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Hammond's Hardcases #1-3
Hammond's Hardcases: The Complete Series
Mozari Arrival
They brought death and destruction to Earth. Now it’s time to return the favor.
The massive Mozari spaceship struck without warning. In an instant major cities were leveled. Millions were wiped from the face of the Earth. The horrifying message to those remaining—your training starts now.
Pods scattered across the globe are filled with strange, alien wares and scientists of all backgrounds must come together to harness the advanced technology in a race to discover its secrets before the one-year deadline.
And before their experiments with the exo suits kill another soldier.
Few possess the rare antibodies needed to control the Mozari armor. But Daniel West soon discovers he’s one of the civilians selected to be fitted and trained to use the suit. Instead of following in his family’s footsteps, he joins the military and is assigned to a team on a mission to the Mozari ship. But when tragedy strikes his team, he must take command of a mission into enemy territory that promises nothing less than certain death.
What they discover on the ship changes everything.
Trojan Colony
The ends justify the means – except when humanity’s survival is on the line.
Earth’s landscape lies scorched by weapons fire after the most recent round of alien attacks. The technology the Mozari left behind has advanced scientific understanding at breakneck speeds, giving humanity the chance to fight back against their Gresian foes. Space worthy vessels and all-new weaponry are pumped out of orbiting factories, boarded by the brightest minds to begin colonizing new planets.
But humanity is still vulnerable.
Lieutenant Daniel West understands this, which is why his recruits are the most highly trained the military puts out – regardless of the physical and mental demand it takes to make them that way. Any soldier in the newly created Special Warfare Task Force must plan and prepare for every possible scenario.
After all, the return of the Gresians isn’t just inevitable. It’s imminent.
Now assigned to the United Earth Ship Shenzhen, Daniel is chosen to command a platoon to protect a team of elite colonists traveling to LTT-8270. But it isn’t until their arrival that the true mission becomes evident, and Daniel discovers an even more horrifying truth.
A truth that demands too high a cost for humanity’s future.
Gateway War
This mission might be their last.
Humanity can’t win. Lieutenant Daniel West and his soldiers will never overcome the crushing odds of a direct assault against superior alien forces. Every simulation test they’ve run ends the same way—in death. But, they have no other choice. The only option is to destroy the Gresians forever, or face Earth being overrun by alien forces.
Forever.
Good thing Daniel has no problem eradicating an enemy that shows no mercy. He won’t risk standing by and allowing the Gresians to enslave those he loves. So, when orders come down, he’s ready to take the war straight to the enemy’s home turf.
But the Gresian’s planetary defense systems destroy half their platoon before they can even land on the alien world,nd when a counterattack is launched against Earth, the support ships are forced to pull back from Gresian space—leaving the team stranded, with orders to finish the mission. By any means necessary.
They brought death and destruction to Earth. Now it’s time to return the favor.
The massive Mozari spaceship struck without warning. In an instant major cities were leveled. Millions were wiped from the face of the Earth. The horrifying message to those remaining—your training starts now.
Pods scattered across the globe are filled with strange, alien wares and scientists of all backgrounds must come together to harness the advanced technology in a race to discover its secrets before the one-year deadline.
And before their experiments with the exo suits kill another soldier.
Few possess the rare antibodies needed to control the Mozari armor. But Daniel West soon discovers he’s one of the civilians selected to be fitted and trained to use the suit. Instead of following in his family’s footsteps, he joins the military and is assigned to a team on a mission to the Mozari ship. But when tragedy strikes his team, he must take command of a mission into enemy territory that promises nothing less than certain death.
What they discover on the ship changes everything.
Trojan Colony
The ends justify the means – except when humanity’s survival is on the line.
Earth’s landscape lies scorched by weapons fire after the most recent round of alien attacks. The technology the Mozari left behind has advanced scientific understanding at breakneck speeds, giving humanity the chance to fight back against their Gresian foes. Space worthy vessels and all-new weaponry are pumped out of orbiting factories, boarded by the brightest minds to begin colonizing new planets.
But humanity is still vulnerable.
Lieutenant Daniel West understands this, which is why his recruits are the most highly trained the military puts out – regardless of the physical and mental demand it takes to make them that way. Any soldier in the newly created Special Warfare Task Force must plan and prepare for every possible scenario.
After all, the return of the Gresians isn’t just inevitable. It’s imminent.
Now assigned to the United Earth Ship Shenzhen, Daniel is chosen to command a platoon to protect a team of elite colonists traveling to LTT-8270. But it isn’t until their arrival that the true mission becomes evident, and Daniel discovers an even more horrifying truth.
A truth that demands too high a cost for humanity’s future.
Gateway War
This mission might be their last.
Humanity can’t win. Lieutenant Daniel West and his soldiers will never overcome the crushing odds of a direct assault against superior alien forces. Every simulation test they’ve run ends the same way—in death. But, they have no other choice. The only option is to destroy the Gresians forever, or face Earth being overrun by alien forces.
Forever.
Good thing Daniel has no problem eradicating an enemy that shows no mercy. He won’t risk standing by and allowing the Gresians to enslave those he loves. So, when orders come down, he’s ready to take the war straight to the enemy’s home turf.
But the Gresian’s planetary defense systems destroy half their platoon before they can even land on the alien world,nd when a counterattack is launched against Earth, the support ships are forced to pull back from Gresian space—leaving the team stranded, with orders to finish the mission. By any means necessary.
- GenresAliens
1039 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 2, 2019
17 people are currently reading
14 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 4, 2021
Hammond's Hardcases by Jack Colrain is your standard military sci-fi brain candy. I read the complete series omnibus, so this review includes all three books. Overall, the series isn't exceptional, but it'll be solid entertainment if you are into the military/space marine sci-fi genre and like lots of well-written action. It's certainly worth giving the series a try now that it's a 3-for-1 omnibus deal on Audible and Kindle (and free on KU).
Like most omnibus editions, I didn't feel like all three books earned the same rating or could be reviewed together. Thus, there may be some spoilers in the review below as I focus on the highs and lows of each book included in the trilogy omnibus. You've been warned.
The first book (Mozari Arrival) was my favorite of the series. There was a focus on character development, lots of mystery involving the Mozari, and new and exciting technology. I found the plot intriguing, and the book really kept my attention. I'm a fan of the character and relationship development in a series, and it was balanced with action sequences, so I really enjoyed it.
However, I was immediately turned off to the second book (Trojan Colony) when its ridiculous premise became clear. Here's a minor spoiler: The target world for a new earth colony was discovered to be right in the middle of humanity's worst and far superior enemy's territory. And the military, civilian government, and colonists all just say, "Oh well, we are already halfway there. Let's just do this thing anyway." Once you get over the absurd way the plot was set up, the rest of the book was pretty enjoyable. Lots of gold ol' shoot em' up action, cliche military vs. civilian headbutting, and just in the nick of time rescues.
The last book (Gateway War) just felt like a series of explosions, space battles, and ground-pounding space marine engagements. Again, the earth's civilian and military leadership is still packed with morons whose poor decisions set up the action-packed plot. The book's last half degrades into a non-stop action-packed slugfest. It wasn't really my thing, and getting through it was a bit grinding, but I can certainly see the appeal it may have for many readers and fans of action-based sci-fi.
Overall, I found the first book excellent and the following books just okay. Had there been more plausible plot devices and a bit more even pacing in the later books (between plot and character development and action), I would have enjoyed them much more. But I think some of this may just be my tastes in books. All-in-all, it was good enough that I'd give other Jack Colrain books a shot as well, particularly if I was in the mood for something fast-paced and action-oriented.
I also listened to some of this series on the audiobook edition from Audible in addition to the kindle book. Like the Hammond's Hardcases series, Andrew Tell's performance is good, but not without its flaws. The narration kept me interested, the tone projected the proper emotions, and the pacing matched well with the action in most of the series. However, Tell pauses a lot, which makes the cadence of the reading a bit uneven. It annoyed me initially, but I became used to it as the series went on. There are also many secondary characters throughout the series, and I feel like the narrator exhausted his range trying to come up with unique voices for each. Occasionally it was difficult to tell who was talking by their voice alone (particularly with female characters, who sounded very similar).
Special thanks to Jack Colrain, who provided me with these books at my request.
Like most omnibus editions, I didn't feel like all three books earned the same rating or could be reviewed together. Thus, there may be some spoilers in the review below as I focus on the highs and lows of each book included in the trilogy omnibus. You've been warned.
The first book (Mozari Arrival) was my favorite of the series. There was a focus on character development, lots of mystery involving the Mozari, and new and exciting technology. I found the plot intriguing, and the book really kept my attention. I'm a fan of the character and relationship development in a series, and it was balanced with action sequences, so I really enjoyed it.
However, I was immediately turned off to the second book (Trojan Colony) when its ridiculous premise became clear. Here's a minor spoiler: The target world for a new earth colony was discovered to be right in the middle of humanity's worst and far superior enemy's territory. And the military, civilian government, and colonists all just say, "Oh well, we are already halfway there. Let's just do this thing anyway." Once you get over the absurd way the plot was set up, the rest of the book was pretty enjoyable. Lots of gold ol' shoot em' up action, cliche military vs. civilian headbutting, and just in the nick of time rescues.
The last book (Gateway War) just felt like a series of explosions, space battles, and ground-pounding space marine engagements. Again, the earth's civilian and military leadership is still packed with morons whose poor decisions set up the action-packed plot. The book's last half degrades into a non-stop action-packed slugfest. It wasn't really my thing, and getting through it was a bit grinding, but I can certainly see the appeal it may have for many readers and fans of action-based sci-fi.
Overall, I found the first book excellent and the following books just okay. Had there been more plausible plot devices and a bit more even pacing in the later books (between plot and character development and action), I would have enjoyed them much more. But I think some of this may just be my tastes in books. All-in-all, it was good enough that I'd give other Jack Colrain books a shot as well, particularly if I was in the mood for something fast-paced and action-oriented.
I also listened to some of this series on the audiobook edition from Audible in addition to the kindle book. Like the Hammond's Hardcases series, Andrew Tell's performance is good, but not without its flaws. The narration kept me interested, the tone projected the proper emotions, and the pacing matched well with the action in most of the series. However, Tell pauses a lot, which makes the cadence of the reading a bit uneven. It annoyed me initially, but I became used to it as the series went on. There are also many secondary characters throughout the series, and I feel like the narrator exhausted his range trying to come up with unique voices for each. Occasionally it was difficult to tell who was talking by their voice alone (particularly with female characters, who sounded very similar).
Special thanks to Jack Colrain, who provided me with these books at my request.
August 16, 2020
( Format : Audiobook )
"If wishes were horses..."
The complete Hammond's Hardcases trilogy in one volume: from Chapter 2: Monzari Arrival, Chapter 37: Trojan Colony and Chapter 73: Gateway War.The entire Audible is almost thirty one and three quarter hours in length, and an excellent way to enjoy the series.
The narration by Andrew Tell is good, who reads with good intonation and understanding of the text. He also gives individual voicing for the different protagonists. But the delivery is a little slow and, at times, hesitant, but this is resolved by increasing the playback speed to 1.25
The synopsis given is very thorough so I will not rehearse the storylines other than to say that the reader follows the fortunes of Daniel West, trained to be a lawyer but instead destined to become an officer in the Special Warfare Task Force after Earth is visited by an alien ship. There is plenty of military style action and the main character is sufficiently developed to allow for a light empathy to form. Or not. This reader found that in the final book, a balance of sympathy was tilted ...
Although the world building was fairly basic, there are some nice touches such as an observer six legged squirrel species being given the name of hexasquiggle. Delightful.
Definitely a book for military science fiction fans, with interesting emotions tucked in amidst the hard fighting. I was very fortunate in being freely gifted with a complimentary copy of Hammond's Hardcases, at my request, by the rights holder via Audiobook Boom. Thank you. It was an exciting ride.
"If wishes were horses..."
The complete Hammond's Hardcases trilogy in one volume: from Chapter 2: Monzari Arrival, Chapter 37: Trojan Colony and Chapter 73: Gateway War.The entire Audible is almost thirty one and three quarter hours in length, and an excellent way to enjoy the series.
The narration by Andrew Tell is good, who reads with good intonation and understanding of the text. He also gives individual voicing for the different protagonists. But the delivery is a little slow and, at times, hesitant, but this is resolved by increasing the playback speed to 1.25
The synopsis given is very thorough so I will not rehearse the storylines other than to say that the reader follows the fortunes of Daniel West, trained to be a lawyer but instead destined to become an officer in the Special Warfare Task Force after Earth is visited by an alien ship. There is plenty of military style action and the main character is sufficiently developed to allow for a light empathy to form. Or not. This reader found that in the final book, a balance of sympathy was tilted ...
Although the world building was fairly basic, there are some nice touches such as an observer six legged squirrel species being given the name of hexasquiggle. Delightful.
Definitely a book for military science fiction fans, with interesting emotions tucked in amidst the hard fighting. I was very fortunate in being freely gifted with a complimentary copy of Hammond's Hardcases, at my request, by the rights holder via Audiobook Boom. Thank you. It was an exciting ride.
December 12, 2020
If you a lover of good or better SCIFI you need to get this series in the beginning a bit slow but when the action starts and it never stops. I am happy this series all together due to never had to wonder if the books would match from end to the beginning of another book and the transition was very smooth and as an listener you never felt lost.
What would happen if an alien species you thought arrived and bomb cities with asteroids and send messages like unite and train and a count down clock to what you do not know. Then this same alien ships start protect the planet when other ships appear and start bombing cities. Now that sound confusing and it does as the story goes forward you start learning about the first alien species and then second alien species and why they are enemies. The how stupid mankind is and as they try to take over the first alien ship and start trying to demand, take over from an AI who is over 2500 years and impose their demands on the AI who tries to worn them and is ignored or used in ways that will caused a major war which mankind can not win.
The author does an awesome job in telling the story with descriptions of the characters and with the ability to bring battles alive and make the listener feel the pain of death, abandonment, betrayal and love.
I can say the author got the narrator he has to bring the above thoughts alive and has the ability to paint a perfect picture of the story, characters, ship and off world planets.
What would happen if an alien species you thought arrived and bomb cities with asteroids and send messages like unite and train and a count down clock to what you do not know. Then this same alien ships start protect the planet when other ships appear and start bombing cities. Now that sound confusing and it does as the story goes forward you start learning about the first alien species and then second alien species and why they are enemies. The how stupid mankind is and as they try to take over the first alien ship and start trying to demand, take over from an AI who is over 2500 years and impose their demands on the AI who tries to worn them and is ignored or used in ways that will caused a major war which mankind can not win.
The author does an awesome job in telling the story with descriptions of the characters and with the ability to bring battles alive and make the listener feel the pain of death, abandonment, betrayal and love.
I can say the author got the narrator he has to bring the above thoughts alive and has the ability to paint a perfect picture of the story, characters, ship and off world planets.
August 9, 2024
DNF, that is, I stopped after book 2.
This is a standard military fiction masquerading as SF. Which I would not mind at all, if there would have been at least some attempt of Science in the Fiction.
Our hard-cases are some elite troops, trained on alien technology out to defend earth. We have seen this before, but it could still be fun. However, the whole plot is sincerely ridiculous. While trying to figure out how to defend against alien tech, it took a battle-field Eureka-moment in book 2 to realize that: "Hey, the way our comrade died piteously in book 1 in one of these outfits, might be a weakness." But I guess, the combined effort of mankind does not equal my deductive powers while reading.
In another battlefield moment, they discover a kind of deus-ex-machina use of the alien tech, which would just plain be an irresistible weapon. But of course, they do not really exploit it. And our highly trained military protagonists really do not realize that having instant mind-to-mind communication over light years miiiight have some military advantages in the fight for the survival of the species and kept it as their lovers' secret.
Tried to have some fun with this boook, but could not manage. Two stars, because the writing is decent, even if the plot is... not.
This is a standard military fiction masquerading as SF. Which I would not mind at all, if there would have been at least some attempt of Science in the Fiction.
Our hard-cases are some elite troops, trained on alien technology out to defend earth. We have seen this before, but it could still be fun. However, the whole plot is sincerely ridiculous. While trying to figure out how to defend against alien tech, it took a battle-field Eureka-moment in book 2 to realize that: "Hey, the way our comrade died piteously in book 1 in one of these outfits, might be a weakness." But I guess, the combined effort of mankind does not equal my deductive powers while reading.
In another battlefield moment, they discover a kind of deus-ex-machina use of the alien tech, which would just plain be an irresistible weapon. But of course, they do not really exploit it. And our highly trained military protagonists really do not realize that having instant mind-to-mind communication over light years miiiight have some military advantages in the fight for the survival of the species and kept it as their lovers' secret.
Tried to have some fun with this boook, but could not manage. Two stars, because the writing is decent, even if the plot is... not.
June 14, 2022
Great series of books.
Hooked till the end. Great story telling
and great characters. Never boring. Storyline is fine , always a bit of a twist.
Hooked till the end. Great story telling
and great characters. Never boring. Storyline is fine , always a bit of a twist.
December 18, 2022
Really great series! Amazing characters and writing. I loved it so much. It’s been a while since I finished the series but just now getting around to reviewing.
I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a strong story of survival, redemption and determination, space travel, aliens and some origin of our species questions…. These books even have a love story throughout. I promise you’ll love it!!
Narration by Andrew Tell is always fantastic md this was no different. He is n excellent narrator!
I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a strong story of survival, redemption and determination, space travel, aliens and some origin of our species questions…. These books even have a love story throughout. I promise you’ll love it!!
Narration by Andrew Tell is always fantastic md this was no different. He is n excellent narrator!
December 12, 2019
An intriguing series
This series has it all. From intriguing characters to lots of action and intrigue as well as believable characters. The suspense will not let you put it down.
This series has it all. From intriguing characters to lots of action and intrigue as well as believable characters. The suspense will not let you put it down.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews