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Wandering Engineer Jethro's Tale #2
Jethro: First to Fight
First to Fight, one of the motto's of the marine corps carried over to the Federation Marines from long ago.
To those not blooded in combat, it was just that, a motto. They were eager for war, despite the cost. But what kind of war?
A war they can't fight? Filled with political intrigue and corruption in Pyrax?
A war to train their own troops and expand?
A war to survive and live free? Free of the Horathians? To protect those that need protection, even when some undermine you at every turn?
But for Jethro, it is also a war within himself. A war going on he can hardly see, and a war with his own superiors to find out the truth.
As Sun Tzu said:
"It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle."
To those not blooded in combat, it was just that, a motto. They were eager for war, despite the cost. But what kind of war?
A war they can't fight? Filled with political intrigue and corruption in Pyrax?
A war to train their own troops and expand?
A war to survive and live free? Free of the Horathians? To protect those that need protection, even when some undermine you at every turn?
But for Jethro, it is also a war within himself. A war going on he can hardly see, and a war with his own superiors to find out the truth.
As Sun Tzu said:
"It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle."
801 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 20, 2013
22 people are currently reading
20 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 6, 2023
The premise of the story, continuing from volume one continues to be interesting.
The writing leaves something to be desired. It cannot be hard to recruit a few draft readers - I would be happy to do it - in return for a six-pack of beer! Proofreading is…non-existent; and significantly detracts from the flow of the story. Sentence construction gets, at best, a C+. Unless the book purchases need to pay next month’s rent, the author needs to work more slowly, do more drafts, and get more folks to critique and provide feedback.
This volume needs more background from volume one. If you have not read it, there will be tough sledding to grasp what is going on.
I have stuck with it….but not sure if the deficiencies outweigh the good bits in the story and characters.
The writing leaves something to be desired. It cannot be hard to recruit a few draft readers - I would be happy to do it - in return for a six-pack of beer! Proofreading is…non-existent; and significantly detracts from the flow of the story. Sentence construction gets, at best, a C+. Unless the book purchases need to pay next month’s rent, the author needs to work more slowly, do more drafts, and get more folks to critique and provide feedback.
This volume needs more background from volume one. If you have not read it, there will be tough sledding to grasp what is going on.
I have stuck with it….but not sure if the deficiencies outweigh the good bits in the story and characters.
August 5, 2016
Author Hechtl has again produced a very readable book. This book continues the Wandering Engineer series and should be read just before PIRATES BANE. The author has corrected the Chester/Chesty error found in JETHRO GOES TO WAR. This book is as well researched as the previous books, but lacks being professionally proof-read. Still, this book, as well as the entire series, is a great reading experience.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews