Deathday

Rating:
Summary: people of depth
Review: I loved this story. I thought the people had some depth and it was nice to see minorities written as people not as "black people" or "Hispanic people". It boils down to color is an issue if you allow it and that we aren't the only ones with race issues. I hate so many people panned it. I loved it so much I gave it to a friend to read.

Rating:
Summary: Painful, trite and overdone
Review: I realy wanted to like this book. I picked it up looking for a new author. As others have noted, racism plays a big role in this book. It's not done well. The author manages to pound the issue into nearly every page regadless of wether it would fit the plot.

Those that noted that the aliens seem to share human motivations and actions are in my opinion, correct.

I had to give up on this book after about 50 pages. Like others who have reviewed it, I love sci-fi, I thought I was getting a good action packed aliens-vs-human thriller. What I got was a heavy handed morality play that could have been better by a third grader.

When I found out from reviews that author actually decided to write this as a first in a "series" I gave up. I rarley put down a book unfinshed. It bothers me to do so and I probably would have finished this mindnumming tale if it had been a stand alone novel.

I cannot recommend anyone read this.

Rating:
Summary: Good Alien Invasion reading
Review: I see a lot of people really didn't like for this book and I don't understand why. It is a little slow in parts but interesting nonetheless. I thought that the aliens were intriguing and the characters are very developed. The story moves at a decent pace for the most part.

One only real problem I have with this book is that it doesn't really describe the aliens technology a whole lot. Maybe it is in the sequel. I recommend this book. I think it is a pretty good Alien Invasion story and I look forward to reading Earthrise.

Rating:
Summary: Good Alien Invasion read
Review: I see alot of people really didnt like for this book and I dont understand why. It is a little slow in parts but interesting none the less. I thought that the aliens were intruging and the charaters are very developed. The story moves at a decent pace for the most part.

One only real problem I have with this book is that it does'nt really describe the aliens technology a whole lot. Maybe it is in the sequel. I recommend this book. I think it is a pretty good Alien Invasion story and I look forward to reading Earthrise.

Rating:
Summary: Stay Away!
Review: I was looking for a word to describe this book and nothing other than "horrible" or synonyms came to my mind.
I borrowed this book from someone at work because the little synopsys made it sound interesting, I should have reminded myself to never judge a book from its cover. To make it short, this book is boring, I usually read a book in a couple of days but this time it took me a month just to get done with the first chapter (which is where I dropped it altogether). This book is so full of cliche' that will bore you to death before you even try to understand what's going on. I never gave such a negative review to a book, but if you have some spare dollars you can find thousands of great books here on Amazon. Stay away from this one.

Rating:
Summary: great sf
Review: In 2020 in what seemed like a blink of an eye, New York City, Moscow, and Beijing were easily destroyed. Not much more than a weekend past and the invaders conquered the earth. More than three billion humans died starting on what became known as Black Friday as the alien Sauron race, using superior weaponry, easily win the war. Any human who survived the weekend of terror has a struggle ahead as slaves of the mighty Sauren race.

UN Security Officer Jack Manning ends his vacation once he learns that the nations of the world lost to the brutally efficient Saurons. The leadership Zin faction of the conquerors have no mercy immediately directing their Kon soldiers to kill any opposition no matter how slight. In that environment, a captured Jack labors in the mines of his enemy before being reassigned to a massive temple building construction project. He patiently waits to escape, but the opportunity never seems to surface.

DEATHDAY, the first tale of William Deitz's alien invasion series, is an exciting non-stop action thriller though most of the book occurs after the Saurons win. The fast-paced story line is exciting and the insight into the Sauron caste system is cleverly intermingled into the plot so readers begin to understand the conquerors. This is what makes this a must read for sub-genre fans. William C Dietz provides more than just an opening gamut of a military science fiction thriller along the lines of V. He provides a deep social and psychological study of humanity and the Saurons that make the invasion seem devastatingly real and leave breathless readers waiting for EARTHRISE.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: William C. Dietz is a name I'll remember (and avoid).
Review: Interesting enough that I did finish reading it, but confusing (or perhaps just more tiring) trying to keep track of the different species of insect aliens and their "hierarchy". If it had been a "complete" story, I would have walked away with a review of fair, but it was especially disappointing to get to the end and find out it is the first of a series (which I won't be continuing). 2 stars may be a little generous, but I have to reserve 1 star for those I won't even finish. I'm going to make an effort to read these reviews before buying from now on.

Rating:
Summary: Incoming!--Deathday by William C. Dietz
Review: It would be all together too easy to dismiss this novel, first in a series, as yet another typical Aliens attack invasion story. And, on one level, that is in fact all this entire novel is about. Aliens, in this case known as the Saurons, have arrived in the year 2020 and using their technologically advanced weaponry, have laid waste to the planet. In the three days since their sudden arrival on what is forever known as "Black Friday," the Saurons have destroyed nearly every single manmade structure on the planet. Major cities and small villages are nothing more than smoking rubble, billions have died, and the rest of humanity has been enslaved except for a few pockets here and there. Ironically, the Saurons have now designated our world as "Haven."

While working on the typical alien invasion, everyone dies, but don't forget the inevitable resistance movement scheming to take back the planet (where is Arnold when you really need him?) level, there is an intriguing deeper level to this novel. The Saurons Empire is made up of subjugated races and there is simmering internal racial strife. "Yes, there was little doubt that the great architect understood the nature of his creations, wisely setting Zin over Kan, Kan over Fon, and the Saurons over all the other species." Not only are there strong distinctions between the groups, such as the Kan who are the fighters but seem to have little independent reasoning ability on their own, there are also distinctions between individual members of the same group. In the Sauron culture, the darker one's appearance is becomes the determining factor of importance and as such, regulate the Fon as being the lowest of the low.

While the Saurons have the same internal political infighting issues and racial problems that have plagued Mankind for centuries, they also seem to have the inability to see beyond their own biases. In so doing, they place dark skinned persons in power as overseerers in various roles over what is left of humanity. Not only does this encourage white separatist groups to armed organized resistance, it causes factions to develop in the Saurons Empire. Soon, radical elements in the alien and the human communities join forces, united in their opposition.

While dealing with the touchy theme of racism, Mr. Dietz also throws in elements in regards to a religious theme. The Saurons are a nomadic empire, going from planet to planet on a quest as outlined in their "Book of Life." Following their religious theory, they have come here to build what appear to be temples before moving on to the next planet. But, for reasons initially known only to themselves, the temples have to be constructed using a rigid set of protocols in a specified time frame and time is running out.

At 355 pages, this is a very enjoyable read working on different levels and themes. Primarily an action-oriented novel with some limited character development, Mr. Dietz keeps the preaching down to the barest minimum. Readers need to be aware that beyond its twist ending, this novel is a setup novel for the next in the series. As such, the ending is very open and this novel leaves quite a number of story threads hanging. The next novel according to this work is titled EarthRise and was scheduled to be released in the fall of 2002.

Rating:
Summary: DeathDay
Review: Sort of Independence Day Plays The Race Card.

Saurons swoop down on Earth in their great ships and level it. The focus is on the USA (would have been nice for a few global updates) and the scattered dregs of humanity left alive there. With insectoid invaders coralling any humans misguided enough to use the main highways, survivalists take to the wilderness, Neo-Nazi types band together in hidden enclaves, and a new President hastily installed from a little lower down the chain of command than usual (Air Force One and Two gone, with no survivors)--plus, he's African-American--it's a bleak new day.

Structurally, the book resembles Stephen King's The Stand, at least in the very earlygoing; the scene shifts between various key characters dispersed throughout an obliterated USA, most of them wandering towards somewhere where there could be hope, relations, or allies. Dietz handles this extended setting-up stage, with intriguing character introductions, very well. But things get even better when the Saurons come down from on high and start herding the humans into slave-camps. The book feels a bit like some scenes from Schindler's List, of all things (or, in fact, known human history!), as we are introduced not only to the terrifying ruthlessness of Earth's new controllers, the Saurons, but also the Ra'Na, a furry race of ETs already enslaved by the bugs. After a long, enervating train ride where you were packed in with the rest of the human herd, step right up and be processed into a human work-camp, as a Ra'Na takes your name and gets you to fill out the necessary paperwork (there isn't any paperwork, but you will be tagged and assigned to duty--lie, or take umbrage, and a Sauron will shoot you or whip you). It's chillingly effective stuff, and becomes part of the elements swirling around that suggest Dietz is trying to write something deeper than your average alien-invasion yarn.

Then we learn more about the Sauron social scene. The dark-carapaced Saurons, the Zin, are in charge, the elite, the allegedly most intelligent. At the bottom of the chain are the lowly white Saurons, the Fon, not so smart (according to the Zin--or are the Fon just kept that way...?) not that powerful, and with some kind of collective memory problem which, incidentally, keeps them from knowing their own race's most important secret (said secret being the whole reason why the Saurons have come to Earth). In the middle is the real Sauron warrior class, the deadly Han, who take care of the strongarm tactics, and have some chameleon abilities.

It's all deliciously complex for a mere invasion story, especially when the Zin favour dark-skinned humans over the somewhat nonplussed light-complexioned folks. Most nonplussed are the Neo-Nazis, who see new US President Franklin--an African-American--as just a puppet of the Zin. They'd like to get rid of him and his wife, Jina, and it's up to a fellow named Manning, Franklin's security chief and all-around main action-man of our story, to keep Franklin in one piece...because Franklin is not a puppet of his overseers though he plays the part well, to stay alive, and bargain for even the smallest rights for human slaves. In fact, Franklin, along with Manning, may be humanity's only hope for freedom, if only he can get humans of all races to work together and exploit the Sauron's greatest vulnerability.

This is the fourth Dietz book I've read, and he has become a bit of an old reliable. I really appreciate his style--he has a very clean but colourful way with words, without relying on slickness--and he does the action thing, plus complexity, with great panache. I will read EarthRise, the sequel to DeathDay, just as soon as it shows up in a cover that bends.

Rating:
Summary: Deitz left his build up for a lame charade of the last chaps
Review: This was a good sci fic story. His build up leads everyone to believe some great multi-character scandal that will leads to some great multi-scandal ending. He fails horribly! And I mean HORRIBLY! This guy couldn't see a proper ending if it fell on him and kissed his .... Either he got too lazy to write or he didn't stick to his creative guns to make it right. Both consequences, are consequences to himself and his readership. I will not buy one of his books again!!! He has no finishing power.

Bob Manni