I guess if you have a good pattern for a book then why not use it again. This book reads a lot like some of the other Rick Partlow books. The main character in this one is a very rich kid that isn’t happy with his life because it’s being managed very strictly by his mother. She is a very overbearing, extremely rich executive that owns or believe she owns everybody and everything, including her son. Tyler Callas is the son and he certainly wishes he was someone else entirely. His only link to anyone he feels knows what the real world is like is his Grandfather or Gramps for shore.
He had long talks with his Gramps about what it was like before the corporations took over everything and especially about the First Tahni War. People now lived in huge cities and since the Sino-Russian War nobody lived outside the cities. Yet, Gramps took young Tyler on camping trips as often as he could. During these trips, they’d talk about Gramp’s time with the Marines. Gramps would show him how to survive in the woods and some of the techniques he was taught while in the Marines. It wasn’t long before Tyler came to conclusion that he wanted to attend the Academy and become a Marine Officer. He felt it was his duty to do so since the Second Tahni War was just beginning. He also found out from his mom that she and her corporate friends had been manipulating this whole war and peace thing since they saw a profit in the war. The Common Wealth could have and should have stopped the Tahni completely at the end of the First Tahni War, but they didn’t.
Of course Tyler’s mom was dead-set against Tyler having anything to do with the military. He was going to the University to study business and finances and some day replace her as a corporate executive and possibly sit on the Corporate Council. That was her plan and it was one Tyler absolutely didn’t want to happen. But there wasn’t much he could do about it until he had one final meeting with his Gramps.
They had to meet on the outskirts of the city at an abandoned gas station. Tyler told his Gramps of his dilemma, but Gramps wasn’t sure he should help Tyler go against his daughter’s (Tyler’s mom) wishes. That is until the mother’s bodyguard showed up with the intent to kill Gramps and stop all his ridiculous talk of the Marines or any military career for Tyler. Tyler wasn’t going to let that happen and when the bodyguard pulled his gun, Tyler jump in front of his Gramps and wrestled the with the guy. The guy went off between the two and then Tyler realized he has just killed someone.
So here’s where the story takes off. Gramps knows people. He got Tyler fixed up with a guy that can change DNA markers and also do facial remodeling that could make Tyler into a entirely different person, if not permanently, at least long enough for Tyler to join the Marines. Tyler did just that although his name was now Randall Munroe. He managed to get through Marine boot camp without much trouble thanks to his prior knowledge given to him by his Gramps. After that he also found out that he was going to Marine Force Recon. This was something unusual since they picked the cream of the crop for this elite force. He reported to his new unit and it wasn’t long before his background story was not accepted by his new CO. But, the CO didn’t care where Munroe came from as long as he was a good Recon Marine!
Now we start reading about the missions this young Recon Marine will go on and the things he has to do to survive. It’s a very interesting story although similar to some of the other Marine stories Mr. Partlow writes about in his other Drop Trooper books. While I like the story, it’s kind of easy to figure out where things are going but this one seems to move pretty fast. It’s not long until now Sergeant Munroe is involved in the invasion of the Tahni homeworld. You would know from previous books that the humans did quite well against the Tahni even thought they were larger and stronger. They still had some religious hang-ups that put them at a disadvantage that the humans were quick to exploit. So, it’s know of interesting that this Second Tahni War ends at the end of this book.
I’m not sure where this story will go now, but I do know that Mr. Partlow has written several books with characters going far beyond their Tahni war experiences. Some even had former Tahni warriors working with them as they did other thing. We’ll just have to read book 2, “The Hunter”, which is on my reading list right now.