Far Stars stands on the edge of a precipice.  The forces of Governor Vos have surged forth, conquering worlds and imposing the emperor’s brutal rule over millions.  Only one thing stands in the way of total victory…Marshal Augustin Lucerne and his newly created Confederation.  But Vos has a simple plan to crush the Confederation: assassinate the marshal, and manipulate his generals to fight over his legacy, destroying each other in the process.

But another threat lurks.  Arkarin Blackhawk.  The smuggler and mercenary has been the marshal’s ally, working in the shadows and unraveling Vos’ plans.  The governor can only hope the mysterious adventurer continues to resist a formal position in the Confederation.

Or he can have Blackhawk assassinated too.

Because with Blackhawk succeeding Lucerne, the black and gold imperial flags will be stained red with blood. His is a dark and dangerous past, and he is a man capable of things the honorable Lucerne could never imagine.  If he is put at the helm of the Confederation armies, the brutal imperial general he had once been may rise again.

The Far Stars are facing the final battle. The Imperials seem unstoppable. But if Blackhawk somehow survives--and can come to grips with the horror deep within him—he just might be able to save the Far Stars from the iron hand of empire.

Shadow of Empire
Far Stars Book One

If you haven't read the Far Stars yet, now is the time.  The trilogy is complete, with all volumes available, and the whole adventure begins with book one, Shadow of Empire.  Now just $5.99!
 

Shadow of Empire at Amazon
Shadow of Empire at BN
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Shadow of Empire at Kobo

The first installment in the Far Star series, Shadow of Empire is a swashbuckling space saga that introduces the daring pirate Blackhawk and the loyal crew of the Wolf’s Claw, from the author of the bestselling Crimson Worlds epic…

The Far Stars.  The farthest reaches of human habitation in the galaxy, a sector of a hundred occupied worlds and a dangerous expanse full of pirates, mercenaries, and cutthroats.  The sector is a rough and rugged frontier, lying beyond the darkness of the great Void, and the only place in all the vastness of space where men live free of the brutal empire that rules the rest of mankind.

Arkarin Blackhawk.  A mercenary, a smuggler, an adventurer…a genetically-engineered warrior with a dark and mysterious past, one that has followed him for twenty years, that threatens his very sanity.  Blackhawk and his fiercely loyal crew, a band of misfits and adventurers almost as capable as their grim commander, are known throughout the darkest corners of the Far Stars, for their reliability to their employers…and for the terrifying violence they can unleash against those who cross them.

The Wolf’s Claw.  A battered, nearly ancient free trader, long past its glory days.  Or so it would appear on cursory inspection.  But there is more to Blackhawk’s ship than meets the eye, and below its dented hull, behind the peeling and fading paint is a vessel equipped with the very best equipment, military-grade engines and reactors…and a deadly suite of well-used weapons.

Marshal Augustin Lucerne.  An honorable man, and one of the few people to win Blackhawk’s unreserved respect and loyalty, Lucerne is a warrior struggling to gain control of Celtiboria, the largest world in the Far Stars.  It is a planet torn by three centuries of battle and strife, an endless conflict that has seen its warlords fight each other relentlessly for power.  Lucerne plans no less than to crush the warlords and reunite this great world…and then the Far Stars themselves, creating a Confederation strong enough resist the empire’s domination forever.

When Lucerne’s daughter Astra is kidnapped by a mysterious enemy, Blackhawk and his people are sent to find her…and they find themselves plunged into a series of deadly battles, desperate chases, and finally to a world on the edge of the sector where, in the middle of a brutal and deadly civil war they discover a terrible secret.  The empire is already in the Far Stars…

Enemy in the Dark
Far Stars Book Two

Book two of the Far Stars trilogy follows the adventures of Blackhawk and the crew of the Wolf's Claw as they are dragged deeper into the war and intrigue of the Far Stars.  Now just $5.99!
 

Enemy in the Dark at Amazon
Enemy in the Dark at BN
Enemy in the Dark at Apple
Enemy in the Dark at Kobo

Successfully completing their mission to rescue Marshal Augustin Lucerne’s daughter, Astra, the crew of the Wolf’s Claw are enjoying some well-deserved rest—all, that is, except Blackhawk. The space gun for hire cannot escape Lucerne’s relentless pleas for help against growing imperial control in the Far Stars. Blackhawk deeply respects his friend, but he fears the power Lucerne offers will lead him back to his dark old ways.

His resistance crumbles, however, when Lucerne presents evidence that the imperial governor has been manipulating conflicts throughout the Far Stars. Convinced of the deadly danger of imperial domination, Blackhawk and his crew board the Wolf’s Claw once more and set out to gather intelligence on the Empire’s movements—the proof Lucerne needs to unite the fractured and feuding worlds of the Far Stars into single power bloc capable of resisting imperial aggression.

But Blackhawk discovers more than he expected, that the imperial governor’s machinations are far reaching—and threaten the independence of every world this side of the Void.  A man running from a dark past who answers only to himself, Blackhawk begins to realize he can no longer remain on the sidelines while the Far Stars sector fights for its freedom

Shadow of Empire Now $5.99

Shadow of Empire Now $5.99

I am pleased to announce that books one and two of the Far Stars series have had their prices reduced to $5.99.  Harper Voyager has responded to my request for lower pricing, more in line with my other books.

The Far Stars is a new universe, one in which I will be writing many additional books beyond this trilogy.  So I am thrilled that the publisher has reset the price closer to my usual levels. If you've been considering reading Shadow of Empire, but you have not purchased because of the price, you may want to take a second look. 

If you decide to try the Far Stars series, I hope you enjoy it.  I had a great time writing it, and my editor and the rest of the staff at Voyager were awesome to work with.
 

Shadow of Empire at Amazon
Shadow of Empire at Barnes & Noble
Shadow of Empire at Apple
Shadow of Empire at Kobo

Enemy in the Dark at Amazon
Enemy in the Dark at Barnes and Noble
Enemy in the Dark at Apple
Enemy in the Dark at Kobo

The first installment in the Far Star series, Shadow of Empire is a swashbuckling space saga that introduces the daring pirate Blackhawk and the loyal crew of the Wolf’s Claw, from the author of the bestselling Crimson Worlds epic.

The Far Stars.  The farthest reaches of human habitation in the galaxy, a sector of a hundred occupied worlds and a dangerous expanse of space full of pirates, mercenaries, and cutthroats.  The sector is a rough and rugged frontier, lying beyond the darkness of the great Void, and the only place in all the vastness of space where men live free of the brutal empire that rules the rest of mankind.

Arkarin Blackhawk.  A mercenary, an adventurer…a genetically-engineered warrior with a dark and mysterious past, one that has followed him for twenty years, that threatens his very sanity.  Blackhawk and his fiercely loyal crew, a band of misfits and adventurers almost as capable as their commander, are known throughout the darkest corners of the Far Stars, for their reliability to their employers…and for the terrifying violence they can unleash against those who cross them.

The Wolf’s Claw.  A battered, nearly ancient free trader, long past its glory days.  Or so it would appear on cursory inspection.  But there is more to Blackhawk’s ship than meets the eye, and below its dented hull, behind the peeling and fading paint is a vessel equipped with the very best equipment, military-grade engines and reactors…and a deadly suite of weapons.

Marshal Augustin Lucerne.  An honorable man, and one of the few people to win Blackhawk’s unreserved respect and loyalty, Lucerne is a warrior struggling to unite Celtiboria, the largest world in the Far Stars, and a planet torn by three centuries of battle and strife as its warlords fight each other for power.  Lucerne plans no less than to unite this great world, and then the Far Stars themselves, creating a Confederation strong enough resist the empire’s domination forever.

When Lucerne’s daughter Astra is kidnapped, Blackhawk and his people are sent to find her…and they find themselves plunged into a series of deadly battles, desperate chases, and finally to a world on the edge of the sector where, in the middle of a deadly civil war they discover a terrible secret.  The empire is already in the Far Stars…

Far Stars II - Enemy in the Dark Released

I am pleased to announce that the second book of the Far Stars series, Enemy in the Dark, is now available on all retailers.  The Far Stars is my first trilogy for HarperCollins Voyager, and it concludes with Book III, Funeral Games, which will be released on January 19.  I know the Harper books are priced a bit higher than my other works, but I really feel they are some of the best things I've written, and I am grateful to those who have given the series a try.

Enemy in the Dark at Amazon
Enemy in the Dark at Barnes and Noble
Enemy in the Dark at Apple
Enemy in the Dark at Kobo
 

The second book in the Far Star series follows Blackhawk and the crew of the Wolf’s Claw as they are gradually (and unwillingly) drawn more deeply into Marshal Lucerne’s campaign to form a united power bloc in the Far Stars to resist imperial encroachment.

Successfully completing their mission to rescue Marshal Augustin Lucerne’s daughter, Astra, the crew of the Wolf’s Claw are enjoying some well-deserved rest—all, that is, except Blackhawk. The space gun for hire cannot escape Lucerne’s relentless pleas for help against growing imperial control in the Far Stars. While Blackhawk deeply respects his friend, he fears that the power Lucerne offers will lead him back to his old dark ways.

His resistance crumbles, however, when Lucerne presents evidence that the imperial governor has been manipulating the conflicts in the Far Stars. Convinced of the deadly danger of imperial domination, Blackhawk and his crew board the Wolf’s Claw once more and set out to gather intelligence on the Empire’s movements—the proof Lucerne needs to unite the fractured and feuding worlds of the Far Stars into single power bloc capable of resisting imperial aggression. But deep in the sparsely populated territory of the Far Stars, he discovers that the imperial governor’s machinations are far reaching—and threaten the independence of every world this side of the Void.

A man seemingly running from himself, Blackhawk is beginning to realize he can no longer remain a prisoner to his own past while the future of the Far Stars is in jeopardy.
If you haven't read Book I of the Far Stars (Shadow of Empire), now is the time!

Shadow of Empire at Amazon
Shadow of Empire at Barnes & Noble
Shadow of Empire at Apple
Shadow of Empire at Kobo

The first installment in the Far Star series, a swashbuckling space saga that introduces the daring pirate Blackhawk and the loyal crew of the Wolf’s Claw, from the author of the bestselling Crimson Worlds epic.

Smuggler and mercenary Arkarin Blackhawk and the crew of the ship Wolf’s Claw are freelance adventurers who live on the fringe of human society in the Far Stars, a remote cluster of inhabited worlds on the edge of known space…and the only place humanity lives outside the reach of the brutal empire that rules the rest of mankind.  A veteran fighter as deadly with a blade as he is with a gun, Blackhawk is a man haunted by a dark past. Even his cynicism cannot banish the guilt and pain that threaten his very sanity.
Sent to rescue the kidnapped daughter of his longtime friend Marshal Augustin Lucerne, Blackhawk and his crew find themselves drawn into one deadly fight after another. When the Wolf’s Claw is damaged, they are forced to land on a remote planet ravaged by civil war. Pulled unwillingly into the conflict, they uncover disturbing information about secret imperial involvement that could upset Lucerne’s plans for the Far Stars.

For the Marshal is determined to forge a Far Stars Confederation powerful enough to eliminate all imperial influence and threats in the sector. He needs a skilled warrior like Blackhawk on his side, but the mercenary, plagued by dark memories from the past, refuses to join the cause. All too soon, though, he and his crew will have to take a stand.