The Sleeping Legion is rousing…

I’m am proud and excited to announce the launch of the Recon Team edition of The Legion Awakes, the first in the new series of military science fiction novels by JR Handley and set in the worlds of the Human Legion. As a Legionary, you can download the book to your device and read it for pleasure, or get involved with the Recon Team. Or you could ignore this edition and wait for the finished version to be launched later in the year.
 

What does the Book Recon Team do?

Recon Team volunteers help by scouting ahead for hazards and highlighting dangers in a draft of a forthcoming book. If you read a passage and it makes you whistle, curse, or throw your book (and the device you’re reading it on) across the room because something isn’t right, then I would like you to tell us about it.

What I’m asking volunteers to do is to read the Recon Edition as if you were reading any other book and make a note of anything that strikes you as wrong. This could be characters acting in a way that doesn’t make sense, passages that are confusing or have spelling mistakes, sex scenes that make you cringe, combat scenes that don’t ring true, heathen Britishisms (that’s highly unlikely with JR Handley, though I may have corrupted him) or anything else that feels wrong.

We can’t promise to agree with or act on everything you tell us, but we do promise we’ll read and consider everything you bring to our attention.
 

How do I communicate what I’ve found?

1. If you’re reading the Kindle edition, tell us the Kindle location (or give the chapter number if the comment is not specific to a line).
2. Please copy the first 3-4 words of the sentence (because the Kindle location is not enough by itself to know which line you’re referring to).

 
So if the opening paragraph started at Kindle location 80, and read something like this…
I always get the shakes before a drop. I’ve had the injections, of course, and hypnotic preparation, and it stands to reason that I can’t really be afraid.
 
…And you were of the opinion that injections and hypnosis didn’t sound futuristic enough and something really ought to be done to jazz them up, then you might put as your forum post:
 
Chapter1. Loc 80. [I’ve had the…] The med tech sounds too 1950s!
 
That’s all there is to it. Remember that this is meant to be an enjoyable experience, so have fun and if there’s any danger of becoming onerous, then stop commenting.
 
BTW: if you can’t place that classic opening paragraph, there’s a short article on it here.
 

Recon Team Benefits

Many people have told me over the past few years how much they have enjoyed the sense of playing a part in creating a book. I hope you do too.

Other than reading an advance copy before anyone else (and for free), and being able to chat about it directly with the author, there are a couple more little bonuses.

• Everyone who comments will be named and thanked in the final edition.
• Everyone who comments will join our pool of Redshirts. The books in the Human Legion universe get through a lot of characters, and most of them need names. Where we can we’ll use names from our Redshirt list. We might mangle your name a little if the story demands it, but you should recognize yourself. Redshirts have a habit of not surviving for long, but despite the name not all Redshirts are doomed to a brief and bloody literary existence. Who knows? You might wind up doing duty as a romantic interest. If you would rather not risk ending your literary alter-ego’s existence falling into a volcano or as a casualty when the pirates board your ship, then mention that in your BattleNet comment and you’ll be safely excluded from the Redshirts.

OK, I’m Sold. How do I get my book?

Elsewhere, in the worlds of the Human Legion…