Review: A solid 3 stars
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 01 9, 2014
This is the second book of the Nameless War trilogy. The human forces are attacked by an unknown enemy and hence the "Nameless" moniker. The war is not going well for humanity with the Earth forces being outgunned and very short of war ships. A big chunk of this book follows the Landfall campaign in which the Nameless attempt to take over an Earth colony named Landfall. The author does a good job of painting a grim picture for the human forces and humanity in general. Unfortunately it's only a good job and not a great job. The author needs to do some research into past wars on Earth and military life. It would also add a lot if he would at times show the enemy's side. Authors like Doug Dandridge (Empires at War) and David Weber are good examples. The Nameless being Nameless was interesting at first but now it's just boring. Two books and we still know almost nothing about them. Also, as long as there have been military organizations they have had a tendency to nickname, or create slang for their weapons, enemies, etc. American revolutionaries call the British Redcoats, then in subsequent wars there were Jerry's, Tommy's, Yanks, etc. but in this book it's always...The Nameless. It just doesn't ring true to how fighting men and woman talk. Think also tin can (destroyer), flat top (aircraft carrier), BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle), etc. In addition the politicians are pretty much ineffective buffoons in the book and I suspect this author as well as other new authors I've read have been influenced by our "do nothing" Congress the last few years. However take a look at the history of World War II and you will see that in dire times the politicians will do anything to win a war. At one point in the book the politicians won't release forces from a border with a "Cold War" foe because it would not be politically acceptable. Really! With humanity about to be wiped out? Lastly, during WW II American factories were turning out bombers at the rate of a new one every 17 minutes. A new cargo ship every few days, and millions of rounds of ammunition. The Earth in this book can't seem to put out one new warship except for commercial conversions.Again, a good effort but could be much better. I will be looking forward to the 3rd installment. I think this author has talent but just needs to refine his writing a bit.