Written by: B. V. Larson
Narrated by: Mark Boyett
Length: 12 hrs and 31 mins
Series: Undying Mercenaries, Book 2
Unabridged Audiobook
Release Date:05-27-14
Publisher: Audible Studios
Genre: Sci Fi
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0
Publisher's Summary
The Galactics arrived with their Battle fleet in 2052. Rather than being exterminated under a barrage of hell-burners, Earth joined a vast Empire that spans the Milky Way. Our only worthwhile trade goods are our infamous mercenary legions, elite troops we sell to the highest alien bidder.
In 2122 a lost colony expedition contacts Earth, surprising our government. Colonization is against Galactic Law, and Legion Varus is dispatched to the system to handle the situation. Earth gave them sealed orders, but Earth is 35 lightyears away. The Legion commanders have a secret plan of their own. And then there's James McGill, who was never too good at listening to authority in the first place....
In Dust World, book two of the Undying Mercenaries Series, McGill is promoted to Specialist and sent to a frontier planet outside the Empire. Earth's status within the Empire will never be the same.
©2014 B. V. Larson (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
Publisher's Summary
The Galactics arrived with their Battle fleet in 2052. Rather than being exterminated under a barrage of hell-burners, Earth joined a vast Empire that spans the Milky Way. Our only worthwhile trade goods are our infamous mercenary legions, elite troops we sell to the highest alien bidder.
In 2122 a lost colony expedition contacts Earth, surprising our government. Colonization is against Galactic Law, and Legion Varus is dispatched to the system to handle the situation. Earth gave them sealed orders, but Earth is 35 lightyears away. The Legion commanders have a secret plan of their own. And then there's James McGill, who was never too good at listening to authority in the first place....
In Dust World, book two of the Undying Mercenaries Series, McGill is promoted to Specialist and sent to a frontier planet outside the Empire. Earth's status within the Empire will never be the same.
©2014 B. V. Larson (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
Review:
James McGill and the Legion Varus troops are back in action again. Their mission is to seek out a lost earth colony. Many are concerned that they will find primitives but McGill is concerned with what will be done with the colonists. After all, the Galactic law doesn’t permit colonization and his superiors may think they can just hide the whole event.
Before they locate the colony their ship is attacked by a new alien species, dubbed the “squids”. The troops have to make an emergency evacuation to a dust world or a water world. Since the hostile aliens may be on the water world, they head for the other planet. The troops end up separating into groups on the surface of Dust World. While McGill’s superiors debated their landing location all the best spots were taken and they got a valley crevice by default.
They find strange plants and critters on the planet as they do reconnaissance for food and supplies. Then McGill makes human contact! Although the colonists dress as primitives they have weapons that are advanced nano technology. McGill's first attempt at diplomacy ends in his death but he swears he will return. They are shocked when McGill makes good on his threat after being ‘regrown’ by the replication machine.
It looks like Varus troops are going to have to battle the local colonists until another huge ship lands and giant hunters start seeking ‘prey’. Apparently the Squids capture humans for breeding or mutation into slaves. A temporary truce is reached so the troops and the colonists can fight the common foe. But what will happen once the Squids are defeated and the alien ship is captured? And what will happen when the Galactic enforcers arrive and find an Earth colony?
McGill continues, with his brash arrogance, to woe his favorite ladies, even adding a colonist to his conquests. He also continues to anger many of his team and superiors with his refusal to abide by the rules. McGill's tendency to go outside the box and follow his own, sometimes unorthodox, methods gets him into trouble but also provides solutions to problems.
Several of the characters, including McGill at times, are annoying and most of his superiors tend to be callous. McGill really has a caring heart for others even though some don’t recognize it. The story and action are very entertaining and I liked how the political issues were worked out with the Galactic enforcers. I recommend this to action fans and I am definitely looking forward to listening to the next book, Tech World.
Audio Notes: Mark Boyett does a great job narrating this series. He manages to give distinct accents to the characters. He also conveys the action with good pacing and energy. I have enjoyed both book 1 and 2 on audio and will listen to the next on audio too.
I selected this from my Audible library.
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