What would you do if you found the secret of a lifetime? What if you could change the universe?
Chase Weston never would have thought being the bodyguard for an archaeologist would be so dangerous…even an archaeologist digging for the remains of an alien civilization on another planet.
But everyone wants what Dr. Angel Cortez has found... no matter the human cost.
Because beneath the dirt and stone lies an ancient mystery, a secret history, and a warning of an implacable alien enemy. And if the warnings are true, then corporate mercenaries and Sea Dragon commandoes are the least of Chase’s worries.
Can Sgt. Chase Weston and Dr. Evangeline Cortez uncover the mystery of the Sunkillers? Or will they just be the latest to die trying?
Diggin' this. Great bunch of characters, lots of action and a seemingly impossible mission to accomplish given to them by Alien AI. Unfortunately, there are no lesbians... *sighs*
First in a trilogy (I think?). Great premise, excellent editing and intriguing characters. The only reason for the 4 stars instead of 5 is that I had trouble getting into the story...I'm not sure why, because it had everything I normally like. So....yeh, definitely worth a read if you're into the military Sci-fi action type of story. It is part of a series, so it ends on a sort of cliffhanger. I'm planning on reading the next in the series, because the premise intrigues me...so, yeh, that's it: solid story and great premise.
I liked the development of the characters within the story. Even the whiner started to pull himself together and grow up abit . Good book and looking forward to the next one.
Great book, It had good pacing, a good back story and lots of room to make a good series. Ex-military meets space travel and alien, with lots of corrupt governments in between
A book and a new series written by two of my favorite authors has a great chance of being great and this book is just that. I really liked the story-line and the character build up is also very good. In this book, you'll meet former Chase Weston, a former Army Ranger, now turned to being a PMC or Private Military Contractor. And no matter how you want to word it, that to me says Mercenary. Not anything wrong with being a mercenary, but Chase Weston doesn't like that term for some reason.
Chase has teamed up with some of his former associates in the Army. One is a pilot by the name of Priyanka Ambedkar who flies the Tamar. That's an old gunship that Chief Aguilar keeps patched together any way he can and it has Adrain Hill, who's a weapons & comms specialist. You'll also meet some of Weston's other former Army associates, but their relationship doesn't last long after he leads them into a trap! Was it one he should have figured out before hand or was it just the way things went. Either way, that's done and over and now his list of live associates is a lot shorter with his list of former, now dead, associates getting a lot longer.
Weston, Ambedkar, Hil and Chief Aguilar managed to throw their money in to buy the Tamar when it became available as war surplus. Now the Tamar is a space-capable gunship with an S-T engine which means it can travel the solar system or anywhere else faster than the speed of light. When the Soon-Tierney was invented and dumped on humanity, it immediately opened up space that before had been only fondly thought of. Now planets were being found and settled by usually huge corporations looking to make money on new sources of precious minerals or anything else in abundance. The need for security was always going to be something people needed so Weston's team formed their Private Military Contractor gig that attempted to pay the bills. He had just managed to sign a new contract for some university that was sending an archaeologist team to look at a dig site.
The specifics of the contract stated that Weston would transport Dr. Evangeline Cortez and a Victor Lee to a planet called Vishnu. A Dr.Daniel Stephenson, Archaeologist, was already at the dig site on Vishnu, but he had found something and wanted Dr. Cortez to come see it and get her impressions of what he'd found. She was going to take the only graduate assistant that would travel with her and that was Victor Lee. So, she arranged to meet Chase Weston at his choice of places which happened to be Little Sammy's bar on Gateway Station. Gateway Station was a privately owned space station between Earth and the moon. It didn't care about police or government rules and regulations so this was an ideal meeting place for people wanting to do business. And, the university was going to empty their treasury on this trip without knowing what they were going to find at the end. So, Dr. Cortez and Victor Lee were hiring a PMC by the name of Chase Weston to get them to Vishnu and provide protection while there.
You'll soon find out that whatever they are paying Weston and his team isn't nearly enough. To say there are gangs running around trying to find out what's going on everywhere would be an understatement. Most of the gangs were hired by large corporations to make sure the little guy didn't get too big a piece of something, no matter what it might be. Even an archaeological find on a remote planet might be something of value, so Dr. Cortez's journey wasn't going to go unnoticed. What she does find at the site on Vishnu is something that everyone needs to know, but it won't help if she and her grad student get killed. And that's just about what happens right after they get there. Dr. Stephenson had found something alright and Victor Lee was now carrying it around. It might just be the most important find in all of history, that is if anyone can understand what it is.
So, this turns out to be a very exciting story. There's someone chasing or trying to kill our main characters in almost every chapter. Just when you think they are done for, someone or something changes in their favor. Where this all leads isn't detailed in this book so there will be lots more to follow. They have to collect something or many things and that's going to lead to many, many more stories. Great reading.
The start of the story was fairly decent, but as it progressed a series of irritations slowly made me wonder whether I should have started the book. My first problem was that quite a lot of it is told from Victor's viewpoint, who is extremely whiney and way beyond irritating.
There were also a few little things that made me think the author was taking some liberties, for example;
The main characters had potential but they never really grabbed me, ‘Chase’ turned out to be less competent then I expected and after an interesting start ‘Angel’ just became annoying. If possible I would have given 2.5 stars.
....but so far its leagues better than the other failed Chaney attempts. Turns out, I do not space military books, i.e. wayward galaxy and last hunter series. I came close to walking away from their book as well. The first couple of chapters dragged, with more time spent on describing fake future armaments, instead of developing the various characters. But eventually we get to the alien egg, and the story picks up a bit, but not by much. There's Earth countries in charge of distant colonies and planets, mega corps with a lot of money and resources, and lot, and lots, of fake space weapons. I'm having trouble trying to figure out how the Union (USA + NATO) and the Alliance (Russia+China) have so much influence lightyears beyond their ability to physically control these colonies, but it spelled out in more ways than one every chapter or so. So much so, that it actually begins to detract from the whole plot of the book, an ancient alien race and their technology. Overall, I enjoyed the book, and seeing that it's only 3 books in the series, I will probably read the rest. But seriously, what with all the future weaponry smut?
The Union (American, European etc) and Alliance (Chinese,Russian etc) are at war. Chase goes in to investigate a new Alliance outpost, but things are not what they seem. Chase decides to leave the military and become personal security instead. On a jungle planet, a team are excavating the ruins of an alien race nicknamed the Arborists as they planted trees. Dr 'Angel' Cortez and her grad student Victor want to help investigate but the unstable conditions mean that they will require personal security - enter Chase and his team. At the dig, they find more than they expect, and get involved with both the Alliance and the HKF, a company attempting to become the no.1 and overthrow T-S who 'developed' the faster than light star drive. The mystery and intrigue deepens as we find out who (or what?) Starkiller is.... This is the start of a potentially great saga about a fight for survival including romance, double crosses, battles, and plenty of intrigue. An enjoyable read.
I received a copy of this book from a Goodreads giveaway. This was a quick read because it held my attention. The sci-fi aspects of space travel were believable, much like Star Trek was back in the day. A hero with a military background, a multi-faceted heroine, a evil ancient alien race attempting to destroy any other possible race as well as planets that might be suitable for life, an unlikely person who becomes the conduit for information to save civilization….. this book hits all of the elements of traditional drama, presented in a non-traditional manner. I was impressed with the descriptions of colonization of new planets and how those societies began and evolved. Chaney and Partlow have depicted the future in a believable manner and have written a tale that is fun and interesting. I look forward to the next book in this trilogy!
And they want to kill all intelligent life. Read that before, got the paper cuts. However authors Chaney and Partlow have a style and a point of view that makes this a unique story and a fun read. Sgt Chase Weston, ex US Ranger, has taken a contract to provide personal security for an exoanthrpologist from Cal Berkley on an alien dig tens of thousands of years old. What Dr. Angel Cortez finds is inexplicably wanted by people willing to kill to have. That's not including the unknown alien race that hates to have intelligent company in our galaxy. Being the authors they are there are gunfights and space battles to whet the appetite of any milspec Sci-Fi addict. Enemies in place what can the tiny crew of the privateer Tamar do against the vast powers arrayed against them to save the human race? Find out in the next installment.
This book jumped right into the action, which I appreciated because it was exactly what I needed. The authors have a great grasp on both military terminology and tactics, as well as how to write a good action/fight scene without it feeling muddled or confusing. The exposition was good, in that it wasn’t longer than it needed to be, yet still gave you a feel for the setting, its politics, and the way the people within it fit in. The characters all see some growth throughout, though since this is the beginning of a trilogy I can see where there is room for yet more. All in all, this book was exciting and action packed, and I will absolutely be reading the other two books in this trilogy. I won a copy of this in a GoodReads giveaway, and I couldn’t be more pleased. Thank you GoodReads, and thank you to the authors!
The use of profanity may show the character of the protagonist or one of the supporting actors, such as the foil, but is it really necessary? Especially when the character in the story profanes the name of God or His Son, Jesus. These authors don't profane the name of Buddha or Allah or Zeus or their mother's mother. They only profane the name of the Christian God. And the reader either applauds the use of such profanity or the reader is numb and dumb when such profane blaspheme is used against the God of all Creation.
The story and the prose are enjoyable until it comes to the profanity. I did read the sample before I bought this title. I did not recall the use of such profanity in the sample. So, I bought the title.
I suspect the unregenerate reader will blaspheme God in response to this post.
Another great story from Chaney - made even better by Mark Boyett. I like Chase, the main character, despite his blurry character development. I can't tell if he's a happy good guy, a guy who's tormented by the demons of war, or a hardened soldier. He changes all the time. But I think he'll cohese into something solid as this series continues. Victor is hilarious as the bumbling grad student and Angel is equal parts driven and blind to what's right in front of her. Maybe what Chaney has done here is swap the traditional roles. I don't know, but I'll be reading the next book to find out.
As usual, humans prove that they're only interested in profit! At least a few though see the need to do what is right ... and we're introduced to a few of them along with a powerful alien AI. As often is the case in these types of stories, the entire human race is at risk ... hopefully, it will survive with those few proponents - that remains to be seen as the story unfolds!
an entertaining beginning of a new series! get caught up in the adventure!
Archeological digs, artifacts, an underlying threat of extinction. Chaney brings all of this together in an intriguing tail of corporate greed, destruction, will good overcome evil? Which direction will the story take? Tune in to the next installment to see where we go from here!
I must say that I came into the book (and the audible version as well) with preconceptions … that it was going to be a military sci-if book not unlike other military sci-if books. I was wrong. I found the book to be twisty and hard to anticipate what was coming next… a very fine bit of work.
The only reason I'm not giving it five stars is this is written as if the characters are all strangers, no real interaction. You would get more out of some Troops sitting together waiting on a flight. That being said, the stories foundation of aliens and plots is very interesting, and I look forward to the next book.
The story introduces the troubled leading characters personal experiences that gains your interest and speculation on their future role. The usual corrupt governments, criminal organizations, good and evil elements are woven into a plot that draws you into the story and hooks you onto the series.
Sunkiller is the latest, in a long line of great books, to come out JN Chaney's stable of sole and collaborative efforts. I have no doubt this will be a series to rival those that have already come out of JN Chaney's Varent Press imprint.
This was an excellent start of a sci-fi adventure. This book kept my interest cover to cover. JN Chaney & Rick Partlow definitely have a hit with this new series. Check it out & I’m sure you will agree with me.
Great start to new series J.N. Chaney and Rick Partlow are very good and together they don't disappoint Like always Mark Boyett did a great job narrating this book Did enjoy this audiobook and can't wait far book 2
This is shaping up to be a fun series. The first in the series sets a high bar. Good characters, a decent plot and two talented writers… seems like a good recipe to me.
I throughly enjoyed how this series was more down to earth. The premise is not new, but the story makes up for that. Great writing as always, can't wait for book 2.
Archeologist finds alien artifact, everyone wants it, and mayhem ensues. Good action adventure story. Entertaining and enjoyable. Looking forward to the next installment.
The problem with humans taking to the stars is that they take their problems with them. Great characters with realistic situations and lots of action. I look forward to the next one 😀
Well found this a bit slow and struggled a little bit but persevered and enjoyed the book. Hopefully the next instalment of the Sunkillers will be more action. Still looking forward to it
The action never stops, the characters are believable, the story is well written—all together, an entertaining book to read. I highly recommend this one and I’m downloading the next book in the series when I finish this review.