The Misfit Soldier

A Novel

By: Michael Mammay

Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews

Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's Summary

Ocean’s Eleven meets John Scalzi in this funny, action-filled stand-alone sci-fi adventure from the author of Planetside, in which a small team of misfit soldiers takes on a mission that could change the entire galaxy.

Sergeant Gastovsky - Gas to everyone but his superior officers - never wanted to be a soldier. Far from it. But when a con goes wrong and he needs a place to lay low for a while, he finds himself wearing the power armor of the augmented infantry.

After three years on a six-year contract, Gas has found his groove running low-level cons and various illegal activities that make him good money on the side. He’s the guy who can get you what you need. But he’s always had his eye out for a big score - the one that might set him up for life after the military.

When one of his soldiers is left behind after a seemingly pointless battle, Gas sees his chance. He assembles a team of misfit soldiers that would push the term “ragtag” to its limits for a big con that leads them on a daring behind-the-lines mission, pitting him not only against enemy soldiers but against the top brass of his own organization. 

If he pulls this off, not only will he save his squadmate, he might just become the legend he’s always considered himself. He might also change the way the entire galaxy looks at this war. But for any of that to happen, he has to live through this insane plan.

And charm rarely stops bullets.

©2022 Michael Mammay (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers

Advertised as funny. Not funny.

I am really getting tired of the books that are okay for their genre, but being advertised as funny or humorous during these past few years. It's marketing that sets up false expectations. This has happened with ordinary mystery books, and now here's an ordinary military science fiction book being sold as funny. I really loved this author's previous series about a "retired" military officer solving problems. I had just finished a re-listen of John Scalzi's Old Man's War and Martha Wells' Murderbot Diaries and was still in the mood for something else with intelligent ideas, humanity, and humor. So I bought Misfit Soldier based on the advertised promises and the author's previous work. The Misfit Soldier is not funny and hasn't had anything new and interesting in the way of ideas. And, the narrator doesn't have the range of William Dufris and Kevin R. Free. This narrator is fine for military science fiction, maybe even a detective novel - basic "guy stuff." But lacks the humanity and humor that needs to be voiced (I don't know the word for it, "timbre" is close but not the word I want.) And the timing that it takes for "funny" to be delivered isn't there. But there wasn't much "funny" writing to be voiced. Authors that want to write humor should study the stories written by Patrick McManus. And narrators matter when it comes to voicing humor. That was evident in the last book of Old Man's War series when there was an additional narrator in the middle of the book who couldn't carry off the humor as written. People who want to market books shouldn't promise something that a book is not. It sets up expectations that only result in failure to meet them.

Fun Sci-fi meets Heist book

Set in a galaxy far away, this story is like Ocean’s 11 meets some interstellar war (insert favorite Star Wars here). The narrator does an excellent job and the sorry itself has a nice pace to it. Great job Michael and MacLeod!!

absolutely 💯 good read

I waited for a year and the book was absolutely 💯 worth the wait. Michael Mammay is one of my favorite authors. His characters are always interesting and believable. Looking forward to the next book!

A great stand alone book from Mr. Mammay

If you enjoy witty humor with a slice of space cowboy this is a book for you, if that’s not your thing this book still may be for you and you just don’t know it yet.
It is nice when you get a book that wraps everything into one nice little package as the misfit soldier does so well.

Super fun

A super fun heist book set in the backdrop of military scifi! The character interactions are great, there's plenty of tension and explosions, and I really enjoyed the narration. If you enjoyed Mammay's PLANETSIDE series, you'll love this book too.

Excellent short story, full of intrigue

I really enjoyed this short story, I've been use to listening to long series of books and I snuck this one in between a 6 volume series as a bit of a break. The Michael Mammay generally writes excellent surpris stories and I was rather impressed by the MacLeod Andrews. A great compilation and collaborative effort.

Excellent

Excellent. Was worried that a Mammay novel without RC Bray as the narrator wouldn't be as good, but Macleod does a great job bringing Gas to life.

Absolutely stellar book

I cannot wait for the next book to come out. It kept you reeling for more than hits you like a brick right at the end. 10/10

Entertaining

This book is a Gas. very entertaining story that kept me coming back for more.

Mr. Mammay hits another one out of the park.

Author and narrator do a stellar job of keeping me interested, intrigued and second guessing. Really a cool story.

Action Packed

A great story, had me gripped from the offset. I really liked the manor in which it was written from the first person perspective. Lots of humorous bits throughout the book which whilst funny don't detract from a faced paced action packed book. Would highly recommend this book, just clear 8 hours as you'll not want to stop listening!