Book excerpt: Megiddo By: B. L. Barger In this third installment of B. L. Barger’s sci-fi trilogy, Maxine and the Commanders Qatar have been sent to the settlement moon, Megiddo, to infiltrate and contain a subversive group of Guardians who have taken several hundred human refugees hostage to use as coercion for advancing their own radical political agenda. Maxine, the Qatars, a mercenary, a band of civilian insurgents, and elements of the US military soon find themselves engaged in conflict against a radicalized group of Guardians. The subversives are led by a witch named Kensa, who is revered as the leader of an ancient occult society known as the Sisters of the Stone. Kensa and her mind-controlled Guardians must be overthrown if the humans they terrorize are to be freed from captivity. Inevitably, war breaks out that pits Guardian against Guardian and humans against Guardians, and threatens to unleash a civil war on the Sirius home world. “From start to finish, Megiddo is full of action, surprises, and emotional twists and turns. This stellar adventure brings us to a whole new world with an entertaining cast of characters old and new. As a newly married couple, Max and Kavi are deeply committed not only to each other, but to saving humanity and aliens alike. Their mission is aided by the help of familiar family and friends and new allies, including the kick-ass Blonde Squad. Together they battle the evil forces threatening the goodness of the universe and beyond. Author B. L. Barger immerses the reader into an alien world and, although the fictional Megiddo is millions of miles from Earth, the emotion, desires and heart-pumping adrenaline created by Barger in this environment are familiar and totally relate-able. I didn’t want to put this exciting page-turner down!” - Anne Holm Brown, Original Blonde Squad