Review of Freedom's Hammer by Kenneth E. Ingle

The Contact Universe

BooksForABuck.com, November 2015

The Veridian system, ruled by a ruthless oligarchy who enforces their will by mass deportation to a prison planet, seems impervious to attack. A huge army, a massive spy system and an army of robotic cops track down and destroy any resistance. For Greg Trumble, just staying alive is a challenge. But, there are those who are willing to risk everything to bring the totalitarians down. Using Veridian's rigid control against the cruel elite, they plot the overthrow to end the dictatorial regime. And for them, Trumble may just be the hammer they need to smash the omnipresent dictatorship.

Greg Trumble thinks his life has gone from bad to disaster when arrested by the Veridian secret police and sent to the prison planet of Abradus. Instead, he finds that Abradus, while still a prison from which no one has ever returned, has been subverted by a cabal... and they have a plan for him; to install a 'new order' for Veridian. Trumble's talent for gathering and understanding disparate bits of information proves pivotal in defeating the rulers. The revolutionary's ground fight, led by a lady warrior, along with Trumble's unerring leadership, foils the regimes counterattacks and bring an end to the horror.

Trumble dives into the post-revolution confusion, where his charisma helps subvert the interim government. He discovers unsettling information about the leaders behind the revolt. Did a great many people die for democracy and freedom, only to replace one group of oligarchs with another? What, exactly, does a 'new order,' a term with a distinct historical odor to it, mean for Veridian?

Author Kenneth E. Ingle (see more BooksForABuck.com reviews of novels by Ingle) writes a fast-paced military SF thriller. Greg Trumble evolves from a technological savant to a leader of the revolution. His political awareness increases and he finds himself taking the lead in driving his nation toward freedom.

Four Stars

Reviewed 11/02/15

This book is no longer in print.

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