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birdloveranne's review against another edition
1.0
I hate to give one star. I do. But this book was SO boring. First, look at that fantastic cover. Looks like a hardened criminal being given just punishment. Not a teenager convicted of a traffic violation. And it ALL goes down hill from there. This book was dull from the beginning to the very end and I am sorry I wasted my time listening to the very end! I should have returned it after a few chapters. I had hopes it would get better. It never did.
apryde6226's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting story. You get a traffic ticket and you get drafted to fight. You have a choice of a 3 year enlistment if you volunteer for combat, 20 years in a support role or 99 years if you choose not to fight. (I might have the #s wrong but it still makes the point.)
Covers a lot on the friendships built in the service and as always there's the esprit de corp of the Marine Corps (Semper Fi) even though it's not the US Marines that's a historical antecedent.
Fun story, even if a little formulatic.
Covers a lot on the friendships built in the service and as always there's the esprit de corp of the Marine Corps (Semper Fi) even though it's not the US Marines that's a historical antecedent.
Fun story, even if a little formulatic.
krigjer's review against another edition
3.0
-
Cool idea with a super cool cover that is just... missing something.
Some typos present. Prose itself is pretty middling.
A lot of the characters just exist. I didn't feel any connection to any of them, though I can tell we're supposed to.
That said, the technological advancements, like the augmentations, were neat to read about. Combat was pretty fun.
This is a book that would have really benefited from an info dump chapter or two, I found myself really interested in previous wars in humanity's history.
Cool idea with a super cool cover that is just... missing something.
Some typos present. Prose itself is pretty middling.
A lot of the characters just exist. I didn't feel any connection to any of them, though I can tell we're supposed to.
That said, the technological advancements, like the augmentations, were neat to read about. Combat was pretty fun.
This is a book that would have really benefited from an info dump chapter or two, I found myself really interested in previous wars in humanity's history.
pjonsson's review against another edition
3.0
This was a decent space marine story. Actually it is quite good and I have to confess that I probably would have given it a higher rating if marine combat and ground pounding would have been a favourite subject for me but since I’m more of a naval combat guy my rating stays at three out of five stars.
The book starts of a bit weird. Our main protagonist has the choice between prison and conscription into the military… for a piece of shit traffic violation. Sounds like something a third world dictatorship (or Russia or China) would do but not a future democratic society.
However, from there it takes off rather nicely. The first part of the book covers the initiation into the military and of course boot camp. I like that it is not too rushed but that we get to follow Rev through his training, him getting his implanted AI, weapons training etc. etc…
Then off we go to the real war and we are introduced to the somewhat weird aliens that humanity is at war with. The actual fighting is not bad although the overall war setup and the strategy is a bit off in my mind. The author focuses so much on the ground pounding scenarios that obvious elements of any interstellar war is left out. For example, I find it quite implausible that you would try to invade an enemy held planet just by dumping marines on it and not provide support from the orbitals like precision kinetic strikes etc. etc…
Another thing that annoyed me was the political bullshit the author threw in like denying Rev his well earned medal for bravery because the actual battle was lost and the despicable politicians wants to sweep that under the rug. That kind of rubbish just pisses me off and was really unnecessary.
Still, overall it was a decent read. I quite like the main protagonist. I wonder if he will ever bump the “personality quotient” of this AI up to 100%.
The book starts of a bit weird. Our main protagonist has the choice between prison and conscription into the military… for a piece of shit traffic violation. Sounds like something a third world dictatorship (or Russia or China) would do but not a future democratic society.
However, from there it takes off rather nicely. The first part of the book covers the initiation into the military and of course boot camp. I like that it is not too rushed but that we get to follow Rev through his training, him getting his implanted AI, weapons training etc. etc…
Then off we go to the real war and we are introduced to the somewhat weird aliens that humanity is at war with. The actual fighting is not bad although the overall war setup and the strategy is a bit off in my mind. The author focuses so much on the ground pounding scenarios that obvious elements of any interstellar war is left out. For example, I find it quite implausible that you would try to invade an enemy held planet just by dumping marines on it and not provide support from the orbitals like precision kinetic strikes etc. etc…
Another thing that annoyed me was the political bullshit the author threw in like denying Rev his well earned medal for bravery because the actual battle was lost and the despicable politicians wants to sweep that under the rug. That kind of rubbish just pisses me off and was really unnecessary.
Still, overall it was a decent read. I quite like the main protagonist. I wonder if he will ever bump the “personality quotient” of this AI up to 100%.
kesnit's review
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
There is too much combat in this book. I feel weird saying that about a book about Marines in a war, but that is my impression of this book. The story is good. The main character is well developed (though most of the secondary characters blend together).
stillmeenu's review against another edition
Did I get this book purely because of the cover, guilty as charged also I usually never look at reviews, I jsut saw the star ratings and not the words, lets give it a try
wimerek's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
3.5
desheria's review against another edition
3.0
-
Cool idea with a super cool cover that is just... missing something.
Some typos present. Prose itself is pretty middling.
A lot of the characters just exist. I didn't feel any connection to any of them, though I can tell we're supposed to.
That said, the technological advancements, like the augmentations, were neat to read about. Combat was pretty fun.
This is a book that would have really benefited from an info dump chapter or two, I found myself really interested in previous wars in humanity's history.
Cool idea with a super cool cover that is just... missing something.
Some typos present. Prose itself is pretty middling.
A lot of the characters just exist. I didn't feel any connection to any of them, though I can tell we're supposed to.
That said, the technological advancements, like the augmentations, were neat to read about. Combat was pretty fun.
This is a book that would have really benefited from an info dump chapter or two, I found myself really interested in previous wars in humanity's history.