Edge of Valor

By: Josh Hayes

Narrated by: Marc Vietor

Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's Summary

"An action-packed story that gets inside the hearts, minds, and souls of men and women who have dedicated themselves to the protection of all the rest of us...a tour de force." (David Weber, New York Times best-selling author of the Honor Harrington Series)

When their mission fails, his begins.

Special Agent Jackson Fischer is a man after truth. When a military operation to extract a high-ranking ambassador from the war-torn, border-world of Stonemeyer ends in disaster, Fischer is called in to investigate.

A whole platoon went in, but only three Alliance Marines returned home, the rest killed in action along with hundreds of civilians. With tensions between the Holloman Alliance and Stonemeyer rising, Fischer attempts to stitch the pieces together. One thing becomes more and more certain: The surviving Marines are lying.

As the truth unfurls, Fischer begins to realize this was far more than a simple rescue mission...and that the truth might be something best left buried.

Filled with action, mystery, and well-crafted characters, Edge of Valor will pull you into a world of war, conspiracy, and betrayal. It's perfect for fans of David Weber’s Honorverse, or Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan with a futuristic flair. 

©2019 Josh Hayes (P)2019 Audible, Inc.

Critic Reviews

"Edge of Valor teleports you to the battlefield in a way that few books can. Josh Hayes is a fantastic new voice in the genre." (Nicholas Sansbury Smith, New York Times best-selling author of Hell Divers)

"Josh Hayes writes with a kinetic, exuberant sense of action and excitement. Edge of Valor will captivate readers of military science fiction with its authentic attention to detail and energetic pace." (Jason Anspach, author of Galaxy's Edge)

"A smart, bold story that successfully meshes the unpredictability of a police procedural with the excitement of action-driven military sci-fi. It's a book you won't want to end." (Joshua Dalzelle, USA Today best-selling author of the Black Fleet Saga)

Edge of your seat thriller

Edge of Valor is a military thriller in the tradition of Courage Under Fire with some Blackhawk Down thrown in, and set in a far-future spacefaring civilization. It keeps you wrapped up in a fascinating plot, with mysteries to be unraveled and bad guys to bring to justice. it kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way and had a very satisfying ending. The narration was top-notch and Marc Vietor always does a great job. Hope to see more in this series!

Gripping, gritty, edge of your seat thriller!

I bought the Kindle version of this book, and I ended up switching between reading and listening to it as time allowed. This was my first Josh Hayes book, but it will by no means be my last one. Narrator Marc Vietor did an outstanding job with the voice characterizations, expertly capturing mood, tone, effect, and really bringing the incredibly stressful situations that these people were going through to life.

This book was very reminiscent of a futuristic "Blackhawk Down". It was a simple military action to extract an ambassador from a backwater planet gone horribly wrong. Bad intel, a bad setup, and insurgents supplied with Alliance tech and weapons lead to the wholesale slaughter of a platoon of Marines. All for the glory and greed of some very bad actors.

Marc Vietor's narration of this gritty, edgy and very realistic tale was outstanding and made the story all that much more believable. I couldn't wait to keep listening to it and find out what happened next!

One of Josh Hayes's great strengths as a writer is his ability to paint a world in words and descriptions. He really took us to these dark, dangerous places, between his descriptions of characters and people, even barrios and ghettos, and his dialogue between people. He really brought this all to life, and it is crystal clear he writes from experience.

I thoroughly enjoyed this absorbing tour de force of a military space action gone wrong, of the political intrigue between adversarial star nations, and of the politics that drives so many choices in our lives. You will be thinking and reflecting on this book long after you are done the reading or listening to it. Anyone who has ever been unjustly accused or wronged by another unfairly will relate to this book. I really am looking forward to the next story from Josh Hayes, and I really hope Mr. Vietor narrates it. I highly recommend this book and author.

Whoa! Hayes holds his own!

Okay... I’ve read Josh Hayes before. But his name was always after Richard Fox or the Galaxy’s Edge guys.

Don’t get me wrong... those guys are all great authors, but... This. Is. Soooooooo much better.

Josh not only holds his own, but he proves those guys had nothing to do with the books he shared names with. Fantastic writing. Killer concept. Black Hawk Down in space.

Grab this book. Be a step ahead of everyone else. You’ll be able to say “I read Hayes before he was huge.”

Interesting Detective/Military SciFI Novel

Edge of Valor is an interesting Detective/Military SciFI novel with an original story. I really enjoyed how the author told the story. The story focuses on the main character, Agent Fischer who is investigating a botched rescue attempt. So, most of the action scenes come from Fischer interviewing people who were there. The action starts in chapter 1 and continues all the way through, creating an intriguing and action packed story all the way through. The narrator does an excellent job with this story. You can really hear the enthusiasm in his voice. He does a fantastic job giving all the characters distinct voices as well. Overall, this book is definitely worth a listen and I look forward to listening to book 2.

This audiobook was provided by the publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.

Great listen!

Josh Hayes is an up and coming voice in military fiction that has joined my always bought author list. Edge of Valor is an excellent read and listen. I enjoyed the story in both formats! Grab this book if you enjoy superb narration with a break neck military action story.

Awesome book. Best mil scifi ever.

I’m a huge fan of military science fiction. Edge of Valor stands higher than most books I’ve read or listened to in the genre. If Tom Clancy wrote science fiction, it would be something like this.

Engaging military investigation.

With Edge of Valor, author Josh Hayes takes presents the reader/listener with an engaging tale of Jackson Fisher a Special Agent assigned to look into a military op that has seemingly gone wrong and the coverup that follows. Featuring a solid cast, some great action, an intriguing and engaging plot, and an excellent narrator, this book was a pleasure to listen to and kept me entertained from start to finish, One thing that I found quite interesting is that even though this is categorized as a sci-fi book, that aspect doesn't really come into play. Sure, the location and a few comments do make it clear that this is not Earth based, but the actual story/plot could easily have been set here on Earth, swapping out locations for different countries and whatnot. This is by no means a complaint, merely an observation and I thought it might be worth noting, a word of warning for those perhaps expecting a more space opera experience. Bottomline is Edge of Valor delivers an enjoyable listening experience and I'll be interested to see where Mr. Hayes takes us next.

I was given a free review copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

I had to think about this review for a few days

This book left me thinking and not sure what I felt about it after I finished it. After some time, I realized I really like it. Specifically because you have to think about it, you have to make your own value judgments (in some complicated, morally grey areas), you have to slowly put the pieces together along with the protagonist - interestingly enough, this is why I initially felt unsure! One of the characters' stories just didn't *sound* realistic and seemed drummed up.

I initially was annoyed with the way the author wrote this "interview", thinking it was a poor attempt at telling the story....

Oh, how wrong I was ;)

The writing is so good, you get exactly that feeling right along with the protagonist. And then. Put your big girl panties on because sh*t's about to get real.

Worth the Credit

First: What was good about the book. It was well written, good characters that were well developed and a compelling story. The style took a little while to get used to as each person was telling their side of the event you were suddenly there as they relieved the story. Because the author was consistent, it worked as the listener because used to it.

What doesn’t work. - The narrator did a good job in character voices and the overall performance. However, he was very intense when reading the narrative. So much so that I turned the book off a number of times as if felt like we (the listeners) were being yelled at. Since this was an audible production I expected better direction.

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An interesting story of an investigator working to unravel a mystery that occurred on another planet with few witnesses remaining. The pacing of the story and narration was very good, definitely would recommend.

Bland cheese

Drawing inspiration from movies like ‘Basic’, ‘Crimson Tide’ and ‘A Few Good Men’, no cliché is left behind. Expect phrases like “I’m shutting you down” and “God damn it; good marines are dead!” Edge of Valor is full of two-dimensional characters and a somewhat tired plot formula but the action scenes are visceral, gritty and cinematic; carrying an air of authenticity often absent in science fiction.

Marc Vietor’s narration is solid throughout but was unable to breathe life into the characters. Ultimately, I found myself unable to become emotionally invested in the protagonists and cared very little for the plot. As good as the action scenes were, they weren’t enough to make up for the book’s other shortcomings.

Great Military Sci-fi/detective cross over

I enjoyed listening to this book as it crossed over the genres with the detective and his team investigating a botched off planet rescue. The story was written with each character retelling their story in live action, which at first I wasn't sure about. But as the story continued, it became a natural flow. Fisher investigating, asking questions and the characters reliving their actions and part in the overall story. So overall a great story.