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)

This book delivers

I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this review. There is no reason to.

I am giving the Edge of Valor a 5-star review not because it's a classic or one of the best books I've ever read, but because is a book that stays within itself and delivers a great story without trying to punch above its weight.

That is just it. It is an exquisitely crafted bit of genre writing that delivers on its promises.

NCIS but with multiple planets

This is a military criminal investigation that just happens to have a futuristic setting. You could take out the mention of other planets and future dates and the story wouldn’t change at all. No real sci-fi here.
The narrator gave no differentiation in voice between characters that I could tell. It was only after the character mentioned being raped that I could tell that the story had switched perspective to the female character.
I don’t know if there are more in this series, but I won’t buy them and I will avoid this narrator if possible.

Military Mystery

It's military scifi - and it's a mystery set inside the military. Whichever way you want to call it, the jargon is there, the scifi worlds are there, and then there's the betrayal, treason, and lies.

When a marine mission goes sideways, it's Special Agent Jackson Fisher's job to figure out why. He's getting close when his team is abruptly pulled from the assignment. Only one thing to do then. Quit? Hell no. You go private.

I'm not big on military stories, but the mystery in this held me good and tight. The characters are well rounded, unlike many in this genre without any sacrifice when it comes to action. The narrator does a fine job. What I'm the most curious about as I write this review is what could book two possibly be about? Because all the loose ends are tied up in a nice, neat bow on this story.

Moving on to book two to find out.

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.

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.

Unfortunately it’s easy to see where it’s going

Starts out great but the end not disguised for long. Would like to have had it go a little longer before 1/3 of the way in.

Sci- fix investigation of combat mission gone bad

Special Agent Fisher and his partner are assigned to investigate what went wrong on mission to pick up the diplomatic staff on a foreign world. There were three known survivors form the platoon assigned the mission. Fisher senses that the survivors are lying or not telling the whole truth. Before the investigators can complete their interviews, survivors die, one after another. The investigators feel that the original mission was different than described in official records, but the power that controls the planet on which the action occurred denied permission to enter.

The plot is suspenseful and full of action. The survivors’ first hand accounts of what happened during the mission are tense descriptions of combat. Agent Fisher continues pursuit of the truth, even after being removed from the case, and heads into a dangerous situation on his own.

The ending is somewhat hokey. Fisher relies on stealth to visit the site of the failed mission, but his transportation is forced to fight but does not draw attention of the military forces controlling entry to and exit from that world. The final closing of the case is done based on testimony of a single witness, little supporting evidence, and bypassing many levels of authority.

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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.

Action packed, well-written, superbly narrated

I was hooked from the start. The story is awesome, the characters are well-made, each having their unique voices; the narrator is great!

Space Detective - decent story, well performed

Overall, the story was quite good, and the narrator was excellent. In spite of the fact that the story takes place far in the future, there don't seem to be sufficient details about the futuristic advances that one would expect by that time. Other than that, it was quite entertaining.