Machine World
Undying Mercenaries, Book 4
By: B. V. Larson
Narrated by: Mark Boyett
Series: Undying Mercenaries, Book 4
Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 05-12-15
Language: English
Publisher: Audible Studios
Genre: Hard Science Fiction, Military Space Sci-Fi
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.25; Narration 4.5.
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 spanned the Milky Way. Our only worthwhile trade goods are our infamous mercenary legions, elite troops we sell to the highest alien bidder.
In the fourth book of the series, James McGill is up for promotion. Not everyone is happy about that, and McGill must prove he's worth his stripes. Deployed to a strange, alien planet outside the boundaries of the Galactic Empire, he's caught up in warfare and political intrigue. Earth expands, the Cephalopod Kingdom launches ships to stop us, and a grand conspiracy emerges among the upper ranks of the Hegemony military.
In Machine World McGill faces an entirely new kind of alien life, Galactic prosecution, and thousands of relentless squid troopers. He lives and dies in the falling ashes of the empire, a man of unique honor at the dawn of humanity's resurgence.
Machine World is a military science fiction novel by best-selling author B. V. Larson. (To find the first book in the series, search for Steel World by B. V. Larson.)
©2015 B. V. Larson (P)2015 Audible Inc.
Review:
James McGill is one of the ‘undying mercenaries’ in the least respected Earth troop, Legion Varus. Earth is a lowly planet on the fringe of the galaxy that is controlled by the Empire. Legion Varus is the lowly of the mercenary troops that are sent out as expendable soldiers. They are known as the ‘undying mercenaries’ because they can be regenerated as they die in the field.
McGill gained rank moving from recruit to regular to specialist all while being known for stumbling into, and remarkably out of, trouble. He has a strange relationship with highly ranked Imperator Turov. She has pulled him into more than one bad situation where they then have to keep each other’s secrets. This leaves James in an awkward situation as she could order his permanent death at any time.
As Legion Varus prepares to go to another world confrontation, McGill faces hazing and testing but gains the rank of Veteran, the highest rank for enlisted soldiers. Now McGill is in charge of troops supporting the officers in battle. Fortunately, even though McGill seems to get into bad situations, he thinks fast under stress and tends to move his troops in the right format and direction.
Once again McGill and his friends and band of superiors face a new alien force of a distant planet. In addition to the indigenous Machine creatures, the Earth mercenaries find an old enemy, the Squids (see book 2). The Earth leaders think that they can win during the initial engagement but then some other alien ships show up and things go from bad to worse.
I enjoyed the creative plotting of these stories. I might have liked a little more development of the Machine aliens but still, they were interesting and the encounter with McGill is engaging. There is power corruption, some little bad language, and female entanglements that tend to follow McGill. All of this makes for an entertaining listen. I recommend the series for fans of military sci-fi.
Audio Notes: Mark Boyett is a consistently effective narrator for this series. He helps draw the listener into another realm and provides distinct voices and emotions. I totally enjoy this listening experience.
Source: 5/12/19 Audible April Credits. This qualifies for 2020TBR and 2020Audiobook goal.
Dust World: Undying Mercenaries, Book 2 by B. V. Larson 4.5
Tech World: Undying Mercenaries, Book 3 by B.V. Laron 4.5
