Brigador

By: Bradley Buckmaster

Narrated by: Ryan Cooper

Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's Summary

Private Ranulph Kinny swears his Mongoose - an eight-foot-tall powered armor suit - is trying to kill him. Life in the Outer Colony of Solo Nobre is hard enough, but now a mysterious broadcast blankets the city and plunges Kinny's world into chaos. The Concern wants their colony back, and will do anything to get it. Now Kinny and his power-suited platoon fight for survival as their city falls. Welcome, Brigador. 

Writing from expert insight as a career soldier, author Brad Buckmaster weaves an unforgettable tale of military science fiction/action storytelling. A dark future companion novel to Brigador, the isometric mech action game, that conjures that brutal world from the street level. A must for fans of hard military science fiction.

©2016 Stellar Jockeys (P)2016 Stellar Jockeys

I usually hate Military driven sci fi. BUT

I usually loathe military/tactical driven sci fi but between the fleshed out world of Solo Nobre, Brad Buckmaster's excellent writing, and the sublime narration talent of Ryan Cooper I can't help but fall in love with this book. The action scenes are tight and intense and don't glorify the combat as some sort of heroic undertaking and only help to make the scenes of our protagonists downtime even more lively, knowing that the temporary peace they find themselves in will quickly be shattered as they move closer and closer toward Central.

In short:I can not recommend this book highly enough. Read it and fall in love like I did.

I really loved this one

after listening to this audio book im honestly tempted to go out and spend money i don't have on the game that inspired this. overall a great read 👍

Welcome Brigador

A gritty and moving sci-fi military story. I adore this book, and highly recommend it.

One of my favorite books

Very action packed and well written. Especially the mechs! Every description makes them feel weighted and intense!

Action is good (Mostly) Story is a Mess

So I think that there will be a group that will really enjoy this, probably players the game. I read this book at the behest of one of those players.
Pros: the books action scenes are obviously carefully crafted. That is good because 80% of it is action. The characters reactions to combat feel really accurate. There is the dude who is an idealist and there is the untried squad captain also the fight loving psychopath. They react differently and you can tell who they are based off their reaction which is bloody amazing.
Cons: While the fights are thoughtfully done, the action gets really repetitive. The squad moves, they get attacked by bikes with guns. A few people die, they move some more and get attacked some more. The squad travels farther they are attacked by tanks and bikes with guns. That is about 6 hours of the 7 hour book. There are very few breaks in the action. Most of those breaks are just a swap in viewpoint where a different characters is in pretty much the same situation. I have no doubt real combat is like that but narratively it makes it easy to space out.
Second. Plot holes. Plot holes everywhere. The basic world is fine but there just no explanation for why stuff happens. Without spoiling too much there a fight over this planet. Why? There’s mention of mines so maybe the mines have some rare mineral or something. It’s not clear. Also the area or zone or whatever. I said it was a planet but it actually might be several planets or possibly just part of a planet. That isn’t clear either. Also there is a wall with gates that is important. It’s about fighting a conquest from space. Why is a wall important? Also space conquest. Where are the spaceships or air support or whatever? All the fighting is on the ground. Why? You guessed it; it’s not clear.
Final issue. The characters are... well it’s not a character based plot. So past their reactions to stress...yea there isn’t anything there. Problem is it isn’t a plot based plot Or a world based plot. It’s a video game based plot but it doesn’t sound like the video game is terribly coherent either. That’s okay for the game, games need to be fun not necessarily plot heavy. But this is a book not a game.
Even without the intro it’s easy to tell the author was in the military. I would actually be interested in reading something else written by him to see if his stories would be less...forced. Again I think players of the video game or people who just love mech type action will love this. But everyone else? Probably not so much. Be warned.

More please

I wish there was more :( I would love to see these characters stories continued

Faithful, Gritty, Brilliant.

I cannot recommend this audio book enough. Even if you are not familiar with the game the book is based on, you will have an excellent time. Despite being a science fiction war novel, it retains a certain sense of deft believability throughout its entirety. I was genuinely sad when it was over, as I had become utterly entranced in its universe. The world building is nothing short of astonishing. Not for those of weak stomachs, however. The descriptions of the uglier side of combat tend to be extremely visceral. I *sincerely* hope for a sequel.

Great sci-fi, regardless if you've played the game

A great companion to the game or just great science fiction on its own. If you like mechs and war, you can't miss this one. Warning* If you're sensitive to graphic descriptions of gore and violence, steer clear!

I only wish there was more.

Its a great intro to the game and honestly could be an awesome book series all on its own. If you love this definitely check out the Brigador game on Steam.

An Absolute Masterpiece.

From start to finish this novel is an absolute delight to listen to. A brutally graphic and no frills story about how different soldiers strive to carry out their duties and complete the mission all while grappling with the grim realities of warfare. The narrator does a stellar job conveying this throughout the novel, with his performance being able to describe the one battlefield multiple times, but subtlety altering his tone to emphasize each soldiers perspective. The private who has never seen live combat describes the opening scenes of violence with disgust and confusion, while the commanding officer is focused less on the the brutality of each engagement and more on completing the mission while protecting her unit, all while being stalked by a wildcard piloting his machine not out of a sense of allegiance, duty, or beliefs but simply an urge to kill and to be the very best at it. Each character's description of the battlefield and the overall situation in Solo Nobre paints a beautiful picture with shades of blood and ash that any fan of grimdark sci-fi or military fiction will appreciate. The game that is associated with this novel is also enjoyable to no end both for it's gameplay and it's soundtrack which almost any fan of synth heavy music will enjoy.

Fantastic Sci Fi combat

The author has an fantastic technique at telling a fast paced, brutal story with an attention to detail that could only be gained from his military service.

Brigador; A masterwork of brutal mecha combat

It's hard to do describe how much love I have for this book. Full recommend.