15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A disconcerting end to the series, May 28, 2009
This review is from: Semper Human: Book Three of the Inheritance Trilogy (Mass Market Paperback)
If you are reading this review, odds are good you read the preceding eight books in this series, and are now wondering if the various questions and problems posed in the previous works all finally get resolved, or if rather more books will follow in the series.
There comes good news and bad. Yes, this book sums up all that came before it, both in the series and in the real history of the U.S. Marine Corps. It finally elaborates on both who and what the Builders are/were. It sums up who the Xul are, what the Fermi Paradox truly means, and where Humanity is headed after this final encounter with the Xul.
The problem is that once again the novel follows the same formula. Devious politicians want to close/misuse the Marines for their own ends, and only a canny Marine can solve the problem. Of course, in doing so more problems emerge, and those problems also become resolved in the final battle against the Xul and the following chapters. All in all it sums up everything that came before and all the questions surrounding it very neatly, almost to neatly in my mind.
While this book finishes the story of the Marines and the Xul, and probably the series, it does not do it with the strength of writing that was present at the beginning of this nine book arc. Three stars but with a caveat. While you may enjoy rereading the previous books, this one will probably leave you let down and wishing for a better or simply different resolution.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A decent finish, but nothing too new., August 23, 2009
This review is from: Semper Human: Book Three of the Inheritance Trilogy (Mass Market Paperback)
This is the first Amazon review I've ever submitted, so please excuse the style if it sees unsuitable.
Ian Douglas' first trilogy, specifically 'Luna Marine' was one of my first exposures to the genre of military science fiction. I've been reading this saga off and on through the years, and have found it mostly enjoyable. I was looking forward to seeing how it all ended...
...and I've been rather disappointed. While I find the author's extrapolation of technological advancements to be fascinating and, generally, very plausible, there are certain parts of the story and characters that leave much to be desired.
Among the most obvious, we know that the main characters are never in any real danger. If one of the main character's commanding officers is mentioned repeatedly, or if they have a love interest, we can be fairly certain that they're a red-shirt. One of the reviewers I think mentioned we never get a physical description of the characters, which is something I didn't really recognize until I read it. Some of the only real development in any character in the series is when one of them in 'Star Strike' seems to develop PTSD after his lover is killed. This is a believable, human response, and it's shockingly rare in the 9-book series.
What I took great issue with, however, was the Xul "secret weapon" at the end. The big, bad Xul, who decimated Earth and who have for 10 million years been the terror of the galaxy, are reduced to ALTERING MARINE TRAINING SIMULATIONS TO AFFECT MORALE?
Really? Not only was that scene ridiculous and drawn out (gratuitous, even), but I really don't think that the various heroes of the Corps would find it that great of a fictional use of their deeds. I had enjoyed his minor explanations of Marine history in the series up until this point.
Not to mention that the general makes a comment that "it won't work because Marines have their own reality". So their big weapon, which isn't really that cool, won't work anyway? And then the AI Socrates tells everyone that they can stop the Marines' attack on the Xul quantum generator from being too big on collatteral damage by BELIEVING it? Where's the hard science in that?
I do like the way he writes future combat, the way he ends with the Builders, and the overall series. Read it just to finish the saga if you've read the others. But this is not his best in the series, not by a long shot.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disapppointing, May 31, 2009
This review is from: Semper Human: Book Three of the Inheritance Trilogy (Mass Market Paperback)
While this book is well written, it was "phoned in" and not really a great plot. There was never really any suspense over the outcome. The last three books of this series have been average at best. This was a real disappointment given how well the series started out and this book is clearly the worst of the lot. At least this book dropped the need to go through basic training yet again.
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