Customer Reviews

The Two-Space War

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

It took me a chapter before I began to grasp the concept of the universe that Grossman and Frankowski had created. Basically, interstellar travel is accomplished by entering into two dimensional space where other planets are much closer. Also the nature of two-dimensional space requires that only low technology items are used including old style sailing ships as a means of transportation. Thus, the book represents a rather curious melding of Horatio Hornblower and Captain Aubry books (FYI - Aubry was the source for the "Master and Commander" movie) with Honor Harrington space opera science fiction. The resulting product is just fun to read.

Fun things about this book include many, many references to classic books in science fiction - Tolkien, Weber, Heinlein, Hokas, Asimov just to name a few. There's quite a bit of poetry which adds to the story but which can be easily skipped over if its not your thing. Finally the story really delves into the impact of war on the soldiers who engage in it - what it does to them to kill, how do you train for it, why one person is better at it then another, etc. (my understanding is that this is an area of expertise for one of the authors - Grossman I believe).

Bottom line - definitely worth a read. Its set up to be the beginning of a series so don't expect complete closure at the end of the story.

Enjoy!

I am a retired career police officer (mosly in SWAT) and Army Vietnam veteran. I just finished reading "Two-Space War", and although not usually a "sci-fi fan", this was a page turner that I cound not put down.
I am a big JRR Tolkien fan, and quickly realized I was reading a sci-fi meets fantasy story, with JRR Tolkien himself as the "editor".
But it is the masterful way LTC Dave Grossman & Leo Frankowski 'educate' the reader about the warrior spirit and the true nature of warriors - ordinary people who subscribe to a higher code of beliefs, and rise to the occasion - standing firm in the face of danger, when most people would opt to run away from the danger - that makes this book so significant.
The authors have captured the essence of what the true warrior is, and how the rest of "us" can become warriors in our own right. It is this warrior spirit woven throughout the book that I found most inspirational.
I wish to thank Dave Grossman & Leo Frankowski for "educating us" about warriors, and what "we" are really all about, in the oldest form of 'education' -- story telling.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a story is worth many times that "thousand".

I've never written a book review. I love to read blurbs but I hate to have a reviewer tell me the plot of a book. Thus I'm at a bit of an loss about how to discuss one of the most original books I've read in a long time. TSP's concept of FTL is so original that you have to sit and think about it for a while. That's almost a distraction from a book that reads so smoothly. Tie that originality to a level of realism depicting combat, and roll it in the tradition of Napoleonic Sea warfare (More Alexander Kent than Forester) and you have a very different book.

Frankly, having read this book will make me look at combat in other books differently. Any author who is interested in learning more about the true stress of combat and what it mean to kill, would do well to read TSW and ponder it. This is the hard stuff.

As a long time fan of science fiction, it's always a treat to "discover" a new author. I will be waiting anxiously for the next installment. I just hope it doesn't take as long as Mr. Frankowski took between his first and second book. I'm older and don't have that kind of patience any more.

Wow! Just put it down after a cover-to-cover reading. Col. Grossman succeeded in writing a factual account of combat and it's effects on warriors in the framework of fiction. As a former Marine and current Federal Agent I can vouch for his writings personally.
The story moves along at a brisk clip. The action starts from the first page and character development parallels the plot nicely. The authors don't spend the first part of the book explaining the world they created like so many other S.F. books (boring!). They dive right into the story and explain as they go. The warrior science in this story is more credible than any other author I can think of. Col. Grossman's excellent research and application into this field speaks for itself.
If you enjoyed this story as much as I, pick up "On Killing" by Col. Grossman for a more in-depth, factual treatise on warrior science. You won't regret it!

Horatio Hornblower meets Tolkien by way of Heinlein in "a world of intentional, creative anachronism, a hodge-podge of Georgian, Victorian, and Edwardian technology", inhabited by hobbits both valourous and cowardly, elves who aren't all that good, and curs who aren't all that bad.
Drawing on current military science and research on the physiology of combat Dave Grossman and Leo Frankowski have presented in 'The Two-Space War' a well thought out worldview, and a good picture of the underlying precepts/physics. The thinking re who fights, who can fight, and how to train a fighter, was engrossing. The peotry lent a harder flavour to the read, a rhythm you may well miss by skimming over it. Now try reading the poetry aloud...powerful.
If I had any objections to this novel it would have to lie in the wait time required for a sequel.

This was a good book. However, it was a little difficult to get started as you need to be able to think in a differnet way. As the title suggests, the book takes place in "Two-Space", which is a little different than our three dimensional world. It takes a little bit of time and thought at the beginning of the book to be able to understand what the authors envision.

Once you reach this understanding, it becomes enjoyable and action packed. Grossman winds much of his professional knowledge into this work. This book also does a good job of showing how leaders develop through their lives, with several good examples found in the story. Anyone interested or working in human relations, or professional development should find useful examples and lessons in this fictional story. This book offers enjoyable lessons in life, in a fictional setting!

An excellent book that mingles combat facts with science fiction. As a military and law enforcement veteran of more than twenty years, I consider Dave Grossman's factual books "On Killing," "The Bullet Proof Mind," and "Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill" mandatory reading and I had very high expectations for this work of fiction, I was not disappointed!

Grossman and Frankowski have done a fantastic job of blending tactical reality with an extraordinary job of sci-fi story telling. The book reads so well and I would certainly put it on par with any Heinlein I've read.

If you're looking for an adventure sci-fi with a military lean, filled with combat facts, this is the book to read!

Yes, Virginia, there is a "Charles Cockett" and I do live where no insect would dare go: Wyoming. Pages 186, and 187 notwithstanding, this is a terrific read. I would call it "retro-sf", that is, the stuff that used to be printed in the fifties and sixties. Throughout Two-Space one finds little winks and nudges to the golden age of SF, and it makes for a fun story to read.
Further, the story gives us a mostly likable cast of characters, and does a good job of setting the groundwork for more adventures. (Imagine this as Grossman and Frankowski's "Caves of Steel" with further novels expanding on their empire.) Fans of the "Master and Commander" maritime adventures will also be pleased, although I thought the mentioning of "Captain Jack" was a little over used. Still, the timing of this novel couldn't have been better, those looking for something in a similar vein would do well to check Two Space out.
For a first novel Grossman (aided by Frankowski) have given us a new look at a couple of old genres and spun them into something excitedly new and different. I highly recommend this book.
(By the way, I have one daughter, who is my light and my life, and I truly expect her to do great things.)

I'm only 2/3 through this book, but I just can't keep my opinion to myself anymore. I love the premise of going into 2-dimensional space for interstellar travel, but so far that's about the only thing I love. Well, I kind of love the monkeys.

The problems start off almost immediately. We're cruising along with the prose and suddenly they decide to insert some poetry. Poetry every once in a while might be ok, like at the beginnings or endings of chapters, but when the authors just throw it in in the middle of things, it really takes me out of the story. I've gotten to the point where I just skip over those parts.

On top of that, the tech limitations just don't make any sense, and I can't help considering them because they're so glaring. I can accept that two-space doesn't allow any complex technology, but there are so many inconsistencies in the way it's applied. It will take rifled muskets, but winches to raise the sails are too complex.

And the cultures that the Men of Westerness come from is just not striking a cord with me. I love Tolkien as much as the next fantasy geek, but even I have a hard time believing that anyone would base their culture on it. Developing a retro-culture in response to not being able to use high-tech in two-space only makes partial sense to me. I can understand having a lowish-tech navy and not doing any modifications to your sailors, but why would any culture revert so far as to have children on ships that might go to war?

So far, 2/3rds through the book, and I'm not loving it. I had high hopes for it based on the premise, but the execution is just not up to par. I bought this and "The War With Earth" by the same authors at the same time. Based on how little I'm enjoying Two-Space, I have to wonder if I'm ever going to have the courage to start the other one.

Written with a real emphasis on the psycology of being a soldier in combat. Both a very good yarn, and a "here are the real hurts of war to the soldier" story.

It took me a while to get my head around the "Flatland" concept, but that was my problem, not the authors.