Most Helpful Customer Reviews
60 of 62 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A fun ride for Military Sci-Fi fans..., December 26, 2009
This review is from: Dominant Species (Kindle Edition)
As a self-professed "journeyman" of military sci-fi (in other words, I'm no expert, but I've really enjoyed books like ARMOR by Steakly, OLD MAN'S WAR by Scalzi, THE FOREVER WAR by Haldeman, and to some lesser degree STARSHIP TROOPERS, FIRST STRIKE, and a few of the David Drake novels) I think I could recommend this book. I absolutely LOVED the cool technology described by Marks. Marks gets an A+ for his cool technology ideas. He made me want a suit of this armor the way I've always wanted a lightsaber. The "centerpiece" of the novel is really the armor worn by these Marines. Marks does an excellent job of detailing the capabilities of the weapons without making it a drudgery to read. The characters were a bit too cliche'for my taste: the war-frazzled, alpha-male leader, the menacing side-kick appropriately named Monster, the tough-as-nails sniper chick, we've seen many of these characters before. However, Marks writes them well. A few of the plot points were a bit too convenient for me, but that's making it sound like I didn't enjoy the book. Actually, I did. If you enjoy your sci-fi in equal parts of cool tech and ass-kickery, get this book. You'll like it.
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36 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An exceptional read and perhaps the future of Sci-Fi?, December 8, 2009
This review is from: Dominant Species (Kindle Edition)
Michael Marks has given us a remarkably well crafted novel. While the genre is military sci-fi, famed more for action than well developed personalities, the characters display a great deal of depth that really brings them to life. His action sequences put you front and centre, so much so that you are tempted to duck when the bullets start flying. Many argue that sci fi as a printed genre is dying, this book points to a metamorphosis of the genre, a revitalisation that seems to have skipped the cumbersome publishing houses and gone straight to the reader via ebook. In a world where science fiction is fast becoming science fact Mr. Marks has embraced that reality and woven those very soon-to-be technologies into the core of his narrative in a way that recalls the sense of wonder felt at the possibilities explored in early science fiction.
My only criticism is that the formatting has produced some annoying errors in the text that need to be cleared up. For example the frequent replacement of a ' with a ô occurs throughout.
In summary, a great read that gives me hope for the future of the genre.
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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
good read, February 13, 2010
This review is from: Dominant Species (Kindle Edition)
The only problem I have with this book is that there is too much action. If you like a lot of fighting and action, this is defiantly the book for you. The characters were wonderfully written. I love how I felt like I was really there or watching a movie. The writer was perfectly descriptive without boring you with all the details. I live on a marine base and the camaraderie that the marines share, in this book, feel real. The ending I had already figured out-(but I have yet to read something where I can't tell you about the ending with in the first couple of chapters). His book has a lot of what I love in sci-fi: you have a believable future, technology that doesn't feel to far fetched and that is man made and there for breaks down or has to be recharged, and a group of characters that you want to see succeed. You even have that space shipy kind of feel. I know, space shipy is not really eloquent, but it's something that I find missing from some sci-fi that I feel is essential for you to feel there. You can almost hear the hum of the equipment... The story is very cool. I am a girl and would have like to see a little less action and fighting, but not a lot less. Other than the "fighting" I loved it! I really loved the lisp the (without giving to much info) guy in orange got. I hope the author reads this review because I would like to buy more of his writings just from reading this book, so to the artist: Keep up the good work! To e-book readers: Feel free to buy this book.
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