Helfort's War Book 3: The Battle of Devastation Reef [Mass Market Paperback]

Graham Sharp Paul (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 24, 2009 | Series: Helfort's War (Book 3)

If he survives, hell just may freeze over.

The savage Hammer Worlds are not only near invincible but almost certain to win their war to crush the Federated Worlds and control humanspace–unless the Feds can find and destroy their secret antimatter warhead facility.

Only dreadnoughts, the lone Federated ships able to withstand antimatter missile attacks, can do the job, and only Lieutenant Michael Helfort has the skill to lead them. But skill may not be enough, because Helfort is more than the newly appointed captain: He’s a hero, and this means that his own senior officers want him to fail–and that the enemy’s kingpin wants him dead.

Helfort’s early victories merely intensify everyone’s determination. No action is too low, no price too high, to bring him down–with treachery, or betrayal, or an offer he can’t refuse, even if it means selling out his own side.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Graham Sharp Paul, born in Sri Lanka, received an honors degree in archaeology and anthropology from Cambridge University and an MBA from Macquarie University. He joined the Royal Navy in 1972, qualifying as a mine warfare and clearance diving officer before reaching the rank of lieutenant commander with the Navy’s mine warfare flotilla. In 1983 he transferred to the Royal Australian Navy, serving in its Trials & Assessments Unit and Clearance Diving School before transferring to civilian life in 1987. Paul worked for two Australian companies in the banking and media sectors before setting up his own business development and corporate finance consultancy in 1991. Over the next twelve years he worked on a worldwide range of projects. In 2003 he gave up corporate life to write full-time. He is also the author of The Battle at the Moons of Hell and The Battle of the Hammer Worlds, the first two novels in his Helfort’s War series. Paul has three sons and lives in Sydney with his wife, Vicki.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey; Original edition (November 24, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345513703
• ISBN-13: 978-0345513700
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #630,096 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born in Colombo, Sri Lanka (then called Ceylon).

Educated at the Hill School in Nuwara Eliya before completing my secondary education at Glenalmond School in Scotland, then on to Cambridge University before joining the Royal Navy. Why the navy? Simple. From the day I started diving as a 16-year-old in Trincomalee, I wanted to be a diver and, when it comes to the business of military diving, the Royal Navy was the best.

Migrated to Australia with my wife and three sons in 1983 by transferring to the Royal Australian Navy (best decision I ever made) before moving into a new career in corporate finance in 1988. Retired from what was a stressful if well paid business in 2003. Now I write military science fiction in between diving, which is - after my wife, my three boys, and my two granddaughters - my greatest passion.

Why write sci-fi? Well, living next door to Arthur C. Clarke in Colombo had a lot to do with that. The first SF book I ever read - thanks Mum - was his "Fall of Moondust". It captured my imagination in a way no other book ever has. Thanks to that book, I still look to the stars and will write SF for so long as there is a publisher willing to back me.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun read, November 30, 2009

By 

M. J Bauer "Mike Bauer - Voracious Reader" (Commerce Township, MI USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Helfort's War Book 3: The Battle of Devastation Reef (Mass Market Paperback)

Fun read but not great literature. (potential spoiler) Get ready for another cliff hanger ending and be aware that their will be a Helfort's War Book 4.

The story picks up with the launch of the new Dreadnought strategy and we get into the internal politics of the Navy and society. You will see a thinly veiled story based on today's headlines with a futuristic spin. Young idealist frustrated by the "system"and by his personal heroism, grit and determination he attempts to overcome both the Hammers and the system.

Lots of bang bang action, multiple threads and a lot of heroism and team camaraderie.

View this as an old fashioned Space Opera with lots of villains, good guys, and beautiful women. Lots of fun but not great literature

Why four stars? It is a fun read to give you a break from a hectic day. I really like series and the books are easy to read and fun.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars ship to ship battles are still lame, January 5, 2010

By 

H. Pau - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Helfort's War Book 3: The Battle of Devastation Reef (Mass Market Paperback)

A reviewer for the first book opined that the space battles were lame. I gave the series the benefit of the doubt at the time, but now I've concluded that I have to agree. The space battles in this series are just not exciting. They do not involve any large scale ship maneuvers, defensive or offensive formations, dog fighting, running fights, or even dodging incoming shots. The only tactics seem to be: sneak in, be the first to shoot and hope your shields can absorb the response when it arrives in 10 minutes.

In addition, Paul continues to have his characters do, in my opinion, totally stupid things as if that was their only option. Case in point (SPOILERS!), Lt. Helfort has disabled the Hammer's asteroid's defensive positions with missles and followed up with rail gun strafing. A couple of severely damaged Hammer Battle Stations are still taking pot shots at his approaching fleet of Dreadnoughts with their few remaining guns. It is clearly stated that because of his Dreadnought's armor, these were futile attempts to stop him. Yet, he orders a couple of his Dreadnoughts, which incidentally are the only remaining combat effective Fleet World ships left and are still pretty much undamaged, to kamikaze the battle stations! Why?! Why couldn't he have rail gunned the Battle Stations some more? Why did he throw away good ships especially when he was expecting additional Hammer reinforcements due to the importance of this asteroid base?

I was really tempted to give this novel 2 stars just for this idiocy. However, the rest of the story was ok. The writing is pretty good. The dialog still needs improvement though. The banter sounds fake or forced. The stories have not endeared me to the characters, but are interesting enough for me to follow to see what happens next.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars [caution... spoilers imminent...] Helfort's War, January 15, 2010

By 

A Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Helfort's War Book 3: The Battle of Devastation Reef (Kindle Edition)

I am relatively new to the Helfort's War series, and am proud to have finished the whole series to date within a week. I just read a few of the other reviews, and feel obliged to share my opinion. It seems to me, at least, that Mr. Paul has most certainly gotten down the process of creating a suspensfull behind-the-lines story, and it's not repetetive at all from book to book. Unfortunantly, I can see with equal clarity the need for more exciting ship-to-ship battles, perhaps adding new additions such as a fighter/bomber and plasma anti-ship cannons. Personally, I like his idea of a "trashpress," that and his view of corrupting political decisions interfering with military planning and needlessly wasting human personell. If you're wondering why I gave this five stars, it's because the rest of the book balances out the space conflicts. Work on #4, Mr. Paul. We'll wait for it, and it'll be the best yet.
Signing out,
~Theo C~