This is a new author to me. This author has written a very good book. I really enjoyed the drama which seemed to go on forever. This is a future space opera where the Pacific Alliance comprised of the United States and Japan (the Good Guys) against the Federation, comprised of the Russia and Germany (the Bad Guys). Of course, I’m an American so obviously the Russians are the bad guys and it’s my review.
Well, the author weaves a very, very detailed thriller and suspenseful story where the basic premise is that Russia wants to destroy the Pacific Alliance military assets both in space, on and in the sea, and eventually all ground elements. They don’t specifically want to start a nuclear war, just do enough damage and eliminate enough military assets so the Pacific Alliance will have to surrender. Their plan is very bold and very workable if everything goes as they expect it to go. The Americans in particular are portrayed as very gullible, though peace loving to the point of never having the idea that Russia would be willing to go to war. Even after Russia successfully test fires a newly developed hyper-fast rocket and the American forces capture the test, the American President doesn’t want to understand the significance of this new weapon. Nothing currently in the Pacific Alliance arsenal can defeat this missile in the time it would be required to do so. All of their missile defense systems are suddenly obsolete. Russia is planning to attack, but the American President, currently in Italy, is only interested in continuing his re-election campaigning. He won’t listen or pay attention to what his own Supreme Space Force General is telling him.
There is a lot of details in this book. You get to know quite a few characters in some detail. I did find that the author tends to pair up male and female characters way too conveniently and they are all having sex. Now, I don’t have a problem with the sex part, but this doesn’t happen in real life. Most people are either married or just not attracted to each other when they are co-workers or involved in important work. I would also say the author is a little sexist in that every female character seems to be very beautiful. While that’s nice, it’s really not necessary and unbelievable to say the least. There was also a chapter or two that described the greenhouses in the moon crater Copernicus. I have no idea why this entire scene was even including in the book. It didn’t seem to add anything other than to show another professional couple copulating in the greenhouse after hours. And lastly, I think the author should look for a better graphics illustrator for his book cover. The current one is pretty plain compared to what it could be.
Still, this is an excellent and exciting book. I had trouble putting it down. I was very upset with the Americans during most of the book, but thankfully, things turned out a little better in the end. If you want a very good military science fiction book, then you’ve found it. I will be looking for more books by this author.