Colonists, Smugglers, and Fast Attack Craft: The Virtues of War Trilogy by Bennett R. Coles
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I grew up as an army brat in Canada. My dad was an engineer in the Canadian Armed Forces, and I was born on a Canadian Air Force base in Marville, France in the mid-60s. We moved all over Nova Scotia, Quebec, and eventually Ontario, as Dad led teams of engineers working on huge projects, including radar installations in Eureka, Nunavut, and the Air Combat Maneuvering range in Cold Lake, Alberta.
So I’ve been naturally curious about the work of author Bennett R. Coles, who spent 14 years as an officer in the Royal Canadian Navy, and served two tours with the United Nations in Syria and Lebanon. His debut SF novel, Virtues of War (Promontory Press, 2010), drew wide praise for both its realistic portrayal of life in uniform, and for his mastery of fast-paced military SF.
Now, I know you’ve been wanting to try some military SF, but you’ve been a little gun shy, right? Who better to ease you into the genre than a Canadian writing about far-flung Terran colonies, smugglers, rebellion, sinister terrorists, and the crew of a fast attack craft caught in the middle of it all? You know I’m right.
So far there are three novels in the Virtues of War series, all from Titan. Two are in print, and the third arrives in August:
Virtues of War (461 pages, $14.95 in trade paperback/$7.99 digital, June 30, 2015)
Ghosts of War (416 pages, $14.95 in trade paperback/$7.99 digital, August 2, 2016)
March of War (416 pages, $14.95 in trade paperback/$7.99 digital, August 8, 2017)
The covers are by Fred Gambino. Here’s a closer look at the front and back cover of the first volume, Virtues of War (click for bigger versions).
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Thanks John, this sounds right up my street.
|I think I’ll give these a try.
Excellent — let us know what you think!
The books look interesting. I spent some time with the Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Marines who introduced my squad to “Moose Milk”. OMG! was it delicious and the hangover equally as painful. I’ll probably give the book, not the whole series a try because I learned from past encounters with Canadians to start slow with moderation.
I was wondering, have you ever considered posting video blogs here? One of my favorite Canadian vloggers and YouTube personalities is Ash Barker who does miniature game reviews and after action reports. He is so good that my tight wad friend Trucker Bob actually PAID into his Kickstarter. Now Ash does his youTube channel full time—he is that good. And Ash does not show his politics but I know he is a left winger otherwise I would not suggest him.
I like the veterans who write stories. For me they have an added flair because they served and some of the bubtle subject matter would relate to a vet and might not gain notice with a civvie.