Rating: 
Summary: Readable Military SF
Review: OK, I picked up the book, and like so many other people here I could not put it down until I finished it (the last time I did that I was reading "The Stainless Steel Rat Gets Drafted")My only peeve is the book turned out to be part of another "triology" or something, so I felt cheated. People have accused the author of milking it, but I know publishers are big on pushing these things, and actually refusing to buy works unless they are made into triologies, so don't always blame the author! On the other hand... One can tell which writers are ex-military and Hemry is one of them. You can feel the military funkiness. Not only that, but he writes clear, coherently and intelligently (more than I can say for 80% of what passes for military science fiction these days). And the book is an unpretentious, to-the-point story about soldiers caught in a moon war (the very first one by the looks of it), and how they try to get through the whole blasted thing in one piece. Unlike other writers of military SF, Hemry is has no pretense, only a story to tell. There is no "buckle your seat belt because all heck is gonna break loose" type of attitude so prevalent in other works of military SF, nor the hip-swinging, gloating, bragging, punning and hot air also prevalent in other works of this type. Stark and his guys are just a group of soldiers stuck in dire circumstances in which they try to do their best to survive. Story-wise, I had to wince once more at the tough female militray personality that seems to be the staple in these types of books (just go into the military and tell me how many females you see in the frontline combat arms). Also, I can't believe I had to read two to four pages of Stark feeling sorry for himself (oh well, maybe that's keeping it real). And finally, the big crisis at the end gets resolved a bit too quickly and conveniently for my tastes (a coup? on the moon? during war? piece of cake!) But the story plays, and in the end, it keeps you wanting to come back and see how the whole thing turns out (yes (argh!) by reading the sequels!). At least it's a story worth finishing.
Rating:
Summary: Readable Military SF
Review: OK, I picked up the book, and like so many other people here I could not put it down until I finished it (the last time I did that I was reading "The Stainless Steel Rat Gets Drafted") My only peeve is the book turned out to be part of another "triology" or something, so I felt cheated. People have accused the author of milking it, but I know publishers are big on pushing these things, and actually refusing to buy works unless they are made into triologies, so don't always blame the author! On the other hand... One can tell which writers are ex-military and Hemry is one of them. You can feel the military funkiness. Not only that, but he writes clear, coherently and intelligently (more than I can say for 80% of what passes for military science fiction these days). And the book is an unpretentious, to-the-point story about soldiers caught in a moon war (the very first one by the looks of it), and how they try to get through the whole blasted thing in one piece. Unlike other writers of military SF, Hemry is has no pretense, only a story to tell. There is no "buckle your seat belt because all heck is gonna break loose" type of attitude so prevalent in other works of military SF, nor the hip-swinging, gloating, bragging, punning and hot air also prevalent in other works of this type. Stark and his guys are just a group of soldiers stuck in dire circumstances in which they try to do their best to survive. Story-wise, I had to wince once more at the tough female militray personality that seems to be the staple in these types of books (just go into the military and tell me how many females you see in the frontline combat arms). Also, I can't believe I had to read two to four pages of Stark feeling sorry for himself (oh well, maybe that's keeping it real). And finally, the big crisis at the end gets resolved a bit too quickly and conveniently for my tastes (a coup? on the moon? during war? piece of cake!) But the story plays, and in the end, it keeps you wanting to come back and see how the whole thing turns out (yes (argh!) by reading the sequels!). At least it's a story worth finishing.
Rating: 
Summary: Short, sweet, and chock-full of eery believability!
Review: On a recommendation from author David Sherman, I ordered this book from Amazon. I've been going through a Robert Howard kick recently, and needed a bit of high-tech to counterbalance the swords. Well, this was a bit of a surprise. First of all, this wasn't the action-packed, blood-n-guts Starship Troopers garden-variety sci-fi novel. There are a few well-written battles, with some very satisfying violence, but they're more in there to satisfy the military theme, it seemed to me. The main thrust of the story is to let the reader take a glimpse through a window to the not-too-distant future...and what a thoroughly horrifying future it is! You think "political correctness" is annoying now? Its the life-force of the US-of-A in the future. Leadership is geared towards personal gain, not the well-being of the grunts. Like it was mentioned in a previous review, the grunts are considered nothing more than expendable hardware, there to bleed and get the job done, make money for the American corporations and promotions for the officers. Personal initiative is often rewarded by a position on the front-line under some very intense fire. Character development was outstanding! You really get to see inside the mind of a compentent Sergeant and his troops, seeing what makes them tick and getting a feel for that which every military man, since the first military was formed, has felt, that special something that keeps you going in the face of astronomical odds and bumbling incompetents. All in all, I thought this was a very excellent book! A "must-read" if you're in the mood for a thought-provoking Sci-Fi...or even if you're not! I highly recommend this one.
Rating:
Summary: A read till 3AM novel
Review: Science fiction is usually an extrapolation into the future and some authors "futures" can get pretty far-fetched, and that can be fun. But this novel is dead on. The author must be ex-military to have captured so accurately military life and the end game of where the military seems to be heading. The novel is set in the not too distant future where promotion in the US officer core is determined by political correctness rather than effectiveness. Military weapons acquisition is ruled by political pay-backs and the enlisted men and women have become virtually military slaves. The battle is for the resources of the moon, trench warfare in "Starship Trooper" like battle armor. It reminds me of the first time I read "The Forever War." The writing style is a lot like the Starfist series by Dave Sherman and Dan Cragg.
Rating: 
Summary: Duty and honor collide in the near-future.
Review: STARK'S WAR is about many things. It's about the men and women I had the honor to serve with during my career in the U.S. Navy. It's about the sacrifices and rewards of military life, and what might happen if some negative trends continue in both society at large and the military. Oh, yes, and it's an exciting story of how good people have to overcome the worst the world can throw at them. Sergeant Ethan Stark is a decent, dedicated individual in a world which doesn't always reward decency and dedication. But his own stubborness and his insistence on protecting the people who work for him keeps him going. In the end, Sergeant Stark has to decide what duty and honor truly mean. Fewer and fewer Americans have ever served in the military, so STARK'S WAR conveys how that life feels, both the good parts (comraderie, a sense of purpose) and the bad (dealing with a crisis when you're in charge, and dealing with the deaths of friends). I made Sergeant Stark the lead character because I wanted to show just how important senior enlisted people are to keeping things running. One of the things fiction does best is forecasting what might happen if bad trends continue. In STARK'S WAR, that means a world where 'leaders' are managers and where technology allows bosses to sit on the shoulders of their subordinates. That will, I believe, cripple future junior officers who are never allowed to learn how to lead. (I was a junior officer, so I know how hard the learning process can be!) Sergeant Stark has to figure out how to get the job done despite that kind of micromanagement. In short, STARK'S WAR is a warning of what happens when everything goes wrong, but it's also a statement that good people won't just sit back and let bad things happen. It's as realistic as my wide-ranging and long experience in the military can make it. Many people have told me they like STARK'S WAR, and I'm sure you will, too.
Rating: 
Summary: Not very believable
Review: The book revolves around the fact of combat on the moon using close to conventional weapons IE(M-16,Tanks,Hand grenades..) I find it hard to believe that chemical reaction weapons would even work on the moon. Then you have the main hero running and diving on the moon and throwing Hand Grenades it's like the author forgot where he was. Not to mention heavy armor firing in that enviroment. The combat sequences were not very believable for someone claiming to be a Navy Seal or any other military experience.
Rating:
Summary: Stark's War
Review: There is much better combat sci-fi out there. I would not recommend this book to anyone. Poor characterization. Is David Hackworth writing Sci-Fi now?
Rating:
Summary: It's not that bad yet
Review: This book is a decent read, it takes a situation which many have postulated (corporations taking over control) and carried it to a satirical extreme. The situation portrayed of a military hwere the officers are mostly interested in advancing in rank, have no concept of their jobs, duties and responsibilities is wildly overplay. UNfortunately, from my experience and my brother's in the army, there are a few officers like the ones in this book. Thankfully not a lot. The book kept me interested in the lead character and his response to the end. Like in the real military, it is the NCOs who keep everything moving in the right direction and take care of the men. A good book to read on a trip, where you have no distractions.
Rating:
Summary: It's not that bad yet
Review: This book is a decent read, it takes a situation which many have postulated (corporations taking over control) and carried it to a satirical extreme. The situation portrayed of a military hwere the officers are mostly interested in advancing in rank, have no concept of their jobs, duties and responsibilities is wildly overplay. UNfortunately, from my experience and my brother's in the army, there are a few officers like the ones in this book. Thankfully not a lot. The book kept me interested in the lead character and his response to the end. Like in the real military, it is the NCOs who keep everything moving in the right direction and take care of the men. A good book to read on a trip, where you have no distractions.
Rating:
Summary: A Well-Written but Hard-Reading Book
Review: This book is in some ways the flip side of Ian Douglas' Heritage Trilogy. In both stories, American soldiers are fighting United Nations troops in space for similar reasons, but in the Heritage Trilogy the Marines wear the white hats, while Stark's platoon is fighting to protect greedy corporations with extremely idiotic officers calling the shots. The characters are well-drawn and likable, but the overall story is very depressing, and you'll be tempted at many points in the book to go buy a gun and shoot yourself to keep from seeing any of these trends come to pass. So, if you're looking for more of the hoo-rah gung-ho military SF that's standard fare nowadays (and just so there's no hard feelings, I personally love that hoo-rah gung-ho stuff), this book isn't it. If, however, you want something hard and gritty, then this is about as gritty as it gets.
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