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Stark's War

Stark's War

List Price: $5.99
Your Price: $5.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A military tour-de-farce
Review: At best an uneven book. When it is dealing with the small unit tactics, combat, and interactions, fantastic. When dealing with the socio-political enviroment, ther leaves a large area where I just could not swallow the world the story is set in.

As long as the military action is the heart of the story, very good. The society seems like Orwell's 1984, but without the talent to make it believable.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Starks War
Review: Bad.. Very bad. This is one of the worst examples of the genre I have every encountered. Little plot, no characterization. I didn't find ANYTHING redeeming about this book. I have never read anything by this author before, but I cannot believe that he is published based on this effort. Maybe he had a contract that required X number of words... If you are stuck on an airplane with NOTHING else to do this is suitable.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: great military sf
Review: During the first century of the new millennium, all the governments of the world collapsed except America, leaving that nation as the only superpower on the planet. American government officials funded the military but political office was awarded to those individuals will to do the corporation's bidding. Former President Eisenhower's worst nightmare had come to pass as military actions were dictated by corporate profits. Those individuals seeking freedom from the oppression of the United States established colonies on the moon. This situation irked the corporate and political leaders of America, who declared the moon as American territory and dispatched troops to enforce the edict.

The military receive no resistance upon landing on the moon. The colonists are returned to earth while loyal American are transported to the lunar colonies with the military assigned to keep them safe from invasion. Other earthlings band together to stop the American thrust to dominate space as they have done on the planet. The war on the moon lasts for years. Men like NCO Sergeant Ethan Stark lead soldiers into combat, but his loyalties are with the safety of his men and not some government 250,000 miles away.

STARK'S WAR is a high caliber military science fiction thriller that belies the fact that this is John G. Henry's first published novel. The fast-paced story line reads as if the audience is seeing the war first hand due to the nonstop action and the likable characters. Hopefully, Stark stars in a series of novels that should spell adult Skywalker (Luke not Darth).

Harriet Klausner

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: First things first
Review: For me this book is an example of everything that is wrong with miltary/science fiction. Here we have a big tough guy who solves all his problems by being strong and tough a manly man. I know that it goes with the territory and I really shouldn't complian because I have read the entire "STARFIST" seirse but sometimes you want a little more for your money.

Overall-You can turn off your thinking cap and have some fun with this but the plot is very by-the-numbers you have read it a million times before.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The real army
Review: From what I've been told by my ex-army buddies this is about as accurate as it comes in terms of laying out army life. Moron officers, cheap equipment, faulty weapons built by the lowest bidder and an overriding stupidity and rigidness from above.

This book doesn't glorify anything and is one of the better military scifi I have read.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: At times an interesting read
Review: I agree with earlier reviewers that Mr. Hemry has excellentideas on futuristic battles occurring on the moon. Sandwiched betweenthese three brief, interesting battles are pages on pages of thoughts and dialog that are extremely sterotypical on how civilians can't possibly understand a military individual and officers are all idiots.

The book is entertaining enough, but I wish Mr. Hemry would have evolved the brief glimpses of the struggle for the moon into a whole book.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Real, addicting and a roleplaying game and/or movie.
Review: I have to agree with the other 5 star reviewers. This is anoutstanding book. If you visit his webpage ... you will find that Mr. Hemry is ex-Navy. Being ex-military myself, I have to say that this book's treatment of the future US military is a believable exaggeration of current and historical conditions. Just when I thought I was going to be left with a satisfying ending, I was treated to a teaser that has left me anxious for his next book, Stark's Command (according to the webpage).

Rather than repeat anymore about the book as a work, let me offer another view of its possibilities. Early in the page count, I found myself considering what it would be like to role-play in a Stark's War campaign setting. By the time I finished, I had determined that most any scifi or contemporary/near future set of RPG rules could run a campaign in Stark's universe. The book is short enough and clear enough to be a sourcebook for such an attempt even with future releases. Any role-player would find Stark's War a resource for his future genre games. Fear not this purchase.

My estimation of the rules best suited for a Stark's War campaign: 2300AD, Babylon Project, Jovian Chronicles, Traveller, Top Secret/SI, XXVc, Justifiers, Alternity and Era Ten.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Fun and entertaining, but not very realistic.
Review: I read this book essentially in one day. The plot is predictable right down to the obligatory hospital scenes and male/female buddy bonding scenes that are so fashionable right now. What I find most disturbing isn't the lack of credibility in the story line or the weapons or the characters. What is most disturbing is this book is an obvious set-up for follow on novels.

Mr. Hemry seems to have taken one large novel and broken it down into seperate books. One wonders if this is for the monetary or artistic ways this can play out. If you write a book about the Moon and war thereon, don't stop half way and tease. Write the whole thing and publish it. If Robert Heinlein had tried to publish "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" in this manner he would have been laughed out of his publishers office.

The authors of today should stop trying to milk the endless sequel cash cow and just get back to the business of writing enjoyable self contained novels.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A lead in for the sequel(s)
Review: I read this book essentially in one day. The plot is predictable right down to the obligatory hospital scenes and male/female buddy bonding scenes that are so fashionable right now. What I find most disturbing isn't the lack of credibility in the story line or the weapons or the characters. What is most disturbing is this book is an obvious set-up for follow on novels.

Mr. Hemry seems to have taken one large novel and broken it down into seperate books. One wonders if this is for the monetary or artistic ways this can play out. If you write a book about the Moon and war thereon, don't stop half way and tease. Write the whole thing and publish it. If Robert Heinlein had tried to publish "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" in this manner he would have been laughed out of his publishers office.

The authors of today should stop trying to milk the endless sequel cash cow and just get back to the business of writing enjoyable self contained novels.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Accessible and Interesting Military Science Fiction
Review: If you like the camaraderie of military fiction and the adventure of outer space, you'll enjoy this series! Stark is a talented, experienced noncom pushed into ever higher levels of responsibility and leadership. His skills as a leader are obvious, though he manages to remain believably human. We're spared the aggravating omnipotence or crippling self-doubt so prevalent to sudden heroes -- Stark is a man simply doing what is needed.

Also, while providing enough information about battle armor and weapons to satisfy the tech wizards among us, and bring the moonscape to life, Hemry's descriptions don't require the reader to have an engineering degree. He makes the hardware interesting and integral to the story, not a substitution for plot and character. Reminded me of my favorite Heinleins. ;-)


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