Wow! What a great series of books with this being #6 and more to come!
I was a little concerned about a story that was written from the view point of Generals and Admirals. While great thinkers, they are not always great warriors since they do not get in the trenches that often. But, Mr Allen is a very good story teller and he seems to grab the action from everyone’s perspective and relate it very well! He gives a pretty good analysis of the emotions that go with commanding people and the sometimes unbearable sense of responsibility that comes with those kinds of positions. There is no civilian comparison to what a military commander faces when he knows that his actions or just words could end the lives of his soldiers, sailors or Marines. You can write about it, but you can’t know it unless you’ve been there!
I like that Mr. Allen shows how the Generals and Admirals understand that there is no minor battle, no “insignificant losses” whatever that means! Every loss, every death on a battlefield has to mean something to somebody or there’s no reason to fight. Senior leaders need to believe that every person under their command isn’t just a statistic. Body counts are an example of the most inhuman treatment of soldiers, sailor and Marines that I have ever experienced! Luckly, Mr. Allen doesn’t let that kind of idiocy get into his books.
On a lighter side, I do not know how Mr. Allen keeps all these Admirals and Generals straight! Every time we get a new book in this series or a new character they get promoted and moved to a new job! That’s great for the story line, but it makes keeping up with characters pretty difficult, at least in my opinion.
There is a lot of action in this book. After the massive battle in the last book, you would wonder what in the world could happen next? Where are they greeting all these troops and equipment? And, I just don’t understand how you can fight a battle on an entire world that has just one enemy base? That’s a pretty simplistic solution to really a massive undertaking!
And I just love Mr. Allen’s solution to saving the human race. But, I’m not going to reveal that right here. You just have to read the book. It’s well written, albeit, with some words left out here and there. I can hardly wait for the next book.