Ghost Platoon

'thoroughly researched and compelling . . . a chilling account' - The Sun Herald An eye-opening account of Australian combat history, untold . . . until now. In 1969 a ragtag unit of 39 men were thrown together at Nui Dat, Vietnam. It was so slapdash a group it didn't even have an officer or sergeant in charge. A rugged ex-Royal Marine stepped forward to take the lead. Jim Riddle was only an acting corporal but he knew enough of war to keep these young diggers alive. When the platoon was involved in a high-risk ambush Riddle proved his leadership skills, bringing his men through unscathed and leaving the battlefield littered with enemy bodies. Despite their success, immediately afterwards the platoon was disbanded. According to the army they'd never existed ? theirs was a ghost platoon. Frank Walker details what happened at that ambush and why the army buried their existence, and the secrets that went with it. His findings are a shocking indictment of the long-term effects of war. The men of the platoon ? who'd fought so hard for their country ? had to fight again to reveal the truth. But the price they all paid was far too high. Ghost Platoon is a gripping story of the soldiers who should never be forgotten . . . or denied.

A dying game. A tournament for the ages. One last chance for glory. After a glorious run as the world’s first full-immersion VR mega-game, Armored Souls is on its last legs. Competitors are on the rise, and the company’s own projects are surpassing it. In a last-ditch effort to inject new life into the game, Valhalla West announces a tournament with such an awesome prize that no player can resist. Reggie has led Wounded Legion to the top ranks of the factions on the Armored Souls servers, but the game has gotten easy for him. Too easy. When Valhalla West announces their tournament plans, Reggie springs into action to prepare for it. His motives are twofold. First, it’s the most excitement he’s felt in years. But more importantly, Armored Souls is Reggie’s entire world. He’s willing to fight to keep it going as long as he can.

Major Denis Campbell’s family had such a long and illustrious history of service to the British Empire that despite his own extensive service, and being mentioned in despatches, he was known to some in the family as ‘Disappointing Denis.’ In 1951 Denis was sent to Malaya where he saw active service with 1 Royal West Kent’s fighting Communist guerrillas in Malaya for three years with the Ghost Squad, a Top-Secret unit whose account of action in Malaya has never been previously published. He was Mentioned in Despatches for actions against terrorists. After Malaya Denis was attached to the Gurkhas at Suez in 1956 and fought alongside the French Foreign Legion, describing this as a ‘very enjoyable invasion of Egypt’. His final period of regimental Duty was with 1 Queens Own Buffs combating terrorists in Guyana. The book includes previously unpublished photos, top secret documents and intercepted messages from the terrorists.

Marines Robert Flynn and Izzy Khan are fed up with being pinned down by machine guns with no air support. Now back in the U.S., they create "ORION" a platoon based weapon system utilizing quadrocopters and precision guided mortars. They soon discover the problem with ORION- It's too cheap and too effective. Undeterred by the powers that be, they embark upon a mission to prove ORION, a misguided quest so dangerous it will take more than ORION to save them. Ride with them as they fight their way into the badlands of Southwest Afghanistan. Soon the Platoon, an adopted "Tiger Dog" and a band of rag tag Pashtun guides will depend on each other against powerful hidden foes both in Afghanistan and within their own government. A story of love, loyalty, betrayal and sacrifice, Ghost Platoon explores the complex issues facing the over exposed modern day "Grunt."

Desert Mementos is a collection of loosely connected short stories set during the early stages of the Iraq War (2004 and 2005). The stories rotate from battles with insurgents and the drudgery of the war machine in Iraq to Nevada, where characters are either preparing for war, escaping it during their leave, or returning home having seen what they’ve seen. Cage captures similarities in the respective desert landscapes of both Iraq and Nevada, but it is not just a study in contrasting landscapes. The inter-connected stories explore similarities and differences in human needs from the perspectives of vastly different cultures. Specifically, the stories deftly capture the overlap in the respective desert landscapes of each region, the contrasting cultures and worldviews, and the common need for hope. Taken together, the stories represent the arc of a year-long deployment by young soldiers. Cage’s stories are bound together by the soldier’s searing experiences in the desert, bookended by leaving and returning home to Nevada, which in many ways can be just as disorienting as patrolling the Iraq desert.

100 tons of walking steel. One human heart. Sgt. Reggie King wakes up from a battlefield injury to find himself physically intact. But the hospital staff insist he’s not fit to return to duty. As part of his psychological recovery, they introduce him to a game. Armored Souls is a tank game on steroids. Giant, walking mechs called juggernauts engage in interplanetary wars as noble houses and mercenary factions wage endless battles for supremacy. For the pilots of these juggernauts, the rewards are glory, cash, and XP. What follows is an epic struggle against the forces arrayed against him, from rival gamers to entire factions looking to crush Reggie underfoot. To survive will take all his military leadership, perseverance, and maybe a little help from some new friends. The Armored Souls series is perfect for readers looking for a combination of The Matrix and Battletech. If you enjoy giant robots blasting at each other and swinging 20-ton swords, you’ll love these books. Log out of your life and into Armored Souls.

Prepare to Encounter Goddesses, Daimons & Parallel Worlds Sigmund Freud called dreams the “royal road to the unconscious,” but to bestselling author and world-renowned dream explorer Robert Moss, they are more: portals to the imaginal realm, a higher reality that exists at the intersection of time and eternity. The traveler’s tales in this book are just-so stories in the sense that they spring from direct experience in the many worlds. As you journey from the temple of the Great Goddess at Ephesus to an amazing chance encounter on an airplane, from Dracula country in Transylvania to the astral realm of Luna, you’ll confirm that the doors to the otherworld open from wherever you are. You’ll see what it means to live on a mythic edge and to make a deal with your personal Death for a life extension. At any moment, you may fall, like the author, into the lap of a goddess or the jaws of an archetype.