Customer Reviews

Europa Strike: Book Three of the Heritage Trilogy

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The three Heritage books are really just one long novel. It wouldn't make much sense to read any of them individually since none is a complete story. Anyhow, this was kinda two stories in one. A fairly interesting scifi tale about aliens visiting our solar system. And then (as a bonus) the other story is about a war with the UN and then later, China. Together they make for a pretty good story. I especially liked how Douglas explained the science behind the weapons and technology and described the underlying discovery in the 20th century. On the downside, I coulda used a little less marine comradery and a little more about the aliens.

Mr Douglas is very adept at grasping the essence of both the common soldier and officers' feeling and conduct in a combat situation, his glimpses into the mind of the enemy are also valuable. The technology utilised in space and on Europa seems to be a not too distant derivative of that available to our forces today, and his historical paralells are well drawn, and quite possibly the inspiration for the book as a whole. I was dismayed that the real malevolent foe was not revealed until the end of the novel, but there are obviuosly future campaigns ahead for the Space Marines. Any disappointment at the lack of a neat final ending to the book must be tempered by an anticipation of the series continuing.

"Not a bad little trilogy, and it moves right along," is the basic comment. There is some quite interesting Marine Corps history embedded and the combat sequences are quite enjoyable. Not a book to keep you on the edge of your seat or up all night, but it is mind candy for the commuter.

The specifics of what I do and don't like about this book follow.

I enjoyed the science speculations. The discussion of propulsion systems and the understanding of orbital dynamics was quite good. Or at least didn't send me hunting for my "for dummies" textbooks with a desperate sense of something wrong, here. The combat sequences are good, especially the sense of surreality when fighting in vacuum, where you don't hear anything that doesn't come over your com. The history lessons were welcome, and not overdone.

On the other hand, the politicians once again take a pasting, while the military acts as it never has and with any sort of luck never will in a democracy.

This is a weakness of a great deal of military SF, by the way. The authors all seem to luxuriate in the fantasy of a political establishment that either is on the military's side, or too far away to effect the outcome of an action, or (best of all) can be worked around without ever really abrogating the notion of civilian control.

Ian Douglas managed to portray a civilian here and there who wasn't completely incompetent. In this trilogy, we get to see a couple civilians who don't end up soldier types, with guns in their hot little hands, portrayed as both competent and good guys.

The archeologist characters were interesting. I liked their rationality in the face of discoveries that would tempt anyone into blind credulity.

I had a certain amount of trouble with the premise of the good old Ancient Astronauts thing. That isn't Douglas' fault, by the way, it's a fun premise, and provides a good reason for humanity to finally get off the planet. (If you want the best reason of all, try reading Killing Star - which is hair-raising.) I'm just tired of it, that's all. At least Douglas resisted the temptation to stage an intervention.

The politics are interesting in so far as Douglas seems convinced that the lunatic fringe is as big and dumb as I fear it is in my gloomier moments. In some way, the fact that most people who want to turn off their brains are currently either quiet or fragmented into so many tiny little sects that they make no difference has removed them from view. Douglas, who evidently reads a lot of the same stuff I do, has noticed that they're there, they don't pay a whole lot of attention to the real work being done in history and archeology, and yep, they are dangerous.

Now, there's an interesting phenomenon I noted in all three of these books. In the first four chapters there are lots of problems with grammar, and pretty obvious ones at that. After that, they settle down. In Europa Strike, the problem is worse than that - Douglas doesn't remember who's who. He added a character who is the child of another main character, and unfortunately forgot to proof carefully enough in the first four chapters, so we have the old main character referred to by his son's name. The confusion is straightened out in the fifth chapter between one paragraph and the next.

Oh, dear.

This did not make me happy. I thought it was a lazy, sloppy sort of mistake. Most of the errors - including the grammar - were like that - I didn't feel that Douglas doesn't know the difference, just didn't pay enough attention to catch them.

Overall, not bad, and I wouldn't discourage you from buying these.

"Europa Strike" is an excellent finale for the Heritage Trilogy and lead-in for Douglas's Legacy Trilogy. Some of the alien mythos developed in the first two books come together, but yet again, more questions are brought up than answered.

Once again, the combat is fantastic. The story provides interesting parallels to both the Battle of Wake Island and the Korean War (Chosin Reservoir in particular).

Despite taking place 25 years after "Luna Marine," Douglas once again manages to use characters from the previous two books while introducing new ones. Unfortunately, this is the last time you'll see any of them, as the next book takes place another 71 years into the future.

If you enjoyed the previous two books, this one probably won't disappoint unless you're looking for all your questions to be tied up perfectly.

Ian Douglas (AKA William Keith, Jr.) has managed to capture the feel of what it is to be a Marine in this trilogy. Combined with his talent for writing fairly realistic science into his work, he has easily created the best military sci-fi since Jerry Pournelle's Falkenberg Legion series or David Drake's Hammer's Slammers. I eagerly awaited this book and wasn't disappointed at all. As for comments about the conclusion not wrapping everything up, why? Mr. Keith's website indicates that a second trilogy is on its way, that will take the Marines to the stars. Why wrap everything up when we have the chance to enjoy a long-running series with an epic sweep?

For an example of just how enjoyable Mr. Keith's (Douglas') series can be, I recommend you read the Warstrider series.

Europa Strike (2000) is the third military SF novel in the Heritage Trilogy, following Luna Marine. The initial work in this sequence is Semper Mars.

In the previous volume, Kaitlin's LAV was hit by a positron beam, but she got out of the vehicle. Other Marines took out the positron weapon turret. Jack climbed aboard the UN ship. Then Sam guessed a password.

In this novel, Kaitlin Garroway is a Colonel in the US Marine Corps. She is also the daughter of Mark -- Sands of Mars -- Garroway. Now she is commander of the First Marine Space Regiment, consisting of the First Marine Space Expeditionary Force and the Second MSEF.

John Charles Ramsey is a Major in the US Marine Corps and is the nephew of David Alexander. Jack is a specialist in artificial intelligence. As a boy, he modified a commercial web agent and named it Sam.

Jeff Warhurst is a Major in the US Marine Corps. He is XO of the First Marine Space Expeditionary Force. 1-MSEF is currently enroute to Europa.

Frank Kaminski is a Sergeant Major in the US Marine Corps. He is the senior noncom in 1-MSEF. He had served with Mark Garroway on Mars.

Zhao Hsiang directs the People's Bureau of Astronomical Sciences. He is fascinated by the Singer on Europa.

In this story, twenty-five years later, the People's Republic of China is now reunited. The people in the streets are celebrating. Zhao is more concerned with an alien artifact within the Europan ocean.

Zhao is listening to recordings of the Song on Europa. The huge artifact at the bottom of the ocean sings. Zhao hears subtle changes in the songs in response to probe pings and believes that the Singer is still active.

The Chinese launch three ships into solar orbit. Two -- Xing Shan and Xing Feng -- are anti-matter powered cruisers. The third ship -- the Tiantan Shandian -- is a research vessel.

Tiantan launches eight ton kinetic rounds at the nearest Peacekeeper ship and at the USS Franklin Roosevelt in orbit around Europa. Both ships are shattered. Then the Xing Shan heads toward Europa.

1-MSEF is unloading to the surface of Europa just before the Roosevelt is hit. The radiation level is high and everyone to ordered to get under cover as soon as possible. As the Marines are entering the base, two flashes in the sky mark the demise of their ship and half the unit.

Warhurst is now the senior Marine officer in the Jupiter system. The Chinese are surely on the way to Europa. He has his troops prepare for an assault on the base.

Kaitlin is attending a function at the Palace of Illusion. She is cornered by a group of astronuts. She shows one thug why nobody grabs a Marine. Then Jack shows up and escorts her elsewhere.

Later, she learns about the attack on her son's ship. Then lost of signal is reported on the Roosevelt. Kaitlin heads back to Vanderberg to prepare the rest of the First MSR for transport to Europa.

Meanwhile, Sam Too arrives at Alpha Centauri A II. Chiron is covered with ruins. Sam Too sends a lander down to the surface and directs it into a step pyramid. Inside, she says hello to Ramsey back in the Cave of Wonders on Mars and he immediately responds.

This tale has 1-MSEF fighting for their lives. Yet they are also investigating the Singer. Both the Americans and the Chinese want to study the technology on this ancient craft.

The conversation between Sam Too and Jack proves that the viewscreens in the Cave Wonders are transmitting and receiving faster than light. Scientists soon start investigating ways to duplicate this technology.

Kaitlin and 1-MSEF are enroute to Europa. The next installment in this sequence is Star Corps.

Highly recommended for Douglas fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of armed combat, outsystem satellites, and alien spacecraft. Read and enjoy!

-Arthur W. Jordin

This is an excellent "Near Future" trilogy. The author does a nice job of wrapping up the series while setting us up for another series at the same time. This trilogy was well worth the read, and I plan to read it again. If you are a fan of military science fiction, Mr Douglas will not disappoint you.

Europa Strike is the final of three books in the Heritage Series, a well written trilogy that combines some excellent military fiction with an engrossing science fiction plot that borrows heavily from the speculative archeology in Graham Hancock's "Fingerprints of the Gods". The characters are interesting and multi dimension, the plot is imaginative and the dialog is gritty and realistic. Once you get started, these books are hard to put down.

The third book takes place 27 years after the first, in 2067, when scientists have discovered an alien artifact trapped under the ice locked oceans of the Jovian moon Europa. In a desperate bid for power, the Chinese rush an invasion team to make first contact with the machine. All that is standing between them and the knowledge that could make China supreme on Earth is an outnumbered band of US Marines.

Not stellar, but a good read. Your good basic Star Marine Battle story. Worth a read if you have nothing elso on your plate.

For pure escapism within the military Sci-fi genre the three trilogies by Ian Douglass are at the top of a very short list. Why I say short is because other authors fail to bring real physics (as we know them today) and weave them into the story line. Excellent work may he write many more!

Lance