Hell Divers

gripping story, keeps you hooked from cover to cover

Before writing this review, I was torn; I wanted to write an in depth review, but I didn't want to leave many spoilers. I've settled now for giving my opinion of the series as a whole without going into too much detail regarding the specifics of each book in the series. My hope is that anyone reading this review will go through some of the others and see how overwhelmingly positive opinions are for this series.I am a huge fan of Sci-Fi; books of the genre are practically the only ones filling up my bookshelf. That being said, I can honestly say that the Hell Diver series is my favorite. From the diversity of characters to the thrilling situations that the divers find themselves in, each book in the series leaves me wanting more. I've ended up having to order the next book in the series with 2-day delivery before starting the one that just arrived, as I find it really difficult to stop reading once started.The first book in the series throws you right into the action, with X preparing for another dive; he's way past the average number of dives a diver makes before dying, and its very apparent in his character. What I really like about the series is that while X is definitely the protagonist, the story is told through many other key characters as well, each of which you get to see develop throughout the series. From the ass-kicking heroine Magnolia, to the narcissistic XO turned captain, to the genius yet filterless head-engineer, Nicholas Sansbury Smith brings a multitude of interesting characters together in weaving this amazing tale of human survival.In each book of the series I've read (only 1 left to go), there is a great amount of action, inter-character development, post-apocalyptic thrill, and even philosophical undertones. The Hive, upon which the last of humanity is living, is struggling to stay afloat, and resources are so thin that a clear class system is in place, with the lower-deckers having a high incidence of cancer due to being close to the nuclear cells. Humanity's only hope of surviving is for a handful of individuals to risk their lives diving to the surface of Earth to scavenge for materials. Most of the areas in which the materials are located are highly radioactive and filled with things that want nothing more than to kill you. In a world like this, would you put your life on the line to save what's left of the human race? This is the Hell Diver's calling - they dive so that humanity survives.All in all, I highly recommend this book; it will satisfy even the most avid Sci-Fi fan, and keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time.

Set more than 250 years in the future. When World War III really did prove to be 'the war to end all wars', Earth was left a desolate nuclear wasteland on which human life is incapable of surviving.The bombs that killed the world were dropped by massive airships that - in a cruel twist of irony - subsequently went on to provide refuge for the last dregs of humanity to survive the apocalypse that followed. Now however, hundreds of years after the bombs fell, only two of these airships remain - 'Ares' and 'The Hive' - each providing a home to a little over five hundred men women and children, who as far as anyone is aware are the last of humanity.Life on the airships is hard and short, and split into two distinct social classes - 'upper deckers' (crew, and those with specialist skills), and 'lower deckers' (those with no specialist skills). Food is scarce and limited to what little can be grown in the onboard nursery. Medicine is almost non-existant. The average lifespan is just 37 years of age, with cancer being commonplace thanks to the airships radioactive power souce.The fact that the airships are able to stay afloat at all is all thanks to the efforts of the 'Helldivers' - highly trained personnel who parachute down to the treacherous surface of the planet below, braving radioactive air, storms that can strip the flesh of a man from his bones, and the vicious mutant lifeforms that now live in that environment, in order to retrieve the essential equipment and componants that has barely kept their ramshackle homes in the air.Xavier Rodriquez is one such Helldiver - in fact the most capable and famous of them all, having survived ninty five missions in an occupation where the average number of missions before meeting a grisly end is just fifteen - but when his home, 'The Hive', is crippled by a fierce storm, he finds himself and his fellow Helldivers required to conduct their most dangerous mission of all to a place with the most severe conditions anywhere on the planet, and so inhospitable that no Helldiver has ever returned from it - the city now only known as 'Hades', with the future of the entire human race relying on them....As a regular consumer of books in the post-apocalyptic/dystopian genre, I found this to be an exciting, gripping, and - the main characters typical macho BS name aside (Preferring to be referred to as 'Commander X' or just 'X'!) - considered it to be quite a fresh new angle for a genre that can quite often end up formulaic and written by the numbers.'Helldivers' was a real page turner that I found difficult to put down, and I'll definately be getting in line for the next two volumes!

As the title says...dont expect to do anything till youre done...The book starts off in a way that makes you understand just what these Helldivers actually dive into. It May not be the firey hell as depected in biblical proportions, but it is truly hell nonetheless.NSS (Author, Nicholas Sandsbury Smith) starts the book off on an...awkward foot. Which is why the 4 star rating is given (wanted to do a 4.5 but mobile...) and introduces us to the main character plus various other minor ones and..*****SPOILERS FROM HERE DOWN******It's odd seeing how we get introduced to the remainder of team only to, by the end of chapter one, have them all killed. It, in my honest opinion, didn't give much by way of an emotional hook to the characters unless one is very familiar with just what these divers are jumping into; which he does do a good job in painting in the readers mind.The book continues to be a page turner throughout the initial dive, swapping between characters perspectives until all hell breaks loose on the surface...its here were introduced to why this landscape is truly considered hell.Flashing forward after a major incident which leaves the main ship barely afloat and the team is reinforced and deployed yet again to the surface on seemingly another suicide mission (ie, normal SOP for the divers) and the divers come across a survivor from the major point I mentioned above. Though, with how large the ships are described, it's surprising there wasn't any more in my personal opinion. As the team moved from point to point they contend with everything that comes from a operation in about as bad a place as you can get...from debilitating weather to lack of supplies it is nice to see that NSS, who himself worked in disaster relief, also looked into the militaristic side of the operations in such conditions which..if you're a fan of military thrillers...will be a nice segway into the universe.*****spoiler end*****The only thing overall about Helldivers I would have Liked to see more of is some more backstory about the war that led to the book and the equipment used by the divers. Though most of it is seemingly kindered to modern military equipment, it would have been nice to know what various nooks and crannies each character has that helps them on their specific job. A person is as individual as their kit and I think it woukd have given more insight into the character as a backstory filler.Loved book one, read book two..cant wait for book 3

"the bombs dropped by his ancestors hadn't just destroyed the Old World - they had created a new one and populated it with monsters."UPDATE: June 29, 2017I just re-read and finished this first book of the HELL DIVERS series to refresh my memory before starting on an Advanced Reading Copy of HELL DIVERS II: GHOSTS. I enjoyed it just as much the second time around and am very anxious to "dive" right into GHOSTS.I don't know why I enjoy post-apocalyptic novels as much as I do (crazy, warped, have a death wish - or a mixture of all three attributes) but I was thrilled to hear that author Nick Smith has started a new series. I am a huge fan of his EXTINCTION series and after reading this first book in his new series, I don't want to wait around for the second book to come out. It is that good.The book starts out 250 years in the future - after World War III has decimated the Earth. The only survivors live on two huge airships - the Hive and the Ares - and roam the skies looking for someplace on Earth where it would be safe to land.After so many years, the airships aren't in the greatest shape and Hell Divers jump from the airships down to a very dangerous Earth to find parts to fix the airships. The Hell Diver who has been doing this the longest is Commander Xavier Rodriguez, aka "X".The average life expectancy of a Hell Diver is 15 jumps. X has made close to 100 jumps.I loved the world building author Smith does in this tale. He brought me into the Hive, showed me the different classes of people that live on the ship, introduced me to interesting, desperate people doing what is needed to survive under horrendous conditions.This is an exciting look at what "might be" in our future. Scary but also hopeful - I recommend it to those who like post-apocalyptic thrillers, science fiction, horror, monsters, blood, guts and gore.I received this book from Blackstone Publishing in exchange for my unbiased review.