How many ways can a soldier die? I really, really don’t want to know, but all you need to do is read this book and count the ways Veteran James McGill dies! He dies a lot! I just don’t understand how these Marines can die and just come back for more. Even if they have a “bad” death, they come back for more as if nothing strange had happened. That’s kind of what this book is about, how Veteran McGill dies.
This mission starts off pretty gruesome. McGill and his entire Legion Cohort plus others are standing on a parade field which is other wise a spaceport landing pad. They are waiting for the first shipment of rare ore being brought from Metal World. Unfortunately, the ship enters the Earth’s atmosphere without much intent on braking. It splatters the thirty-thousand or so Legionaries on the tarmac and kills a huge amount of civilians there for the ceremonies. Included in that bunch is James McGills parents!
So, after being revived, Veteran McGill is on a mission for revenge. They initially don’t know who did what, but later find out that the cargo ship was attacked by someone just as it came out of warp-space. Legion Varus was aboard the Minotaur which was following a very weak trail leading to the far edge of space. This was out where the squids lived and beyond the Empires reach. Still, they hoped to find the perpetrators before they left known space, but there was no assurance they could get that done.
Since the mission had been thrown together so quickly, a lot of heavy equipment had to be left behind. They only had some armor and their weapons but nothing like their heavy Dragons. It was hoped that whomever they met wouldn’t put up much resistance. Fat chance of that! As soon as they found a suspect planet and went into orbit, and immediately they were attacked.
Now, the other piece of equipment that was barely brought was just one of their revival machines. Yes, that’s the alien technology that uses human protomass to bring back the dead! Doesn’t that sound wonderful? If you haven’t been following this story line, then you’re going to be lost pretty quickly. See, you can get killed any way possible and as gruesome as possible, but as long as someone acknowledges your death, you can be regenerated in a new body! Your memory and “sole” are stored digitally constantly. Once you die and enough protomass is available, you get a new body in which they download your memory and “sole”. The thing is, your new body is recorded occasionally at a young age and that’s what you get when you’re regenerated. You’re young age, but with all your previous memories.
Yeah, remember, you have all those memories of how you died and just died in your new brain. It’s a wonder these people don’t go screaming nuts as soon as they’re aware of where they are. And, if the revival machine is ever destroyed, then you are permanently dead. Now, you can also be “permed” if the powers-that-be decide they no longer need your services or you’ve committed such a serious crime as to warrant being permed.
Veteran McGill has done all of it. He should have been permed a long time ago, but he is such a crafty guy that he always manages to make it back to life. But, remember, this book is titled “Death World”. With only one revival machine and their ship already under attack, it’s going to be a long mission and it might require you staying alive as long as possible. I don’t think that’s possible for McGill. Too many people want him dead!
This again is another great book in this series. I believe it will continue so that’s good. I will certainly be looking for the next one. I find these books very intense and I seem to read them very fast. The story-line is great, but I just don’t know about all this dying and come back alive stuff. Seems real creepy.