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Complete 4-volume set of "Anteros" novels. ... Read more

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Down a thousand miles of jungle trail the enemy came. The Tet Offensive was about to explode:

THEIR SIDE: The attack, their long awaited General Offensive, will begin during the traditionally peaceful celebration of the Vietnamese New Year - the Year Of The Monkey. Their leader is General Vo Le Duan, a soldier who knows his patriotic duty, but knows also he will never see, in this messy, endless war, the glory that he dreams of.

OUR SIDE: Blooded and ready, all they need now is an enemy. Not one that murders from the ditch, or from the darkness of the night, but an enemy in the open. One of the men who must lead the ranks is Major Dennis Shannon, who discovers vital information that could nail the enemy - but no one on his side is listening.

WITHIN THE SPAN of four short months, during the lightning quick, bloody campaign known as the Tet Offensive, two vastly different cultures and two bitterly opposing armies - the generals, the guerrillas, the grunts - will clash in an epoch shattering encounter that will alter the course of the war and change the shape of the world forever.

"A Classic war novel." - San Diego Tribune

"An excellent piece of work." - Los Angeles Times

"Sets high standards for other Vietnam War novels." - St. Louis Post Dispatch

"It has an enormous cast of characters and a compelling plot enhanced by an intimate knowledge of the land and people of Vietnam." - Chattanooga Times

"An authentic action story." - San Diego Tribune

"Rings with authenticity." - Austin American Statesman

... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

A Tale of Two Pities
Really good stuff.This book just sort of takes off and then slogs along through the seminal event of the Vietnam War, just the right detail, just the right film script running through the mind.I was 16 during Tet 1 and knew we were in trouble then, a vague and growing notion that things weren't right.When my Grandpa, the Chief Engineer of the Army Air Forces in WWII, told me one night we were finished, it was the saddest thing.The America he knew from 1893 to 1988 was a changed place.I was just waking up like a child after a long midday nap, groggy, insecure, not ready for prime time.This story is part of the reason, haunting my imagination, playing on the guilt of our generation for treating our big brothers without honor.That was then.This is now.Thank you, all you grunts and jar heads and squids, for everything.This book is worth reading just because it's so well told and so near the mark of my memory of not being there.

A Reckoning for Kings
It took a long time for delivery.
It arrived 1 day before the deadline.
Other than that pretty much OK.

military fiction at it's best
Like one of the other reviewers I was actually born at the tail-end of the Tet Offensive. My father had been there and served his tour of duty in 65-66. But this book is on the mark. I first read it in 87 when I was in the R.O.T.C. program at Boise State University.

Just young cadet fascinated by all things having to do with the Army.At the time I felt that the book captured the feel and the rythms of Army life. Whether that be the peacetime Army or the wartime Army.At the time there were still many Vietnam vets in the service and I gave this book to one of the cadre members(a sergeant major) to read. He had served two tours over there and when he finished reading it he told me that the authors had done a better job of capturing the war in all it's nuances then all the other Vietnam novels he had read. No weird musings on the nature of man and no bizzare drug induced fantasies that so many other authors were turning out in the seventies and early eighties. Just a straight forward story.I've since reread this novel twice. The first time was about three years ago and then just last week. I'm older now and my attitude towards things have changed.I have found that often those things which seemed so impressive to me at the age of nineteen are diminished at the age of thirty-three. Well this novel hasn't lost anything. It's still wonderfully detailed, suspenseful, humorous and intelligent. One could do far worse this summer then reading this book. Unfortunately it's out of print, but I still see copies floating around in used book stores - both in paperback and hardcover. Good luck and, when you get a copy,enjoy.

Original, Authentic and Complete
This was the first of many books I have read by these two authors. Beingan former Airborne Ranger the details and thoughts they give theircharacters and the events which surround them are scary in how realisticthey are.

Since reading this book I have enthusiastically read ALL oftheir other works, though I must say the STEN series is at the top of the"must read" list. I have read this entire series at least seventimes.

Absolutely Outstanding
I read this book back when I was in the Army in 1987 and took it with me to the field.The rhythms, the people and the language struck me as being authentic - albeit to a Peacetime soldier born on one of the days detailedin the book - and I am sorry to see that it is out of print.I've read it3 times, every few years, and the scenes, characters and action stay sharpin my memory.

Find it.Read it.Keep it. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (16)

Very Good SF Adventure.
I picked this up at a used book store recently because I have enjoyed other series by these authors (Anteros series, Last Legion series, Star Risk, and Seer King trilogy).None of their books, including this one, have ever bored me.They keep the action fast-paced, and their plots and characters are always engaging.

This is an exciting SF tale of revenge set in the far future.A very brief summary: Sten lives on Vulcan, a constructed factory world that basically enslaves its workers, never allowing them to get ahead on their contracts and thus never allowing them to leave.Sten's family is killed in an apparent accident, but it turns out that the ruler of Vulcan callously sacrificed them to cover-up his plot against the Eternal Emperor.Sten rebels and lives among outcasts who haunt the long-unoccupied sections of Vulcan.Sten then aids one of the Emperor's undercover operatives, who offers him the chance to get off-world and escape the misery of Vulcan.Sten then joins the Emperor's special forces and later returns to Vulcan to exact his revenge on the ruler of Vulcan.

This is a promising beginning to a multi-volume series.You get a glimpse of an interesting world and entertaining characters, including Sten's team members.One of the most interesting characters is the Emperor, who is hundreds of years old.He is eccentric and is constantly trying to recreate food and liquors from Earth long ago.I would recommend this book if you are looking for a readable and exciting action tale in a scifi setting.

Disappointing
I read many positive reviews about this book - and had read other good (Dragon) books by Chris Bunch, so my expectations were high.
But the book was disappointing.

It's a rather one-dimensional story, with many ridiculous story elements (see the other negative reviews for more explanation).

I also didn't like the mistakes in the story. For example: the assassin was described as male - and as (earlier in the story) looking at Sten and his girlfriend - and later on the assassin suddenly was the girlfriend herself... (and why did she not kill him in private?)

But what bothered me more is that it was written rather bad (difficult to read). I especially disliked the use of strange dialects/accents/street-lingo; sometimes I had to read a line three times to get to understand what someone (Alex was the worst) was saying.
Example: "Ah ken ye dinnae know what ye're glassin', lad" (as response to the question "You sure it's gonna go?" when looking at a farm)
But it so rarely was interesting, that I finally just skipped everything said in "dialect".

Not impressed
I thought the characters were uninteresting, the story silly, the tech was poorly described and poorly utilized by the characters, the close-quarters-combat wildly over the top (Sten kills a mutated tiger that just surprised him by kicking it's throat out?) and the whole thing extremely weak.

This takes the "street kid with a heart of gold" puts him in the year 5000 (that could be any fantasy world with castles and dragons) and hopes we'll go along for the ride.

Didn't work for me.I'm stopping at the first book and I'm glad I borrowed this one.

Despite similarities to Starship Troopers Sten has an original feel to it...
The concept of a man joining an intergalactic marine force and going through boot camp has certainly been done before. Heinlein's Starship Troopers comes to mind. So Bunch and Cole would have do something a little different in order to make this series more interesting and unique. I found that I was drawn in and engaged almost right away, so they must have done something right.

I think for me what set this apart for me was that we see much more of Sten's life before and after boot camp, which you don't get any of with Heinlein. In the beginning we see Sten as a Mig and then a Delinq, which allows so much more characterization to be built around him. We, of course, had to have the obligatory boot camp sequence which, surprisingly, also felt unique in and of itself. The authors have a way with words that can not only lighten the mood with its comedic tones but also convey the seriousness of what the characters were trying to accomplish. Just as important as the life before boot camp was his life after, where we get to see a considerable amount of him in action, especially on Vulcan and the rather predictable outcome.

One minor annoyance that I have is when authors feel the need to make the characters authentic by giving them illegible accents.Alex, for example, is unintelligible when you read his dialogue to I had to resort to skipping anything that he said because it annoyed me more than the effort it would have taken to decipher his dialogue.Readers understand accents, we don't need to be "shown" he has an accent.

Ultimately I think that Cole and Bunch were able to make this unique enough to stand apart from Heinlein's boot camp storyline as well as have it stand on its own two legs and stand amongst other authors of similar writing style, such as Asprin in his Myth and Phule series. I am definitely interested in seeing where they go with the series now that the recognizable parts of Heinlein are out of the way. A recommend.

4 stars.

Sci-Fi without overdoing it.
Chris Bunch does a good job of creating an interesting new Sci-Fi series.His main character is well conceived and interesting enough to want to follow along.The important thing is that the author presents the future in a way that makes you feel like it's not totally fictional, but doesn't spend too much time on science theory that you feel like you are reading a textbook.

Sten suffers through a traumatic youth after his family is killed in a freak industrial accident turned deadly due to corporate greed.He is a gifted young man and the author does a good job of leaving him very vulnerable while allowing him to succeed.To me this makes the story that much better because he is not able to instantly triumph.

On the whole, Bunch does a good job of setting the stage for a new series and giving us a taste of the adventure and drama that make readers want to come back for more. ... Read more

Product Description
International best-selling author Allan Cole serves up the sometimes humorous and always exciting mean streets’ exploits of an undercover cop in Philadelphia. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

very good book
i really enjoy reading this book used to date a police officer in this date and he also was in the same district. if you enjoy police work you well enjoy this book

The way it was--and is
Reading "A Cop's Life" was like sitting down and listening to Thomas Grubb telling his life's story.Allan Cole transcribed Mr. Grubb's experiences with loving care.Well worth reading!

Why selfPublished books are a risk
I can only give this three stars and I graded it on the curve as I wanted to like the book.

This is a book that needs a better narrative device, you have to work at it to finish and that is shame as there are some gems here in the stories.

I never buy these self published books and if had not been for Allan Cole name I would have passed, but I liked his work with Chris Bunch.

It read like it was dictated with out much thought on how the spoken word is different from the written and an author like Allan Cole should of helped his uncle more by telling him that and seen that a better narrative would of make this a much better read.

As I said there are some great stories here, but the bit of Mr. Grubb talking via a tape to his nephew got old by chapter three.

Not having ever been a cop but only live near a few of them as I grew up in Olney and know a few as friend, well as much as any non cop ever knows of a the life, I do think it is honest portrait of the times and life of a Police officer in Philadelphia who live and worked during a time when the City changed as did the department and the people who worked there.

So If you want to try and understand cops this is worth reading as it shows you how far things have come since 1953 and yet how much they stay same. If all you know is TV or fiction cops this will be an eye opener, but this is book that could have been so much more.

High Praise From Other Cops
I thought it most interesting that Mr. Cole and Mr. Grubb have won highest praise possible - the good opinion of police officers themselves. Here are just a few of the comments I read on the back of the book: "'A Cop's Life'" is a must read by anyone who ever wore the uniform or badge!" - Robert V. Eddie, Recording Secretary Philadelphia Lodge #5 Fraternal Order of Police; "If you like the inside story, if you like dealing with facts and not fluff, then you will love reading 'A Cop's Life!'"- Michael G. Lutz, President, Pennsylvania Fraternal Order of Police; "I thoroughly enjoyed 'A Cop's Life.'" It was both witty and right on target." - Bill Pawley Inspector, Retired, Philadelphia Police.

A Fun Informative Easy Read -A must read
If you want to know what it is really like to be a police officer in "real life", you must read this fun, informative book. The style is, informal, real, refreshing, and very enjoyable. I could not put this book down. If you are like me and enjoy understanding your world a little better then this book belongs in your personal library. I loved it! ... Read more

Product Description
Lost In Paradise: Ellen thought she'd hit bottom when her lover left her and the authorities in Jamaica closed her gallery and seized her paintings. She hoped to start a new life and career in Boca Raton, Florida. But there she finds that her mother is in the throes of Alzheimer's and her powerful attorney brother is squeezing her small inheritance dry. When she tries to fight back, she strays into the web of one of the nastiest villains to step out of the hellfires. With death and humiliation staring her in the face and no one to help her, Ellen has to call upon resources she's never tapped before to save herself and her mother. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Stellar Review by Bookloons.com
Here's what J. A. Kaszuba Locke, star reviewer of Bookloons.com had to say about Drowned Hopes:

Allan George Cole's new mystery, Drowned Hopes, boasts a plot in which con artists sting con artists and robbers steal from robbers. The author sweeps the reader to immediate attention with soundly characterized, fun cast members, displaying naiveté and human fallibility.

Ellen Berman, central figure número uno, is timid (sort of) until she gets her dander up, and reveals her ability to stand strong and watch out for her welfare. Opposed by her family, Ellen ran away with lover Andre (leaving her husband) from the U.S. to Jamaica. There she established a boutique selling her artwork - designer jewelry, cloth, and clothing. When Andre left her, Jamaican authorities closed down the gallery. Moving to Boca Raton, Florida, Ellen hopes to begin life anew, even though she is subject to her brother's control (he doles out the trust fund money she needs to survive). Sam Barr is central figure número duos - he's suave and slick, tough and sassy. He's also an ex-convict, having robbed robbers who stole from innocent victims. When Sam meets Ellen at his girlfriend's apartment house, plans begin formulating in his crafty mind. The reader can never be sure of Sam, trusting him for one second, and then mistrusting him for hours!

On to the secondary characters. Ruth Castro is Sam the Man's girlfriend and soon also Ellen's landlady. Sam's friend Danny is rough around the edges, but bright enough to charge large fees for check-cashing services. Ellen's brother Harold is a rich powerful attorney, fitness jock, and womanizer. Harry placed mother Berman in a nursing home. Her Alzheimer has progressed, and charge of estates, trust funds, and the like are his number one priority. Police Sergeant Bill Propp, very rough around and inside the edges, just happens to be on Harold Berman's payroll. Vivian Berman loves Perry Mason TV shows, and even with Alzheimer's, knows the exact time when Perry will make an appearance each day. Mom talks about how much she misses her daughter, how good Harry has been to her, and loves to show visitors her secrets album.

I always enjoy the author's splendid phrasing, as in thoughts about 'the 'Miami Herald', favoring the business section, which in recent days had become almost like the 'Policeman's Gazette', with all the corporate executives being indicted and mostly dodging jail. You could get a lot of good tips, if you studied those guys.' Cole cuts to the quick in Drowned Hopes with splendid casting, action, and dilemmas - in a pinch, I might want Sam on my side, even if he is a low-down con-artist skunk. And the grand finale is action-packed ... with a lot of drowning going on. ... Read more

Product Description
Christmas, 1953: While the rest of Philadelphia sings -Jingle Bells,- Thomas Grubb gets his first taste of a cop-s life. Before he cashes his first paycheck he encounters: A man gutted by a knife-wielding mugger; A fighting-mad -mental case- intent on destroying a hospital emergency room; The hushed-up shooting death of an undercover cop. That first week is nothing compared to what lies ahead. Working as a street cop, an undercover officer, a detective and finally gang control, Grubb will spend the next thirty years going toe-to-toe with all the fast-changing and sometimes violent events that have rocked American society. A Cop-s Life: The remarkable story of a truly remarkable man. ... Read more

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Enter the intriguing realm of a provocative new fantasy series inspired by "The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyams". Iraj Protarus, an orphaned prince exiled to a small village high in the Valley of the Clouds, dreams of being the next great conqueror. The key to his destiny is Safar Timura, a youth with an awesome gift for sorcery, whose visions foretell of Iraj's rise to power. The road the two men follow will be rich in titles and fortunes, but it will also be rich in death and disaster, in intrigue--and unforgettable betrayal. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

make sure you understand what you're in for
The main attraction this book held for me was the fact that it is not "european" fantasy.Instead, the backdrop offers us a middle eastern flair, and in my mind this made all the difference in the world because other than that, the book really is your standard fantasy fair.The characters are two dimensional, the plot is a little above average, but still never really takes off, and the demons are unconvincing.

If you are looking for a great read, great literature, or anything that will move you, move on.If you are looking for something that is a little different to pass the time in between your series favorites, then this may be worth a shot.(One bonus is that even though it is part of a series, this book works perfectly fine as a stand alone. Therefore, if you do not like it enough to move on, then you have not lost anything.)

not good
It was the strangest thing, reading this book. Not once while I was reading did I see any relationships or characterizations that made sense beyond the cookie-cutter definitions accorded to fictional characters.

Characters were friends because they (and the book) declared it to be so. Not once did I see any reasoning or backing for any of it.

Romantic relationships were lust-driven and still considered to be love, true love, without any backing of plausible interactions that would indicate a relationship in the works. More like, "I say I am in love, and therefore I am."

A character was pushed to action because someone felt it was his destiny, not because the character felt particularly inclined to do anything.

Utterly bizarre. Everyone remained 2 dimensional.

Other than the mindless of acceptance of how things should be in a fantasy novel, the book isn't so bad. Still, not good.

You'll probably keep reading because you want to find out what happens, but what is the point of reading a book whose prologue tells you what end the book is leading to?

A GREAT Book
A stranger on a lone hill, the bad guy right? Not exactly. A awesomly written story of love, betarayel, and death. Cole writes a riviting novel which I highly recomend to fantesy lovers!

Thoroughly Entertaining
Timur Safar (the protagonist) begins out as a naive, trusting young man who graudually matures into his fated station in life. His relationship with a childhood friend, Protarus, is the main focus of this tale. When demons invade their land and threaten the sanctity of Protarus's reign, Safar must come in and aid his long time friend. However, time has distanced the two as well as destiny. This story for me was heartbreaking, maybe it was the music in the background of my room, or the late hour in which I stayed up to finish the book, but I think that it was the touching reality in which Cole described the most painful separation of people who care. This is a must read:)

A nice twist
I read this book and I truley enjoyed it, I thought the idea of Demons not being from the pits of hell, winged/chaotic was a good idea and the fact that they thought of humans as disgusting made me think Cole did a greatjob with this idea, this is a great book, I have read the entire trilogyand this is the best of all 3 to me ... Read more

Product Description
LUCKY IN CYPRUS is a coming-of-age story set in the Middle East during the height of the Cold War. An American teenager - son of a CIA operative - is inspired by grand events and a Greek Cypriot teacher to learn about survival and his art. He witnesses earthquakes and riots and terrorist attacks, but in the end it is his teacher's gentle lessons that keep him whole. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Comments from readers
Hi, I'm Allan Cole, the author of this book. Chances are you have read some of my other books - such as the Sten series, The Far Kingdoms series, The Timura Trilogy and Tales Of The Blue Meanie, among others.(You can check them out at www.acole.com) Lucky In Cyprus is the tale of my adventures as a CIA brat in the Mideast during the early bloody days of the Cold War. The book was three years in the writing - not so long when you consider that I spent over 50 years thinking about it.

Here's what some early readers have had to say:

"Bravo, Allan!...When I finished Lucky In Cyprus I wept..."Julie Mitchell, Hot Springs, Texas

"Lucky In Cyprus brought back so many memories of those days. A Wonderful book. So many shadows blown away."Freddy & Maureen Smart, Episkopi, Cyprus

"... (Reading) Lucky in Cyprus has been a humbling, haunting, sobering and enlightening experience..."J. A. KaszubaLocke, Bookloons.com

Allan Cole
Boca Raton, Fl.
Sten3001@aol.com

TalesOf The Blue Meanie ... Read more

Product Description
The year is 1778 and the Revolutionary War has young America trapped in the crossfire of hatred and fear. Diana, an indentured servant escapes her abusive master with the help of Emmett Shannon, a deserter from the desperate army at Valley Forge. They fall in love and marry, but their happiness is shattered and Diana Shannon must learn to survive on her own. From that moment on she will become a true woman of her times, blazing a path from lawless lands in the grips of the Revolution, to plague-stricken Philadelphia, to the burning of Washington in the War of 1812. ... Read more

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DURING THE VIETNAM WAR, GIs who managed to survive their tour of duty in one piece—more or less—were flown home in chartered airliners. They called those planes “Freedom Birds.” This is the story of three young men—from wildly different backgrounds—who meet on such a plane and make a pact to spend three days together in San Francisco. Their goal: to spend every cent of their mustering out money in a party of a lifetime. And they’ll get more than they bargained for: because when they land, it is July 1967—in a time that would come to be known as “The Summer of Love.” It’s a place and time where each young man will have to confront the ghosts who followed them home from the jungles of Vietnam and contemplate a future none of them had imagined. ... Read more

Product Description
Young Patrick Shannon is the heir-apparent to the Shannon fortune, but murder and betrayal at a family gathering send him fleeing into the American frontier, with only the last words of a wise old woman to arm him against what would come. And when the outbreak of the Civil War comes, he finds himself fighting on the opposite side of those he loves the most. In The Wars of the Shannons we see the conflict, both on the battlefield and the homefront, through the eyes of Patrick and the members of his extended Irish-American family as they struggle to survive the conflict that ripped the new nation apart, and yet, offered a dim beacon of hope. ... Read more