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Summary: Brains and Brawn On a Long Trek, Part One
Review: Onslaught is the first novel of the Demontech series. On a world elsewhere in the multiverse, the human inhabitants share the planet with little folks and other magical beings, whom they call demons. In Jokapcul, Lord Lackland, the Dark Prince of Matilda, calls upon the demons to bring him knowledge of war and is answered with a stack of US Army Field Manuals. On the same night, in Frangeria, a philosopher calls upon the demons to show their existence, but his pronunciation is bad and the demons think he is asking for leadership, and is answered with a US Marine Gunnery Sergeant in full dress uniform.After the magicians of Jokapcul comprehend the contents of the field manuals, they undertake the invasion of New Bally, a freeport adjacent to the Duchy of Bostia. There they encountered the Frangerian sea soldiers called Marines. Haft and Spinner are having port liberty when they are awakened in the night by very agitated women who insist that they must leave NOW. When Spinner learns that the Jokapcul have invaded, he takes Haft with him out into the night. As they cautiously move toward the sounds of battle, they find a unit of Jokapcul light infantry with prisoners, one of which is Rammer, their lead sergeant. Before they can think of a way to free him, Rammer silently mouths the word "Go". Haft and Spinner then sneak to the docks and board their ship, take weapons, equipment and the manual Lord Gunny Says, and then return to the town. There they note the strength with which the prisoners, including their fellow marines, are guarded and reluctantly conclude that they will not be able to free them. Then they encounter an old man who is a former Frangerian Sea Soldier called Tiger. He feeds them and shows them a concealed way to get to the forest outside the walls. As they leave, they promise him to return with an army to free New Bally. Haft and Spinner must return to Frangeria to warn them of the invasion, but to reach their nation they must travel across the continent and then over the Inner Ocean. As they walk through the tunnel that is the first leg of the journey, Spinner wonders why he has promised Tiger to return. This novel is, in an entertaining way, a demonstration of the large difference between information and knowledge. US Army field manuals contain general information that should be taught to every soldier, but US Marine Gunnery Sergeants contain additional knowledge learned from their own predecessors as well as actual field experience. While the Jokapcul have read the books, the Frangerian Marines have been taught by a man who knows his trade thoroughly, including the parts that never get into the books. This novel is similar in plot to the Mardukan March series by Weber & Ringo, a trek across land and sea, and some of the characters are also similar to Haft and Spinner, but the details are greatly different since there are only two marines, not a company. Thus, as another reviewer pointed out, this is an escape and evasion story with elements of a loooong range patrol returning with vital intelligence, much like most of the action in Saberhagen's The Broken Lands in the Empire of the East series. The characters themselves were obviously chosen to be as fully opposite in personality as would be allowed in a military service. Haft is the impulsive one who acts before thinking very much and Spinner is the pensive one for thinks too much before acting. Haft thinks Spinner is too proud of his brains and Spinner thinks Haft is too proud of his muscles. However, they make a good team, often correcting each other's mistakes, but it is fortunate that Haft's first reaction to dangerous surprises is a hard stroke of his axe. Recommended for Sherman fans and anyone else who enjoys infantry combat in a fantasy setting.
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Summary: A Marine by any other name ....
Review: The biggest problem with this book is there is no map. If you are going to have characters wandering across a landscape, a map should be provided. With that complaint recorded, I must also confess to not caring for fiction about Marines all that much. But this book did keep me reading, albeit over a while because I read it in small doses at first, not the way to read it. Once I had the time to keep reading, it read well and the story kept moving. Perhaps the action was a bit non-stop, but that didn't matter in this story of two sea-soldiers in a parallel world which is very well described and realized. They are cut off from their main force and try to cross a continent to rejoin their forces. The enemy is using both magic (the control of demons) and military tactics from Field Manuals and Technical Manuals of the US Army which have been brought to this world. The sea-soldiers trace their force back to the mysterious appearance of Gunny, the founder of the sea-soldiers. This is just volume one - and I hope the continuing adventures will have maps. But I'll read them without a map if it comes to that.
Rating:
Summary: A Marine by any other name ....
Review: The biggest problem with this book is there is no map. If you are going to have characters wandering across a landscape, a map should be provided. With that complaint recorded, I must also confess to not caring for fiction about Marines all that much. But this book did keep me reading, albeit over a while because I read it in small doses at first, not the way to read it. Once I had the time to keep reading, it read well and the story kept moving. Perhaps the action was a bit non-stop, but that didn't matter in this story of two sea-soldiers in a parallel world which is very well described and realized. They are cut off from their main force and try to cross a continent to rejoin their forces. The enemy is using both magic (the control of demons) and military tactics from Field Manuals and Technical Manuals of the US Army which have been brought to this world. The sea-soldiers trace their force back to the mysterious appearance of Gunny, the founder of the sea-soldiers. This is just volume one - and I hope the continuing adventures will have maps. But I'll read them without a map if it comes to that.
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Summary: Awesome book!
Review: The Dark Prince's power to summon demons has made his forces second to none, and ensured his place as one of the invasion's leaders. Not content to merely seize his father's throne, the renegade royal dreams of world conquest and with his army and his black arts, there is little to stop him. So unexpected, so well planned is the invasion of the free port New Bally that out of hundreds in the city, only two escape capture. Haft and Spinner will need all their courage and cunning to retrieve their weapons from their enemy-held ship, cross the open meadows surrounding the city walls, and escape into the forest beyond*where they hope to regroup and drive back the invaders. Luckily,Haft and Spinner are no ordinary men. They are Marines . . . ***** Awesome book, that I highly recommend to all fans of Sci-Fi. *****
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Summary: A Good Read but Beware...
Review: This a good read with the kind of adventure and skull splitting action that kept me turning pages but... It is not a complete book! It has NO ending. I know Dave Sherman is starting a new series here but it is not fair to the reader to sell a product as a complete novel when it is not. There is no attempt to wrap things up and conclude the immediate story line. A single teaser paragraph on the last page about what they did next is more an advert for the next book than any sort of conclusion. At least each of the StarFIST books has an ending that allows the reader to put it down with a feeling of satisfaction and an honest yen to look for the next one. Instead, with Onslaught, you turn the last page with an intesne sense of dismay and frustration. Now, while this says something about the quality of the story it does little credit for the publishers who have decided to use this ploy as a means to sell more books. I don't blame the author as this unfortunate tactic is becoming too widespread to be just his fault. Come on guys! Be fair to the reader. A book should have a beginning, a middle, and an end so that it can stand on its own. When he finishes it the reader ought to be able to say 'That was good! Where is the next one!' Not 'Gee, where the hell is the rest of it?' In conclusion I DO recommend Onslaught, but ONLY if you can pick up the second half... I mean the second book in the series at the same time. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that that one won't have a similar non ending. Still, the series has promise.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Read but Beware...
Review: This a good read with the kind of adventure and skull splitting action that kept me turning pages but... It is not a complete book! It has NO ending. I know Dave Sherman is starting a new series here but it is not fair to the reader to sell a product as a complete novel when it is not. There is no attempt to wrap things up and conclude the immediate story line. A single teaser paragraph on the last page about what they did next is more an advert for the next book than any sort of conclusion. At least each of the StarFIST books has an ending that allows the reader to put it down with a feeling of satisfaction and an honest yen to look for the next one. Instead, with Onslaught, you turn the last page with an intesne sense of dismay and frustration. Now, while this says something about the quality of the story it does little credit for the publishers who have decided to use this ploy as a means to sell more books. I don't blame the author as this unfortunate tactic is becoming too widespread to be just his fault. Come on guys! Be fair to the reader. A book should have a beginning, a middle, and an end so that it can stand on its own. When he finishes it the reader ought to be able to say 'That was good! Where is the next one!' Not 'Gee, where the hell is the rest of it?' In conclusion I DO recommend Onslaught, but ONLY if you can pick up the second half... I mean the second book in the series at the same time. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that that one won't have a similar non ending. Still, the series has promise.
Rating: 
Summary: What's the point???
Review: This novel is totally off base. It's like reading two-thirds of the novel with the last third missing. I know that David Sherman is developing the series but he's trying too hard to develop the world concepts and history in one book. It's almost like a pre-book in which it prepares the reader for the rest of the series. He's trying to grasp the magical elements and mixing to the military tradition but he's not doing a very good job. He should stick to the Starfist novels and concepts.
Rating:
Summary: Good Concept, Good Characters, Good Book
Review: What an interesting concept. Magic is created by demons, control the demons and you can perform powerful magic. If you get really good at it, you might even be able to take over the world.
The demons in this book don't seem to necessarily be good or evil, but they do tend to demand a lot from their handlers. You have to learn how to use them and then you have to treat them right. No wonder most people don't bother with them. But if you were up against them in a battle you'd be at a definite diadvantage.
The characters are just as interesting as the concept. Haft and Spinner are well defined and stay true to themselves as they develope. Once you get to know them you enjoy their different takes on the situation. The other characters they collect through their journey to safety are also well defined and fun.
I'm looking forward to how they will all interact in the next book.
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