USS Hamilton: Miasma Burn

USS Hamilton, Book 2

By: Mark Wayne McGinnis

Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin

Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's Summary

Captain Galvin Quintos had returned home to Earth soon after liberating Ironhold Station from a ruthless band of Pylorian pirates. But the Grish had been waiting for his transport ship - an attack he barely survived. Now, three months later, he’s still recuperating within the walls of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. 

Just today, Quintos has learned of a new intergalactic adversary - a highly advanced alien force, the Varapin - who are currently en route from the Andromeda Galaxy. Intel has it, these ghoulish-looking aliens are now aligned with the Grish, and together, they’re hell-bent on annihilating all humanity. Quintos, certain his crew has already moved on to other posts and his ship, the USS Hamilton, surely still in space dock with battle damage, must figure out how to get back into the fight, and do so fast.

©2020 Mark Wayne McGinnis (P)2021 Podium Audio

much better

book two is much better looking forward to the next a little less explanation and a little more action would be cool

Engaging

This is book two of the USS Hamilton Series. The story is packed with action. The author is starting to develop the characters that were introduced in book one. Also included in the story is some humor and a bit of serious issues are brought up. Mostly the book is an easy entertaining read that requires no thinking.

The book is nine hours and twenty-eight minutes. James Patrick Cronin does an excellent job narrating the book.

McGinnis continues to Deliver – just Brilliant!!

In this 2nd part of the series, we see Galvin Quintos as the Captain of a newly restored USS Hamilton, the ship having been newly repaired and upgraded by the Pleidian Weonan’s after Quintos and the crew of the Hamilton rescued the Empress of the Pleidian people by defeating a disgusting and vicious pirate called Cardinal Thunderballs. The Empress has been held for an extended time and brutally tortured by the Pirate, as well as torturing and killing hundreds of her people as well. The Pleidian people are advanced starship builders, and have vastly improved the Hamilton.
Quintos himself is still recovering from serious injuries after his ship was attacked by the Grish.
The war with the Grish had been going badly, but with the heroic actions of Quintos and his crew at Ironhold Station, the Pleidian Weonan have joined forces with them, and have been beating back the Grish.
As a result, the Grish have turned to a dark and terrible enemy, an alien species that is truly from nightmares, the Varapin. These are creatures that have evolved over the centuries to feed on the lifeforces of other creatures, quite literally sucking the living energy out of another being until it is left a lifeless husk. In a lot of ways, these aliens reminded me of the Wraith from Stargate Atlantis, with their ability to suck the life from others. However, unlike the Wraith, the Varapin are also highly intelligent, with intellects vastly superior to most other species. They also have the ability to phase their physical form, so that energy weapons, the main form of most assault weapons, are totally useless against them.
With a huge Varapin fleet tearing through human space, heading for Earth, it is up to Quintos and a fleet of older ships, manned by those that have signed on for a mission they don’t expect to return from, to stand in the path of this fleet, and delay it for as long as possible, so that a suitable defence of Earth can be set up.
The USS Hamilton has been turned into one of the most powerful warships in the sector, but even she is outmatched by the super Dreadnaught of the Varapin fleet, and the only thing that stands between them and complete destruction, is the crew of the Hamilton, and their uncanny ability to turn the odds in their favour.
The character work in this book is again, just incredible, the first person story telling, not only from Quintos, but several other key members of the Hamilton crew, is creative, exciting and thrilling, with intelligent dialogue that makes for gripping reading.
The Captain is again the main character, we see most of the story from his eyes, and McGinnis does a brilliant job of having this young, unorthodox Captain, thrust into a situation he does not feel he is ready for, but knows he is the only one that can really do anything about. His inner struggle, is compelling, but the interactions with the other crew are gritty, realistic, and make for not only entertaining ready, it is just a lot of fun, and utterly enthralling.
One of the best characters in the book has to be Hardy, the Chronobot that is part machine, but has been possessed by the 50yr old disembodied entity of the old crew member John Hardy. He is not only a key part of the story, seeming to save the day on several occasions, but he is just hilarious (the ‘facial’ expressions he makes with the tiny LEDs on his face plate are just priceless). Along with Hardy, there is Doc Viv, and Lt Pristy, the two main Female characters in the story.
The Doctor is a bit of a conundrum, both a powerful and seemingly almost harsh person in some ways, but under the harder exterior, is a very kind soul, just looking for some attention, and wanting to care for her people.
Lt Pristy is absolutely SMITTEN with the Captain, but it is not just a case of a school girl crush, she genuinely admires the Captain, and is completely in love with him. Rather than impeding her work though, it only serves to make her work harder for his approval, and she is one of the best operators on his crew – unfortunately, Quintos is too blind to see it.
There are multiple other characters, Mattis, Derrota, Grimes, and unfortunate Tannock, and the wonderfully colourful, brilliant and hilarious team of Max, Magnet, Grip, Wanda, Ham and Hock, but I will be here all day if I keep going.
McGinnis has spent a lot of time in creating epic combat scenes, whether that be in the space venue, or in personal arena, the combat sequences are described with meticulous detail, giving us exceptional depth, and whilst they are not overly brutal or bloodthirsty, his descriptive work is extraordinary, with gritty portrayal of combat that really lets you understand what is happening. It makes for a really engaging read, as you feel like you are part of the story, feeling what the characters are going through so that you get a more realistic point of view.
McGinnis also does a spectacular job with the world building, and this is another aspect that really immerses you into the world he has created, so that as you are reading the characters story, you are on the bridge, with a full picture of what they see, or running through corridors, in the sick bay, or zipping about in a fighter. Everything is intensely vivid and realistic, and it makes for an exceptional read.
McGinnis has created an outstanding sequel to what was a brilliant first book, and this is growing into an amazing series, so now is the time to get on board. If you love a great Mil Sci-Fi series, this is the one – it is one of the best I have read.
James Patrick Cronin is just the perfect Narrator for this series. He has a fantastic voice that is very easy to listen to, clear and concise, with great pronunciation. He does a wide range of voices, both male and female, and he also does a great range of male and female characters, as well as a wonderful range of alien voices, so that you can easily pick out who is actually talking, whether that be that a different character, male or female, human, or alien, or even robot.
Cronin also does a fantastic job of capturing the emotions of his characters so that you really understand how they are feeling as he tells the story. His portrayal of each of the characters is gritty and realistic, giving this amazing depth to each of the personalities that he creates, and making this book just so amazing to listen to. I have purchased the entire series on Audio, as he is so good, it is great to listen to them as Cronin adds something special to the series and makes it so much better to listen to (his Hardy is hilarious!!!). Absolutely recommend the Audiobook version of this series.

One of the best series on audible

great series of books love the narrator can't wait to get to the next one

Great series

Really enjoy the characters. The captain is the best. He's really likeable. So is Hardee.

Miasma burn(s) ouch !!!

i freaking love this story.... the robot cracks me up.. the story's battles are top notch.

Rip roaring adventure!

A fun listen that includes much to enjoy. Action, suspense, a bit of mystery, espionage, and even a dash of romance. Well written and well narrated this one will keep you listening.

Continuation of very good storyline.

Interesting story but what makes this audiobooks exceptional is the narration. James Patrick Cronin does one of the best narrations of any audiobooks I have heard.

great story

I really enjoy listening to this series and I cant wait to listen too the next one

One of the best!

This Audible book,well as it predecessor, is probably the best space or Syfy books I’ve ever listen to. The author keeps it simple and tells a story without going into the techno geek language That 80% of listeners will never understand.

The narrator James Patrick Cronin Is the sole reason I ran across this author.
He is the reason for me to give this author a chance. It was well worth it and well deserved. Mark, keep this narrator under contract.

Entertaining but the use of English is 'interestin

Easy going space opera. I don't know if the script was riddled with malapropisms, or if it is from the book. Example - Refuge Depot instead of Refuse Depot. It doesn't spoil the book for me but seems to be a thing in this series