Knox's Irregulars [Kindle Edition]

J. Wesley Bush (Author)

Book Description

“These fanatics aren’t fighting for our land, but for our destruction. They think in slogans and talk in bullets. Such men can’t be reasoned with, only fought . . ."

Randal Knox never wanted to be a leader. But as the firstborn son of the Prime Minister, he seemed fated to a life in politics. Fleeing his family's plans, Randal enlists with the armored infantry, thinking he'll be safe on the snowy border with neighboring Abkhenazia.

When followers of the Prophet take control of Abkhenazia, his haven turns to hell. A vast army of zealots invades New Geneva, routing its tiny defense force and sending the remnants fleeing for their lives. Randal is forced to take charge of a small band of survivors, sheltering them in the mountain city of Providence.

With Providence under the iron rule of Colonel Gregor Tsepashin, Randal faces a choice. Will he hide safely in catacombs beneath the city, or embrace his calling? The militia cells are scattered. His only allies are a turncoat Abkhenazi, a mad Belorussian immigrant, a beautiful but green medic, and a handful of armored infantry.

It will take everything he has to lead his people to freedom.

REVIEWS:

"J. Wesley Bush has accomplished the impossible: he has blended high tech savvy, geopolitics, philosophical and theological details, humor, gritty war action and romance all in a thrilling and mind-expanding read." - Shawn Doud

"Best of all is the quality of the writing: it's smooth, polished, and consistently good throughout. The dialogue is realistic, the pacing is smart, and the sprinkling of wry humor is funny without ever jeopardizing the overall seriousness of the story." - Corey P.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

J. Wesley Bush currently lives and works in Nairobi, Kenya. He has previously served as an airborne infantryman, military intelligence cryptolinguist, NGO worker, and historian. He also spent two years as a unicyclist in a circus. John is the husband of one lovely wife and the proud father of four boys (with another on the way.) He can be found online at www.jwesleybush.com.

Product Details

• File Size: 488 KB
• Print Length: 273 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1466487046
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005XNQTXG
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #54,888 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #33 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy > Christian Fantasy
  • #65 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Religious Fiction > Science Fiction & Fantasy
  • #90 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Religious & Inspirational > Science Fiction & Fantasy

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 57 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A great military thriller from the 25th century. October 21, 2011

By Benjamin Wisdom

Format:Kindle Edition

Take a Tom Clancy novel like The Teeth Of The Tiger (Jack Ryan), set it in a universe like the one depicted in Firefly - The Complete Series, sprinkle in a respect for the sensibilities of the Protestant Reformation, and you've got J. Wesley Bush's new novel "Knox's Irregulars".

I first got to know Mr. Bush's writing through his old blog "Le Sabot Post Moderne" way back in the "mid-naughties". His blog was so effective in its defense of a vigorous Christianity and an unashamed western civilization, that it was actually hacked at least once by islamist radicals.

A similar cultural clash on a planet at the edge of known space in the 25th century is the subject of his new book, "Knox's Irregulars". The book opens with the Terran Hegemony granting sovereignty to a planet colonized by two very different peoples. The New Genevans are a small group of Calvinistic space pilgrims inspired to Christian faith by the Second Great Reformation of the 23rd century. They have found a way to live freely and prosperously on a small, rocky peninsula on a backwater planet, living their lives as they believe God would have them do. Their jealous neighbors to the north, the Abkhenazi, are a Neo-Islamist people who believe that they can forcefully advance the evolution of humans into beings of pure energy by inhumane scientific experimentation and collectivist living. Since these two outlooks mix like oil and water, one does not turn too many pages in this book before the struggle comes to a clash of arms.

Mr. Bush's writing is high quality: heart-pounding action is interspersed with the wry humor one would expect from a group of people whose lives are under threat every day. It's clear that the author has been around the world to experience the full spectrum of humanity. His characters are vivid, easily distinguishable from the inside out, and believable in their diversity, freely slipping into their various native tongues under the influence of strong emotion. The internal conflict of various characters reflect and influence the war happening all around them. One character that stands out is Jeni Cho. She reminds me a bit of Abby Sciuto from NCIS: Seasons 1-8, and her offbeat manner is a welcome foil to the hard-nose Randal Knox.

The well-picked quotes from historical figures placed at the beginning of each chapter do much to set the tone of the book and spur thought within the reader. In the spirit of Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers, the author also sprinkles some philosophical debate between his various characters, but these conversations don't get a chance to get too long-winded or preachy before the greater conflict once again intervenes.

Overall, "Knox's Irregulars" is a great page-turner, and I highly recommend it. The closer you get to the end of the book, the harder it is to put down.

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read For Christian Sci-Fi Fans November 11, 2011

By W. Rogers

Format:Kindle Edition

Last night, I stayed up way past the normal time I turn in, reading a new Christian novel e-book that I found out about on Twitter, called Knox's Irregulars by J. Wesley Bush. I was immediately intrigued, because it was Christian science fiction. It is rare that I read modern Christian novels, and even rarer that I enjoy them. I am a lover of classical literature, and most modern novels, particularly Christian novels, don't really stand up well next to the classics. However, I was pleasantly surprised with Knox's Irregulars.

Knox's Irregulars is set in the 25th century, on a distant planet that humans have colonized. There are two groups of humans inhabiting the planet, the New Genevans, a small group of Reformed Christians and others living on the south end of the planet's continent. The other group is the Abkhenazi, a much larger people group, whose religion and politics could best be described as a cobbling together of New-Age spirituality, Islam, Marxism and Nazism.

The Abkhenazi group is rather poorly off, economically, because of their political/religious reasons. As we see in Islamic and Marxist nations, the people always suffer greatly due to the political and religious views of those nations. But their soldiers fight with the fanatical devotion we see from Islamic fighters and the Nazi soldiers. Further, they attempt to engineer evolution in humans through experiments on their prisoners and subjects, something we've seen from Nazism.

The New Genevans, on the other hand, are a mostly Christian group, primarily Reformed Christian(read: Calvinist), although there are those who don't adhere to Christianity in their midst. They tend to be more prosperous than their Abkhenazi, promoting jealousy from their neighbors. What the Genevans lack in sheer force, they tend to make up for in technology. But technology isn't everything when one is greatly outnumbered.

When war starts between New Geneva and the Abkhenazi, Corporal Randal Knox is forced to take the lead of a ragtag band of survivors who make it past the first clash with the Abkhenazi, and who are now attempting to make it back to the main force of the army. When this small band of survivors finally makes it to the primary city where the main force of the army was supposed to be, the Abkhenazi now occupy that city and are keeping the New Genevans prisoner. Knox is faced with a decision, attempt to make it back to the army much farther south, or attempt to get the underground milita groups working together to defeat the Abkhenazi. Knox is also drawn to the young medic that is part of his group, a beautiful young woman, and attempts to begin a relationship with her.

The writing in this book draws you in and engages you. The author is evidently a well-read man, judging by his use of different philosphers and thinkers and mentions of historical events. It has always been my experience that the best authors are men who read well, and this book would seem to prove my point. His characters have depth, although the author doesn't go into needlessly long detail about who his characters are and what they do. Not only is the story engaging, the characters realistic, but there is also a bit of theological work in here, making it much more interesting for those of us who are Christians. I would strongly recommend this e-book for a read, particularly if you enjoy science-fiction. If you don't, this book would still be enjoyable for you I think. It's worth every penny you spend on it, and more.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic stuff November 6, 2011

By Magruder

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This was a great piece of work, excellent character development without filling pages and pages with unnecessary depth. I always enjoy an author who is not so attached to his characters that they are untouchable or seemingly immortal. The theological work in was unexpected, unique, and fit well within the story line. Look forward to future work by Bush.

More About the Author

J. Wesley currently lives and works in Nairobi, Kenya. He has previously served as an airborne infantryman, military intelligence cryptolinguist, NGO worker, and historian. He also spent two years as a unicyclist in a circus. He is the husband of one lovely wife and the proud father of four boys, with one on the way.

Connect on Twitter: @jwesleybush