Deathwind

War of the Harbingers

By: Brad Pawlowski

Narrated by: Jake Bordeaux, Bridget Bordeaux

A Reader's Favorite Award-Winning Novel.

When Nathan Stryder is abducted from Earth and thrown headfirst into an interstellar war, it shatters his world.

Freed from his captors by the Meraki Dominya, Nathan discovers a chilling truth: his sister has also been taken. Desperate to find her, he joins the Meraki and is partnered with Arista, an elite commando trained to kill first and not ask questions later.

As Nathan learns to survive a galaxy at war, a quiet, undeniable bond develops with Arista—complicated by duty, danger, and everything they stand to lose. Amid this chaos, he uncovers a kindred spirit beneath her hardened exterior and sparks ignite between them. But in a war written in the stars, the heart’s path is never simple.

Pulled into a galaxy-wide conflict that challenges everything he believes, Nathan must confront danger, betrayal, and secrets that could change the fate of worlds. With the future of a planet hanging in the balance, can he survive this cosmic storm and save his sister?

A sweeping, character-driven space opera—rich with action, layered characters, and high-stakes conflict—anchored by a slow-burning connection that unfolds across the trilogy.

Fans of Mass Effect, Rachel Bach’s Fortune’s Pawn, The Expanse, and Jessie Mihalik​​​​​​​ will be drawn to this epic tale of courage, trust, and hope in a galaxy on the brink.

©2022 Bradley J Pawlowski (P)2025 Bradley J Pawlowski

Critic reviews

"For fans of character-driven high-octane science fiction." — Reader's Favorite

"The fantastic pacing allows for moments of suspense and character development that suddenly spill into tense twists, conspiracies, battles, and heroic moments with cinematic depiction." -- K.C. Finn

The characters in the story

The book grabbed my attention right from the start. I loved following the progression of the storyline and each character that was added. There’s lots of action in the book. It kept me wanting to know what will happen next. The author did a great job and I can’t wait for the second book!!

Too much whining (introspection)

The story concept was good. The implementation at times felt like a self help book more than a novel. The MC joins a military then freaks out when he kills someone. Overall there was a lot of introspection that made the story drag.

The narrator felt like he missed a lot of the emotions in the story, kind of like an AI reader. The one specific I recall is where one character is joking with another, and the narrator read it flat. The text even indicated that the character was joking.

Could of been epic

Started off very strong sounded like there was a really deep story beginning, but then it felt like a different writer took over the book and just ended it

It’s a romance

There are lots of hand to hand battles and they are in great detail. But there is also a star crossed love story. The character development is good for the few important characters. Decent but I am not reading more.

Could Have Been, but Isn't

Some who have reviewed this book have complained that the MC, Nathan Strider, is whiny and gets old. But I think that's somewhat unfair. Not everyone who finds themselves in a place and situation they have no control over or understanding would react like a trained special forces hard cases. Most of us would struggle to wrap our minds around our situations and to keep putting each foot forward. I thought that was handled fairly reasonably.

But this story still doesn't do it for me. The interplay between Strider and his love interest got really old, and the overall story wasn't enough to make up for this. This isn't the only reason I'm giving it a mediocre rating, but I don't want to say more and reveal any of the story.