Be careful with what you promise. It could lead to war. Another Darkside novel. Full of action, danger and both good and bad choices. Also includes a look at previous books in the series

Colonel Butler is living happily in retirement, quite well off from his precious adventures, when a preteen girl asks him for help in finding her father. That’s the excuse Michael Mammay uses to send the retired Colonel to Taug, a moon orbiting Ridia 5 that has two major consortiums, Caliber and Omicron, mining it. The father was working for Jacob Whiteman, a famous archaeologist. The moon is practically empty with a small military base. Whiteman is unavailable, with his dig located on the Darkside (paper from Harper Voyager). Soon Colonel Butler and the soldiers on the planet are caught between mercenaries hired by the consortiums who want what Dr. Whiteman has found. Lots of fun.

Perfect! Another fun story of Butler poking the bears that are the corporations.

Nice to have an experienced, older main character too.

Love the friendship and loyalty in Butler's crew. Found family is true family.

No more military missions. No more battling big corporations who literally got away with murder. Retired life is good. Then a runaway twelve-year-old girl begs the most infamous people finder in the galaxy to find her missing father. This was my first visit to Michael Mammay’s writing, and I was eager to try a sci-fi thriller with mystery and intrigue.

Darkside is the fourth book in the Planetside series following the exploits of Colonel Carl Butler as he got the job done by coloring outside the lines and hanging tough as the underdog up against the powerful corporations and sometimes his own military. Darkside can be read standalone- which is what I did- with little trouble. For series fans, Darkside comes along after the author took time away to write other stuff, so there is a handy review of Carl Butler’s previous adventures right at the beginning to get old-timers and newcomers up to speed.

I’m not sure what I was expecting when I picked this up other than a mystery around the disappearance of an archeologist on a mining moon and a retired missing person investigator taking the case. This was that, but it was also a big action thriller with good political intrigue. Colonel Carl Butler is something of an anti-hero. He tends to get the job done and doesn’t sweat it if this means bending or breaking the rules and thumbing his nose at the powers that be. That said, his moral compass points true north and he’s one of the good guys along with his trusty team, particularly Mac, who has been with him a long time.

The writing style took some adjustment. It’s got a passive voice quality to it that mutes rather than sharpens the actions scenes. But, I don’t mean that it is passive voice because there is lots of action and dialogue, even monologue, inside Butler’s fascinating mind.

Carl Butler is the focus, and he’s larger than life with his experience and his charisma. He plays the soldier to perfection and loves to let his enemies underestimate his ability to play chess several moves out. I loved how Butler and his people go up against two big powerful mining corporations he’s had rough dealings with in the past and he’s even got the local military keyed up about his presence because of his notorious past missions. He’s walking a tightrope the whole time. He finds out quickly this is much bigger and more complicated than locating a missing man. I enjoyed the twisting, exciting trail he had to follow to the truth. There are so many times he seems to be checkmated, but then he pulls a brilliant move and outwits his opponents.

I ended up enjoying this and the surprise twists and action sequences. My only niggle was the abrupt ending. Sure, things are pretty much wrapped up, but it just stops. At least, I have a nice stack of series backlist books to go back and get more of Carl Butler’s thrillers from the beginning.

As to recommendations, yes, sci-fi mystery fans might be a target, but for sure those who enjoy military space opera, sci-fi thrillers and adventures.

Darkside by Michael Mammay - Fourth book in the Planetside series

adventurous challenging funny informative inspiring reflective sad tense

Medium-paced

Plot or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters are a main focus? Yes

4.75 Stars

This book was/is an amazing read. It checks a LOT of the boxes for me. This is a Science Fiction Military action novel. I've read the previous three novels within the Planetside series...and I'm happy to say that this is my favourite of the series, so far (and I hope that he continues to tell the story of "retired" Colonel Carl Butler).

I also recognize that not everyone will love it as much as I did, but I also believe that when a book hooks me so much, that I read it in one day...it's something special.

This story is the reluctant hero, takes a case of helping someone who's not able to help themselves, and this is actually perfect for Carl Butler and the crew that he's gathered together...to find out the answer to the mystery for a helpless soul.

I sat down on the couch, and for most of this day, I was reading, chuckling, fist pumping in the air, recounting the scenes with my wife, and all-around...enjoying the story being relayed to me.

The action was visceral. The dialogue is pure military (with some inside baseball type references), characters that put their lives on the live, for the overall achievement of the set goal, and the "never say die" attitude.

The bad guys get what's due to them, and the good guys get banged up and suffer some losses, but at the end of the mission...it was well worth it.

I loved this story. Please write another. Please.

This was an eArc that was given to me for an honest review via Net Galley. Thank you for this opportunity.

Do you like old-school science fiction? Darkside by Michael Mammay has that feel.

"Retired Colonel Butler has been asked by a twelve-year-old girl to help find her father. He was last seen working on Taug with a well-known archeologist. But she hasn't heard from him and is worried for his safety. Butler finds out that two corporations, Caliber and Omicron, are both involved in mining operations on the moon. Since they both tried to kill him before, he's a little worried. But he can't say no to a little girl."

This is the 4th book in Mammay's Planetside series. He gives a detailed recap at the beginning of this book with lots of spoilers. Butler is a manipulator in the sense that he will try to talk someone into something first, but willing to fight if needed. There's lots of talking here and some good action. There's a surprise betrayal and interesting ending.

Fans of the Murderbot series will enjoy this.

And I have read them all. Just in case you have lost the thread here, there is a convenient review right up from that will bring you up to speed. So Col Butler is back and he is as entertaining as ever with his trusty sidekick Sgt Murphy … as in the best laid plans and all that. Of course, now he is retired with a collection of misfits that would make the A team jealous. In this story, a young girl sweet talks him into investigating the disappearance of her father on a mining moon run by two former, corporate adversaries … and of course, something just doesn’t add up. So what we get he is a little mashup between military SciFi and a detective thriller/mystery … and I have to admit my nostalgia for the military contributes a lot to why I really liked this story. For the most part, Carl is simply shaking trees to see what pops out and everybody has something to hide. As with the previous installments, the pacing is solid and quickly pulls you through the slightly over-the-top story to a satisfying conclusion.

I was given this free advance reader copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

#Darkside #Planetside #NetGalley

#4 in the terrific military science fiction/procedural/mystery hybrid that is the Planetside series.

The plot in a nutshell: It's been a couple of years since the events of book three, Colonyside, and Carl seems to be enjoying his reclusive retirement. He's out having a couple of beers with Mac when a young girl tracks him down to ask him to find her father. He disappeared during an archeological excavation on the dark side of a distant moon. On this same moon? The two nefarious corporations Caliber and Omicron; there's a history with those two entities. If you've made it this far into the series it'll come as no surprise that events rapidly deteriorate during the course of the investigation.

I've got to say that I love Carl. He's no spring chicken and he's like a terrier worrying a bone. His way with words is outstanding, too :) He sounds like the no-nonsense retired Colonel that he is. He takes his team with him to this moon and they're also very likeable, particularly Ganos and Mac. The various peripheral characters all seem to be hiding something, and there was one specific character that really caught me by surprise.

The pacing was very good. I was never bored and yet this wasn't one firefight after another. There were fights, but they didn't overpower the narrative. The plot elements just seemed to naturally progress.

Incidentally, the author was kind enough to give synopses for each of the previous books in the series. Which was a "whew" moment since my memory isn't what it used to be! I hope he continues to write books in this series because I'll continue to read them.

This eARC was provided courtesy of HarperCollins Publishers.

This was a fun installment in the Spaceside series! I enjoyed how Carl and members of his old team were brought together to investigate a new missing person, and the driving factor behind that. But most interestingly, the events of the last books have an impact on this one and really add layers to the entanglements and motivations of the characters. I enjoyed how it felt like Carl had truly learned from the past, and how his relationship and trust with the team grew. All in all, a quick, fun addition to the series!

I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy of Darkside the fourth installment in the Planetside Series. Having read all of Mammay’s books except Generational Ship, I was thrilled to be able to read this advance copy.

The beginning of the novel summarizes the first 3 installments. The 4th book picks up where the 3rd one left. Our hero, Carl Butler is asked by a little girl to find her father, Jorge Ramiro. Butler who is an expert a finding missing person can’t resist and agrees reluctantly to do it.
Along with his sidekick Mac, Ganos, “C” and Barnes they are off to the moon to investigate.
When they landed on the moon it’s here the met Jacob Whiteman. Whiteman holds the key to finding Ramiro. While on the moon, Butler again is tasked with battling his old nemesis Omicron and Caliber. When Omicron and Caliber gets a wind of Butler, they know he brings nothing but bad news. While on their missing, Butler’s crew found out they are going up against the deadliest assassin on the planet.

While trying to locate Whiteman, Butler insists Ganos stay behind to try and locate the assassin. The rest of the crew is on a mission to locate Whiteman when they are ambush. When the dust clears, Butler’s crew was able to apprehend the enemies. While trying to decide if the enemies work for Omicron or Caliber, they enemies deny being hired by either company. Butler arrests their leader Alexander and try to use her against the company.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. While the mystery of who killed Ramiro is easy to figure out it did not take the enjoyment away from the story. It contains some nice actions and it’s easy to root for Ganos and Mac and becoming easier to root for Butler as he is becoming less of jerk with each series. There’s also a nice twist in there I won’t spoil for the reader which I didn’t see coming.

Thanks to Net Galley, Harper Collins for allowing me to read an advance copy. Darkside will be released on September 24, 2024.

These opinions are my own. If you haven’t read the Planetside series, do yourself a favor and read them. I recommend reading them in order.

Darkside by Michael Mammay(Planetside #4)- Colonel Carl Butler is back with another wild Space Opera. Butler, now retired, wants nothing to do with another adventure. Until a runaway twelve-year old girl asks him to find her missing father. The stage is set again and Butler goes in feet first to a new set of dangers and hostile action. Mammay lets Butler do most of the talking and away we go! Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

I received this ARC from netgalley.

There's something about these books that confounds belief. The protagonist isn't a superhero and doesn't have an uber intellect for deduction, but there's something engaging about a rational person doing rational things in strange circumstances. This book is no different. Butler is older, not necessarily wiser, but he goes up against massively powerful villains and wins the day through bloody-mindedness, grit and sheer will.

A good read, nothing earthshattering or genre defining, but definitely a good book to settle into enjoy some solid storytelling.