The War with Earth

Rating:
Summary: Fast, Fresh and Smart Military Sci-Fi.
Review: Another Baen book that covers new ground in the Military Sci-fi sub-genre, The War With Earth has some old ideas mixed with some startling concepts and great action. The result... a thumping good book!

Our hero has just finished fighting a long and terrible war in the coffin of his super-cybertank. Then he finds out he has really only fought a virtual 'fake' war as his training and he is not only not a general and war hero, he is only a tank commander. But a real war is on the horizon.

The real juice of the story is the Mk 19 Battle Tank and its machine intelligence. The tanks have more personality than the characters in many a novel and the interaction between tank and human is the soul of the story. The action is really secondary to me. I read this in one sitting and then went online and found the author's other book from Baen, A Boy and His Tank.

Highly recommended to any fan of military sci-fi this novel has the feel of reality with all the flash and bang of a space opera. The workings of military hierarchies are dead on and the future politics ring true. Good stuff.

Rating:
Summary: Simply Awful.
Review: I am a fan of military sci-fi (particularly David Weber and John Ringo). I have never reviewed a book for Amazon before but this book was so bad that I felt compelled to share my opinion with other readers of the genre. How bad is it? It hurts to read it! The characters are caricatures and the story is full of so many stereotypes that it is silly. There is no suspense to the story and no sense of danger in the plot. If I could give it "no stars", I would. Don't waste your time or money on this one.

Rating:
Summary: An Immense Letdown
Review: I am rather fond of A Boy and His Tank. Although not a book that's going to win a Pulitzer, it was a remarkably fun bit of millitary adventure.

The sequel, however, is simply awful. For one think, almost the entire first half of the book is spent detailing the protagonists real estate, financial and political doings, in thoroughly tedious and unexciting detail.

What is worse, however, is that this is one of those stories where the hero not only invariably wins, but he becomes immensely rich and powerful in the process, never making any but the most inconsequential of missteps and always demonstrated to be intelligent, wise, and unlucky beyond all conceivable possibility.

Worst of all, virtually everything that happened in the first book is negated in the second. All of the really interesting events from the first book are proven to be, quite literally, a dream. One is left to wonder what the point was.

Frankly, the story reads like [...] It is fantasy wish-fulfillment of the most indulgent variety. Rather than having interesting characters with foibles and limitations who face actual challenges, we have a kind of mock-god who goes around knocking the stuffing out of cardboard enemies who come across as no more threatening than cut-outs.

I do not know why this book is so deplorable when its predecessor was so enjoyable. Perhaps it's a case where one author is the right number (Frankowski wrote ABahT by himself), where a second author is one too many. Or, perhaps, the author simply lost his direction. Whatever the case may be, if like the first book, stop. Trust me, you'll be better of for having done so.

Rating:
Summary: Looking For More
Review: I just closed the last page of Frankowski and Grossman's "The War With Earth." It's a great piece of work, which I finished in a little under 24 hours. To say it's a page-turner or totally immerses the reader is an understatement. Both space and ground-based future combat proposes problems which the authors solve in truly unique ways. New developments and equipment are adapted and used in novel and unforseeable directions.
The book also presents just enough politics, intrigue, anger, bawdy moments, love, sadness and the art of living to leaven the material and clean the palate for the next slice of action. It was just plain fun to read!
I'm decidedly looking for more from these authors.
Rocky Warren-Sgt. (ret)


Rating:
Summary: Worst Frankowski book I've read
Review: I've read all but one Of Leo Frankowski's books, and I've liked them enough that I buy anything new that he writes without thinking twice. But the last two that I have read (The War With Earth and The Fata Morgana) have been far less enjoyable than than the rest.

A Boy and His Tank (now renamed: Kren of the Mitchegai) was a much better book (apart from teh ending, which no one likes). So don't just go out and buy this book because you liked that one.

My main complaint with this book is that (as other reviewers have pointed out) everything goes so unbelievably in the main character's favor that you read the entire book thinking that the whole thing is just a "dream". Everything just comes too easy.

This book just wasn't worth the time to read it. Go buy a different Frankowski book instead.

Rating:
Summary: Best hard-core science fiction I've read in a very long time
Review: Reading this reminded me how many of the hundreds of SF titles I've read really didn't think much through like the real implications of technology or the character's lives outside the action/technical problem. This book is bursting with new ideas, insights, and concepts that probably will influence real military designers more than Star Trek or Star Wars' thin concepts of Francis Drake's longboat in space or aircraft carriers in space ever did. The implications of the technology and how it's used together reflects both Frankowski's often subtle wisdom and his collaborator's military field experience.
It definitely has the impact of how war goes when one side is constantly trained, tests simulations to find the right approach and rehearse, has superior communications and information, and maximizes a technological advantage. The first reviewer probably wouldn't believe the U.S. performance in the Gulf War, Afghanistan, Grenada, Panama, Iraq II, or anything the Israelis, British SAS, etc. have accomplished either because this stuff does create such an enormous advantage over any foe. I enjoy Frankowski's social commentary, economic insights, human relationships, and entrepreneurial mindset as much or more than the combat sequences and I think they make his books considerably different and richer than most. I've met and worked with a lot of folks like his characters so I guess they don't seem unbelievable to me. This and it's prequel A Boy and His Tank are among the best real military SF yet written, they're just not space operas based on World War I battleship slugfests, WWII carriers, or 17th century Spanish Main models.

Rating:
Summary: Husband, Wife and the Tanks
Review: The War With Earth is the second novel in the New Kashubia series, following A Boy and His Tank. In the previous volume, Mickolai Derdowski has been sentenced to death on his home world of New Kashubia for impregnating his girlfriend, but was offered the alternative of joining the army instead. He was assigned to a Mark XIX Main Battle Tank, the Aggressor, with an sentient AI module that he named Agnieshka.

After his training is completed, Mickolai is transferred to New Yugoslavia as a tanker first class, fighting with the Kashubian Expeditionary Force on behalf of New Croatia and against New Serbia. Soon he finds that Kasia has joined voluntarily and has found a way to merge their Dream Worlds.

Four and a half years later, Mickolai is a general in the KEF and Kasia is a colonel and his chief of staff. Mickolai has three divisions under him, liberated from the Serbian army. Kasia finds a Catholic priest among the new tankers and she and Mickolai are married. For their honeymoon, they take the three divisions and assault the Serbians from the rear. Afterwards, the New Kashubians make a movie of Mickolai's life.

In this novel, Agnieshka informs Mickolai that all his previous war experience has only been virtual and that he is not really a general. After his initial shock and anger have worn off, Mickolai discusses the situation with Kasia. The first thing Mickolai wants is to get married in the real world by a real priest, but Kasia disagrees, insisting that the first thing they are going to do is to clean up and go clothes shopping.

After they are properly clad, they head for the nearest priest, but he wants them to take confession on everything done in the six years since the were first sealed into their tanks. After consulting with Agnieshka, they approach another priest who has had prior experience with the KEF and arrange for the wedding. However, the first wedding date soon has to be postponed due to the crowd of people who want to attend.

While Kasia is planning the wedding, Mickolai starts looking for farming property, but New Croatia is well developed and prime property is expensive. However, Kasia discovers that a very large tract has been deeded to New Kashubia as the alleged warzone and property is available to KEF veterans at very reasonable rates. Moreover, Kasia has negotiated a deal with the KEF authorities to pay Mickolai and herself at their virtual rank.

After the wedding, Mickolai start a six month honeymoon, during which time they start parlaying their backpay into the beginnings of a large fortune. They arrange for idle Mark XIXs to be used as farming and construction equipment to develop their property. They also buy a large number of humanoid drones to do the precision work. Their tanks and other AI personas in the KEF voluntarily supervise the work.

Mickolai and Kasia had been informed that a possibility of war existed and that they should be prepared for deployment with little warning. When the assembly order is issued, however, they find that the war will be with an unexpected foe: Earth forces have invaded New Kashubia.

In this story, the Powers That Be on New Kashubia selected Jan Sobieski as commanding general on the basis of his performance in Dream World. When General Sobieski wants something done, however, he usually picks Mickolai and his staff to lead the assault forces. They might not be as elegant as other command teams, but they always get the job done.

This story does not dwell on the psychological quirks of the protagonist, for he mostly says what he thinks and acts accordingly. Mickolai wears his heart on his sleeve, as the saying goes, and is not really a deep thinker. However, he is a quicker thinker in urgent situations and adept at seeing long-term consequences, but otherwise tends to be rather methodical in his planning and implementation. He is a high-level policy maker who is also good at finding the gaps in the planning and he is superb at handling personnel. Overall, Mickolai makes a good field general.

While Mickolai and the KEF have little difficultly in defeating their foes in this novel, a better equipped and prepared enemy would have done much more damage to an unsupported armor unit like the KEF. Assuming that anti-tank weapons had improved as much as the tanks themselves, an alert infantry force with such weapons could almost certainly ambush these tanks and take out many of the units if the KEF had advanced without proper screening forces. However, the Earth forces are ill-equipt, poorly trained and slack in their security and are slaughtered by the thousands.

Highly recommended for Frankowski fans and for anyone else who enjoys SF war stories in which strategy, tactics, logistics and teamwork are emphasized more that combat itself.

Rating:
Summary: Husband, Wife and the Tanks
Review: The War With Earth is the second novel in the New Kashubia series, following A Boy and His Tank. In the previous volume, Mickolai Derdowski has been sentenced to death on his home world of New Kashubia for impregnating his girlfriend, but was offered the alternative of joining the army instead. He was assigned to a Mark XIX Main Battle Tank, the Aggressor, with an sentient AI module that he named Agnieshka.

After his training is completed, Mickolai is transferred to New Yugoslavia as a tanker first class, fighting with the Kashubian Expeditionary Force on behalf of New Croatia and against New Serbia. Soon he finds that Kasia has joined voluntarily and has found a way to merge their Dream Worlds.

Four and a half years later, Mickolai is a general in the KEF and Kasia is a colonel and his chief of staff. Mickolai has three divisions under him, liberated from the Serbian army. Kasia finds a Catholic priest among the new tankers and she and Mickolai are married. For their honeymoon, they take the three divisions and assault the Serbians from the rear. Afterwards, the New Kashubians make a movie of Mickolai's life.

In this novel, Agnieshka informs Mickolai that all his previous war experience has only been virtual and that he is not really a general. After his initial shock and anger have worn off, Mickolai discusses the situation with Kasia. The first thing Mickolai wants is to get married in the real world by a real priest, but Kasia disagrees, insisting that the first thing they are going to do is to clean up and go clothes shopping.

After they are properly clad, they head for the nearest priest, but he wants them to take confession on everything done in the six years since the were first sealed into their tanks. After consulting with Agnieshka, they approach another priest who has had prior experience with the KEF and arrange for the wedding. However, the first wedding date soon has to be postponed due to the crowd of people who want to attend.

While Kasia is planning the wedding, Mickolai starts looking for farming property, but New Croatia is well developed and prime property is expensive. However, Kasia discovers that a very large tract has been deeded to New Kashubia as the alleged warzone and property is available to KEF veterans at very reasonable rates. Moreover, Kasia has negotiated a deal with the KEF authorities to pay Mickolai and herself at their virtual rank.

After the wedding, Mickolai start a six month honeymoon, during which time they start parlaying their backpay into the beginnings of a large fortune. They arrange for idle Mark XIXs to be used as farming and construction equipment to develop their property. They also buy a large number of humanoid drones to do the precision work. Their tanks and other AI personas in the KEF voluntarily supervise the work.

Mickolai and Kasia had been informed that a possibility of war existed and that they should be prepared for deployment with little warning. When the assembly order is issued, however, they find that the war will be with an unexpected foe: Earth forces have invaded New Kashubia.

In this story, the Powers That Be on New Kashubia selected Jan Sobieski as commanding general on the basis of his performance in Dream World. When General Sobieski wants something done, however, he usually picks Mickolai and his staff to lead the assault forces. They might not be as elegant as other command teams, but they always get the job done.

This story does not dwell on the psychological quirks of the protagonist, for he mostly says what he thinks and acts accordingly. Mickolai wears his heart on his sleeve, as the saying goes, and is not really a deep thinker. However, he is a quicker thinker in urgent situations and adept at seeing long-term consequences, but otherwise tends to be rather methodical in his planning and implementation. He is a high-level policy maker who is also good at finding the gaps in the planning and he is superb at handling personnel. Overall, Mickolai makes a good field general.

While Mickolai and the KEF have little difficultly in defeating their foes in this novel, a better equipped and prepared enemy would have done much more damage to an unsupported armor unit like the KEF. Assuming that anti-tank weapons had improved as much as the tanks themselves, an alert infantry force with such weapons could almost certainly ambush these tanks and take out many of the units if the KEF had advanced without proper screening forces. However, the Earth forces are ill-equipt, poorly trained and slack in their security and are slaughtered by the thousands.

Highly recommended for Frankowski fans and for anyone else who enjoys SF war stories in which strategy, tactics, logistics and teamwork are emphasized more that combat itself.

Rating:
Summary: All Hail the Tanks of the KEF
Review: There are many things I would like to say before I truly begin to rant:

1. I loved the first half of the book, as well as the intermissions by what appears to be K9 archeologist, just as much as the rest of the book even if it could have served as some sort of intermediary mini novel.

2. Although I would agree that the main character, while I would not dare change him, is a bit well 2 Dimensional he seems to be constrained from doing brilliant things in his free time by serving as a solder (observer) for the mercenary army he was constrained into.

3. The authors did a spectacular job as far as technology is concerned. However, it seems like they stopped with the truly inovational thinking half way (give or take) into the book.

4. Concerning the technology as well is the oddity that the authors would consent to the distribution of ARMED robots through-out human space in domestic instance but as all other technological concerns I hope it will raise its head in the up coming sequel, such as maybe a small drone computer to fit into all the abandoned tanks he runs into.

5. Lastly, What is the deal with universal military service, military independence from even simple political checks and balances, and the emancipation of military equipment however intelligent that Leo pushes, granted it is only fiction (and quite fun at that) but is he intentionally leading unto the downfall of society by one "bad-apple" or is he suggesting that the military should form it's own race (AKA a self contained society), most likely with similar ends.