about the book

The main villains are the Shem’s, who are a conquering race of alien invaders. They planet hop to survive and are led by their Supreme Being. He sends a space carrier with a mechanized army of spider tanks and space interceptors to invade the planet involved in this story. He is a gourmet fiend who loves chilled humanoid brains, and so concentrates on their harvest for his tastes and economic interests in their sale on the shelves of the Shem’s supermarkets across a growing commercial and military empire.
I believe it would sell well as a paperback. The story is mainly about a species of humanoid types who are dealing with a surprise invasion from space. The story looks at both sides of the war, gastropod invaders called the Shem and the planets defenders. There are many special missions, fights and scenes of imprisonment by alien species.
The story starts with a battle over an energy grid, which involves plasma artillery, heavy weapons and aliens. The story progresses to encapsulate the view points of the alien invaders, as the story involves a Shem tank commander who fights his way through enemy territory, and the defenders to reach his objective given to him by an impatient general. There is a siege of a small town and its eventual reinforcement by the heroes of the story Mulroney and his squad of men. There are brawls, and many episodes with commando attacks, flying jetpacks and attacks made a by space fighter craft and the dog fighting they do against the planets defenders and their aircraft.
Eventually the heroes of the story, a few men of the green corps, reach the besieged town and take up positions fighting waves of alien infantry and spider tanks. They repel all attacks, and a counter attack is organized by the rest of the planet. The besieged town tries desperately to hold back the alien invasion despite horrific problems. The town is bombed from space, bombarded with plasma charges and attacked repetitively by an army of green slug like creatures, the Shem.
Eventually the town is reached by a wave of tanks from the humanoid species which are eventually after a long struggle able to break the Shem front lines. But only after the main characters Mulroney, Leith, Mitchell and Hawk go on a special mission to infiltrate the Shem defenses, and get captured enemy battle plans back to a commanding general Poole, so he can start a rescue. They are captured by mutants but escape and cross through no-mans-land to find their own people.
The story also involves the lives of two nurses Helen Back and Lisa who try to help the wounded the best they can in front line aid posts. They bring to light the full horror of a species struggling to survive against the full destructive force of futuristic military weapons and the suffering that war inflicts on innocent people. Helen meets a stretcher bearer called Corporal Gerald Hoffman and a romance blossoms. They spend a few nights bringing forth the stupidity of war and how it tears at loved ones lives. Gerald is a brave and daring hero who brings in the wounded while under gunfire across no-mans-land. His story shows how the struggle to stay alive involves the care and sacrifice of many brave people. It is action packed and his adventures are many.
The Shem’s supreme commander tries to organize an attack to enlarge his empire of gastropods, which move through space constantly on the lookout for cultures to attack and harvest for their supermarket shelves to feed their growing numbers, are beaten back by the cunning resistance and outright courage of the planet Rog’s inhabitants. Their doggedness in the face of overwhelming odds brings them eventual victory.