Hot on the heels of last month’s release, Rise Of The Exiles, comes the latest scribbling from my fevered, sci-fi-obsessed mindscape. It’s called Fleet Rats (Dropzone #1) and is a new military sci-fi series of novels, set in the same universe as my previous sci-fi books – Conversations With Droids, The Kassini Division and Rise Of The Exiles.
The difference? Well, it’s set in 2841, a half-century before the events of the other books in the Kassini series, at a time when the Great Expansion war between the three species – the humans, the Avions and the Elementals – is in full swing.
As a series, the Dropzone books follows the exploits of one squad of misfit human and alien soldiers working for a secret Agency. These renegade troopers, led by a not-entirely-human, not-entirely-trustworthy and not-entirely-sane squad leader, are attempting to survive a series of 10 drops in exchange for their freedom.
Here’s the blurb:
Protecting the universe from the scum of the Earth…
It’s 2841 and after an uneasy and short-lived truce, three expanding stellar empires – the humans, the Avions and the Elementals – are now descending into an ever-more-brutal turf war.
The Sleeper Agency’s squads exist to stop the empires from crossing the line. They go where conventional forces fear to tread; they steal back ships, rescue lost personnel, investigate strange phenomena in secret. But mostly, they get their hands dirty doing the jobs no one else can, or wants, to do.
The Agency recruits from the wrong side of the tracks, finding its troops anywhere from cyberpunk slums to military prisons. It offers them a new life, with a new identity – no questions asked. All it asks in return is they do their jobs and complete their tour of duty of 10 combat drops… it’s an offer they can’t refuse.
Only problem is, will a dropship full of Avion, Elemental and human criminals hurled into the battle zone be more of a danger to themselves than the enemy?
Strap yourself in… because this is not just another bug hunt.
For fans of Starship Troopers, Band Of Brothers, Aliens and SAS Rogue Heroes, this is Book One of a new military sci-fi series set in the Kassini universe.
… and here’s the visual promo:
So why not just carry on writing Kassini books? I hear you cry. What’s the reason for another series? Well, if I’ll just stop asking questions and let me explain, I wanted to write a self-contained series of books within the same world as the others, but with less focus on the in-depth, high-stakes galactic-empire-level events of that particular story arc. Instead, I wanted to zoom in and focus on one set of characters in a series of fast-moving, slightly shorter books, where I could create a consecutive narrative while covering similar wide-ranging territory to the SF films, books, games and TV I love.
Consequently, each story in the series pays implicit homage to a specific classic of the science-fiction genre. With each book, you can look forward to the Sleeper Agency squad being sent on missions with themes that are possibly familiar, with the fun being working out how they’re going to survive the dangers of their 10 very different drops without murdering each other along the way.
Here’s a quick blog with more info about some of the inspirations surrounding the Dropzone series and here’s Book One on Amazon. I hope you enjoy it… and if you’ve read and enjoyed my Kassini books, I strongly suggest you give Fleet Rats a whirl, as there’s a lot in there you’ll instantly recognise.
In the meantime, I’ll be getting on with writing the next parts in the Kassini and Dropzone series… if you enjoy these or indeed any of my books, tell your sci-fi-loving friends and please leave a positive review on Amazon.
