Sons of War by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

Format: Kindle
Rating:  5 Stars
Reviewer: Laurel

The first of a new series from Smith, Sons of War is outstanding. Dark and gritty, Smith mixes Italian Mafia in with his trademark military flavour.

I found this book an easy read, with Smith’s words weaving the pictures in my mind. When a second civil war comes to the United States, fighting to stay afloat amid the turmoil, violence and chaos are the Moretti crime family, taking the opportunity war provides to build an empire in LA, and the Salvatore family, residents of the same city.

I am really looking forward to reading the next book in the series and seeing the rest of the story of these sons of war.

The Honour of the Knights by Stephen J. Sweeney

Source: Own Collection
Format: Kindle ebook
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewer: Laurel

When starfighter pilot Simon Dodds is enrolled in a top secret military project, he and his wingmates begin to suspect that there is a lot more to the theft of a legendary battleship and an Imperial nation’s civil war than either the Confederation Stellar Navy or the government are willing to let on. Within weeks of being reassigned to the Confederate border system of Temper, the five would begin to untangle a web of lies and a cover-up that seemed to span the entire galaxy. And it would not be long before they would come face to face with that which destroyed an empire: an unforgiving, unstoppable, and totally unrelenting foe. There seemed to exist only one glimmer of hope of driving back the darkness: The ATAF Project – a secretly developed set of starfighters that well may just harbour some terrible secrets of their own…

I picked this book up as a freebie on Amazon. And boy am I glad that I did. What an amazing flyboy novel that spans the galaxy. Towards the end of the book I couldn’t help but turn page after page, devouring the images as the tension mounted up to the climax. Sweeney is to be applauded for his vivid writing and the emotions that he coaxes from the reader, involving them wholly in the story.

The Honour of the Knights is a very readable book. More so if you’re a scifi fan who is conversant with combat.

My favourite quote from this book is: ‘There was considerable pause, then, in a grim voice, “They’re the result of the Senate’s desire to control the Empire. They’re a mistake.” “What?” Dodds said. “They’re a mistake?”‘

I’m not sure that I’ll read this book again, but I’ll definitely be looking up the rest of the series, as I need to find out what happens next. The Galaxy will never be the same again, that is for sure!