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Judgment: Book One of Universal War
Paperback
Series: Universal War, Book 1
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: Jun 25 2026
Pages: 294
Weight: 0.79
Height: 0.73 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
A haunted veteran. Engineered children. One impossible mission.
When Lt. Colonel Gary McConnell is dragged out of self-destruction and ordered to train a classroom of genetically enhanced children at the secret Oxcart facility, he expects to break them. What he doesn't expect is to be broken open in return.
Blurb
In 2053, the world is changing fast-and the military is changing faster. McConnell, a decorated officer hollowed out by grief and guilt, is reassigned to a black-ops program that manufactures soldiers from children. Cold, bitter, and ready to die, he arrives to find a ragged, volatile group of Neo-Humans: telepaths, pyrokinetics, time-shifters, and prodigies who are more weapon than child. Ordered to turn them into soldiers, McConnell instead becomes their reluctant guardian. As bonds form, secrets surface, and the line between protector and commander blurs, the base is thrust into a nightmare: an alien assault that will demand a choice no one should have to make.
Why this book
Judgment is a character-driven military science fiction novel that pairs gritty, tactical combat with intimate emotional stakes. It asks hard questions about duty, parenthood, and the ethics of creating life for war-then answers them with sacrifice, betrayal, and a climax that will leave you breathless.
Perfect for readers who like
- Moral complexity in their military SF
- Found-family stories with high stakes
- Fast, cinematic action balanced by quiet, heartbreaking moments
What you'll find inside
- A slow-burn opening that builds to a devastating, hand-to-hand climax.
- A cast of memorable young Neo-Humans and the broken man who becomes their anchor.
- Themes of legacy, redemption, and what it costs to protect the people you love.
Start the series here
Begin the Universal War saga with Judgment-the origin story that sets a generation on a collision course with an interstellar war and the moral choices that will define humanity's future.
Also from
English, Marcus
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