Lost Regiment 8: The Men of War [Paperback]

William R. Forstchen (Author)

Book Description

Series: Lost Regiment | Publication Date: December 1, 1999

This final novel in The Lost Regiment series finds Colonel Andrew Keane and the soldiers of his 35th Maine preparing to wage war against the alien hordes for the last time...

Series #8

Praise for The Lost Regiment series:

"First rate storytelling."-- Ray E. Feist, New York Times bestselling author

"A parallel world of majestic sweep and gripping inten-sity." -- L. Sprague de Camp

"The Lost Regiment series moves like a bullet."-- Locus

"Science fiction lovers will cheer."-- Boy's Life

"A Civil War Series with a Twist."--Washington Post

"One of the most intriguing writers today in the field of historical and military science fiction."--Harry Turtledove

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Roc (December 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451457706
• ISBN-13: 978-0451457707
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #398,153 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

WILLIAM R. FORSTCHEN has a Ph.D. from Purdue University with specializations in Military History and the History of Technology. He is a Faculty Fellow and Professor of History at Montreat College. He is the author of over forty books, including the New York Times bestselling series Gettysburg and Pearl Harbor (coauthored with Newt Gingrich), as well as the award-winning young adult novel We Look Like Men of War. He has also authored numerous short stories and articles about military history and military technology. His interests include archaeological research on sites in Mongolia, and as a pilot he owns and flies an original World War II "recon bird." Dr. Forstchen resides near Asheville, North Carolina with his teenage daughter Meghan and their small pack of golden retreivers and yellow labs.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exhilarating ending for THE military science fiction series!, December 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Lost Regiment 8: The Men of War (Paperback)

Forstchen has truly created something that far surpasses anything that has come before and probably set the golden standard for the genre. Drake, Pournelle, Stirling, Niven, Saberhagen, and Forstchen's other books do not come close to this series. Rickety aerosteamers and land and sea ironclads, as primitive as they are, somehow have a superior eloquence in conveying the drama of war over the sophisticated spaceships, supersonic planes, or lasers which have up to this decade been the staple of other military science fiction. This concluding chapter itself is a true microcosm of what fans and admirers have come to expect from the series. While this means incredible battles, tense political interplay, fierce confrontations of personality and fate, surprising twists, and some heavy references to the importance of logistics, technology, and strategy, the book also carries with it some of the faults of the series; namely, the inconsistency with the characters' names begs for some coherent editorialism. True to form, Fortschen changes the Rus orthodox priest's name from Casmar to Casmir! At the end of the book one of the character's name is reshuffled in a pretty blatant mistake though it only happens once. I won't risk giving anything away, but readers will see it when they get there. However, as the series has always done, the tremendous story more than makes up for these annoyances. The conclusion to all the important threads is not COMPLETELY detailed, but the book does present a definitive conclusion to the Bantag War and the answer to humanity's future existence or extinction. By the end of the book readers will know which side won the war, what species will dominate the planet, and what the very GENERAL implications for the future of the Republic will be, so longtime readers need not despair on that account. I would have preferred a highly detailed account of the next 100 to 1000 years like one reviewer requested, but as it is, the last chapter which wraps things up is satisfying enough. Beyond that, Forstchen seems to have indicated that he is through with the Lost Regiment, and I commend him for letting this terrific series run its course and ending it with the dignity and the treatment it deserves. The new use for the aerosteamers in battle is some of the most exciting stuff I've read since the rocket barrage at Hispania or Timokin's charge at Rocky Hill! We've all wanted to see the humans on the offensive and wondering how much longer the Republic could hold out under the strain of constant war and here are the answers. This is the worthy conclusion I was looking for.

Oh, and the maps were very helpful.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book! Fantastic series!, January 8, 2000

By 

Donald P. Rose "Don Rose" (Macomb, MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lost Regiment 8: The Men of War (Paperback)

What more can I say? The previous reviews pretty much sum up my feelings. This is the best series I have ever read. Great plot. Great characters. Great ending to the series. Some authors drag out a series until you lose interest. Forstchen keeps it tight and entertaining from beginning to end through all 8 books. Every book gets my highest recommendation. Go and get Rally Cry (book 1). You won't be able to stop until you complete Men of War (book 8).

To Bill Forstchen: How about starting a new series that picks up a few years from the end of Men of War. An expedition to the Portals in the northern lands has great possibility. So does exploration of the southern lands beyond the Great Sea. I can just picture advanced airship designs that roam the planet!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Men of War - Great conclusion to a terrific series, December 30, 1999

By 

M. Jac Whatley (Black Mountain, NC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lost Regiment 8: The Men of War (Paperback)

This book is a great conclusion to a terrific series. I have enjoyed each of the novels in the Lost Regiment series, and they have been excellent in both conception and execution. Forstchen has masterfully handled key concepts like the importance of technology and economics in warfare while keeping the relationships and emotions of the men of war in the forefront of his stories.

While I am sorry to see the series end, it's good to know the author would rather leave the series at a logical conclusion than try to continue it for the money.

I would recommend The Gamestar Wars by the same author for those who liked this series.