David Sherman

The Marines of Combined Action Platoon T-9 are trapped between a Rock and a Hard Place. They can't run their patrols and keep Bun Hoi village safe from the Vietcong without their Popular Forces platoon, which had been taken away by the District Commander, Major Y, at the end of the previous book. So they decide to take matters into their own hands. First, the Marines go to the district headquarters and face down Major Y until he allows them to take their PFs, who are anxious to return home. The VC seem more determined than ever to wipe out Tango Niner, and launch attacks against the Marine compound, called Camp Apache. The Marines gather intelligence about a secret VC base in the mountains to their west, but can't convince anybody to run an operation to deal with it, or even send in a reconnaissance unit to check it out. In the end, this independent-minded unit takes the war to the enemy in the place the enemy feels most secure.

It's six months since Combined Action Platoon T-9 was established in Hou Bun village. Six months of nearly-nightly battles between the Marines and Popular Forces of CAP Tango Niner and Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army units. The VC and NVA almost always lost those encounters. After months of losing fighters and supply trains, and an inability, despite repeated attempts, to overrun and wipe out Tango Niner, the VC and NVA decided to take their operations elsewhere. Peace had come to Hou Bun village. But there was one more thing the Marines had to do. Two years earlier, the VC had kidnapped the son of Phao Houng, the PF platoon commander. Houng found out where his son was being held as a slave laborer. Five Marines and one PF go on a mission to rescue the boy. It's one of the most audacious and dangerous missions ever undertaken by Americans in the war: Nine-year-old Phao Kha Ai was being held in the A Shau Valley, one of the strongest VC and NVA bases in South Vietnam. The Marines and PFs of CAP T-9 couldn't pull it off totally by themselves, they needed help. They got it from Chief Petty Officer Ossie Slover, the cousin of Tango Niner's Corporal "Big Louie" Slover; from Bobbie Harder, a civilian employee of the Marines in Da Nang--and girlfriend of Tango Niner's Corporal "Tex" Randall; from Ensign Lily, a navy friend of Second Lieutenant "Scrappy" Burrison, Tango Niner's commanding officer; and from Lieutenant (j.g.) Reeves, a helicopter pilot and friend of Lily's. It's a bodacious and outrageous mission, that can only be pulled off by a small team of determined Marines and PFs, and their friends who supported them.

Someone planted two kilos of heroin in the Marine compound called Camp Apache, home of Combined Action Platoon T-9. When the heroin is found, the Marine lieutenant and NCOs are charged with drug smuggling. They're innocent, of course, but have to prove it - a very difficult thing when they're slated to be the example that discourages other Marines from dealing in drugs While doing that, they and their junior Marines and Vietnamese Popular Forces still have to protect Bun Hou village from the Viet Cong who keep coming through - and they have to deal with Captain Phang, the corrupt assistant district chief. Junior men are given greater responsibilities when their leaders are away defending themselves against the drug charges, and acquit themselves as well as can be expected of young men dedicated to what they are doing. This is the most difficult mission the Marines and Popular Forces of Combined Action Platoon Tango Niner have had to date.

Main Force Assault follows the Marines and Popular Forces of Combined Action Platoon T-9 as they continue their mission to protect the villagers of Bun Hou from the Viet Cong, and from corrupt South Vietnamese officials. Following the combat in the first book in the series, Knives in the Night, CAP Tango Niner has several replacements, including a new lieutenant, who has to be taught how to be a leader. The action here is sometimes hotter and heavier than in the previous book, but not everything is combat. The Marines find themselves having to deal with a sometimes mindless bureaucracy, and the attendant difficulties in getting things they need. There is a "midnight requisition" of a jeep, and a love interest is introduced as well. The way the Marines in the unit deal with the day to day realities of life in a CAP is true to life. It's always good to remember that Marines aren't supermen, they're simply men doing a very difficult, very dangerous job, and doing it very well, as is shown in the gritty combat scenes.

KNIVES IN THE NIGHT introduces the Marines of Combined Action Platoon Tango Niner and the Popular Forces of Bun Hou village somewhere deep in "Indian Country." The Marines and Vietnamese soon find themselves pitted against Major Nghu, a sadistic North Vietnamese Army officer dedicated to wiping out the Marines and subjugating the South Vietnamese peasants. Leatherneck, the Magazine of Marines, called this novel, "A pleasure to read."

Ham Eliot is a down-on-his-luck freelance magazine writer who finds lost or misplaced objects to supplement his writing income. He soon encounters Sindi DiWagne, a duplicitous blonde who leads him on a search for a purloined map she claims shows the way to treasure buried by the notorious pirate Blackbeard. Arrayed against Ham and Sindi are "Mister Big," a businessman who made his fortune by manipulating money, and lost it through some bad dealings. Mr. Big goes into the manufacture and distribution of designer drugs to regain his wealth. He also wants the treasure map. Mr. Big's muscle is provided by a trio of goons, Kallir, Hondo, and Moose. Mr. Big wants Ham out of the way, and his goons eventually make several attempts on Ham's life. By the time the story reaches its conclusion, many of the principals meet untimely ends. Adding to the action is Ham's favorite night spot, the Side Car Club. The Side Car is a curious club that sometimes hosts musical acts, some on their way up, others on their way back down, and some that never made it big but haven't given up. On other nights it has "dancing girls" shimmying on its stages and circulating for tips from the customers. The story is set in 1992.

The first collection of short works by science fiction novelist David Sherman. It includes his earliest neophyte attempts to published short stories, plus poetry and a college paper that convinced him that he could write. The writing quality of the stories range from talented amateur to fully professional. This book is a look into the genesis and early development of an accomplished writer who has close to three dozen novels to his credit. It is the first of three projected "Sherman's Shorts" books.

Reflecting the profound influence he continues to exert on popular consciousness, Camus examines the complete body of works of French author and philosopher Albert Camus, providing a comprehensive analysis of Camus’ most important works—most notably The Myth of Sisyphus, The Stranger, The Fall, The Plague, and The Rebel—within the framework of his basic ethical orientation. Makes Camus’ concerns clear in terms that will resonate with contemporary readersReveals the unity and integrity of Camus’ writings and political activitiesDiscusses Camus’ ongoing relevance by showing how he prefigures many postmodern positions in philosophy, literature, and politics

With many of its troops tied up in protecting distant planets from the threatened incursion of the Skinks, aliens bent on destroying all humankind, the Confederacy of Human Worlds sends the Marines of the 34th Fist to deal with a local insurrection by defending a base against overwhelming rebel odds. Reprint.

When a fierce rebellion breaks out on the edge of the frontier, Charlie Bass and the Marines of the 34th FIST are sent in to quell the fighting, in a new adventure of the Fleet Initial Strike Team. Reprint.

En route to the Officer Training College on Arsenault, the Confederation's training world, Sergeant Jak Daly runs into all kinds of mishaps and misadventures, while on Ravenette, the 4th Recon Marines launch a perilous mission behind enemy lines, harassing the enemy, destroying key facilities, and assaulting Ravenette's capital city. Original.

With its down and dirty depiction of warfare written by men who know what it's like to be under fire, the Starfist saga is a runaway success across America. Now, in the explosive new Starfist adventure, packed with fierce action and danger, Marines at war in future space find themselves pitted against a faceless, insatiable foe bent on destroying them. And that's just for starters. How bad is the upcoming mission facing the battle-hardened Marines of 34th Fleet Initial Strike Team (FIST), the military's unofficial alien first-contact force? Bad enough to make the brass take the unprecedented step of issuing 34th FIST replacements for combat losses before the Marines even leave their home base. In response to a series of unexplained deaths on a lonely outpost on the frontiers of human space, 34th FIST has been dispatched to investigate-and eradicate- the problem. Beyond that, the information available to Gunnery Sergeant Charlie Bass and his men is meager even by Marine standards. No one knows what awaits them, for the newly colonized world remains largely unexplored. That means 34th FIST can expect creatures they have never seen, or even heard of, much less trained for. It could be Skink acid shooters, could be anything, for the barren station has several secrets-all of them deadly. But the last thing these Marines expect to find is themselves in the middle of an invasion and a mysterious war-with none other than 34th FIST as Enemy #1. Whatever happens, they'll deal with it, because they're Marines, determined to be ready . . . and to give worse than they get.

Major original Star Wars adventure set against the backdrop of the Clone Wars and telling the tale of Anakin Skywalker's rise to full Jedi Knight status.