4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Nasty Surprises All Around, September 12, 2005
In the previous volume of this series, HANGFIRE, readers were set up for some nastiness by the "skinks" without ever finding out just what they were up too. All we knew was that it would not be good for humanity or the marines. We learn more in this book and it is not good for either.
Once again, Sherman and Cragg demonstrate a liking for pursing widely variant plotlines simultaneously. They did an adequate job of this before but their skills are improving in this one.
The main plot involves the committal of the 34th FIST to action on the world of Kingdom. They think they are headed in to suppress a peasant revolt but it turns out that it is the skinks who are the cause of the problems and they are major problems. To make matters worse, Kingdom is a theocracy and the marines must face a local government that is as potentially dangerous as the real enemy. Just to keep the pot stirred up, there are also dissident elements at work within Kingdom that have a strong desire to hurt the marines, the Kingdom government, the confederacy and anyone one else who disagrees with them. To make matters worse, many do not believe in the aliens the marines are fighting and believe it all to be some sort of convoluted plot.
The second plotline concerns Captain Coronado, CO of L Company. A few volumes back he was involved in a hush-hush operation dealing with another alien sentient species. In that book, he did the right thing, against the cruel and inhumane orders of the scientific leader of the post, and is returning to earth to face court martial. This puts strains on his family situations in ways recognizable to anyone who has ever tried to serve both a family and the military. Needless to say, the gallant captain has his own adventures along the way and improvises, adapts and overcomes....just the way a good jarhead is expected to do.
This is actually probably the best book in the series so far. There are a few surprises and new twists. Its going to take at least one more book and some significant reinforcements to get the marines out of this mess.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
34th FIST on deployment, June 25, 2002
I really enjoyed the book. Although, I will have to wait for the next book to conclude my opinion on this book. The cliffhanger is kind of weird since the whole story of the book doesn't seem to end.
Also, for the first time, the authors tried to do more than one storyline and it feels kind of weird. One of the storyline brings nothing to the actual story or the 34th FIST Marine. This could explain on why they did not conclude the story since they had already too much.
Overall, it is still a good StarFist book. Different from the previous one but this is what bring the joy in reading :o)
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Entertaining, but there are a few problems..., May 22, 2002
I am an avid Starfist saga follower, and that will continue, but I thought Startfist 7 was a little weak. The cliffhanger ending needed some more beefing up (Gunny Bass put himself in a dangerous situation without following some simple combat rules he knows very well). Also, many Skinks are flashed (killed), but the 34th FIST never once recovered any of the Skink's acid weapons for analysis. The weapons didn't flash and disappear when the Skinks did, did they? No, of course not! Recovering an acid weapon and analyzing it to develop a defense against it would be the first thing I'd do.
Worth reading to keep the series alive, but I hope Dan Cragg reads this review and takes steps to improve plot quality...
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
