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Mech Force #1
Hellfire
Nathan Stout was born to save the world.
Cloned from the genes of heroes past, tossed aside when the Army abandoned the program, Nate has seized his own destiny. Forming the Broken Arrow Mercenary Force, he leads a team of hired guns piloting cutting-edge mechs in a last-ditch effort to restore a United States he never knew.
America is under siege by the Russians and Chinese, its major cities devastated by nuclear terrorism. The Army has retreated, the politicians have abandoned the east coast, and the only thing standing in the way of total devastation is a handful of mercenaries.
But unseen forces are guiding the battles he fights, steering him toward a fate he never imagined, determined to end his dream of a reunited America. Can Nathan Stout’s mech force survive the machinations leading the world toward the hellfires of endless war?
Cloned from the genes of heroes past, tossed aside when the Army abandoned the program, Nate has seized his own destiny. Forming the Broken Arrow Mercenary Force, he leads a team of hired guns piloting cutting-edge mechs in a last-ditch effort to restore a United States he never knew.
America is under siege by the Russians and Chinese, its major cities devastated by nuclear terrorism. The Army has retreated, the politicians have abandoned the east coast, and the only thing standing in the way of total devastation is a handful of mercenaries.
But unseen forces are guiding the battles he fights, steering him toward a fate he never imagined, determined to end his dream of a reunited America. Can Nathan Stout’s mech force survive the machinations leading the world toward the hellfires of endless war?
- GenresScience Fiction
181 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 12, 2021
102 people are currently reading
49 people want to read
About the author
Rick Partlow
207 books372 followersRick Partlow is that rarest of species, a native Floridian. Born in Tampa, he attended Florida Southern College and graduated with a degree in History and a commission in the US Army as an Infantry officer.
His lifelong love of science fiction began with Have Space Suit---Will Travel and the other Heinlein juveniles and traveled through Clifford Simak, Asimov, Clarke and on to William Gibson, Walter Jon Williams and Peter F Hamilton. And somewhere, submerged in the worlds of others, Rick began to create his own worlds.
He has written over 70 books in over a dozen different series, and his short stories have been included in many different anthologies.
He currently lives in norther Wyoming with his wife and their dog. Besides writing and reading science fiction and fantasy, he enjoys outdoor photography, hiking and camping.
His lifelong love of science fiction began with Have Space Suit---Will Travel and the other Heinlein juveniles and traveled through Clifford Simak, Asimov, Clarke and on to William Gibson, Walter Jon Williams and Peter F Hamilton. And somewhere, submerged in the worlds of others, Rick began to create his own worlds.
He has written over 70 books in over a dozen different series, and his short stories have been included in many different anthologies.
He currently lives in norther Wyoming with his wife and their dog. Besides writing and reading science fiction and fantasy, he enjoys outdoor photography, hiking and camping.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
November 28, 2021
A pretty short book/story and somewhat predictable. We have a far distant Earth that has gone through, I guess, WWIII with the Russians invading the USA. They or some sponsored terrorist managed to set off a nuclear device somewhere off our east coast which devastated that area and left it a mess. The US Government ran back to the mid-west and has yet to get things fixed. The Army has stood down for quite some time now and is in no shape to fight off a Russian invasion. It doesn't actually appear that the Russians are invading, but there are enough things happening on the east coast that they need to be investigated by a fighting force. So, the US Government/Army has resorted to hiring contract military to fight their battles.
The group that is the main focus of this book happens to be led by a former Captain Nathan Stout. Except he died while on active duty and instead of just losing all that experience, they cloned a new Nathan Stout. He had most of the memories of the original, but he wasn't a full-on copy. They only gave him glimpses of who he was in his past life insuring that he retained his piloting skills to use the mech that he operated. The Army of this future fields ten foot tall mechanized weapons platforms operated internally by one man. A highly trained and skilled pilot that cost a lot to produce.
With the adoption of these mechs, soldiers fighting on the battlefield just wasn't very effective any more. Also, the cost of maintaining these machines and the men who piloted them was just about bankrupting the US Government. So, they turned to hiring contractors to pilot, maintain and fight with these mechs. The now contractor Nathan Stout was leading his own company of five mechs to fight whatever the Army told him to fight.
While a lot of the recruitment for his fighting men came by word of mouth, not all of his current charges were prior military. A few had just gone through the intensive mech training so they could earn some very scarce money and have a job that paid fairly well and steady. As long as they fought their mechs like Nathan wanted, he really didn't care what their background was especially since his was kind of shaky. Only one of his guys knew what he was, a "dupe", as they called it. But as long as Nathan was capable to lead, that's what he was going to do. That had contracts to fill and wouldn't get paid until they were done.
Unfortunately, you'll find that Nathan's lack of interest in his unit members caused him some serious problems. What they do is dangerous and they need to do it pretty much in secret. They have to trust each other and that's a problem when you really don't know the guy or gal next to you. If each one doesn't do their part, then bad things can happen on an op. Bad things were happening to Nate's guys and he didn't exactly know why.
I say the book is kind of short because it only involves two operations. Both do explain what is going on, but they are kind of short on action and don't really explain all that is going on. What you do find out is that something isn't right, and it's pretty easy to figure out why. Because this book seemed short, I really didn't get into the story all that much. I don't have a strong desire to continue reading the series and the end of this one was kind of strange. This is the first of a three book series. Book two, "Brimstone", is available on Amazon now while book three, "Apocalypse" is up for pre-order and will be available 14 December 2021.
The group that is the main focus of this book happens to be led by a former Captain Nathan Stout. Except he died while on active duty and instead of just losing all that experience, they cloned a new Nathan Stout. He had most of the memories of the original, but he wasn't a full-on copy. They only gave him glimpses of who he was in his past life insuring that he retained his piloting skills to use the mech that he operated. The Army of this future fields ten foot tall mechanized weapons platforms operated internally by one man. A highly trained and skilled pilot that cost a lot to produce.
With the adoption of these mechs, soldiers fighting on the battlefield just wasn't very effective any more. Also, the cost of maintaining these machines and the men who piloted them was just about bankrupting the US Government. So, they turned to hiring contractors to pilot, maintain and fight with these mechs. The now contractor Nathan Stout was leading his own company of five mechs to fight whatever the Army told him to fight.
While a lot of the recruitment for his fighting men came by word of mouth, not all of his current charges were prior military. A few had just gone through the intensive mech training so they could earn some very scarce money and have a job that paid fairly well and steady. As long as they fought their mechs like Nathan wanted, he really didn't care what their background was especially since his was kind of shaky. Only one of his guys knew what he was, a "dupe", as they called it. But as long as Nathan was capable to lead, that's what he was going to do. That had contracts to fill and wouldn't get paid until they were done.
Unfortunately, you'll find that Nathan's lack of interest in his unit members caused him some serious problems. What they do is dangerous and they need to do it pretty much in secret. They have to trust each other and that's a problem when you really don't know the guy or gal next to you. If each one doesn't do their part, then bad things can happen on an op. Bad things were happening to Nate's guys and he didn't exactly know why.
I say the book is kind of short because it only involves two operations. Both do explain what is going on, but they are kind of short on action and don't really explain all that is going on. What you do find out is that something isn't right, and it's pretty easy to figure out why. Because this book seemed short, I really didn't get into the story all that much. I don't have a strong desire to continue reading the series and the end of this one was kind of strange. This is the first of a three book series. Book two, "Brimstone", is available on Amazon now while book three, "Apocalypse" is up for pre-order and will be available 14 December 2021.
October 25, 2021
Nathaniel Stout is a Military Pilot who cloned every time the previous one dies. When the Military has no use for the program where they grow the Clones and the latest clone awakens he is offer instead a Contract job. This is his life Clone to Clone and the people he is in charge of and their Hellfire Combat Machines. Narrator does a fair job with the storyline.
June 1, 2023
What once was America is now land fought over by enemy forces to control what little remained.
Radioactive wasteland with small pockets of useable ground were all that remained of America. Nuclear weapons smuggled in aboard cargo ships devastated the coastlands and demolished the large cities. Washington D.C., New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Miami are gone - cratered by the bombs. Still, the enemy attacked. Trying to demolish the remaining fighting forces, mostly Mech units, still fighting back. The Hellfire Mechs are mechanical fighting platforms shaped like a man with weapon arrays situated on shoulders, arms, hands, torsos, literally everywhere a weapon could be placed. Every weapon devastating in its power and effectiveness, powered by a nuclear reactor. The radiation from the leaky reactors guaranteed a cancerous death in a few short years was a problem solved by cloning the pilots, filling their memories with what they needed to operate, not much else. Gone were childhoods, other unimportant memories were left out. No distractions from their usefulness driving the huge fighting machines, large holes were left in their memories. The average life of the "dupes" was 12 to 15 years, although few made it that far.
Captain Nathaniel "Nate" Stout, Lt. Brian "Dix" Richardson, Sgt. Rachel "Roach" Mata, Tech. Hector "Mule" Ramirez and Geoffrey "Patty" Patterson comprised a fighting unit opposing Russian Tragan mechs. Some piloted, some unmanned units controlled from another mech, or from a truck or boat or even from a helicopter sneaking in a nuclear weapon to carry to some of the remaining cities and population centers. Nate and his fellow pilots are the lead characters in this action-filled tale. The storyline follows their exploits, their fights with the enemy and each other, their betrayal from within and without. The action is non-stop and brutal. Give yourself plenty of time, because you won't want to find a place to stop! This is an amazing read!
Radioactive wasteland with small pockets of useable ground were all that remained of America. Nuclear weapons smuggled in aboard cargo ships devastated the coastlands and demolished the large cities. Washington D.C., New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Miami are gone - cratered by the bombs. Still, the enemy attacked. Trying to demolish the remaining fighting forces, mostly Mech units, still fighting back. The Hellfire Mechs are mechanical fighting platforms shaped like a man with weapon arrays situated on shoulders, arms, hands, torsos, literally everywhere a weapon could be placed. Every weapon devastating in its power and effectiveness, powered by a nuclear reactor. The radiation from the leaky reactors guaranteed a cancerous death in a few short years was a problem solved by cloning the pilots, filling their memories with what they needed to operate, not much else. Gone were childhoods, other unimportant memories were left out. No distractions from their usefulness driving the huge fighting machines, large holes were left in their memories. The average life of the "dupes" was 12 to 15 years, although few made it that far.
Captain Nathaniel "Nate" Stout, Lt. Brian "Dix" Richardson, Sgt. Rachel "Roach" Mata, Tech. Hector "Mule" Ramirez and Geoffrey "Patty" Patterson comprised a fighting unit opposing Russian Tragan mechs. Some piloted, some unmanned units controlled from another mech, or from a truck or boat or even from a helicopter sneaking in a nuclear weapon to carry to some of the remaining cities and population centers. Nate and his fellow pilots are the lead characters in this action-filled tale. The storyline follows their exploits, their fights with the enemy and each other, their betrayal from within and without. The action is non-stop and brutal. Give yourself plenty of time, because you won't want to find a place to stop! This is an amazing read!
October 7, 2025
This was good enough to continue to the second book, but not overwhelmingly fantastic. The plot was ok, although it seemed like there was a lot of fighting and battle for no reason. A mercenary force is keeping the peace, I guess, on the east coast of America and the Russians are doing the same. There is a feeling of futility over this - what's the point? It's not a war and not really anything like a police action. It's more like the American mercenaries are trying to keep the Russian mercenaries off their lawn.
And then we have the complication of the main character being a "dupe," essentially a clone. There is some degree of him dealing with that but not much. Seems like a group of guys and a girl, although it doesn't feel enough like a team for me.
The narration by James Patrick Cronin is good. I think that's what kept me going. I'm disappointed, I expected more. Hopefully the series will get better as it goes.
And then we have the complication of the main character being a "dupe," essentially a clone. There is some degree of him dealing with that but not much. Seems like a group of guys and a girl, although it doesn't feel enough like a team for me.
The narration by James Patrick Cronin is good. I think that's what kept me going. I'm disappointed, I expected more. Hopefully the series will get better as it goes.
September 19, 2024
Good Book
Overall really liked this book. The characters were interesting, but not completely developed. They called them mechs, but my opinion was that they were more like battle armor. Reminded me of Battletech's Clan Elemental armor. The description and the picture are similar to some of Battletech's light and medium weight mechs but the weapons are too light even to the lightest Battletech mechs. It is hard for me to not compare to Battletech. Battletech came out forty years ago and was my favorite game for years. This book ends with a cliffhanger, which I'm not very fond of. I will read the next two books and hopefully they continue where this book ends. For now, I will still recommend this book.
Overall really liked this book. The characters were interesting, but not completely developed. They called them mechs, but my opinion was that they were more like battle armor. Reminded me of Battletech's Clan Elemental armor. The description and the picture are similar to some of Battletech's light and medium weight mechs but the weapons are too light even to the lightest Battletech mechs. It is hard for me to not compare to Battletech. Battletech came out forty years ago and was my favorite game for years. This book ends with a cliffhanger, which I'm not very fond of. I will read the next two books and hopefully they continue where this book ends. For now, I will still recommend this book.
January 14, 2025
Obvious setup for a series. Not engaging enough (boring) to try the next one.
June 3, 2022
An excellent book
This book takes place about 30 years after WWIII started with the fighting around Norfolk, Virginia between a contracted Mech company and the Russian government. There are
Some unusual twists and turns in the plot. I found the story enjoyable and I am sure that you will also enjoy it.
This book takes place about 30 years after WWIII started with the fighting around Norfolk, Virginia between a contracted Mech company and the Russian government. There are
Some unusual twists and turns in the plot. I found the story enjoyable and I am sure that you will also enjoy it.
November 5, 2021
Ok, I have to say, the ending was crap. I understand it was done for dramatic effect, but it was still crap.
I liked the story, right up to the very last sentence. It was a pretty good tale, and one I'd be happy to recommend to others who like their mech combat. The story is still good for that. If you skip the last sentence, the book is an excellent one, and I can see 4-5 stars from most folks. But I can't stand when an author changes a character's behavior for no other reason than to give the story dramatic effect. I'm personally of the opinion, if a character behaves one way for the entire freaking story, then the author needs to find another way to introduce that slap in the face, not have the character suddenly turn around and behave entirely the opposite of how it behaved for the entire story, especially if there was zero clues/lead up to such a behavior change.
But, hey, maybe I'm the only one who cares about such things, and if you don't care about consistency, then the ending won't bother you in the least, but if it matters, read the story, enjoy it, just be prepared for a completely illogical ending.
I liked the story, right up to the very last sentence. It was a pretty good tale, and one I'd be happy to recommend to others who like their mech combat. The story is still good for that. If you skip the last sentence, the book is an excellent one, and I can see 4-5 stars from most folks. But I can't stand when an author changes a character's behavior for no other reason than to give the story dramatic effect. I'm personally of the opinion, if a character behaves one way for the entire freaking story, then the author needs to find another way to introduce that slap in the face, not have the character suddenly turn around and behave entirely the opposite of how it behaved for the entire story, especially if there was zero clues/lead up to such a behavior change.
But, hey, maybe I'm the only one who cares about such things, and if you don't care about consistency, then the ending won't bother you in the least, but if it matters, read the story, enjoy it, just be prepared for a completely illogical ending.
October 25, 2021
When you take military heroes and clone the genes needed for their use in mechs (war machines) but than close down the program what do you do with the ones left? You let them do what they do best fight, especially when it is Russia and China who have taken over the east coast of America and these warriors are all that stands in the way of their advances.
This is the start of a wonderful series and I hope I get to hear more of it as narrator James Patrick Cronin did a awesome job, his voice grabbed me and put me there on the sidelines watching as all of this takes place. This book is full of non stop action and suspense. There are also some twists that will have you up reading/listening past your bedtime. This book is a really good futuristic military book and I can't wait for the next one.
This is the start of a wonderful series and I hope I get to hear more of it as narrator James Patrick Cronin did a awesome job, his voice grabbed me and put me there on the sidelines watching as all of this takes place. This book is full of non stop action and suspense. There are also some twists that will have you up reading/listening past your bedtime. This book is a really good futuristic military book and I can't wait for the next one.
December 6, 2021
I did find this book a little confusing at first, until I realized Nathan Stout was cloned again and again from the original one, who died years ago. It was a good battle with the Russians, who attacked America. I'm going to continue with this series to see what happens to Nathan, since he was taken captive when the story ended.
No romance and the F-bomb was used 67 times.
As for the narration: James Patrick Cronin did a terrific with the reading! Great emotions and voices of both males and females.
Oops! On second thought I'm NOT going to move on to the second book. I can't spend $7.47 or a credit on 184 pages. The only reason I listened to the first one was because it was $1.99, and it was worth every penny. But $7.47? Just NO!!!
No romance and the F-bomb was used 67 times.
As for the narration: James Patrick Cronin did a terrific with the reading! Great emotions and voices of both males and females.
Oops! On second thought I'm NOT going to move on to the second book. I can't spend $7.47 or a credit on 184 pages. The only reason I listened to the first one was because it was $1.99, and it was worth every penny. But $7.47? Just NO!!!
November 24, 2021
An ok read
An ok read for me. It's not that bad I did not finish the book. I just found it was like I was constantly reading a description about something and the actual story would start next. I got the main idea of the story I think but not to sure, you get the idea there is a story running in the background and that took away from the story you where trying to rap your head around.
Well if you read that then you get the idea what the book was like for me
An ok read for me. It's not that bad I did not finish the book. I just found it was like I was constantly reading a description about something and the actual story would start next. I got the main idea of the story I think but not to sure, you get the idea there is a story running in the background and that took away from the story you where trying to rap your head around.
Well if you read that then you get the idea what the book was like for me
January 24, 2022
I went through a bit of “MechWarrior” gaming phase with some computer games and wanted to read MechWarrior books for fun. I got it through Kindle unlimited and it is pretty good. It has an interesting premise of a Russian invasion of the US after an apocalyptic event and the remnant of the US Army, and contractors, are fighting the bad guys. Its downside is the fantasy of cloning people to be fighters.
September 14, 2025
An interesting departure from the usual Partlow fare
I was surprised to see Avera jump on the Partlow pulp fiction factory line. But it is a good collaboration. Enough Partlow for the diehards but a nice departure from the slightly hard to believe characters made up of shiny bad boy made good drop troopers or marine washouts who become generals. It’s good. But it’s still not Sci-Fi.
I was surprised to see Avera jump on the Partlow pulp fiction factory line. But it is a good collaboration. Enough Partlow for the diehards but a nice departure from the slightly hard to believe characters made up of shiny bad boy made good drop troopers or marine washouts who become generals. It’s good. But it’s still not Sci-Fi.
November 20, 2021
Weird
I would have loved ore of the backstory right at the beginning of the book. No matter how hard I try but when a book starts as confusing a this one did I lose interest really quickly.
I would have loved ore of the backstory right at the beginning of the book. No matter how hard I try but when a book starts as confusing a this one did I lose interest really quickly.
February 23, 2025
terrible
Sucks — waste of time to read— bleak with no hope or direction — if I wanted to feel depressed or hopeless then I could just look around— do not have to waste time reading this type crap — time to go find something worth reading
Sucks — waste of time to read— bleak with no hope or direction — if I wanted to feel depressed or hopeless then I could just look around— do not have to waste time reading this type crap — time to go find something worth reading
December 4, 2021
I liked this book
It's a good story, and it's proofread well, so it's easy to read. The action scenes are easy to follow, and it's simple entertainment.
It's a good story, and it's proofread well, so it's easy to read. The action scenes are easy to follow, and it's simple entertainment.
December 13, 2021
A bit hard to follow
Found this hard to follow at times. Not sure where it sits as a read as I just could not get a grasp on the story.
Found this hard to follow at times. Not sure where it sits as a read as I just could not get a grasp on the story.
December 26, 2021
Love it
Wow, almost non stop action. And a wonderful twist at the end! I can’t wait to read the second book!
Wow, almost non stop action. And a wonderful twist at the end! I can’t wait to read the second book!
December 31, 2021
Good read
I enjoyed the battle scenes. I felt as if I was in the mech with them. I will read the other books in this series.
I enjoyed the battle scenes. I felt as if I was in the mech with them. I will read the other books in this series.
January 6, 2022
Good storyline
Well I have struggled with this one very confusing at the beginning but I persevered and enjoyed it. Looking forward to the next book
Well I have struggled with this one very confusing at the beginning but I persevered and enjoyed it. Looking forward to the next book
January 28, 2022
Good read, a little short
Good read, think it could have been longer, some areas need fleshing out more, will be reading the rest of the series
Good read, think it could have been longer, some areas need fleshing out more, will be reading the rest of the series
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews