Operation Breakout: Merkiaari Wars Book 4

It’s been awhile since I got back to this series and I had to think about what happened in the previous book catch up. The story doesn’t repeat a lot of the history of the series but does give you some hints as to what has happened in the past. This book focuses on a trio of Vipers operating on their own, initially, to find a fallen comrade but develops into a bigger mission involving the Alliance Navy.The story is pretty good although I was really getting tire of Richmond’s obsession with finding her brother! She’s been looking for this kid for years and has only gotten glimpses of his whereabout but nothing concrete until now. Luckily her brother happens to be located at the same place as her next mission. Well, he was supposed to be there. Getting her brother retrieved is all she can think about even if he’s in a maximum security prison! Now here is where it gets real stupid. I don’t know how she can justify breaking her brother out of a prison for any reason. All she keeps saying is, “He’s my brother; my family!”. Well, so what! The kid has gotten himself into some big time trouble so he needs to pay the price. If she wants to just see him, that’s one thing but to plan on breaking him out and start running from the law is just stupid and much to idiotic for a Viper.And she doesn’t realize that Stone, now Viper Captain Stone, is more than willing to help here see and talk to her brother. He knows she’s not going to like what see finds out about him, but he’s willing to help, to a point. Richmond doesn’t bother asking for help and does about the worst thing she could have done. It’s a wonder that Stone doesn’t kill her the next time they meet. He should have!Good story, not a lot of fighting. We get the same Navy characters we read about in the original first book and those involved in the Shan war with the Merki. I think this book is leading up to a bigger battle for the Earth Alliance than any before. Maybe our contact with three new alien races will help us in this coming war. We’ll have to wait for the next book to find out.Great series, good continuation of the storyline.

I enjoyed that this book was able to arrive for the holidays.I don't really know how I feel about this new novel. The writing was quite good and our story allowed our characters to grow while shaping the way for the battles to come. However in my opinion this book seemed to be a bit thin, the last couple of books we had battles interspersed with logistical and strategic preparations for the new war. This book spends most of our novel with Stone and Kate and their complicated relationship. While the completion of Kate and her brother's back-story is tied off nicely it felt more like something that could have been a novella rather than the backbone for a novel in the series. I enjoyed the book and it stands as a four star novel but I might have rated it higher if it had been labeled as Merkiaari Universe #1 rather than Merkiaari Wars #4 because the war between humanity and Merkiaari makes up the smallest amount of the book.We don't see Sebestation or the General laying their groundwork. We never see how the Shan are integrating to both Snakeholm and the Alliance. After fighting with the regiment and navy we get thrust back into a story-line that revolves around a single protagonist. Despite the revelations and information that is gained from Paul Richmond I feel that this could have come through the "intelligence efforts" like most of the other information that is shared in the books with us and allowed the author more time to really write about the war instead of focusing on a single story for most of the book. In fact other than the fight over Red One we don't see much about the Alliance and the efforts that must be occurring towards gaining a war footing.I like that we continue to see more of Valjoth. While the Merkiaari have been great as a shadowy threat from space getting information about their empire and culture gives that depth to the conflict that makes the war that much more intriguing. I do wonder about Bethany's world and if their conflicts with the vipers will become a bigger issue through the Alliance.I look forward to the next novel and really want to see more of the characters that have been introduced to us. This books narrow focus really made me wonder about everyone else that's around.gallandro

Once again, Cooper continues the adventures of the Mekiaari war series without pause or any reduction in quality. This is a space serial or series in the best tradition of any of the authors of the 1950's and 60's. Mark Cooper grabbed my attention from the first chapter of the first story and I am still just as interested.One of my comments in past has to do with Mark's ability to seem as if he tells the story in first person, he does and it really makes the book flow from person to person and chapter to chapter. He does this not only from Alliance (ie. Human characters, but also from the pointof view of various Alien Characters, lending them more credibility and even, dare I say it, human perspective. This is something very few authors today try, let alone accomplish. He does it very well.If you want a book review, see the other reviews for a plot or spoiler. I tend to let you know what I think of the book and author's ability. Better yet, get any of Mark E. Cooper's free starter books and see for yourself, BUT be warned - Like Lays Potato Chips: You can't stop at one! A newer author worth PAYING for!Looking forward to the release of book five in the series, I can't wait. I am starting his other Series while waiting - PLEASE HURRY!

I'm a bit of a stickler for punctuation, consistency and logic and the series so far suffers let down on all three fronts. I can't understand why they don't do some decent proofreading before publishing.The basic story was quite interesting with a hint of some excellent plot lines with the vipers having a lot of potential.Never really materialised.The book was ok as a "pick up for 10 minutes at a time" but it wasn't a page turner. And one of the main characters was just unbelievable and annoying. He also burst his own build up in not killing the character off.I'll check the reviews for the rest of the series before coughing up any more cash...

As with the earlier books in this series a very good read with plenty going on. Now left wondering what happens next. Got the next book ready going to start immediately can't wait.

Come on Mark get typing , want more , there's a whole universe still to be explored in your story.One criticism if there are hunter killer androids why not use them against the Merkiaari as cannon fodder and not just as prison guards , think you missed an opportunity there.I think you said they would keep hunting as per there programming , then programme them to kill all Merkiaari drop them on planets that have been attacked and let them run loose .

I enjoy this universe and the characters, the books are well edited and I like the way the story arc is being fleshed out, my only real issue with the series is the amount of time between books :) I check in on this author every couple of months or so to see if anything else has been published but I'm frequently dissapointed.Please don't keep me waiting much longer Mark!

I really liked the first 3 episodes they were edge of seat gripping stuff, really the cream of military Sci Fi.Unfortunately this episode never seemed to get off the ground, felt like a filler between 2 series. don't want to give the plot away but expect that if I hadn't read this one; that when I get round to paying for the next set of episodes it wouldn't make sense. I just got the feeling that this book was an after thought to link 2 main themes.