Customer Reviews

Legion of the Damned

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I'm quite pleased that I finally got around to sampling the wares of William C. Dietz, a writer with an impressive number of science fiction novels under his belt already. Legion of the Damned is a well-paced, absorbing novel of futuristic military science fiction based on a premise I find fascinating. A couple of centuries into the future, murderers and their ilk are still being executed, but they are given a second chance - of sorts - to evade the permanent clutches of the Grim Reaper. Those who choose the option of resuscitation are, if approved, reborn in the form of cyborgs - basically, these are gigantic robots of death consisting of a human head inside an artificial and quite deadly body. (For the record, other humans, such as the terminally ill, also have the chance to opt in to the cyborg program.) The cyborgs serve under the command of the Legionnaires, a military force founded on the twentieth-century French Foreign Legion. While they serve in the military of imperial Earth, the Legion is their country (just as their motto says). By the time of the events described herein, the Legion has finally been granted a home of their own, exercising a form of self-autonomy on Algeron, near the outer rim of the Empire's control. Of course, there are many human Legionnaires, but the cyborgs pack most of the punch. Training is so rigorous that many fall along the way, and some even hope for a second death in order to finally fall into oblivion.

There is great trouble in the Empire. The Hudathans, a militaristic alien race, have begun decimating imperial planets on the outer rim and are obviously working their way toward Earth itself. The Admiral of the Imperial Navy is an opportunistic and power-hungry individual who supports a retreat of the Imperial Navy, ostensibly to prepare an overwhelming attack against the Hudathans when they move farther into the empire's region of space; in actuality, her desires are fuelled largely by a determination to make a hero out of herself and to finally rob the Legion of its might and power. Many on the home world (especially those with an economic interest in the planets that stand to be abandoned) argue that Earth's forces should engage the enemy now, while they are still in the outer rim. To the misfortune of everyone concerned, the Emperor is basically insane - as mad as Nero and possibly even more decadent. At least Nero didn't have seven advisors hard-coded into this brain as a child and left to fight amongst themselves inside his mind.

Obviously, a major space battle between Earth's Imperial Navy and the Hudathan fleet is to be expected as this novel wends its way to a conclusion. However, a war between the Imperial Navy and the Legionnaires on Algeron, a localized imperial civil war, looms even closer on the horizon, for the Legion is quite unwilling to give up its home base and allow its forces to be dispersed. Basically, a lot of action is to be found in these pages, and Dietz excels at describing the militaristic aspects of his plot. There are a number of sub-stories incorporated into this fictional fabric involving the formation of a cabal to oppose the Emperor on Earth, an inter-species love story (that never completely clicks, in my opinion), legalistic power-plays among the alien Hudathans themselves in preparation for cosmic war, and a coming together of two cyborgs who "met" in a most unusual fashion in their prior human lives. The ultimate conclusion seems to come a little too quickly and easily, but all in all this is a thoroughly enjoyable novel that all fans of military science fiction should quite enjoy reading.

If your looking for Courage, mixed with outstanding science technology and the every day struggle to do what's right. Then this book is for you. I've always loved armor eliments in a story and now with the addition of brain boxes you have mobile support that thinks. Mixed with your firpower is the grunt. The humanoid soldier that has no home but the Legion. I discoved Mr. Dietz while on vacation. I had come across the books in a random brook buying spree that resulted in a real find. For anyone that has read David Drake and followed the Slammers from campaign to campaign you can appreciate the way that the Legioniars come to life. Be it a knife fight in the desert or a full out assult against suppior odds you can really sink feel the emotion and Loyality that these troops have for their home.

You will be introduced to a race that has only one rule submit or Die. A race that has for thousands of years have had to struggle not only with other races but with nature to survive and thrive. A race that doesn't understand negotiations. Only the total control of another race will make them less likely to wipe you out.

This is an excellent adventure for anyone that knows the words Via La Legion!

I recently finished the newly released, ninth and final installment. If you are reading this review, I assume that you are looking to enjoy a grand space opera and a place to jump in. Good space opera is hard to find. Looking around and deciding where you might want to invest a lot of reading time in a multi-installment series is about the only way to find it. Great stuff is rare. In the genre of military space opera, Dietz has earned my highest regard with this "Legion of the Damned" series.

The series story is well bound in multiple threads of persons, families, friends and foes. Dietz writing style is front-line gritty, unexpected and action filled. Dietz strength is character development, narrative and the unexpected. There was more than a few became all-nighter reads for me. Dietz develops a compelling story and latches hard to your mind's eye. Then, he neatly wraps up each installment and after nine books, he wraps up the story. There is a lot to be said about `finishing'.

If there is a weakness in the series one might find the lack of high frontier scientific theory made manifest a missing opportunity. Some reviewers discuss this and you can choose as you will. There are no new forces of nature, quantum existences or multi-universes here. Dietz simply extrapolates human proclivities and technology to make a great story in an interesting galaxy. His authorial license leaps forward in scientific imagination and is contrasted with the reliability of essentials.

I don't think you go wrong giving Dietz a try. 5-Star start ... 5 Star end.

I found this a very well written book. Rating up with the best military sci-fi authors, such as Drake, if not better!! Not just a blood and guts type book, Deitz looks at many different aspects of futuristic war, from both a human AND an alien perspective. Everything from heroic sacrifices to a commanders ultimate defeat/victory, to politics in the future!! All in all, a very well done book, and one of the best military sci-fi books I have read.

Legion of the Damned (1993) is the first SF novel in this series. It is set on Algeron, Earth and other planets. It tells about the Imperial Legion, the thousands of years old descendant of the ancient French Foreign Legion. Legion Headquarters is on the planet Algeron, which was ceded to the Legion by the Emperor.

In this novel, Natalie Norwood is a Colonel in the Imperial Army. She is serving on Worber's World within the Rim Worlds.

Alex Baldwin is a former Colonel in the Imperial armed forces. He had been courtmartialed and convicted of cowardice after his troops were massacred. Now he is a traitor helping the alien Hudutha.

Ian St. James is a General in the Imperial Legion. He commands Fort Camerone, the Legion Headquarters.

Marianne Mosby is a Lieutenant General in the Imperial Legion. She has recently been transferred to Earth to command the Legion forces there.

Sergi Chien-Chu is a very wealthy merchant with extensive holding throughout the Confederation. He is married to Nola and they have a son Leonid, who is married to Natasha.

Paula Scolari is Chief of Naval Operations. She commands the Imperial Navy and Marines.

Bill Booly is a Sergeant Major in the Imperial Legion. He is familiar with the Naa natives of the planet.

Gunner is a Quad, a cyborg being weighing tons. He does have a spider form carrying his brain box, but most of the time he is a quadruped armored vehicle. He has a death wish and has bulleyes painted on his sides.

Villian is a Trooper II, a twelve foot tall cyborg, She is armed with laser and gatling gun in her arms and small multipurpose missiles on her shoulders. She is a newbie, just out of training.

Windsweet is a Naa female. She lives with her father and brother in foothills in the vicinity of Fort Cameron.

In this story, Norwood was the senior surviving officer on Worber's World. The Hudutha have bombed every major city and is working over the planet in overlapping strips. She goes to the Hudutha and asks for terms of surrender.

Unfortunately, the Hudutha do not take prisoners without good reasons. They are very paranoid and assume that their enemy will retaliate against them if they escape death. They do imprison her, but continue butchering the population of the planet.

Norwood meets Baldwin of the Hudutha command ship. He does not make a good impression on her. He is disappointed that her superiors are now dead, for Alex had imagined them surrendering to him. Norwood discovers that he was partially responsible for the invasion.

As the Hudutha fleet continues on toward the Imperial capital, Norwood learns more about Baldwin. Obviously he is deranged, but she gradually learns his reasons. An alien lifeform with mental powers gives her a look at his dreams and she now pities as well as hates him.

Meanwhile, St. James is leading the Camerone Day celebrations. He reads the history of the Camerone incident and then dismisses the troops for the festivities. He wishes Marianne were here to celebrate with him.

Booly gets up the next day with a hangover. His roommate has missed the toilet again and vomit is splattered all around the toilet. Booly figures that Sergeant Major Chin will find some unlucky private to clean up the mess.

Booly is leading a patrol this morning. After breakfast, he finds the patrol in staging area 4 and inspects the troopers. One of the bio bods is missing an emergency locator beacon that should have been on his belt.

The Trooper IIs had most of their equipment -- other than the obvious launchers -- hidden within their armor. Small access hatches opened to show status lights. They all looked fully functional.

Gunner had everything tucked away in his twelve foot high body. Any inspection of the cyborg is pointless without specialized equipment. His readiness is known only by himself and the techs.

Booly rides Villian as the patrol leaves the fort. Naa spies watch them pass by in the village and out in the desert. The Naa have a surprise waiting for them.

The Legion troopers soon find a dead Naa surrounded by the signs of a fight. The Naa have carefully prepared the scene to lure the soldiers into an ambush. As the patrol enters the ambush zone, the Naa damage the front and rear Trooper IIs.

Booly is wounded and knocked unconscious. His troopers think he is dead and leave his body behind when they pull back with the brain boxes from the damaged cyborgs. The Naa have lost heavily in the fight and are preoccupied with their own wounded, yet their medic notices that Booly is not quite dead.

Booly wakes in the Naa village. Windsweet is the first thing he sees and she smells delightful. She signals him to pretend that he is still asleep. After her father -- the village chief -- leaves, she allows him to seemingly recover.

Booly becomes infatuated with Windswept and she reciprocates the feelings. Neither want to fall in love, but they seem to have done so against their wills. After Booly defeats a rival in armed combat, her father and brother begin to accept the situation.

Meanwhile, Marianne meets Scolari and Chien-Chu at a party thrown by the Emperor. They are summoned from the party to advise the Emperor on the situation at Worber's World. The Emperor gets conflicting advice from Marianne and Scolari.

The Emperor arranges for Marianne to remain behind after the meeting. They spend time in bed. For the next two weeks, Marianne tries to convince the Emperor to counterattack while they make love.

This tale has Scolari persuading the Emperor to withdraw and cede the Rim Worlds to the Hudutha. Marianne plans a mutiny. Booly returns to Fort Camerone, but then goes back to Windsweet.

The Hudutha seem to be unstoppable. The next installment of this series is The Final Battle.

Recommended for Dietz fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of armed conflict, alien cultures, and a touch of romance. Read and enjoy!

-Arthur W. Jordin

I have to be honest here, I'm not a huge fan of science fiction. I'm more of a fantasy lover. Yes, there is a difference in my opinion between the two subjects. This book was therefore grudgingly accepted from my boyfriend when he was looking for something for me to read instead of spending more of my tight budget. At first it took some time for me to figure out what was going on because, as I mentioned, this isn't my typical genre of choice; however, by the third chapter I was hooked.
I thought that Mr. Dietz did a good job of balancing the reliable plot that the reader expects with the plot twists that truly shocked me at times. I found myself rooting for some characters and wishing I could attack a few others--isn't that part of what makes a writer a good writer?
I also appreciated that the future Mr. Dietz created was easy to envision--detailed enough to understand, but not so detailed that you get bogged down in it. There's also the fact that in my opinion it was realistic enough to be believed and far-fetched enough to lay any personal concerns to rest. Is it possible that this would be similar to the true future? Yes, anything is possible. Is it probable? Not in my opinion, but it is a wonderful fiction.
To say the least, when I found that I was approximately thirty pages from the end of this book I looked through my boyfriend's books, found the next volume and squirreled it away to begin reading the moment I finished the first.

This here's a classic in the making. If you're looking for an exciting space opera/military scifi adventure with a great cast and superb pacing you can't do much better than this book. Highly recommended.

I've read all Dietz's books from "legion" to "for more than glory" and i must say that each novel has been a non-stop page turner. The writing style isn't bogged down with too much techical explanations, just enough to give the reader a basic idea of how things works. Fast paced action scenarios are easy flowing and don't give a forced or rushed feeling. Dietz is able to encompass both sides of action so the reader can easily understand what's going on without losing the intesity of the situation. i've highly recommended reading his books to everyone i know and do so to whomever i meet.

This novel by William C. Dietz introduces the interesting concept of life after death in the form of a cyborg solider. This book is not only wicked cool, but should be considered a literary masterpiece. Dietz makes his words flow with undeniable flair. His story plot is original.
Dietz's characters are real and easy to relate with. They have depth and experience the joys and follies of real people. His insights into the minds of his aliens are fascinating. They truly do think in an alien way.
His aliens always manage to stay in their race's persona. That is something that a lot of authors manage to slip up on. Despite my inklings towards evil, I can't help rooting for the good guys. Usually it's hard not to root for the bad guy, but Dietz somehow manages to put me in the situation of liking both.
Dietz's action sequences are second to none. When the action is going full tilt it's mad sweet. He also isn't afraid to kill off his characters,which is both refreshing and frustrating at the same time. It makes things more realistic, giving the baddies a fair chance at killing the good dudes.
Ok to sum it all up. Dietz is a sick writer definitely worth your time reading. I can't pump it anymore than that so I'll stop writing. I will leave you with this though. For Sci-Fi, Dietz is as realistic as you can get.
One more thing, I have to agree that this book should have been more about the cyborg themselves rather then being sidelined. That would be my only beef about the story. Hopefully Dietz will read this and because of these reviews decide to write a novel just about the borgs.

Given to me by a friend this book is GREAT. You have the greedy humans on one side and the paranoid Hudathens on the other. It even has traitors and POWs. Great example of how Sci-Fi should be written.