Starfist: Kingdom's Fury [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Dan Cragg (Author), David Sherman (Author), John Bedford Lloyd (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2003 | Series: Starfist (Book 8)

A few good Marines beat the fierce, fanatical aliens once before. But that was a skirmish–not a full-scale invasion.

The truth is out. No longer are the Skinks just a horrible secret haunting the Marines of Company L. Now the aliens are all-too-real invaders whose savage attacks have devastated planet Kingdom, a world of squabbling religions where the men of the 34th FIST confront a desperate situation. Cities that haven’t already been reduced to rubble are under siege, while starving refugees roam the land. And still the Skinks come, rising from stinking primordial swamps to slake their thirst for slaughter, armed with an uncanny ability to locate the enemy and with weapons so deadly that a single blast can drop a warplane or a decimate a squad.

It’s painfully evident that 34th FIST is no match for these near-invincible killers, which is why third platoon’s been ordered to whip the citizens of Kingdom into fighting shape. With their backs to the wall and time running out, there’s only one way the Marines can turn these timid, quarrelsome men into warriors: Take the battle to the enemy. It’s a brilliant strategy, sure to succeed–if it doesn’t get them killed first. . . .

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

A few good Marines beat the fierce, fanatical aliens once before. But that was a skirmish?not a full-scale invasion.

The truth is out. No longer are the Skinks just a horrible secret haunting the Marines of Company L. Now the aliens are all-too-real invaders whose savage attacks have devastated planet Kingdom, a world of squabbling religions where the men of the 34th FIST confront a desperate situation. Cities that haven?t already been reduced to rubble are under siege, while starving refugees roam the land. And still the Skinks come, rising from stinking primordial swamps to slake their thirst for slaughter, armed with an uncanny ability to locate the enemy and with weapons so deadly that a single blast can drop a warplane or a decimate a squad.

It?s painfully evident that 34th FIST is no match for these near-invincible killers, which is why third platoon?s been ordered to whip the citizens of Kingdom into fighting shape. With their backs to the wall and time running out, there?s only one way the Marines can turn these timid, quarrelsome men into warriors: Take the battle to the enemy. It?s a brilliant strategy, sure to succeed?if it doesn?t get them killed first. . . . --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

About the Author

David Sherman is a former United States Marine and the author of eight previously published novels about Marines in Vietnam, where he served as an infantryman and as a member of a Combined Action Platoon. He is an alumnus of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and worked as a sculptor for many years before turning to writing. Along the way he has held a variety of jobs, mostly supervisory and managerial. Today he is a full-time writer. He is also the author of a new military fantasy series, Demontech. He lives in Philadelphia.

Dan Cragg enlisted in the United States Army in 1958 and retired with the rank of sergeant major twenty-two years later. During his army service, Mr. Cragg served more than eleven years in overseas stations, five and a half of them in Vietnam. He is the author of Inside the VC and the NVA (with Michael Lee Lanning), Top Sergeant (with William G. Bainbridge), and a Vietnam War novel, The Soldier’s Prize. In real life, Mr. Cragg is an analyst for the Defense Department. He and his wife, Sunny, live in Virginia, where honest citizens are allowed to pack heat. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Random House Audio Roads; Abridged edition (January 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0739302310
• ISBN-13: 978-0739302316
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,056,869 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eat plasma, Lizard-Boy!, February 12, 2003

By 

Edward C. Stalker - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kingdom's Fury (Starfist, Book 8) (Mass Market Paperback)

It's the 25th Century, Humanity has settled dozens of worlds. The most dangerous species in explored space is other humans. The Confederation Marines are the descendents of the US and Royal Marines of our time. They keep order among the worlds humans have colonized. Life is good. The Religious Wars of the 21st Century resulted in Kingdom. Essentially, it is a reservation, where all the Religious Fundamentalists of all Religions have been "persuaded" to move.
It's a pesthole of constant religious war, but at least all the nutcases are in one asylum. The Confederation watches to make sure they can't escape from the planet.
And then come the Skinks - a bunch of xenocidal humaniform lizards who think that killing humans is great fun - and the survivors make good slaves.
The Marines show up, and the Skink Commander decides that he not only wants to defeat the Marines, he wants to humiliate and intimidate them. Trouble is, somebody forgot to tell him something - you can defeat Marines. It's difficult, but possible.
You can humiliate Marines. Difficult but possible.
But INTIMIDATE them? - that is a leetle bit closer to impossible...
This is a book of sweeping realistic vistas, from the Infantry "Line Animal" Grunt slogging in the mud, to Space Battle between 10 KM Starcruisers, to the internecine political wrangling on Capitol Hill.
The characters are three dimensional and highly believable.
Enjoy...and go back and get the rest of the series. It's worth it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BRAVO - Best yet of the STARFIST series, May 12, 2008

By 

Stewart Teaze (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Kingdom's Fury (Starfist, Book 8) (Mass Market Paperback)

KINGDOM'S FURY(2002) is the eighth book from the STARFIST series of 25th Century Military SciFi stories, about a company of Space Marines, who are sent to various planets to quell uprisings, or battle aliens.

This book, is basically a continuation of Book 7, in which the Marines of the 34th FIST have been sent to a backwater world dominated by religious sects, to repulse and invasion by the merciless aliens known as the "Skinks". The Skink technology is roughly equivalent to Human 25th Century tech, although some of it is way ahead, and some of it is behind.

Amazingly, this book is a standout in the series... there is interesting dialog or action on every page, and the subplots are quite detailed and interesting. The first few books in the series were quite good, but suffered from some obvious and serious (yet easily correctable) faults. Indeed, it was somewhat frustrating reading the first STARFIST books, because I knew they could have been much better... and some of the middle books from the series were actually below par - books 3 and 6 especially so. However - KINGDOM'S FURY avoids all the faults and stupid mistakes, and "knocks it out of the park". I'm happy to give this book a rare 5 star rating. BRAVO.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Fun, Great Read!, July 10, 2009

By 

George Russell "Veteran" (Roseville, Ca USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Kingdom's Fury (Starfist, Book 8) (Mass Market Paperback)

This entire series is fun to read. The character developement and plot twists are fascinating in the extreme. Just when you think it can't get better it does! The entire Starfist series is a 'have to' read.