Review: Very enjoyable military sci-fi
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 22, 2011
Once again, I find myself thinking that Boulter's cover art doesn't serve him remotely well.  This time, the cover has the flavor of 1960s pulp sci-fi -- and the novel is anything but.  Also, the cover names a ship -- and a captain -- that aren't even characters in the novel!Cover art aside, however, this is a highly enjoyable, compelling piece of military sci-fi -- my favorite, so far, by this author.  The science is, as others have mentioned, highly implausible, but the novel isn't focused on the science.  It's a well-written, character-driven story, with a large cast of engaging characters and an operatic scale.  Surprises abound -- it's got a fun, fresh twist on the "lost fleet" trope -- and the plotting is lively, with an edge-of-your-seat tension holding through much of the novel.  There's a rich supply of humor, courage, nobility, loyalty, tragedy, and even some romance.The editing isn't bad, as small idie-published books go; there are some occasional wrong or dropped words, occasional punctuation errors, and so forth, but not anywhere nearly as many as I've need in other works.  Certainly not enough to diminish the enjoyment of the novel.In short -- buy the book!