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The Last Legion #2
Firemask: Book Two of the Last Legion Series
On a distant planetary system, the post-civil-war cleanup has begun. But the Confederation empire’s government remains silent, without help or advice. It’s up to the men and women of the Last Legion to protect the fragile system against the intrigues of the alien Musth, bent on domination.
As the Musth make their way through the streets of the planets’ cities, the Last Legion will fight them its way - with brutal guerrilla warfare against the oppressors. Against the odds.
400 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 1, 2012
15 people are currently reading
157 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 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 7, 2024
Bunch continues the saga of the Last Legion with Firemask. The Legion, just getting things back together after the 'troubles', now finds the alien Musth taking a long look at expanding their empire to Cumbre. First, the Musth simply land tons of 'observers', but after an incident, declare they know rule Cumbre. The Musth, obviously modeled in Niven's Kzin (large, bipedal cat-like hominids with short tempers) soon find out, however, that humanity does not really like alien overlords...
Like the first installment, the plot meanders around quite a bit, with Bunch following one character or another for a bit before moving the plot forward. Some very good action sequences and snark made this a rather enjoyable popcorn read, but do not expect a masterpiece. Bunch knows pulp and it shows! 3 lost stars!
Like the first installment, the plot meanders around quite a bit, with Bunch following one character or another for a bit before moving the plot forward. Some very good action sequences and snark made this a rather enjoyable popcorn read, but do not expect a masterpiece. Bunch knows pulp and it shows! 3 lost stars!
July 23, 2020
It was ok, not great and his repartee really doesn't work. But he writes decent battle scenes and firefights--which is necessary for military SciFi--so I give it a strong 2 Stars Hope the third novel in the series is better.
January 2, 2024
Solid second book to the series.
February 6, 2015
The first in Chris Bunch's "Last Legion" series was a fast paced far space shoot 'em up that drags the reader along for a wild ride. When I reached the end of that book I suspected that if he could keep up the fast pace for the rest of the series, it could be an exciting read. "Firemask" is the next in the series and gives me a chance to find out if my suspicions were correct.
Following directly on from "The Last Legion", life on Cumbre is calming down following the 'Raum uprising and life has returned to something approaching normal. On another distant planet, however, the Musth who fled Cumbre during the civil war now plan to return in greater numbers, with the intention of taking control of the system themselves.
The Legion are no more keen to be killed by Musth than they were to be killed by 'Raum, so they do what all good soldiers should and fight back. With the heroes from last time around, Garvin Jaansma and Njangu Yoshitaro once more to the fore, this is a war to be fought on several fronts as the Musth have an air force, which the Legion didn't have to deal with last time around.
The pace of events isn't quite so hectic this time around, as we are also introduced to the world of Musth politics. The decision to overthrow Cumbre was not unanimous and we get to see some of the posturing that has resulted in this decision and the discussions as to whether continuing with the assault is the right thing to do. This makes for an interesting diversion, but does move away slightly from Bunch's strengths.
When he is concentrating on the action, however, this has all the hallmarks of what made "The Last Legion" so much fun. Once more, this is an enjoyable and mostly fast-paced read that will never be a classic piece of literature, but will satisfy anyone who wants to read for entertainment. It's essentially the written version of an action film; a lot of fun if you like that kind of thing and I certainly do, although it does mean the book is better borrowed than bought, as it won't stand up to reading more than once.
The only downside to "Firemask" is that it is written as a sequel and so if you've not read the preceding volume, it can be a little difficult to follow. Bunch continues to switch between referring to characters by forenames and surnames at will, which can be a little bit difficult to follow and this book assumes you're immediately familiar with the events of the previous books and wastes no time explaining what has gone before. This will mean that the prior relationships between some of the characters may confuse you, particularly between Jaansma and Jasith Mellusin. If you can put this aside and just enjoy the fighting, this would be less of an issue.
For me, reading this as a sequel, this wasn't a problem and I was easily able to follow all Bunch's threads and names. I found it slightly less enjoyable than the first book, purely because there was more going on that took the focus away from the fighting, but it was still pretty exciting and Bunch makes a point of showing that the Musth are not the only enemy Cumbre has to keep the intrigue high for further books in the series.
"Firemask" may not be quite as good as "The Last Legion", but it's familiar enough to be welcoming and still entertaining enough to be enjoyable. There are more in the series and nothing here has made me want to stop reading just yet, not while Cumbre is still potentially vulnerable.
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
Following directly on from "The Last Legion", life on Cumbre is calming down following the 'Raum uprising and life has returned to something approaching normal. On another distant planet, however, the Musth who fled Cumbre during the civil war now plan to return in greater numbers, with the intention of taking control of the system themselves.
The Legion are no more keen to be killed by Musth than they were to be killed by 'Raum, so they do what all good soldiers should and fight back. With the heroes from last time around, Garvin Jaansma and Njangu Yoshitaro once more to the fore, this is a war to be fought on several fronts as the Musth have an air force, which the Legion didn't have to deal with last time around.
The pace of events isn't quite so hectic this time around, as we are also introduced to the world of Musth politics. The decision to overthrow Cumbre was not unanimous and we get to see some of the posturing that has resulted in this decision and the discussions as to whether continuing with the assault is the right thing to do. This makes for an interesting diversion, but does move away slightly from Bunch's strengths.
When he is concentrating on the action, however, this has all the hallmarks of what made "The Last Legion" so much fun. Once more, this is an enjoyable and mostly fast-paced read that will never be a classic piece of literature, but will satisfy anyone who wants to read for entertainment. It's essentially the written version of an action film; a lot of fun if you like that kind of thing and I certainly do, although it does mean the book is better borrowed than bought, as it won't stand up to reading more than once.
The only downside to "Firemask" is that it is written as a sequel and so if you've not read the preceding volume, it can be a little difficult to follow. Bunch continues to switch between referring to characters by forenames and surnames at will, which can be a little bit difficult to follow and this book assumes you're immediately familiar with the events of the previous books and wastes no time explaining what has gone before. This will mean that the prior relationships between some of the characters may confuse you, particularly between Jaansma and Jasith Mellusin. If you can put this aside and just enjoy the fighting, this would be less of an issue.
For me, reading this as a sequel, this wasn't a problem and I was easily able to follow all Bunch's threads and names. I found it slightly less enjoyable than the first book, purely because there was more going on that took the focus away from the fighting, but it was still pretty exciting and Bunch makes a point of showing that the Musth are not the only enemy Cumbre has to keep the intrigue high for further books in the series.
"Firemask" may not be quite as good as "The Last Legion", but it's familiar enough to be welcoming and still entertaining enough to be enjoyable. There are more in the series and nothing here has made me want to stop reading just yet, not while Cumbre is still potentially vulnerable.
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
November 24, 2015
Firemask is a most excellent sequel to a fun, really good military sci fi novel called The Last Legion, which is the beginning of a series. The Last Legion was action packed and followed two characters, Garvin Jaansma and Njangu Yoshitaro, as they joined the Confederation’s military and are shipped to a distant planet called Cumbre, only to be cut off from Confederation civilization by no one knows what. Is the Confederation disintegrating? Jaansma and Yoshitaro are assigned to the “Last Legion,” a Confederation force of some 10,000 men and women who have to fight a guerilla uprising against the minority 'Raum, while also worrying about the alien Musth who leave Cumbre in a fit upon suffering casualties when the ‘Raum attack them, promising vengeance upon all men. And so Book Two.
There was a lot of slaughter in the first book, so people have been promoted in this book and there are new recruits. Jaansma takes a team of new recruits out into the wilderness to an old Musth base camp for training, only to find it mysteriously manned and they are fired upon and take casualties. They return fire, killing all aliens, but now the shit starts. Many Musth have been looking for an excuse to return to Cumbre to kill and enslave humans and now they invade in force. The Legion pretty much gives up, because it’s obvious they’re horribly outnumbered and the Musth have serious air support where the humans have virtually none. However, when the Musth give the Legion an ultimatum it can’t meet, all hell breaks loose and war truly breaks out with astonishing casualties for both sides. Finally, the Legion breaks off and up into small groups to live to see and fight another day in guerilla warfare methods and tactics and the Musth continue to take casualties. One thing about Bunch – he has little problem in killing off major characters. People continue to get slaughtered throughout this book and the book is action packed. At some point, you start to wonder how things are going to get resolved as you near the end of the book and then some characters go on a “last resort” mission that borders on insane and does it, can it, will it work? It’s got to, right? As the Musth continue slaughtering people, there’s really only one hope. And since there’s a Book Three, one can assume something happens. Or not. Read it. But read the first book before this one because this really isn’t a stand alone book. But it’s a good, fun read. And it doesn’t take itself too seriously and it knows that. The author knows that. The reader knows that. It’s just escapism. It’s an action movie waiting to be filmed. But it’s good. A good series. Recommended.
There was a lot of slaughter in the first book, so people have been promoted in this book and there are new recruits. Jaansma takes a team of new recruits out into the wilderness to an old Musth base camp for training, only to find it mysteriously manned and they are fired upon and take casualties. They return fire, killing all aliens, but now the shit starts. Many Musth have been looking for an excuse to return to Cumbre to kill and enslave humans and now they invade in force. The Legion pretty much gives up, because it’s obvious they’re horribly outnumbered and the Musth have serious air support where the humans have virtually none. However, when the Musth give the Legion an ultimatum it can’t meet, all hell breaks loose and war truly breaks out with astonishing casualties for both sides. Finally, the Legion breaks off and up into small groups to live to see and fight another day in guerilla warfare methods and tactics and the Musth continue to take casualties. One thing about Bunch – he has little problem in killing off major characters. People continue to get slaughtered throughout this book and the book is action packed. At some point, you start to wonder how things are going to get resolved as you near the end of the book and then some characters go on a “last resort” mission that borders on insane and does it, can it, will it work? It’s got to, right? As the Musth continue slaughtering people, there’s really only one hope. And since there’s a Book Three, one can assume something happens. Or not. Read it. But read the first book before this one because this really isn’t a stand alone book. But it’s a good, fun read. And it doesn’t take itself too seriously and it knows that. The author knows that. The reader knows that. It’s just escapism. It’s an action movie waiting to be filmed. But it’s good. A good series. Recommended.
April 26, 2013
Now what to say - really the general write up says it all. To me this is a what i would call boys own adventure - its got space ships and battles and smug male heroes who always save the day with ingenuity, a heavy gauge gun, a square jaw (and beautiful girlfriend), supported by an endless supply of smart comments (kept in that special place where the stamina, life saving ideas and ammunition is kept).
Ok sarcasm aside sometimes its just fun to run with a face paced beat'em'up story. It does have its moments Chris Bunch does know how to convey warfare unlike a 12 year old boy (you know bang your dead - I win) and there are times when you find yourself rooting for the little guy. This book -and the series in fact does pull you in and make you want to read it till its finished - in my case 1am!
Ok sarcasm aside sometimes its just fun to run with a face paced beat'em'up story. It does have its moments Chris Bunch does know how to convey warfare unlike a 12 year old boy (you know bang your dead - I win) and there are times when you find yourself rooting for the little guy. This book -and the series in fact does pull you in and make you want to read it till its finished - in my case 1am!
April 15, 2014
Not as good as the first book in the series, but almost. I couldn't put it down.
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).
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews