Wretched Descent

By: Robert Leach

Narrated by: Michael Neeb

“Sticks and Stones.” –Albert Einstein

In a world on the brink, one soldier’s final mission becomes humanity’s last stand.

Master Sergeant Will Stamper, battle-hardened and ready to retire, craves nothing more than to escape the relentless march of technology and war. But when a routine training mission in Jordan spirals into chaos, his plans shatter. Swarms of drones darken Syrian skies, while images of chaos fill every news station, every outlet. Turkey is on the march and will stop at nothing to realize their goals. Their domination. Their resurgence.

In war, technological advancement is a necessity, trust a casualty, and every choice, a gamble between life and death.

With resources dwindling and the world teetering on apocalyptic collapse, Stamper faces an impossible choice: defy the unstoppable tide of war and risk the annihilation of his team or let the merciless machine of conflict grind on. In this heart-pounding military sci-fi thriller, Wretched Descent reimagines the timeless epic of The Iliad, delivering a pulse-racing tale of redemption, sacrifice, and the perilous edge of technological warfare.

Brace for impact— war’s new era has begun.

De Opresso Liber

©2025 Robert Leach (P)2025 Robert Leach

Absolutely gripping military thriller

I am an avid reader of the military fiction / thriller genre, as well as science fiction. From being captivated by the thorough technical detail and storytelling of Tom Clancy, to the clandestine intrigue of Dalton Fury, and more recently the graphic and emotionally gripping tales of Jack Carr, I have spent hours of my life in the past few decades reading / listening to military fiction. In all that time, through a myriad of authors and storylines, I have never been so enthralled by a book as much as Wretched Descent. From the very beginning, this book had my attention, and it never let me go. The completely accurate (and effortlessly portrayed) banter between the characters as Soldiers on deployment did not feel forced or overly expositional, as is often the case with military dramas, where the characters are stereotypically one-dimensional. The author here has captured the unique dynamic between Soldiers, especially Combat Arms Soldiers, in armed conflict. The interactions between characters do not feel forced or manufactured, rather, you find yourself immediately immersed into the intimate nature of the dark-humor laced relationships of men who live lives that are both highly competitive and selflessly sacrificial in nature. These characters feel real, and the author makes you feel as if you know them well and have deployed with them countless times.

The story itself is simultaneously realistic and outlandish, portraying both the most recent experiences of the American combat arms soldier, and what I feel is very probably the most accurate vision of near-future full-spectrum combat operations. Leach’s imagining of the mixture of AI, autonomous combat systems, augmented reality technology, and the modern fighting man is prescient, and fully fleshed out. He foresees many aspects of the challenges of such a dynamic theater of combat that many other authors, pundits, and military prognosticators have missed, or couldn’t imagine. His understanding of the second and third-order effects of these emerging technologies is thorough and well-reasoned, and his ability to predict their applications in near-future conflict is likely to be prophetic.

I am not exaggerating when I say that this was, by far, the best book I have read all year, and absolutely the best book I have ever read in this genre. Buy this book; you will never regret it!

!!!

Man, I was pulled into the story from the prologue. Finished the book in two days. I’m just saying when is when is the second book coming out?

Thrilling, Emersive, and Terrifying

Read this book now! Wretched Descent is absolutly captivating.It reads like one of the greatest war movies you have ever seen. It engages your imagination with exquisite detail and gritty reality. You will feel your heart beating and break out in sweat as the Hero moves through dangerous engagements and heart stopping trials. I was on the edge of my seat the entire book. the character development makes you fall in love with these tougher than nails men. The writer put phenomenal detail into each charter which makes you think he modeled them off of men he had served with. This book will not disappoint.

Pulls you right in!

Wow! Although not my typical genre, the first chapter pulled me right in and I couldn't stop. The narrator had the perfect voice inflection for the scenes. The storyline was captivating and I'm ready for the next book in this series!

Great book!!

The book blends new technology with plausible scenarios in the Middle East. Great well written book that is fast paced.