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shalini_gunnasan's review against another edition
5.0
This was a lot of fun and I liked the ending a lot.
ashleycaito9's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
sumedhaj's review
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
sicutumbra's review
4.0
This is a solid sci-fi military drama with a genuinely unexpected ending, which is a rare thing and to be enjoyed.
mary_soon_lee's review
4.0
Had I not known this was a debut novel, I would have assumed that its author, Michael Mammay, had multiple books behind him. From the opening scene, this reads like classic science fiction, Pawn to King 4, setting up possibilities which Mammay skillfully exploits. Classic, yet not old-fashioned. Combining both mystery and military science fiction, there's a surety to the writing throughout. I stole time to read it, to follow the highly likable narrator to the story's end. Highly recommended.
paweljw's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
xkrow's review against another edition
3.0
Good, solid, fast-paced; flew through it whenever I picked it up. Not a lot happening in the character end (or the setting end), but I wanted a sort of "turn your brain off plot book" and that's what I got. Wild, wild ending.
mmuutthh's review
5.0
I think this is the first military sci-fi novel I’ve ever read. I “met” Michael Mammay at a writer’s conference in Pittsburgh in July, and like most of the authors I heard speak I wanted to show my support by purchasing their books. Planetside was one of two I couldn’t find in the conference’s sellers’ room so I purchased it from a->z. And overall I enjoyed it. Five stars, though, because finishing books is hard.
I’ll say right off the bat, I’m not a rah-rah “America” type guy, and though the book is not rooted in the American military, it’s still styled after it. So when it came to the ending — no spoilers — I was disappointed the side it took and the attitude I feel like the book wanted me to feel. And that’s probably all there is to say about that…
For the rest of the book I found the prose to be a range between stilted (everyone, even allowing they’re all military, draws their “lips into a straight line”) to quite effective, sometimes to the point of awkwardly florid. I liked most of the characters and appreciated the action, when there was action. (That first attack on the narrator was actually stupendous, I thought.) But therein lies my main issue with the book: Colonel Butler is really passive. There’s a lot of just sitting in his room, changing into gym clothes to work out, and alcohol-abuse. And then there’s the really weird scene with the sausage… In the end, I guess I wanted to feel like I was along for the ride on this guy’s mission, but instead I felt like he was simply on the ride with me. Maybe that’s just what colonels do.
The other part that I couldn’t quite get my head around, and questioned the, I hesitate to call it metaphor, idea behind the construction of the Cappans. For one there was quite a bit of the Fremen in them, but with that there seemed to be some stereotyping of eastern cultures that, again, can feel a little yucky in our current American climate. (Even allowing this book was published in 2018.) There’s nothing out-and-out racist I would point to in the book, but I’d say there were some insinuations — intentional or not. I guess I was the most disappointed, late in the book — when everything starts to come together, seemingly more just to get to the end than to create a satisfying story — when an offer is made. An offer that isn’t too dissimilar to an arc a character from an above-named novel takes, and Butler refuses. It is an interesting choice (and the whole scenario read very Apocalypse Now, which is meant as a compliment) but I feel like the attempt to zag winds up then missing.
Overall, a solid book from a first-time author. I’ll freely admit this isn’t really my genre (but I’m up for trying pretty much anything once) and so I probably won’t be checking out the sequels. Maybe it depends on who the series continues following. I don’t have a lot of investment or interest in Butler. But Alenda or Plazz, or even Mac; could draw me back!
I’ll say right off the bat, I’m not a rah-rah “America” type guy, and though the book is not rooted in the American military, it’s still styled after it. So when it came to the ending — no spoilers — I was disappointed the side it took and the attitude I feel like the book wanted me to feel. And that’s probably all there is to say about that…
For the rest of the book I found the prose to be a range between stilted (everyone, even allowing they’re all military, draws their “lips into a straight line”) to quite effective, sometimes to the point of awkwardly florid. I liked most of the characters and appreciated the action, when there was action. (That first attack on the narrator was actually stupendous, I thought.) But therein lies my main issue with the book: Colonel Butler is really passive. There’s a lot of just sitting in his room, changing into gym clothes to work out, and alcohol-abuse. And then there’s the really weird scene with the sausage… In the end, I guess I wanted to feel like I was along for the ride on this guy’s mission, but instead I felt like he was simply on the ride with me. Maybe that’s just what colonels do.
The other part that I couldn’t quite get my head around, and questioned the, I hesitate to call it metaphor, idea behind the construction of the Cappans. For one there was quite a bit of the Fremen in them, but with that there seemed to be some stereotyping of eastern cultures that, again, can feel a little yucky in our current American climate. (Even allowing this book was published in 2018.) There’s nothing out-and-out racist I would point to in the book, but I’d say there were some insinuations — intentional or not. I guess I was the most disappointed, late in the book — when everything starts to come together, seemingly more just to get to the end than to create a satisfying story — when an offer is made. An offer that isn’t too dissimilar to an arc a character from an above-named novel takes, and Butler refuses. It is an interesting choice (and the whole scenario read very Apocalypse Now, which is meant as a compliment) but I feel like the attempt to zag winds up then missing.
Overall, a solid book from a first-time author. I’ll freely admit this isn’t really my genre (but I’m up for trying pretty much anything once) and so I probably won’t be checking out the sequels. Maybe it depends on who the series continues following. I don’t have a lot of investment or interest in Butler. But Alenda or Plazz, or even Mac; could draw me back!