Ship of Destiny

Sam Bitka, a naval reserve officer, is recalled to wartime service and soon earns a reputation for aggressive tactics and insufficient deference to his academy-graduated superiors. His latest run-in with authority earns him a transfer to command of an armed transport, USS When a mysterious alien probe materializes from Jump Space and remotely reprograms 's star drive, Sam and his crew begin an involuntary voyage that takes them three thousand light years out of known space, across the galactic rift to the Sagittarius Spiral Arm, and into the heart of an ancient, previously unknown civilization—the first encountered by Humans and the other five races of the Stellar Commonwealth—in over a century. The genetically altered immortals known as The Guardians, a race so old they do not remember their own origins, soon turn murderously violent. Now Sam and his crew must elude capture by the Guardians, find some means of reprogramming their own star drive, and then return to the with the news of a powerful new civilization bent on their destruction. But they may also be carrying the secrets of the origin of their own star drive and of the path to immortality. “Chadwick’s heavy hitter succeeds at teeth-gritting action scenes, deep psychological portraits of diverse characters and societies, and abundant puzzles and mysteries. All . . . mixed in seamlessly with the vivid tragedies of war and balanced with dark humor.”— starred review ". . . strong characterization and the briskness of the plot should please. Fans of military sf and of Chadwick, in particular, should give it a look."— is very smartly put together . . . Chadwick gets the details right, whether he's talking about the effects of prolonged weightlessness or the intricacies of geo and interstellar politics and economics . . . a solid piece of Mil-SF writing that pulls from many historical sources and manages to convey a lot of what the Surface Navy is like. . . . It isn't the steel hulls that make the navy tough, it's the sailors that crew them."— “[A]dventure, family secrets and humor. . . . The plot is as hard as the science Chadwick uses. . . . [E]ngages readers. First-rate science fiction; it moves at a fast pace throughout.”— "Chadwick offers an exciting military SF story set on the Varoki home planet of Hazz’Akato in his follow up to Chadwick, a leading designer of military and science-fiction board- and role-playing games, knows his way around a battlefield . . . eccentric cohorts are entertaining, and a few surprises guarantee that readers will be seeing more of this series."— "This sequel to is a fast-paced, action-packed sf adventure. Readers new to Chadwick’s series will be able to start here without too much trouble; essential background information is given, and the author leaps straight into an original story set two years after the previous entry.”— “ is a crackling debut novel that speaks of great things to come! It's whip-smart, lightning-fast and character-driven—in short it has everything required to be totally satisfying. Highly recommended." —Jonathan Maberry, best-selling author of “. . . [a] far off, hard scrabble intergalactic underworld . . . fast-paced intergalactic adventure full of far-flung alien intrigue.”— " . . . thrilling space adventure . . . I was reminded of Jack McDevitt's Alex Benedict novels and Mark L. Van Name's Jon & Lobo adventures."—