Despite the fact it doesn’t break any new ground, The Misfit Soldier does make for a fun read. Whilst it doesn’t explore many interesting angles that it had an opportunity to, like creating interesting alien worlds or going into the politics of the seemingly endless war its characters fight in, it does have enough humor, intrigue, and romance to keep things interesting. A sci-fi fan who wants a quick, fun read will certainly enjoy this.

Sergeant Gastovsky (Gas) is a con man who joined the army to escape his enemies. In the army, he is not much of a soldier, and has continued with his hustles. However, when he is forced to leave one of his team behind on the planet while engaged in an endless war, he puts together a new team to recover his comrade.

I am not generally a fan of military sci fi, and my eyes glaze over at the descriptions of battles. Fortunately for me, this book had a light touch that held my interest. I enjoyed the scheming and double dealing of the characters and the gradual revelations of hidden motives. Gas was a likable character, and the dialogue is often amusing, but this book is more action-driven than character-driven. I also appreciated the book’s fast pace.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

W hat a great story. I loved the way the plot moved leading to action, tension and danger. Then it was over and since it is a stand alone there was no more. Man nay is an author to keep an eye on. He tells a great tale.

This was a funny and engaging read. Loved the protagonists personality and he was always there for his fellow soldier. Witty and funny

This isn't a genre I tend to head to--military sci-fi, but I love a heist and I love a ragtag group. I think Mammay does a good job of balancing the action with the MC's personality, but I would have loved to see more of the rest of the gang. I would absolutely be interested in reading more with this group, it was fun and a very easy read.

Sergeant Gastovsky is a conman hiding out from a mobster in the military wearing powered armor. He is not a great soldier, but he does know how to work the system. And what he is working on now may just blow up the war or just get him and his squad/crew killed. All he needs to do is get down to the ground, find a missing soldier in an off-limits town behind enemy lines and retrieve intel on a certain mobster while there. Simple really if you have the right crew and blessing from high command. But high command is conflicted and may be in the pocket of one side or another. So it is the conman versus the system with the odds against them. Will Gas and his crew succeed? or will they just go out in a blaze of glory? Read The Misfit Soldier and find out!

After a series of battle encounters on the planet below, the squad headed by Sargent Gas Gastovsky, retreated but left one soldier, Kendrick, behind. Gas wants to go back to rescue him without official authorization and so recruits a crew of specialists who are willing to go. Gas has always had the ability to figure out how to get what was needed and so goes about hatching a rescue plan.
Once back down it seems that things are going too easily and that worries Gas. His side should know that they have gone to the planet and the enemy must know that they are there. Gas is beginning to feel that there is something bigger going on, just as Gas has another agenda other than getting Kendrick back.
A fast paced military space adventure with sharp dialogue and plenty of action.
Thank you NeGalley and Harper Collins for this e-galley of "The Misfit Soldier".

I won this book from a Goodreads Giveaway. I enjoy fantasy so much! So, I really wanted to love this book.

Michael Mammay's writing is so good too! I had difficulty relating to the main character. I can best relate this futuristic space fantasy to Guardians of the Galaxy with the same reading pace of Lord of The Rings.

I do hope to read another book by Mammay. He writes beautifully.

While this book wasn't my type, I feel that others will find enjoyment in Mammay's writing.

Side note: The audiobook is amazingly narrated! The narrator held my attention throughout.

Thank you to William and Morrow, Goodreads, and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book.

I received a copy of this work from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Its long been the case that the trope of the disobedient soldier being a "hero" is popular in military Sci-Fi. The Misfit Soldier continues this trend, however it executes it very well. The main character is one that most readers will be sympathetic towards, and the fast paced story of military action and political intrigue is gripping. I would definitely read more by this author and I enjoyed the book. Clever, suspenseful and exciting, I'd give this book an 8 out of 10.

This was an okay book. Very heavy on military strategy and warfighting. Not really my speed. BUT, if you're into war strategy, this sci-fi might fit the bill for you!

Mil-SF author Michael Mammy is back with a new standalone novel. This time his main character isn't a general, he's a grunt in power armor who's more con man than non-comm.  Sergeant Gastovsky, everybody calls him Gas, can't get over having left a man behind when his squad had to pull out, but even if the military has written Kendrick off doesn't mean Gas has. Instead, he's going to break every rule he can find to make sure no one is left behind. And if there's another agenda, one about getting even with the people he joined the military to get away from and maybe make a killing in the process, that's ok too.

But when he's digging up dirt on a war that nobody seems to want to win, his real enemies might be the ones wearing the same uniform he is. But that's ok. Gas may be a lousy soldier, but he's a first-rate con artist.

(FUll review available 04/01/22)

I've enjoyed Michael Mammay's previous books and this one continued on in the same vein. Instead of focusing on an officer, this time Mammay focused on an enlisted soldier with a checkered history. There might have been some creep in the stakes towards the end, but still, it was an enjoyable read.

I received this ebook as a free giveaway through Goodreads from the publisher.
No influence from the publisher impacted this review.
**boilerplate done**

Having read Mr. Mammay's previous books (Spaceside, Planetside, Colonyside) and enjoying them I was excited to receive a copy of The Misfit Soldier and the premise of an "Oceans 11" style caper.
After reading the novel I was underwhelmed. While the novel did get to the promised "Oceans Eleven" caper it was a more of a slog than a quick march. The second half was much better than the first and once we get to the actual caper portion it was enjoyable.
The two biggest issues were the introduction of the titular star Sgt "Gas" and the lack of buildup of his credentials of being a master con. This lack of backstory made it hard to believe he was the master con he was supposed to be when starting the story.
The second issue was the "political theatre" in which the caper became a portion of to make it happen. While essential for the story it came across as forced.

Overall I give it 3 stars - while enjoyable it took a little work to get into the story. While it is not Oceans Eleven starring George Clooney it is better than Ocean's 11 staring the Brat Pack.

What a great story! At first I didn’t like the main character bc he seemed to arrogant but he definitely mellowed out. I loved all the twists and didn’t see any of them coming! I don’t read too many sci-fi books but I’m trying to read more of them so this was a really good one to start with!

Sergeant Gastovsky knows you don’t leave a man behind. So there must be some way to get back to Gallia to get Kendrick. Even if it is a war zone. His crew would help, they always did.
There was just a Colonel or two to figure out, to either help or get around.
A good adventure, but is he just trying to save his buddy? Or is he running a scam?
Worth reading to find out.

I was given a free advanced reader copy of this book by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you ever wanted there to be an episode of Leverage set in space, then this is the book for you. It's a fun con story told from the point-of-view of a con artist with a heart of tarnished gold, mixed with military sci-fi to give it a new twist. The author kept the story moving at a good pace and kept the focus right where I wanted it to be - on the con. The military sci-fi parts were thought-out and believable, which was much appreciated. I also thought he hit a good balancing point with the main character, Gas, not too unrepentant and not too selfless.

My favorite parts were the interactions between Gas and Putty, they were funny and immature, and you could tell the two cared about each other. I want a buddy movie with these two, maybe one of them is getting married and they're trying to get to the venue but it's half-way across the galaxy, through disputed territory.

Overall, this book was fun and enjoyable, and I'm glad to have discovered a new author with books waiting for me to read them!

Gas (Gastovsky) isn't you typical Sergent he joined up to run away from trouble. Gas always has a con or side-hustle going on somewhere on the base. But he is all business when it comes to his squad, and he refuses to leave one of his squad behind. That is where we find him at the point the story starts, trying to sneak onto a ship going down to where the fighting is to try and get his team member back all by himself, but then things change a lot when he is caught.

This is a non stop action book with more twists and turns than a roller coaster. The author has caught the military team bonding as well as any other author has if not better. I really liked this book and hope to see more of Gas and the team because I refuse to believe this is the end of their story.

Written in a dynamic and colloquial voice, The Misfit Soldier begins with a premise that is basically Saving Private Ryan on a different planet. When the protagonist’s friend Kendrik is left behind on the hostile planet Gallia when his platoon retreats, Sargeant “Gas” Gasovsky stows away aboard a supply ship to return to the service on a one-man power-armor rescue mission. He is immediately caught, but a helpful Colonel says he will send a rescue mission if Gas can get him more favorable odds.

While attempting to get better odds documented, Gas uncovers a rivalry inside brass on base. Gas discovers the rivalry will prevent him getting planetside, so he assembles a team who operate, like he does, outside their designated roles, and they steal a drop ship and go on world, all in mech suits. Then they have to fight to get behind enemy lines and extract Kendrik, which is an adventure in itself.

But this grunt’s-eye special ops tale is far more than it seems and there are multiple levels of people plotting that Gas is involved with or uncovers along with his squad. It’s a really fun ride and Gas is an engaging, if unreliable, first-person narrator.

Like Agatha Christie, however, the reader is not given clues to unravel the mystery as Gas, have I mentioned he’s unreliable, doesn’t tell what he knows and it’s all first-person POV. Like Miss Marple, you have to wait for him to reveal he knew what was happening all along, or at least a lot of it.

This book has elegant integration of gender, racial and orientation diversity, interesting near-future tech and is basically a quite fun adventure/war story about the smart-ass scam artist who somehow got in charge of the platoon.

I feel that it’s rather short and the plot is underdeveloped, but I’m not sure this tale could have withstood more weight, so it was probably a good decision on the author’s part. The characters drive this, and he brings really great ones who are not sad stereotypes.

It’s fun. If you like Scalzi’s work, you’ll probably enjoy this as well.

It was the cover that initially caught my attention. It’s awesome and total props to the designer. That cover is what eventually caused me to read the blurb. I have not previously read author Michael Mammay works but between that cover and the blurb, I had high hopes. Very high hopes.

The story started off great. That beginning lured me in and I thought this is going to be good. And then… That’s just it. It was only good. I know the story was supposed to be funny and action filled, I just didn’t find it all that funny. I just found after that great initial start, it was a bit repetitive as Gas was stone-walled by top brass of his own organization. By the time the story finally started getting somewhere, it had lost my interest and I just couldn’t get it back. My problem was I just never found a reason to like the main character, Gas. His actions just seemed too scattered and not very well planned out. I also didn’t get a very space vibe to the location.

The story had potential and it really had a premise I could have gotten lost in. Sadly, it just wasn’t in the cards for me to like it. Ocean’s Eleven this definitely was not.


Stars: 2.5 rounded up to 3 for that cover
I received this book from Netgalley. I was not compensated for the book other than the entertainment it provided. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

HAIL! THE FECKLESS HERO LIVES! THE MISFIT SOLDIER is a tremendously entertaining Military Science Fiction novel with some great lessons and the tone of a Medieval Morality Play leavened with humor (not the case with original Medieval plays). Gas (Sergeant Gastovsky: soldier by unfortunate circumstances rather than by intent or design) is the perfect Feckless Hero! Imagine Tarot's 01 card The Fool as clothed in bioenhancement, strolling through Space Stations and spacefaring vessels and fighting wars and rescuing fellow soldiers on far flung planets, making the Universe safe one planet at a time. Okay, maybe not, but Gas contains as much loyalty as anybody could wish: a con artist, but a genuinely "good" guy. I hope his adventures continue ad infinitum, and I'm clearing the decks to read all the author's other Science Fiction!