Starfist: Kingdom's Swords

The Marines were told it was a simple peasant rebellion but the mission proved to be far deadlier. . . . Gunny Charlie Bass isn't the only Marine mystified by the order sending the entire 34th to put down a few seditious serfs on planet Kingdom. Rumors swirl of a deadly alien invasion. But few believe that such sentient beings exist. Except Gunny Bass and the Marines of the 3rd platoon, who once fought enemy aliens called Skinksfierce, fanatical fighters with hideous weapons who attack for no other reason but to kill. Then, while slogging through Kingdom's fetid swamps, the Marines are attacked by awesome unseen weapons that could destroy half a platoon with one shot. Clearly they are facing no normal enemy. And if their adversaries are Skinks, one FIST isn't enough. Third platoon's orders are to penetrate deeper into the bloody jungle helland find out what happens when a few good men bite the bullet. . . .

<b>David Sherman</b> is a former United States Marine and the author of eight previously published novels about Marines in Vietnam, where he served as an infantryman and as a member of a Combined Action Platoon. He is an alumnus of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and worked as a sculptor for many years before turning to writing. Along the way he has held a variety of jobs, mostly supervisory and managerial. Today he is a full-time writer. He is also the author of <i>Demontech<b> </b>Book I: Onslaught</i>, a new military fantasy series. He lives in Philadelphia.<br><br><b>Dan Cragg</b> enlisted in the United States Army in 1958 and retired with the rank of sergeant major twenty-two years later. During his army service, Mr. Cragg served more than eleven years in overseas stations, five and