Review: Uncharted by Anna Hackett

Posted on June 10, 2016June 8, 2016 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | A- Reviews> book reviews

Uncharted (Treasure Hunter Security #2) by Anna Hackett
Formats available: ebook
Series: Treasure Hunter Security #2
Pages: 148
on June 5th 2016
Purchasing Info: Author's Website, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo
Goodreads

One former Navy SEAL. One adventurous photographer. One lost jungle temple.
Former Navy SEAL Callum Ward has one motto—live life to the fullest. He saw the worst of war and lost good friends, but now he works for Treasure Hunter Security. When he’s not providing security for archeological digs and invaluable museum exhibits, or off on daring treasure hunts, he’s rock climbing, racing, or skiing. Nothing—and no one—has ever tempted him to slow down…until on an expedition into the Cambodian jungle, he has to work with one opinionated, prickly photographer, Dani Navarro. But soon their straight-forward trek to find a lost temple turns deadly, and Cal and Dani find themselves under attack from a dangerous black-market antiquities ring prepared to kill.
Dani Navarro lives for her photography. For years, it’s been her escape from her family and their frivolous lifestyle, affairs, and dramas. With her camera in hand, she travels the world, capturing other people’s moments and avoiding messy entanglements. At first, she thinks Cal Ward is no different from all the other men she’s known, but as their expedition turns into a hazardous dash through uncharted jungle, she uncovers a tough, intelligent, and sexy protector. Together, they must outwit their pursuers and find not only a lost temple…but a priceless, powerful artifact.

My Review:

On the one hand, the fact that this second entry in Anna Hackett’s Treasure Hunter Security series shares its title with the fantastic video game series keeps driving me a bit batty. On that other hand, the heroes of Uncharted the video game, Nathan Drake and his eventual wife Elena (pictured at left), would fit right in with the gang at Treasure Hunter Security. Just like our heroes in this book, Nathan is a treasure hunter, and his wife Elena is a photographer. They met in the first game when Nathan Drake hacks through a jungle while Elena films him on his quest to find the grave of his ancestor, Sir Francis Drake.

In Uncharted the book, Callum Ward of Treasure Hunter Security is hired to guide an archaeological expedition into the jungles of Cambodia. The expedition is looking for a lost sacred temple, and photographer Daniela Navarro is along to document their find.

Based on the description of the temple, there shouldn’t be anything on this trip to interest the entirely mercenary, and completely deadly, interests of the Silk Road syndicate that interfered with Declan and Layne’s dig in Egypt (See Undiscovered for deets). But when Silk Road agents are spotted in the area, Callum is forced to call for backup, and to figure out exactly what it is that those keen archaeologists neglected to tell him.

One of the rocks and stones that they are hoping to find is actually a giant pearl. Something more than big and precious enough to bring Silk Road into the jungle. Or anywhere else.

It’s up to Callum to keep them all alive and out of Silk Road’s evil clutches until his cavalry comes over the very overgrown hill. And to keep Daniela safe – even though she pushes away his help at every turn – until she finally pulls him into her heart.

Escape Rating A-: It feels like the series is hitting its stride with this book. As much as I enjoyed Undiscovered, it also felt a bit like a contemporary re-working of Among Galactic Ruins and At Star’s End. I loved both of those books, but the third time wasn’t quite the charm.

The story in Uncharted, in spite of its similarity to the video game series, is different from its predecessors in Hackett’s previous series. More than anything, it reminds me of Romancing the Stone, or the Indiana Jones movies. The hero may save the day, but the heroine more than holds her own.

I am also incredibly happy to say that in spite of the way things looked in Undiscovered, we don’t appear to be heading for a repeat of Shaw from the Hell Squad series, and his romance with squadmate Claudia. In Treasure Hunter Security, it looks very much like Logan’s romance is not going to be with his partner Morgan, because his book is next and she isn’t the heroine. Hopefully that also means that she will get a story of her own.

But about Dani and Callum – they are a very interesting couple. As in most romances, there has to be a stumbling block or two on the road to happily ever after. In this particular case, both parties are carrying their stumbling blocks right along with them, as some very heavy baggage. Neither of them is interested in a relationship, which certainly hasn’t stopped Callum from a whole lot of one- or two-night stands. But they come at their commitment-phobia from different angles.

Callum lost his best friend while in the SEALs. Ever since Marty died, Callum has been trying to live for both of them. But he’s using his high-adrenaline adventures to outrun his own fear of caring and possibly losing again. It’s easy to see where Callum is coming from, and that he has to eventually stop and feel what he really feels.

Dani’s case is less clear cut. There are lots of hints dropped, but the picture never comes into complete focus, pun completely intended. Her family seems to be wealthy, and she sees them all as a bunch of fake users. There was no love there, and no acceptance for Dani’s need to be something other than a partygirl famous for being famous. And I’m interpreting a bit of this because she isn’t quite clear. But the result is that Dani has seen too many fake relationships and false protestations of love to believe that the real thing exists – at least for her.

Being thrown into life-threatening danger together has both Dani and Callum re-thinking all their previous protestations that they either aren’t interested in or aren’t capable of falling in love. Because they have.

And I really, really want to see sister Darcy’s eventual romance with the uptight FBI agent that drives her so crazy. I think that one, when it finally comes, is going to be really awesome.

Review: Undiscovered by Anna Hackett

Posted on May 26, 2016May 25, 2016 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | B+ Reviews> book reviews

Undiscovered by Anna Hackett
Formats available: ebook
Series: Treasure Hunter Security #1
Pages: 202
Published by Anna Hackett on May 22nd 2016
Purchasing Info: Author's Website, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo
Goodreads

One former Navy SEAL. One dedicated archeologist. One secret map to a fabulous lost oasis.
Finding undiscovered treasures is always daring, dangerous, and deadly. Perfect for the men of Treasure Hunter Security. Former Navy SEAL Declan Ward is haunted by the demons of his past and throws everything he has into his security business—Treasure Hunter Security. Dangerous archeological digs – no problem. Daring expeditions – sure thing. Museum security for invaluable exhibits – easy. But on a simple dig in the Egyptian desert, he collides with a stubborn, smart archeologist, Dr. Layne Rush, and together they get swept into a deadly treasure hunt for a mythical lost oasis. When an evil from his past reappears, Declan vows to do anything to protect Layne.
Dr. Layne Rush is dedicated to building a successful career—a promise to the parents she lost far too young. But when her dig is plagued by strange accidents, targeted by a lethal black market antiquities ring, and artifacts are stolen, she is forced to turn to Treasure Hunter Security, and to the tough, sexy, and too-used-to-giving-orders Declan. Soon her organized dig morphs into a wild treasure hunt across the desert dunes.
Danger is hunting them every step of the way, and Layne and Declan must find a way to work together…to not only find the treasure but to survive.

My Review:

Somewhere, in the dim, dark reaches of the Phoenix Brothers’ family tree, lurk Declan Ward and Layne Rush. Not that having those two as ancestors would be a bad thing AT ALL. It’s much more that having met these two contemporary heroes, it’s impossible not to see their descendants thriving hundreds of years later, and carrying on the family business – treasure hunting.

The situation reminds me of the early years of Amanda Quick/Jayne Ann Krentz’s Arcane Society series, along with her Harmony books as Jayne Castle. I just knew that someday, somehow, those two series were going to connect – as they eventually did.

So thinking of Declan and Layne as 21st Century versions of Dathan Phoenix and Dr. Eos Rai from At Star’s End doesn’t seem all that implausible. But every bit as much fun.

The story is a familiar one. Dr. Layne Rush is a professional treasure hunter – well, not exactly. Rush is an archaeologist who seems to have a knack for finding buried treasure – and recently dead bodies where she’s expecting to find only centuries-dead ones. Her dig is investigating a previously undiscovered tomb, and is trying to determine exactly who is buried there, as well as what might have been buried with them. When she is attacked and her discoveries stolen by a gang of well-armed thugs, her university calls in some security experts to keep her, her team and their finds safe.

Enter Declan Ward and the men and women of Treasure Hunter Security. Declan’s father is also a well-known historian, and his mother is a famous and intrepid treasure hunter. Declan himself is an ex-SEAL, and he heads a team of men and women who learned how to fight and survive in some of the deadliest places on Earth, against some of the nastiest people that you never want to meet.

Including Rush’s attacker. Anders is a former SAS officer with a penchant for torture and murder. He likes to toy with his victims, and he kills for fun. It seems as if stealing treasures is just a way of funding his sadistic life, and it puts him in faraway places where policing isn’t top notch and a few people from the lowest classes won’t be missed – not even when they turn up dead and dismembered.

Declan and Anders have met before. Declan exposed Anders’ depravity, but was too busy trying to save his victims to gather enough evidence to prosecute the bastard. Now Declan feels responsible for every fresh kill. He wants to get Anders and save Rush.

Mostly he just wants Rush. So Declan and Layne find themselves on a hunt for a long-lost treasure, with Anders and his goons hot on their heels.

It’s a race for survival – with love, fame and fortune if they win, and death in the desert if they lose. In this case, winning really isn’t just everything, it really is the only thing.

Escape Rating B+: There are a lot of similarities to the first Phoenix Adventures story, At Star’s End. There is also more than a bit of Elizabeth Peters’ Amelia Peabody series in here as well. And for those who miss that series, the callback to The Last Camel Died At Noon brings back some terrific memories. The whole story along with the series titles, also reminds me more than a bit of the Uncharted video game series. Nathan Drake would fit right into Declan Ward’s crew.

In both Undiscovered and The Last Camel Died at Noon, the search is for a mythical lost Egyptian city that is supposed to be filled with treasure. And turns out to be rather different from what the seekers believe they are seeking. Along with a whole lot of interesting debate about who the ancient Egyptian gods really were and what their stories meant.

There was a moment in Undiscovered where I feared that the author might take the easy way out and make Rush’s professionally jealous male colleague into either the scapegoat or the villain. I was glad to see that not happen. Also grateful that his jealousy was purely professional.

On that other hand, Anders comes off as “bwahaha” evil. He seems to be evil for evil’s sake. And there is something about the way that he revels in his evilness that came off as more SF monster than sociopathic human. Your mileage may vary.

But this story is all Declan and Layne. He keeps her alive on an unexpected desert trek, and she pulls her own weight AND figures out all the puzzles. He knows just enough to provide the occasional clue, or more often just an intelligent listener to bounce things off of. But the archaeological mystery is all her show. As it should be.

I’m looking forward to meeting (and falling for) the rest of Declan’s team in the upcoming books in this series. Next up is his brother Callum’s story in Uncharted, and I can hardly wait.

Review: Lost in Barbarian Space by Anna Hackett

Posted on April 27, 2016April 26, 2016 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | A- Reviews> book reviews

Lost in Barbarian Space by Anna Hackett
Formats available: ebook
Series: Phoenix Adventures #9
Pages: 165
on April 27th 2016
Purchasing Info: Author's Website, Amazon
Goodreads

A clash of cultures. Security agent versus barbarian warrior. On an expedition to a newly discovered barbarian world, an experienced security agent doesn't expect to be working with a big, bossy barbarian warrior.

Agent Honor Brandall enjoys her job as security agent for the Institute of Historical Preservation's expedition ships. Adventures to distant planets - awesome. Archeological digs for ancient old Earth artifacts - interesting. Keeping the archeologists safe - no problem. The fact she's tall, strong and good in a fight means most of the men she works with are intimidated by her, but she refuses to apologize for being good at her job. But on a mission to the barbarian world of Markaria, she finds herself paired with a brawny warrior who challenges her in every way.

Markarian warrior Colm Mal Kor is second-in-command to his warlord and spends his days training to hone his skills and control. He's dedicated to defending his clan...and to hiding the deadly secret he can never share with anyone. But when he's thrust into working with a beautiful, challenging skyflyer, Colm finds a wild attraction he never expected and the biggest risk to his hard-earned control that he's ever encountered.

On an expedition to Markaria's icy moons, Honor and Colm work side by side, but the ice and snow aren't enough to stop them from wanting each other. As their mission takes a deadly turn, they must trust each other to survive, but it isn't just wild beasts and ferocious enemies that are a danger... Colm is harboring something inside him that is far more lethal...something that might destroy them all.

My Review:

When I reviewed On a Barbarian World last year, I sadly thought that it might be the last of the Phoenix Adventures. I’m so happy I was WRONG!

Lost in Barbarian Space has its roots in two of the earlier Phoenix Adventures. Niklas Phoenix and Nera Darc are now leading the Galactic Historical Institute. How they reached that position, and how they finally fell for each other, is told in the absolutely awesome Return to Dark Earth.

The “barbarian space” that this new book is lost in, is the space discovered by Niklas cousin Aurina in On a Barbarian World. We get to explore that world a lot more in this book. There are more ships available than Aurina had, and only one of them manages to make a crash landing this time.

But Niklas, Nera and Aurina are only side characters this time around. Instead, our protagonists are the security officers for the two sides of this equation. Honor Brandell is Nera Darc’s second-in-command for the Institute’s security. And Colm Mal Kor is Kavon’s right-hand-man. (Kavon was the hero in On a Barbarian World).

There is a pattern to the entries in this series. The hero and heroine always start out in a position where they can’t possibly have a future together. Niklas and Nera were always competing for the same artifacts. Aurina was an interstellar scout, and Kavon was a barbarian war leader tied to his people and his planet. Justyn and Nissa (Beyond Galaxy’s Edge) start out on opposite sides of the law.

In the case of Lost in Barbarian Space, there are a whole shipload of reasons why Honor and Colm don’t believe they could have a future together.

Honor is a warrior. She prefers to protect rather than to kill, which is why she isn’t in the Galactic Security Service, but she is still a warrior and a damn good one. Colm’s people don’t believe that women are physically suited to be warriors. They can and often are anything and everything else, it’s not that the society is that backwards. But their men are generally many times stronger than their women, and it makes them more effective warriors.

Honor is from what sounds like a heavy-world, which makes her name even more appropriate. She may not be as strong as one of the nanami-enhanced warriors of Markaria, but she is much closer than anyone believes.

However, that strength has meant that there have been too many men in her past who want a one-night stand with someone who is a bit different, but can’t accept her differences for the long haul. As much as she is attracted to Colm, he all too frequently sounds like just another guy who wants a bit, but not too much, strange for a night.

Colm has a different problem with having more with Honor than a one-night stand than anyone is aware of. His nanami, the enhanced nanites that give his people their strength, their enhanced senses, and their remarkable healing ability, are going out of control, just like his father’s did. In other words, Colm is going incurably and violently nuts. This is a relatively rare but well-documented condition among the Markarians, and there is no cure.

So Colm doesn’t want to get emotionally involved because he’s afraid that he will either abuse her, as his father did both him and his mother or that he will have to leave to go die alone in the wilderness. Or both.

But the heart wants what the heart wants, even if, or perhaps especially when, the mind is going batshit crazy.

Escape Rating A-: Like all of the books in the Phoenix Adventures series, Lost in a Barbarian World had a satisfying ending and still left me wanting more. I love the novellas in this series, but I always finish them thinking that I just didn’t get to spend enough time in this marvelous world.

At least this time, when I finished the book I saw that there is at least one more book in the series, tentatively titled Through Uncharted Space. This is a journey that I will be sad to see end, so I hope it doesn’t for a good while yet.

About this story — one of the things I liked best about it was the character of Honor. She’s a strong woman without being a stereotypical “strong female character”. While she knows that she is who she is meant to be, she’s also taken some hard emotional knocks for the things that make her different. And while those knocks don’t make her change who she is, they do hurt and she gets emotionally scarred by some of that hurt.

I also love that she rescues herself. There is a scene fairly early on when the bad guys (space pirates!) attempt to kidnap her. Colm rides to the rescue. Just as I was moaning about looking like the author fell into the stereotype of putting the woman in jeopardy, Colm catches up to the bad guy only to discover that Honor has already dispatched the bastard. Talk about turning the trope on its head! (Then pulling the head off and spitting in the bloody stump – not literally but certainly figuratively)

One of the things I did not love about On a Barbarian World is the way that Aurina completely gives up her life as a scout to stay on Markaria with Kavon. It was the only way a happy ending could work in that story, but I didn’t like the fall into the expected, where the woman gives up her life and becomes even semi-domesticated.

That doesn’t happen in Lost in Barbarian Space, and it makes the ending that much sweeter.

Review: Hell Squad: Holmes by Anna Hackett

Posted on March 10, 2016March 8, 2016 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | A- Reviews> book reviews

Hell Squad: Holmes Formats available: ebook
Series: Hell Squad #8
Pages: 143
on March 8th 2016
Purchasing Info: Author's Website, Amazon
Goodreads

The battle of survival against the invading aliens heats up…but Hell Squad never quits.

General Adam Holmes’ life is dedicated to keeping his small band of survivors alive. On the run, with only Hell Squad and the other soldiers for protection, they are making their last dangerous drive to the secret stronghold of the Enclave. But there are a lot of aliens between them and their destination, and the survivors are tired, worn, and at the end of their limits. Adam feels the pressure dragging him down, but as their leader, he can’t be their friend and he can’t dump his burden on anyone else.

Long before the alien invasion, Liberty Lawler survived her own personal hell. Since then, she’s vowed to enjoy everything life has to offer and she’s managed to do that, even in the middle of an apocalypse. She does what she can to help the survivors in her convoy, but one man holds himself apart, working tirelessly for them all. Liberty can see Adam is at his breaking point and she vows to tear through his rigid control and save him from himself.

But the aliens are throwing everything they have at the humans, trying to stop them from reaching the Enclave. Adam will find his resolve tested and the pressure higher than ever. But it will be one beautiful woman—one who won’t take no for an answer and who worms under his skin—who can save them all and give him the strength to go on.

My Review:

I did what I usually do when I get a new Anna Hackett book – I started reading this the minute I finished downloading it. I love her Hell Squad series, and I am so happy to finally get a story that I’ve been waiting for. It’s been plain to me from fairly early on that General Adam Holmes was more than just an authority figure. He needed someone to fight for, and fight for him, every bit as much as the men and women who form the squads.

This was exactly what I was waiting for, and reading it made my day.

I’m also glad that even though the series could conceivably end here, it doesn’t. I think the story will move into another phase, but the overall goal of getting the alien invading Gizzida off our Earth still has a ways to go. But by the end of Holmes, it’s clear that the survivors of the Blue Mountain Base, with the assistance of the residents of the Enclave, finally have a chance at getting the job done.

Personally, I’m hoping for an Independence Day type scenario. We’ll see.

But in the meantime, there’s Holmes. Adam Holmes found himself the highest-ranking surviving officer after the aliens tore Earth to shreds and the battered survivors made their way to the Blue Mountain Base in Australia. Whether there are survivors on other continents, or even on Australia’s west coast, no one knows.

All that Adam Holmes knows is that it is up to him to lead the survivors, and to find a way to throw the Gizzida off our world. It’s a burden that he carries alone, and there is no one for him to lean on when things get tough, and when he has to make the hard decisions and live with the awful consequences.

After 18 months of bare survival topped by a deadly mad dash across a desert bristling with enemies, Adam Holmes is pretty much living in his own dark night of the soul. He believes that he deserves to be alone with his choices, and that no one can or will stand beside him as he hangs on to life and hope by a fraying thread.

And into that darkness sashays Liberty Lawler. We’ve met Liberty before, and probably already formed an opinion. She’s been the self-appointed morale officer for the Base and the fleeing convoy, and she’s damn good at her nebulous job. She has also been a “good-time girl”, always interested in hot, fast sex with a soldier to hold the darkness at bay for both of them for a little while.

So she sees Adam Holmes as someone who needs his own darkness held at bay for a little while, whether with a haircut, a strong cup of coffee, or a favorite candy. Or with Liberty in the quiet of his command vehicle, pushing the darkness away one screaming orgasm at a time.

He can’t figure out what she could possibly see in him. And she can’t figure out why no one has ever noticed just how unbearably alone their commander is – or just how hot he is under all his starched uniforms.

But when the aliens figure out that Adam Holmes is the person giving the humans the will to fight back and the plans to make it successful, they target him with all they’ve got.

And try to take away the one person who makes his life worth living.

Escape Rating A-: The one complaint I have about the Hell Squad series is that the books are always too short. It’s not that there isn’t a clear beginning, middle and end, but that I’m always left gasping at the end, screaming for MORE!

I’ve been waiting for several books now for Adam Holmes to get his own story. As much as I’ve loved the rest of the series, I always have a soft spot in my heart for whoever is the leader. Whoever that person is, I always want to see them get a happy ending, and not just the traditional hot hero types, who are usually at the squad leader level in this type of scenario.

The interesting character for me in this book was Liberty Lawler. The times we’ve seen her previously, one would get the impression that she is the base “bicycle” and that everyone has taken a ride. Except, obviously, the General. But looking into Liberty’s background, and her mission with the survivors, I feel that I’ve done her a big disservice, along with a whole lot of undeserved slut-shaming. I feel ashamed of my previous assumptions, and am glad to see her get a happy ending of her very own.

The journey in this book, is as harrowing, or more so, than the stories in Noah (reviewed here) and Shaw (here). As the survivors get closer to the Enclave, the Gizzida pull out every nasty stop they can think of (and they can think of a lot) to stop the convoy from reaching their safe haven. And with each book in this series, the Gizzida show just how nastily adaptable they are.

Throwing them off the planet is going to be one tough fight. And I can’t wait!

Review: Shaw by Anna Hackett

Posted on January 25, 2016January 25, 2016 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | A- Reviews> book reviews

Shaw (Hell Squad #7) by Anna Hackett
Formats available: ebook
Series: Hell Squad #7
on January 26th 2016
Purchasing Info: Author's Website, Amazon
Goodreads

Hell Squad sniper Shaw Baird is a man on a mission. His squad is his family and now the invading aliens have done the unforgivable…taken one of his team. Claudia Frost—soldier, friend, and all-round badass—is running on borrowed time. Shaw has vowed to bring her home, whatever it takes…and he’s only just realizing now she’s been taken that Claudia is a vital piece of him.

Claudia Frost is surviving…barely. Kept in chains, made to fight for the aliens’ enjoyment, she can’t survive much longer. But she knows her squad is coming for her…knows Shaw is coming. Only thoughts of the sexy, charming sniper get her through the hell, and for the first time in forever, she wishes she hadn’t let the wounds of her past stop her from taking a taste of the man who is her friend, her sanity and her secret obsession.

But rescuing Claudia is only the first dangerous step. The alien keeping Claudia prisoner is far more intelligent, far more patient and a hell of a lot deadlier than any they’ve faced before. Not only is he hunting their band of human survivors through the forests of the Blue Mountains, but he wants Claudia. And he’ll let nothing get in his way.

My Review:

The action in Shaw picks up bare moments after Noah (reviewed here) ends. And it’s a story that series fans have been waiting for.

Throughout the series, the two Hell Squad snipers, Baird Shaw and Claudia Frost, have been striking sparks off each other every time they argue. Which is pretty damn often. They tease each other, rile each other, and drive each other crazy at every turn. And have each other’s backs when the going gets tough.

The one thing they aren’t is lovers. It’s debatable at points whether they are even friends. Which does not mean that they don’t trust each other with their lives.

Shaw was always a ladies’ man. And in the sexually relaxed atmosphere of post-invasion Blue Mountain Base, he has his pick of the soldier bunnies and anyone else looking for a way to beat back the stress for a few hours.

Claudia used to be married to a man who was just like Shaw seems to be. She’s not interested in anything more than friendship, because she’s playing it safe.

Until nothing is safe any longer.

At the end of Noah, Blue Mountain Base is discovered by the alien Gizzida invaders, and Claudia is captured as the human convoy pulls out. A week later, the survivors are on the dangerous road to the Enclave discovered in Roth while the Hell Squad runs itself ragged trying to protect the convoy and search for Claudia.

Claudia is being tortured by the Gizzida, but certain that her squad won’t give up until they find her. Because if she lets any other thought into her head, she’ll give up, curl up around the pain of her repeated injuries, and die.

Meanwhile, Shaw is falling apart. Now that Claudia is gone, he’s forced to admit to himself that he cares about her more than he has been willing to even think about. And that he’s scared to death that they won’t reach her in time. He’s equally scared that when they do find her, he’ll only screw up the only relationship he’s ever wanted.

Claudia just regrets that she didn’t at least kiss Shaw before her capture. Now that her life is failing, not exploring the possibilities with Shaw, or at least finding out if any of his rep is true, is the one thing she wishes she could do over.

Rescuing Claudia is just the beginning. Now that she has more time, both Claudia and Shaw find that the fears that kept them apart before are even stronger than ever.

And the convoy has miles to go before they reach safety, and the Gizzida are relentless in their pursuit. They are also damned lucky. Or is it more than just luck?

Escape Rating A-: I’ve made no secret that I love this series, and Shaw is no exception. I’ve been expecting this one for a while, because it’s been clear from the very beginning that Shaw and Claudia had a whole lot of chemistry that they were both determined to ignore.

The great thing about this story is that we finally find out why, and it all makes heartbreaking sense. Like so many of the couples, these are two people who would not have had the patience to discover that they belong together, were it not for the invasion.

And this is in spite of both of them being in the same branch of the service, and having been at least acquainted before the alien shit hit the earth fan. It’s only after Claudia’s capture and rescue that they are both able to get beyond the traumas they’ve been carrying around in their baggage. They are living in a situation where life is just manifestly too short for the crap that was keeping them apart.

Just as in the rest of this marvelous series, the romance between Shaw and Claudia is in some ways a subplot. Admittedly an extremely important subplot.

The plot is the convoy and its struggle to escape the mountains. The fleeing survivors of Blue Mountain Base need to get to the Enclave before the Gizzida pick them off one by one. The longer the harrowing journey goes on, the more people they lose.

But considering the way that Gizzida torture and then transform their prisoners, letting themselves be captured is not an option. This truly is one of the cases where there are worse fates than death. And yet, the toll this journey takes on the survivors is appropriately high. Everyone is running fill tilt, and at the ragged edge of their endurance.

Part of the story is the relentless pursuit by one particular Gizzida – the one who tortured Claudia. Whether “the Huntsman” has always been able to think outside the Gizzida box, or whether he learned it from Claudia, he’s different from most of the other aliens. Just like some of the other commanders, the Huntsman thinks for himself, and has his own motivations outside of the general Gizzida desire to strip the planet. His pursuit of Claudia is very, very personal, but completely non-sexual. It’s chilling, but not stalker-creepy. And nearly unstoppable.

In each book in this series, we get a glimpse of who will be featured in the next book. I’m pleased to say that the next book will feature General Holmes. It’s about time that someone stepped in to help the man carry the mountain of stress and regret he’s been living with for so long. And I’m fascinated by the choice for the heroine. It’s going to take a lot of explanation to make this relationship work.

And it should be awesome.

Review: On a Barbarian World by Anna Hackett

Posted on January 14, 2016January 5, 2016 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | B- Reviews> book reviews

On a Barbarian World by Anna Hackett
Formats available: ebook
Series: Phoenix Adventures #8
Pages: 184
Published by Anna Hackett on December 18th 2015
Purchasing Info: Author's Website, Amazon
Goodreads

When an independent deep-space scout crash-lands on an unknown alien world, the last thing she expects is to find herself claimed by a barbarian warrior.

Aurina Phoenix spends most of her time zooming through uncharted space and gathering intel for her family’s deep-space convoy, but her life takes an unexpected detour when a meteor shower brings down her ship. She finds herself on a barren, low-tech planet inhabited by dangerous beasts…and lands in the arms of a brawny barbarian warlord.

Markarian warrior Kavon Mal Dor is known for his skill in battle. He lives to protect his clan…and to avenge the murder of his father. Every move he makes is part of his grand plan for revenge, including finding a legendary sword and marrying a warlord’s daughter. But when a beautiful skyflyer crashes into his world, she is the one thing he never counted on.

Fighting their incendiary attraction, Aurina and Kavon make a deal: she’ll help him find the sword and in return, he’ll give her the emergency beacon she needs to get home. But as the search for the sword plunges them into a dangerous adventure they find themselves consumed by a powerful passion and questioning everything they’ve ever wanted.

My Review:

This is the eighth, and possibly the last, book in Hackett’s Phoenix Adventures. Even though two of Aurina’s half-brothers are still searching for women who can put up with them, their stories do not appear to be on the horizon at the moment.

While the story in On a Barbarian World stands alone, it has its roots in Beyond Galaxy’s Edge (reviewed here), where Aurina’s half-brother Justyn finally manages to catch the Patrol Captain who has been hunting his smuggling ass up and down the galaxy for years.

It also has some parallels to On a Rogue Planet. Not so much in its story as in its protagonist. In Rogue Planet, the female cousin of the other set of Phoenix brothers finds herself stranded on a planet in the middle of a coup. In On a Barbarian World the only female member of this side of the Phoenix family finds herself stranded on a low-tech world after her scoutship crashes in the middle of a meteor shower.

The men in this series mostly hunt down, or are hunted down by, the women who become the loves of their lives. The women in this series have to get grounded to find theirs, and the metaphor is unfortunately sticking with me.

In many ways, this is kind of a first-contact story. While the relatively primitive Markarians have legends about space travellers, no one seems to have actually met one. So when Aurina’s crashed ship is discovered, she’s quite a novelty.

And of course the barbarian leader immediately claims her. While that initially claiming is stepped back a bit, it certainly has lots of sexual overtones. Kavon Mal Dor may be overtly giving Aurina the stranger the protection of his clan because every Markarian belongs to a clan, but it is clear from the beginning that Kavon really wants to claim Aurina.

There’s a whole lot of lust-at-first-sight going on here. Initially, what attracts Kavon is just how different she is. Aurina is a fiery redhead with a redhead’s coloring (and temper). She is also on the curvy side. Markarians, on the other hand, are tall and muscular, including the women. And they are all bronze-dark, a result of their possible Saurian ancestry.

As their relationship develops, Kavon and Aurina make a lot of assumptions about each other, most of which are demonstrably false. The barbarians are much, much less barbaric than Aurina assumes. Well, at least Kavon’s people are. His enemies are just as nasty as Aurina might imagine.

And of course Kavon thinks that Aurina needs his protection, both because she is a woman and because she is a stranger. Only one of those two things really matters, and a big part of the development of their relationship is Kavon learning to treat Aurina as an equal, in a culture where no one is his equal. Kavon is warlord, and everyone else in the clan is his subordinate. Except Aurina. She is always insubordinate. But utterly captivating to a man who is not used to needing to actually pursue the woman he wants.

Kavon and Aurina make a deal. She will use her scouting skills to help him find the legendary sword Durendal. In return, he will return her e-beacon to her, allowing her to contact her brothers and return to her old life.

In the end, the only life they both want is the one that they can make together. On Markaria. But it will only happen if they both stop making assumptions about who the other is, and what the other wants, before it is too late.

Escape Rating B-: I liked this, but not nearly as much as the other books in The Phoenix Adventures. For a lot of the story, it struck me too much as “barbarian tames skyflier” and with not nearly enough science fiction in my science fiction romance.

The story seemed a bit of a throwback, kind of like Kavon. We have the feisty woman who finally gets the warrior to respect her wishes, while he retains all the power, and in the end she gives up her life to stay with him. This story isn’t quite like that, but it came close enough to the old “noble savage vs. civilized woman” romance to make me uncomfortable.

I really liked the parts where the science fiction aspects came to the forefront. Kavon is searching for the lost legendary sword Durendal, which is a piece of the Song of Roland. So it’s a legend now, in our world, and it is still a legend in the future. That was cool. When Aurina finds Durendal for Kavon, she also finds an Earth treasure-trove similar to the one that Eos finds in At Star’s End (reviewed here).

When Aurina discovers the sword, she also finds information about Markaria’s gods, who turn out not to be gods after all, but stranded star travelers just like herself. Her search upsets their entire culture, and yet everyone manages to adjust reasonable well surprisingly quickly. I loved the search and discovery, but I’m not sure the aftermath would be quite so peaceful. If someone discovered that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob from the Bible were extraterrestrials, and could prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt, the resultant crises in Christianity, Judaism and Islam would probably tear the world apart.

Or that’s my opinion. Your mileage may vary.

On a Barbarian World also suffered from villain failure. Kavon’s rival Drog is a low-down, lying, stealing, cheating scum. He obviously has no honor, which is a very big deal in Markarian culture. But we don’t see enough of him to know why, and he is dispatched much too easily in the climactic battle. I would love to have seen his trial and execution, just to find out what he thought he was doing.

All in all, On a Barbarian World feels like a coda to The Phoenix Adventures series. While it is possible to start with this relatively stand alone story, a better time will be had by starting with At Star’s End or Among Galactic Ruins (reviewed here).

Review: Hell Squad: Reed, Roth, Noah by Anna Hackett

Posted on November 17, 2015November 16, 2015 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | A- Reviews> book reviews

Title: Reed by Anna Hackett
Format read: eARC provided by the author
Formats available: paperback, ebook
Genre: science fiction romance, post apocalyptic
Series: Hell Squad #4
Length: 204 pages
Publisher: Anna Hackett
Date Released: August 10, 2015
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

As part of Hell Squad, former Coalition Navy SEAL Reed MacKinnon fights for humanity’s freedom from the alien invaders. He also fights for his brown-eyed girl-the woman he rescued from the aliens’ secret laboratory. He admires her quiet strength and will to survive, not to mention her elfin looks and curvy body…but he knows he has to keep his distance. She’s nowhere near ready for what he has to offer and he’ll protect her from everything, even his own powerful desires. Energy scientist Natalya Vasin has lived through hell. Still struggling after her captivity, scarred by the aliens’ experimentation, all she wants is to be normal again…and she wants Reed MacKinnon. But the rugged soldier is holding back, treating her like glass, and she won’t accept that from anybody. As Reed and Natalya wage a sensual battle of desires, they also work together to decipher a mysterious alien energy cube. Hell Squad needs Natalya’s expertise and they need her to go back into alien territory to use it. But on a mission to destroy an alien outpost, secrets are uncovered-of what the raptors really did to Natalya. Secrets that mean the future she wants with Reed is just an impossible dream.

Title: Roth by Anna Hackett
Format read: eARC provided by the author
Formats available: ebook
Genre: science fiction romance, post apocalyptic
Series: Hell Squad #5
Length: 204 pages
Publisher: Anna Hackett
Date Released: August 10, 2015
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon

In the aftermath of a deadly alien invasion, a band of survivors fights on…

Roth Masters is a protector to the bone. Driven by the losses of his past, he fights side-by-side with Hell Squad to protect the human survivors of the alien invasion. As leader of Squad Nine, he and his team are known for their perfect timing in a firefight. But Roth knows they need more intel on the raptor invaders—something to turn the tide of the battle. And he knows the woman he rescued from an alien facility is hiding secrets he desperately wants to uncover.

Former Coalition Central Intelligence Agent Avery Stillman is still adjusting to her new life. Left with terrible gaps in her memory, she has vague recollections of failed negotiations with the aliens, the invasion, and after that…nothing. Until a hard-bodied soldier pulled her from a tank in an alien lab. Now she’s trying desperately to remember, to help fight back, and also battling the crazy attraction to the man who keeps pushing her for things she can’t remember.

Soon Roth finds himself torn between his duty and keeping the strong woman he’s falling for safe. As the pair head into alien territory to investigate, they are attacked and crash land alone, far from base. They have to work together to survive the aliens, but when Avery finally remembers everything…her secrets could annihilate all they hold dear.

Title: Noah by Anna Hackett
Format read: eARC provided by the author
Formats available: ebook
Genre: science fiction romance, post apocalyptic
Series: Hell Squad #6
Length: 204 pages
Publisher: Anna Hackett
Date Released: August 10, 2015
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon

The battle of survival against the invading aliens heats up…but Hell Squad never quits.

Tech genius Noah Kim works day and night to keep the survivors at Blue Mountain Base with lights, power and hot water. He’s also working on a top secret project to help keep them safe. He’s tired, stressed and under pressure—and one woman adds to it all. An annoying, infuriating redhead he calls Captain Dragon.

Captain Laura Bladon lost everything she cared for in the alien invasion: her loving family, her Navy SEAL fiancé and her military career. Since then, she’s been numb, her feelings encased in ice, and she’s dedicated herself to her job as chief interrogator and running the base’s prison. But one person can get under her skin in an instant—arrogant, brilliant Noah. He’s the one thing that makes her feel—and that makes her very afraid.

But as Laura helps Noah on his project, the two are drawn irresistibly together. As they head into the desert with Hell Squad on a mission to a hidden alien outpost, sparks fly and a passionate desire is uncovered. Both are holding onto past hurts, scared to take the risk of loving again…but when the unthinkable happens, it changes everything…and Laura and Noah must find the power to save themselves, their friends and their love.

My Review:

Because I read these in one lovely distracting bunch, I’m going to review them the same way. If you like either science fiction romance or post-apocalyptic romance (or both), Anna Hackett’s Hell Squad series is a wonderful way to spend some time in a setting where you absolutely would not want to live. No matter how much fun it is to peek over the characters’ shoulders and see their lives!

One of the fun things about this series is that the ending of each story gives readers a sneak preview of who the main couple will be in the next book. So at the end of Gabe (reviewed here) we all knew Reed was next. Likewise, Reed foreshadows Roth a bit, and Roth foreshadows Noah. And for those of us who are awaiting the next book with the proverbial bated breath, events at the end of Noah tell us that the next hero is Shaw, who looks like he is finally about to get his head out of his ass – if it doesn’t get handed to him first.

Back to our current three installments, Reed, Roth and Noah. This series so far has shown us two different romantic patterns. In Reed and Noah, just like in Gabe and Marcus (reviewed here) we have a couple where the romantic leads are in an opposites attract mode – or at least surface opposites. In these stories, one party is a soldier, and the other is what passes for a civilian in this brave new world. Marcus’ Elle is a former society child turned communications officer, Gabe’s Emerson is the Base’s Chief Medical Officer. With Reed, the woman of his dreams is a scientist and former POW – one that he rescued from the alien’s experimental labs. The couple in Noah still maintains the pattern, but refreshingly reversed. Noah is Blue Mountain Base’s Chief Technologist, and his would-be lady is the Head of Security.

In all of these stories, we have two people who are absolutely certain that they must be wrong for each other, only to discover that they are absolutely right. Who they would have been before the invasion no longer matters. With the remnants of humanity barely holding their own against the reptilian Gizzida, the strength to survive and the need to find joy in the midst of insanity pretty much conquer all superficial differences. Eventually.

Watching these couples who would probably never even have met before the world ended find out they belong together is marvelous.

The story in Roth is similar to the romance in Cruz (reviewed here). Both of the people in the couple are warriors of one stripe or another. In Cruz, Santha is a warrior and a scout. In the case of Roth, the woman who haunts his dreams (in more ways than one) is Avery, who is not just a soldier but was also a member of the team that first negotiated with the Gizzida. As Avery finally recovers from her time as an alien test subject, her newly awakened memories reveal that it wasn’t just the Gizzida who were negotiating in bad faith – the humans were too. Or at least one human – the head honcho of the Human Coalition. The pressure is on Avery to remember everything she can about the traitor and his plans, because Blue Mountain Base is closely threatened by the aliens, and they need a Plan B – a safe place to retreat with all their people, both military and civilian. When Roth and Avery investigate potential bolt holes, they find one hell of a surprise, and a whole lot of hope.

Escape Rating A-: The deeper I get into this series, the more I see it as a science fiction romance/post-apocalyptic crossover. This is a near future Earth, but it is definitely a future. Before everything went to hell in the alien invasion handbasket, this was an Earth where we had finally created a peaceful world Coalition government. That’s an achievement that seems pretty far from where we sit today, on the heels of the terrorist attacks on Paris, Baghdad and Beirut last week.

Hell Squad is also post-apocalyptic without being ‘prepper’ fiction. No one expected an alien invasion. This isn’t about some group that finally had their paranoia justified. Blue Mountain Base was a military base that a lot of Coalition military knew existed. Once the squads start getting together, they go out to rescue other survivors. And of course there is a lot of word of mouth about a safe place that spreads virally among the remaining human population. People still trickle in, and survivors still get found, but fewer and fewer all the time. While I don’t generally like prepper fiction, I like Hell Squad because it focuses on the survival and not the paranoia.

The romances in this series drive the characters, and yet they don’t drive the story. The story is the different things that individuals do (and don’t do) in order to keep humanity alive. We keep learning more and more about the alien invasion, the aliens’ motivations, and finally, what went wrong. The chief characters in each book, the ones who find love amidst the chaos, do some things differently because they have found their own personal reason to live life to the fullest, but the story is about them all fighting the good and necessary fight against terrible odds.

One of the things in this part of the series that is now driving the action forward is that Plan B and the reason it exists in the first place. There has not been much in the series until now of humans acting evilly for evil’s sake or for self-aggrandizing, or even self-preservation, purposes. We finally get a glimpse of the dark side of humanity in Roth, as the Blue Mountain Base discovers that humanity was betrayed in return for a safe haven for a select few. Unlike the betrayal of the human race to the Cylons in Battlestar Galactica, our evildoer in the Hell Squad series knows exactly what he’s doing when he sells out 99% of the human race to save himself and his selected elite.

We’ve seen the remnant of humanity at Blue Mountain Base survive. Now that they know what they are doing and why they are doing it, they know they have to do more to throw the Gizzida off our planet. As Emily St. John Mandel repeated in the awesome Station Eleven, quoting the Star Trek Voyager episode Survival Instinct, “Because survival is insufficient.”

It looks like that sentiment is going to drive the rest of the series. And I can’t wait.

Review: Gabe by Anna Hackett

Posted on November 6, 2015November 5, 2015 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | A- Reviews> book reviews

Gabe by Anna Hackett
Formats available: paperback, ebook
Series: Hell Squad #3
Pages: 210
Published by Anna Hackett on August 10th 2015
Purchasing Info: Author's Website, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org
Goodreads

Hell Squad soldier Gabe Jackson has lost everything that mattered, including his twin brother. Now he just wants to kill the invading aliens anyway he knows how...and he knows a lot of ways. Previously part of a secret Army super-soldier project, he's faster, stronger, deadlier...but on the inside, he's a mass of rage, and pain, and grief-all waiting for a chance to drag him under. Until he finds her. Dr. Emerson Green had her life planned: thrive in the high-stress environment of the ER, build her career, have a great life. Then the raptor alien invasion happened. Now she's the head of the medical team for the secret base sheltering human survivors outside of Sydney. She's also in charge of patching up the soldiers who get too close to raptor claws. She'd never planned for this...and she'd never planned for sexy, brooding Gabe Jackson. As Emerson uncovers clues to the aliens' secret plans for the human race, she and Gabe collide in a storm of volatile passion. But the brooding soldier is as stubborn as he is silent, and Emerson knows she must convince him to reach out to her...because Gabe is a ticking time bomb about to go off.

My Review:

There be Borg here.

Not exactly, but close enough. In this third entry in Hackett’s awesome post-apocalyptic SFR Hell Squad series, the invading Gizzida reveal that at least part of their purpose in conquering Earth was to “assimilate” the human race by transforming them into the reptilian Gizzida, and Hell Squad has found the transformation tanks to prove it.

Anyone who doesn’t hear echoes of Star Trek when the transformation system is named “Genesys” isn’t paying enough attention. Not that the Trek homage matters to the plot, but I love it when my new SFR loves reference my old SFR loves.

Your warp speed may vary.

The romance in this entry, after series opener Marcus (reviewed here) and Cruz (here) was hinted at during the previous book. Gabe lost his twin brother Zeke in the first book. But he went batshit crazy in the second book when base medico Emerson Green was temporarily captured in their hunt for human prisoners/experimentees/torture victims.

It was pretty obvious at that point that something was going on between the genetically modified warrior and the doc. Even if whatever it was was only in Gabe’s dreams, or Emerson’s nightmares. Or both.

One of the things that has changed since the end of the world as we know it arrived is that casual sex has become the go-to stress reliever for a significant chunk of the population of the secret Blue Mountain base.

One of “Doc” Emerson’s worries is what will happen when everyone’s birth control implants get way past their expiration dates. Whether the last outpost at the end of the human race in the middle of a guerrilla war is or is not the best place to start having a population explosion, Emerson knows its going to happen soon.

Sooner than she thinks, as Cruz’s lover, Santha, becomes the first woman to find herself unexpectedly , but happily, pregnant.

It’s also a personal question for Emerson, as she and Gabe are secretly providing each other with a bulwark against the all-too-frequent nightmares. Just like in the first book, Gabe doesn’t think he’s good enough for Emerson, and doesn’t think a genetically modified warrior like himself is a safe lover for anyone, let alone the well-educated doctor.

A lot of this story is the push-pull between Gabe and Emerson, as they try to work out whether either of them can manage a real relationship. She buries her stress in overwork, and he kills his, over and over, by slaughtering Gizzida. Neither of them is good at talking about their feelings, or sometimes even admitting they have feelings. Or that they can’t stop feeling things about each other, whether it’s a good idea or not.

But while Gabe and Emerson are sorting out their feelings for each other, the Gizzida are laying a trap for both the doctor and the Hell Squad. Their leader thinks that Emerson and the Squad would be perfect additions to their race.

Escape Rating A-: I love this series. It is the perfect blend of romance, action adventure and science fiction worldbuilding. It’s also a great post-apocalyptic series for people who don’t generally like post-apocalyptic stories.

But then I expect no less from this author. Which is why her books are my go-tos when my schedule goes FUBAR as it did this week. It’s not that I didn’t want to read the book I originally scheduled, it’s that I knew I couldn’t tackle 672 pages in one night.

Gabe, on the other hand, was an absolute treat. We get to see more of the workings of Blue Mountain base, and we learn chillingly more about the Gizzida’s motives. Which make complete sense from their perspective, while still giving us humans the shivers.

I like it when my villains make sense. Bwahaha is funny but does not a superior foe make.

I also enjoy the way that the romances are not the driving force of the story, but they are a driving force for the characters. Gabe is going berserker because he isn’t dealing with the loss of his twin, and can’t deal with his feelings for Emerson.

Speaking of not dealing with stress, in one of these books I want to see the base commander finally find someone of his own. He needs to have someone he can rely on, and someone who can relieve his mountain of stress!

Emerson is suffering from PTSD after her capture by the Gizzida, and is unwilling to take the time to deal with it. (Doctors make the WORST patients). Gabe and Emerson help each other forget what’s hurting them, and in the process, help each other remember how good it is to be alive and what they have that is worth fighting for.

Review: Cruz by Anna Hackett

Posted on October 28, 2015October 27, 2015 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | A- Reviews> book reviews

Cruz (Hell Squad #2) by Anna Hackett
Formats available: ebook, paperback
Series: Hell Squad #2
Pages: 244
Published by Anna Hackett on August 10th 2015
Purchasing Info: Author's Website, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org
Goodreads

Battle-hardened soldier Cruz Ramos is running on empty. As second-in-command of the deadliest commando squad fighting the invading aliens, he doesn't know why he's fighting anymore. He's seen too much destruction, devastation, and far too much death. Still, every day he goes out to protect those humans left, and every day the growing numbness threatens to take over. Until a mysterious woman emerges from the ruins of destroyed Sydney and saves him from a pack of rampaging aliens. Santha Kade has one goal: revenge. The raptors who have devastated the Earth have taken everything from her: her team, her home, her beloved sister. Santha-a former police officer-has spent a year alone in the ruined city, waging her own guerrilla war. Sure, she might get lonely sometimes, but she doesn't have room for anything but vengeance. Not even for a sexy soldier with liquid brown eyes, a bone-melting accent, and a face designed to drive a woman wild. But as Cruz and Santha join forces to rescue human hostages from the aliens, their explosive attraction is impossible to resist. Can these two warriors survive long enough to find something worth living for?

My Review:

This was not the book I intended to read for today. Who knew that someone could possibly make a book titled The Dead Duke, His Secret Wife and the Missing Corpse boring? When that fell with a thud, I turned to one of my go-to authors, Anna Hackett. She has never disappointed me.

And certainly still hasn’t with Cruz, the second book in her post-apocalyptic Hell Squad series. A lot of the setup for this series is in the first book, Marcus, reviewed here. The brave new world that Hackett has envisioned in Hell Squad needs a whole lot of bravery, because the new world mostly sucks.

In this near-future, the apocalypse that the series is dealing with the aftermath of is an alien invasion. The Gizzida look a lot like a cross between the aliens in Alien and ancient Earth dinosaurs – chiefly the predatory kind. However, these reptilian invaders have a philosophy that owes more than a bit to Star Trek’s Borg. They intend to absorb the human race and make it stronger. The difference between the Borg and the Gizzida is that these invaders don’t wipe out their own individuality. Or at least not all of it. Or they may be even more like the Borg than we’re sure of at this point, having a queen who is an individual directing an army of drones.

But our story follows the human resistance. Who seem a lot more sympathetic than the invaders. The Gizzida wiped out all the human cities with bombs and raptors, but humanity fights back. The Hell Squad lives and works at Blue Mountain Base in Australia, far outside Sydney. In my head I see Blue Mountain Base looking an awful lot like the Cheyenne Mountain Complex outside Colorado Springs in Stargate SG1, crossed with that sense of last humans fighting back from Battlestar Galactica.

(There have been a lot of references to BSG this week. A good trope is a reused trope.)

In the first book, Marcus, we were introduced to the people who make up Squad Six of the resistance out of Blue Mountain. Squad Six is much better known to everyone except the base commander as Hell Squad. They go into hell and bring hell to their enemy.

At the very end of the first book, we met Santha Kade, a lone warrior who is fighting the aliens all by herself, and has been for a year. She’s a former SWAT officer, and is good at fighting and staying alive.

She also fascinates one of the members of Hell Squad, Cruz Ramos. There’s something about the woman warrior that keeps Cruz from descending into the unfeeling darkness of too many missions, too many deaths, and not enough hope that the fight is worthwhile.

Santha thinks that Cruz makes great eye candy, but she’s in this fight to avenge herself against the alien commander who murdered her sister right before her eyes, while Santha was paralyzed by an alien poisoned weapon. She’s not ready for the emotional confusion of a relationship. On the other hand, some life-affirming hot sex seems like an incredibly good idea. At least with Cruz.

Santha is not interested in being part of the hierarchy and orderly chain of command at Blue Mountain Base, in spite of the safety that comes with having a secure hideout. But they need her. The resistance has learned that the aliens have kidnapped a group of human scientists, and the resistance wants to mount a rescue.

But in order to rescue someone, first you have to know where to look for them. Santha has the best, in depth intelligence on the alien operations, because she’s spent an entire year observing them and searching for the alien commander. They need her intel, and when she is injured, she finally realizes that she needs them. At least a little bit.

Santha still burns for revenge. Blue Mountain wants a surgical strike, in, rescue the prisoners, out. Of course it all goes FUBAR.

Because in the best alien invasion tradition, the Gizzida aren’t just capturing scientists for their knowledge, they are grabbing humans of all types, ages and sizes so that they can conduct torturous experiments. The Gizzida want to see what makes us tick. Because, in best evil alien fashion, they want to make us all stop ticking.

The laboratories that Hell Squad uncovers show a hell that none of them imagined in their worst nightmares. But they will stop at nothing to get those people out. One way or another.

Escape Rating A-: This second book in the series gets a little more into the aliens’ motives. Not that there isn’t still more to come, but for the first time we hear one speaking to a human while thinking they are on top, and getting just a tiny bit into their outline for the subjugation of the human race. It begins to let us see that the Gizzida are not just evil for evil’s sake. They don’t see themselves as evil. They think they have a manifest destiny. We naturally think they are purely destructive.

Just like in the first book, there is a romance here. Cruz and Santha have fascinated each other from the first time they met. But Santha is totally invested in her revenge-motivated lone-wolf crusade, and Cruz is part of a team. He’s more than willing to open up that team to include Santha, but living in the base will mean submitting herself to the same rules and discipline as everyone else. Revenge may be a dish best served cold, but while you are in the midst of pursuing it it’s damn hard to let go of.

Unlike the romance in Marcus, Cruz and Santha are coming from the same kind of place. They are both soldiers, and they have both always been soldiers. Cruz admires Santha’s strength and intelligence. Life in the resistance is a hard life likely to end in premature death. They both need someone who accepts the darkness in every survivor, and who has the strength to fight, often literally, to grab some joy from existence and fight to keep it.

They are also both people who have a lot of demons in them, and need a partner physically strong enough to hold them down when necessary, or spar equally with them until exhaustion moves to temporary oblivion.

It’s a very different relationship than the one between Marcus and Elle in the first book. Marcus needs a refuge, and Elle needs validation that she’s a capable partner. Cruz and Santha both need people who have been exactly where the other one is and understands the monsters they hold inside.

The plot of the story – discovering and rescuing the captives, is a heartbreaker from beginning to end. While this theme has been used before, here it was especially gut wrenching, because Hell Squad has to deal both with healing the ones who can possibly be healed, and making the unfortunate but necessary call that in some extreme circumstances, death can be a mercy, especially for those we love.

If you like your end of the world scenarios with a little bit of love and whole lot of fighting back, Hell Squad is a winner.

Review: Marcus by Anna Hackett

Posted on September 22, 2015October 1, 2015 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | A Reviews> book reviews

Marcus (Hell Squad, Book 1) by Anna Hackett
Formats available: ebook, paperback
Series: Hell Squad #1
Pages: 217
Published by Anna Hackett on April 19th 2015
Purchasing Info: Author's Website, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Bookshop.org
Goodreads

In the aftermath of a deadly alien invasion, a band of survivors fights on…
In a world gone to hell, Elle Milton—once the darling of the Sydney social scene—has carved a role for herself as the communications officer for the toughest commando team fighting for humanity’s survival—Hell Squad. It’s her chance to make a difference and make up for horrible past mistakes…despite the fact that its battle-hardened commander never wanted her on his team.
When Hell Squad is tasked with destroying a strategic alien facility, Elle knows they need her skills in the field. But first she must go head to head with Marcus Steele and convince him she won’t be a liability.
Marcus Steele is a warrior through and through. He fights to protect the innocent and give the human race a chance to survive. And that includes the beautiful, gutsy Elle who twists him up inside with a single look. The last thing he wants is to take her into a warzone, but soon they are thrown together battling both the alien invaders and their overwhelming attraction. And Marcus will learn just how much he’ll sacrifice to keep her safe.

The setup for this book, and for the Hell Squad series, reminds me of a combination of the movie Independence Day and the TV series Battlestar Galactica (the remake, not the original). Just like in Independence Day, the aliens have not only landed, but they have targeted all of our major cities and are the in process of wiping out the human race.

It’s been a long time since I saw the movie, but my memory says that the aliens looked like the raptors. In the book, the aliens look an awful lot like honking big dinosaurs, only clearly with way more intelligence as well as advanced space flight.

The story also has the dystopian feel of BSG. It’s not that the humans have space flight, but the gritty feeling of the last human outposts fighting back against an overwhelming invasion as they barely keep their technology together feels similar.

The Hell Squad series is certainly dystopian, or at any rate post-apocalyptic. The humans know exactly what the apocalypse was in this case – the aliens landed and are well on their way to wiping out humanity. Victories for the human survivors are damn few and very far between.

The humans in the Blue Mountain outpost in Australia are all too aware that even if they somehow manage to take Earth back from the alien Raptors, nothing will ever be the same.

In this first installment of the Hell Squad series, we focus on one of the combat squads that operates out of Blue Mountain Base. Squad Six, otherwise known as Hell Squad, is one of several squads that regularly conducts raids in enemy territory, scrounging for supplies, assisting isolated groups of humans reach the relatively safe base, and attempting to capture enemy intel.

The story in this book is in the context of one such intel operation. Through torturing a captured Raptor prisoner, they have determined that there is an enemy communications hub somewhere in their patrol area. They even have enemy data crystals that pinpoint the exact location. What they need is a translator.

What they have is Elle Milton, their comms officer. Elle has learned more of the Raptor language than anyone else. She knows enough to know that the data crystal they have recovered will lead them to the hub, but not enough to translate the exact directions. Elle needs a Rosetta Stone.

Marcus, the leader of Hell Squad, just wants to keep Elle safe. It’s pretty obvious to everyone in his squad that he is in love with the beautiful refugee who has worked so hard to become a comms officer. Her life pre-invasion was that of a spoiled little society girl, and she has worked damn hard to become someone useful. Someone strong. And she is endlessly disappointed that Marcus does not want her around – not on his missions, and not in his life.

Of course, Elle couldn’t be more wrong. It takes the high-adrenaline danger of needing to take Elle on a mission to make Marcus admit that he’s been keeping her at arm’s length in order to protect her. Elle’s way of proving to Marcus that he’s wrong is to not just get the mission done, but to save his life along the way.

Escape Rating A-: As the series introduction, Marcus is short and tremendously fun. We get glimpses of the way that the world has gone to hell, just enough to explain things without being overwhelming. We see the humans as survivors, and not just as victims. It reminds me of Station Eleven (see review) in that respect. We don’t need to live through the entire alien invasion to get the picture. It’s enough to show the humans as plucky survivors who have a hell of a fight on their hands, even if it is a fight they are mostly losing at the beginning.

The love story is a classic. Marcus the military leader feels like the only thing he’s good for is killing. And he is good at killing raptors, but he is also a terrific leader for his squad. He feels like he is atoning for some of the dirty missions he conducted while he was in U.S. Special Forces, before the invasion. He feels as if his hands will never be clean, and he doesn’t think he deserves happiness in general or Elle in particular.

Elle has her own demons to fight. As a spoiled party girl, Elle had no skills with which to fight off the raptors when they invaded her parents’ estate and killed them. Elle feels like she hid uselessly in a closet as she listened to her parents die, and has become a comms officer in order to battle past her own feelings of uselessness and worthlessness.

So when Marcus shoves her away, she interprets it as her worthlessness and not his need to protect. They make a very stubborn, but equally matched, pair.

The mission is one that showcases what humanity has lost, and at the same time bonds Elle with Marcus and with his whole unit.

The raptors have taken over a public library, because they are using the library’s data banks to translate human electronic documents into their language. They don’t just control the whole planet, they want to make sure that they wrest every scrap of technology out of it as well. These aliens are like interstellar locusts, they find a planet, kill its inhabitants and steal its technology, then fly away leaving their conquest a dead hulk in space.

But Elle is able to use the aliens attempt to reverse engineer English the other way. She gets enough of a start to reverse engineer the aliens’ language, and find their communications hub. The mission to take out the hub is an action-packed page turner that will keep any reader glued to their seat.

It’s impossible not to root for these stubborn humans to find a way to throw the aliens off of our world. And the fight has just begun.

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