Review: Gritty, Hard-Nosed Epic Space Opera
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 14, 2012
The Landfall Campaign (The Nameless War book two) is a realistic, epic space opera story where humanity is facing a desperate fight against extinction at the hands of an alien race dubbed Nameless.The fight against the Nameless is going badly.  The aliens quickly evolve and adapt to new tactics by the Battle Fleet, and the top military leaders also have to contend with demands and expectations of civilian leadership.  The story rolls at a very dynamic pace as each side strives to gain an advantage that will eventually lead to victory.The author does a wonderful job in jumping from one military officer's perspective to the next, while seamlessly weaving those individual stories into an overall war campaign waged by humanity.  The choices made by the top military leader on the planet of Landfall in particular are gut wrenching, as civilians lives are sacrificed and otherwise placed in harm's way in order to achieve military objectives.  Yet, the end result remains as I originally expected.Along the way, the author maintains a wonderful mix of suspense and awe of discovery as the Nameless' technological secrets and culture are slowly unveiled, piece by piece, throughout the book.  By the end of the book, the reader has a far better idea of the ideology and culture of the Nameless, plus an understanding of why they need to drive species to extinction.The Landfall is not a book for the faint of heart.  The book contains stories of courage and triumph, tempered by many defeats for humanity, as human lives are lost far too quickly in this book.  Book two of The Nameless War Trilogy was well worth a year's wait for publication, and I expect to see the final book released around this time again next year.