Review: Fermi's War - Five Stars all the way!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 12, 2013
This is the second book I've read by Richard Tongue and the second in the Battlecruiser Alamo series. Once again Tongue hits the mark - the pacing is good and the characters realistic - no fill or padding and no characters who are just plain weird or childish. Motivations, actions and reactions are sensible, solid and consistent with what we know of the character's internal life and of life in the military.Characters also react with the political weather eye that all senior military officers must have - at senior levels command of military force is as much about defusing political problems as it is about projecting power.What did I especially like? The dynamics between the military representatives of the Alamo, the Belt and the Lunar Republic were all sensible, grown up reactions, with each party doing their duty while at the same time trying to avoid war. Just as good were the physics, economic and technological back-story to the plot - once again Tongue has integrated technology and economicsin to his political landscape - technology supports the story and doesn't dominate it. One idea I especially liked was the reaction of the main character and his friend to the truly alien. That did catch me by surprise - no spoilers folks! - but the way this was played and managed but excellent. You ended up thinking, `Yeah, Ok - I just guess the universe throws these things out some times'. A truly original plot element - not core to the story but fun and novel - and once again because it's now a feature of Tongue's universe - how its handled is logical, sensible, human and wrapped in exactly the type of processes that one would expect if his premise is true.So overall? The story resolves well and feels true. The universe of Battelcrusier Alamo feels solid and this addition to it rounds out that feeling of verisimilitude. Five stars and I'm looking forward to the next one.