For Those Who Fell (Legion) [Mass Market Paperback]

William C. Dietz (Author)

Book Description

Series: Legion | Publication Date: September 27, 2005

To ensure the survival of The Confederacy, the Legion of the Damned must establish a new capital on the planet Algeron--and seize faster-than-light technology from alien forces before it can be used against them.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Careful plotting and realistically messy detail help lift Dietz's sixth military SF novel (after 2003's For More Than Glory) about the Legion of the Damned, an army of biobod humans, aliens and brain boxes installed in mechanical bodies, which defends the Confederacy of Sentient Beings against any threat. The present enemy, the insectoid Ramanthians, needs more planets to accommodate their queen's billions of eggs. When the Confederacy learns that a Ramanthian research outpost has developed a communications device that could win the war, an expedition sets out to capture the new technology. In particular, a young first lieutenant must lead his troops through the perils of jungle, desert and ambush by psychotic renegades. Meanwhile, a young woman diplomat discovers that one of the Confederacy's alien races is secretly aiding the Ramanthians. Characters attempt to gather information, make political alliances and maneuver skillfully, but often their efforts degenerate into groping, murderous frenzy. Dietz expertly jumps from one theater of combat to another, one side to another, to show the opponents planning but then improvising as plans go awry. Even if the novel's action sometimes is as manipulative as a WWF Smackdown, it still gives a genuine adrenaline rush.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Dietz's new Legion of the Damned novel lands the Confederacy on the chill planet Algeron. The natives' welcome is also chill, for they fear that the alien Ramanthians will pursue the legion across the stars and devastate their home. Meanwhile, legion general Booly gets an intelligence windfall: in a Ramanthian fortress lies the key to instantaneous interstellar communication. The military advantages of this are too obvious to require comment, so the legion puts together a special ops mission to steal the secret or at least keep the enemy from getting it. Leading the mission is hardy, larger-than-life series perennial Lieutenant Santana, whose adventures, and also those of the humans and aliens he leads, constitute the usual fast-paced adventure we have come to expect in this series and from Dietz. Recommended for military sf collections, in particular. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Ace (September 27, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441012671
• ISBN-13: 978-0441012671
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #388,597 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

William C. Dietz is the best-selling author of more than thirty science fiction novels some of which have been translated into German, Russian, and Japanese. He grew up in the Seattle area, spent time with the Navy and Marine Corps as a medic, graduated from the University of Washington, lived in Africa for half a year, and has traveled to six continents. Dietz has been employed as a surgical technician, college instructor, news writer, television producer and Director of Public Relations and Marketing for an international telephone company. He writes full-time and lives with his wife in Washington State. For more information about William C. Dietz and his work visit: williamcdietz.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars More of the Same, June 5, 2006

By 

Frederic Garber "aspiring writer" (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: For Those Who Fell (Legion) (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is an excellent read for people who have been following the Legion of the Damned.

However, if you're new to the series? This book is not the place to start. It's only the fact that you've (in theory) have been reading about these people that make you care about them. Except for humans (who have, in this universe, no un-noble drives), most every alien race is bound by some set of arcane biochemistry that renders them completely unable to solve their own problems, and prone to either betrayal or misdirected fury.

Once again, the solution to the galaxy's problems are "kick all the aliens down until no one's kicking back anymore." You'd think that civilizations with cyborgs and space travel would have gotten more civilized, not less.

However, this is a stirring tale of the honest, rugged and true soldiers of the no-longer-misfit Legion. Your favorite characters are back to kick ass and take names through all the events that a hostile universe throws at them. Will they all survive to stoically defend a Conferacy run by (gasp) Liberals?

So for fans of military sci-fi, this book rocks. For people interested in anything else? Skip it.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent military science fiction, October 5, 2004

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: For Those Who Fell: A Novel of the Legion of the Damned (Hardcover)

The Confederacy of Sentient Beings has a new home on Algernon, the only planet that welcomed them after the insectoid Ramanthians destroyed the battleship that housed their infrastructure. Meanwhile the Ramanthian queen on planet Hive is laying billions of eggs that need transporting to other orbs so the species can survive and ultimately expand to rule the galaxy. Counter strategies forged on Algernon are implemented by the legion to protect the galaxy from the insectoid horde.

Hive is heavily protected so that an armada could not successfully attack, but a lone spaceship disguised as a comet and piloted by a cyborg might succeed. The mission works forcing the enemy to pull back forces to protect the Hive. However, the enemy has cut a deal with the Thrakis to retrofit three thousand vessels; a loyal governmental circumvents official channels to insure the information reaches the right people because the biggest battle in the galaxy seems imminent on the planet Savas with the legion determined to get the Ramanthians new communication system.

William C. Dietz raises the bar of excellent for military science fiction with every book he writes. FOR THOSE WHO FALL is a superb action packed thriller starring countless number of ordinary people forced into Herculean efforts to prevent the enemy from victory. Pivotal heroes like First Lieutenant Antonio Santana and Charlotte Vanderveer, who have appeared in previous books add much to this terrific tale.

Harriet Klausner

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another action-packed entry in the Legion of the Damned series, February 10, 2007

By 

Daniel Jolley "darkgenius" (Shelby, North Carolina USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: For Those Who Fell: A Novel of the Legion of the Damned (Hardcover)

Having injected fresh new life into his Legion of the Damned series with For More Than Glory, William C. Dietz provides readers with another exciting military science fiction adventure with For Those Who Fell, the sixth novel in the series. Much has changed since we first encountered the Legion of the Damned several years (and two futuristic wars) ago. While the human cyborg legionnaires remain the foundation of the epic story, intergalactic intrigue, deception, diplomacy, and good old-fashioned warfare have long ago become the trademarks of the series. A narrower design in this and the previous novel has also allowed for tighter focus and better characterization of both new and familiar individuals.

While the Confederation of Sentient Beings has defeated the mighty Hudathans twice in battle and managed to subdue a powerful, mysterious new alien race called the Sheen, it still finds its very survival very much in danger - as was made clear when its spacebound headquarters was totally destroyed via an act of betrayal from within. While no one ever trusted the bug-like Ramanthians completely, few suspected that they would quickly change from ally to insidiously dangerous foe - that's mainly because the Ramanthians chose not to share the news that they were secretly preparing for the hatching of five billion new citizens. Unable to support this impending population explosion on their home planet, the Ramanthians need access to a lot of ships and the ability to seize control of additional planets to serve as homes for large numbers of the new hatchlings - all things that their treachery allows them to lay claim to.

Ramanthians seem to hold the upper hand, as evidenced by the location of the new Confederation seat of government on the ice world of Naa, home of the legionnaires - no other planet wanted to offer the unified government even a temporary home, for fear that the Ramanthians would once again target it for destruction. This kind of concern for the future grows all the more graver when Confederation spies discover that the Ramanthians have managed to build a hypercom; once implemented, this faster-than-ship communications technology would almost surely seal the Confederation's doom. A special ops force is quickly dispatched to the planet Savas to seize the hypercom before the Ramanthians can implement it among all of their forces. Leading the way is the series' newest hero, Lieutenant Antonio Santana, whose dangerous job is made all the more difficult when the overmatched allied force crash lands on the planet in two separate locations separated by a vast desert. Not only must the Confederate forces be brought together before the intended mission can take place, Santana must also deal with a murderous Hudathan traitor running amuck in the wilderness and fight a proxy war against his enemies using the planet's two indigenous populations. And time is short because there's a Ramanthian fleet on the way, as well.

Dietz is truly a master at this kind of futuristic hard science fiction, nimbly handling large numbers of familiar characters across multiple worlds; a variety of subplots really infuse this ongoing saga with a richness most military science fiction can only dream of. Just because Santana has his hands full on Savas while the Naa renew their controversial call for equal representation in the Confederation and diplomat Christine Vanderveen risks her career to expose the secret collaboration of the Thrakies with the enemy Ramanthians doesn't mean the Confederacy doesn't have a surprise or two up its sleeve for the Queen laying all those billions of eggs back in the Ramanthian Hive. To fully appreciate this story, though, you really need to have enough of a background of the series to put everything in context. You should definitely read the previous novel, For More Than Glory, before picking this new installment up, but I would strongly recommend reading the entire series in order, for Dietz takes his readers on a wild and addictive ride that just keeps getting better and better.