Customer Reviews

Helfort's War Book 3: The Battle of Devastation Reef

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Fun read but not great literature. (potential spoiler) Get ready for another cliff hanger ending and be aware that their will be a Helfort's War Book 4.

The story picks up with the launch of the new Dreadnought strategy and we get into the internal politics of the Navy and society. You will see a thinly veiled story based on today's headlines with a futuristic spin. Young idealist frustrated by the "system"and by his personal heroism, grit and determination he attempts to overcome both the Hammers and the system.

Lots of bang bang action, multiple threads and a lot of heroism and team camaraderie.

View this as an old fashioned Space Opera with lots of villains, good guys, and beautiful women. Lots of fun but not great literature

Why four stars? It is a fun read to give you a break from a hectic day. I really like series and the books are easy to read and fun.

A reviewer for the first book opined that the space battles were lame. I gave the series the benefit of the doubt at the time, but now I've concluded that I have to agree. The space battles in this series are just not exciting. They do not involve any large scale ship maneuvers, defensive or offensive formations, dog fighting, running fights, or even dodging incoming shots. The only tactics seem to be: sneak in, be the first to shoot and hope your shields can absorb the response when it arrives in 10 minutes.

In addition, Paul continues to have his characters do, in my opinion, totally stupid things as if that was their only option. Case in point (SPOILERS!), Lt. Helfort has disabled the Hammer's asteroid's defensive positions with missles and followed up with rail gun strafing. A couple of severely damaged Hammer Battle Stations are still taking pot shots at his approaching fleet of Dreadnoughts with their few remaining guns. It is clearly stated that because of his Dreadnought's armor, these were futile attempts to stop him. Yet, he orders a couple of his Dreadnoughts, which incidentally are the only remaining combat effective Fleet World ships left and are still pretty much undamaged, to kamikaze the battle stations! Why?! Why couldn't he have rail gunned the Battle Stations some more? Why did he throw away good ships especially when he was expecting additional Hammer reinforcements due to the importance of this asteroid base?

I was really tempted to give this novel 2 stars just for this idiocy. However, the rest of the story was ok. The writing is pretty good. The dialog still needs improvement though. The banter sounds fake or forced. The stories have not endeared me to the characters, but are interesting enough for me to follow to see what happens next.

I am relatively new to the Helfort's War series, and am proud to have finished the whole series to date within a week. I just read a few of the other reviews, and feel obliged to share my opinion. It seems to me, at least, that Mr. Paul has most certainly gotten down the process of creating a suspensfull behind-the-lines story, and it's not repetetive at all from book to book. Unfortunantly, I can see with equal clarity the need for more exciting ship-to-ship battles, perhaps adding new additions such as a fighter/bomber and plasma anti-ship cannons. Personally, I like his idea of a "trashpress," that and his view of corrupting political decisions interfering with military planning and needlessly wasting human personell. If you're wondering why I gave this five stars, it's because the rest of the book balances out the space conflicts. Work on #4, Mr. Paul. We'll wait for it, and it'll be the best yet.
Signing out,
~Theo C~

A very good read, it draws you back into the story started in the first two books, ends in an obvious sequel for book four!

Once again we see Michael Helfort confronted by enemies on all sides.The space battles were well choreographed and we start to see a little more character development though the Hammers need to be fleshed out more. At times the story seemed rushed especially with regards to the Hammers. Still an entertaining read and a solid outing in the Helfort saga.

I really enjoy Mr. Paul's writing. It pulls me in and hold me there. It is gritty, 'realistic' view of space navy conflicts. Beyond just the naval operations he pulls in the politics of the 'nations' and Navies and, in this book, even the media. His background in naval operations with the U.K. and Australia shows in the details. I soak it up and revel in it.

The downside ... I actually have to pause when Mr. Paul uses some of the plot devices he does. In particular the fact that it seems people he knows keep getting captured. Mr. Paul paints a picture that naval warfare involves fusion plants that go critical, and, when people are lost, that the navy makes it a priority to acquire prisoners ... yet it keeps happening to Helfort and his familiy and friends. If he just had another plot device consistent with the universe he paints I would so go along on the ride with him.

That said. I love the books. The writing is so strong that I am willing to let go some weak story elements and just enjoy the ride.

Unfortunately, I had bought the whole series before I started reading; had I read even one, I might have saved myself the money. The series is written in the same style and complexity as the Tom Swift novels of last century; the plots are simplistic and rely heavily on nearly magical escapes and rescues. Not worth the money or the time to read unless you are a real masochist.
Steampunk is more fun - and plausible.

I have been reading all of the books in this series on my Kindle app, and I was having a good time until the end of this book. The author has avoided any overt sexual content, leaving it to our imaginations to wonder how Michael and Anna spend their time together, but now he drops in serial rape!! At the risk of getting censored here: what the frak?? We have been pounded since the first part of Book One with observations that the Hammers are the lowest of the low, the scuzziest of the scuzzy, but just in case we weren't clear; serial rape? What else you got, infants eaten alive? I fully expect that he will talk himself off this ledge when I get to book four, but junior, if you read these things, that was totally uncalled for. Serial rape is not a plot device.

OK, it is not rocket science, but I really do enjoy these books. I have developed a real liking for the characters and the space war action is just what I am looking for. While I am 65 years old, going on 18, I make no secret that this genre of book is my brain candy. If you like space war action - especially as part of a series, this book will be one for your "must read" list.

The Helfort series is a little different to what I expected. Although he's the person the book is titled after, many of the major decisions are made by those around him. In contrast to many books, some of his immediate superiors are not total morons. In fact, they are intelligent and good role models.It's pretty obvious he's still around simply due to blind luck, like when he survived 387's near demise. (387 is the designation of the first ship he was ever assigned to after he graduated from military college. He is humble and just wants to gt on with his career.

This time around, his situation is a bit more stereotypical, with lots of politics and incompetent superiors. However, even with this, it's become obvious to me that Helfort is simply a normal guy in the armed forces who deals with stuff as it comes along. The series is about how the man that you are is not what station you were born in, but how you react and deal with circumstances and adversity as it hits you. And boy, does he face a lot of adversity.

I'm looking forward to seeing how he deals with the newest problem thus far. My personal preference is that he takes his friend's and blows the s*** out of the the Hammer government and DocSec. He can do it twice if he feels like it , I won't mind :)