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The Last Legion #3
Storm Force
Amid swirling allegiances and changing loyalties at the outer reaches of the Confederation empire, the Lost Legion struggles to keep the peace and prevent the planets from falling to a ruthless dictator. Protector Alena Redruth will stop at nothing to add the dual system of Larix and Kura to his holdings.
And the Legion s intelligence officer, Njangu Yoshitaro, will let nothing get in his way of infiltrating the system s upper echelons of government. Within the delicately played game of spying, there are plots within plots within plots . . .
And the Legion s intelligence officer, Njangu Yoshitaro, will let nothing get in his way of infiltrating the system s upper echelons of government. Within the delicately played game of spying, there are plots within plots within plots . . .
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 2000
5 people are currently reading
118 people want to read
About the author
Chris Bunch
86 books130 followersChristopher R. "Chris" Bunch was an American science fiction, fantasy and television writer, who wrote and co-wrote about thirty novels.
Born in Fresno, California, he collaborated with Allan Cole on a series of books involving a hero named Sten in a galactic empire. (Cole married Bunch's sister, Kathryn.) He served in Vietnam as a patrol leader. He also wrote for Rolling Stone and was a correspondent for Stars and Stripes. He died in his hometown of Ilwaco, Washington, after a long battle with a lung ailment.
Born in Fresno, California, he collaborated with Allan Cole on a series of books involving a hero named Sten in a galactic empire. (Cole married Bunch's sister, Kathryn.) He served in Vietnam as a patrol leader. He also wrote for Rolling Stone and was a correspondent for Stars and Stripes. He died in his hometown of Ilwaco, Washington, after a long battle with a lung ailment.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 7, 2024
Another good installment in the Last Legion series. After finally assuring peace between the alien Musth and the Legion in Cumbre, the legion turns its attention to the neighboring star systems of Larix and Kura, who suffer under the megalomaniac dictator Alena Redruth. Alena seems to be the third generation of 'protectors' of the two systems, and since losing contact with the confederacy, decides to first acquire Cumbre and then start amassing a real empire. Well, the legion knows the writing on the wall and decides their next mission involves putting an end to his regime...
This starts with some rather cloak and dagger, as Njangu Yoshitaro, one of the protagonists in the series, adapts the persona of Redruth's spy on Cumbre and calls for pick up. Once arriving in Larix, he discovers how entrenched the regime is. The second half of the book moves on to the battle between the legion and Redruth. The legion, more of a ground force than anything, starts a massive ship building campaign, just like Redruth, for spaceships will be key in the coming confrontation, and quite a confrontation! I read this series before and enjoyed it for what it is-- pulpy military science fiction. Bunch knows how to write battle scenes and not just for ground pounders as in the first two volumes of the series. Loaded with snarky dialogue, sexy redheads and often gratuitous sex on top of top notch action sequences, this may not be for everyone, but for me, bring on the popcorn! 3 crunchy stars!!
This starts with some rather cloak and dagger, as Njangu Yoshitaro, one of the protagonists in the series, adapts the persona of Redruth's spy on Cumbre and calls for pick up. Once arriving in Larix, he discovers how entrenched the regime is. The second half of the book moves on to the battle between the legion and Redruth. The legion, more of a ground force than anything, starts a massive ship building campaign, just like Redruth, for spaceships will be key in the coming confrontation, and quite a confrontation! I read this series before and enjoyed it for what it is-- pulpy military science fiction. Bunch knows how to write battle scenes and not just for ground pounders as in the first two volumes of the series. Loaded with snarky dialogue, sexy redheads and often gratuitous sex on top of top notch action sequences, this may not be for everyone, but for me, bring on the popcorn! 3 crunchy stars!!
October 30, 2020
It was ok, better during the battle scenes, less good elsewhere. His decision to use a made up military rank scheme is just plain confusing and adds exactly zero to the story. Same with a made up phonetic alphabet. In place of Alpha, bravo, charlie, etc you get a lame replacement. Not a big deal but annoying as hell. Good military scifi but not great storytelling. 2 Stars
December 13, 2015
I thoroughly enjoyed this third book in the Last Legion series and feel like it's good enough to give it five stars generally, but I'm not. Because it's military sci fi and I feel like David Weber is the gold standard by which all military sci fi is weighed against and virtually no one can come close to his standards, so even though Chris Bunch is good, even very good, he's not Weber good, so it's four stars. Perhaps 4.5 stars.
In the last book, Cumbre's neighboring system's leader, Protector Redruth of Larix and Kura, had shown up in force to offer his "protection" as some sort of scam in an obvious effort to ultimately take over the Cumbre system, only to be driven off by the alien Musth in their war with the human Legion in the Cumbre system. Now that the Legion has won and driven the Musth off, Redruth is determined to add Cumbre to his empire.
The book opens with a Larissan spy on Cumbre who is captured and who, in the most unlikely and hard to believe fashion, commits suicide by chewing his tongue in half and bleeding to death overnight in his cell. Is that even possible? Whatever the case, Last Legion hero Njangu Yoshitaro becomes a double agent, posing as the spy, as Redruth and his minions have never seen him, and obtaining extract from Cumbre, fleeing to Larix where he is set up with a sweet deal as a senior officer and adviser with major plans for his future in the invasion of Cumbre. Of course his mission is to get intel back to other Last Legion hero Garvin Jaansma and others, so they may prepare for the war and even prepare to go on the offensive.
There are two new and pretty cool things about this installment of the series. First, there are a lot of space battles. With the Legion having saved Cumbre's ass and taking so many casualties and with more war on the horizon, the government has provided for some pro-military taxes and conscription, so that the force is being rebuilt and it ultimately reaches twice its original size, 20,000 troops. Ships are also being built, a number of them based on the superior Musth technology, and there are a number of Musth mercenaries who have come to pilot them, which is good because they are superior fighter pilots. Unfortunately, Larix and Kura have a greater population and larger infrastructure and can build more ships faster and start building much bigger cruisers later into the book that the Legion has to work hard to devise ways to defend themselves against and later attack. Nonetheless, great space warfare action. Second, for the first time in this series, the Legion generally goes on the offensive in a major way. Larix and Kura attempt to invade Cumbre and are annihilated. Cumbre bides its time, develops a strategy, and sends its own invasion force, foolishly thinking it'll be a piece of cake, and they take heavy casualties while trying to defeat Redruth and win the war.
So Bunch really expands in this novel. Before it was small scale offensive operations, going after rebel forces here and there, as well as defensive fighting and guerrilla warfare. Now it's space combat and invasion of other planets in other systems. That's big. And Yoshitaro and Jaansma are still at their bad ass, sassy best in this book. They really make a great team, even if they are separated by Yoshitaro's double agent role for a good part of the book. I really enjoy their characters. There's one more book in the series and I'm going to miss them when I finish this series.
So, I really enjoyed this book. I'd normally be inclined to give this five stars. I think it's really good. But the space battles aren't as good as Weber's naval battles and the land battles come nowhere close to Weber's land battles, so I don't see how I could possibly give this book five stars when comparing the two. There is no comparison. That said, Bunch is my second favorite military sci fi author and he's no slouch. If you like decent military sci fi action mixed in with some crass humor as well, this is probably a series you would enjoy. Although this is probably not a stand alone book; you'd want to start with the first one and read the series through. Whatever the case, recommended.
In the last book, Cumbre's neighboring system's leader, Protector Redruth of Larix and Kura, had shown up in force to offer his "protection" as some sort of scam in an obvious effort to ultimately take over the Cumbre system, only to be driven off by the alien Musth in their war with the human Legion in the Cumbre system. Now that the Legion has won and driven the Musth off, Redruth is determined to add Cumbre to his empire.
The book opens with a Larissan spy on Cumbre who is captured and who, in the most unlikely and hard to believe fashion, commits suicide by chewing his tongue in half and bleeding to death overnight in his cell. Is that even possible? Whatever the case, Last Legion hero Njangu Yoshitaro becomes a double agent, posing as the spy, as Redruth and his minions have never seen him, and obtaining extract from Cumbre, fleeing to Larix where he is set up with a sweet deal as a senior officer and adviser with major plans for his future in the invasion of Cumbre. Of course his mission is to get intel back to other Last Legion hero Garvin Jaansma and others, so they may prepare for the war and even prepare to go on the offensive.
There are two new and pretty cool things about this installment of the series. First, there are a lot of space battles. With the Legion having saved Cumbre's ass and taking so many casualties and with more war on the horizon, the government has provided for some pro-military taxes and conscription, so that the force is being rebuilt and it ultimately reaches twice its original size, 20,000 troops. Ships are also being built, a number of them based on the superior Musth technology, and there are a number of Musth mercenaries who have come to pilot them, which is good because they are superior fighter pilots. Unfortunately, Larix and Kura have a greater population and larger infrastructure and can build more ships faster and start building much bigger cruisers later into the book that the Legion has to work hard to devise ways to defend themselves against and later attack. Nonetheless, great space warfare action. Second, for the first time in this series, the Legion generally goes on the offensive in a major way. Larix and Kura attempt to invade Cumbre and are annihilated. Cumbre bides its time, develops a strategy, and sends its own invasion force, foolishly thinking it'll be a piece of cake, and they take heavy casualties while trying to defeat Redruth and win the war.
So Bunch really expands in this novel. Before it was small scale offensive operations, going after rebel forces here and there, as well as defensive fighting and guerrilla warfare. Now it's space combat and invasion of other planets in other systems. That's big. And Yoshitaro and Jaansma are still at their bad ass, sassy best in this book. They really make a great team, even if they are separated by Yoshitaro's double agent role for a good part of the book. I really enjoy their characters. There's one more book in the series and I'm going to miss them when I finish this series.
So, I really enjoyed this book. I'd normally be inclined to give this five stars. I think it's really good. But the space battles aren't as good as Weber's naval battles and the land battles come nowhere close to Weber's land battles, so I don't see how I could possibly give this book five stars when comparing the two. There is no comparison. That said, Bunch is my second favorite military sci fi author and he's no slouch. If you like decent military sci fi action mixed in with some crass humor as well, this is probably a series you would enjoy. Although this is probably not a stand alone book; you'd want to start with the first one and read the series through. Whatever the case, recommended.
February 6, 2015
At the end of "Firemask", the second book in Chris Bunch's "Last Legion" series, there seemed to be only one direction the series could go in. Throughout the previous two books, Protector Redruth of Larix and Kura has been a floating menace and the Legion needs to take care of the threat he poses.
Catching a Larissan spy on Cumbre gives the Legion an idea and Njangu Yoshitaro is sent in as a double agent. Whilst his mission goes well, Garvin Jaansma attempts to cause unrest on Kura are less successful. Yoshitaro's subsequent release of the Cambrian prisoners and his own escape alerts Protector Redruth that something may be wrong. So once again, the Legion is going to war.
Whilst this will seem familiar to existing fans, if this is all new to you, this isn't the book to be reading. Bunch is conscious that he is writing a series and plunges straight into the action with a new book without pausing to recap the events from previous books. Occasionally he will refer back to previous events, but only in passing and only when absolutely necessary, so you can't get the most out of his books if you read them singly.
For the existing fan of the series, however, this is an exciting turn of events. Not only does it take Yoshitaro away from Cumbre and allows us to see a different way of life on another world, which has never happened before, it's a complete change of game plan for the Legion. Before, they have been a largely defensive force, saving Cumbre from being attacked, but this time the Legion get to be the aggressors and it's good to see them get that chance. So many series go stale after a few books, so it's great to see that Bunch is keeping things varied and interesting.
Unfortunately, this does lead to one slight down side to the book. Part of the joy of the series is the growing relationship between Yoshitaro and Jaansma and they spend a lot of the book on separate worlds where we don't get to enjoy the camaraderie between them. The other issue is that once the spying is over, it's mostly a space war rather than a ground war, which takes away a lot of the human touch that has made the series as much fun as it has been up until now.
Bunch appears to have realised this and has tried to compensate, but he's done so by increasing the number of romantic sub plots which makes the whole thing a little too much like a soap opera for my liking and does lead to one of the more predictable events in the series. Interestingly, though, despite the increased number of couples, there seems to be fewer sexual liaisons than in previous books, at least amongst the regular characters.
Once the book finishes, it does feel very much like an ending. There is still a string to be tied up, but it feels more like a political one, as most of the obvious enemies of Cumbre have been met. This, for the first time, makes me wonder how good the next book in the series is going to be, as it is when Bunch has stepped back from the fighting and concentrated on the political side of things, as he did for parts of "Firemask", that his writing seems less effective.
That said, having followed and enjoyed the series so much this far, I'm reluctant to stop until it does. There may seem to be less to look forward to, but there is still something to follow and I can't resist taking that next step. The story may not be blowing up the storm it was at the start, but it's still got enough force to encourage me onwards.
As with all the books in this series, the nature of the plot makes this one to be borrowed rather than purchased, as it's not the kind of thing you would revisit. The "Last Legion" series as a whole is well worth a read, if not worth buying and although this may be the weakest of the four, it's one you can't miss out if you've enjoyed any of the others.
This review may also appear, in whole or in part, under my name at any or all of www.ciao.co.uk, www.thebookbag.co.uk, www.goodreads.com, www.amazon.co.uk and www.dooyoo.co.uk
Catching a Larissan spy on Cumbre gives the Legion an idea and Njangu Yoshitaro is sent in as a double agent. Whilst his mission goes well, Garvin Jaansma attempts to cause unrest on Kura are less successful. Yoshitaro's subsequent release of the Cambrian prisoners and his own escape alerts Protector Redruth that something may be wrong. So once again, the Legion is going to war.
Whilst this will seem familiar to existing fans, if this is all new to you, this isn't the book to be reading. Bunch is conscious that he is writing a series and plunges straight into the action with a new book without pausing to recap the events from previous books. Occasionally he will refer back to previous events, but only in passing and only when absolutely necessary, so you can't get the most out of his books if you read them singly.
For the existing fan of the series, however, this is an exciting turn of events. Not only does it take Yoshitaro away from Cumbre and allows us to see a different way of life on another world, which has never happened before, it's a complete change of game plan for the Legion. Before, they have been a largely defensive force, saving Cumbre from being attacked, but this time the Legion get to be the aggressors and it's good to see them get that chance. So many series go stale after a few books, so it's great to see that Bunch is keeping things varied and interesting.
Unfortunately, this does lead to one slight down side to the book. Part of the joy of the series is the growing relationship between Yoshitaro and Jaansma and they spend a lot of the book on separate worlds where we don't get to enjoy the camaraderie between them. The other issue is that once the spying is over, it's mostly a space war rather than a ground war, which takes away a lot of the human touch that has made the series as much fun as it has been up until now.
Bunch appears to have realised this and has tried to compensate, but he's done so by increasing the number of romantic sub plots which makes the whole thing a little too much like a soap opera for my liking and does lead to one of the more predictable events in the series. Interestingly, though, despite the increased number of couples, there seems to be fewer sexual liaisons than in previous books, at least amongst the regular characters.
Once the book finishes, it does feel very much like an ending. There is still a string to be tied up, but it feels more like a political one, as most of the obvious enemies of Cumbre have been met. This, for the first time, makes me wonder how good the next book in the series is going to be, as it is when Bunch has stepped back from the fighting and concentrated on the political side of things, as he did for parts of "Firemask", that his writing seems less effective.
That said, having followed and enjoyed the series so much this far, I'm reluctant to stop until it does. There may seem to be less to look forward to, but there is still something to follow and I can't resist taking that next step. The story may not be blowing up the storm it was at the start, but it's still got enough force to encourage me onwards.
As with all the books in this series, the nature of the plot makes this one to be borrowed rather than purchased, as it's not the kind of thing you would revisit. The "Last Legion" series as a whole is well worth a read, if not worth buying and although this may be the weakest of the four, it's one you can't miss out if you've enjoyed any of the others.
This review may also appear, in whole or in part, under my name at any or all of www.ciao.co.uk, www.thebookbag.co.uk, www.goodreads.com, www.amazon.co.uk and www.dooyoo.co.uk
April 15, 2014
Excellent third book in the series. This time the war is about technology and dictators, but of course it is also a story about soldiers.
Science fiction based story about new recruits in a fighting force at the end of an empire (both the geographic end of the empire and the 'time' or final curtain call end of an empire).
The whole series (there are four books) compares favorably to the William Henry Giles Kingston books, the Three Midshipmen thru the Three Admirals and the Brotherhood of War series by WEB Griffin.
Excellent reading, that keeps you engaged and you will not want to put it down. The story includes violence (it is a war book), and alien swear words (so they don't count) and some sexual situations (which are pretty minor and nuanced).
Science fiction based story about new recruits in a fighting force at the end of an empire (both the geographic end of the empire and the 'time' or final curtain call end of an empire).
The whole series (there are four books) compares favorably to the William Henry Giles Kingston books, the Three Midshipmen thru the Three Admirals and the Brotherhood of War series by WEB Griffin.
Excellent reading, that keeps you engaged and you will not want to put it down. The story includes violence (it is a war book), and alien swear words (so they don't count) and some sexual situations (which are pretty minor and nuanced).
September 10, 2010
Wow, I am loving this series. I was under the impression that this was a three book series, I was thrilled to find a fourth book. If you liked Sten I think you will like this series.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews