Sci Fi where aliens transform humans into "Battleforms"

[MichaelM]

Been searching for this book for quite some time with all types of searches, no luck. I possibly read this Sci Fi book in the late 80"s or 90"s. It starts with a human family that finds an alien artifact in space and bring aboard their spaceship. Not in our solar system but a system that was colonized by humans. An alien pops out of the artifact and the family takes the ship back to the colonized planet, their home,. The alien escapes after the ship lands and starts taking over human bodies by transforming them into Battleforms and other types of classes, mainly in a prison housing human convicts. The aliens are very hard to kill but there is a group of people that eventually set up defenses in an old abandoned fort. Cover art is of a man in a space suit, minus helmet, in a space ship with an alien creature on his back that reminds me of Rober A. Heinlens, The Puppet Masters" parasite. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[ashewyntr]

Christopher Rowley, The Vang: Military Form
Book 2 in a trilogy, but each can standalone.

 

[MichaelM]

Thanks alot Ashewntr! Used to have this along time ago and lost it. Appreciate it.

 

[Danny McG]

I'd never heard of it until this question; then I did a Google, read the Halo connection and managed to score myself a free download. So far I'm only in first chapters but enjoying it so far. Also downloaded the next one but it's a lot harder even finding an e version of the first one Starhammer!

 

[Danny McG]

so I managed to get an ecopy of 'Starhammer' the first Vang book early this week and tonight settled down to enjoy it. Chapter one sounded familiar. Chapter two I realised I'd actually read it! - it was many,many years ago so I'm gonna read it again.

 

[monkeypooper]

I have memory problems so dont have that problem after a year i know ive read it but dont remember the storyline its a pain in life but bookwise its great