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1st to Fight (Earth at War) by [Rick Partlow]

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Rick Partlow

1st to Fight (Earth at War) Kindle Edition

by Rick Partlow (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

961 ratings

Book 1 of 6: Earth at War

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I retired from the USMC, and now I write about space marines.

I never thought I’d actually become one.

As a sci-fi author with a hit TV show, I have a few ideas about what alien invaders are supposed to look like. In my stories, they’re technologically advanced monsters, with tentacles, and no faces.

Turns out I was right about the technology.

And about how angry they’d be.

But the way they look…that’s more terrifying than even I could have imagined.

They look exactly like us.

Because they are us.

Dragon Award Finalist Rick Partlow's Earth at War series is military sci-fi at its finest: packed with nonstop action and seasoned with grade-A military humor. Jump into the story today!

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478 pages
Language

English
Publication date

November 15, 2020
File size

5474 KB
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Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08MJ859LD
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pramantha Publishing (November 15, 2020)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 15, 2020
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 5474 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 478 pages
Lending ‏ : ‎ Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #16,247 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #29 in Science Fiction (Kindle Store)
- #92 in Hard Science Fiction (Kindle Store)
- #119 in Space Exploration Science Fiction eBooks

Customer Reviews:
961 ratings

About the author

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Rick Partlow

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Rick Partlow is that rarest of species, a native Floridian. Born in Tampa, he attended Florida Southern College and graduated with a degree in History and a commission in the US Army as an Infantry officer.

His lifelong love of science fiction began with Have Space Suit---Will Travel and the other Heinlein juveniles and traveled through Clifford Simak, Asimov, Clarke and on to William Gibson, Walter Jon Williams and Peter F Hamilton. And somewhere, submerged in the worlds of others, Rick began to create his own worlds.

He has written over 40 books in a dozen different series, and his short stories have been included in twelve different anthologies.

He is currently writing the best-selling Drop Trooper series for Aethon Books, a mil-SF alien invasion series, as well as the Earth at War series for Pramantha Publishing.

He lives in northern Wyoming with his wife and two lovable mutts. Besides writing and reading science fiction and fantasy, he enjoys outdoor photography, hiking and camping.

To subscribe to Rick's newsletter, go to this link: https://www.subscribepage.com/o1m0u1

Customer reviews

5 star		67%
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3 star		4%
2 star		2%
1 star		1%

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Top reviews from the United States

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William D. Albrecht

Entertaining

Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2020

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I purchased this up for $0.99 + tax, and found a great bargain. Rick Partlow’s book, 1st to War, is very well written and greatly entertaining.

It seems formulaic, Earth countries bickering and heading to war, Earth countries barely capable only of reaching the moon, high tech peaceful aliens need a military minded species to defend them from a brutal conquering foe. I expected to pitch the book after the third chapter as this is a formula that has disappointed me before.

But Partlow is innovative. In the first single ship to single ship battle in our solar system, the human led weaponless peace loving aliens defeat their war mongering attackers by colliding with them and caroming them into the moon. Crazy, yes?

If Partlow can keep up with imaginative new weapons and strategies from the new team of high tech aliens with science fiction reading Earth military leaders, then we will have an entertaining new series to read.

Good luck, Rick Partlow.

18 people found this helpful

Helpful

Jas PTop Contributor: Star Wars

Exceptional start to what is going to be a Brilliant Series!!

Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2020

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1st to Fight is a really clever, well thought out Mil Sci-Fi story that is fast paced, action packed, with a wicked sense of humour, and is so realistic, so real, you can quite literally smell the plasma burning as the shots pass by. But more than that, it is a great tale of an ex-Marine, who has turned to writing Sci-Fi, suddenly finding that that his former life, and his writing career have melded into a very weird future, one that involves aliens that look a lot, nope make that exactly, like Humans….
The story follows Andy Clanton, a mediocre Sci-Fi writer, who has done alright for himself in that, he not only has a decent selling book series, he actually has his own TV-Series. He is a former Marine, who having suffered PTSD, and having self-medicated with alcohol, was discharged from the Military after an unfortunate incident. His choice of self-medicating also led to the end of his marriage, and his ex-wife, having little understanding for the trauma and suffering he was going through (with the PTSD, not the drinking), and just being worried about herself and her son, left and took his Son with him.
It is his writing career that has keep him above water, and he has cleaned himself up, along with some help from friends, and at the start of this book, he is actually in space, aboard a special project with a Rich Entrepreneur, Daniel Gatlin.
However, whilst this is taking place, an object appears by our Moon, an Unknown ‘Alien’ Object, and transmits a message, the first to get to ‘their location’, will get access to their technology.
After a very short (and bloody) race, a US contingent makes it, mainly due to Andy’s group already being in space, but this doesn’t stop a Russian and Chinese contingent trying, which has led to a lot of unrest on Earth.
What happens next will not only change Andy’s life forever, but all of those on Earth.
Without giving too much away, what unfolds is that Andy, and an old friend, a Delta Force Soldier with the nickname ‘Jambo’, end up as part of a team on a mission in space. Andy is roped into it because of his former training, and then during a battle with an enemy space ship, he actually comes up with tactics that no one else thinks of because he is the Sci-Fi writer, and has thought of ship to ship space combat, something that no one else has.
Andy and Jambo become wrapped up in an intergalactic fight to help save not just Humanity, but another species to, and suddenly Andy’s Sci-Fi writing is a lot more ‘Science-Fact’ than ‘Science-Fiction’.
Whilst this might all seem highly unlikely, and unrealistic, Partlow has actually kept it real, there are good, clean explanations for things that occur every step of the way, and this includes the Tech as well, which is not only explained well, but is just SO COOL!! The Technology of the Aliens (called the Helta), without giving away spoilers, is just beautifully done. It is creative, clever, and well described, but at the same time, does not get carried away or glorify aspects of it, there is a healthy respect for the weapons, and there is also a healthy respect for the more technological aspects such as the hyperdrive and other toys the Helta and Tevynians have.
This exceptional work continues into Partlow’s character writing. His main character Andy Clanton is a soldier that has fought in a previous conflict, and has killed in combat. Clanton, is both quite intelligent, and a thinker, two traits that are rather unfortunate when faced with the situation he was in. Clanton suffers from chronic PTSD, and Partlow’s in-depth, and gritty discussion of Clanton’s story is intensely raw and powerful at times, very emotive. Partlow is a Soldier himself, from a Military Family, and has done extensive research into the subject, and you can tell with his writing, as it shows.
This is not just with the PTSD aspect, but also with the brutally raw nature of the combat scenes as well, which at times leave you feeling like you are standing in the middle of it, from the smell of burnt flesh, to blood on the floor and the overwhelming cacophony of noise – gunshots, orders, screaming, yelling, radio transmission, and the thundering noise of battle, all whilst you try and focus on your target, try not to slip, retch at the smell, get shot, or shoot at something someone else is targeting so you don’t waste a shot – Partlow describes all this in such intricate, gritty, (at times, with raw emotions), detail, at all times it is utterly captivating, as you are glued to the page, having to know what is going to happen next.
As you get through page, after page, you realise you are holding your breathe (And as an ex-Cop of 11yrs, this is why they teach Cops to shout ‘Don’t Move’ – because when you shout – you breathe – it stops the Probationary Cops (well in Australia), from passing out – it is also why I understand the entire concept of PTSD, and how Partlow has written it so well!!)
It is not just Clanton though who is brilliant, Master Sgt Jim ‘Jambo’ Bowie, Delta Force operative, is perhaps one of the best characters in the book (although there are a lot of them!!), as the war torn Delta guy, who sort of has a rank, of only Master Sgt, but everyone, even Colonels and the like, are scared of him. He has that casual calm in any situation of a Man that has seen too much action, and just knows how things play out, that things go bad, and there is no point getting upset about it, you just have to deal with it. His character is not gung-ho, but remarkably down-to-earth, and rational, gentle even at times, but with that smirk that terrifies even the scariest of monsters.
There are so many other wonderful characters, and so many other fun things that I would love to talk about, but it would ruin the book. One of the funniest things about this book has to be Andy’s mouth, he has a sarcastic tongue like a 16yr old girl, but with the comments of a 100yr old Sailor. He fires comments off so quick and so fast, at times, some of the characters are not sure what has happened, at other times, they are just in his head, but pretty much every one of them is so bad, that they could make a marine cry, but they make you laugh, OMG, I seriously laughed so hard I think I broke a rib a few times. Partlow obviously had a lot of fun writing this.
1st to Fight sees Humanity making difficult decisions, having to fight with little to no training in new tech (and the tech is just awesome and again, described so well – both the Human and Alien tech (well the Human is sort of alien anyway, so!!), but the detailed, and comprehensive descriptive work is just exquisite, it adds so much detail to the story.
And this is a story about Humans, fighting, well, other Humans, the Synopsis is right, you have to read it to understand, but you will. And it is rather fascinating how. With ship to ship combat, person to person, even hand to hand, there is a LOT of action.
As an added bonus, there is an extra short story at the end of the book that talks about Andy’s time in Venezuela, and how he met Jambo. It is a really interesting story, in that it covers two different stories, the one in Venezuela (which was apparently one of his worst days in the war, or so he tells his son), and the other part of the story, is set after ‘1st to Fight’, and covers Andy and the Team going on an important rescue mission, that will again, affect the course of Humanity, but this time around, if they fail, it will not only mean the death of Humans, but it could also mean the death of a lot of others as well.
Again, it is a really well written, fast paced action story, that just does not stop. The great thing about the short story (Called Rescue Mission funnily enough), is that it gives some fantastic insight into not just Andy, but some of the other characters as well.
Most of the time, a book like this (commonly a 0.5), would be a separate edition, and you would have to buy it, sign up for it, or sell your first born for it, but Partlow has not only included it for free, but it is actually included for free in the Audiobook as well.
1st to Fight is a brilliant start to what is going to be an Epic Series. If you like series like the Expeditionary Series – you will love this!.

10 people found this helpful

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Marc Yergin

One of most original and best written military space operas I have read.

Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2021

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Andy Clanton is a former marine, a platoon leader, which put him on the first line in some ongoing military activities. He is in the inactive Marine Reserves but works as a science fiction writer. Daniel Gartlin, an industrialist, invited him to ride along with him and several other guests on the first privately-funded flight around the moon.
Everything goes according to plan until an alien spaceship appears. This the beginning of one of the most original space opera and military science fiction stories I have read in many years.
Needless to say, Andy is recalled to active duty and is reunited with a former Delta Forces operator who is one of his closest friends, James “Jambo” Bowie, with whom he had gained more combat experience than he could have imagined or wanted.
The aliens, the Helta, are not bug-eyed monsters with tentacles for arms. They look like oversized koala bears. Turns out more than 100,000 years ago a panoply of animals, including humans, were removed from Earth, altered to enable sentience, and deposited on various new terra-formed planets along with other, simpler life forms. The Helta were only one of the many.
The Helta are more of a peace-loving species but had run into a very aggressive and nasty species — the Tevynians. The Helta need to enlist Earth’s humans to help them defend their world from the Tevynians.
The short version is this novel, the first one in a trilogy, has some of the best land-based military action and space battles I’ve read in a long time, the characters are engaging, and the writing is fluid. You will not be able to put this book down until you finish it.
I am retired from the army and the military action is as believable as possible. It made reading this book even more enjoyable.
Bottom line: if you like military science fiction, awesome writing that will engage you with a plot that is as original as possible. and some of the most engaging characters I have enjoyed following, this is definitely the book for you.

5 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

A good story with characters you can care about

Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2020

Verified Purchase

I hadn't read any Rick Partlow books before this one, and I've seen a lot of really mediocre self-published books that have only one advantage, being extremely cheap. So I didn't have many expectations for this book, either , so have been pleasantly surprised. Rick Partlow is a good writer!

He has the good sense and skill to make this story character-driven rather than just descriptions of wondrous strange science toys and space battle after space battle. We're given people and aliens you can care about, who like real people make mistakes and screw up occasionally, but ultimately get it done.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and am looking forward to the next one. In the meantime, I'm going to try some of his other books. An author who writes this well is a great find. This story may not be a timeless masterpiece, but it's a fun read that has entertained me thoroughly, which is enough for me!

3 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

PeterR

Non stop read.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 28, 2020

Verified Purchase

This is yet another from Rick Partlow that makes you sit up late at night so that you can finish it. The story gets hold of you and drags you along with it. From a soldiers viewpoint, as he develops his skills, and his hangups and struggles are very real. His colleagues and his relationship with them are all real. Aliens, and humans, all involved in a struggle to stop a relentless invader. Earth involvement seen from the American points, it would be interesting if we could see how the other races on Earth react, but that is a different storyline. Interstellar battles, strange planets and always the boots on the ground to resolve it. I loved this first book and will be going with this series. Rick, thanks for a really good and interesting book.

One person found this helpful

Kindle Customer

An entertaining read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 22, 2020

Verified Purchase

I got this book free to review direct from the author, as I had never read anything of his previously I was genuinely surprised to enjoy this work as much as I did, the story is entertaining, nothing was really hard going. There are the usual spelling and grammatical errors when computer programs are used to spell check. That said there are not that many or of a nature that spoils the story
I will be buying the remaining books to read, to finish the storyline.

One person found this helpful

Ron Robson

This was an excellent read. Exciting, strong characters and a very strong story.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 18, 2020

Verified Purchase

This is an exciting book to read. It has very strong characters who grow into the story and then become the story. Once I started reading this book I was unable to put it down. Just the BEST!¥

One person found this helpful