Review: Lengthy and Exciting
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 15, 2011
I really enjoyed this book.  Unlike those who were put off with the weak editing, I enjoyed it enough to read what the author was TRYING to say.  That said, there was unintended comedy in such things as the search and replace function substituting "commodore" for "commander" for 2 chapters. Also, details were missed.  There are no chiefs in the Marine Corps enlisted ranks.  Acceptable substitutes (E8 or E9) would have been Master Sargeant, First Sargeant, Master Gunnery Sargeant, or Sargeant Major.Such quibbles aside, this book is at heart a success story.  A young man goes against his family's wishes, attends the Naval Academy and becomes a Navy space pilot.  At every unsure step, he achieves success.  His creativity and ingenuity advance him in the face of hopeless odds, hopeless bureaucrats, and impossible orders.  In a way, it reminded me of Nathan Lowell's Solar Clipper Trader series with guns.  Except that Robert Little put his entire series into one book.