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Stark's War #3
Stark's Crusade
The Barnes & Noble Review
Stark's Crusade is the concluding volume of a popular military science fiction trilogy written by former U.S. Navy officer John G. Hemry. The first two books, Stark's War and Stark's Command, began chronicling the life of Sergeant Ethan Stark, a living military legend who is sent to the moon to take back control of what America believes is its property. (After the Cold War, America became the last superpower and dominated the world economically. Other nations, and corporations, were forced to begin colonies and manufacturing plants in space.) In the ensuing war, Stark realizes the war has nothing to do with peace or justice, but with greed and television ratings.
Stark's Crusade is the concluding volume of a popular military science fiction trilogy written by former U.S. Navy officer John G. Hemry. The first two books, Stark's War and Stark's Command, began chronicling the life of Sergeant Ethan Stark, a living military legend who is sent to the moon to take back control of what America believes is its property. (After the Cold War, America became the last superpower and dominated the world economically. Other nations, and corporations, were forced to begin colonies and manufacturing plants in space.) In the ensuing war, Stark realizes the war has nothing to do with peace or justice, but with greed and television ratings.
Stark's Crusade ends this epic adventure. Stark, now the acting commander of the rebel American military forces on the moon, must deal with the United Nations declaring him an outlaw while also taking on the entire American military and his own mutinous forces. (Paul Goat Allen)
263 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published February 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
June 6, 2012
This was a solid and admirable finish to the series and good as a stand-alone military sci fi novel. Overall the series was a bit weak in my opinion and I think the author was basically learning as he did it. I probably would have abandoned it if I hadn't read and loved a later series by the author before this. It was interesting to watch his growth as an author through his first three books.
One pleasant surprise to this book is that he managed to make his hero much more compelling. In the previous book, Stark is a fairly simple, straight-forwardly good guy thrown into a tough situation and shining through. It is a common theme that heroics isn't so much a remarkable person as a normal and basically good person thrown into remarkable circumstances. The situation developed to allow creation of a much more substantial hero which is always a major plus for me in a story.
The initial themes of the dual dangers of technology enabling greater micro-management of soldiers by those far removed from the situation and of the increasing alienation between the military and civilian populations as the military gets smaller and pulled from a smaller subsection of society in a post-draft world remain constant through the series and are actually well wrapped up. An "If this continues..." theme can be a hard one to develop and it was way too heavy-handed in the first novel, but I believe it was elegantly handled by the end.
One pleasant surprise to this book is that he managed to make his hero much more compelling. In the previous book, Stark is a fairly simple, straight-forwardly good guy thrown into a tough situation and shining through. It is a common theme that heroics isn't so much a remarkable person as a normal and basically good person thrown into remarkable circumstances. The situation developed to allow creation of a much more substantial hero which is always a major plus for me in a story.
The initial themes of the dual dangers of technology enabling greater micro-management of soldiers by those far removed from the situation and of the increasing alienation between the military and civilian populations as the military gets smaller and pulled from a smaller subsection of society in a post-draft world remain constant through the series and are actually well wrapped up. An "If this continues..." theme can be a hard one to develop and it was way too heavy-handed in the first novel, but I believe it was elegantly handled by the end.
July 3, 2023
Nie ma to jak militarne science-fiction napisane przez byłego wojskowego. Świetne zakończenie serii. 👍👌
July 11, 2024
A somewhat predictable ending, but satisfying nonetheless. 3.4 stars.
Overall the series, IMO, seemed a bit longer than it needed to be and a bit preachy in places.
Still, it was an interesting read to see the early works of Jack Campbell.
I do look forward to the Lost Fleet series.
Overall the series, IMO, seemed a bit longer than it needed to be and a bit preachy in places.
Still, it was an interesting read to see the early works of Jack Campbell.
I do look forward to the Lost Fleet series.
August 4, 2022
Excellent entertainment!
I read the entire Starks War trilogy before writing a review. I must say I enjoyed the Lost Fleet series more than this but that doesn't take anything away from this trilogy at all. A well plotted military adventure in the best Jack Campbell tradition. It won't appeal to everyone but all readers who like a practical soldiers story will enjoy it. Although the plot is around a moon colony,, it is entirely plausible, especially the political American scenario. I wouldn't have believed I could day that but having seen the President Trump legacy, it could easily be believable. Sit back and enjoy a good read.
I read the entire Starks War trilogy before writing a review. I must say I enjoyed the Lost Fleet series more than this but that doesn't take anything away from this trilogy at all. A well plotted military adventure in the best Jack Campbell tradition. It won't appeal to everyone but all readers who like a practical soldiers story will enjoy it. Although the plot is around a moon colony,, it is entirely plausible, especially the political American scenario. I wouldn't have believed I could day that but having seen the President Trump legacy, it could easily be believable. Sit back and enjoy a good read.
March 29, 2013
An entertaining series became eye-rollingly silly in this final installment. The characters frequently compare themselves to the Spartan 300 and win through the power of American!Democracy! I'm surprised the cover wasn't of a crying bald eagle draped in the US flag.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 9, 2015
This is first rate military science fiction by John G. Hemry a.k.a. Jack Campbell. If you like the Lost Fleet books you will like Sergeant Ethan Stark. I recommend this book to all fans of military science fiction.
May 22, 2013
Some interesting scenarios in this one, but still way too much mil vs civ hoo-rah speeches and utter idiots in charge.
September 1, 2018
By the third book I could see remarkable similarities with the author's series about the Lost Fleet.
The Stark's War series was okay. The author's second try with the Lost Fleet was much better. I liked the Lost Fleet series. I also liked the spinoff series about the Lost Fleet. I did not like Stark's War that much, however it might be because I read the author's better work first.
The Stark's War series was on my list to read for about 8 years. There is not a great selection of military sci fi. This series would be at the bottom end. The third novel struggled throughout but I enjoyed the ending.
The Stark's War series was okay. The author's second try with the Lost Fleet was much better. I liked the Lost Fleet series. I also liked the spinoff series about the Lost Fleet. I did not like Stark's War that much, however it might be because I read the author's better work first.
The Stark's War series was on my list to read for about 8 years. There is not a great selection of military sci fi. This series would be at the bottom end. The third novel struggled throughout but I enjoyed the ending.
January 20, 2025
I LOVE Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet series. I've listened to it in its entirety at least twice. Given how highly I regard that series, I may be overly critical on this series. I had such high expectations that this was a big let down. It was boring, and fairly uneventful. In fairness to Jack Campbell, this series was writing BEFORE the Lost Fleet series, and the author's writing and story telling improved significantly since this series. He clearly learned a lot based on his experience with this series, and I am very appreciative.
October 27, 2025
How does a single soldier keep his country from taking that one step too far? I found the author's comparison of Stark's USA to Athens of the Peloponnesian War to be cogent and fascinating, particularly as he had a certain sergeant explain the analogy in surprisingly simple and gripping terms. This is almost as sociologically dense as Modesitt Jr.'s or Heinlein's novels, and I like how this author creates a 'what if' that really holds my intellectual attention.
December 8, 2017
A whole series have been nice insight to optimistic soldier who wants to improve military and its operations. A little bit too naive and over patriotic for my taste, but on the same time one possible future where bureaucracy and corporations are even more in the driver's seat and regular people just follow orders.
August 6, 2018
W trzeciej części autor napchał tyle frazesów o honorze, bohaterstwie i honorze Starka, ciężkim życiu i honorze podoficerów, głupocie i braku honoru oficerów tamtejszych, honorze i honorze żołnierzy, ze zabrakło miejsca na akcję (nie licząc finału). Ale za to było sporo o honorze. No i bohaterstwie. Ale głównie w rozmowach o tychże.
June 20, 2017
This was a good series. Some of the elements reminded me of Al Steiner's Greenies universe. I enjoyed the ending.
February 22, 2018
A fun ending to the trilogy with big smiles all around. This book may be a bit gung ho USA at times but its heart is in the right place and I enjoyed it a great deal.
May 15, 2019
A suitable conclusion to the series; bit nicey-nicey and optimistic and naively faithful in the human nature of US military forces. But fun enough and a quick read.
August 22, 2019
Kind of ended rather abruptly but still a very good military science fiction story.
July 31, 2020
Very enjoyable series with all of the books up to the same high standard.
April 3, 2024
A Timely Reminder - US Military swears allegiance to the Constitution
The United States tyrannized by corrupt politicians, big corporations and self-serving military leaders. An Army sergeant does the right thing at the right times and sticks to the principles of the Constitution. Something we could use right now.
The United States tyrannized by corrupt politicians, big corporations and self-serving military leaders. An Army sergeant does the right thing at the right times and sticks to the principles of the Constitution. Something we could use right now.
December 23, 2019
Great combat writing and a great look into the politics of combat and civil war rebellion.
October 6, 2012
This book picks up after the events in Stark's Command. The story flows pretty well, and in most respects I think this book is a step better than the previous two, if only because of the character and world/environment development that has taken place over three books. It's a more complex story that is woven now than before.
Story summary: America back on Earth still wants it's Lunar colony back, and wants the military forces there to be hanged. They try coercion, they try trickery, and they try direct attacks. Meanwhile other "enemy forces" (goverments or corporations, whoever they are, remain nameless) attempt a direct attack or two, succeeding at first, but then are driven off by Stark and his division. There's even a minor rebellion in the ranks (kinda funny, rebellion against those who rebelled against the established order) that is put down non-lethally. Toward the end America is desperate and commits itself to direct attack upon the colony by using autonomous robot drones supported by the remaining human combat force America has. This was the only part of the book that glitched for me and felt more contrived than not, even though the stage was set earlier in the book for this battle to occur. It did allow for a good resolution to the series, and a way for Stark and his army to not have the unending hostility from America.
There is a lot of other action and interaction that I glossed over, and sacrifices made by some good characters in the book. Best for you to read it. :-)
All in all it was a good book and series. The only technical fault I could find with the series is Hemry's color description of the Moon. It is not the washed out gray many think it is. Rather, it is more tan and brown. Even being as involved in astronomy and space exploration as I am I did not really realize this until my interest was piqued to try to recreate some of the battles in the series through miniatures gaming, and I went to paint up a unit of 15mm soldiers. Something nigged at me about the color and camo schemes so I did a little research on what the true color of the Moon is. Turns out the Apollo astronauts gave a lot of descriptive color to the lunar surface, from tans to brown to brown-gray and chocolate brown. What you see during moonrise is closer to its real color than not. It's just that it's so bright the colors are washed out, and most photographs people have ever seen were black and white, so the cultural perception is that the Moon is gray. So I give Hemry a bye on this technical detail. :-)
Story summary: America back on Earth still wants it's Lunar colony back, and wants the military forces there to be hanged. They try coercion, they try trickery, and they try direct attacks. Meanwhile other "enemy forces" (goverments or corporations, whoever they are, remain nameless) attempt a direct attack or two, succeeding at first, but then are driven off by Stark and his division. There's even a minor rebellion in the ranks (kinda funny, rebellion against those who rebelled against the established order) that is put down non-lethally. Toward the end America is desperate and commits itself to direct attack upon the colony by using autonomous robot drones supported by the remaining human combat force America has. This was the only part of the book that glitched for me and felt more contrived than not, even though the stage was set earlier in the book for this battle to occur. It did allow for a good resolution to the series, and a way for Stark and his army to not have the unending hostility from America.
There is a lot of other action and interaction that I glossed over, and sacrifices made by some good characters in the book. Best for you to read it. :-)
All in all it was a good book and series. The only technical fault I could find with the series is Hemry's color description of the Moon. It is not the washed out gray many think it is. Rather, it is more tan and brown. Even being as involved in astronomy and space exploration as I am I did not really realize this until my interest was piqued to try to recreate some of the battles in the series through miniatures gaming, and I went to paint up a unit of 15mm soldiers. Something nigged at me about the color and camo schemes so I did a little research on what the true color of the Moon is. Turns out the Apollo astronauts gave a lot of descriptive color to the lunar surface, from tans to brown to brown-gray and chocolate brown. What you see during moonrise is closer to its real color than not. It's just that it's so bright the colors are washed out, and most photographs people have ever seen were black and white, so the cultural perception is that the Moon is gray. So I give Hemry a bye on this technical detail. :-)
August 2, 2023
Brilliant end to the series.
July 8, 2015
Half-way evaluation (if you feel like this during the book, don't give up!):
This series is turning into the opposite of everything I liked about the Lost Star-series :(
The heavy-handed morality and remarkable good luck of the protagonists is getting annoying. And many of the limitations are simply plain weird:
How can the army claim any sort of moral superiority or behaviour? According to the book, the US have been using their military for jingoistic and dirty warfare. The soldiers are well aware of this, and warcrimes must have been committed by every grunt holding a rifle. Yet still the common soldier is portrayed as morally superiour and supporting every stupid (and passifist) whim of the main protagonist.
Why should a decapacitation operation against a bunch of renegade soldiers cause a public outrage? The US does that kind of things with drones all the time today, and nobody complain about massive civillian casualties.
Why can't you kill fellow americans, if they attack you? What happened to "honoured traditions" like plain self defense?
Why bother about some constitution that has allowed government and cooperations to screw you over for centuries?
Why bother about a civilian society that has turned their back on you? And why should the civillians sympathise with you when you're causing a massive economic downturn threatening what poor livelyhood they have left.
Why not declare independence and hit back 'till the bullies stop bothering you?
Post book evaluation: Wrapped things up nicely, four stars.
This series is turning into the opposite of everything I liked about the Lost Star-series :(
The heavy-handed morality and remarkable good luck of the protagonists is getting annoying. And many of the limitations are simply plain weird:
How can the army claim any sort of moral superiority or behaviour? According to the book, the US have been using their military for jingoistic and dirty warfare. The soldiers are well aware of this, and warcrimes must have been committed by every grunt holding a rifle. Yet still the common soldier is portrayed as morally superiour and supporting every stupid (and passifist) whim of the main protagonist.
Why should a decapacitation operation against a bunch of renegade soldiers cause a public outrage? The US does that kind of things with drones all the time today, and nobody complain about massive civillian casualties.
Why can't you kill fellow americans, if they attack you? What happened to "honoured traditions" like plain self defense?
Why bother about some constitution that has allowed government and cooperations to screw you over for centuries?
Why bother about a civilian society that has turned their back on you? And why should the civillians sympathise with you when you're causing a massive economic downturn threatening what poor livelyhood they have left.
Why not declare independence and hit back 'till the bullies stop bothering you?
Post book evaluation: Wrapped things up nicely, four stars.
December 19, 2010
This is the third and final book in John G. Hemry's Stark's War Trilogy.
When I first picked up this series i wasn't sure I would like it. I'm not much of a fan of science-fiction in general, and usually dislike military science-fiction. This book redeemed the genre for me. Without spoiling too much, I really like the way Stark chose to handle the final battle. It's good to see honor and loyalty win out, even if it means the risk of losing the end.
All in all a great series. I highly recommend it for anyone likes the genre and those of you out there looking to try something new.
Stark's War Trilogy
When I first picked up this series i wasn't sure I would like it. I'm not much of a fan of science-fiction in general, and usually dislike military science-fiction. This book redeemed the genre for me. Without spoiling too much, I really like the way Stark chose to handle the final battle. It's good to see honor and loyalty win out, even if it means the risk of losing the end.
All in all a great series. I highly recommend it for anyone likes the genre and those of you out there looking to try something new.
Stark's War Trilogy
May 6, 2012
Jack Campbell (or John G Hemry which is his actual name) spins another space opera, this time on the moon, in this the third book in the Starks War trilogy (the others being Stark’s War and Stark’s Command).
Stark is the commander on the moon although he still reports to the senior civilian position. The USA on Earth appears adamant that they retake the Moon base and keep sending more sophisticated deployments to do that. The latest being autonomous “robot” like creations.
Can Stark defeat someone without a soul ?
Can the Moon base be successfully defended if the USA on Earth sends all their resources ?
What about the unrest on Earth with what is happening there ?
Campbell wraps up this trilogy in eminent fashion.
Well developed characters. Nicely evolving story line. Well worth the time to read.
RECOMMENDED series and author.
Stark is the commander on the moon although he still reports to the senior civilian position. The USA on Earth appears adamant that they retake the Moon base and keep sending more sophisticated deployments to do that. The latest being autonomous “robot” like creations.
Can Stark defeat someone without a soul ?
Can the Moon base be successfully defended if the USA on Earth sends all their resources ?
What about the unrest on Earth with what is happening there ?
Campbell wraps up this trilogy in eminent fashion.
Well developed characters. Nicely evolving story line. Well worth the time to read.
RECOMMENDED series and author.
July 27, 2013
This is the last of the trilogy.
Stark has taken command of the American colony on the moon now what does he do.
He has to combat the forces the good old US of A are throwing at him mercenary's robots but not their own troops as they have to few left.
This book took me a good while to read firstly because after starting it got buried at the bottom of my to read pile secondly because of the philosophising and discussions I'd get bogged down and go read something else. However it is a good book the battle descriptions are excellent reminiscent of Gameplay on a console. I liked the 'happy ending' that one man can change the world
I highly recommend the trilogy
Stark has taken command of the American colony on the moon now what does he do.
He has to combat the forces the good old US of A are throwing at him mercenary's robots but not their own troops as they have to few left.
This book took me a good while to read firstly because after starting it got buried at the bottom of my to read pile secondly because of the philosophising and discussions I'd get bogged down and go read something else. However it is a good book the battle descriptions are excellent reminiscent of Gameplay on a console. I liked the 'happy ending' that one man can change the world
I highly recommend the trilogy
August 18, 2010
Fantastic ending to a great SciFi Space Opera trilogy. I'm actually happy with the ending, and while there is a possibility for there to be more books; I kinda like where Hemry left it all wrapped up.
August 25, 2015
I enjoyed the series, but found the finale a little bit muted. I have no idea how it could be improved since the story reached its ultimate, logical conclusion, but I felt there was quite a large action gap in this book.
May 21, 2012
Last book of the Stark trilogy. Excellent books reminiscent of Heilein in the moralistic and patriotic approach used by Hemry.
May 29, 2012
Sequel to Stark's Command; Stark and his troops honor their oath. The series is an interesting look at an American culture where the military and civilian rarely intersect.
June 14, 2012
This was a satisfying conclusion to a rather short, if energetic series. I'm a Jack Campbell fan, and if you like him, you'll enjoy the book. read the first two in the series if you can.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews