Chain of Command, Volume 3 (Cottohazz)

Military SF from legendary game creator Frank Chadwick. Lieutenant Sam Bitka finds himself commanding a starship against an alien enemy who always seems one step ahead of him.

A CAPTAIN FINDS HIS CALLING

Lieutenant Sam Bitka, U.S. Naval Reserve, is fed up with the military. He just wants to get back to his civilian job and leave the infighting and pettiness of careerist officers behind. Then real war breaks out as tensions between Earth and the alien Varoki boil over. As tactical officer aboard the deep space destroyer USS Puebla, Sam is thrust into the thick of things.

The Varoki launch a crippling surprise attack against the Earth coalition fleet, and Sam finds himself in command of the Puebla—a job he is far from certain he can perform without screwing up. Not only must Sam deal with his stunned and reeling leaders in the human task force, he must also face down a particularly brilliant alien enemy who has made a deep study of human motivation and how to exploit it—an enemy who intends to use human indecision as a weapon to destroy the fleet.

Now one freshly minted, brave new ship captain must learn what hundreds of leaders before him have discovered:

THE CHAIN OF THE COMMAND STOPS HERE 

Praise for Chain of Command: 

“Chadwick’s heavy hitter succeeds at teeth-gritting action scenes, deep psychological portraits of diverse characters and societies, and abundant puzzles and mysteries. All . . . mixed in seamlessly with the vivid tragedies of war and balanced with dark humor.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"...strong characterization and the briskness of the plot should please. Fans of military sf and of Chadwick, in particular, should give it a look."—Booklist

"Chain of Command is very smartly put together… Chadwick gets the details right, whether he's talking about the effects of prolonged weightlessness or the intricacies of geo and interstellar politics and economics… a solid piece of Mil-SF writing that pulls from many historical sources and manages to convey a lot of what the Surface Navy is like…. it isn't the steel hulls that make the navy tough, it's the sailors that crew them."—SFRevue

About Come the Revolution:
“[A]dventure, family secrets and humor. . . . The plot is as hard as the science Chadwick uses. . . . [E]ngages readers. First-rate science fiction; it moves at a fast pace throughout.”—Daily News of Galveston County

"Chadwick offers an exciting military SF story set on the Varoki home planet of Hazz’Akato in his follow up to How Dark the World Becomes...Chadwick, a leading designer of military and science-fiction board- and role-playing games, knows his way around a battlefield...eccentric  cohorts are entertaining, and a few surprises guarantee that readers will be seeing more of this series."—Booklist

"This sequel to How Dark the World Becomes is a fast-paced, action-packed sf adventure. Readers new to Chadwick’s series will be able to start here without too much trouble; essential background information is given, and the author leaps straight into an original story set two years after the previous entry.”—Library Journal

About How Dark the World Becomes:
“How Dark the World Becomes is a crackling debut novel that speaks of great things to come! It's whip-smart, lightning-fast and character-driven—in short it has everything required to be totally satisfying. Highly recommended." —Jonathan Maberry, New York Times best-selling author of Assassin’s Code

“. . . [a] far off, hard scrabble intergalactic underworld . . . fast-paced intergalactic adventure full of far-flung alien intrigue.”—Astroguyz

" . . . thrilling space adventure . . . I was reminded of Jack McDevitt's Alex Benedict novels and Mark L. Van Name's Jon & Lobo adventures."—SFCrowsnest

Frank Chadwick is the New York Times number one best-selling nonfiction author of over two hundred books, articles, and columns on military history and military affairs, as well as over one hundred military and science fiction board and role-playing games. His game Space: 1889 was the first Steampunk game and remains a cult favorite. His other game writing credits include legendary fantasy game En Garde!, groundbreaking SF role playing game Traveller: The New Era, and many others. Chadwick’s SF novels include Come the Revolution, How Dark the World Becomes and steampunk thriller The Forever Engine, all from Baen Books.