Spec Ops Squad: Deep Strike

Rating:
Summary: "Sci-Fi War Through A Grunt's Eyes"
Review: A very good personal account of one man put in charge of a Ranger squad made up of several different alien species. Bart Drak was portrayed as what I feel is your typical elite soldier. He's not Superman, he's not Rambo. Just a guy whose life is the Army and is completely dedicated to the beings he leads. I really liked the training part of the novel, as it showed the difficulties of putting together a combat unit of various aliens with their own cultural differences, ideosyncracies and prejudices. Still Drak finds ways to bring them together as a unit. The second part of the story focuses on the invasion of Olviat, a world held by the Ilion Federation. There's no "storm the secret lab/command center/etc to end the war" type stuff. It just shows the small, but important roles, Drak's squad plays in the overall campaign. The combat scenes were cool, as well as the futuristic technology. My only complaint is that the aliens were too anthropomorphic in their description. Still this does not detract from the quality of the story.

Rating:
Summary: compelling military science fiction thriller
Review: In the far distant future, humanity has met other species and joined with them to form the Alliance of Light, an organization of mutual protection and exploration. While conducting a training exercise on the planet Dinsten, the Illion Federation invades the planet and the alliance had to retreat. Sergeant Bart "Dragon" Drak, with his combined First Regiment, took back the planet after several bloody battles and are now recuperating on the planet Earth.

After sixteen weeks of training, Bart and his squad are assigned new orders. Instead of retaking conquered worlds the military is going on the offensive. They are going to invade Olivat, a long established federation colony and place an army of occupation in it once they have conquered it. This is Bart's account of the part he played in the war of Olivat.

Rick Shelly knows how to write compelling military science fiction thrillers that are so action packed, readers hardly have a moment for an oxygen break. The audience learns what it is like to be a small but vital part of a big operation and how the individual feels about invading a planet with a heavy civilian population. The Spec Ops Squads is a series with plenty of heart.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: This is a great book, but i suggest to start with the first in the series, alone you may not understand it but this series has the potential to turn in to one of the greatest military sci-fi series, i also suggest another series by him that starts with the book cadet.