7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Turn For the Worse, January 20, 2004
Lazarus Rising (2003) is the ninth novel in the StarFIST series, following Kingdom's Fury. In the previous volume, the 34th FIST, reinforced by the 26th FIST, had driven the Skinks off Kingdom and followed them to Quagmire. There the Gundar Bay, their troopship, attacked a Skink warship and drove it away from the planet, leaving enemy soldiers on the planet. The 34th dropped on Quagmire and the Gundar Bay returned to Kingdom with the 26th FIST to preclude another assault there. The 34th, with a little help from the hexapod natives, crushed the Skink forces on Quagmire and the two FISTs returned to their bases.
Meanwhile, on Kingdom, Dominic de Tomas had charged the members of the Ecumenical Council with profiteering and treason, seized control of the government, and executed all the theocrats. On a worldwide broadcast, he declared the defeat of the Skinks and announced his actions against the Council. Then he promised to present a new constitution and called upon everybody to start rebuilding their lives. It was a short and effective speech.
In this novel, Kingdom refugees are straggling back to their homes, unsure whether the "demons" will return or not. Kingdom forces are still searching for the Skinks and sometimes finding them in vaguely seen animals and even humans. Lieutenant Ben Loman thinks he finds the demons and wipes out a group of primitive humans, with one exception. Later he thinks he finds Skinks in a remote village and attacks a group of settlers, but this time he loses a reconnaissance car and its crew.
One group of refugees awakes within an iron cage in a Skink compound, bearing signs of rough treatment on their bodies, but none are able to remember so much as their name. The six find food and clothing within the buildings and begin to remember some things about themselves. They scout around the area outside the compound and discover a trail and a stream. They cannot agree on which to follow, so they split into two parties and go off looking for other humans.
This story mostly concerns the growing power of Dominic de Tomas, who is apparently redesigning the Kingdom government on the model of the Third Reich. He quickly organizes a social structure that involves his political party in every aspect of civilian life and starts moving into the military forces. The Confederation ambassador, Jayben Spears, soon recognizes the growing authoritarian structure, but is unable to effectively oppose the changes.
Like Hitler, de Tomas proves to be a charismatic figure and quickly establishes himself as a beloved leader. He unleashes all the power of the governmental propaganda ministry, appealing mainly to the working classes. His own Special Group troops are fanatically loyal to him. The young intellectuals are against him, but their parents are not. The SG are picking up his opponents and the discontented and either imprisoning or executing them. His power is growing every day. Then one of the SG units picks up a young woman within a deserted village and the tide starts to turn.
Highly recommended for Sherman and Cragg fans and for anyone who enjoys tales of underground resistance groups within a total dictatorship.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best of Series, September 24, 2005
The ninth book of the StarFIST has very little to do with the 34th StarFIST. Instead, it has much to do with the most celebrated marine of that unit, Gunnery Sergeant Charlie Bass. Two books ago he was ambushed while on patrol and presumed dead. Now he is back and his unit has left him behind on the planet of Kingdom. There are no credible threats from Skinks anymore but that is made up for by the threat from the bloodthirsty planetary government based on the worst of the Nazis. It's one very capable marine against a planet of neo-nazis. The bad guys are going to lose bigtime.
This is an exciting book with plenty of unexpected twists. I think it is the best of the series so far.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Decent followup to Book 8, May 24, 2008
LAZARUS RISING (12/2003) is the 9th book in the STARFIST series of 25th Century Military SciFi, covering the exploits of a galaxy-faring platoon of Space Marines.
This book follows book 8 - KINGDOM'S FURY - which was, hands down, the best entry from the series... and a hard act to follow. The space aliens have been defeated on Kingdom, but in the power-vacuum left after the Confederation Marines leave, a NAZI-like regime pops up to take power. The NAZI types, of course, are a loathsome bunch, and their wicked methods are described in detail.
The secondary sub-plot involves Gunnery Sgt. Bass's exploits (and his hokey "amnesia").
As is common in this series, there is a dearth of future sci-fi technology (no new tech is introduced in this book), and no aliens or future cultures are introduced. All in all, this is an average entry for the series... but still fun stuff.
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