Customer Reviews

Star Marines (The Legacy Trilogy, Book 3)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I thoroughly enjoyed this and thought this was a great culmination to the Legacy trilogy and the six book "space marines" series to date. Nice extrapolations of history, economics and culture and good science - more than you get in other "military SF books'. Douglas (really William Keith Jr.) knows the military and writes well about it. He is also good at creating tension and exciting situations. For newcomers, track down the earlier books - it's worth it.

After the slight disappointment that was Battlespace, Book 2 of the Legacy Trilogy, I was a little apprehensive when I picked up Star Marines. Those concerns were quickly dashed as soon as I started reading. The final book in the Legacy Trilogy was certainly worth the wait and the final Marine/Navy operation of the book is an instant military Sci-Fi classic. I stayed up till all hours of the night to finish it. It still seems to me that Douglas is trying to cram just a little too much into these books, but I think this final outing is the most complete and enjoyable book of the Legacy Trilogy.

I don't want to spoil things, but I was a bit disappointed in that the Hunters of the Dawn didn't seem to live up to the hype of the previous books since the primitive Earthlings seemed to be able to prevail whenever they put their minds to it.

Being Book 3 of the Legacy Trilogy would certainly lead one to believe that this would be the final chapter in the series. However, I think the most interesting stories are just beginning and hope that Douglas chooses to continue with a third trilogy.

Talk about an exciting, intelligently written book. Star Marines ends the Legacy Trilogy beautifully. I've read plenty of military sci-fi, and Douglas hands down gets the award for the most original exciting reads! The book draws you in from the very first chapter. You feel literally hurtled 300 years into the future, a very believable future right there fighting alongside humanity for your very survival. I highly recommend you read Douglas's Heritage and Legacy series! Here's to hoping Douglas continues his wonderful writing with a 3rd trilogy.

STAR MARINES(2007) is the third book of THE LEGACY TRILOGY. This trilogy is itself a follow-on to THE HERITAGE TRILOGY(1998-2001). This trilogy covers the exploits of space-faring Marines from the 22nd-24th centuries, who fight strange aliens in remote locations in increasingly distant star systems.

This book is a letdown after the last book in the series, the excellent BATTLESPACE(2006).

The biggest complaint I have with this entry in the series is that it jumps around too much... even within particular chapters, things are so disjoint that it is unclear what the author is driving towards.

At times the story bogs down to the point where I actually considered tossing the book and not finishing it.

There is the usual issue with poor character development which has plagued this series since the 2nd book.

Having said the above, there are bright spots in this book... the bookcover art is the best yet in the series (but what is that stupid helicopter looking thing?), and the ending was pretty good.

I'd already bought the next book in the series STAR STRIKE (as part of a package deal), and I'm hoping things can get back on track again after this subpar entry.

This author captures the life of US Marines -- as they are now and as they are in the future. He also has a great imgination and great plots. The series of books about Marines in Space and on other worlds are just great

The Legacy Trilogy is the continuation of the Heritage Trilogy, you can read through all 6 books as one story that spans hundreds of years. Incredibly addictive. I was never much a fan of military scifi, but this is really great and very difficult to put down. I am also hoping that Ian Douglas will continue writing in this universe, maybe with a new trilogy.

I bought this item from Borders Bookstore some time ago. This book was epic in its scale, and the author has a way of drawing you into his scenarios via his vivid descriptions. This Trilogy story follows a lineage, tracing the male ancestry of the Garroways, a military family; and it shows how a writer can create a very interesting legacy, while showing cool technological advancements from one book to the next. Gunnery Sergeant Travis Garroway is the main hero and his uncle, General Garroway, is also part of the Star Marines.

I enjoyed the story, yet the global devastation that took place on Earth [due to the Xul alien's bombarding the planet with giant asteroids] was something that I found rather disheartening. But as survivors, the human race survives that strike and start mounting an offensive against their diabolical foes.

Eventually the Star Marines [hailing from the futuristic US Navy / the Military] head out on a mission to infiltrate the home world of the aliens, utilizing gigantic warp-gates created by another alien race that actually precedes the evil ancient Xul [octopus-like beings that appear to be highly evolved machine minds, whose origins are unknown]. There are some peculiar aquatic aliens called the N'mah that do help the humans, sharing technology with them, which helps them with the warp-gate tuning, advanced propulsion systems [via inertia dampeners], and things of that nature.

As in most of his books, Ian Douglas has a way of creating scenarios that involve high-level politics, which go on behind the scenes at times of war. These deliberations between national officials and military brass occur prior to the Navy space expedition, and the writer knows how to showcase immense contention, as people of authority argue on whether the ends justify the means; and they debate on the necessity of expensive war vs. attempting diplomacy. Yet the discussions are not tied to the USA invading another nation like China. Instead the discussions are centered around war in space against the Xul, and how wise or viable/doable it is.

The Xuls are definitely an advanced race. They create gigantic needle-shaped ships that are larger than cities, engineer them with internal black holes, and utilize those black holes an infinite "energy wells". Then they harvest that energy via quantum methodologies as a power source for conducting movements across millions of miles in space at near light-speed.

In this tale, the Moon and Mars have been colonized quite a bit, so the people of Earth have settlements there. But due to the initial alien attacks that caused the global tsunami, no one wants to stay in the Milky Way. In fact, some interplanetary leaders end up abandoning Earth via giant cruisers for fear of total annihilation by the Xul. These rich bureaucrats do leave the planet in their giant ship, and embark on a journey to Andromeda System, which will take them many years at near-light-speed. They sleep in special capsules for the long journey [yet their shocking fates are presented in the next Trilogy written by the same author].

Eventually the Marine Interstellar Forces are sent to hunt down the aliens, blow up their alien world in the distant Night's Edge Star System, destroy one of their mother-ships, steal advanced technology from one of their vessels via an infiltrating military AI drone, and destroy the ancient warp-gate that leads back to the Milky Way System.

There is a lot of action in this one and it is well paced, in my opinion. Character development isn't the strong point in this book, and some may feel that the development of the main theme is dragged on. Yet that is merely another opinion, since the author sequentially builds his case, showing human life and survival before and after major catastrophes. Remember, the human race on Earth almost gets destroyed and 1/3rd of the population is terminated, due to the giant asteroid and the global tsunami; and that sets the solemn tone for roughly the first half of the book. It's about 370 pages, but it still feels a lot longer and heavier - in terms of its well-written and technical content.

As a sci fi artist/writer, I found this book inspiring. And I recommend it for sci fi fans who enjoy military science fiction stories.

Not stellar, but a good read. Your good basic Star Marine Battle story. Worth a read if you have nothing elso on your plate.

I love the story, I really thing the author did an amazing job of creating a believably extrapolated future world. Reading the books make me nostalgic for my youthful days in the Navy and reading this series has actually improved how I think of Jarheads.

I love the way that politico's are portrayed, A bit askew, but they deserve it. I actually would get frustrated and angry toward the politicians in the book ( a good sign of being emotionally invested in the story ) when I was reading it.

I love the science, particularly the deep discussions of quantum physics, that went into developing the world. I prefer it when authors use science to support belief over requiring the reader to suspend disbelief.

My one big problem is with how much the author rehashes the same stuff, whether it is events from the previous books or just re-explaining for the 10th time how time dilation effects passengers on near-c space craft...there were times where it was really a task to sift through it because he would put just enough in there that you had to read through the re-hash to pick up the few lines that were relevant to the current situation instead of just being able to skip it.

Star Marines was surprisingly thought provoking and I look forward to reading the Inheritance Trilogy...in a few months, because I won't make it if I have to re-read the highlights of the Legacy Trilogy before I get a chance to forget them...

I was so excited to read this trilogy because I did not read in the right order. This to me was very great writing and I became lost in the book of excitement. It let me start to wander in to the world of physics but not to far and I could still understand where the book was headed. Thanks for a fine product.