Rating: 
Summary: Definitely an engrossing read
Review: A fascinating story... for military science fiction, more concept and thought than action... Think about Apocalypse Now, not Starship Troopers.
Rating:
Summary: exciting interstellar military science fiction thriller
Review: By the twenty-fourth century, Earth has met other species and are forming colonies. However, one alien race, the Zor, feel the earthlings are an inferior breed and for over half a century, battles between the Zor and the earth colonies have occurred usually resulting in the Homo sapiens tasting defeat.
In 2311, the Zor decide to exterminate the vermin forcing the earth leadership to not only take notice, but to counteract. Desperate, Emperor Alexander appoints Marais, a self-proclaimed expert on the Zor, to take command of the Space Navy, normally run by wealthy aristocrats. Marais believes that peaceful coexistence cannot happen because the Zor will fight to the end. His plan is to take the war to the Zor and exterminate them. When Commodore Sergei Torrijos and his crew begin to win battles for the first time, the earth-bound politicians accuse Marais of genocide. Still even with their first victories, the future looks bleak for both races if they fail to find a common ground of peace.
THE DARK WING is an exciting interstellar military science fiction thriller that remains at hyper speed throughout the novel. The story line is fast-paced and the earth and its colonies seem authentic due to the varying reactions of individuals to the crisis. Though the Zor are not developed enough or shrouded in mystery to accept them as a challenge to humanity, readers will relish this strong futuristic entry and want debut author Walter H. Hunt to provide more tales set in this intriguing environment. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: One of the Better Efforts in Space Opera Lately
Review: First-time novelist Walter H. Hunt is surely a writer to watch, writing credible space opera that harkens to some of the finest I have seen from the likes of Gordon Dickson and Jerry Pournelle, to name but a few. Although Hunt isn't nearly as gifted a stylist as both venerable science fiction authors, he does a magnificient job in reviving time-worn space opera in his literary debut "The Dark Wing". This is a spellbinding tale of a scholar and military officer, Admiral Lord Marais, who becomes mankind's savior in the latest war against the zor, an ancient race of bird-like aliens. Marais seems to be the only one capable of understanding zor psychology and religion, which he uses effectively against the zor in a brilliant campaign after a zor sneak attack on the Solar Empire's key outpost of Pergamum. I liked Hunt's depiction of the zor and the internal conflict within their government as they realize that Marais thinks of himself as their destroyer, "The Dark Wing". Hunt does a fine job in creating several intriguing characters along with Marais, most notably the senior naval officers Torrijos, Hudson and Bell. With this novel, Hunt has established himself as a superb writer of military science fiction, with sufficient political and religious intrigue that is similar in scope to J. Michael Straczynski's "Babylon 5" television series. Anyone expecting to read a thin rehash of routine "Star Trek" fiction will be disappointed. But others, including myself, should look forward to Hunt's future efforts in military science fiction and space opera.
Rating: 
Summary: Action with something real to think about--very superior
Review: For decades, humanity has been at war with the Zor. Despite losing every major campaign, the Zor violate every truce, attacking and attempting to eliminate the entire human race. In desperation, the Emperor calls on a retired Admiral, Marais, to take command of the human forces. Marais, having studied the Zor, believes that the only solution is to take the path of the destroyer from Zor mythology--the Dark Wing--and to eliminate the Zor forever. When he embarks on his counter-attack, his subordinate commanders, and humanity back on Earth, must face the ultimate decisions. Although Marais seems completely in charge, someone, or something, is pursuing a different agenda. The mysterious Agency back on Earth has its fingers in many pots. Worse, the Zor believe that another enemy, another race, threatens both human and Zor. Combining the philosophical questions of Xenocide and solid space action, THE DARK WING can be seen as a sort of combination of ENDER'S GAME and HONOR HARRINGTON. Author Walter H. Hunt has written a novel that is both exciting and thought provoking. Marais is an interesting character confronted with the moral decisions of whether to commit Xenocide and how to protect his soldiers from the reaction back on Earth. Hunt skillfully uses secondary acters as point-of-view characters to maintain a high level of suspense. Although the Zor problem is dealt with, humanity's place in the universe is not assured. I hope to see a sequel to this fine novel to see what happens next. Note: ignore the truly awful cover. This 1950's retro artwork is not representative of the well thought-out story.
Rating:
Summary: More than just another space war book
Review: I am not a fan of military SF, but I enjoyed "The Dark Wing." The space battles have a good balance between "bullet by bullet" action and glossing over the details in a paragraph. The characters are well imagined; the humans are, for the most part, honorable and duty-bound, but there are shades of color in their personalities, and many of the on-ship details and persional add depth to the characterization. The zor are believable and intriguing; I especially liked what was revealed of their religion and mysticism. Their psychology is human enough that the reader can understand it, but does have an alien touch that makes their mindset inhuman. The plot flows along smoothly, despite neccessary shifts of location, and the plot and subplots reveal themselves nicely. I am looking forward to further volumes of the series.
Rating:
Summary: Lord esHu'ur Rocks.
Review: I believe this is a great book because it keeps you fascinated till the last page. The role of Admiral Marais is well written and the other charactes (Torrijos, Wells, Hudson) are well written and go flawlessly. As a fan of military sci-fi and a reader of any kind of science fiction, I believe that this is a marvellously written book. It makes you want to keep reading, and re-read to pick up the detais.
Rating:
Summary: A visual pleasure
Review: I ditto all the good reports in other reviews.
Further, Mr. Hunt had the good sense to invent aliens who are
not merely monstrous human beings or insubstantial "fields". The
zor are believable, even down to the detail of requiring less
than Earth gravity to fly.
This book is visually rich. When you read it, pay attention to
the scenes. (I loved the singing bird in the garden of the
zor High Lord. Nice touch.)
When do we get to see the movie?
Rating:
Summary: I want more!
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The story is well written, with well-developed characters. The plot woven with so many threads of personal and political agendas, I couldn't put it down. The Zor are painted as such a unique and completely different race, I am very fascinated by them, and want to know more. After reading this book I find myself thinking about the characters (especially Stone) and wondering when the next book will be forthcoming. Walter H. Hunt needs to look no further for a day job. This -- his first book -- shows he is an excellent author and storyteller, and should continue to write. I will definitely be watching for the release of the next, in what I hope will be many volumes. Long live the Solar Empire!
Rating:
Summary: A Literary Feast; Honor, Religion, Action, Loyalty in Space
Review: Many of us cynically oversimplify our existence into the basic pragmatics related to earning a living and building a family. The empowerment of larger-than-life perspectives we shrug off as "mystical mubo-jumbo" and "hand-waving". Here in the context of a desperate struggle for human existence our soul-scorched efforts for survival meet the trophy of galatic peace in the context of alien religion. The nobility of the humans to embrace this spiritual dimension ultimately wins the war for humanity and saves the lives of the brave men and women who sacrificed their careers for a people who did not deserve them. READ IT!
Rating: 
Summary: Yet Another Space Navy Yarn
Review: Overly verbose riff on the Royal Space Navy cliche. This is a quick read and has some interesting culture clash points to make, but depends too much on tedious soliliquies
to keep the plot moving. The tech and battle scenes seemed to have been borrowed from the LENSMAN series of EE Doc Smith. Along the way, the author sets himself up a franchaise. It would have been good, if it was 100 pages shorter.
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