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During an action on the third planet from Arcturus, soldier Cal Truent woke up in the hospital with a sixteen-hour hole in his memory. No one knows what it is that Cal has forgotten, but his superiors can't take the chance that it might be something deadly to his fellow soldiers -- and to Earth. Somehow Cal means to seek out whatever it is that his mind is resisting ...
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another Way,
By
This review is from: Naked to the Stars (Mass Market Paperback)
Naked To the Stars (1961) is a standalone military SF novel. It is set is a future where Terrans are expanding through interstellar space, conquering world after world.
In this novel, Calvin Truant is a Section leader in the 91st Combat Engineers, 4th Assault Wing. Cal is currently commander of the Wing, with only 86 effectives. Walker Blye is Cal's earliest friend. Walk has psychological problems, depending on Cal for his moral directives. Anita Warroad is an Army Nurse. Annie met Cal during his visit to coordinate with his ambulance driver. Harmon is a General in the Terran Army. He is commander of the forces fighting the Lehaunan. Walt Scoby is a General in the Terran Army. He is commander of the Contact Service. In this story, Cal is a half orphan. His mother died while trying to intervene in the flogging of his father. Her unborn child died with her. Cal blames his father for his mother's death. He starts to deny all his father's beliefs. He enlists in the military despite his father's wishes. Yet his father allows him this choice. Cal and Walk serve together in the Combat Engineers for seven years. In the Lehaunan campaign, their unit is mauled by the enemy and all the officers are casualties. As the senior noncom among the survivors, Cal commands the unit for days without sleep. Then he leads an assault against an enemy town. Finally Cal is evacuated back to Terra with the wounded. Annie is his nurse throughout the voyage. Recovering from his wounds, he still has a missing block of memories. The medics offers to probe these memories for him, but he refuses. When Cal tries to sign up for the next expedition, he finds that his records include a psychiatric downcheck until he allows the probe. He cannot get a waiver from the medics, so he talks to the senior officer. Cal finds himself discussing the situation with General Harmon. The general also refuses to give him a waiver, but he suggests that Cal join the Contact Service. Two weeks later, Cal talks to General Scoby. Less than a week later, Cal is headed toward basic training as a Contact Services recruit. After finishing the physical torture of Basic for the second time, Cal heads for the Contact Services training. There he survives ten weeks of hazing. Then he is promoted back to Lieutenant. This tale takes Cal on the next campaign against an alien world. His commander is worried that he will revert to a combat veteran, but Cal resists the temptation. Then he meets an alien philosopher. This novel is a cautionary tale about militarism. The Terrans forces in this story are driven by a sense of manifest destiny. Yet the Terran population is considering an alternative to armed conquest. Cal becomes an agent of social change without even realizing his own importance. The author served in the US Army during World War II. He later became a major SF writer, with many significant books. His other military SF includes the Dorsai series. Highly recommended for Dickson fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of armed combat, military strategy, and courageous soldiers. Read and enjoy! -Arthur W. Jordin
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent military science fiction,
By Kim Boykin (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Naked to the Stars (Mass Market Paperback)
I'm surprised that mine is the first review of this book. This is engaging, thoughtful, and well written science fiction, exploring a soldier's struggle with the ethics of war. Highly recommended, even if you don't usually read military science fiction.
(Some other military SF that I really enjoyed: R. M. Meluch's The Myriad, Jack Campbell's Dauntless, Mark L. Van Name's One Jump Ahead, and John Scalzi's Old Man's War.)
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