Redliners
£1.32
Vietnam in Space! - This is the first book I ve read by David Drake. It started off really well, with some great action sequences, but once the characters are on their penance, it just drags on and on. Soldiers who served in the jungles of Vietnam often said that it was as if the jungle was the enemy. Taking that one step further, Drake does turn the jungle into the enemy for the best part of the book. It wears thin after the first couple of incidents.I really wanted the Strikers to get out of that jungle bowl and get on with fighting real battles against the insect-like creatures that were described during the first part of the book, but it was not to be.The story is quite child-like. It reminds me of some books I read as a kid where children go off into their local forest and all the trees come alive. This book is a fusion between sci-fi and fantasy: Star Wars meets the Lord of the Rings (Fangorn Forest).
When humanoid aliens aren t the only enemy... - Pennance is a suitable sub-title to this nice piece of writing, and in fact it s used a few times throughtout the book.The story deals with the redliners, those soldiers that went one mission too far, and are now more of a liability than an asset to the civillian society. One final mission is given to Strike Force 41, safeguard civillian colonists en route to a new planet, before they are dismissed from service.Things don t go quite well, unfortunately, for the planet they land is ridden with dangers, not only from the alien Kalendru, who naturally don t like Humans (duh!), but also from the planet s flora.As usual, Drake s battle descriptions are crisp and easy to follow, with enough situations and technology to keep fans of this sub-genre happy.A good read, not only for the military action, but also from the refreshing and different enemy introduced.
heavy metal SF - The first time I read this, I immediately thought the author must have served in Vietnam. He did. This is up there with Heinlein s Starship Trooper, and despite minor flaws, it is a terrifying tale of hostility from both alien creatures and the planet itself. I reread it every 2 years or so, and these days that is saying quite a lot.
Rudyard Kipling s successor - Many of David Drake s books have been in the tradition of Kipling s fiction - and this is no exception. Kipling s poem Tommy deals with the theme of this book.For its Tommy this and Tommy that an Chuck him out the brute! But its Saviour of is country when the guns begin to shoot, A moving and gripping tale with characters you can really care about - the best of Drake.
Superb mix of military action, plot and characters - David Does It Again. Breaking away from the standard military plot, David Drake manufacturers a realistic death-world where soldiers who have been pushed over the edge (from being at the front for too long) manage to regain their humanity. Sounds complicated, but David s imagery and ability to unobtrusively convey detail carry the reader from beginning to end with an all encompassing eagerness. This is a must-have. -a