Product Description
In the first book of the Star Crusades Uprising series, the bloody struggle is told through the eyes of an illegal pit fighter named Spartan, who is forced to choose between incarceration or military service. Choosing the Confederate Marine Corps over servitude he begins his thirty long weeks of training. Together with his group of marines, they are honed into a force ready to be thrown into the meat grinder on the newest and greatest planet in the Confederacy, Proxima Prime. His term of service will soon become one of violence and carnage, as the entire sector is ripped apart by a brutal and virulent religious movement and its shocking plans.
What starts as a series of suicide bombings and hijackings through the Confederacy quickly turns into a full-scale revolution on Prime that threatens the entire planet and quickly spreads to its orbital Naval Station and beyond. As every warship and military transport in the area is rushed to its defence, the fate of the planet and the entire sector lie in the hands of a small number of rookie marines.
Siege of Titan is a classic work of realistic military science fiction set against the background of the first interstellar human empire.
The Star Crusades series currently includes the original Star Crusades Uprising and brand new Star Crusades Nexus series that follows the story of the Centauri Alliance seventeen years after the end of the Uprising. Novels currently available in the series include:
STAR CRUSADES UPRISING: THE FIRST TRILOGY
Siege of Titan (Star Crusades Uprising, Book 1)
Tears of Kerberos (Star Crusades Uprising, Book 2)
Fires of Prometheus (Star Crusades Uprising, Book 3)
STAR CRUSADES UPRISING: THE SECOND TRILOGY
Battle for Proxima (Star Crusades Uprising, Book 4)
Fall of Terra Nova (Star Crusades Uprising, Book 5)
Slaves of Hyperion (Star Crusades Uprising, Book 6)
STAR CRUSADES NEXUS
Legions of Orion (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 1)
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Spartan was hurt, really hurt. He hadn't felt this much pain in years and even then he hadn't been in danger of dying in such a degrading manner. As he lay on the ground, he could feel the dull ache across his shoulder and chest from the impact and it took him superhuman effort to stay conscious. The arena floor burned his feet and as the pain kicked in his vision started to blur. He lifted his left arm and as soon as he moved the muscle he could feel the sharp pain in his ribs, it was like a knife being thrust deep into his flesh. He forced himself passed the pain and wiped his brow, making him concentrate on the fight he faced. At the very least he had broken ribs and as for his shoulder, he had no idea. Anyway, it didn't really matter as he was about to suffer far worse if he didn't move. He struck his hand against his chest, hitting the valve that released a dose of drugs into his bloodstream that instantly numbed the pain in his body. In licensed matches these kinds of drugs were never needed but this kind of fight could lead to death, and in these circumstances he was more than happy to put something into his blood to give him a fighting chance.
Forcing his eyes open, he saw the dull metal mace heading for his head. With every ounce of energy he had left, he rolled to the right. The weapon smashed down into the ground, missing his body by inches. He kept rolling and then forced himself up into a sitting position.
"Now I'm pissed!" he swore to himself.
He dragged himself off the floor and up to face his opponent.
Maximilian was his name, or at least, that was his fighting name. The man was massive, an image of a Greek god that stood a good six and a half feet tall. His torso was puffed out with thick muscles and blood dripped from a gash across his stomach. Of all the opponents Spartan had faced, this one had caused him the most trouble. In fifteen minutes of gut wrenching combat they had both broken bones and cut flesh, yet both were still fighting.
