Review: Plodding ...
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 05 25, 2014
I found this installment of the series to be hard to get interested in.  I liked the first two books in the series (C.R.O.W. and Lancejack).  This one just did not do it for me, and I cannot quite put my finger on why.For those who like this series, it has an odd premise.  The European Union (the "Union" to which the series refers) is a great military power, that regularly takes on the Chinese, Russians, and other Terrestrial space powers.  There is no mention anywhere of the United States; it is as though the USA does not exist at all.  No big deal, just kind of odd.  The Union Army (i.e. the EU's Army) is a lot like the British Army, from which the author derives.  This can make for some pretty realistic writing since the author has "been there, done that" and the first two novels in the series feature a gritty realism that plainly comes from the author's firsthand knowledge of military life.This novel bogs down in a meandering storyline that failed to capture my interest.  Give it a try if you liked the first two novels in the series; maybe it was me and not this novel.  But I have to call them as I see them.  RJB.