Drop Trooper Books In Order

Publication Order of Drop Trooper Books

Publication Order of Birthright Books

Drop Trooper series written by Rick Partlow features street guy, Cameron Alvarez who’s given simple options to go to jail or join the war. Throughout the series, Partlow develops Cam into a completely different person from how he began. The books should be read in order to understand the series better.

Contact Front
Contact Front is the debut novel in the Drop Trooper series. The story features a young man named Cameron Alvarez, who has been living a poor life. He lives in an overpopulated city where everyone except the wealthy lives in a cube-sized apartment. Being an orphan, he moves from one foster home to another until he decides to run away and live in the tunnels one day. He has been lonely and began providing for himself since he was 10. He survives on stealing and doing anything in his power to make a living.

At the age of 19, he is found stealing drugs from a gangster, and he’s lucky that the person who caught him was not a member of the gang group; otherwise, he would have been killed without a second thought.

He’s found by Transit police, who are known for killing people in the subway. The same happens with the man chasing Cameron after he didn’t stop for the subway train to pass. When the man is hit by the train, Cam is charged with murder, among other charges.

Even though he didn’t kill him directly, the thief is responsible in some way as he was the one being chased after breaking the law. Cameron gets himself ready to start his sentence, and he’s somehow relieved to get a break from his lonely life.

With no friends, family, or a place to call home, he has nothing to lose. He’s given an offer to be put under cryogenic hibernation for a hundred years or join Marine Corps. During that time, there was frequent war with some aliens named Tahni, and choosing to join the marine might not be a good idea as rumors say that the marines were not performing well in the war. This means they would recruit anyone into the army given the opportunity.

Cameron agreed to the Marine Corps chance, and he prepares himself to start a new career. He is inculcated into the job and begins with the basic training. This young man comes from his lonely life and enters another world ready to live a different life. He’s happy to realize there is something different he can do better instead of playing con games on the streets. He seems to have suitability for the military, a job he never had an idea of before joining.

Having lived in closed spaces most of his life, he was so frightened by open spaces. He performs well in recruits done in enclosed areas, and he feels at peace while in the darkness. He has no other choice but to deal with his fears while learning to use his machines and get used to his colleagues.
On the bright side, he now has a chance to make new friends and leave his old ways of living alone without trusting anyone.

The author takes the reader through Cameron’s training as he prepares to become a full marine. There is enough character building from the start to the end. In the beginning, the hero is a Rookie, and he’s turned into a sergeant in the end. The story is narrated in the first person from Cameron’s point of view.

Kinetic Strike
In this second installment, Cameron is still in the war against the Tahni and what follows is a battle with personal demons. Having been promoted to sergeant, he now faces different challenges of leading in the battles. Now a Drop Troop marine, Cameron finds out those top authorities see him and his colleagues as vital assets for the mission to succeed.

This time the marines are going near the alien’s territory, and the more they go, the more casualties they get. Sergeant Cameron disagrees with them that, together with his buddies, are ‘throw away’ marines. To him, the recent attack techniques applied by the fleet are more of a suicide mission with a very low possibility of survival.

They are now planning to attack the shuttles, where they’ll be exposed to the enemy missiles and beams as they fly to space. The machines drop the shuttles can only get in the system at some distance, and it appears it’s not near the planet they plan to attack.

He was lucky that the shuttle he was in wasn’t hit directly; otherwise, he would be no more. Cameron doesn’t want his people to die before the mission and, after watching it once, isn’t ready to do it again. He sets to study the ancient military history as he’s forced to do so after the previous tactics are classified far above his level. As a matter of fact, he might get himself into trouble for just asking innocent questions.

Cameron knows his job is to adhere to the rules and plan for the battle even if he doesn’t buy the idea. He’s sure that this will lead to more deaths for the marines, but what can he do to change it?

As a result, Cam brainstorms a new attack tactic that is likely to work somehow and save both the recon marines and Drop Troopers. However, he’s just a squad leader, and his position is far from proposing something of this kind. According to the computers, the new attack plan shows many marines could be saved except for those executing the plan.

Kinetic Strike’s a superb action thriller that will leave the reader flipping pages. The storyline is excellent with future weapons that are realistic in military doctrine. Rick Partlow is an author with a unique ability to keep his stories moving at a fast pace without leaving any detail out.

The characters are very strong, and as the story develops, you will get pulled in from the first chapter. Cameron is a unique and likable hero, and you can’t help but fall in love with his determination.

The writer does a superb job balancing vivid descriptions with well-fleshed characters in the most critical situations.