The Ascendant Wars: Hellfire

A Military Sci-fi Series

By: Rhett C. Bruno, M.B. Vance

Narrated by: Ray Porter

When the rules of war keep changing, fight for each other...

Humanity has been banished to a distant star. Left to fight over resources rationed to them by mysterious machine-overlords known as Wardens.

Commander Rylan Holt labors against inter-colony arms trafficking when an informant gives him horrific news. The ruthless cartel boss, Lilith, has stockpiled outlawed weapons of mass destruction.

Worse, she claims to have permission from the Wardens to unleash them upon the system.

When the battleship Audacity speeds to investigate Rylan’s discovery, operations officer Scott Carrick finds himself in a trap more deadly than he could have ever imagined. His only hope of escape may lie with their most junior crewmember, a nurse named Aila Okuma, who's never seen battle.

As Rylan, Scott, and Aila struggle to survive a war where the rules keep changing, they must answer a terrible question: how do they win when it seems the Wardens intend for everyone to lose?

Don't miss the start of an explosive Military Sci-Fi series from USA Today Bestseller Rhett C. Bruno and M.B. Vance. It's perfect for fans of The Expanse, Battlestar Galactica, and Marko Kloos.

©2022 Rhett C. Bruno (P)2022 Recorded Books

A Winner Despite Some Weaknesses

Ray Porter nails it as he always does. The concept for the story is excellent and revealed in a natural way rather than spoon feeding. The story has enough surprises to keep you riveted and I’m excited for book 2. That being said some of the dialogue is… not natural. The love story is cringe at times. And there are cliche characters (who start to break out of those standard molds by the end to the author’s credit). Overall I recommend.

good spave opera, worth the listen

this space opera is a good one. it is a bit more gritty than typical for the genre and I liked that aspect immensely

Can't stand narrator's female voices

The story itself is good. Intricate space opera, lots of well drawn characters. But if there are other books in this series, I will read rather than listen to them. The narrator's women characters are given the most grating voices. They simper, they whine, they seethe. The evil Lilith has a style I can only see on Gloria Swanson - hammy, over wrought stage whispers. Even the "nice" females have irritating characteristics. The children pout and sulk, the adults simper or are bossy. I think this is the narrator's interpretations rather than the authors' intent.

BRUNO STRIKES AGAIN!

Now with M.B. Vance, who seems to add a level of realism to Bruno's already visceral writing, Great book of a new series I'm excited to keep reading. The AI content couldn't be more timely, and the idea of it being a ... game... brilliant.

excellent story

great story, great characters great narrator. it's greaaaaat! more words required, because brevity is not a guidepost for audible

Yes its brutal.

But likely much more real than we wish. First, the idea that another sapience has the same ideals as we do is ludicrous...but even in our own selves we have prevailing evidence of greed, cruelty and perversion.

Great story, engaging and unique. Definitely recommend

welcome to the game

this story is fantastic and can't wait to listen to the rest of the series!

great hard sci-fi.

good mix of inventive sci-fi coupled with alien overlords.
excellent narration
story made me want to keep listening even when I was supposed to be doing something

Not your typical military sci-fi story…

Great read (or listen). No extraneous material. It’s all meat in this story.
Humans and society dealing with each other as well as extremely powerful robot overlords.

At times I was happy, scared, sad, and even astonished. Many scenes had me on the edge of my seat in anticipation.
If you like military action, this is a great book. It’s obvious the author has intimate knowledge of military life and the difficulty maintaining professionalism that is sometimes muddled by personal relationships. I know nothing about the military, but the author conveys the struggle between the duty of following orders, and humanity superbly.


On a different note, Ray Porter is an excellent narrator. I listened at 2x speed with no problem. The accents and numerous characters voiced are distinct and understandable. I always knew when certain people were talking. Excited for Book 2 to release.

great book!

I loved it from start to finish. I started it before work yesterday morning and ended up listening straight up until bed time. with the occasional break to you know.....actually work!