A book review by Elliot Jackman
I really enjoyed reading this first in-the-series book from Steve Vincent. It’s a story about a future Marine that has a tough time of it. The Marines are sent all over on missions that often have a high casualty rate causing most not ever to return.
Sergeant Talon Stiler makes if through ten years and finally is out with all the perks it allows him. He gets home to find his wife in bed with another man and doesn’t know what else to do but re-enlist. He gets involved with a secret program to test a new weapon being developed to fight an alien enemy that is kicking butt on human-settled planets throughout the galaxy.
The testing is going well until it’s time to sign off and Stiler doesn’t think the prototypes are ready. His life is pretty much flushed down the toilet at this point since the military leadership has decided to blame every loss of life on his refusal to approve the weapon.
Overall I enjoyed the story, but can’t help but feel that I never felt the deep attachment to the characters that I always hope for. The characters were a little shallow and never really pulled me to the point where I was really concerned about them.
With that caveat, I’d still recommend the book if you like military-oriented space adventures. I did purchase the second book and may purchase more if the action keeps up the way it was in this first book.