Malcolm Petteway

Malcolm Petteway

About

Malcolm Dylan Petteway is a senior military analyst, a retired military officer and a twenty-year veteran of the United States Air Force. He flew B-52's as an Electronic Warfare Officer and has 3,000 flight hours and 300 combat hours. In his distinguished career, Malcolm has used his knowledge in the art of war, military weapons and combat defenses in planning over 400 combat sorties. Besides his Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters and numerous other awards, Malcolm is the recipient of the U.S. Air Force Air Medal and the U.S. Air Force Air Achievement Medal for his actions during Operation Enduring Freedom. Malcolm Petteway is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and California State University.

The Sons of Godwine: Part Two of The Last Great Saxon Earls

The Sons of Godwine: Part Two of The Last Great Saxon Earls

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Description

<p>Emerging from the long shadow cast by his formidable father, Harold Godwineson showed himself to be a worthy successor to the Earldom of Wessex. In the following twelve years, he became the King's most trusted advisor, practically taking the reins of government into his own hands. And on Edward the Confessor's death, Harold Godwineson mounted the throne—the first king of England not of royal blood. Yet Harold was only a man, and his rise in fortune was not blameless. Like any person aspiring to power, he made choices he wasn't particularly proud of. Unfortunately, those closest to him sometimes paid the price of his fame.<br /><br />This is a story of Godwine's family as told from the viewpoint of Harold and his younger brothers. Queen Editha, known for her Vita Ædwardi Regis, originally commissioned a work to memorialize the deeds of her family, but after the Conquest historians tell us she abandoned this project and concentrated on her husband, the less dangerous subject. In THE SONS OF GODWINE and FATAL RIVALRY, I am telling the story as it might have survived had she collected and passed on the memoirs of her tragic brothers.<br /><br />This book is part two of The Last Great Saxon Earls series. Book one, GODWINE KINGMAKER, depicted the rise and fall of the first Earl of Wessex who came to power under Canute and rose to preeminence at the beginning of Edward the Confessor's reign. Unfortunately, Godwine's misguided efforts to champion his eldest son Swegn recoiled on the whole family, contributing to their outlawry and Queen Editha's disgrace. Their exile only lasted one year and they returned victorious to London, though it was obvious that Harold's career was just beginning as his father's journey was coming to an end.<br /><br />Harold's siblings were all overshadowed by their famous brother; in their memoirs we see remarks tinged sometimes with admiration, sometimes with skepticism, and in Tostig's case, with jealousy. We see a Harold who is ambitious, self-assured, sometimes egocentric, imperfect, yet heroic. His own story is all about Harold, but his brothers see things a little differently. Throughout, their observations are purely subjective, and witnessing events through their eyes gives us an insider’s perspective.<br /><br />Harold was his mother's favorite, confident enough to rise above petty sibling rivalry but Tostig, next in line, was not so lucky. Harold would have been surprised by Tostig's vindictiveness, if he had ever given his brother a second thought. And that was the problem. Tostig's love/hate relationship with Harold would eventually destroy everything they worked for, leaving the country open to foreign conquest. This subplot comes to a crisis in book three of the series, FATAL RIVALRY.</p>

Story Behind The Book

Founded by Malcolm Petteway, Rage Books LLC publishes science fiction, fantasy and horror. Malcolm published three books through Iuniverse between 2001 and 2004 while he was in the military. After retiring from the military, Malcolm looked to begin his writing career in earnest. James Barnes came on board as the chief editor and between the two of them they decided to release Malcolm’s literary agent and begin Rage Books. Malcolm and Jim saw Rage Books as a publisher of trade paperback books for the new and struggling writer with a unique story. With the aid of family and friends, Malcolm launched Rage Books with his first Osguard book, Homecoming in September of 2009. Since then, Malcolm has printed second editions of the second and third books, Revelations and Armageddon, and released the fourth book in the series Revenge. With these novels as the launch pad, Rage Books’ goal is to grow and eventually contend with other independent trade publishers of science fiction, fantasy and horror, like Tor, DAW and Baen publishing.

Reviews

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td valign="top" width="100%"> <span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><font size="+0">&quot;<font size="2">Great story! This is one of the best science</font></font></span></span><font size="2" style="font-family:Arial;">fiction novels I've read in a long time...great job with the characters and the action.&quot;</font> <div style="text-align:center;"> <div style="text-align:justify;"> <div style="text-align:justify;"><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><font size="+0">—Judge, Writer's Digest<br /> 10th Annual International Self-Published Book Awards<br /><br /><br /> “Petteway is a veteran Air Force Officer and uses his knowledge to bring a very believable description of battle techniques and strategies. This is a very readable and enjoyable novel. It reminded me of Julian May’s stories of the Remillard Family in her Pliocene Exile stories and the Galactic Milieu Trilogy and that could only be seen as a good thing.”<br /><br /> — Barry Hunter<br /> Editor Baryon Magazine<br /><br /><br /> “Like a good play, it captivates its audience! As I read this action-packed science fiction adventure, I was reminded of those early day pulp tales of space opera and ground-breaking stories of new – and alien races that populate  the universe. The author’s military background brings the reader believable combat encounters and terminology. His characters are strong and dedicated to their survival, and the survival of their race. The reader is pulled into the story head first, and must fight alongside the Osguards in all of their endeavors. It is a fun and exciting read, and like a good play, it captivates its audience!”<br /><br /> — Tom Johnson<br /> Editor Fading  Shadows Magazine<br /><br /><br /> “Malcolm Dylan Petteway has written a believable science fiction novel where he creates entirely new worlds. Racism in the United States exists whether it's against black space aliens or its own citizens. It is an exciting book that encompasses very realistic war scenes, the real tragedies of the slave trade and the pushiness of the FBI. The characters were so well developed it felt as if you knew them personally, especially the princesses and the main Osguard, Michael David Genesis. It is a fascinating story that can be enjoyed by everyone, including those who are not huge fans of science fiction. I highly recommend this book.”<br /><br /> — Reviewed by Alice Holman The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers Black Book Reviews<br /><br /><br /> Osguards has all the elements that has always attracted me to science fiction, specifically, that subcategory of the genre called Space Opera. Enormous space ships equipped with planet-smashing arsenals, far flung interstellar civilizations, evil empires, super advanced technology, and weapons of such lethality Earth's most powerful weapons systems would come across as slingshots in comparison…Osguards: Homecoming is a compelling drama in addition to being a fast paced adventure. The characters are written with depth and feeling. There is a lot of internal perspective along with a healthy dose of political intrigue. I have one word to sum up the climatic space battle: spectacular! With Osguards: Homecoming, Malcolm has created a winner. Thankfully this book is the first in a series.<br /><br /> —Ronald T. Jones<br /> Author, Chronicles of the Liberator<br /><br /> A very imaginative book<br /> about a black family descended from an alien race who uses their special skills to protect the Earth from a coming galactic war. The book really takes off when it takes us back to the family origin among the horrors of American slavery. Homecoming is the first in a series consisting of 4 books.<br /><br /> --Milton Davis<br /> Author, Meji</font></span><br />  </div> </div> </div> </td> </tr></tbody></table>