Rating: 
Summary: great example of combat si-fi
Review: I have always rated books based on wanting to read them again when the next on comes out. I can't wait for vol 2. I feel as though I am a member of the corp.
Rating:
Summary: This book is the best book I have read in years.
Review: I have read a lot of Science Fiction books but this one is one of the best. It has a lot of excitement and I couldn't put the book down until I finished it. IT was a great work of writing by Ian Douglas.
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Summary: A writer in the Heinlein tradition is born! Wow!
Review: I have read over 50 books this year, and this book was one I could not put down--I had to finish it the same day! As a Heinlein lover over the years, I have not always appreciated our more recent sci-fi writers---they couldn't captivate me---but Douglas did! Right from the start. If you are looking for great science fiction---that is-- a swell story in a science setting of the future--this is it. Wow---what a terriffic revelation about the face on Mars---great ideas and development. I was never a marine, but after reading this I nearly joined up! I am now into the second book of the Trilogy and can't put it down either. Call me crazy, or misguided, or desperate for good science fiction---but these two books are excellent. I can hardly wait for the last of the trilogy.
Rating: 
Summary: Hey! It's Science "Fiction". It's supposed to be farfetched
Review: I loved it. O.K it's a little gung ho and Patriotic but that's the point, kind of,. The plot is very cool, the science is good, so to is the premise around which thing is set. The characters are a little Hollywood but then, again it's supposed to be slightly bigger than life.I only gave three stars because i'm not a big "series" fan, but having said that i am looking forward to the next chapter! (Now for the sad part... I finished the last half of this book in one spell in the bath during my honeymoon! Now thats gotta tell you something about the book!) Oh. and as for the "European" remarks in other reviews, I'm from the U.K. and I liked it. Only ten years ago Britain and America were happily giving arms to most of the middle east countries they now seem to have a problem with. so political alliances can, and will change.
Rating:
Summary: What a pleasant surprise!
Review: I picked this book up for some light reading on vacation. I was not able to put it down! The story moves along at a steady pace, the character development is good and the near-future world is something not that far removed from something that could happen. It is very much a rah-rah US book, but that is not very heavy handed. A great read, I just ordered the next two books in the series. Ian Douglas is a real find.
Rating: 
Summary: A Good Rah-rah-USA Read!
Review: I picked this one up as a "why not?" read and was pleased with what I found. I liked the book. I thought the future portrayed was a little too bleak to be factual (running out of ALL resources, etc.,) but it did set the stage well. Mr. Douglas's characterizations of his Marines were a bit above the usual stereotypes. Sometimes not by much though. The political situation he portrayed however, was very interesting. I liked the inteligence he showed in both putting it together very plausibly and in how he depicted his characters reacting to it. Although the tale is nationalistic (I liked that) it was not jingoistic so his characters were not mindless in their actions. That made it much more readable for me. All in all however, the book was well done, interesting and exciting to read, and has indeed left me waiting for the next installment. It has also left me looking to see what else, if anything Mr. Douglas has written!
Rating:
Summary: Captivating military sci-fi
Review: I purchased this book about three years ago and never forgot about it because of its captivating characters and story line. Rereading this book was probably the only time that I have ever reread a first book in a trilogy without having read the following two books. The imagery and story were simple and clear, yet not simplistic. The author does an A- job of balancing character development, story development and the description of relevant details. In some cases, I would have liked a bit more character development or character complexity, however it is clear that this would have been inconsistent with the general style and it would have added unnecessarily to an already long novel. There is a bit of patriotic rah-rah-rah, but from a person who is not usually impressed by that, it was entirely apropriate and engaging in this work. It is likely that political conflicts such as those described in the book will arise in the future, especially in a post 9/11 world. Something needs to drive us to look outside our planet, even if it ends up being the military and flag planting.
Rating:
Summary: Captivating military sci-fi
Review: I purchased this book about three years ago and never forgot about it because of its captivating characters and story line. Rereading this book was probably the only time that I have ever reread a first book in a trilogy without having read the following two books. The imagery and story were simple and clear, yet not simplistic. The author does an A- job of balancing character development, story development and the description of relevant details. In some cases, I would have liked a bit more character development or character complexity, however it is clear that this would have been inconsistent with the general style and it would have added unnecessarily to an already long novel. There is a bit of patriotic rah-rah-rah, but from a person who is not usually impressed by that, it was entirely apropriate and engaging in this work. It is likely that political conflicts such as those described in the book will arise in the future, especially in a post 9/11 world. Something needs to drive us to look outside our planet, even if it ends up being the military and flag planting.
Rating:
Summary: Jar Heads to the Rescue
Review: I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I thought the battle scenes in space and on Mars explored many of the problems related to fighting in space. And the book brought home the age old adage that "No one attacks a strog America." There is a warning in this book as well regarding US/UN relations. Semper Fi everyone and thank God for the USMC.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining in a fantasy/sci-fi way
Review: I've read the comments of most reviewers and it seemed like there is a bit too much flag waving here. Hey, it's a decent book, but it's not a study in patriotism! I'm not a Marine, but I was US Army Airborne Infantry for the better part of a decade. The tactics, strategies and some of the military details are a bit silly, but that's okay. It's only a fictional novel. The characters are fairly interesting. I just wish that Ian Douglas hadn't have to wave the banner a little bit too much. I understand that he wants to portray the Marines as a gung-ho, can-do outfit and all that stuff, but it's even much by USMC standards. As a weapons enthusiast, I do like the little details like HK Laserkarabiner and SIG-Sauer pistols. For realistic portrayal of Marines in combat, it's hard to beat Dan Cragg and David Sherman with their 34th FIST series books. But I'll read the second part and probably the third part of this trilogy. It's entertaining if nothing else. It's not a mental or intellectual exercise.
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