This is A Good Old-Fashioned Sci-Fi Tale

The Grey Panthers: Battle for Earth

About The Grey Panthers: Battle for Earth

The year is 2126 it has been 30 years since Iran nuked Washington DC. America has traded security for liberty following the attack with the suspension of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The Constitution is not even taught in school any more. In this environment, Dan “D2” Daniels, a retired Army NCO of the old breed sworn to protect the constitution finds a crashed space ship and learns at the same time Earth will soon be invaded. Using the technology from the space ship, Dan forms an army of fellow senior veterans with two missions.

First, to revive the Republic they had sworn their allegiance to and their second mission to save that Republic, and the world with it. Their first foray includes converting the CVN 80, USS Enterprise, a rusting air craft carrier, from a rusted heap waiting to be scrapped, into the first ship of the new space fleet of the Gray Panther

My Thoughts

Thirty years after Iran nuked Washington DC and we basically wasted them in response, the surviving government suspended half the bill of rights, confiscated guns, and had half the military desert or resign rather than attack US citizens. What followed was a huge growth in Homeland Security contractors to take their place, enforcing the draconian “security”.

This is the country Dan “D2” Daniels, a retired Army Sgt. Major, finds himself. When Dan goes down into an abandoned mine he hopes to find some gold in, he comes across a cavern with a spaceship that has been there for a hundred years. The ship is from a more advanced race that is peaceful, and it tells him that the earth will be invaded in twenty years by a violent alien race.

The ship, called Grub, agrees to help Dan prepare the Earth to repel the invaders, starting by making him young and healthy again, although his face is still that of a 70-year-old man.

So begins the adventure of a lifetime, as Dan starts recruiting old vets into his group to prepare to take the country back from the disease of corruption that has shredded the Constitution and prepares to defend the Earth from invasion.

They are going to save the Earth, no matter the cost or the obstacles thrown in their way. With a large diverse group of interesting characters, an all too believable setting in a totalitarian Socialist America, and interesting technology, along with pulse-pounding battle scenes and close-quarters fights, this will appeal to any fan of military science fiction.

Liam Owen, who also narrated Steven Campbell’s Hard Luck Hank series, does an excellent job of creating great voices for the various characters. He gives them a real world-weary quality, and his narrative pace is excellent, with great tone and inflection.

The Grey Panthers: Battle for Earth is just a good old-fashioned sci-fi tale, not hard sci-fi, but just a sci-fi action story, and that’s ok. Not everything needs to be a deep introspective look into hard science or social commentary. Sometimes, a story is just meant to entertain, which this one does. I can’t wait to get into book 2. If it is as good as this one, this may easily become one of my favorite sci-fi series.