Scorched Earth

Seeds of War #2

by Lawrence M. Schoen, Jonathan P. Brazee

When the alien Gardener invaded the agricultural world of Vasquez, only that planet was in immediate danger. Now humanity must be warned of possible attack and retired Marine Lieutenant General Colby Edson is the only man for the job. With his dog Duke, he jury rigs an alien ship and traverses the wormhole to New Mars, only to become trapped while more of the Gardener's soldiers invade and attempt to strip away all trace of humanity from the planet.

But are the invaders intent on destruction and conquest, or are humans simply weeds in their garden? In a battle of wills and strength, who will irradicate whom?

Former psychology professor Lawrence M. Schoen and retired Marine Colonel Jonathan P. Brazee join forces in this second volume of the SEEDS OF WAR trilogy, pitting Marine against Gardener, with the fate of all of humanity hanging in the balance.

75 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 25, 2018

About the author

Lawrence M. Schoen holds a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology, is a past Astounding, Hugo, and Nebula, nominee, twice won the Cóyotl award for best novel, founded the Klingon Language Institute, and occasionally does work as a hypnotherapist specializing in authors’ issues. He is a chimeric cancer survivor.

His science fiction includes many light and humorous adventures of a space-faring stage hypnotist and his alien animal companion. Other works take a very different tone, exploring aspects of determinism and free will, generally redefining the continua between life and death. Sometimes he blurs the funny and the serious. Lawrence lives near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with his wife and their dog.

Reviews

[Badseedgirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

You know, Lieutenant General Colby Edson did bring the aliens to New Mars. I know he did not plan to help them, but ultimately he is to blame.

[Matt Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good midnight snack

Like the first book, or perhaps I should say the first novella, this one didn’t disappoint, other than the length. It’s a quick read - just a few hours at most.

Our retired General and his dog Duke end up closer to the plant life than they expected when they end up unconscious on the alien spacecraft. They might survive the trip to New Mars only to end up as permanent residents of the plant vessel, drinking their water and eating through transpiration.

[Ilene G> · Rating 4 out of 5]

An action-packed story.

This is the second story and battle involving Edson and his dog Duke. The plants are more ferocious, and their tactics changed. Edson, Duke and space Marines face the invading plants. The action is almost non-stop. I recommend this for anyone who likes military Sci-Fi.

[Joseph K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good security second story in this universe

This was another good story in this universe. Again it’s a shorter story as it just covers a section of the action. But it was still fun to read, and of course there is a good dog in it which always is great to see. I recommend this story and look forward to what happens in book three.

[Marceline · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 Stars.

I honestly liked the first novella more and felt it could have easily been left as it was. This one was much harder to get into and I kept being drawn to other books while reading this. I'll read the third novella in this series, but I doubt I'll enjoy it much given this one was so lackluster and forgettable for me.

[Howard Brazee]

Second part of "Seeds of War". I will definitely continue buying (novellas??). Buying the novel piece by piece is cheaper and sooner than waiting for the whole novel - you can decide how much you like it. I'm enjoying it.