Peace Warrior (Peace Warrior Trilogy, Book 1) [Kindle Edition]

Steven L. Hawk (Author)

Book Description

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This is the professionally re-edited edition of Peace Warrior, dated August 2011.

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PEACE WARRIOR

It’s the mid-21st century when Sergeant First Class Grant Justice is killed during an ambush on an enemy tank column.

Six hundred years later, his body is retrieved from the frozen, arctic lake where he perished. Re-animated by a team of scientists, Grant awakens to a civilization that has abolished war. A civilization that has outlawed violence and cherishes Peace above all else. A civilization that has been enslaved by an alien race called the Minith.

Grant is humankind’s final hope against the alien menace. He must be the... Peace Warrior.

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Steve spent six years as a Military Intelligence Specialist with the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division before joining the ranks of corporate America. He has a B.S. in Business Management from Western Governor's University and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). He has traveled extensively across the United States and, at various times, has lived in Georgia, North Carolina, West Virginia, Massachusetts, California and Idaho. Steve Hawk currently resides in Boise, Idaho with his wife, Juanita. Together, they have a blended family of five sons... and two chihuahuas.

Product Details

• File Size: 562 KB
• Print Length: 262 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B003UHVYQE
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,670 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)
  • #4 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Science Fiction > Time Travel
  • #19 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Science Fiction > Military

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

69 of 71 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent read August 9, 2010

By Debra L. Martin

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

From the moment I started reading this book, the author reeled me in. You are immediately thrown inside the mind of Sgt. First Class Grant Justice while he is leading his men on a combat operation. Unfortunately Sgt. Justice is savagely killed on the mission and his mangled body ends up in the frigid waters of a lake. This scene sets up the premise for the rest of the story.

Flash forward 600 years and the reader is propelled into a time when all the inhabitants on Earth are peaceful. There are no wars, no fighting or even any bickering. This utopian world is the perfect place for the savage and military race, the Minith, to invade and conquer. The Minith rule with an iron fist and the humans are easily enslaved because aggression and violent tendencies have been bred out of them.

I found the chapters dealing with the Earth Peace Council dragged a bit. Their names were complicated and dialogue was stilted, but as soon as Senior Scientist Tane Roland was introduced, I was eagerly turning the pages again. I would have liked it if the author had let us see more into Tane's inner thoughts. He is an anomaly among the humans and it would have been great if his character had been fleshed out more. I would have also liked more back story for the major prison characters. A few fell flat for me.

Tane receives permission from the Council to awaken the newly improved bioengineered Grant Justice and from the moment Grant opens his eyes I was back under his spell. Grant was given an impossible task, but relying on his 600 year old military experience might just save the planet. The author kept Grant true to his ideals and morals throughout the book and it clearly reflected the author's military experience.

Without giving the climax away, I can say that I couldn't stop reading. Page after page flew by during the final chapters. This is an impressive debut novel for this author and I look forward to reading more by him.

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Like Demolition Man but better. July 27, 2010

By Dr. Danger Esq.

Format:Kindle Edition

The plot sounds a little like Demolition Man, but this book takes it to another level. It gets inside the mind of a soldier and his desire to save man kind. I agree it does stall in a few places, but still well worth the read.
A strong start from the author who draws on his experience in the military. Its good to see former soldiers using their experience to expand the minds of future generations. Good work.

39 of 49 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Plot, Stunted delivery September 14, 2010

By Julie A. Dawson VINE™ VOICE

Format:Kindle Edition

For thousands of years, humanity has stood on the brink on annihilation as nations warred against each other for supremacy. Finally, when it seemed that all of the human race would be destroyed, the surviving cultures found a way to suppress their violent tendencies and achieve a lasting peace. But just as the human race had settled into the idea of a future without war, the empire-building Minith attacked and enslaved the Earth. Now, humanity is faced with a choice. Maintain the peace it sought for so long even if it means remaining enslaved to an alien species, or unleash its ancient warlike nature once more to liberate the planet.

This is the premise behind Peace Warrior. Steven L. Hawk presents a bleak future where humanity has lost both the ability and will to defend itself from an oppressive, alien regime. Unable to actually fight for themselves, however, humanity needs to find a hero. That hero is Grant Justice, a war hero frozen in time during the last great war who, through the science of cryogenics, is brought back to life to teach humanity how to defend itself.

At times, Peace Warrior is an exciting and thought provoking story that asks a lot of important questions about what it means to be human. But much of the story gets bogged down by the author's tendency to reduce everything to a stereotype. The Minith are rather one-dimensional bad guys, never really developing into anything other that an evil race that needs to be defeated. In truth, they aren't even really interesting bad guys. More like greedy intergalactic capitalists with a license to kill workers.

The human race has been reduced to six major remaining "cultures": S'mercan, Urop'n, As'n, Musl'n, Afc'n, and N'mercan. The weird naming conventions serve no purpose but to trip up a reader, as the different cultures are never actually defined beyond the most vague of cosmetic descriptions. The As'n representative to the leadership council, for example, is describes as being diminutive and exotic. Her actions, however, never seem exotic or all that much different from anyone else. Hawk seems so insistent on keeping everything sterile to avoid offending someone that the "Musl'in" doesn't even pray to Allah, but to "the culture's God."

The only character with any real personality, and the one worth reading the book for, is Grant Justice. Cheesy name aside, Grant is the only person who seems to develop a full blown personality over the course of the book as he comes to terms with his second chance on life and what has happened to the human race over the last three centuries. His reactions to the strange world he has found himself in are authentic.

Peace Warrior is well plotted, and when Hawk does stop worrying about offending someone he does an amazing job at storytelling. Unfortunately, the author seems to equate "peace" with "conformity and complacency" when it comes to character development, preventing the novel from delivering the epic adventure it could have offered.

Reviewer note: Review copy provided to the reviewer by the author.

More About the Author

Steven L. Hawk spent six years as a Military Intelligence Specialist with the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division before joining the ranks of corporate America. He has a B.S. in Business Management from Western Governor's University and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).

Steve has traveled extensively across the United States and, at various times, has lived in Georgia, North Carolina, West Virginia, Massachusetts, California and Idaho. He currently resides in Boise, Idaho with his wife, Juanita. Together, they have a blended family of five sons: Paul, Gordo, Aaron, Taylor and Steven Jr.