Books with author Rodney Hartman

The Intergalactic Empire is at war with the bat-like Crosioians, and things are not looking good for the Empire.Twenty-two year old mercenary UHAAV pilot Jake Striker and his tactical computer Maggie are given a high priority mission to the planet Geris. Despite stringent security protocols, the tactical computers of some of the Ultra-Heavy Ambulatory Assault Vehicles on the planet have been revolting and killing their crews. Jake’s task is to find out the cause before it spreads to other parts of the Empire.Loading up his Paladin UHAAV onto a star freighter, Jake, Maggie, and the rest of his team heads to Geris to put a stop to the computer revolt before it gets out of control. Before long, they find themselves outnumbered, and outgunned as the situation takes a turn for the worse. The success of their mission begins to look hopeless.Fortunately for the Empire and the citizens of Geris, Jake and Maggie may well be the best UHAAV team in the galaxy. Only time will tell.

A fight to the death.Once every ten years, mech pilots gather together with their armored UHAAVs in an invitation only contest known as the Steel Apocalypse to find out who’s the best in the galaxy. The winner earns fame and honor along with enough wealth to keep them in the lap of luxury for the rest of their life.When a down on his luck twenty-two year old mech pilot known as Jake Striker is given the opportunity to participate in the tournament, he jumps at the chance. Loading up his obsolete, fifty-five year old, five-meter-high, Paladin model mech onto a star freighter, he heads to the neutral zone to make his fortune. He soon finds out nothing is as it seems as government operatives attempt to use him for their own nefarious reasons. The odds of coming out of the tournament alive grow ever smaller as obstacle after obstacle is put in his way. Fortunately for Jake, his Paladin 05 is equipped with a prototype AI called Maggie that may well be the best the technicians in the Intergalactic Empire ever developed.With the help of Maggie and friends he finds along the way, Jake begins to hope he can remain alive long enough to see which mech pilot will indeed be crowned the Best of the Best.But then again... nothing is ever as it seems.

A centuries-old prophecy is all but forgotten until demons and imps come looking for the rings of power once again...and woe be unto anyone who stands in their way.Seventeen-year-old Tess has been dragged from one town to another ever since her mother died in a plane crash eight years ago. She is convinced special powers contained within the ring her mother passed on to her as the burning plane went down kept her alive while others died.Fiercely independent, Tess is determined to carve out a better life for herself. Desperate to earn a scholarship for college, she finds herself strangely drawn to a local football hero who is her complete opposite. As long suppressed feelings begin to grow, mysterious strangers in dark SUVs arrive in town and turn Tess’s world upside down. Sweat-inducing nightmares of demons from the darkest pits of hell begin tormenting her nights as long forgotten memories laced with the promise of secrets best kept hidden haunt her days. Worst of all, she can’t shake the feeling that something powerful, primal, and totally evil is searching for her; and it’s getting closer. Will Tess be the one to finally fulfill an ancient prophecy, or is the world destined for a new cycle of evil? Humanity’s only hope may well depend on the courage of Tess and a handful of friends as the forces of darkness gather to destroy the prophecy once and for all.

Wizard scouts are the elite, deep-recon units of the Intergalactic Empire. They are a deadly mix of technology and psionic-like abilities, making them the greatest fighting force the galaxy has ever seen.When a mystical entity known only as ‘the One’ transports the half-trained cadet Richard to another dimension he finds himself allied with a beautiful elf priestess in her battle against a demon and its army of undead. Richard’s skills and technology are put to the test to overcome dragons, demons, trolls, ghouls, and every kind of nightmarish creature imaginable. Plasma beams and magic fireballs soon fill the air as technology and magic clash.With only the aid of his battle computer, Nickelo, and the magic of an elf priestess, will Richard’s wizard scout abilities be enough to turn the tide and save two galaxies?Whether it is or not, Richard is honor bound to do his best in spite of the odds. The question is will his best be good enough, and will he ever be able to find his way back home?

Technology versus magic; plasma beams against fireballs as two worlds collide. A tech-soldier of the Intergalactic Empire is called upon to fight an army of orcs, trolls, ogres, and magic users in order to help a young boy regain his throne on Earth’s sister planet in the magic dimension. Wizard Scout Richard Shepard and his wisecracking battle computer Nickelo find themselves teleported by a mysterious being known only as ‘the One’ to the magical world of Portalis. There they must pit the technology of Richard’s battle suit and its advanced weaponry against a demon’s magic and its nightmare army.Although Wizard Scouts are known as the greatest fighting force in the Intergalactic Empire, Richard is only a third-year cadet at the Empire’s Intergalactic Wizard Scout Academy. Despite his limited training, he has no choice but to do what ‘the One’ wants if he’s to have any hope of making it back home alive.Caught in a medieval world where magic reigns supreme, Richard must defeat not only the demon and its allies, but an advanced battlewagon from an ancient race of star-beings that may well make the demon’s army invincible.With only the help of his prototype battle-computer and that of a half-elf mage and a boy-king, Richard must find a way to pull some kind of miracle out of his battle helmet.It is said the darker the times, the greater the hero. If that saying is indeed true, then Richard is going to have to become the greatest hero the physical and magical dimensions have ever seen. The only question is can a lone wizard scout cadet survive long enough to do what needs to be done?

Wizard scouts are a mix of technology and magic-like abilities. For the past several hundred years, they have been the elite, deep-recon forces of the Intergalactic Empire. But what if a group of wizard scouts suddenly found themselves in a strange environment without their technology? What if those same wizard scouts faced enemies more powerful than anything the Empire had ever encountered? The lives of millions of innocents hang in the balance as Wizard Scout Richard Shepard and his friends try to find out the answers to those questions the hard way. If they succeed, neither they nor the Empire will ever be the same again.

Wizard scouts are the elite, deep-recon forces of the Intergalactic Empire. They are a mix of technology and magic-like abilities. Richard, a cadet at the Intergalactic Wizard Scout Academy, is on assignment to retrieve a defecting scientist on a planet deep behind enemy lines. In theory, it should be a simple in-and-out mission. But as Richard learned long ago, nothing is ever simple. With a deadly Crosioian scout hot on his trail, Richard soon finds himself stuck with a couple of super-genius children who may hold a secret that could mean the salvation or destruction of three galaxies. Between dodging plasma rounds from heavily-armored Crosioian soldiers to battling werewolves, ogres, magic users and deadly dimension-shifting cats the size of lions, Richard soon finds himself far outside his original mission parameters. Even with the help of his battle computer, Nickelo, the odds of Richard completing his mission and getting the children safely home is low. Add in the interference of the mysterious entity known as ‘the One’ along with an all too suave master demon, and the odds of survival decreases even more rapidly. Will Richard’s wizard scout training prevail, or is he doomed to fail? His only hope may well be to find allies in the most unlikely of places. Of course, a liberal sprinkling of luck wouldn’t hurt either.

Wizard scouts are the elite, deep-recon forces of the Intergalactic Empire. The Intergalactic Wizard Scout Academy has been producing wizard scouts for over 800 years. But is the Academy’s long history coming to an end? Richard is only in his junior year at the Academy, but it may well be his last. The war with the bat-like Crosioians is straining the resources of the Intergalactic Empire to the breaking point. Every soldier is needed on the front lines to stave off the Empire’s destruction. Not to mention politicians are eyeing the Academy as a financial drain that can no longer be justified. To top things off, teams of spell-wielding magic users have been spotted reconnoitering near the Academy. What does it all mean? Between the Crosioians, politicians, and magic users, Richard and his friends are being assaulted from every side. The fate of the Academy, and indeed the entire Empire, may well lie in their hands. Outnumbered and outgunned, what can mere cadets do? But they’re wizard scout cadets, and it’ll be a cold day on Sirius when they’ll let anyone threaten their Academy without a fight. Join Richard and his friends as they stare near-certain defeat in the face. Will their wizard scout training be enough? Not even the best calculations of the battle computer, Nickelo, can tell for sure. But one thing’s for certain, the Crosioians picked the wrong cadets to mess with.

Wizard Scouts are a mixture of technology and magic-like abilities. They have long been the defenders of the Intergalactic Empire, but they are fast becoming a dying breed. Now it seems only Wizard Scout Richard Shepard and his friends stand ready to defend the Empire and their allies in the magic dimension against certain destruction. For a hundred thousand years the elves’ Tree of Light has protected the forces of good from an evil so dark it threatens to destroy every living creature in three galaxies. That time of protection may be coming to an end. The forces of darkness have in their possession a key that can open a gate to the demonic plane that will unleash armies of nightmare creatures on unsuspecting civilizations. Longtime enemies must put away their grudges to find common ground as a wizard scout and an elf high priestess rally the forces of good to fight those of the dark. Can humans and elves work together to find a way to prevent the gate from opening? Can combining technology and magic win the day? Or will eternal darkness finally triumph over the light? Haunted by his past, the beleaguered Richard must overcome his own hatreds before he can hope to rally his hard-won allies to victory. The way is fraught with peril, but if he succeeds, even a wizard scout may find redemption at the end of the day.

Wizard scouts were once the elite, deep-recon forces of the Intergalactic Empire. But now they are a dying breed. Or are they? A black dreadnaught has been raiding star lanes near the outer fringes of the Empire. Is it just another pirate ship? Or is it the key to reviving the wizard scout corps? And what about the discovery of a mysterious anomaly reportedly found by cantankerous asteroid miners? Does it have something to do with the black dreadnaught? Wizard Scout Richard Shepard, the last of the legendary wizard scouts, is sent to investigate. Aided by the crew of the recon ship, Defiant, Richard must circumvent an increasingly convoluted political landscape in his search for the truth. But what is truth? And can Richard handle the truth - if he finds it? Faced with a decision which could mean the life or death of millions of helpless innocents, Richard must make a choice. What his choice will be, no one knows; least of all, Richard.

Wizard scouts, once the greatest fighting force the galaxy has ever known, face extinction as the Intergalactic Empire’s war of attrition with the bat-like Crosioians takes its toll. In a desperate all-or-nothing attempt to snatch victory from defeat, the Empire calls on Wizard Scout Richard Shepard, the last of the legendary wizard scouts, to pave the way for the largest invasion force the Empire has ever assembled. Caught in political crosscurrents that could change the Empire forever, Richard’s only allies are his battle computer and the elf high priestess, Jeena. As fleets of starships battle it out, human and elf are forced to find a way to overcome their prejudices long enough to fight their common enemy. Thrust from one frightening nightmare to another, the two discover an intergalactic war may be the least of their worries as demonic forces assemble to overwhelm three galaxies. Richard and Jeena soon discover their only path to victory may well require sacrifices beyond anything they have ever imagined. Are Richard and Jeena the star-crossed lovers foretold in prophecy? Can two such disparate races work together to avert the pending crisis, or are they destined for slaughter along with every other living being? In a backdrop of intergalactic warfare the likes of which the galaxy has never seen, a lone wizard scout and an elf high priestess try to hold back the forces of darkness long enough to make a difference. It may well be too much to ask, even for a wizard scout.

Wizard scouts are the greatest fighting force the galaxy has ever seen, but after years of war between the Intergalactic Empire and the bat-like Crosoians, the wizard scout corps numbers have dropped to near extinction levels. One of the few remaining wizard scouts is Wizard Scout Richard Shepard. In an all or nothing gambit, the bats have gathered the largest fleet of warships the galaxy has ever seen to destroy the weakened humans once and for all. The Empire’s only hope for survival may well lie on the shoulders of Richard and the crew of the recon ship Defiant. Faced with the seemingly impossible task of ending the war before more are killed Richard must travel deep into the heart of the Crosoian Federation. Along with his elven bondmate Jeena and the rag-tag crew of the Defiant, Richard is forced to seek out the unlikeliest of allies; a Crosoian scout sworn to kill him and all he holds dear. With a demon army poised to invade the three galaxies, the success of the Defiant’s mission depends on retrieving an artifact from the very pits of Hell itself. Can even a wizard scout prevail?