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syntheticdragon's review against another edition
4.0
If you like military science fiction, you'd like this book. It had a good pace, without completely bogging you down with details. Unfortunately, that is also a downside. Johnson throws a lot of stuff at you, and while the immersion is good by just mentioning things like you should know, it takes her a while to find a way to explain things.
The main character of Ia is amazing. She's witty, talented, powerful....everything that a perfect mary-sue should be. At times she seems far too overpowered, but if you like that kind of thing like I do you'll love this. It's nice to read a book with a female protagonist that's not hooked on what's in every man's pants all the time.
Another thing is the cast of characters can get a little daunting. There are some characters that have a name that resemble another's, so it can get to be a bit of a head rush trying to keep everything straight in your head.
Overall it was a good book if you want to completely lose yourself in a nice book where the main character is always super bad ass and ready to kick ass.
The main character of Ia is amazing. She's witty, talented, powerful....everything that a perfect mary-sue should be. At times she seems far too overpowered, but if you like that kind of thing like I do you'll love this. It's nice to read a book with a female protagonist that's not hooked on what's in every man's pants all the time.
Another thing is the cast of characters can get a little daunting. There are some characters that have a name that resemble another's, so it can get to be a bit of a head rush trying to keep everything straight in your head.
Overall it was a good book if you want to completely lose yourself in a nice book where the main character is always super bad ass and ready to kick ass.
wandering_not_lost's review against another edition
2.0
Belated review, as I am going through military sci-fi phase again and remember being disappointed in this book. Can't remember if I didn't finish it or if I just had to force myself to finish it. IIRC, my issue was that I just didn't buy the premise, of how the heroine is trying to shove her timeline down the correct path when she only had her lifetime and her own actions to work with. She was writing letters to people, trying to get them to do things she had seen were vital to do, yet I didn't have any sense of how she'd be able to convince these strangers to do her bidding. Overall, the main character seemed like she was having much too easy a time orchestrating her own future to her specifications, and really...I just didn't like her that much.
baileywn's review against another edition
5.0
Ia is on my list of all time favorite kick-ass women. The atmosphere and tone projected from this story will suck you in and keep you reading until the sun comes up and the alarm goes off. I am not going to go on and on, because I do know there a ton of other reviews that do that. What I will say is that I love this book and recommend it to everyone; especially if you like stories featuring futuristic, soldiers, hints of "magic", or women who are strong leads without any of the tween drama that is so prevalent.
mato's review against another edition
3.0
A good addition to the sci-fi mil genre with its well-written (and strong) female protagonist and a very interesting mechanic. IA (the protagonist) is a pre-cog who sees an apocalyptic vision of the future. Desperate to find a means of avoiding it she determines that a career in the military will provide a way out.
The first book covers her enlistment and first few years.
Well-written and fascinating because of the many applications Ia uses her pre-cog (and other limited psy abilities) to force the future down a certain path.
The first book covers her enlistment and first few years.
Well-written and fascinating because of the many applications Ia uses her pre-cog (and other limited psy abilities) to force the future down a certain path.
bookedup83's review against another edition
2.0
Oy. This is one of those books that I like, but I'm not exactly sure why.
Ia is a competent heroine/MC - and that's the entire problem because she's a huge Mary Sue. When your main characters knows everything, is amazing at everything, and has hardly any room to fail or grow, you can't root for them; which makes for hardly enjoyable reading. The secondary characters were all fit to mold as well. There also is a lot of information in this book. A LOT. It got a bit tedious after awhile, honestly.
And yet, still....I liked the book. *shrugs*
Not the worst, but not the best either. Entertaining enough that I might check out the rest of the series some time in the future.
Ia is a competent heroine/MC - and that's the entire problem because she's a huge Mary Sue. When your main characters knows everything, is amazing at everything, and has hardly any room to fail or grow, you can't root for them; which makes for hardly enjoyable reading. The secondary characters were all fit to mold as well. There also is a lot of information in this book. A LOT. It got a bit tedious after awhile, honestly.
And yet, still....I liked the book. *shrugs*
Not the worst, but not the best either. Entertaining enough that I might check out the rest of the series some time in the future.
alesia_charles's review
challenging
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
jtone's review against another edition
3.0
A decent story but a little Mary-Sue for my taste. I haven't decided if I'll read the next one.
advictoriam's review against another edition
3.0
I originally gave this one star but am bumping it up to three now that I've gotten past the initial frustration I felt after trudging through this book.
I really thought I would love this, making it even more disappointing when I found this book to not be my thing at all. I do think that is a big part of why I didn't enjoy it, not because it was poorly written or anything like that. It just isn't the kind of book I find appealing, which I didn't realize until I was far enough through it that I wanted to finish it.
The writing in this is solid, but it can also frequently verge on being too detailed. That much detail can be overwhelming, not to mention unnecessary. It could have been edited down quite a bit without losing anything vital to the story.
I also did not care for the main character, Ia. Beyond my own personal dislike, I just think the characterization was off. Because of her abilities, Ia knows every single thing that's going to happen. This takes away the suspense, and frankly just makes the story a little boring. Ia is always one step ahead of everyone else and something that bothered me about this was that she always seemed so very cocky about it and like she was better than everyone else. Given that she has a pretty significant advantage over everyone this seems unfair and rather off-putting. Her gift would have been a lot more interesting if it varied in its effectiveness and its accuracy. Basically, Ia's abilities are pretty cool but she's overpowered. I think that's supposed to be the point but like I said, it doesn't necessarily make for a good story.
The characterization of Ia also comes into an especially heavy focus given that she is really the only character to be fully developed, at least at this point in the series. Dozens of secondary characters are introduced and then dropped. The other characters are only used when Ia needs them to perform some small role or for her to mention that at some point in the future they will play a small role. Maybe other characters are fleshed out in the later books but it would have been nice to have more of it here.
Overall I just found this book difficult to get through. There isn't much in the way of a straightforward plot. It's basically Ia accomplishing task after task. You can also definitely tell that it's a part of a series as it is so clearly just a small portion of Ia's supposed mission.
Probably the aspect of this book I found the most interesting was the world building. The world shown in this novel is incredibly detailed and well thought out. Its complexity makes it feel more plausible as an actual world, although as I mentioned, too many details about said world can distract from what is actually going on in the book. It could also be confusing at times because there is a lot of jargon, especially involving the technology and weaponry.
While this is by no means a terrible book, these various issues made it hard for me to get into it. To be fair, these are things that could very well work for other people. This books really seems like one where mileage would vary. I also won't be carrying on with the rest of the series, which is something that usually bothers me. I'm curious of how some aspects will be developed further but not quite enough to put myself through reading the other books.
I really thought I would love this, making it even more disappointing when I found this book to not be my thing at all. I do think that is a big part of why I didn't enjoy it, not because it was poorly written or anything like that. It just isn't the kind of book I find appealing, which I didn't realize until I was far enough through it that I wanted to finish it.
The writing in this is solid, but it can also frequently verge on being too detailed. That much detail can be overwhelming, not to mention unnecessary. It could have been edited down quite a bit without losing anything vital to the story.
I also did not care for the main character, Ia. Beyond my own personal dislike, I just think the characterization was off. Because of her abilities, Ia knows every single thing that's going to happen. This takes away the suspense, and frankly just makes the story a little boring. Ia is always one step ahead of everyone else and something that bothered me about this was that she always seemed so very cocky about it and like she was better than everyone else. Given that she has a pretty significant advantage over everyone this seems unfair and rather off-putting. Her gift would have been a lot more interesting if it varied in its effectiveness and its accuracy. Basically, Ia's abilities are pretty cool but she's overpowered. I think that's supposed to be the point but like I said, it doesn't necessarily make for a good story.
The characterization of Ia also comes into an especially heavy focus given that she is really the only character to be fully developed, at least at this point in the series. Dozens of secondary characters are introduced and then dropped. The other characters are only used when Ia needs them to perform some small role or for her to mention that at some point in the future they will play a small role. Maybe other characters are fleshed out in the later books but it would have been nice to have more of it here.
Overall I just found this book difficult to get through. There isn't much in the way of a straightforward plot. It's basically Ia accomplishing task after task. You can also definitely tell that it's a part of a series as it is so clearly just a small portion of Ia's supposed mission.
Probably the aspect of this book I found the most interesting was the world building. The world shown in this novel is incredibly detailed and well thought out. Its complexity makes it feel more plausible as an actual world, although as I mentioned, too many details about said world can distract from what is actually going on in the book. It could also be confusing at times because there is a lot of jargon, especially involving the technology and weaponry.
While this is by no means a terrible book, these various issues made it hard for me to get into it. To be fair, these are things that could very well work for other people. This books really seems like one where mileage would vary. I also won't be carrying on with the rest of the series, which is something that usually bothers me. I'm curious of how some aspects will be developed further but not quite enough to put myself through reading the other books.
jkh107's review
4.0
Ia is a precognitive psychic--a powerful one--who can see multiple future timelines and probabilities--and when she sees future disaster, she knows that if she plays everything exactly right, she can DO SOMETHING about it. But she knows she has to join the Terran space Marines first...
This is a fun milSF adventure yarn with a kick-ass heroine. In fact, the heroine is so kick-ass that by the time she acquires her Marine nickname "Bloody Mary," I was ready to call her "Bloody Mary Sue" because Johnson has basically written a character with physical superpowers. And of course she is a very powerful psychic AND she can absorb energy in various unconventional ways (this is explained well in the book). To properly use and torture a character like that in fiction, you need insurmountable odds, and it's not clear that Johnson has given Ia enough of a challenge, even though to a normal human being, saving the Galaxy from its alien foes seems like a big enough task.
I really enjoyed the book as a whole, but having things made too easy for the heroine knocked it down a star--it could have had 5 stars had Johnson made her character interestingly *flawed* as well.
This is a fun milSF adventure yarn with a kick-ass heroine. In fact, the heroine is so kick-ass that by the time she acquires her Marine nickname "Bloody Mary," I was ready to call her "Bloody Mary Sue" because Johnson has basically written a character with physical superpowers. And of course she is a very powerful psychic AND she can absorb energy in various unconventional ways (this is explained well in the book). To properly use and torture a character like that in fiction, you need insurmountable odds, and it's not clear that Johnson has given Ia enough of a challenge, even though to a normal human being, saving the Galaxy from its alien foes seems like a big enough task.
I really enjoyed the book as a whole, but having things made too easy for the heroine knocked it down a star--it could have had 5 stars had Johnson made her character interestingly *flawed* as well.
adubrow's review
4.0
(Originally posted @ CSI:Librarian)
For me, A Soldier's Duty was like a much needed breath of fresh air. Not only because it was a fun, character-driven series opener with a strong, vivid female lead, but because it lacked romance of any kind. Romance is fine and good, of course, but sometimes I just want to read about someone saving their world and/or universe.
The best parts of the book were the details and the way the future was set up as a far more open-minded, complex place, which I appreciated. Too often Science Fiction becomes preachy or dated because it tries to so closely mimic or parallel current events. A Soldier's Duty does its own thing, not bothering to hone in on Earth in terms of politics or culture, but to expand beyond that. This feat is easily accomplished because although Ia is human, she is not from Earth and hails instead on a world called Sanctuary. She is also a second generation first-worlder as well as a heavyworlder which means she's capable of more than most when on planets, stations, etc. with lighter gravity. She also has mothers, so basically Ia is pretty awesome.
While training and at her first few assignments, Ia is surrounded, for the most part, by other humans hailing from Terran United Planets, but there are plenty of aliens around as well. I am especially intrigued by the Feyori who are responsible for creating humans with precognitive abilities and who view everyone as part of an elaborate game of Chess crossed with Risk that they're playing against one another. I cannot wait to learn more about them or to see how Ia continues to prove herself worthy of having her own faction.
Following Ia's career as she moved from soldier all the way to officer was a pleasure although some sections worked better for me than others and the first half of the book was a bit more enjoyable for me. The second half covered a larger span of time though so a lot had to be packed into not necessarily enough pages. And even when I wasn't sure I agreed with her approach to superior officers or crisis situations, I never stopped liking Ia though or caring about what would happen to her. The journey she's taking is certainly an interesting one. and the way Ia's own precognitive abilities played out was really intriguing as well as her other physical attributes. She definitely teeters on the edge of being overwhelmingly, blindingly special, but Johnson never quite throws her over it.
Johnson also does a great job of sharing Ia's motivations as well as actual reasons for why Ia does certain things the way she does them, which I thought was fascinating. She has to keep quiet because the events she sees playing out can change based on the slightest alteration and she doesn't exactly know all the points she has to hit along the way to get to her main objective. She doesn't always feel the need to explain herself the few times she does share her visions or her abilities, which is a bit annoying, but she also lives in a universe where people can have precognitive abilities, telekinetic powers, and telepathy so the skepticism is not as hard to overcome as it might be in a different setting. I think what also helps balance things out is Johnson's approach to Ia's abilities. Yes, she can see the future, but time is constantly changing and evolving. She's definitely not the most gifted precious precog snowflake out there either, and even when she's certain of how to get from Point A to Point B, Ia still has to do whatever it takes to get there. That journey isn't always pleasant and often requires a lot of fortitude, conviction, and inner strength.
Due to being a precog and aware of future events, it does make sense for Ia to shy away from people, especially in the instances where she can get a good, solid sense of what will happen to them further down the road. Or what might happen if she interferes and/or they live long enough. Since A Soldier's Duty acts as Ia's origin story, I think that loner vibe worked for the most part because all heroes tend to start off on their own and some even stay that way. Moving forward though, this might become problematic. I'm glad that, based on the excerpt for An Officer's Duty in the back of my ARC, it does look like she will go home to at least talk with her family and that will probably help. But at some point it gets ridiculous for Ia to do everything on her own. I would certainly not object to her getting someone to be the Samwise Gamgee to her Frodo Baggins or I guess maybe something more along the lines of the sensible William Bush to her precognitive Horatio Hornblower, but I digress.
Only two aspects of the book really irked me and both of these are pretty minor things. The first was Ia's singing at various intervals and even making up a song about herself on the spot in a bar after one battle. I imagine it will work for other readers, but for me it came across as sort of awkward particularly in the middle of her trying to torture information out of someone. I was also really disappointed by the way Ia earned her nickname, not just because it was so easy but because it wasn't for doing anything really chilling that a moniker like Bloody Mary would suggest. Similarly, the more I think about it, the weirder it is to me that she would even get a nickname like that because I have a hard time believing anyone would remember Bloody Mary in 2491. Unless they were naming her about the alcoholic beverage, which would just be sad.
In conclusion, really, really good and definitely the start of something awesome! If you've tried other Science Fiction series with female leads only to find them to be dated or not be very progressive in one way or another, I would suggest moving on to the Theirs Not to Reason Why series. Or if you simply want a book where a female character sinks and swims based on her own insights and courage as well as precognitive powers all the while knowing that the fate of a galaxy will be determined by her actions, this is the book for you. And now I'm off to pine for the sequel.
For me, A Soldier's Duty was like a much needed breath of fresh air. Not only because it was a fun, character-driven series opener with a strong, vivid female lead, but because it lacked romance of any kind. Romance is fine and good, of course, but sometimes I just want to read about someone saving their world and/or universe.
The best parts of the book were the details and the way the future was set up as a far more open-minded, complex place, which I appreciated. Too often Science Fiction becomes preachy or dated because it tries to so closely mimic or parallel current events. A Soldier's Duty does its own thing, not bothering to hone in on Earth in terms of politics or culture, but to expand beyond that. This feat is easily accomplished because although Ia is human, she is not from Earth and hails instead on a world called Sanctuary. She is also a second generation first-worlder as well as a heavyworlder which means she's capable of more than most when on planets, stations, etc. with lighter gravity. She also has mothers, so basically Ia is pretty awesome.
While training and at her first few assignments, Ia is surrounded, for the most part, by other humans hailing from Terran United Planets, but there are plenty of aliens around as well. I am especially intrigued by the Feyori who are responsible for creating humans with precognitive abilities and who view everyone as part of an elaborate game of Chess crossed with Risk that they're playing against one another. I cannot wait to learn more about them or to see how Ia continues to prove herself worthy of having her own faction.
Following Ia's career as she moved from soldier all the way to officer was a pleasure although some sections worked better for me than others and the first half of the book was a bit more enjoyable for me. The second half covered a larger span of time though so a lot had to be packed into not necessarily enough pages. And even when I wasn't sure I agreed with her approach to superior officers or crisis situations, I never stopped liking Ia though or caring about what would happen to her. The journey she's taking is certainly an interesting one. and the way Ia's own precognitive abilities played out was really intriguing as well as her other physical attributes. She definitely teeters on the edge of being overwhelmingly, blindingly special, but Johnson never quite throws her over it.
Johnson also does a great job of sharing Ia's motivations as well as actual reasons for why Ia does certain things the way she does them, which I thought was fascinating. She has to keep quiet because the events she sees playing out can change based on the slightest alteration and she doesn't exactly know all the points she has to hit along the way to get to her main objective. She doesn't always feel the need to explain herself the few times she does share her visions or her abilities, which is a bit annoying, but she also lives in a universe where people can have precognitive abilities, telekinetic powers, and telepathy so the skepticism is not as hard to overcome as it might be in a different setting. I think what also helps balance things out is Johnson's approach to Ia's abilities. Yes, she can see the future, but time is constantly changing and evolving. She's definitely not the most gifted precious precog snowflake out there either, and even when she's certain of how to get from Point A to Point B, Ia still has to do whatever it takes to get there. That journey isn't always pleasant and often requires a lot of fortitude, conviction, and inner strength.
Due to being a precog and aware of future events, it does make sense for Ia to shy away from people, especially in the instances where she can get a good, solid sense of what will happen to them further down the road. Or what might happen if she interferes and/or they live long enough. Since A Soldier's Duty acts as Ia's origin story, I think that loner vibe worked for the most part because all heroes tend to start off on their own and some even stay that way. Moving forward though, this might become problematic. I'm glad that, based on the excerpt for An Officer's Duty in the back of my ARC, it does look like she will go home to at least talk with her family and that will probably help. But at some point it gets ridiculous for Ia to do everything on her own. I would certainly not object to her getting someone to be the Samwise Gamgee to her Frodo Baggins or I guess maybe something more along the lines of the sensible William Bush to her precognitive Horatio Hornblower, but I digress.
Only two aspects of the book really irked me and both of these are pretty minor things. The first was Ia's singing at various intervals and even making up a song about herself on the spot in a bar after one battle. I imagine it will work for other readers, but for me it came across as sort of awkward particularly in the middle of her trying to torture information out of someone. I was also really disappointed by the way Ia earned her nickname, not just because it was so easy but because it wasn't for doing anything really chilling that a moniker like Bloody Mary would suggest. Similarly, the more I think about it, the weirder it is to me that she would even get a nickname like that because I have a hard time believing anyone would remember Bloody Mary in 2491. Unless they were naming her about the alcoholic beverage, which would just be sad.
In conclusion, really, really good and definitely the start of something awesome! If you've tried other Science Fiction series with female leads only to find them to be dated or not be very progressive in one way or another, I would suggest moving on to the Theirs Not to Reason Why series. Or if you simply want a book where a female character sinks and swims based on her own insights and courage as well as precognitive powers all the while knowing that the fate of a galaxy will be determined by her actions, this is the book for you. And now I'm off to pine for the sequel.