Customer Reviews

The Regiment

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

 

 

It starts as a military story but what it is, is a story about a new philosophy combatting against a federation that strives and kills for the status quo...and it brings you along until you totally get the ideas and concepts of the T'sel Which rocks beyond belief!

The is one of Dalmas' best works. The Regiment is an engaging story about a human who joins a group of the universe's best soldiers in order to learn more about them, with some intersting sidelines on metaphysics and military philosophy thrown in. I like Dalmas and think he is one of the better authors to come along in the 70s. A quick read and a good book to kill a Sat. afternoon.

I read this book and loved it. The plot was easy to get caught up in and the characters believable. The end had me unable to put the book down, till the last page.

The Regiment is a great read with a very involving plot. It has semi-superficial, but interesting characters. It has a sensible, if odd, philosophy. It's not a deep or complex book, but it will pull you in and keep you turning pages if you let it. It is easy to read and pretty predictable, if not entirely so. It has well writtain action scenes and simple but intriguing backstory. It's not for everyone, but if you want to think a little and waste some time with fun, then it is a great book.

The Regiment is a delightful book. The plot is somewhat simple, but the characters and ideas that fill the book make it a must for any lover of military science-fiction or just lovers of science fiction in general. If you like David Drake's books, try John Dalmas's books. The setting is a fully detailed universe and this book is just the first in a long series of books which will be based in this universe. Watch out, it is in no way a Standard book in any sense of the word.

Aside from the book being good military (science) fiction, with all its attendant feelings and details, i liked this book because of the examination it took of process and methodology. It weaves various viewpoints of war into a clash of ideologies, which in turn turns out to be a great bit of social engineering. The viewpoint the story is told from (a reporter from a very controlled society) seems a bit off, and the character a little too contrived, but works well as a voice for the story.

The Regiment (1987) by John Dalmas - 404 pages - rating: 7.0/10

A Confederation Worlds reporter, Valrik Lormagen, travels aboard a FTL transport to a scorching jungle world to report on the progress of a war fought between indigenous freedom fighters and Confederation contracted mercenaries. The reporter is adopted by and travels with the mysterious T'swa soldiers whose unparalleled physical capabilities are balanced with a compelling life philosophy of honor, wisdom and a true love of war. But the reasons behind the war are both confusing and unsettling and it is up to Valrik to decide how to deal with the truth.

I did enjoy reading this book. It flows easily and is somewhat of a page turner. The T'swa soldiers are interesting, compelling and easily admired.

With the exception of 2 short lived battle scenes, however, the excitement level seldom rises above moderate. I also feel the author made a critical moral error in his choice of explaining the motivation behind the war and all the countless deaths. For me it rendered all the effort invested by the characters entirely meaningless and as a result, to myself a disappointment.

If you are interested in military Sci-Fi that focuses on battle action you should read Armor by John Steakley (1984). It is without a doubt the most exhilarating and exciting military Sci-Fi you will encounter. You will find it necessary to stop reading intermittently to compose yourself , breath slowly, walk around a bit and relax. Seriously.


Claus Kellermann
2006 May 28
Sci_Fi_Researcher@yahoo.com

I have read a lot of military sci-fi in my life and this one is right up there at the top.

Contains "The Regiment", "White Regiment", and "The Regiment's War"

This is the story of a civilization that had fallen as a result of a great war (referred to as a Megawar) in which planets were destroyed, and started to recover, but had not yet returned to it's previous level.

There are a number of interesting aspects to the story, including the philosophy (rather religion) of the T'sel. This philosophy is introduced in the Regiment.

The Regiment deals with the story of the T'swa (the people) which are known primarily for their extraordinary infantry. They are very dark-skinned as opposed to the other primary people in the book, which are white. The T'sel is a philosophy tha holds that all people are born with a basic underlying purpose, and that they will find the most value in pursuing what they are born to do.

Initially we are introduced to the Confederation, a group of planets which has a stagnant civilization, both socially and scientifically. Varlik Lormagen, a reporter, is assigned to follow the T'swa, who are very non-conventional, and report on the war. Along the way he becomes friends with the T'swa, is introduced to the philosophy of the T'sel, uncovers a conspiracy against the Confederation, and winds up in a rather interesting situation.

About twenty years later, White Regiment begins. Many young troublemakers of the Confederation are found to have a purpose, as warriors, and would have never been able to fit in such the peaceful society of the Confederation. They are trained by the T'swa into warriors, and trained in certain aspects that "open them to their purpose". Before they finish their training, they find themselves defending one of the planets of the Confederation, since they are one of the only groups that can get to the planet, Terfreya.

The Regiment's War continues the story of the White Regiment, after they have completed their training, they are hired out as mercenaries, to fight a war. This follows the development of the White Regiment, and is primarily focused on character development. It expands little on the Philosophy of the T'sel, and represents something of a stop-gap between The White Regiment and the Three-Cornered War. It more or less is contemporary with the Kalif's War also by Dalmas.

The series is interesting, relatively good military fiction from the perspective of ground soldiers. The combat is not particularly well-written, as it is more of a overview of aspects of combat without very much detail. It does deal with combat between elite troops and regular troops, and what may differentiate them. It also has aspects of high-level political maneuvering, as the government attempts to manipulate the people to undo something scientists (with a government's approval) did to the people that led to to stagnation.

I enjoyed the book, but it may not be for everyone.

Not being a GI-Joe fan, most military sf doesn't do much for me. But there are exceptions, and this is one of them. The author's style tends to be stilted and the characters are all just a little too good to be true -- in fact, there really aren't any Bad Guys -- but the originality of Dalmas's ideas make up for all that. The backstory is that, a few centuries in our future, a group of ships flees what is probably Earth's terminal war; the passengers of these ships are the only survivors of the race, and they're heading out for parts unknown. On the way there -- anywhere -- they decide the only way to keep the species from destroying itself again is to get rid of scientific research and technological innovation, which they accomplish by purging the ship's databases of relevant information and purging their minds (through some sort of traumatic hypnosis) of the relevant desires. And they eventually find a handful of worlds where they can survive. Cut to 20,000 or more years later. Iryala is the center of what passes for a modest interstellar confederation (or empire), keeping an eye on the lesser worlds, harvesting the resources of its "gook" worlds, and maintaining the ban on research and innovation by standardizing absolutely everything, and by brainwashing children at a very early age. Varlik Lormagen is a skilled journalist whose news agency sends him offworld to cover an insurgency on one of the resource planets, where a regiment of mercenaries from the heavy-gravity, hot-as-Hell world of Tyss. The T'swa are completely tranquil, absolutely centered, and superior soldiers in every way. They aren't the Dorsai, though. Tyss has the T'sel, a sort of Buddhist Way, that explains one's natural mindset and chosen activity in terms of a matrix, . . . the highest level of which is "play." And that's why the T'swa are such amazing warriors. They approach war as artists (soldiers approach it as a job). The plot itself is secondary, involving a centuries-long conspiracy that the reader can see coming a mile away, but you should read this book with your "sense of wonder" fully engaged. There are some very thoughtful disquisitions here. I suspect Heinlein would have enjoyed reading it.