Кобра

Cobra #1

by Timothy Zahn, Юлиян Стойнов (translator)

Свирепи и безмилостни, пришълците прегазват колониалните светове Адирондак и Силвърн и заплашват човешкия Доминион с разгром. Последната надежда на човечеството са кобрите — специални диверсионни подразделения с хирургически имплантирани оръжия, невидими за вражеските монитори и смъртоносно опасни. Но всяка война има край, а когато дойде мирът, героите обикновено стават ненужни. Всъщност не е ли мирът само кратка почивка между две войни…?

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Military Fiction, Space Opera, Audiobook, Military Science Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Timothy Zahn attended Michigan State University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in physics in 1973. He then moved to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and achieved an M.S. degree in physics in 1975. While he was pursuing a doctorate in physics, his adviser became ill and died. Zahn never completed the doctorate. In 1975 he had begun writing science fiction as a hobby, and he became a professional writer. He and his wife Anna live in Bandon, Oregon. They have a son, Corwin Zahn.

Reviews

[Metodi Markov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Тимъти Зан е много по-известен на българските читатели с романите си за "Междузвездни войни". Аз лично не се интересувам много от това, но пък харесвам другите му творби, които не са свързани с нея.

И когато ми се дочете добре написана и интригуваща военна фантастика, се сетих за неговите кобри и с кеф препрочетох тази първа книга от трилогията!

Човечеството е колонизирало над 70 планети и има за съседи две различни извънземни империи. С тази на минтисцийците човешкият Доминион вече е воювал успешно, а сега заплахата идва от другите съседи - трофтите.

Джони Моро живее на Хорайзън, планета в другия край на човешките владения, но има у себе си много патриотичен плам и желание да брани себеподобните си! Няколко далечни човешки колонии са внезапно нападнати от трофтите и армията се нуждае спешно от свежа кръв.

Предстоят му обучение за командос-кобра, партизанска война на окупирана от врага планета и живот на далечна човешка колония. Приключения, насилие и политически борби бележат наситения му с интересни истории жизнен път.

Единственият минус на тази книга е слабото светоизграждане - както на човешкия Доминион, така и на извънземните.

Без да има големи претенции, "Кобра" е отлично приключенско четиво!

Цитат:

"В боя най-често загиват тъкмо тези, които не знаят цената на живота."

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’d only read Timothy Zahn’s Star Wars tie-ins before now but had always quite enjoyed them so I thought it was about time I tried one of his own, non-franchise, novels.

I picked this one largely because the whole series was available on Audible but I’m happy I did. I really enjoyed this solid slice of ‘80s military space opera.

It’s very much a product of its time but, as I grew up in the ‘80s, this wasn’t a problem for me. It’s clearly a Vietnam war allegory, as a lot of SF was at the time, but its reach extends beyond just that.

I was actually pleased to see the protagonist have clear character growth and also that, by the end, he seeks peaceful solutions rather than just going in finger-lasers blazing as his first option. Don’t worry, though, action-lovers; there’s plenty of pew-pew-pew to be had here, too.

I’m looking forward to continuing the series.

[Jesse Whitehead · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cobra is a very different book from the one that I thought I was picking up. What I thought was a action packed book about super soldiers fighting aliens turned out to be an examination of humans, politics, and learning to adapt to a whole new kind of human being.

Who deserves power? Colloquial wisdom would tell us that only those who do not desire it truly deserve to have it. As it so often is, colloquial wisdom is an oversimplification of the facts. The truth is that there are a great number of people (myself included) who do not desire any kind of authoritative control and who are actually terrible leaders. On the other end of the spectrum there are those who crave power and leadership so fiercely that they will abandon families and stomp on the fingers of their own children to get it and they are truly great leaders. That is because human beings are a spectrum of individuals. We cannot be summed up in trite little statements.

So I return to my former question. Who deserves power? Who deserves to make decisions that will affect, not only their own lives, but also the lives of hundreds, thousands, or even millions of others, who they don’t even know?

It’s not an easy question to answer and it’s likely to be around for as long as there are people. The people should speak for themselves but when the masses become too massive then nobody can hear over the din. That’s when we create governments and have elections and appoint people to speak for us and hope that the majority of the people around us want the same person we do. Or at least that the person elected is smart enough, and selfless enough, to act in the best interest of the people who elected him or her.

When war breaks out against the Troft – a completely mysterious alien race – Jonny Moreau enlists in the army because he wants to help people gain their freedom. What he is offered is a chance to become a Cobra, an elite guerrilla fighter with augmented strength and a superior array of weaponry built directly into his body making him a deadly super weapon.

What Jonny quickly learns is the euphoric power that such strength, speed, and invulnerability give to a person when surrounded by ‘normals’. Jonny goes to war, the war ends, and he comes home to find that people don’t appreciate living with a man who has weapons grade lasers and lightning reflexes wired into his body.

He quickly accepts a call to settle a distant planet and that is where his adventure starts.

Aventine is a world beyond the fringes of human space. It’s all the way on the other side of the Troft collective. Jonny and hundreds of other Cobras settle there with thousands of other settlers. The Cobras are needed to keep the vicious native predators at bay while the settlers get crops planted and try to start their civilization.

Then some of the Cobras decide they know how to do things better than the local government… and they have the means to stage a coup that no normal person could stand up against. When it turns out that many of the settlers agree that the Cobras – being faster and stronger – deserve to have a stronger say in matters then the dynamics of the world suddenly change. Jonny is faced with trying to keep a balance among his peers and fellow civilians but also in his own mind.

Timothy Zahn is one of my favorite authors because of things like this. He tells a compelling story, with great action and gripping story while making me think. His prose isn’t smooth and buttery but rather soft and clear in that way where you can almost forget that you are reading because the words become invisible. This is one of his earlier novels so there are a few clunky spots and the characters are pretty mundane but this is an idea story, not a character story. And this idea completely turned me on my head.

What looked like another military science fiction adventure turned out to be a deeply told story of a man trying to do his best for the people around him. He didn’t want to be in charge but he wanted them to be safe and taken care of, even if it meant spending his life in their service.

And that is what I think makes a great leader. It doesn’t matter if a person has a drive to be in the center of everything or prefers to govern from the sidelines. It doesn’t matter if he or she wishes has a powerful way with words, or exudes charisma, or has a strong ability to lead. It matters if he or she loves the people being governed.

Timothy Zahn is one of my favorite authors and I would recommend picking up just about anything he has written and start reading. You will not regret it.

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Info: Genre: Military Science-fiction Reading Level: Adult

Disclosure: I received the 6th book in the series (or 3rd book in the 2nd trilogy) in exchange for an honest review; I have purchased these earlier books on my own, but am happy to provide an honest review anyway.

Synopsis: Earth’s only hope was the COBRAs.

The colony worlds Adirondack and Silvern fell to the Troft forces almost without a struggle. Outnumbered and on the defensive, Earth made a desperate decision. It would attack the aliens not from space, but on the ground - with forces the Troft did not even suspect.

Thus were created the Cobras, a guerilla force whose weapons were surgically implanted, invisible to the unsuspecting eye yet undeniably deadly. But power brings temptation...and not all the Cobras could be trusted to fight for Earth alone. Jonny Moreau would learn the uses – and abuses – of his special abilities, and what it truly meant to be a COBRA.

My Thoughts: Timothy Zahn follows a fairly typical military science-fiction meme in this story – the military creates a superman to win a war, and when that superman goes back home, he’s … not welcomed. He’s considered dangerous, and then the government has to find a way to keep the superman out of the view of the ordinary citizens who, of course, want to destroy that which they do not understand.

I know military science-fiction is not for everyone, but it’s a genre I’ve learned to enjoy. There is always a lesson buried underneath the action – or not so buried, in the case of Zahn’s work. Although every time the soldiers are called Cobras I had to giggle a bit, thinking of G.I. Joe. I wasn’t sure whether to be offended or amused over the fact that, apparently, even in the 25th century Zahn couldn’t see women in the military. Being as I hate being offended all the time, I decided to be amused at his old-school ways.

An interesting and well-written piece of military science-fiction, taking into account the fact that it was originally written in the mid-1980s. If you enjoy military science-fiction, then be sure to check out Zahn’s Cobra series.

[D.M. Dutcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

It reminds me of starship troopers but without all of the ideological baggage. Jonny volunteers to become part of the Cobras-cybernetic soldiers designed to blend in with civilians and fight guerilla warfare against the Trofts. The book covers his life from recruit to returned veteran to colonist to politician.

Zahn does very well at making humanistic science fiction without a lot of the preconceived ideas others shoehorn into their work. He doesn't use his books as a pulpit to preach, but focuses on the story and the characters. This is something I wish more science fiction authors would do. Cobra is a good take on a common theme-the life of a soldier-but with balance and humanity. It's not epic, mind-altering science fiction, but just a tale very well told.

[Charles van Buren · Rating 4 out of 5]

An early book by Zahn, October 18, 2016

Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Cobra (Kindle Edition)

Cobra is one of Zahn's early books. At this time it is free on Amazon but I would not recommend reading it as your first Zahn book. In the intervening years since Cobra was first published, his work has improved. It isn't bad but maybe just a bit better than average Sci-fi. I would give it 3 1/2 stars but cannot so it will have to be 4.

This novel owes a debt to Heinlein's Starship Troopers but instead of infantry in powered armor, there are commandos/special forces physically altered to be super soldiers. Of course when the fighting ends the soldiers can not remove their special abilities as one would do with armor. The story really begins at this point with the near impossibility of integrating these soldiers back into civilian life. So, what do you do with them?

[Benjamin Espen · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I read the cover blurb for this book, I expected something like the Blackcollar series: military sci-fi about super soldiers, cyborgs in this case instead of pharmaceutically enhanced ninjas. That impression is completely wrong. While there are some battle scenes in this book, that isn’t really the focus. This isn’t really military sci-fi at all, but rather speculative fiction about politics using super soldiers as a thought experiment.

This is the second book I’ve read recently that looks at the problem of how a society would change if people appeared within it who were faster, stronger, and generally more dangerous than the norm. The first, Heroes Fall, was in the superhero genre. The reaction of that society to superhumans in their midst is mostly adulation, with a few generally ignored naysayers. The corruption of society is subtle and slow, underneath the public fanfare.

For the Dominion of Man, the seventy-world setting of Cobra, their cyborg super soldiers were created [perhaps in a bit of a panic] to help win a war, without much thought for what would come afterward. Men with unusual strength, automated reflexes, and lasers built into their fingertips are not universally loved once demobilized, especially when accidents and misunderstandings that escalate into things far worse start to occur.

I was reminded of David Morell’s First Blood, a novel that really captured the struggles of Vietnam veterans to find a place back home, or the ending of The Hurt Locker, when Jeremy Renner’s Sgt. James stands bewildered by the endless varieties of breakfast cereal in a supermarket. Men who did everything their government and society asked of them come home to find that they no longer have a home to return to.

The bulk of the book is taken up with the search for an acceptable political solution to the problems the Cobras pose to their society. Officially, the Cobras are war heroes. In the public eye, they are mostly objects of fear and loathing. Unofficially, the Central Committee that runs the Dominion considers them a threat; bored and frustrated former soldiers that have more in common with each other than their fellow citizens can become agents of revolution.

While we are treated to brief interludes within the halls of power on the planet Asgard, we mostly see this play out through the eyes of Jonny Moreau, a bright young man who volunteered to go off to war, and found that he was changed forever by the experience. We follow Moreau from young adulthood, when he volunteers for service, into middle age, when he brokers a deal to preserve hard won freedoms and privileges for his fellow Cobras at immense personal cost. I gather there are a number of sequels that follow from this book, as Zahn explores the further implications of Jonny Moreau’s actions at the end of this book.

Since this is hard sci-fi, many of the problems the Cobras face, both in battle and life, stem from the physical consequences of their modifications. During the bootcamp section of the book, the Cobra trainees spend time learning how to pick up unusually heavy things without tearing their ligaments or giving themselves subdermal hematomas. Their bones have been strengthened, and their strength and speed supplemented by servo motors, but the rest of their bodies remain much as they always were.

First and foremost, they are men, and they want the same things as anyone else: a job, a family, a home. Unfortunately, most other people don’t want them around. In a memorable incident in his home town after Jonny comes marching home, a couple of young punks hassle him in a local entertainment center, and then swerve their car towards him when they seem him walking on the street later. Jonny’s programmed combat reflexes take over [literally, COBRA means computerized body reflex armament], he shoots out the tires of the kids’ car and they both die in the resulting crash.

The reason this all happens is that the computer implanted in the brain cannot be removed with causing brain damage, and the finger lasers cannot be removed without amputation, and that was a price the Central Committee was unwilling to pay [or unwilling to be seen to be willing to pay]. Although, I did wonder why they didn’t do something about the power source, which was implanted in the chest, and thus much easier to get to. Much of the other equipment Jonny carried into war was successfully removed, but none of it other than the strengthened bones would work without power. I do remember reading about how much heavier their bodies got, so maybe it was seen as too much of a burden to leave them with limbs too heavy to lift. Perhaps this could have been explored a bit more.

The Central Committee itself is interesting, insofar as it really is an Inner Party. The Central Committee almost functions as a character, one analogous to Lathe in the Blackcollar novels or Thrawn in Heir to the Empire, powerful and far-seeing, capable of predicting its opponents and laying traps. It is also quite good at governing, since the Dominion of Man seems quite peaceful and prosperous. Except, in this case, everything that happens is because the Central Committee made a mistake in even allowing the Cobras to be created. Over the many years depicted in the novel, we see the Central Committee continue to dominate, but also to make critical mistakes at times. I enjoyed how Zahn took a central idea in his style and inverted it, making the the clever and powerful Central Committee the antagonist.

I also liked the broad sweep of the novel, covering several decades in the life of Jonny Moreau. Since the kind of things Zahn wants to explore in this novel take a long time to work themselves out, nothing shorter than a generation would have been adequate. Looking through the blurbs for the many sequels, we will continue to follow the Moreau family as the implications of Jonny’s solution work themselves out over the generations to follow. Overall, this was an interesting novel, and I’m curious to see where Zahn decided to take the society he created in the conclusion of this book.

[Gregoire]

J'ai profité de la free ebook library de Baen pour lire Cobra de Timothy Zahn dont j'avais gardé un bon souvenir de lecture avec Manta's Gift

Je suis plutôt mitigé sur Cobra (paru en 1985 tout de même) Le concept de la transformation d'un homme pour l'adapter à la guerre est depuis les super héros fortement décliné en SF donc pas d'effet surprise ici

Le plus gros défaut est que l'auteur ne dit rien ou presque sur l'ennemi alien Le lecteur a donc du mal à visualiser cette guérilla urbaine (après la classique période de formation)

La deuxième partie plus politique fait fortement penser au retour et aux difficultés de réintégration de beaucoup de ces courageux vétérans survivants de guerres (vietnam, indochine, etc etc)

Jonny est certes un caractère courageux, intelligent, sensible, patriote etc etc mais trop lisse dans ses pensées pour que je m'y attache véritablement

En ce qui me concerne, ce premier opus ne m'a pas donné envie d'acheter les suites

Par honneteté, je dirais que, jeune lecteur, j'aurais tout dévoré avec plaisir !

Partagé entre le jeune moi et le moi actuel, lecteur plus expérimenté, je ne noterai pas ce livre

[Ric · Rating 3 out of 5]

The life and times of Jonny, the augmented soldier. Military SF that recalls such books as Man Plus and Armor, both from the same era. This one has some cool action and battle sequences, but not nearly enough to fulfill the promise of the title. For the most part, the book focuses on the effect of being augmented on one person, Jonny, following him from his time as a soldier, through his later life as colonist and politician. The story is told in serial fashion as a chain of short stories connected by interludes.
From a near 30 year vantage point, the extrapolations in the book now seem quaint and dated. Cassette tapes and phone operators. Servo motors. The lack of cyber references. The author seemed content with plucking props and characters from thin air in order to move the narrative along, where a little more plotting could have improved the presentation.
This is the first of the Cobra series that Audible has commissioned into audiobooks. There are others from that era I hope Audible/Amazon will get to as well. I'm not sure if I will continue with the rest of the Cobra series.
A note on the audiobook edition: the narrator had this basso profundo that seemed to lull me to sleep. Not the narrator's fault, and overall he did a creditable job. It was just the timbre and frequency of his voice that seemed to have this somnolent effect on me specifically.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up not because it was military sci-fi, but because it deals with one of the sub-genres of science fiction that I am interested in. Human enhancement.

The human Dominion of Man's war against the Troft is not going well. To start an insurgency against the Troft on the occupied worlds the decision is take recruits and enhance them. Computers in their brains, weapons installed in their bodies, re-enforced bone, etc. Essentially a one-man army.

While the science is questionable Zahn does a good job of trying to get inside Jonny Mreau's head. Moreau enlists and ends up in the Cobra program. Yes there is a war going one, but what makes this book a good read (pun unintended) is that Zahn tries to look at what happens to the man during the war.

We follow Moreau from training , through the war, his return home, and eventually his becoming a politician. I'm leaving some items out to avoid spoilers. Zahn at least considers the mental,psychological and physical toll of war and re-intergration on the veteran.

But, not good enough for me to pick up another book in the series. I think the story is told here, and what comes after the last page really doesn't interest me.

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Please vote on list Best Timothy Zahn Novels.

Another really good sci-fi read from Timothy Zahn. This book is a little different from his later books in that there isn't a mystery throughout the book that is revealed at the end with a twist.

The events in Cobra center around the life of main character Jonny Moreau. It covers around 30 years. We start with him before he becomes a Cobra then go through his training, his military career, and his political career.

The character are likeable and realistic, although they could have used a bit more development. Zahn's worldbuilding is good and he manages to explain the technology and history of the Dominion of Man in a natural way. Zahn's prose is written very well also. Recommend to all science fiction fans.

[Joseph Alexander Nagy, Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Wonderful Read

More human interest story than military sci-fi, Timothy Zahn takes you through the life of a young man at the beginning of a war and his struggle with ethics and honor. A wonderful read in which you'll be whisked away with Jonny (the main character in the story) and his struggles with the very real struggles of reintegrating into society,made more difficult by not only the emotional issues of having been at war for three years, but also permanently cybernetically altered, making his reintegration all but impossible. Masterfully written, the story is well told. I wound up finishing the book and finding myself ecstatic about there being more books in the series.

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining scifi fun! But, as the clock neared 3:00am and I was almost finished, I felt the horrible, sinking feeling that I had read this book before. I may have, I really can't remember. If not, then it really reminded me of both Jon Scalzi's Old Man series as well as Joe Haldeman's Forever series.

I guess enhanced humanoid soldiers being shipped off to colonies is a popular tale to tell.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Timothy Zahn, a frequent contributor to the Star Wars Universe, has also written several military science fiction series. The Cobra series, which began in 1985, has a post-Vietnam feel and undoubtedly owes a lot to the enhanced soldiers of Joe Haldeman’s The Forever War. The first Cobra novel provides the usual basic training and first battle narratives, but it also brings the warrior hero home suffering from post-traumatic stress and moving on into a political career.

Zahn is a pro whose work is always readable. 3.5.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this over the course of over a year, and it was really hard to get a sense of the story arc. But the adventure was good.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A coming-of-age story for Jonny Moreau, a young colonial who becomes a member of the Cobras, an elite military unit designed to be fearsome guerilla warriors.

The tech behind converting a normal human to a Cobra doesn’t stand up to close inspection. And you’ll have to put up with various other 1980s Back-to-the-Future stuff that hasn’t aged well. But no matter — the story itself moves right along, and stands up well to rereading some 30 years on. This is still one of Zahn’s best books, I think. The Heinlein influence and flavor is clear. Jonny learns how to be an adult, and a politician, and to deal with ambiguity, compromise and the general messiness of adult life.

A good, well-written action-adventure novel with some extra depth. Recommended, and free to download from the Baen Free Library,
http://www.baen.com/categories/free-l...

[Kirby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was browsing the Baen Free Library, when I noticed the author's name. I remember his Star Wars books fondly from my youth, so I decided to download and read it. (Yes, I got the book for free. Yes, that might change my opinion of it, so maybe read some other reviews, too! You can get it for free, too, right here on the publisher's website: https://www.baen.com/cobra.html)

After the first few dozen pages I feared it would be another Starship Troopers rip-off (looking at you, Old Man's War), but I was very pleasantly surprised that the actual war stuff made up only a small part of the book, and that most of it deals with the aftereffects, personally as well as politically.

While I did enjoy it, it is still very much a product of its time. All in all it was a decent read, and I give it a decent amount of stars: Three.

[Phillip Murrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not what the blurb sold

This was an interesting book but light on the action. The blurb sold me on a ton of guerilla warfare. That ended after the first act. The rest of the story followed a veteran's life as he went from colonists to politician. I probably would have liked the book more if I had known what it truly was before I began reading. This book had some bait and switch.

[Janet Sketchley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good story, and interesting to see the longer-term picture of the challenges this new type of soldier faced after the war as well as in the beginning. Action, loyalties, political and military strategies, and adventure.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nowadays, Timothy Zahn is remembered primarily as an author of Star Wars novels. That obviously wasn't always the case, and in the decade prior to the Thrawn Trilogy (1991-93) he made his name as an up-and-coming author of military science fiction. Prime fodder for Baen Books in the early years of the publisher's existence. The Cobra Trilogy was Zahn's most successful series from that era, and the trilogy gets off to a great start with its namesake volume. In addition to including a ton of great action, Cobra is a surprisingly sophisticated narrative that never shies away from political/psychological themes. An excellent template for the relatively character-driven, space opera-influenced take on the military sci-fi that would define all of Zahn's mature work, as well as the logical starting point for readers looking to explore the author's non-Star Wars material.

Cobra is composed of six novelettes, each detailing a seminal event in the career of Jonny Moreau. A cybernetically-enhanced soldier from the namesake special forces unit, Moreau is deployed to partake in a guerrilla war against an invading alien species known as the Trofts. This campaign is successful, but a failure to reassimilate as a civilian prompts Jonny to pursue subsequent careers as a frontier settler and local politician. At all stages in his life, Jonny is presented as a competent yet emotional conflicted individual who is hesitant to accept his increasingly significant roles. Appearing between segments of Jonny's story are brief interludes told from the perspective of an ambitious young politician, placing the actions of Jonny and his fellow Cobras into the broader political context in the Dominion of Man.

Cobra is a novel that does everything extremely well, even if it lacks the standout moments necessary to earn a full five-star rating. As a relative newcomer to the military sci-fi genre, I can also confirm that it's a gentle introduction to the genre, with a focus on character/politics/societal effects that should quickly appeal to fans of more traditional space opera. At no point does Zahn overindulge in his action set-pieces, and the action that does appear is remarkably varied. That being said, easily the finest aspect of Cobra is the characterization of Jonny himself. He's really just an ordinary guy who's been made extraordinary via government experimentation, and the core conflict of the novel is less Human vs. Troft than it is Cobra vs. ordinary society. On a related note, I also find it interesting how the biggest key to Jonny's success is the "normal" people in his life (his brother, a little girl he befriends in wartime, his future wife and her father, etc.). A suspect their a moral hidden inside of there, somewhere...

This isn't to say that Cobra is a perfect novel. As mentioned above, it lacks a single iconic sequence. The idea of cybernetically-enhanced warriors also isn't a particularly unique one, meaning that the novel stands out only via all of its political intrigue and psychological profiling. And I suspect that your feelings about those latter elements (especially the machinations of the Dominion politician in the interludes) will determine whether you love the novel or think that it's merely good. It is worth noting here that, although I enjoyed the book's pseudo-serialized format, I can understand how the repeated time jumps may disappoint readers in search of a more cohesive narrative. Despite its scope, Cobra is far less "epic" than you might initially suspect.

Cobra ultimately lands near the top of my four-star range, mostly on the back of Zahn's fantastic prose and excellent characterizations. Personally, I can't wait to continue onward with the book's sequel, Cobra Strike, which appears to follow the military career of Jonny's son Justin.

[Allan Olley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the story of Jonny Moreau a young man living in a far off future where humanity has colonized dozens of worlds, organized under an interplanetary government the Dominion of Man, ruled from the Dome. Some of those worlds have just been invaded by hostile aliens. Hoping to help those on the invaded worlds Jonny joins the military hoping to work as a guerilla on an occupied planet. As a result Jonny becomes one of the first of a group of bionic super soldiers the Cobras.

Told as a series of vignettes we see Jonny go through basic training; fighting in an uneasy alliance with local resistance on an invaded world; dealing with the problems of reintegrating with civilian life for a soldier not only marked by war but transformed into a superhuman; starting a new life as a frontier pioneer and finally dealing with a new threat from the aliens. Jonny butts heads with frightened civilians, skeptical resistance fighters, the manipulative politicians of the interplanetary order and fellow Cobras soldiers.

It is mostly a straightforward and engaging account. At first the portrayal of military mentality and habit seems unalloyed and dismissive of other civilian perspectives and imperatives. Although I think it maintains a certain straightforward admiration for this sort of ethos, the story begins to show more appreciation for the merits of other perspectives and needs and the tension between civilian and military ways of doing things. In some ways this reminds me of some 1950s or 60s science fiction squared jawed appreciation for military straightforwardness, but it is tempered by some considerations. Much of the story is tightly plotted and exacting and aware in terms of military tactics and strategy. Some of the setting and characterization is a bit simplistic, unnuanced and even hokey, but not I think particularly dumb or unbelievable. I also suspect it reflects the legacy of the Vietnam war and its aftermath for returning soldiers in the mind of the author.

I read this from the Baen free library electronic copy. The ebook functioned well.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first non-Star Wars book by Timothy Zahn that I have read. He is my favorite Star Wars fiction author. I am glad I picked this one up. It is unlike anything I have ever read. It is science fiction, yes, but it reads more like a sprawling military/frontier action drama. It follows the life of Johnny Moreau from his late teens, through his military training as a member of the title elite forces, his experiences during the war, and after the war. It is set in the distant future. Non of it takes place on Earth. It takes you to several different planets, but at no point does that overshadow the personal relationships, fears, trauma, and joys of the characters that pass in and out of Johnny's life, nor does the opposite occur. It is a beautiful blend of imagination, technical science fiction, and hints of fantasy (perhaps a better word would be imagination). I would recommend this book to anyone. Now I have to decide if I want to read the sequel. I'm not sure how the author could improve on this one.

[Paps · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Book, when I read about it I expected a book focused on the warring and solely focused on the fighting, and I am glad I got it so wrong. This book not only deals with the war effort and how it impacts the special soldiers, it also deals with their readjustment to civilian lives and how those same civilians see them once the fighting is done, not only that it considers the political implications of the war, and how the military decisions affect the civilians live. A good rounded book that concerns not only in the battles that occur in a war but the ramifications the same has in the individual and society as a whole.

[James Pyles · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this book in the 1980s and recall really enjoying it. However as time passed, I had forgotten most of what I read, so I bought it again. The novel holds up very well. It's the hero's journey of Jonny Moreau, a young "everyman" who volunteers to become an augmented soldier to serve his government.

This has plenty of military SciFi action, but it's actually a tale of how Jonny learns and grows over his life time, faces distrust and death, and discovers that his augmentations are just tools for the expression of his ideals. More than a few writers in the 21st century could learn from the story Zahn weaves.

[Roy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn’t put it down

Such a great read. I couldn’t put it down. I love Timothy Zahn’s Star Wars books and thought I’d check this out. It has a different flavor but still has the great storytelling that is uniquely Zahn. Great development without any unnecessary words. I love how he left a lot to imagination. This could be a drawback from someone who likes more descriptive styles (like Tolkien). But this time around I just wanted to know what happens in the story. And he delivered.

[Andrew Spink · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plenty of action to keep the reader entertained and nice to have the invading aliens as rational beings who can be negotiated with. But the book is sadly typical of its genre in that only one character is developed to any extent, everybody else is just supporting cast, and the few female characters in the plot barely merit a mention. Having said that, always nice to see a book where botanical research is responsible for a key plot twist and the book definitely breaks free of its genre with its repeated reminder that warfare is horrific, also for the soldiers, and should be avoided.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite what I was expecting but still entertaining. It didn't have as much action as I was hoping for but I still liked Jonny and reading about how his universe changed throughout his life as a Cobra. Each chapter in the book is a different story about Jonny and how he coped with being a Cobra and then eventually how he succeeded in helping his fellow Cobras after the war ended. I look forward to learning more about the Troft and seeing what the Cobras end up doing for them.
Overall 3 out of 5 stars.

[Al Philipson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a hard time getting into this story, probably because I was writing something similar (without the super-human stuff).

Just as I finally got interested, the war ended and the hero returned to civilized life. Then things got interesting again.

I finally made peace with the swings in story line and was able to immerse myself into the story. My level of enjoyment went up. So I can recommend it as a good "read". Especially if you're not writing something similar yourself (grin).

[Adena Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those classics which for me defines what it really means to be a soldier, to dedicate oneself to serve and protect. Unfortunately, it also shows how some civilians do not appreciate soldierly sacrifices to the point of driving out those protectors who "could hurt them". For me, this novel helps me understand and appreciate those who serve and I hope to carry this attitude into the real world.

[Carl Palmateer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A more modern mil sci fi/space opera book. Enjoyable but it does have the drawback of most successful sci fi books these days, it continues forever. Looks like its up to at least 3 trilogies so space opera is probably the better description. I'll assume the reason this is so rampant is the author's need to maximize return on time invested rather than an inability to conclude a story but it is amazing the number of series I've either not finished or never started due to this problem.