The Darkside War

By: Zachary Brown

Narrated by: Pete Simonelli

Aliens have conquered Earth, but they haven’t conquered humanity—yet. A young army conscript battles for survival in this action-packed futuristic thriller that will appeal to fans of Halo and Inglorious Bastards.

People used to wonder if we were alone in the universe. Well, we’re not. Not by a long shot. Aliens come in all shapes and sizes, and even the good guys are likely to haunt your nightmares. And oh, you’ll have nightmares, even after you leave the service. If you leave the service.

Devin is a reluctant conscript to an alien-run army: when the Accordance conquered Earth, they said it was to prepare against the incoming alien Conglomeration forces. But as Devin travels to the dark side of the moon for boot camp and better acquaints himself with his so-called allies, his loyalties are increasingly tested. Because the enemy of the enemy is not always a friend. Sometimes they’re a far, far worse threat.

Critic reviews

"Good old-fashioned military science fiction, this first book in the Icarus Corps trilogy follows a young army con­script from a brutal boot camp, where they’re taught that the Accordance aliens who have conquered Earth are better than the Conglomeration aliens with whom the Accordance is at war. So it’s off to war and new realizations, with plenty of action." (Russell Letson)

"The Darkside War is a a lean, calculated, knife-thrust of a book that provides a stellar entry-point to military science fiction."

Monster variety is the spice of life.y

I think that as a whole, humans have a quasi super hero conception of our race. Author Zachary Brown shares this in The Darkside War as he cleverly revives the " human warriors for sale, lease, ransom, extortion . He threw other alien types into the mix to disguise who the bad guy was, a new twist for this listener! The book was entertaining with constant bickering within Alfa squad and between squads. The antagonist is the guy you really love to hate! He's been pampered all his life and dad has had him trained to become an officer! Naturally our hero instantly wants to make him into mush but the villain surrounds himself with obsequient fellow students and even has personal bodyguards. These all support him in his bullying, lying, and narcing. It's a continuous skirmish nearly to the end of the book. BUT, the other, ongoing war with the good aliens(?) and the bad aliens(?) explodes and now threatens Earth. This catalyst results in friends with a common purpose. Oh, there is the mandatory female. She flamboyant , an experienced rebel with enhanced abilities, and she can fight. No wuss slap slap either. She does the down and dirty, toe to toe type of fisticuffs . She could probably whip her fellow warriors but wisely, they don't challenge. It all finishes with these three trained warriors trying to warn and save the planet they're on and Mother Earth. As I've said it's entertaining but not intense. I'm hoping the next book will be and you know they'll be a next book. The Darkside War ends like our matinee serials did.

A story of a pansy written by a liberal racist.

Would you try another book from Zachary Brown and/or Pete Simonelli?

Nope. Not a chance.

What was most disappointing about Zachary Brown’s story?

All the white southern conservatives were the bad guys. It was ridiculous. The author is either an outright racist or has a serious case of white liberal guilt.

Would you be willing to try another one of Pete Simonelli’s performances?

Nope. Boring. Not the worst, but not very good.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Darkside War?

Where do I even start? How bout not making your hero not such a freaking pansy. He looses every single fight he gets in. He has got the worst hero ever.

Any additional comments?

I don't care if the hero is black, latino, white or asian. As long as its a good character, I'm happy. This guy was a terrible hero. And get off your liberal high horse you racist jackass.