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Scott St. Andrew #1
Brothers in Arms
Scott St. Andrew is a first year cadet at South Point Academy on Exeter, a rocky moon circling a distant colony planet. All he has to do is survive the toughest, most gruelling training program in the military. Then he'll be qualified to become an officer in the Guard Corps and be on his way off his filthy, poisonous planet and into the Terran Alliance elite.
But Scott's chance of being the one in a thousand to escape the colonist destiny is rapidly disappearing. His genetic flaws (scars, no memory boosting or physical enhancement) make him one of the weakest in his squad and an inevitable target for ritual hazing. And events are about to spiral completely out of his control as the long simmering resentment between the colonial worlds and the rich Terran Alliance flares into open violence and rebellion. Now every soldier has to chose his side--and survive a hellishly accelerated training to join the deep space fighting before there is nothing left to fight for.
But Scott's chance of being the one in a thousand to escape the colonist destiny is rapidly disappearing. His genetic flaws (scars, no memory boosting or physical enhancement) make him one of the weakest in his squad and an inevitable target for ritual hazing. And events are about to spiral completely out of his control as the long simmering resentment between the colonial worlds and the rich Terran Alliance flares into open violence and rebellion. Now every soldier has to chose his side--and survive a hellishly accelerated training to join the deep space fighting before there is nothing left to fight for.
320 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 13, 2018
Ok fine.
February 13, 2014
This is a book that forces you to suspend your disbelief. The ability of the protagonist, Scott St. Andrew, to become the super-soldier of the future, is dependent upon your belief in the fiction the author creates. I bought into it, and why not? It was an exciting read and a believable world created by Ben Weaver.
The world Weaver creates (weaves?) is a future of corporate exploitation, and a class system for galactic citizens based on place of birth. Those on the lower rungs try to climb society’s ladder by joining the military. Scott St. Andrew is a conflicted hero; he has an inferiority complex based on his social status that he is striving to overcome, as well as a conscience that (unsuccessfully) tries to keep his enhanced military abilities in check. He is a young man who is forced face his future sooner than he would like. He ultimately learns to kill, but does so with regret. His friends are just as conflicted and damaged in one way or another, and they make for an interesting and believable group. You can tell that a character is well drawn when you mourn their loss in combat.
The battle scenes are sometimes a bit difficult to follow. There is a lot of action happening all at once, but focus on what is happening to the main character and you’ll be fine.
The book is a quick read, and fun. I’m on to the second and third books in the series.
{On a side note, I see that a there are some very negative reviews of the book here. To each his own, of course. But I notice that many of these reviews have no support for their point of view, other than how much they simply hated the book. That’s fine, but it calls into question the motivations of some of these reviews and reviewers.
This book is not Shakespeare, nor does it pretend to be. But I’ve read some bad book in my time that strive to be Shakespeare, and this isn’t one of them.}
The world Weaver creates (weaves?) is a future of corporate exploitation, and a class system for galactic citizens based on place of birth. Those on the lower rungs try to climb society’s ladder by joining the military. Scott St. Andrew is a conflicted hero; he has an inferiority complex based on his social status that he is striving to overcome, as well as a conscience that (unsuccessfully) tries to keep his enhanced military abilities in check. He is a young man who is forced face his future sooner than he would like. He ultimately learns to kill, but does so with regret. His friends are just as conflicted and damaged in one way or another, and they make for an interesting and believable group. You can tell that a character is well drawn when you mourn their loss in combat.
The battle scenes are sometimes a bit difficult to follow. There is a lot of action happening all at once, but focus on what is happening to the main character and you’ll be fine.
The book is a quick read, and fun. I’m on to the second and third books in the series.
{On a side note, I see that a there are some very negative reviews of the book here. To each his own, of course. But I notice that many of these reviews have no support for their point of view, other than how much they simply hated the book. That’s fine, but it calls into question the motivations of some of these reviews and reviewers.
This book is not Shakespeare, nor does it pretend to be. But I’ve read some bad book in my time that strive to be Shakespeare, and this isn’t one of them.}
March 8, 2013
Usually I just rate books without writing a review. In this case I'm making an exception for this terrible, terrible excuse for a book.
If I could, I would sue the writer for emotional damages and time wasted. The writing style is far below par and if there is any worse anti-hero than Scott I have yet got to encounter him/her.
After about 100 pages I couldn't take it anymore and tossed the book away. Even if the rest of the book (and/or trilogy) would be nobel prize quality it just would not make up for the torture of reading this first part. Avoid at all costs, unless you're into self-infliction of psychological pain! Your brain will be very thankful.
I'd rather wear a pink tutu and let myself get bombarded with overripe tomatos for a whole day on some marketplace than read one more single word.
If I could, I would sue the writer for emotional damages and time wasted. The writing style is far below par and if there is any worse anti-hero than Scott I have yet got to encounter him/her.
After about 100 pages I couldn't take it anymore and tossed the book away. Even if the rest of the book (and/or trilogy) would be nobel prize quality it just would not make up for the torture of reading this first part. Avoid at all costs, unless you're into self-infliction of psychological pain! Your brain will be very thankful.
I'd rather wear a pink tutu and let myself get bombarded with overripe tomatos for a whole day on some marketplace than read one more single word.
December 5, 2015
It's simple, straightforward military sci-fi, and I like it for that. It was a quick read as Weaver doesn't bog it down with turgid writing which I quite appreciate, and Weaver highlights the dilemma of war quite well. I wanted, however, more description of the world building. I would've preferred to give it 3.5 stars, not just 3 stars.
May 31, 2011
Scott StAndrews joins the military and attends the alliances military academy to rise above the second class citizenship that would be imposed upon him due to a genetic defect. His real adventures start when the colonies revolt aand he takes their side.
June 22, 2011
Scott StAndrews joins the military and attends the Military Academy to escape his home world and the stigma of his genetic defect. His real adventures begin when the outer colony worlds revolt against the Earth federation.
May 20, 2012
Not a great story - haven't bothered with the next book
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews