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Private Owens: A George Owens Novel (Paintball Wars Chronicles) Kindle Edition
Tired of his mundane life going to school, playing video games, and generally accomplishing nothing worth mentioning, thirteen-year-old George decides to actually do something, something exciting and interesting, something real. When a recruiting sergeant for the Alamedan Empire comes to his school, he enlists in the Alamedan Army and goes to fight with other teenagers in the Paintball Wars.
George quickly discovers that this new life is not easy. From intense infantry battles to the deceitful peace between them, George is confronted with how much his fellow soldiers depend on him to do his part - and how far he has to go to fulfill his duty. And when his company finds itself in a pickle with no leadership, George must overcome his resistance to change and rise to the challenge.
The Paintball Wars is a fictional world set in the present day. Armies of tens of thousands of teenagers clash in epic World War II-style paintball battles, including tanks, artillery, and aircraft, to occupy each other's territory. Are you a history buff who loves World War II? Do you like to play paintball, but always wanted something grander? Do you enjoy the action and adrenaline of a gripping war story, but dislike the gory, brutal reality of war? Then the Paintball Wars Chronicles are for you!
This book is a quality paperback featuring color maps to illustrate the battles, showing terrain, unit positions, and movements. It also features black-and-white hand-drawn illustrations of key scenes.
PARENTAL CONTENT GUIDE
This is a fictional paintball war story. As such, there is no blood, death, gore, or any of the like. Injuries are few and minor. That said, there are a great many battle scenes of simulated combat, some of which are very intense. In some cases there is real brawling; the main character is pinched in his nipple during hand-to-hand combat, which becomes a sore purple lump for a while. Even though there is no death, "kill" and "die" are the common terms used to described a soldier who has become a casualty (i.e. hit with paint).
Additionally, in the flavor of a "clean war story," mild language considered by the author to be more-or-less PG is used as follows:
- Frequent use of "hell" and "blast" ("what the hell," "to hell with X," "helluva," "blast it," "blasted X")
- One use of "ass" ("move your ass")
- Occasional use of "bastard," "butthead," "dumbass," and "dog" (used as generic insults)
- There is one reference to the f-word as follows:
"Bernie," George asked, "what does FUBAR mean?"
"Fouled Up Beyond All Recognition," Bernie replied without looking up.
"Yeah," someone said, "but in World War Two the first word would've made your mom wig out and ground you for two weeks."
Another boy looked up from nearby, confused. "Yeah, maybe, I mean, if your mom had a habit of coming to the front lines with you."
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherWilliam DeForest Halsted IV
- Publication dateJune 30, 2024
- Reading age13 - 18 years
- File size15.5 MB
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Product details
- ASIN : B0D68GHJ9V
- Publisher : William DeForest Halsted IV; 1st edition (June 30, 2024)
- Publication date : June 30, 2024
- Language : English
- File size : 15.5 MB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Not Enabled
- Print length : 354 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #2,570,979 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

William DeForest Halsted IV is the mastermind and creator of the world of the Paintball Wars. He wrote his first novel, Private Owens, at age seventeen. Besides writing, William enjoys reading, especially history, especially military history, and especially World War II history, which has greatly impacted the creation of the Paintball Wars Chronicles. He is slowly amassing his own mini library of military nonfiction, as well as old war movies from the ’60s and ’70s. William also enjoys playing board games with his family and video games with his remote friends. Additionally, he founded Halifico Motion Picture Productions YouTube channel with family and friends to pursue another hobby, filmmaking. As a musician, he plays the violin, piano, concertina, and sings. He lives with his family in California on a 200-acre ranch, where he is currently pursuing a bachelors in English with the intention of going to law school.
Customer reviews
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- Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2024An exciting adventure story, with great dialogue and thrilling battle scenes. My first novel, a passion project, and I love what I have created. Totally unbiased review here :)
- Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2025What I Didn’t Like:
-The military style training and battles are cumbersome and clunky. Maybe if the characters had more banter or if some humor was thrown in, it could break up the monotony.
-The characters are not defined well. The story itself seems to be a drawn out list of battles without much explanation as to why they’re fighting them or a reason to root for any character or side.
-I needed so many answers to essential questions about the Paintball Wars that are never asked and never answered: who are they fighting, why are they fighting, who is paying for all of this, why are so many kids participating, why are so many parents agreeing to this? While it seems like a fun idea a bunch of teenagers would cook up, there’s a LOT of reality that would prevent this from ever happening.
What I Did Like:
+You can tell this war has been well thought out by the author. This is the kind of story where I can imagine the author has notebooks full of information, backstory, and research for. That attention to detail does come through in the plot and setup.
+Technical descriptions of weapons and battle plans are well done.
+Action scenes are very vivid and well explained.
Who Should Read This One:
-If you’re looking for a military action story without the gore of death, this is that story. It’s action packed and technical. Really this would be perfect for a middle school kiddo who wanted a war book.
My Rating: 3 Stars
This feels like a blend of Ender’s Game and Catch-22, which aren’t two things I ever would’ve imagined blending. If that appeals to you, this might be your book.
- Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2024This is a very unique concept and I think it will do a great service to readers who seek the adrenaline of war with the tame thrill of paintball. The battle scenes and military machinery are described in great detail, making me think this is a dream book for many teenage boys. For history and WWII buffs who prefer a PG-rating, this book definitely captures the battle atmosphere without the gore. I especially appreciated how the main character, George, grew from an apathetic, lazy teenage boy into a responsible, motivated teenage boy.
Prospective buyers should read the author's language disclaimer on the sale page. If you're okay with that level of euphemisms, I recommend this book for teens and adults.
- Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2024Very well written. As an older adult, I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like if all the confrontations we have in todays world could be fought with paint balls instead of misels.
- Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2024As an adult I no not usually read books written mainly for a younger audience. However, this book was as entertaining as many of the fiction books I've read by best selling authors. Some of the battle sceens are a bit out there-like teens flying planes and helicoptors? But, after all, it is fiction. References to actual events and persons in WWII brought some perspective to the battle strategies in this paintball saga. George, the main character, is a somewhat typical teen who experiences much growth during the story. Certainly this is worth reading.