Ratchet's Run

LAND & SEA, Book 5

By: Blaine L. Pardoe

Narrated by: Noah Michael Levine

Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

In the autumn of 2040, Beverly Hills is behind the front lines, deep in the AIZ (Alien Incursion Zone). Four times mankind has tried to take back the Hills. Four times mankind has been beaten back.

But now word leaks of a treasure trove, a secret bank in Beverly Hills where the rich and famous keep their wealth, and for some, the allure is too much to pass up. The result is an all-out mad dash where fellow treasure hunters can be as lethal as the alien forces defending their turf.

A private military contractor. A battle-tested Army unit. A grizzled militia. A pair of rogue ASHUR pilots. These are among the players throwing caution to the wind as they take on alien invaders in pursuit of treasure and glory.

The Fifth Battle for Beverly Hills is on!

©2023 Creative Juggernaut (P)2023 WarGate Books

Fun little heist romp.

Nothing that hasn't been done before, but done well never the lest. Various groups decide to do some looting, while fighting alien invaders, and Mr. Murphy steps it to add some flavor.

This seems to be one of the offshoot stories. It introduces new characters who expand the scope and world of this franchise, but not the overall storyline. It could be called filler by some but I wouldn't agree. The creators have stated before they want to build the universe for future products such as games. For that, it needs a bigger fleshed out setting then you get following a small group, as they go through the main storyline.

Regardless I enjoyed most of the characters, and found their motivations reasonable for the situations. The story is well paced and straight forward.

The narrator is doing fine though I wouldn't mind getting a different one for the books that aren't about the initial main characters. In my head the world has everyone with the same 6 or 7 voices. If they want a bigger world more narrators would help.

Kelly's Heroes

Love this dynamic of a group of soldiers that rob a bank during wartime. It reminds me of battlefield bad company as well as Kelly's heroes.

Not the Hero’s we need, but the hero’s we deserve!!

This was a very unique story I never expected to see portrayed like this. Loved the band of misfits that we were introduced to. The change of the tempo was interesting and it set a very unique pace for the story. This world continues to impress and draw me in ever farther with every new entry. Blaine Pardoe’s storytelling skills are on full display and the talent that saw him be such a powerhouse in other series.

Highly recommend this series to anyone; especially fans of classic sci-fi action with a healthy dose of stomp mech suits!!

Just awesome!

The story telling was wonderful. Just like the previous novels. it was great hearing the continuing story from other perspectives. Mr. Paradoe as always delivered a thoughtful and deep perspective into this story. it holds you on edge waiting for the next installment in the story.

The narration and character development is spot on and gives the reader an invite into the characters. The narration and voice are great. a listener couldn't ask for better. I give this a 5 out of 5 stars!

Black Hawk down, bank heist, and alien fish, all in one!

So hard to find books with well developed storylines, good character development, amazing action sequences, and good military realism. I was kind of upset that this book went away from the original storyline, but after reading it, I was very happy.

A decent diversion of the story

It was all right. I feel like it was a diversion from the actual story but a good one. I guess it was very Kelly’s est.