Cauldron of Fire Released!
Cauldron of Fire, the fifth book of the Blood on the Stars series, is now available…and at a special intro price of $2.99.! Not only that, but I’ve got the rest of the series on sale too.
The Blood on the Stars series at Amazon
Cauldron of Fire
A Deadly Fight to the Finish…
The warrior culture of the Alliance has fragmented, and comrade fights comrade, brother kills brother. The Red Alliance forces, backed by the Union and its propaganda machine, have the advantage in numbers and position, and they are pushing forward, driving relentlessly toward the final attack, the one that will destroy their enemies.
The Gray Alliance forces are weaker, trapped in the great Sentinel-2 fortress where they’ve established their headquarters. Their enemies have the larger fleets and armies, and control of the homeworld…but the Grays have Tyler Barron and Dauntless.
The Confederation’s celebrated captain and his famous ship have been reinforced, and the newly promoted Commodore Barron now commands a small fleet of battleships, every vessel Admiral Striker could spare to reinforce the faltering Gray forces.
One final battle is all that stands between the Red fleet and victory, and it seems the Grays have no choice but to stand on the defensive and wait for the fight they know they can’t win. Unless they try something else, a wild gamble, a desperate plan to pull victory from the jaws of almost certain defeat. It will take all Barron and his people can give, and put Dauntless and the ships of his task force to the test. But it is the only way to win the victory, to prevent the Reds from a triumph that can lead only to a disastrous invasion of the Confederation, one that Barron knows he has to stop…whatever the cost.
Blood on the Stars
Book 1: Duel in the Dark
Book 2: Call to Arms
Book 3: Ruins of Empire
Book 4: Echoes of Glory
Book 5: Cauldron of Fire
Book 6: Dauntless (January 2018)
I cannot read books as I am driving up to 7-8 hours a day. Audiobooks are the way I can continue to enjoy your works. When is the Cauldron of Fire coming out in audio form?? Also keep it up!! Enjoying the series immensely. The matching of the narrator and story that was chosen for this series was a great choice. Looking forward to Dauntless. I also enjoyed the Lensmen series, even now. It is a classic work. People all want to be accurate and up to date, but the real reason for stories is the telling and adventure. Who cares if it is written as a “ray gun, phaser or bomb pumped laser??). It is a story that commands and requires imagination and a release of reality. I enjoy your writing and am able to visualize Dauntless sailing through space and the story as you create it. Thanks and keep up the good work.
Mike, I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the books. Pretty much all I do on the audio is send the manuscript to Audible. I know they’re working on it now, and based on their past actions, I’d guess early December. Could be a shade earlier. It will probably go up on presale sooner.
I couldn’t agree more on the ray gun thing. It’s the story that matters. I think with the Lensmen books, the problem a lot of people would have is in style and differences in society. The writing is massively descriptive. As much as Doc Smith is one of the fathers of the genre, today an editor would have a stroke over something written in that style. Obviously, they’re also pretty sexist by today’s standards.
That said, beyond the scope of the books, there are some really interesting things. First, Kinnison is a classic movie-like hero, but if you think about it, he’s absolutely cold-blooded in fighting enemies, even ready to destroy whole worlds without losing a night’s sleep over it. The good guys even win a corrupt election in First Lensman, a bit of realism I appreciate. My take on politics is a pretty cynical and grim one, and I enjoyed the view of both sides behaving more realistically.
I hope you keep enjoying the books. I’ve got a bunch more planned out, with a big shift in plot after Dauntless.