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Ruins of the Earth #5
Valley of the Dead
There’s no going back to Earth.The only way forward is through hell.After the explosive events surrounding MPF6’s destruction on Karkin Four, Wic and his team of daredevil operators join forces with the rebel force known as the Blood Guard. While the Phantoms desire to help relocate human refugees to safer worlds, they’re forced to confront a more pressing cut off the head of the beast and keep the Androchidan Empire from enslaving another world.Wic is immediately flung into the heat of battle, driven by retaliation, a need for justice, and the need to send a message to all other deviant species who’d wish to take advantage of the don’t even think about it.However, when a convert mission goes sideways and key Blood Guard operatives turn up missing, Phantom Team must decide just how far they’re willing to go to stop an alien species from wreaking havoc in the galaxy.Tensions mount as the empire’s high command closes in for the kill. Lies spread, secrets abound, and betrayal runs like blood in the streets. Will Sir Chuck provide critical intel in time to save the team? Can Wic pull one more hat trick against a world-conquering foe?Find out in Valley of the Dead, the fifth nail-biting, white-knuckle episode of the acclaimed Ruins of the Earth series by Christopher Hopper and J.N. Chaney.
458 pages, Paperback
First published July 4, 2021
About the author
Christopher Hopper
50 books259 followersChristopher Hopper is an American novelist, creator and co-author of the best-selling mil-scifi series Ruins of the Galaxy with J.N. Chaney.
His other series include Resonant Sun, The Sky Riders, The White Lion Chronicles, and The Berinfell Prophecies.
Christopher lives with his wife and four children in the 1000 Islands of northern New York. He loves flying FPV race wings and RC planes, performing music with his wife, and traveling to distant lands—physical and fictional.
He's had breakfast with Winnie Mandella, canoed with dolphins in Southern California, kite-surfed in Hawaii, scuba-dived on 19th-century shipwrecks in the 1000 Islands, sailed a yacht in St. Martin, posed with white rhinos in the wilds of South Africa, spoken on national television in Mexico City, performed a concert on a Dutch beach, and climbed the Great Wall of China.
For more on Christopher, visit his blog at christopherhopper.com.
His other series include Resonant Sun, The Sky Riders, The White Lion Chronicles, and The Berinfell Prophecies.
Christopher lives with his wife and four children in the 1000 Islands of northern New York. He loves flying FPV race wings and RC planes, performing music with his wife, and traveling to distant lands—physical and fictional.
He's had breakfast with Winnie Mandella, canoed with dolphins in Southern California, kite-surfed in Hawaii, scuba-dived on 19th-century shipwrecks in the 1000 Islands, sailed a yacht in St. Martin, posed with white rhinos in the wilds of South Africa, spoken on national television in Mexico City, performed a concert on a Dutch beach, and climbed the Great Wall of China.
For more on Christopher, visit his blog at christopherhopper.com.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
August 28, 2025
With this setup, MAYBE(just maybe), potential invaders might have a good enough reason to lock their doors while passing by earth.
April 15, 2025
Loved this book, great story and action. This new narrator did a great job. Don’t get me wrong I love R C Bray but with his narration, it was easy to mix up with another series with Skippy the magnificent.
January 2, 2026
After 49 incredibly entertaining hours spent with R. C. Bray narrating the escapades of Phantom Team across the first four volumes, I have experienced my first narrator change in an Audible series. Boy, lucky for me I had over 12 hours to get used to Christopher Ryan Grant doing an unenviable job of voicing the roles of characters I'd heard a certain way for so long. The most jarring contrast was that of Sir Charles, Phantom Lord, just because the English accent was a different type, closely followed by Ghost, but in my opinion Grant does a better Ghost, made more noticeable by the fact that he [Ghost] actually has both dialogue and character development in this, the fifth entry into the Ruins of the Earth franchise
With regards to the story, our heroes find some giant mechs and pilot them through the Androchidan home planet and save a bunch of psychic alien children. Not my favourite story arc of the series. Most characters descend further into catchphrase-spouting clichés but still manage to have some character development. Wic is quickly becoming the grumpiest bastard alive, but still insists on doing the right thing and saving the multiverse *and* a bunch of innocent children, so it's tough to stay mad.
With regards to the story, our heroes find some giant mechs and pilot them through the Androchidan home planet and save a bunch of psychic alien children. Not my favourite story arc of the series. Most characters descend further into catchphrase-spouting clichés but still manage to have some character development. Wic is quickly becoming the grumpiest bastard alive, but still insists on doing the right thing and saving the multiverse *and* a bunch of innocent children, so it's tough to stay mad.
December 5, 2021
Into the belly of the beast!
So after shutting down the ring arcs linking Karkian 4 to Earth, the Phantoms discover a walled-up area that may feature the arc reactor that powers the rings. There appears to be only one way in and once they get inside, the terrible secret of the arc reactors is eventually revealed. However the Queen and entire garrisons also put in an appearance, raising the stakes and thus meaning that not all the Phantoms may survive.....
Another military action fest full of explosions, gun fire and 'chess moves' as well as injuries and more....and a massive rescue attempt on an apparent fools errand....
So after shutting down the ring arcs linking Karkian 4 to Earth, the Phantoms discover a walled-up area that may feature the arc reactor that powers the rings. There appears to be only one way in and once they get inside, the terrible secret of the arc reactors is eventually revealed. However the Queen and entire garrisons also put in an appearance, raising the stakes and thus meaning that not all the Phantoms may survive.....
Another military action fest full of explosions, gun fire and 'chess moves' as well as injuries and more....and a massive rescue attempt on an apparent fools errand....
August 1, 2026
I read book 4, “Decayed Legacy”, way back on 4 February 2022! Yeah, it’s taken me this long to get back to this series, and I really can’t tell you why. I guess it just got lost in my “To Read” list, but now it’s back. This was a strange series to start because one of the characters happens to be a talking rifle! Yeah, it seems that our main character, Patrick Finnegan a.k.a “Wic”, or “Patrick-Wic”, found this alien rifle that just happened to have a resident AI. That AI decided that it was on the wrong side of a massive alien slave ring so it decided to start assisting Master Gunnery Sergeant (MGySgt) Patrick Finnegan on a permanent basis. The only problem with this is that the AI is something of a smart-aleck and doesn’t always pay attention to those things he should. That leads to problems that Wic has to solve himself.
Wic is not alone, far from it. He’s gathered a group of like-minded prior military that have now fought with him through the initial alien invasion of Earth. When those aliens showed up through some kind of space gate and started scooping up humans for their slave trade, Wic and his “Phantoms” got busy to stop them. Along the way, that were joined by a group of aliens known as the Androchidans, and led by a Major Insarka Kindesh. These were a rebel group of Androchidians that were opposed to their Queen’s slave trading. They had vowed to stop it one way or another, so both groups are after the same thing. The Blood Guard, as the Androchidian group is called, is lead by General Hadricko, who also happens to be Major Kindesh’s Father.
Having blown up the only apparent gateway back to Earth, the Phantoms have come to the realization that they can no longer return to their home planet. So, they vow to help Major Kindesh and her rebel group in their fight against a very evil Androchidian government and Queen. Their fight will start on the planet Karkin Four which is where they already blew up a massive slave processing operation. The Blood Guard HQ was on Karkin Four and has suffered heavy damage. While the Androchidan forces under the Queen had briefly occupied that HQ bunker, it has now been abandoned while the Androchidans under the Queen have returned to Androchida Prime.
So, Major Kindesh wants to know go to the HQ bunker and see what is left, if anything, that her Blood Guard or the Phantoms might be able to use. They are limited in supplies and support mostly resides on Androchidan Prime. They find the HQ bunker almost completely destroyed with large parts of it collapsed. It was built mostly underground and the ceiling have caved in from the bombing it took during the attack. Fortunately, most of the bodies have been removed and so has most everything else. Still, they conduct a thorough walk-through of the underground passages they can actually get through.
Then Wic notices a dead-end wall that seems to have a door built into it. He notices light leaking from a small slot in the bottom and only notices it when all the lights were out in the hallway leading to this supposed dead-end. They pound on the door or wall but it seems to be almost solid and doesn’t appear to be heard by anyone or anything on the other side. Then they do notice shadows from the light coming through the slit at the bottom. So they know that something or someone is on the other side. This wall or door hasn’t been moved in ages as far as they can tell and there’s no apparent way to open the door from their side.
Major Kindesh and Wic decide they need to see what’s on the other side of the door. They put Sir Chuck, the name for the weapon AI to work and also have built some small beetle-like robots that will definitely fit under the door. They send them on scouting missions as far as they can go. What they find startles everyone, especially Major Kindesh. It appears that an entire city of Androchidans have been sealed behind this door for who knows how long. They have carved out apartments, mess halls, dormitories and sick bays for a population of about two hundred Androchidans. They also notices that these are the Elite of the Androchidan army. They appear to be fanatics in their support/worship their Queen. There is also a huge ball suspended almost right in front of the wall/door and it’s hovering over a deep, dark pit. This appears to be some kind of teleportation device but no one is quite sure.
After the scouting information comes back, Wic and Major Kindesh are of the opinion they need to eradicate this group of fanatic Androchidans. They need to find out why they are living here and then destroy that teleportation device. And this is where the real story begins. Surprisingly, it’s going to involve children. No, there aren’t any children with the Phantoms or the Blood Guard, but there soon will be. There’s also going to be some massive battles even though the Phantoms and Blood Guard are not large in numbers, they will suffer some fatal casualties so unlike some stories, the good guys don’t always live through every battle. I found the fighting very intense.
The series continues in book 6, “Fire and Fury”, which is available on Amazon. I don’t think I’ll take four years to get this one read!
[Note 1 (12/23/2025): I’m no longer associated with Amazon and will no longer provide any links to books from that website. You can usually find books that you like at your usual source.]
[Note 2: As of 12/03/2023, this will not be posted on Amazon since I have been banned from posting reviews for some unknown reason. ]
Wic is not alone, far from it. He’s gathered a group of like-minded prior military that have now fought with him through the initial alien invasion of Earth. When those aliens showed up through some kind of space gate and started scooping up humans for their slave trade, Wic and his “Phantoms” got busy to stop them. Along the way, that were joined by a group of aliens known as the Androchidans, and led by a Major Insarka Kindesh. These were a rebel group of Androchidians that were opposed to their Queen’s slave trading. They had vowed to stop it one way or another, so both groups are after the same thing. The Blood Guard, as the Androchidian group is called, is lead by General Hadricko, who also happens to be Major Kindesh’s Father.
Having blown up the only apparent gateway back to Earth, the Phantoms have come to the realization that they can no longer return to their home planet. So, they vow to help Major Kindesh and her rebel group in their fight against a very evil Androchidian government and Queen. Their fight will start on the planet Karkin Four which is where they already blew up a massive slave processing operation. The Blood Guard HQ was on Karkin Four and has suffered heavy damage. While the Androchidan forces under the Queen had briefly occupied that HQ bunker, it has now been abandoned while the Androchidans under the Queen have returned to Androchida Prime.
So, Major Kindesh wants to know go to the HQ bunker and see what is left, if anything, that her Blood Guard or the Phantoms might be able to use. They are limited in supplies and support mostly resides on Androchidan Prime. They find the HQ bunker almost completely destroyed with large parts of it collapsed. It was built mostly underground and the ceiling have caved in from the bombing it took during the attack. Fortunately, most of the bodies have been removed and so has most everything else. Still, they conduct a thorough walk-through of the underground passages they can actually get through.
Then Wic notices a dead-end wall that seems to have a door built into it. He notices light leaking from a small slot in the bottom and only notices it when all the lights were out in the hallway leading to this supposed dead-end. They pound on the door or wall but it seems to be almost solid and doesn’t appear to be heard by anyone or anything on the other side. Then they do notice shadows from the light coming through the slit at the bottom. So they know that something or someone is on the other side. This wall or door hasn’t been moved in ages as far as they can tell and there’s no apparent way to open the door from their side.
Major Kindesh and Wic decide they need to see what’s on the other side of the door. They put Sir Chuck, the name for the weapon AI to work and also have built some small beetle-like robots that will definitely fit under the door. They send them on scouting missions as far as they can go. What they find startles everyone, especially Major Kindesh. It appears that an entire city of Androchidans have been sealed behind this door for who knows how long. They have carved out apartments, mess halls, dormitories and sick bays for a population of about two hundred Androchidans. They also notices that these are the Elite of the Androchidan army. They appear to be fanatics in their support/worship their Queen. There is also a huge ball suspended almost right in front of the wall/door and it’s hovering over a deep, dark pit. This appears to be some kind of teleportation device but no one is quite sure.
After the scouting information comes back, Wic and Major Kindesh are of the opinion they need to eradicate this group of fanatic Androchidans. They need to find out why they are living here and then destroy that teleportation device. And this is where the real story begins. Surprisingly, it’s going to involve children. No, there aren’t any children with the Phantoms or the Blood Guard, but there soon will be. There’s also going to be some massive battles even though the Phantoms and Blood Guard are not large in numbers, they will suffer some fatal casualties so unlike some stories, the good guys don’t always live through every battle. I found the fighting very intense.
The series continues in book 6, “Fire and Fury”, which is available on Amazon. I don’t think I’ll take four years to get this one read!
[Note 1 (12/23/2025): I’m no longer associated with Amazon and will no longer provide any links to books from that website. You can usually find books that you like at your usual source.]
[Note 2: As of 12/03/2023, this will not be posted on Amazon since I have been banned from posting reviews for some unknown reason. ]
August 28, 2021
Amazing as always!!
Great book! Thoroughly enjoyed how it turned out and I can't wait for the next in the series. There was definite little bit of emotion near the end. You really begin to care for the characters involved. And when something happens you feel it. Definitely worth the read!
Great book! Thoroughly enjoyed how it turned out and I can't wait for the next in the series. There was definite little bit of emotion near the end. You really begin to care for the characters involved. And when something happens you feel it. Definitely worth the read!
September 19, 2021
Well Hell
The issue with page turning edge of your chair reads, is you end up finishing one and waiting on the next.
Nicely done folks, the characters are relatable and you connect on the friend level early on in the series. You live the wins' and suffer the losses of the team as a team member.
Thank You for a great read.
The issue with page turning edge of your chair reads, is you end up finishing one and waiting on the next.
Nicely done folks, the characters are relatable and you connect on the friend level early on in the series. You live the wins' and suffer the losses of the team as a team member.
Thank You for a great read.
November 28, 2024
Caveat: I'm writing this ~4mo after having read the book, and my memory isn't the best. I blew through this series so quickly that it all blended together and I don't really have any memorable details, so this is the same review for each book.
Except this part: I was bummed R.C. Bray stopped narrating the audiobooks as of book 5. His narration was hugely entertaining, and while I didn't dislike the new narrator, it was just such an abrupt shift, and not the same fun tone to me.
Someone I know was excitedly explaining the plot of a series that had this military dude fighting off an alien invasion with a snarky AI who was just hilarious. My response was oh yeah I love that one, Expeditionary Force, right? Nope… Ruins of the Earth. So we each decided to try the other series out.
For me, personally, this is We Have Expeditionary Force At Home. This is Expeditionary Force for those who thought Skippy was too weird, and wanted more guns and boots on the ground. For those who never got to meet Col. Smythe, or those who did and wanted the Marines instead of the SAS. For those who thought ships named "It Was Like That When We Got Here" or "How'd That Work Out For You" were just a bit much.
So, clearly I prefer Expeditionary Force. But. I ran out of it. This fits the same niche of something I can turn my brain off for, and it was entertaining enough and fine for that. It's not great, it's not mind-blowing, but I read the whole series, I got a few chuckles of out it, and I didn't hate it.
…probably just going to re-read ExFor next time though.
Except this part: I was bummed R.C. Bray stopped narrating the audiobooks as of book 5. His narration was hugely entertaining, and while I didn't dislike the new narrator, it was just such an abrupt shift, and not the same fun tone to me.
Someone I know was excitedly explaining the plot of a series that had this military dude fighting off an alien invasion with a snarky AI who was just hilarious. My response was oh yeah I love that one, Expeditionary Force, right? Nope… Ruins of the Earth. So we each decided to try the other series out.
For me, personally, this is We Have Expeditionary Force At Home. This is Expeditionary Force for those who thought Skippy was too weird, and wanted more guns and boots on the ground. For those who never got to meet Col. Smythe, or those who did and wanted the Marines instead of the SAS. For those who thought ships named "It Was Like That When We Got Here" or "How'd That Work Out For You" were just a bit much.
So, clearly I prefer Expeditionary Force. But. I ran out of it. This fits the same niche of something I can turn my brain off for, and it was entertaining enough and fine for that. It's not great, it's not mind-blowing, but I read the whole series, I got a few chuckles of out it, and I didn't hate it.
…probably just going to re-read ExFor next time though.
April 17, 2026
The switch from RC Bray to Luke Daniels for the narration of book 5 has just killed my interest. Daniels is fine as a narrator but he is trying to replicate Bray's accents etc. It just doesn't work. Pity the publishers were in such a rush that they could not wait for Bray's availability....the break in continuity is jarring to say the least.
Aside from that......Russians are far to cringey......."I will makesies these somethings for you"....give it a bloody rest, I live in an area with loads of Russian and Ukrainian immigrants and sorry but they sound nothing like the cringey goofballs in this series.
And the cheap knock-off of Skippy has finally taken its toll on me.
I dragged myself to book 5 in the hopes that it might get a bit better.
Nope. Really not an original idea in the whole damn series.
Aside from that......Russians are far to cringey......."I will makesies these somethings for you"....give it a bloody rest, I live in an area with loads of Russian and Ukrainian immigrants and sorry but they sound nothing like the cringey goofballs in this series.
And the cheap knock-off of Skippy has finally taken its toll on me.
I dragged myself to book 5 in the hopes that it might get a bit better.
Nope. Really not an original idea in the whole damn series.
April 8, 2024
SO good! I've missed these guys! The switch to Christopher Ryan Grant from RC Bray was fine with me; it takes awhile for the audiobooks to come out and I get that RC Bray is probably booked into the next century. I thought Grant did a great job. His British could've been better, but his voices for everyone in general were fantastic. Loved it.
As for the book, that action! All the things that happen, when you're sure they're in dire straits and have no idea how they'll get out of it - plus the character development were great. I haven't enjoyed a book this much since Expeditionary Force by Craig Alanson. Can't wait for the next book.
As for the book, that action! All the things that happen, when you're sure they're in dire straits and have no idea how they'll get out of it - plus the character development were great. I haven't enjoyed a book this much since Expeditionary Force by Craig Alanson. Can't wait for the next book.
August 10, 2022
Another thrilling tale of Wic and his Phantoms
It seems I keep coming back to this series to enjoy more of the over-the-top action and witty banter between the characters. Though a little light on the science, the basic physics are sound, and just when it seems the team is in over their heads, they find a way to pull through. Very entertaining, looking forward to book 6.
It seems I keep coming back to this series to enjoy more of the over-the-top action and witty banter between the characters. Though a little light on the science, the basic physics are sound, and just when it seems the team is in over their heads, they find a way to pull through. Very entertaining, looking forward to book 6.
July 9, 2021
Great Storyline
Well the story's just get better and better with each book well worth 5 stars. It is a shame about Lads and Set in but someone has to go cannot win every fight. Totally looking forward to the next book
Well the story's just get better and better with each book well worth 5 stars. It is a shame about Lads and Set in but someone has to go cannot win every fight. Totally looking forward to the next book
July 27, 2021
Great read
Love the storyline and action. The authors make it very realistic. It reminds me of historic events, the 300 at Thermopylae, 12 Strong, and others where against all odds they banded together to do the right thing regardless of their own sacrifices.
Love the storyline and action. The authors make it very realistic. It reminds me of historic events, the 300 at Thermopylae, 12 Strong, and others where against all odds they banded together to do the right thing regardless of their own sacrifices.
September 11, 2021
Intergalactic warfare and mayhem.
Travel by wormhole to the capital planet and blow splick up.
Great characters with realistic situations and lots of action.
I look forward to the next one 😀
Travel by wormhole to the capital planet and blow splick up.
Great characters with realistic situations and lots of action.
I look forward to the next one 😀
November 7, 2021
great #5!
I love the banter and the current day things and people thrown into the future scenario.
Good to see our favorite Russian is still here. Quote in here…. Sometimes ya gotta embrace the suck.
I love the banter and the current day things and people thrown into the future scenario.
Good to see our favorite Russian is still here. Quote in here…. Sometimes ya gotta embrace the suck.
December 6, 2021
Intriguing story continues with valley of the dead!
Really enjoyed the installment of this tale. Can’t wait to see how the story turns out! This is well worth your time and energy
Really enjoyed the installment of this tale. Can’t wait to see how the story turns out! This is well worth your time and energy
January 26, 2022
Great read
I thought WIC was going to bite the dust in this one. Sad that some didn't make it. Just when I think they are going to make it without any problems something else happens. I have to say the end really was a surprise...
I thought WIC was going to bite the dust in this one. Sad that some didn't make it. Just when I think they are going to make it without any problems something else happens. I have to say the end really was a surprise...
February 3, 2023
One more to go.
The story continues lots of fighting lots of pain lots of hair betting or nail biting what's gonna happen next but of course the author has to sell more books so you know somehow everything's gonna be find the last story coming up we'll see what happensin
The story continues lots of fighting lots of pain lots of hair betting or nail biting what's gonna happen next but of course the author has to sell more books so you know somehow everything's gonna be find the last story coming up we'll see what happensin
October 20, 2024
Excellent!
This one was action-packed with a little twist at the end. I loved the character and team development. I can't wait to see how it ends. I am secretly hoping the Phantoms get back tonearth!
This one was action-packed with a little twist at the end. I loved the character and team development. I can't wait to see how it ends. I am secretly hoping the Phantoms get back tonearth!
July 21, 2021
I am loving this series. The next one is a long time coming, can't wait.
August 12, 2021
An intriguing series
This series has interesting characters as well as an intriguing storyline. With lots of action and suspense it will keep you wanting more
This series has interesting characters as well as an intriguing storyline. With lots of action and suspense it will keep you wanting more
May 11, 2022
Lots of action
The action is almost non-stop in the latest edition of the series. We also meet some new team members and set the stage for the final act.
The action is almost non-stop in the latest edition of the series. We also meet some new team members and set the stage for the final act.
February 8, 2024
I'm exhausted, yet they are fighting on despite injuries.
Great stuff
Great stuff
February 2, 2025
Initially I rated this book as 3 stars. The start of the book was average. However, the second half of the book is by far the best part of the series. And the new narrator got better. Can’t wait to listen to book 6.
July 17, 2025
This book was very heavy on action and it's crazy but it pulls together in the end. Different narrator but he did Wic's voice really well. overall another good book.
October 11, 2025
This was a Banger
Well, the next book will most definitely be epic. I love the story and the way it was written. Thank you authors.
Well, the next book will most definitely be epic. I love the story and the way it was written. Thank you authors.
January 18, 2026
Change in narrator after first four books took some adjustment!!! But still very good
July 4, 2021
Gripping and surprising as always!
As is usual with Hopper’s books, I couldn’t put it down and could never have imagined the ways in which the story turns.
Ruins of the Earth is a great series, with storyline that is at the same time totally far out there and but very relatable. The characters are well crafted and make you really care about them.
As is usual with Hopper’s books, I couldn’t put it down and could never have imagined the ways in which the story turns.
Ruins of the Earth is a great series, with storyline that is at the same time totally far out there and but very relatable. The characters are well crafted and make you really care about them.
December 4, 2024
One reason I picked this series was it had R. C. Bray as the narrator. For some reason they had a different narrator for this book (and the next one, I see) and it wasn't nearly as good. I don't think I'll do anymore in this series.
November 28, 2022
Good narration, and Hopper continues to do a great job describing combat.
It's a fun story and I'm looking forward to #6 so I can finish the series.
It's a fun story and I'm looking forward to #6 so I can finish the series.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews