Overview
Behind the front lines, in the ruins of Beverly Hills, the greatest treasure hunt of the war is about to begin.
It's the autumn of 2040, and the Hills lie deep inside the AIZ — the Alien Incursion Zone. Four times humanity has tried to retake them. Four times the invaders have thrown them back. Then word leaks of a secret vault buried beneath the rubble, where the rich and famous once stashed their fortunes. For some, this temptation is too much to resist.
What follows is an all-out, high-stakes dash into enemy territory, where rival treasure hunters can be every bit as lethal as the aliens patrolling the ground. A private military contractor. A battle-hardened Army unit. A grizzled militia. And a pair of rogue ASHUR pilots — all throwing caution to the wind in pursuit of treasure and glory. The Fifth Battle for Beverly Hills is on.
Book Five of the LAND&SEA series, Ratchet's Run brings a fast, ferocious heist-thriller edge to the alien-invasion saga with a cast of desperate, unforgettable characters.
In the AIZ, the only thing deadlier than the enemy is greed.
Author Bio
Blaine L. Pardoe is a Virginia-based New York Times bestselling author and award-winning military historian with more than 100 published books to his name. Best known to genre readers as one of the longest-serving and most influential authors in the BattleTech/MechWarrior universe, he has spent nearly four decades crafting the hard-hitting, tactically authentic mecha combat that defines the field.
Pardoe brings that pedigree to LAND&SEA, his original military science fiction series that pairs large-scale mechanized warfare with a chillingly plausible near-future alien invasion. His storytelling is grounded in a career-long immersion in American military history — expertise recognized with the Historical Society of Michigan's State History Award and a Silver Medal from the Military Writers Society of America.
Beyond science fiction, he is co-author, with comics legend Mike Baron, of the bestselling Tenure political thriller series, and author of the acclaimed Blue Dawn alternate-history series. A prolific, versatile voice across military SF, thrillers, and narrative history, Pardoe continues to expand the LAND&SEA universe for readers who enjoy realism, momentum, and relentless action.
