Showing results by author "B. V. Larson" in All Categories

Rigel is a thousand lightyears farther from the Core Worlds than Earth, so they suffer the first attacks. The mood at Central is jubilant. Our greatest rival is falling—now is the time to strike while they’re weak! Legion Varus is deployed to Jungle World, a vital planet deep in Rigellian territory. Our foes, fighting on two fronts, are driven back with ease. But one man questions the wisdom of this move. Should Earth expand with greed, aiding new monsters from the Galactic Rim? That lone voice of reason comes from James McGill.

Scouts have located a forward base of the freakish creatures, who plot to annihilate all meat-based lifeforms. Earth assembles a joint task force with legions of Rigellian bears, Mogwa battlecruisers, and Saurian troops. Together, they strike as one against Crystal World. After annoying every superior in his chain of command, James McGill is the first to be deployed on the unexplored planet. His mission: to establish a beachhead on this strange, hostile ground. Surrounded and cut off, his troops fight to the bitter end against creatures made of earth, stone, and jewels.

Things have gone bad among the colonies. Insurgents are building alien-hybrid armies and planet-killing weapons, threatening to upend the fragile balance of power in Province 921. There's not only trouble in the province—the Core Worlds are igniting as well. The Mogwa have asserted claims upon the Imperial Throne, causing their rivals to move against them. Earth's Hegemony and the rebels are pulled into a conflict that could tear the galaxy apart.

Commodore Straker's rebellion grows in strength - but his enemies are growing even faster. Faced with a dozen rebel planets in their territory, the Mutuality finally takes notice of the upstart known as the Liberator, and they gather a vast fleet to crush him. Preparing for a titanic interstellar battle, it's clear Straker has no chance. His tiny enclave of free planets can't survive the weight of 1000 worlds. His own officers realize this, and some of them begin to turn against him....

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 third book in the series, James McGill is deployed on another alien world. His third interstellar tour is different in every way. Rather than meeting up with a primitive society, this time he’s headed to an advanced world.

In an unprecedented first, Earth sends a message to Mogwa Prime. Unfortunately, the messenger is not met with enthusiasm. Misunderstandings soon threaten all of Humanity. Forced to prove Earth can serve the Empire better than any rival, McGill does his best. Eager to prove our worth to the Galactics, the frontier war between Rigel and Earth is expanded to Storm World. Circled by six moons, the planet is ravaged by wild storms and tides. Battles are fought in raging hurricanes, and death stalks the soldiers on both sides.

Earth is locked in a dangerous arms race with Rigel. McGill’s efforts at diplomacy are disastrous. Events spin out of control and interstellar warfare consumes the outer provinces of the Empire. Great fleets are gathered, and troops are hurried aboard transports. Legion Varus is launched toward a secret target world. McGill leads an early strike against Rigel’s defenses, but his efforts are foiled at every turn. Who could be behind these betrayals? Could his own government be plotting his demise?

An artificial object made of compressed stardust is barreling toward Earth. Is it an invasion ship? A doomsday weapon? Perhaps it’s the final response of Squanto, the Warlord of Rigel who James McGill has repeatedly humiliated. Or could it be from the Mogwa, sent to avenge McGill’s assassination of Earth’s Imperial Governor? No one knows the truth of its origins, but the object is huge and unstoppable. Whoever hurled this rock at us isn’t answering our calls. Every weapon bounces off, and the people of Earth begin to go mad as they realize their destruction is only hours away.

Left to die on a volcanic world by the Skrull, McGill and his mercenaries face waves of missile attacks with nowhere to hide. When the Skrull seal themselves inside an impenetrable energy dome, McGill knows he has to get creative. Even if that means sabotaging alien power plants, blackmailing his superior officers, and using his own troops as bait in a deadly game of cat and mouse.

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 spans the Milky Way. Our only worthwhile trade goods are our infamous mercenary legions, elite troops we sell to the highest alien bidder. In 2122 a lost colony expedition contacts Earth, surprising our government. Colonization is against Galactic Law, and Legion Varus is dispatched to the system to handle the situation. Earth gave them sealed orders, but Earth is 35 lightyears away.

For centuries, mankind has searched for nonhuman civilizations in the cosmos. These lost alien societies have finally been discovered—but they were destroyed long ago. Devin Starn starts off as a lowly rock rat aboard Borag, a mining ship working the dangerous end of the asteroid belt. Slowly, he gains prestige and purpose. When an alien base is uncovered, however, he must risk everything to protect his ship and her crew. What wiped out all the civilizations that came before humanity?

Earth’s entire fleet and all her legions are conscripted by the Galactics. Centurion McGill of Legion Varus is among countless troops pressed into service as cannon fodder for the Empire. Not everyone on Earth is happy with the demands of the Galactics. Earth has built up her military for decades, and now she might lose everything in a foreign war no one understands. As the man who has killed more Mogwa than any other human in history, McGill is approached and given a mission. He has a fateful decision to make.

A lonely planet circles a star on the very border of Province 921. Critical resources produced there are claimed by both the Mogwa and the Skay. War between the Galactic giants becomes more likely every day.

Long before Earth began conquering her neighboring stars, Legion Varus was deployed on Tau Ceti. Valuable and highly illegal treasures were stolen during the campaign, but McGill never gave it a second thought. The Tau haven’t forgotten him, however. For decades, they’ve hunted and plotted, and at last they’ve found the pirate who robbed them. Tau agents invade Earth seeking revenge and profit. Caught up in violence and intrigue, McGill is given the task of finding out where the loot has gone and who was responsible for the theft in the first place.

Two centuries after humanity colonized the stars, new dangers emerge. The peaceful inhabitants of the Conclave are threatened by expanding alien powers. Invaders threaten the star cluster, attacking our fringe settlements. Captain Bill Gorman has mysteriously disappeared. His clone, set aside for a dark day like this, awakens and begins to put together the pieces. What’s gone wrong out on the frontier? Why are our colonies being attacked by aliens while the Conclave worlds dream of better days? And what happened to the original Captain Gorman?

Unknown aliens attack Earth. Their planet is uncharted, mysteriously having avoided detection for centuries. It's a world packed with the most vicious aliens humanity has yet to encounter. James McGill has discovered: Death World.

The Earth Cruiser Agamemnon is destroyed in combat, and the search for answers begins. The veteran crew of Borag gets the assignment, and the race is on. Sgt. Starn of Red Company must visit the disaster site, perform a search and rescue mission, and return to Mars alive. What kind of technology could destroy an Earth warship so easily? Why is a single life-pod found floating, transponder pinging away—with no one aboard? Most important of all, what is the prowling alien super-ship going to do next?

The machine races demand a turn at the job, but the organics refuse to allow it. For more than a century, the Galactics have battled for supreme power. War and instability reign in place of peace, with every species spread over a hundred billion stars suffering as the Empire decays. James McGill discovers a scheme is underway. A new power is rising, determined to snatch the Throne from all the rest. Will this unite the Galactic Empire, or destroy it utterly?

In the 20th century Earth sent probes, transmissions, and welcoming messages to the stars. Unfortunately, someone noticed. The Galactics arrived with their battle fleet in 2052. Rather than being exterminated under a barrage of hell-burners, Earth joined their vast Empire. Swearing allegiance to our distant alien overlords wasn't the only requirement for survival. We also had to have something of value to trade, something that neighboring planets would pay their hard-earned credits to buy. As most of the local worlds were too civilized to have a proper army, the only valuable service Earth could provide came in the form of soldiers....

When the Earth is invaded by a rival empire, James McGill's legion must defend the Home World. The top brass has complex plans, but none of that matters much to McGill, who chooses his own unique path. Traveling to star systems no human has ever visited, he searches for a technological edge to beat the enemy before it's too late. Along the way he unleashes new terrors, triggering the biggest battles in human history.