Sentinel: Deadmen's War, Book 1

Master Sergeant Cole Shaw survived his youth on planet Xenia. His home planet offered death in many forms and he carried the scars of his youth with him to planet Ferrous. Ferrous was as cold as Xenia had been hot, but cradled by the warm gel in the pilot chamber, Cole could handle the cold. It was the Sentinels that gave him cold chills. The Sentinels were the guardians left behind by the Progenitors eons before the New World Republic landed on planet Ferrous. What kept them alive and functional for thousands of years, was a mystery, but the Progenitors left behind many mysteries. Small manufactured planets were the hubs of the faster than light travel across the vast reaches of the universe. How they worked was another mystery, but using them to travel light years in minutes didn't need understanding.Cole's unit with the Armored Support and Heavy Weapons, ASH-W or Adhere, call sign Fireteam Banshee, was assigned guard duty of a team of scientists in a sector that Asher Team Anvil had mixed it up with 5 Hels and 2 Grendels. Helot class Sentinels were 5 meters tall with 8 legs and two rows of 4 eyes, like a huge spider except for the barbed tail. Individually, Hels weren't a major fight, but 2 or 3 could take an Asher down. Grendels were more of a problem, standing at 8 meters, they could give a good fight. Titans were another story. They could look an Asher in the eye and put up a hell of a fight. Fighting them all at once with no backup, just the 5 members of Fireteam Banshee, was suicide. Fireteams Anvil and Valkyrie were on the way for back-up, just ten minutes away, but 10 minutes may as well be forever with the fight they were in.Cole and the rest of Banshee - Tanaka, Kross, Ricci, and Langer - form the base of the characters in the story. Their unit comradery is stronger in destruction, even in defeat. Broken, but not defeated, Banshee will fight on, in some form or other. The storyline and fight sequences are tight. This is a great read! Can't wait for book 2!

I picked this up on sale and I'm very glad I did! The action scenes are realistic and griping in their intensity. There is always something new going on and another part of the puzzle to figure out. I'm really looking forward to the next books!

Wow! This was an exciting read! I just couldn't put this down!I am indeed a fan of Anthony Melchiorri's writing - and this promises to be another great series! What's so great abut this story (and his others)? Many many things! There is wonderful world building where we actually can imagine ourselves there right along with the characters. His characters are very human - they get hurt! Too, he isn't afraid to have strong women on the teams either. The science behind the tech is explained so we can understand how it works... how can a human be INSIDE and "operate" a Sentinel! Then, he really allows us to feel along with the characters - the rush of being in a Sentinel and experiencing the power... anxiety in an attack... forgetting that a Sentinel is a life form and not a mech!The author is truly a talented writer with original stories! I have read his work from the beginning - and his work just keeps getting better and better! :) I can't wait for the next book in the series! Once you read this story, you will want to read his other stories, too!Great job, Tony! More, please!

Cole and his squad (Banshee) are to protect some scientists on a frozen planet, but when they are almost wiped out they are given a new role, to jack into to Sentinels that were being studied by the scientist, in hopes they might be able to more protect the scientists.This is a awesome audio narrated by the award winning R.C. Bray. The book is full of action with a bit of suspense thrown in. As cool as Cole is, my favorite character has to be the kick butt female operator named Tanaka. She can do anything and do it well. This book is very engaging and will grab you and not let go until you are finished and even than you will be clamoring for more, at least that is what happened to me. This is my first book by Melchiorri but I will certainly be looking for more.

The author has produced an interesting story line with fast paced battle scenes. It could use more charm development. Other than Sergeant Shaw, none of the other players have a background. The ending nicely set up the next book.

I really enjoy military science fiction. This is a smart story that makes you think about all the things we don’t know. You are immediately drawn into the action and the esprit de corps do team Banshee. The idea of the military unit as a family is very appealing. It is like you can feel the icy winds.

I had a hard time putting this bad boy down. Tanaka is definitely a new favorite character and I love how she and Shaw work as a duo. The action is fast paced and there are some big twists, so again, putting this down is tough; I suggest pouring yourself an extra coffee ahead of time for the next morning because I may or may not have finally stopped reading when I heard the birds chirping in the morning. The Sentinels make for some wild monsters and all I can say is I’m willing to sacrifice another couple nights’ sleep if I get to find more about them in the Progenitors…

Outer space is fraught with bad guys who want to control everything. Super humanoid structures built to withstand most firepower. Shaw is one of the men inside the structure.

Honestly, I don't have a whole lot to say. I loved the book. The pacing felt right, no unessensary cliff hangers at the end of each chapter like the last series I read.It's probably some of the best world building and storytelling I've seen in the last little while. The plot is also a new concept for me, finally something that isn't a cheap re-skin or something else.It's definitely worth a read if you're into this genre.

I think I've read every book by Mr. Melchiorri. I've absolutely loved his The Tide series (even though I don't like Zombie novels), and i've loved his God Organ book (even though I'm so-so on bio-cyberpunk), but I have to say this may be one of his best books (or maybe THE best book) yet!Over the last few years I've read through the entire seven (eight? nine?) books of The Tide, following the team of protagonists as they try to save the world, utterly enthralled. In the author's off-universe standalone books, I've really enjoyed reading the crazy situations, and brilliant set pieces, drawn along by tight, clean narratives.When I saw that he had created a new series, I was partly saddened that it wasn't a "The Tide" book, but excited to see it was in the realm of Sci-Fi Military fiction, one of the genres I've really been getting into recently.The book starts off very strongly. No fifty-page gentle lead-in where the lead character grows up on an alien planet, sees his parents murdered by purple tentacle aliens all called "Jeff" and vows to take them all down.. Oh No, The book smacks into the ground, leaving a crater-sized hole and sets off running at high speed like an elephant on methamphetamine. The book crashes through page after page, twisting and turning, and throwing the reader left and right as you dodge blows and incoming fire along with the protagonists, right the way to its ending...Yes, there are of course little flashbacks and asides to give backstory, but they're brief, poignant and have a good purpose. The fact that the main character is a total badass is kind of already a given, so the set-pieces of flashback are simply to explain realisations or underline a plot point.The dialog is tight, the characters believable, the environment really well described, and the material brilliantly gripping. It might not win any awards for originality... "Sentinels" guarding "Relics" from "Progenitors" on alien worlds reads like it was taken straight from No Mans' Sky or quite a few other works. Heck, even "The Forbidden Planet" had echoes of some of this.However once you get over the similarity to No Mans Sky in the enemy names, you realise that this is totally different, and the book takes a whole different turn. In short, this feels like it's a book that's set in a well-established universe with loads of stuff going on, and this is just one tale of one group within it. kind of like Star Wars. Maybe not in subject matter or tone (beyond a slight resemblance to Hoth in ESB), but in the way that there are empires clashing, and we're following the story of an (important) small group within that universe.I honestly couldn't put the book down and I've read it in record time. I'm already looking to see if I can get book 2.If I have one criticism, it's that the main character feels "reckless". He burns through and destroys materiel far faster than one might expect. His stratagems last about 20 seconds before everyone's dead or dying and he's back on his ass wondering what to do next. Grand Tactician he ain't. So, I'm hoping that in later books, he learns a little tactics and starts to act a little less brashly.What an awesome book! Can't wait to read more!!!!

I found it a tiny bit slow to get into but that well good have been the mood I was in. There is lots of action and fighting scenes. The story line is unique and interesting. I would like a little more character development but I reckon that will improve as we go along. I’m looking forward to the next book.

Just passed by this book in the KUnlimited list, and thought I'd check it out on a whim. Very glad I did. In fact I found it hard to put down until I finished.As a side note, I gave it 4.5 . I had to think back through almost the whole book before I decided the ending came on rather fast. I mean, I had to find something unperfect and this is the best I could come up with! Can't wait to see where book 2 takes us!

I enjoyed this book. The characters and their development; as well as the fact that the author doesn’t get mired so much in detail that the plot stalls. Fast moving with the right amount of humour!