Rebels in Arms

When civil war broke out, Cadet Scott St. Andrew and Cadet Halitov abandoned the Terran Alliance to join the rebellion of the Seventeen Worlds. This marked them as traitors. However Scott is beginning to believe neither deserve his loyalty. Due to his not being fully conditioned, Scott is still aging rapidly. This means that even though he is a lethal fighting machine, he will not live much longer. The Colonial Wardens is a secret splinter group within the rebel infrastructure. They are planning a coup and have agreed to correct his deteriorating condition IF he casts his lot with them. They also all but told Scott flat out that his brother, Jarrett, was really alive. Scott is determined to find out if all the Wardens say is true or if they are feeding him more lies. **** The character, Paul, from the first book shows up again. Readers get an update on him, his lover Dina, and his father the Colonel. Halitov remains his normal selfish person, but I still could not help liking him. Of course, like the first book, Scott gets promoted quickly due to the war. Also like the first book, this one ends with no closure. Be sure to have all three books of this trilogy before you begin reading! I wish someone had told me that before I began it. **** Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Rebels in Arms is the perfect end to a perfect series. My favorite part is how believable the characters are. When I read the book I was living it through Scott st Andrews eyes. Ben has certainly outdone himself with this one. It is the best book I have ever had the pleasure of reading and I recommend it to anyone who hasn't taken the time to go through it. It is the best thing to happen to literature since Lord of the Rings. His are the stories that I will remember for the rest of my life.

I am a fan of R. Heinlein and Weaver writes a book in H's spirit. The underdog gets his/hers revenge and becomes a hero and an important player.I truly like these two books, the only thing to complain about is that the superhero stuff becomes just a bit too much. Weaver could tune it down just a bit. But it makes for interesting reading and creates a plot that makes you wanna read more.It's so hard to put down that you read it in one session *lol* and one can't wait until the next book comes.. it must, since he ends with a lot of questions open!Read it and if you haven't read Heinlein yet, do it!! Read "Citizen of the Galaxy"

Let me be clear: This book rocks. Rebels in Arms is the second of a series by Ben Weaver, an author to watch. His mix of a soldier's view of war and futuristic battlefields has shades of Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game and the Seafort Saga books by David Feintuch.Three hundred years in the future Earth's mega-corporations and far-flung colonies are at odds - make that at war. Caught in the middle is military cadet-turned-officer, Scott St. Andrew. He's a colo, raised on a mining world, and he has problems. His academy is attacked and the cadets must choose sides: the colonial military forces, "The Seventeen," or Earth's Alliance. Sworn to protect the colonies, St. Andrew sides with the colonials and ships off to war.Some authors would have made this a boring mishmash of battle scenes, but Weaver deftly gets inside the mind of his character and makes this story personal. We watch as St. Andrew balances his humanity with the horror of hand-to-hand combat.To make things even more interesting, humans have an alien technology that, when applied to certain military officers, turns them into super-soldiers. These officers can change things to suit them: running up walls, super-speed, reversing bullets, etc. St. Andrew's "conditioning" is screwy - he can't always do things right. To further complicate matters, he has a genetic mutation that gives him an extra - but erratic - edge. He's a killing machine, taking out piles of Marines in one wild battle after another - while we watch the wheels turn in his head. We see his anguish at killing, made even more tortured because of his amplified memory. The choice to hold to his code puts him at odds with even his friends, and in this novel St. Andrew is a commander torn between his code and seeking his redemption in a war-torn galaxy.Weaver supplies just the right amount of details. We don't get bogged down in exposition - he seamlessly explains his scientific theories and futuristic politics.I also recommend the first of the series, Brothers In Arms. Weaver's galaxy has characters who THINK instead of woodenly shooting bad guys and making pithy comments. His characters are flawed. We see their self-discovery in the crucible of war.Get this book. Read it. Re-read it. War is hell, and we watch St. Andrew learn this the hard way, with the right mix of humor, loyalty and friendship to make this series worth a darn.

Continuing the saga started in Brothers in Arms, Ben Weaver spins a masterful story telling more of the fascinating Scott St. Andrew and his fellow soldiers. St. Andrew continues to be the reluctant hero, torn by the events of a war stretching across many star systems. As the tale continues, it becomes more and more apparent that Weaver has spent a considerable period of time developing the setting/universe in which he has placed his stories. Many of the cliffhangers from the first novel are resolved in the second... but more arise to be answered in a third novel. My only regret was that I finished the novel in only one day -- I couldn't put it down! Mr. Weaver, please hurry the next one along!