In Winter Clad

Soft Target: A Tab Novak Story (#1)

How much can one person stand to lose in war?

Conflict rages across the stars. Only Ground Corps protects human settlers from being overrun by the Cetans at every turn.

In one of these many battles, Lance Corporal Tabor “Tab” Novak fights with such gallantry he is selected into the elite HAMMER personal armor battalion. Yet, here the philosophical youth finds he no longer surpasses his peers, but instead struggles to keep up with the best – which spurs him to greater heights.

However, HAMMER demands much from its members: physical, mental, and [psychological/emotional]. Aliens threaten humanity everywhere, and Tab is first to fight, enduring loss after loss both in and out of combat. He gambles his health, his relationship with his family, his morals, and the love of his life, all in the pursuit of valor.

How much will he choose to sacrifice on the altar of victory?

Soft Target is the first novel in a series featuring the page-turning action of John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War cycle and Marko Kloos’ Frontlines books, tempered with the sensibilities of David Drake’s stories and the moral complexity of John Haldeman’s The Forever War.

Coming 2026!