Review: Great promise - Poor delivery
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 07 14, 2011
What is it with Sc-Fi Writers these days? So many show the potential to write a good story only to stumble over their own feet before the finish line! Is THIS the new "vogue" in writing style? Let's hope not.The story does indeed begin well, and as Free Books reviews put it, "gives a shout out to older Sci-Fi classics"; but the shout is short-lived, and the Author quickly succumbs to the same pathetic forces of political correctness which make most liberal media a wasteland.The characters are interesting at first, but soon become quirky and tiresome. The war aspect begins well, but soon becomes an exercise in the most wishful of thinking on the part of one who obviously holds to naive ideas concerning the nature & reasons for wars. No Mr. Boulter, not all wars are "State sanctioned murder"; and in fact all too often, "war" is the only option left when reason is refused, and those who love life, liberty, and justice will not see it trampled under an iron boot.In his attempt to patronize modern feminism, the Author takes things from the realm of "Science-Fiction" to that of "Fantasy", and from there, to sheer ABSURDITY. Suspension of belief is one thing; but to require the Reader to imbibe the ridiculous is asking too much.Having served in the military (USMC), and being somewhat of a "Military Historian", it soon became apparent to me that the Author has not had the benefit of the same. Has this been so, it would have added the REALISM to his story-telling, so badly needed. For one thing - NO military has ever existed where they were essentially in moth-balls for 300 yrs., lacking any recent combat experience, which could pose any credible threat to anyone but the defenseless. And to ask that we believe this sort of force could suddenly arrive to not only rescue, but take charge over combat vetted troops is beyond absurd.Had the "Vandoo" spent the last 300 years perfecting & upgrading their military infrastructure, and more realistically obtained & maintained their vaunted "peace" via periodic military conflict... as is the reality; then their return from mythology would have been much more promising and more importantly... BELIEVABLE.In conclusion: The Author whets our appetites with a universe of things he knows to be proven, familiar, and believable, only to then move us into a Fairy-Tale universe full of things he desperately wishes could be, but never will. As such, this work belongs more in the realm of political/social FANTASY than it does among classic Science-Fiction.