Captain Hawkins by H. Peter Alesso - Book Tour - Review - Giveaway - Enter Daily!

Hi lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host H. Peter Alesso and his new book, “Captain Hawkins”!  For other stops on his Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.

Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!  Also, come back daily to interact with H. Peter Alesso and to increase your chances of winning!

Thanks for stopping by!  Wishing you lots of luck in this fabulous giveaway!

Captain Hawkins

by H. Peter Alesso

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GENRE: Sci-fi

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BLURB:

Jamie Hawkins was living on an obscure planet in the twenty third-century when on one fateful night--his life changed forever. His heroic effort to save the lives of innocent women and children, caught in the cross-fire of war, placed him squarely in the cross-hairs of avenging soldiers.

Hawkins was stunned when his rescue effort was seen as treachery. Unfairly convicted of treason by a corrupt judge, he was sentenced to life imprisonment at hard labor on an infamous penal colony.

Once in prison, his courage and perseverance won him the admiration and trust of his fellow convicts. While he was plotting his escape, an enemy attacked the planet--giving this daring warrior his chance. Together with his fellow prisoners, he launched a bold assault and high-jacked an enemy warship.

From then on, Captain Jamie Hawkins and his ship the Indefatigable fought against a corrupt government--only to discover a mysterious alien presence behind the war.

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EXCERPT THREE:

The black of night had fallen, but Jamie Hawkins couldn’t sleep. Though the surgeons had patched up his many wounds, the remorseless pain persisted, even now, months after his medical discharge from the Marines.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Despite his desire to ignore the unwelcomed thundering blows, he answered the door to his country home and found his neighbor, tall scrawny seventeen year old Joshua Morgan, gasping for breath.

“Captain Hawkins, come quick! Come quick, or they’ll all be killed!”

“Who? What are you talking about, Joshua?”

“I’ve just come from the city—it’s a war zone. People are dying,” Joshua’s voice broke. “The hospital is taking care of the wounded and sheltering women and children, but its force shield is buckling.” He finished in a breathless rush, “It’s only a matter of minutes before it fails.”

A troubled frown creased Hawkins’s face. Their mothers had been friends and he had known Joshua since he was born.

Has the boy been drawn into the turmoil? He wondered.

Hawkins had listened to the broadcasts throughout the day, absurd in every detail; demonstrators declared that they were only protesting injustice, while the government insisted the violence was a last resort against rebels.

Which is the greater lie?

“I told one of the doctors, I knew someone who could help. My flyer’s right outside, sir. You must come,” begged Joshua, his expressive eyes pleading.

A more kindhearted man, who possessed his insight, might have agonized over what was happening in the capital city, but though Hawkins was not unsympathetic, past adversity had left him more hardboiled and cynical than most.

“That’s not my concern anymore,” he said.

Joshua’s desperate voice squealed, “You’re a veteran. You could make a difference, sir.”

Hawkins put his hand on his hips, threw his head back, and barked, “Ha!”

Then, giving vent to a deep inner passion, he demanded, “What difference can one man make?”

As a Marine, Hawkins had been a hot-blooded warrior, always quick to action, so at this moment of great upheaval, while frenzied violence was playing out in the capital, he surprised himself with his reluctance to act. As he ran his hand over the long jagged scar that marred his chest, one thing was certain, the foolish mutinous passions of the people could only lead to ruin.

But the look that spread across the boy’s face was indescribable—it was as if he had just lost his hero.

“Alright, if you won’t come, at least tell me how to maintain the shield,” said Joshua, showing a daring and persistence beyond his years. “I’ll go back alone, but you must tell me what to do.”

“You have no idea what you’d be getting yourself into. All hell has broken loose. Can’t you see, you can’t contribute anything worthwhile, and most likely something terrible will happen?”

“I must go back, my mother is a volunteer at the hospital,” said Joshua. Throwing back his shoulders with a determined jerk of his chin, he challenged Hawkins’s jaded gaze, pleading, “Please. Tell me how to fix the shield.”

Hawkins opened his mouth, but the words froze on his lips. The boy’s courage was a splash of cold water in his face, stinging his sense of honor. It wasn’t in his nature to send this boy to certain death—for Joshua could never accomplish what had to be done—nor it was in his makeup to let innocents be condemned to death with the hospital’s destruction.

A gritty resolve washed over Hawkins. He said, “Let’s go.”

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REVIEW:

This book takes place during the 23^rd century.  This book takes you on such an exciting, interesting, and intriguing journey filled with action, government corruption, dictatorship, heroism, oh and an alien presence.  Yes, there is a lot going on in this book.

Captain Jamie Hawkins is an ex-Marine who is trying to keep mostly to himself since his discharge.  However, when his neighbor, a young boy, asks for his help he can’t help but agree to. So Captain Hawkins heads to the hospital to help rescue the woman and children. Unfortunately, the local military raids the hospital and Captain Hawkins is accidentally labeled a rebel and is taken into custody.  Thinking this is just a misunderstanding and can be easily explained that he was only trying to help and that he was not a rebel, he is astonished and bewildered when they don’t believe him.  His rescue efforts are classified as treachery.  Furthermore, he is convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment of hard labor at Zero Penal Colony.

While in prison, Captain Hawkins teams up with some other inmates and plots an escape.  When an enemy attacks the planet, Hawkins sees this as the perfect opportunity to try and escape.  Captain Hawkins and his new comrades come together to fight and battle against their corrupt government.  They are pulled further into the devastating destruction and struggles of the war.  They know this battle won’t be easy, but Captain Hawkins believes in doing the right thing, bringing justice, saving lives, and he’s willing to do whatever it takes to set things right again.  

This book is book one in The Jamie Hawkins Sage book series.  This book sets the backdrop of the fight and introduces the main characters.

This book is mostly about the war between two planets.  Each planet has their own government, their own laws, and their own way of life.  This book is about the fight between the Jaxions and Hellions.

There is also a bit of a love story.  It is definitely more of a secondary, background narrative.  I am curious to see if Mr. Alesso will explore this front and make this romance a higher priority in the next book of this series.

I liked the main characters, but felt they were a bit under developed.  They had good characteristics, but just needed that extra to really allow the readers to connect and identify with them.

I have to admit I may be a bit bias, because I am a main character in this book – Alyssa!  Lol!  Okay, it’s honestly not me, but I am stoked that my name is featured and even spelled correctly – that rarely happens!

Mr. Alesso did a fantastic job on world-building.  He made this story the perfect amount of sci-fi and space opera without being over technical.  This allows for readers to easily follow and understand the story without getting lost in translation.  This is great for readers that are new to sci-fi books or readers that enjoy sci-fi books but are reserved about reading books that are too complicated.

There are some twists and turns you probably won’t see coming.  This book was very entertaining and filled with non-stop action.  I would definitely recommend this book and I am curious to see how the rest of this book series unfolds.

**Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book and have voluntarily provided an honest, and unbiased review in accordance with FTC regulations.**

Did you find this review helpful?

If so, please, please, please mark it as helpful on Amazon here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/review/R1G2AF7PJB5YVK

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AUTHOR BIO:

As a scientist and author specializing in technology innovation, H. Peter Alesso has over twenty years research experience at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). As Engineering Group Leader at LLNL he led a team of scientists and engineers in innovative applications across a wide range of supercomputers, workstations, and networks. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy with a B.S. and served in the U.S. Navy on nuclear submarines before completing an M.S. and an advanced Engineering Degree at M.I.T. He has published several software titles and numerous scientific journal and conference articles, and he is the author/co-author of ten books.

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CONNECT WITH H. PETER ALESSO:

Website:

http://www.hpeteralesso.com/Default.aspx

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/Jamie-Hawkins-1296787840384241

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/413852.H_Peter_Alesso     

Goodreads Book Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32972035-captain-hawkins

Amazon Author Page:

https://www.amazon.com/H.-Peter-Alesso/e/B001HCY45M

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BOOK BUY LINKS:

Amazon:

http://amzn.to/2hLYiPy

Barnes and Noble:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/captain-hawkins-h-peter-alesso/1125365410

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GIVEAWAY INFO:

H. Peter Alesso will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions.  Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.