Rating: 
Summary: "Awesome Story; The Characters Really Come To Life"
Review: This is the first book I have read in "The Lost Regiment" series. I've had this on my to read list for quite some time and now must ask myself "why did I wait so long?" Forstchen did an excellent job making these characters flesh and blood people you come to care about. Many of them are either beaten down by 8 years of fighting Rebs and the Horde, or have actually come to love war. While Col. Keane seems a clone of real-life Maine Col. Joshua Chamberlain of Gettysburg fame, I did like the self-doubt that kept cropping up in him throughout the war. It made him more of a real person instead of some super leader-type. Still he goes out and does his job, even though he has to do some very unpleasant things that will eat at his soul forever. You also really felt the sense of desperation of the humans as the Horde keeps winning one battle after another, threatening the civiliaztion they worked so hard to build. Very good battle scenes, especially the dogfight between the human and Horde airships. I definitely want to read more of "The Lost Regiment" series.
Rating:
Summary: "Awesome Story; The Characters Really Come To Life"
Review: This is the first book I have read in "The Lost Regiment" series. I've had this on my to read list for quite some time and now must ask myself "why did I wait so long?" Forstchen did an excellent job making these characters flesh and blood people you come to care about. Many of them are either beaten down by 8 years of fighting Rebs and the Horde, or have actually come to love war. While Col. Keane seems a clone of real-life Maine Col. Joshua Chamberlain of Gettysburg fame, I did like the self-doubt that kept cropping up in him throughout the war. It made him more of a real person instead of some super leader-type. Still he goes out and does his job, even though he has to do some very unpleasant things that will eat at his soul forever. You also really felt the sense of desperation of the humans as the Horde keeps winning one battle after another, threatening the civiliaztion they worked so hard to build. Very good battle scenes, especially the dogfight between the human and Horde airships. I definitely want to read more of "The Lost Regiment" series.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent installment in this series.... 4.5 Stars
Review: This was a good follow up to the first two. Once again, the humans are at war. This time against a more maodern army using gunpowder and flying ships.Forstchen does a very good job in keeping the reader interested. Apparently, the aliens of this worl at one time were a very advanced space-faring race. Something dramatic happened to them many thousands of years ago to push them back to their current state as nomadic warriors. Forstchen hints around at the incredible machinery that they used to have. At one point, the Merki come up with an engine that they dug out of one of the graves of the "ancients". Apparently some kind of nuclear reactor. Several Merki die as a result of harnessing the engine... Anyway, the Merki are a band of warriors that are triple the size of the previous Tugar. And, they are using similar weapons to what the humans have. The Merki can field between 350,000 and 500,000 soldiers. They do have a fault. They do not believe that fighting humans is dignified. Or that using these new human weapons is glorious. This is an excellent book with a surprise ending. It leaves you wanting to immediately go on to the 4th in the series. Unfortunately for me, I don't have the 4th... Yet.
Rating: 
Summary: Cliffhanger.
Review: War is changing in Forstchen's world. Good! This sort of war without prisoners, without mercy, a war of total anihilation, gets to be a little more modern still by the end of "Terrible Swift Sword." Keane will make a decision that will buy his Republic time at the price of tens of thousands of lives. The enemy will also understand that things cannot go back to be the way they were before the Yankees arrived. "Terrible Swift Sword" moves fast, like all the other noves in the series, and is an absolute cliffhanger. Again the Cartha are trapped (part their fault, part fate) between mortal enemies who will use them mercilessly to gain advantage. And Muzta of the Tugars will become one of the most interesting aliens ever. The Republic hangs from a thread. The folly of its leaders is balanced by their intelligence during the worst of times. One of the best things about this series is that, in spite of showing humans as the "good" guys, the author presents many of our species as what we are so good at producing: murderous, selfish, cowardly men who have a tough time accepting responsibility for freedom. This book prepares the way for an epic fourth installment of scorched earth. Excellent.
Rating:
Summary: Cliffhanger.
Review: War is changing in Forstchen's world. Good! This sort of war without prisoners, without mercy, a war of total anihilation, gets to be a little more modern still by the end of "Terrible Swift Sword." Keane will make a decision that will buy his Republic time at the price of tens of thousands of lives. The enemy will also understand that things cannot go back to be the way they were before the Yankees arrived. "Terrible Swift Sword" moves fast, like all the other noves in the series, and is an absolute cliffhanger. Again the Cartha are trapped (part their fault, part fate) between mortal enemies who will use them mercilessly to gain advantage. And Muzta of the Tugars will become one of the most interesting aliens ever. The Republic hangs from a thread. The folly of its leaders is balanced by their intelligence during the worst of times. One of the best things about this series is that, in spite of showing humans as the "good" guys, the author presents many of our species as what we are so good at producing: murderous, selfish, cowardly men who have a tough time accepting responsibility for freedom. This book prepares the way for an epic fourth installment of scorched earth. Excellent.
Rating:
Summary: How does this man do it?
Review: Yet another excellent read from Forschten. I simply cannot put it down. Shows that the army of the Republic is not as invincible as it first seemed. A word of advice to future readers: buy this book and Fateful Lightning at the same time. Since this book is something of a cliffhanger, that will ease your stress. A few minor criticisms: A map of the entire republics of both Rus and Roum would be nice. This book also doesn't focus on the battlefield as much, more on the characters. The last minor complaint is the presence of these aerosteamers. A little far fetched. Otherwise, an excellent book!
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