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War Dogs #1
War Dogs
AN EPIC INTERSTELLAR TALE OF WAR FROM A MASTER OF SCIENCE FICTION.
One more tour on the red.
Maybe my last.
They made their presence on Earth known thirteen years ago.
Providing technology and scientific insights far beyond what mankind was capable of. They became indispensable advisors and promised even more gifts that we just couldn't pass up. We called them Gurus.
It took them a while to drop the other shoe. You can see why, looking back.
It was a very big shoe, completely slathered in crap.
They had been hounded by mortal enemies from sun to sun, planet to planet, and were now stretched thin -- and they needed our help.
And so our first bill came due. Skyrines like me were volunteered to pay the price. As always.
These enemies were already inside our solar system and were moving to establish a beachhead, but not on Earth.
On Mars.
One more tour on the red.
Maybe my last.
They made their presence on Earth known thirteen years ago.
Providing technology and scientific insights far beyond what mankind was capable of. They became indispensable advisors and promised even more gifts that we just couldn't pass up. We called them Gurus.
It took them a while to drop the other shoe. You can see why, looking back.
It was a very big shoe, completely slathered in crap.
They had been hounded by mortal enemies from sun to sun, planet to planet, and were now stretched thin -- and they needed our help.
And so our first bill came due. Skyrines like me were volunteered to pay the price. As always.
These enemies were already inside our solar system and were moving to establish a beachhead, but not on Earth.
On Mars.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2014
343 people are currently reading
1795 people want to read
About the author
Greg Bear
228 books2,094 followersGreg Bear was an American writer and illustrator best known for science fiction. His work covered themes of galactic conflict (Forge of God books), parallel universes (The Way series), consciousness and cultural practices (Queen of Angels), and accelerated evolution (Blood Music, Darwin’s Radio, and Darwin’s Children). His last work was the 2021 novel The Unfinished Land. Greg Bear wrote over 50 books in total.
(For a more complete biography, see Wikipedia.)
(For a more complete biography, see Wikipedia.)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 310 reviews
May 27, 2020
This is, in my opinion of course, military only in the strict sense of that word. It is about a group of marines that end up "lost" during a combat drop. Only a few have survived to reach the surface of Mars and now they have to survive there.
The book proceeds from there through what is discovered, uncovered and....exposed. There is some political pontificating but it comes across as thoughtful musings on the part of the narrator.
Frankly the less than stellar rating on my part comes partly from the fact that I wasn't in the mood for a heavier somewhat self righteous read. This isn't space opera, neither is it a military read in the sense that we deal with actual military situations.
We are "told" up front about the Gurus, we are "told" that they showed up and that they gave humanity technology. Then their enemies arrived and we had to help them. This is all related in a few paragraphs and then we jump into the survival on Mars part of the book.
I never got involved in the narrative, I never came to care about what was happening. Could be I was just burned out on heavy reads or it could just be that book didn't appeal to me. Either way not one I'm overly thrilled with. Not bad, but I was glad to get out of it.
Update:
I just took this trilogy out of the library ( I never went beyond this book the first time). First of all after the reread I dropped the rating from 3 stars to 2. The book is just flat boring, I'm sorry, but it is.
I was military and respect military greatly. The author dedicates this to the men and women of the military. That's good. The story however is (in my opinion of course) weak. It gets lost in the telling and winds itself around the internal struggles of the protagonist with a mild sprinkling of politics and social commentary. I have however taken the entrie trilogy out of the library so I plan t to (try and) see where it goes.
I know that my take on the book is different from the main stream view. I am forced to the conclusion that it's simply a matter of taste. I've read a few books books by Mr. Bear and I have only liked a couple. Maybe it's simply a stylistic thing. If this is a book like or even love, I think that's great. We can't always agree. All that said even in the struggle to survive across Mars and the building mystery of what is ultimately going on I simply didn't get involved. As noted, possibly just my own taste maybe see what you think.
I do hold out hope but after 2 tries on this one failed to get me into it the "hope" is getting weaker.
The book proceeds from there through what is discovered, uncovered and....exposed. There is some political pontificating but it comes across as thoughtful musings on the part of the narrator.
Frankly the less than stellar rating on my part comes partly from the fact that I wasn't in the mood for a heavier somewhat self righteous read. This isn't space opera, neither is it a military read in the sense that we deal with actual military situations.
We are "told" up front about the Gurus, we are "told" that they showed up and that they gave humanity technology. Then their enemies arrived and we had to help them. This is all related in a few paragraphs and then we jump into the survival on Mars part of the book.
I never got involved in the narrative, I never came to care about what was happening. Could be I was just burned out on heavy reads or it could just be that book didn't appeal to me. Either way not one I'm overly thrilled with. Not bad, but I was glad to get out of it.
Update:
I just took this trilogy out of the library ( I never went beyond this book the first time). First of all after the reread I dropped the rating from 3 stars to 2. The book is just flat boring, I'm sorry, but it is.
I was military and respect military greatly. The author dedicates this to the men and women of the military. That's good. The story however is (in my opinion of course) weak. It gets lost in the telling and winds itself around the internal struggles of the protagonist with a mild sprinkling of politics and social commentary. I have however taken the entrie trilogy out of the library so I plan t to (try and) see where it goes.
I know that my take on the book is different from the main stream view. I am forced to the conclusion that it's simply a matter of taste. I've read a few books books by Mr. Bear and I have only liked a couple. Maybe it's simply a stylistic thing. If this is a book like or even love, I think that's great. We can't always agree. All that said even in the struggle to survive across Mars and the building mystery of what is ultimately going on I simply didn't get involved. As noted, possibly just my own taste maybe see what you think.
I do hold out hope but after 2 tries on this one failed to get me into it the "hope" is getting weaker.
September 8, 2018
As a long-time uber-fan of Greg Bear back in the day, I'm constantly mystified with myself that I have mostly avoided him since the mid-2000's. WHY? Well, let's put it this way: I expected him to throw mind-blowing fantastic SF at me on every level, messing with my head and showering me with brilliant ideas and smart stories.
So I shrugged and enjoyed it when he did a Hari Seldon prequel. I shrugged and tried to pray that a Star Wars novel was not selling out. And then I grew despondent when a novelist of his caliber started writing Halo novels and other for-market stuff. Thrillers? They were okay, but not great. Where's his out-there stuff? So I took a break.
I'm trying to do him justice. I loved his writing soooo much! So when I saw this new Mil-SF trilogy I sat back in my chair and said to myself, "So, is this more writing to the market instead of writing to his sense of great story?"
And then I saw the reviews, the ratings, and the corners of my mouth turned down.
And then I FINALLY read it.
This requires a little readjusting for our expectations.
Bear's done military stuff before but never to this degree. Don't get me wrong, it's pure mil-SF and Bear seems to go all out with making it as freaking accurate and PSTD-ridden and stacked with all the right terminology and even the claustrophobic sense of a life thrown to the wolves.
I was impressed! This is a genre I know fairly well and Bear writes for it damn well.
And then it hit me. This was designed to be popcorn fiction. Fun and smart and fast-paced military action that comes full of massive angst and battle on Mars against aliens and even better reveals about what they're even doing there.
It's not Moving Mars by a long shot. It's pure popcorn, and while there are a lot of great books similar to this, Bear is far from being simply average at it. He has the writing chops to amaze and put us in the hot seat. :)
And while there isn't quite as much groundbreaking stuff as his early stuff, it IS full of tech and is great at exploring all its uses. Terminology is hardcore, as is the stiff-upper-lip, but it's the claustrophobia that really made the novel shine. Single viewpoint, never knowing what's going on, and so much hostility everywhere. :)
I had to put away my expectations. This really wasn't a bad novel. It's a pure popcorn ride. :)
So I shrugged and enjoyed it when he did a Hari Seldon prequel. I shrugged and tried to pray that a Star Wars novel was not selling out. And then I grew despondent when a novelist of his caliber started writing Halo novels and other for-market stuff. Thrillers? They were okay, but not great. Where's his out-there stuff? So I took a break.
I'm trying to do him justice. I loved his writing soooo much! So when I saw this new Mil-SF trilogy I sat back in my chair and said to myself, "So, is this more writing to the market instead of writing to his sense of great story?"
And then I saw the reviews, the ratings, and the corners of my mouth turned down.
And then I FINALLY read it.
This requires a little readjusting for our expectations.
Bear's done military stuff before but never to this degree. Don't get me wrong, it's pure mil-SF and Bear seems to go all out with making it as freaking accurate and PSTD-ridden and stacked with all the right terminology and even the claustrophobic sense of a life thrown to the wolves.
I was impressed! This is a genre I know fairly well and Bear writes for it damn well.
And then it hit me. This was designed to be popcorn fiction. Fun and smart and fast-paced military action that comes full of massive angst and battle on Mars against aliens and even better reveals about what they're even doing there.
It's not Moving Mars by a long shot. It's pure popcorn, and while there are a lot of great books similar to this, Bear is far from being simply average at it. He has the writing chops to amaze and put us in the hot seat. :)
And while there isn't quite as much groundbreaking stuff as his early stuff, it IS full of tech and is great at exploring all its uses. Terminology is hardcore, as is the stiff-upper-lip, but it's the claustrophobia that really made the novel shine. Single viewpoint, never knowing what's going on, and so much hostility everywhere. :)
I had to put away my expectations. This really wasn't a bad novel. It's a pure popcorn ride. :)
September 29, 2018
Memory.
Basically, this is a story about the memory of what happened to a Skyrine (Sky Marine) on his last mission on Mars.
Master Sergeant Michael Venn is sent to Mars to repel the Antag forces. Antag is short for Antagonists (simple name, stuck with the masses, makes them bland, nobody knows much about them if anything). He is sent by the Gurus, the new Powers That Be on Earth. Gurus are aliens that started showing themselves 13 or 14 years ago. There aren't many of them but by the time they did reveal their presence, they had already a strong position and baited us with their technology and knowledge. Only after having a stronghold did they tell us that they've been decimated by another alien force and that we're smack in the middle of that war now as well.
So after being dropped on Mars (actually, WHILE being dropped) shit hits the fan, unexpected things happen - and the MC doesn't even really know what as he and his team are immediately assaulted and subsequently disoriented until they are rescued by a local (yep, there are people living on Mars).
Why humans made it that easy and just handed the planet and everyone on it over to the Gurus, I don't know, but I have my suspicions. We definitely know entirely too little about the Gurus and Antags (from what they look like to where they came from etc) and don't seem to inquire too much about details either.
Anyway. I'm not sure I liked how we've been told so much instead of shown. It was also a bit rushed and "by the way". Then again, that could have been done on purpose to emphasize how people regard this as normal and not suspicious at all.
Moreover, for a mil sf novel, this didn't have too much combat. The scene at the very beginning was intense and cool, just like their scrambling to survive the aftermath but that was basically it. I presume one has to see the trilogy as a whole. Don't know. Or maybe the author was trying to make the point that even in the military it's not 100% fire fights 100% of the time.
Thus, we also got quite a bit of exploration that meant meeting the locals (Elon Musk will have a fit but that shit was hilarious!) and encountering ... whatever the hell that was.
The disorientation in the beginning worked greatly for me. It made me "part of the team". I also liked the hard sf bits in the end.
The middle, however, was plateauing out a bit and I didn't like that the author either didn't know or didn't care to make the distinction between biology and geology (when talking about Mars' ores). And don't get me started on the female spec ops Marines (as a woman, I love that women can serve but spec ops? give me a break!).
But the writing had this immense effect of entertaining me thoroughly (can't believe I read this book in just one day!) and evoking the feel of being right there with Venn, seeing all this weirdness, experiencing the mounting confusion that, ultimately, makes you want to read the other books. Thus, since I believe many of the "weird" stuff was done on purpose, I'm rounding up from 3.5 stars.
Edit: After finishing the trilogy, I'm down-rating because ... no.
April 26, 2016
its a great book for anyone who hasn't read Starship Troopers, Ender's Game, Old Man's War or The Forever War. it was well written as one would expect from a seasoned writer like greg bear, although the characters were a little one dimensional.
its just a little disappointing to see this book from an author who wrote Eon.
its just a little disappointing to see this book from an author who wrote Eon.
January 21, 2016
Meh.
That's about the best response I can muster for this book. It's billed as an "epic tale of war", but I certainly didn't notice anything "epic" about it. And the war? What war? Seriously, there's more talking about the war than any actual combat, and the combat that is here is minimalistic at best. I get it...this is a thinking man's Sci-Fi tale. It just should have been labeled as such to avoid up-front confusion.
Honestly, this book started off on the wrong foot for me from the very beginning. It's a very jargon heavy book, with most of the conversations either happening in future-Marine-speak, which is laden with nicknames and slang that are only occasionally explained/defined to us readers, to Mars-native-speak, which is written almost phonetically, and therefore difficult to read. I usually don't have issues with military jargon and slang, but when that's literally ALL your characters speak in, and all they think in as well, then we have a problem. We also have a problem when our characters have technology that is temperamental at best, and yet it's their standard issue stuff. If it's so problematic, then why do they use it? And honestly, WHAT is it? Some of what they use is never really defined, leading me to assume that these bad-ass marines have tactical gear that is made up of finicky sprites that only work when...well, I don't know. Their tactical shit NEVER works, and it really bothered me.
The dynamic between the people from Earth and the settlers on Mars was about the only interesting thing that this book offered me, and that wasn't explored as well as it could have been. We do get some tidbits of the political events that led to the colonization of Mars, and the fallout after that, but these are told in broad strokes. In fact, nearly everything in this book is told in broad strokes. Unless you want descriptions of the vehicles, and why they are called what they are. That's about the only time that this book really gets descriptive.
As for our main character? I don't have much of an opinion. He tells the tale, muses about whether he should tell it, changes his mind about telling it, then tells it some more. He's essentially a cipher, and even though I didn't finish this book THAT long ago, I cannot remember his name. That's how much of an impact he made. In fact, the only character that seemed to be someone worth learning more about, Teal, only gets a bit of time on the page before she's left to an uncertain fate.
So yeah, I actually felt frustrated at the end of War Dogs. I have no doubt that Mr. Bear knows his stuff, but this book wasn't written for the everyman to read. There's some thought-provoking stuff here, and I could almost see where he was heading with his ideas...but in the end I just couldn't follow it all. I guess I just didn't "get it". There's nothing wrong with a dense, "what-if" Sci-Fi book. Just don't bill it as something different, especially as something it's obviously not.
That's about the best response I can muster for this book. It's billed as an "epic tale of war", but I certainly didn't notice anything "epic" about it. And the war? What war? Seriously, there's more talking about the war than any actual combat, and the combat that is here is minimalistic at best. I get it...this is a thinking man's Sci-Fi tale. It just should have been labeled as such to avoid up-front confusion.
Honestly, this book started off on the wrong foot for me from the very beginning. It's a very jargon heavy book, with most of the conversations either happening in future-Marine-speak, which is laden with nicknames and slang that are only occasionally explained/defined to us readers, to Mars-native-speak, which is written almost phonetically, and therefore difficult to read. I usually don't have issues with military jargon and slang, but when that's literally ALL your characters speak in, and all they think in as well, then we have a problem. We also have a problem when our characters have technology that is temperamental at best, and yet it's their standard issue stuff. If it's so problematic, then why do they use it? And honestly, WHAT is it? Some of what they use is never really defined, leading me to assume that these bad-ass marines have tactical gear that is made up of finicky sprites that only work when...well, I don't know. Their tactical shit NEVER works, and it really bothered me.
The dynamic between the people from Earth and the settlers on Mars was about the only interesting thing that this book offered me, and that wasn't explored as well as it could have been. We do get some tidbits of the political events that led to the colonization of Mars, and the fallout after that, but these are told in broad strokes. In fact, nearly everything in this book is told in broad strokes. Unless you want descriptions of the vehicles, and why they are called what they are. That's about the only time that this book really gets descriptive.
As for our main character? I don't have much of an opinion. He tells the tale, muses about whether he should tell it, changes his mind about telling it, then tells it some more. He's essentially a cipher, and even though I didn't finish this book THAT long ago, I cannot remember his name. That's how much of an impact he made. In fact, the only character that seemed to be someone worth learning more about, Teal, only gets a bit of time on the page before she's left to an uncertain fate.
So yeah, I actually felt frustrated at the end of War Dogs. I have no doubt that Mr. Bear knows his stuff, but this book wasn't written for the everyman to read. There's some thought-provoking stuff here, and I could almost see where he was heading with his ideas...but in the end I just couldn't follow it all. I guess I just didn't "get it". There's nothing wrong with a dense, "what-if" Sci-Fi book. Just don't bill it as something different, especially as something it's obviously not.
November 30, 2014
Despite the title and cover, not a war story per se, though it does start out seeming like one. The protagonist, presumably a war dog (?), relives his very strange experiences during a mission to Mars. There, he was meant to fight the Antags, aliens of unknown provenance, but ends up running for his life into the Eastern Grifter - an underground lair, old Martian hideout, crashed moon, mining skein, one of these, all of these, survives, and is smuggled back to earth, and becomes hunted for his knowledge. All of this sort of tumbles out during the mostly confusing, fog-of-war recounting. Typical Bear. Nothing is what it seems.
The Grifter recalls the classic Bear novel Eon with its multiple surprises and unknowns, just ripe for exploration. The book stops short of that, the exploration, so there must be a sequel. One of those "publishing" sequels, split a longish book into two or more, and call the set a series.
For anyone starting out this book expecting military SF, disappointment awaits. This is more mystery SF, almost horror, though not quite. If anything applies, it's that this is another Bear-ride, unpredictable and laced with arcane SF aspects. Works for me, but perhaps not for everyone.
The Grifter recalls the classic Bear novel Eon with its multiple surprises and unknowns, just ripe for exploration. The book stops short of that, the exploration, so there must be a sequel. One of those "publishing" sequels, split a longish book into two or more, and call the set a series.
For anyone starting out this book expecting military SF, disappointment awaits. This is more mystery SF, almost horror, though not quite. If anything applies, it's that this is another Bear-ride, unpredictable and laced with arcane SF aspects. Works for me, but perhaps not for everyone.
August 30, 2016
I found this to be an overall good book. Interesting story. Initially, reading it in the first person kind of drove me nuts. But as the story wore on, it actually was a good asset of the book. There were times it was hard to follow what was happening and I would sometimes get lost in the book. I listened to this as an audiobook.
February 17, 2017
I think Greg Bear is at his best when he's going for a real mindfuck. I mean, this writer can mess with the brains of his readers like nobody's business, pulling them down uncomfortable and compelling paths. As a result, I think I am always slightly disappointed when he does something more mainstream. The last Bear I read (I think it was him, and hopefully I'm not confusing him with another author) was a fairly straightforward thriller. It was fine, but not idea-rich.
Note: The rest of this review has been withheld due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
Note: The rest of this review has been withheld due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
December 6, 2014
Greg Bear does it again. War Dogs is a fast paced military, hard Sci-Fi and the best Mars novel I've read in a long time. Bear's prose is crisp and spare, and as one would expect from a future military. He manages to create compelling, visual characters and place in what seems a too short book. The ending is uncertain in a way that suggests this universe will be visited again. I certainly hope so.
Just learned it's to be a trilogy! I hope Greg writes as fast as he reads.
PS, I don't trust the Gurus.
Just learned it's to be a trilogy! I hope Greg writes as fast as he reads.
PS, I don't trust the Gurus.
January 22, 2015
I can't say this book is objectively bad. This is the first Bear book I've read, and he's clearly a talented and knowledgeable writer. I just really, really didn't like the style of this book for the following reasons:
-Focus on irrelevant details: way, way too much text is dedicated to describing the Martian landscape. It's one thing to properly set a scene and let readers form a sufficient mental picture, but I think he wasted way too many pages on boring details about each and every cliff, rock formation, etc.
-Poor set-pieces: the hand to hand combat scenes read more as choreographed dances than as, you know, actual fights. Battles with the Antags were hardly better.
-Protagonist's inner dialogue: It's awful. Full of cliches, tropes, faux-deep thoughts that logically make little sense, etc. And the profanity: I'm no Puritan and curse plenty myself. But too many times he seems to be like a 12-year-old who curses for its own sake, without the benefit of any humor or cleverness.
-Pace: it's too slow. You know from the outset that Bear isn't going for a Heinlein-like political commentary, which is totally fine. But, absent that substance, I'd prefer the book to move well. It doesn't. Just trods along until a twist ending that failed to land with me because I was so tired of the book.
So again, not objectively bad, just definitely not my cup of tea. (For reference: I'm a huge Scalzi/Heinlein guy and probably rank "The Forever War" as my favorite military SF book.)
-Focus on irrelevant details: way, way too much text is dedicated to describing the Martian landscape. It's one thing to properly set a scene and let readers form a sufficient mental picture, but I think he wasted way too many pages on boring details about each and every cliff, rock formation, etc.
-Poor set-pieces: the hand to hand combat scenes read more as choreographed dances than as, you know, actual fights. Battles with the Antags were hardly better.
-Protagonist's inner dialogue: It's awful. Full of cliches, tropes, faux-deep thoughts that logically make little sense, etc. And the profanity: I'm no Puritan and curse plenty myself. But too many times he seems to be like a 12-year-old who curses for its own sake, without the benefit of any humor or cleverness.
-Pace: it's too slow. You know from the outset that Bear isn't going for a Heinlein-like political commentary, which is totally fine. But, absent that substance, I'd prefer the book to move well. It doesn't. Just trods along until a twist ending that failed to land with me because I was so tired of the book.
So again, not objectively bad, just definitely not my cup of tea. (For reference: I'm a huge Scalzi/Heinlein guy and probably rank "The Forever War" as my favorite military SF book.)
June 26, 2017
Flawed but interesting. The good - basically an update to the Space Marine as per Starship Troopers. Unlike in most Space Marines, this book definitely deals with the issue of having enough air and water and what looks that. And kind of had a The Case for Mars: The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must flavor to is, especially around the fountains. The downside - the whole story being told in flashback. Teal's dialect. The overly confused story of the aliens. Actually the whole underground place was kind of cool. Fairly readable though and I'll probably try the sequel.
February 19, 2017
I know authors don't always get to pick the titles of their books, but still, when one picks up a book with a Halo-esque space man on the cover, standing tall over a title like "War Dogs", one expects a little onomatopoeia of the "Boom! Boom!" variety, with a sidecar of "Pew! Pew!"
There is exactly one firefight in this book that isn't stumbled upon long after all the fighting is over, and it takes place so far into the story that I'm not exaggerating when I say it's practically the epilogue. In its place is a lot of angst and confusion around a conspiracy and mystery that's almost Lovecraftian... only not quite.
This book was alright, but I only say that in retrospect. The disconnect between what I was expecting and what I was getting absolutely kept me from enjoying it in the moment.
There is exactly one firefight in this book that isn't stumbled upon long after all the fighting is over, and it takes place so far into the story that I'm not exaggerating when I say it's practically the epilogue. In its place is a lot of angst and confusion around a conspiracy and mystery that's almost Lovecraftian... only not quite.
This book was alright, but I only say that in retrospect. The disconnect between what I was expecting and what I was getting absolutely kept me from enjoying it in the moment.
July 10, 2025
3.75/5
When I started this book I thought it was going to be straight up military sci fi. However, as I read on I found out the actual plot is a bit more interesting than that with the focus being less on the war and more on the mysterious places and parties involved and what the real motivations behind the war are. Honestly that was far more interesting than just a straight up alien war plot with space marines. The author reveals just enough at the end to set the hook for books 2 and 3 which I will probably read soon because I need to know what is going on. Negatives I'd say would probably be the overwhelming use of in-world jargon that made things a bit hard to follow and the characters are quite flat.
When I started this book I thought it was going to be straight up military sci fi. However, as I read on I found out the actual plot is a bit more interesting than that with the focus being less on the war and more on the mysterious places and parties involved and what the real motivations behind the war are. Honestly that was far more interesting than just a straight up alien war plot with space marines. The author reveals just enough at the end to set the hook for books 2 and 3 which I will probably read soon because I need to know what is going on. Negatives I'd say would probably be the overwhelming use of in-world jargon that made things a bit hard to follow and the characters are quite flat.
September 24, 2014
War Dogs is the first book of a new trilogy by Greg Bear. I received an early review copy at BEA this year from the Orbit desk in the Hachette pavilion. This book is scheduled for release on October 14th 2014.
War Dogs is a futuristic sci-fi military novel. In the future, Earth has visitors are known as the Gurus. The Gurus gave Earth technological gifts and other bits of knowledge. This much is on the cover flap, so I can safely say that I am not spoiling anything. They came in peace and initially asked nothing in return. Eventually they did reveal that their actions were only partially altruistic. More of a reciprocal altruism in fact. They let it be know, to their small cabal, that they have been traveling around fighting their long time enemy which we have come to known as the antagonists. Antags for short. Earth was enlisted to help fight this ancient war as the Antags were making their way into the solar system. This was technically optional, but if you want to get new shiny toys from the Gurus, you became signatory.
Soldiers are sent off to the unforgiving vastness of Mars to fight the Antags at the request of their benefactors. This is where we join our main character, Sgt. Michael Venn. Venn is a Skyrine. In his latest campaign, he is dropped onto Mars in a botched operation. With the mission in shambles and the intel uplinks not communicating or sending orders, the soldiers revert to simply trying to survive. What they come across when traversing the harsh Martian landscape is unexpected and potentially game changing. The adventure is laced with Antag attacks, Mars settlers, racist groups, falling comets, psychedelic experiences and adverse conditions.
Possible slight spoiler>
What I really liked was the Mars lore Bear is establishing. What the Skyrines come across and learn is a fairly interesting plot line that sets the hook to bring readers along to the next volume of this series. Unfortunately you really only start getting to the more interesting unravelings towards the end of the book, leaving you with a cliffhanger. The cliffhanger certainly makes we want to continue on, but I do wish I learned a bit more first.
Full review
War Dogs is a futuristic sci-fi military novel. In the future, Earth has visitors are known as the Gurus. The Gurus gave Earth technological gifts and other bits of knowledge. This much is on the cover flap, so I can safely say that I am not spoiling anything. They came in peace and initially asked nothing in return. Eventually they did reveal that their actions were only partially altruistic. More of a reciprocal altruism in fact. They let it be know, to their small cabal, that they have been traveling around fighting their long time enemy which we have come to known as the antagonists. Antags for short. Earth was enlisted to help fight this ancient war as the Antags were making their way into the solar system. This was technically optional, but if you want to get new shiny toys from the Gurus, you became signatory.
Soldiers are sent off to the unforgiving vastness of Mars to fight the Antags at the request of their benefactors. This is where we join our main character, Sgt. Michael Venn. Venn is a Skyrine. In his latest campaign, he is dropped onto Mars in a botched operation. With the mission in shambles and the intel uplinks not communicating or sending orders, the soldiers revert to simply trying to survive. What they come across when traversing the harsh Martian landscape is unexpected and potentially game changing. The adventure is laced with Antag attacks, Mars settlers, racist groups, falling comets, psychedelic experiences and adverse conditions.
Possible slight spoiler>
What I really liked was the Mars lore Bear is establishing. What the Skyrines come across and learn is a fairly interesting plot line that sets the hook to bring readers along to the next volume of this series. Unfortunately you really only start getting to the more interesting unravelings towards the end of the book, leaving you with a cliffhanger. The cliffhanger certainly makes we want to continue on, but I do wish I learned a bit more first.
Full review
January 10, 2016
This one passed the bedtime and bathtub tests. First, I stayed up way too late reading it, then in the morning I turned myself into a prune in the tub so I could finish it.
I knew going in that it was #1 of 3, so I'm OK with how it ended. Clearly Episode One of a story that looks as though it might be Bear's take on Haldeman's Forever War idea. That's cool, there's room for that.
It's fast-paced, mostly. It's military, but not in the sense of weapon-porn (his customized Bugatti Slayer GHZ-1990 gleamed in the dim light, its burnished stock providing a perfect balance to the hand-buffed unobtainium of its barrel .... ) or jargon-porn (your ten, Gunny, blingers at bo-diddle!). It has soldiers in it because it needs to have soldiers in it.
Starts off with a very believable shortage-of-air situation, although one questions whether an elite fighting force would really send its people out so strongly depending on their separate gear for life. It's like giving a scuba diver a five-minute tank and assuring him that another is waiting at the bottom.
Still, on we go. Simple-looking story at first. But Bear very gently introduces hints that there's something not quite right here. Then another, and another, and gradually we realize that the story isn't about facing off the bad guys at all. I shouldn't tell you more, but I guess I could say it's about who is trying to do what, and why?
What do they find in the place they search? Heh, heh, I'm not telling - but it was good.
Early on, there's a hint of what the next book will be about; it's confirmed near the end. And I walked away certain that the next one will also be who-what-why.
Good book.
I knew going in that it was #1 of 3, so I'm OK with how it ended. Clearly Episode One of a story that looks as though it might be Bear's take on Haldeman's Forever War idea. That's cool, there's room for that.
It's fast-paced, mostly. It's military, but not in the sense of weapon-porn (his customized Bugatti Slayer GHZ-1990 gleamed in the dim light, its burnished stock providing a perfect balance to the hand-buffed unobtainium of its barrel .... ) or jargon-porn (your ten, Gunny, blingers at bo-diddle!). It has soldiers in it because it needs to have soldiers in it.
Starts off with a very believable shortage-of-air situation, although one questions whether an elite fighting force would really send its people out so strongly depending on their separate gear for life. It's like giving a scuba diver a five-minute tank and assuring him that another is waiting at the bottom.
Still, on we go. Simple-looking story at first. But Bear very gently introduces hints that there's something not quite right here. Then another, and another, and gradually we realize that the story isn't about facing off the bad guys at all. I shouldn't tell you more, but I guess I could say it's about who is trying to do what, and why?
What do they find in the place they search? Heh, heh, I'm not telling - but it was good.
Early on, there's a hint of what the next book will be about; it's confirmed near the end. And I walked away certain that the next one will also be who-what-why.
Good book.
March 5, 2016
With War Dogs, Greg Bear puts a lot of focus on the terrain of the battlefield (in this case, Mars). This aspect is a nice addition to the canon of MilSF, which often focuses on how military tech evolves to meet the enemy being faced, rather than the landscape being fought on.
Everything else about War Dogs is a disappointment. The story is never particularly involving, nor the characters engaging. It is a smart book, as one expects from Bear, but comes off as a rather cold and cerebral genre exercise. I really expected a lot more.
Everything else about War Dogs is a disappointment. The story is never particularly involving, nor the characters engaging. It is a smart book, as one expects from Bear, but comes off as a rather cold and cerebral genre exercise. I really expected a lot more.
May 19, 2017
Skyrines on Mars. Need I say more?
August 19, 2017
I'm used to authors which do keep to a reasonable level of consistency across their works. I think that although nothing in Asimov's works surpasses the grandeur of the original Foundation trilogy, he has books almost as equally memorable, and most keep to a very high standard. I could present a similar case for Clarke, Hebert, Wilson and quite a number of other authors, which is why the fact that Bear alternates between absolutely fantastic books and total flops does really surprise me. As an author, I consider him very volatile. I've never disliked a single book from any of the others I mentioned, but I never now if I'll get my money's worth when ordering Bear.
Which is not to say War Dogs is an horrendous flop or that it didn't take real talent to write it. What I most dislike in this book are the choices the author made. The story is narrated exclusively in the present tense and from the perspective of a military grunt in an airdrop gone bad. The lingo, the immediacy of the present tense and the mess of combat are very effective in having us as confused as the very marine. It is a design choice, I get it. But it doesn't make for a relaxing reading. Bear CHOOSES to tell the story through the eyes of a grunt who is deliberately kept in the dark so that his discoveries are the reader's too, but then the unrelenting torrent of (futuristic) military jargon coupled with the fact that the author chose to represent the accents, linguistic mannerisms and mispronunciations of different groups of Martian colonists in his writing makes the book so hard to decode. It is truly a chore.
On the positive side there's all the hard science involved in imagining how fighting in Mars could be, and the hints at what political strings the Gurus might be pulling to get humans to do their bidding in an interplanetary war. But there's not much of that, as the focus is on our Mariner's mission rather than the general context that took him there.
What would have got me hooked and caused me to give the book five stars would be a focus on the relationship between the Gurus, Antags and Mankind. A book where what is the background comes into focus and what is into focus fades into the background, that is what I'd like to have been given.
Having said that, I understand that the limited perspective of a trooper as a window through which the story is seen/told is not necessarily something negative. It was a combination of the limited perspective, the sense of urgency and the difficulty in decoding the language that did the trick of ruining my experience.
Which is not to say War Dogs is an horrendous flop or that it didn't take real talent to write it. What I most dislike in this book are the choices the author made. The story is narrated exclusively in the present tense and from the perspective of a military grunt in an airdrop gone bad. The lingo, the immediacy of the present tense and the mess of combat are very effective in having us as confused as the very marine. It is a design choice, I get it. But it doesn't make for a relaxing reading. Bear CHOOSES to tell the story through the eyes of a grunt who is deliberately kept in the dark so that his discoveries are the reader's too, but then the unrelenting torrent of (futuristic) military jargon coupled with the fact that the author chose to represent the accents, linguistic mannerisms and mispronunciations of different groups of Martian colonists in his writing makes the book so hard to decode. It is truly a chore.
On the positive side there's all the hard science involved in imagining how fighting in Mars could be, and the hints at what political strings the Gurus might be pulling to get humans to do their bidding in an interplanetary war. But there's not much of that, as the focus is on our Mariner's mission rather than the general context that took him there.
What would have got me hooked and caused me to give the book five stars would be a focus on the relationship between the Gurus, Antags and Mankind. A book where what is the background comes into focus and what is into focus fades into the background, that is what I'd like to have been given.
Having said that, I understand that the limited perspective of a trooper as a window through which the story is seen/told is not necessarily something negative. It was a combination of the limited perspective, the sense of urgency and the difficulty in decoding the language that did the trick of ruining my experience.
December 23, 2014
They were a highly advanced, interstellar species who brought amazingly useful and sophisticated technology to the human race. There was, of course, a catch. The Gurus warned of a far more malevolent life form, beings who have hounded the Gurus from sun to sun, planet to planet, across the cosmos. Pundits have taken to calling them the Antagonists – or Antags – and they have already established a beachhead on Mars. In exchange for all they’ve done for us, the Gurus would now like our help.
Enter Master Sergeant Michael Venn, a veteran Skyrine (a Marine who is specially trained for off-world combat) who is dropped onto the Red Planet with his band of brothers on a mission to take down as many Antags as possible.
But from the moment they’re dropped through the thin Martian atmosphere, their mission goes horribly, terribly wrong. From a group of female special ops Skyrines with secret orders, to mysterious humans who’ve settled on Mars, to the overwhelming and highly-reinforced Antags themselves, Venn and his brothers will face impossible odds just to survive – let alone make it home alive.
Just in case that cover or the publisher’s synopsis doesn’t give it away, War Dogs is a military tale, told from the perspective of our ‘hero’ Sergeant Michael Venn, which, as the back of the book above says, looks at an ongoing battle on Mars between two groups of aliens (the Gurus and the Antagonists/Antags), with humans as a willing combatant. (I’m sure followers of politics may notice a similarity here between this tale and other more earthly conflict.)
Whenever a story is told from a first-person perspective, the tale sinks or swims through the strength of the telling, here given through Michael. From a writing perspective, it is impressive. Here Greg manages that difficult skill of simultaneously developing a backstory and a new language, the combat language of the military, whilst also driving along a plot. As ever, the world of the soldier is an often unappreciated one, with the war happening a world away, on Mars. Michael struggles to cope with the effects of combat as well as settling in back at home, and Greg manages to convey that extremely well. Michael becomes an outsider, detached from the world ‘here’ as well as ‘there’, with no one but his soldier friends, who are going through the same issues, to rely on.
There are lots of ideas compressed into this novel here, that only become noticeable on reflection – an unusual drop into combat that reminded me of Heinlein’s Starship Troopers, the existence of a renegade troop of original settlers, before the aliens came, named Muskies (after a certain inventor of today), even a touch of Alien and Crichton’s Andromeda Strain. Greg subtly works these notions into the narrative in such a way that they seem natural at the time. It’s only when you think further that you realise how clever he has been.
The combat itself is, as expected – at times exciting, at others scary and often rather confused, as snafu after snafu on the part of command and deployment makes the soldier’s job harder. There’s a few big weapons flung around, but the book is more of a reflection on the importance of the person in this role. Greg gets the slightly-sardonic tone right, that snarky world-weariness that is created by just having to cope and get the job done, despite everything that goes wrong.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, combat on Mars is pretty tough too. It’s definitely a while away from the shiny future we were all expecting back in the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Breathable air is rare and generally it is very cold, with temperatures often one hundred degrees below. Life support is given through technology called fountains, but, at best, survival is difficult and seemingly rather smelly thanks to the skintights (as the book suggests, a body suit rather like Dune’s still-suits, but they do more.) All of this Venn and his motley crew cope with, with varying degrees of success. Suicide at times seems like a possible option, though the survival rate is low – rarely do Skyrines survive more than four missions – and Venn’s on his fifth. A soldier’s life is clearly not a happy one, but one where all adversities are dealt with in a stoic manner.
Things become more complicated when Venn and his combat troop are rescued by a female Musky named Teal, referred (rather demeaningly) to as ’a ranch wife’. When they are taken to a secret underground lair by Teal, they then find themselves being hunted by a platoon of the Antags, none of whom seem to wish them well.
The book at this point seems to be heading towards one of those Alamo-type moments, with our brave band of heroes about to make a last stand against overwhelming odds. I guess it would be unfair for me to say more about the plot at this point, other than War Dogs leads to an ending that is really more complex than I expected and quite clever, which takes the book from being mere mil-SF to something more SF. It doesn’t quite hold together in its latter half, but it was a pleasant surprise to end up somewhere I didn’t think I was going to go. Readers need to be warned, though, that there is no happy ending that ties things up neatly, and I was left at the end expecting more resolution than I got.
But this is a minor quibble. Greg’s clearly been spurred on here by his recent HALO writing to write a military novel in his own imagined future. This would read very well as a HALO novel, I think, though here it is much more down-beat. War Dogs is a book that both celebrates and respects the role of the combat soldier, with all of their trials and tribulations. Think of it as The Forever War or Starship Troopers, upgraded to the 21st century, a tale that shows that even when the technology changes, the role of the soldier does not.
It is the best book I’ve read from Greg for a while, and one of the best military-SF books I’ve read in years.
Enter Master Sergeant Michael Venn, a veteran Skyrine (a Marine who is specially trained for off-world combat) who is dropped onto the Red Planet with his band of brothers on a mission to take down as many Antags as possible.
But from the moment they’re dropped through the thin Martian atmosphere, their mission goes horribly, terribly wrong. From a group of female special ops Skyrines with secret orders, to mysterious humans who’ve settled on Mars, to the overwhelming and highly-reinforced Antags themselves, Venn and his brothers will face impossible odds just to survive – let alone make it home alive.
Just in case that cover or the publisher’s synopsis doesn’t give it away, War Dogs is a military tale, told from the perspective of our ‘hero’ Sergeant Michael Venn, which, as the back of the book above says, looks at an ongoing battle on Mars between two groups of aliens (the Gurus and the Antagonists/Antags), with humans as a willing combatant. (I’m sure followers of politics may notice a similarity here between this tale and other more earthly conflict.)
Whenever a story is told from a first-person perspective, the tale sinks or swims through the strength of the telling, here given through Michael. From a writing perspective, it is impressive. Here Greg manages that difficult skill of simultaneously developing a backstory and a new language, the combat language of the military, whilst also driving along a plot. As ever, the world of the soldier is an often unappreciated one, with the war happening a world away, on Mars. Michael struggles to cope with the effects of combat as well as settling in back at home, and Greg manages to convey that extremely well. Michael becomes an outsider, detached from the world ‘here’ as well as ‘there’, with no one but his soldier friends, who are going through the same issues, to rely on.
There are lots of ideas compressed into this novel here, that only become noticeable on reflection – an unusual drop into combat that reminded me of Heinlein’s Starship Troopers, the existence of a renegade troop of original settlers, before the aliens came, named Muskies (after a certain inventor of today), even a touch of Alien and Crichton’s Andromeda Strain. Greg subtly works these notions into the narrative in such a way that they seem natural at the time. It’s only when you think further that you realise how clever he has been.
The combat itself is, as expected – at times exciting, at others scary and often rather confused, as snafu after snafu on the part of command and deployment makes the soldier’s job harder. There’s a few big weapons flung around, but the book is more of a reflection on the importance of the person in this role. Greg gets the slightly-sardonic tone right, that snarky world-weariness that is created by just having to cope and get the job done, despite everything that goes wrong.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, combat on Mars is pretty tough too. It’s definitely a while away from the shiny future we were all expecting back in the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Breathable air is rare and generally it is very cold, with temperatures often one hundred degrees below. Life support is given through technology called fountains, but, at best, survival is difficult and seemingly rather smelly thanks to the skintights (as the book suggests, a body suit rather like Dune’s still-suits, but they do more.) All of this Venn and his motley crew cope with, with varying degrees of success. Suicide at times seems like a possible option, though the survival rate is low – rarely do Skyrines survive more than four missions – and Venn’s on his fifth. A soldier’s life is clearly not a happy one, but one where all adversities are dealt with in a stoic manner.
Things become more complicated when Venn and his combat troop are rescued by a female Musky named Teal, referred (rather demeaningly) to as ’a ranch wife’. When they are taken to a secret underground lair by Teal, they then find themselves being hunted by a platoon of the Antags, none of whom seem to wish them well.
The book at this point seems to be heading towards one of those Alamo-type moments, with our brave band of heroes about to make a last stand against overwhelming odds. I guess it would be unfair for me to say more about the plot at this point, other than War Dogs leads to an ending that is really more complex than I expected and quite clever, which takes the book from being mere mil-SF to something more SF. It doesn’t quite hold together in its latter half, but it was a pleasant surprise to end up somewhere I didn’t think I was going to go. Readers need to be warned, though, that there is no happy ending that ties things up neatly, and I was left at the end expecting more resolution than I got.
But this is a minor quibble. Greg’s clearly been spurred on here by his recent HALO writing to write a military novel in his own imagined future. This would read very well as a HALO novel, I think, though here it is much more down-beat. War Dogs is a book that both celebrates and respects the role of the combat soldier, with all of their trials and tribulations. Think of it as The Forever War or Starship Troopers, upgraded to the 21st century, a tale that shows that even when the technology changes, the role of the soldier does not.
It is the best book I’ve read from Greg for a while, and one of the best military-SF books I’ve read in years.
October 14, 2023
The way it started and with all the dedications right at the beginning I was honestly expecting another gung-ho ooh-rah Starship Troopers knock-off that glorifies the military and completely misses the point… which was okay, as I was looking for something brainless to listen to while driving around town, where my attention would often wonder away from the book to focus on the road. But trust Bear to take this shake-and-bake concept and turn it upside down halfway through the story, bringing us something much deeper and more intricate with some pretty darn hard science and similarly hard questions about morality, loyalty, and identity. I’m jumping headfirst into part two of the trilogy.
September 13, 2019
This book got a lot of mixed reviews. Whether or not people liked it usually depended on where they came from when they read it. I think this will give me an opportunity to talk about a couple of related subjects that have broader implications than the book, if you'll indulge me.
For those who have never heard of Greg Bear, if you picked up this book, you probably thought it was a space marine war novel. You expected Master Chief to be blasting his way through aliens or robots, and being a study in toxic masculinity and tough-guy aura, so you didn't have to care about the blood being spilled. Certainly the cover implies that. Certainly that's how it was marketed, especially with the title, especially knowing that Bear has written some Halo novels (makes me want to give them a shot, actually.)
You're not going to get that, because unless he's writing in a shared world, that's not what he does. This is Vietnam, on Mars, with aliens, and a mystery grounded in wonder and the possible menace of the unknown - which is something Bear does very well. It's not Starship Troopers. It's The Forever War with crystal skull caves. It's a modern, current-tech planetary romance (ie. John Carter.)Oh yes; it's also a scathing critique of Colonialism.
Now, the question is, was this a bad marketing decision on the part of the publisher? You might argue that it was, because people expecting happy shoot-em-up-fests aren't going to get that at all, and it means they'll be disappointed. On the other hand, covers are meant to sell books, and right now, military sci-fi is an incredibly popular genre. It got you to pick up the book, didn't it?
The other crowd that's likely to be approaching this is the group that recognizes that Bear has contributed a great deal to the sci-fi genre. Two of his works are printed in the SF Masterworks imprint, which are meant to celebrate formative works in the genre that were highly influential or mind-blowing. This group is likely to think that Halo novels represent Bear "selling out," or "doing lazy writing," and are disappointed when he doesn't blow the lid right off their craniums every time.
This book isn't for them, either. And I think that represents a misunderstanding of what it is that Bear writes. Bear isn't about trying to blow your mind in a self-conscious way; you're confusing him with Philip K. Dick, and PKD quickly descends into self-important pretentiousness rather than doing anything mind-blowing, in my opinion. Bear writes about how human beings would react to extraordinary situations.
And if that's what you're looking for, you're gonna find it! Bear obviously did an amazing amount of research for this: check the dedication at the beginning of the book! These are marines, and they sound like marines, not scientists, because they're not. I found this an amazing feat of writing myself, especially after reading The Forge of God. These voices are so, so different! You have no idea how hard that is if you're not a writer. I tip my hat to the master, here. I took notes.
And if you're upset about Bear writing Halo novels, just remember that lots of writers you know have done Star Wars, Star Trek, and a metric craptonne of comics, because guess what? They have to pay the rent. Those novels sell, whether you like them or not, and if they make some money doing those, even if it seems to you they're "beneath their talents," then they can keep writing the stuff that does blow your mind that you have to convince people to buy and nobody ever really appreciates until you're dead.
It's not perfect, but for sheer enjoyment value, it earns back the star it might have lost.
I'd like to air a minor complaint that even when Americans can imagine a military with men and women in it, they still can't seem to imagine integrated forces. And of course there's no LGBTQ people to be seen. Canada's military has been co-ed for a very, very long time. I don't understand what the big deal is. But, this isn't a deal-breaker for the enjoyment of the book. You do you, Americans.
But if you want an amazing military adventure, with soldiers who act like real people (and suffer like real people do, and think like real people do,) with a dash of mystery, this is delicious! My recommendation is that you approach it as we all should approach books: it's its own thing, and you should judge it on its individual merits, not what you expected. I loved it, and I'm already starting the sequel. I'll keep you informed!
For those who have never heard of Greg Bear, if you picked up this book, you probably thought it was a space marine war novel. You expected Master Chief to be blasting his way through aliens or robots, and being a study in toxic masculinity and tough-guy aura, so you didn't have to care about the blood being spilled. Certainly the cover implies that. Certainly that's how it was marketed, especially with the title, especially knowing that Bear has written some Halo novels (makes me want to give them a shot, actually.)
You're not going to get that, because unless he's writing in a shared world, that's not what he does. This is Vietnam, on Mars, with aliens, and a mystery grounded in wonder and the possible menace of the unknown - which is something Bear does very well. It's not Starship Troopers. It's The Forever War with crystal skull caves. It's a modern, current-tech planetary romance (ie. John Carter.)Oh yes; it's also a scathing critique of Colonialism.
Now, the question is, was this a bad marketing decision on the part of the publisher? You might argue that it was, because people expecting happy shoot-em-up-fests aren't going to get that at all, and it means they'll be disappointed. On the other hand, covers are meant to sell books, and right now, military sci-fi is an incredibly popular genre. It got you to pick up the book, didn't it?
The other crowd that's likely to be approaching this is the group that recognizes that Bear has contributed a great deal to the sci-fi genre. Two of his works are printed in the SF Masterworks imprint, which are meant to celebrate formative works in the genre that were highly influential or mind-blowing. This group is likely to think that Halo novels represent Bear "selling out," or "doing lazy writing," and are disappointed when he doesn't blow the lid right off their craniums every time.
This book isn't for them, either. And I think that represents a misunderstanding of what it is that Bear writes. Bear isn't about trying to blow your mind in a self-conscious way; you're confusing him with Philip K. Dick, and PKD quickly descends into self-important pretentiousness rather than doing anything mind-blowing, in my opinion. Bear writes about how human beings would react to extraordinary situations.
And if that's what you're looking for, you're gonna find it! Bear obviously did an amazing amount of research for this: check the dedication at the beginning of the book! These are marines, and they sound like marines, not scientists, because they're not. I found this an amazing feat of writing myself, especially after reading The Forge of God. These voices are so, so different! You have no idea how hard that is if you're not a writer. I tip my hat to the master, here. I took notes.
And if you're upset about Bear writing Halo novels, just remember that lots of writers you know have done Star Wars, Star Trek, and a metric craptonne of comics, because guess what? They have to pay the rent. Those novels sell, whether you like them or not, and if they make some money doing those, even if it seems to you they're "beneath their talents," then they can keep writing the stuff that does blow your mind that you have to convince people to buy and nobody ever really appreciates until you're dead.
It's not perfect, but for sheer enjoyment value, it earns back the star it might have lost.
I'd like to air a minor complaint that even when Americans can imagine a military with men and women in it, they still can't seem to imagine integrated forces. And of course there's no LGBTQ people to be seen. Canada's military has been co-ed for a very, very long time. I don't understand what the big deal is. But, this isn't a deal-breaker for the enjoyment of the book. You do you, Americans.
But if you want an amazing military adventure, with soldiers who act like real people (and suffer like real people do, and think like real people do,) with a dash of mystery, this is delicious! My recommendation is that you approach it as we all should approach books: it's its own thing, and you should judge it on its individual merits, not what you expected. I loved it, and I'm already starting the sequel. I'll keep you informed!
October 11, 2015
Look for the unexpected in War Dogs. Bear takes some familiar themes and really turns them around. There are the aliens (The Gurus) who show up first and seem helpful. Then there are the aliens (The Antags) that show up on Mars. The Gurus recruit humans to fight the Antags on Mars.. Sound familiar but it gets all turned around when something new is discovered.
War Dogs is the first book in a new series and most of it is devoted to back story and world building. Told from the first person view of Master Sergeant Michael Venn, a Skyrinen, after he made it back from Mars. His story moves back and forth from the present on Earth to the past on Mars.
At times I found the story very slow going. What kept me reading were the unusual things that kept happening. It was hard to tell where the story was going. That did not change. Don’t expect to understand everything by the end of the book. Do expect to be left hanging and in the dark. Even so if you are a big SciFi fan I think you will enjoy this Military Science Fiction story full of plot twists and turns.
Sky Dogs is an interesting start to a new series. I am waiting for the next book Killing Titan to see if at least some of my questions are answered.
War Dogs is the first book in a new series and most of it is devoted to back story and world building. Told from the first person view of Master Sergeant Michael Venn, a Skyrinen, after he made it back from Mars. His story moves back and forth from the present on Earth to the past on Mars.
At times I found the story very slow going. What kept me reading were the unusual things that kept happening. It was hard to tell where the story was going. That did not change. Don’t expect to understand everything by the end of the book. Do expect to be left hanging and in the dark. Even so if you are a big SciFi fan I think you will enjoy this Military Science Fiction story full of plot twists and turns.
Sky Dogs is an interesting start to a new series. I am waiting for the next book Killing Titan to see if at least some of my questions are answered.
February 10, 2019
Im not sure what to make of this book, or really what it is supposed to be. A weird mishmash, "War Dogs" follows a space marine through a crash landing on Mars, stumbling from one life-or-death situation to another before changing to some kind of thought experiment.
While the source material is interesting, and the ending reveal a cool idea, the execution was, at best, lacking. While i went into the book knowing that it had rather poor reviews, i assumed that the plot and landscape would carry it past its other failings- i was wrong.
On the other hand- this seems like a book that could easily be turned into a movie that i would watch.
Positives:
+ General setup and plot arc. Including the Gurus and the ending reveal.
Negatives:
- Writing Style. Lots of narration. Breaking up an active plot to insert chapters of world-building that are only semi-relevant. A weird tone, and barely legible dialogue from the humans that live on Mars.
- Plot 'Looseness'. I think the issue is that the author tried to do too much and ended up with a mess. I think the book would work better with a tighter focus and some of the repetition removed.
- Characters and Characterization. All around weak.
While the source material is interesting, and the ending reveal a cool idea, the execution was, at best, lacking. While i went into the book knowing that it had rather poor reviews, i assumed that the plot and landscape would carry it past its other failings- i was wrong.
On the other hand- this seems like a book that could easily be turned into a movie that i would watch.
Positives:
+ General setup and plot arc. Including the Gurus and the ending reveal.
Negatives:
- Writing Style. Lots of narration. Breaking up an active plot to insert chapters of world-building that are only semi-relevant. A weird tone, and barely legible dialogue from the humans that live on Mars.
- Plot 'Looseness'. I think the issue is that the author tried to do too much and ended up with a mess. I think the book would work better with a tighter focus and some of the repetition removed.
- Characters and Characterization. All around weak.
April 2, 2016
I'm really puzzled, or confused. I don't know for sure. This is not a hard sci-fi story and it's barely a war story. What it is, is a poorly developed story.
As it unfolds, the story is marginally interesting -the book totally lost me for several chapters, specially at the end, where it counts. Actually, I abandoned it for three months after some chapters and then decided to finish it. I can't imagine why somebody would buy its sequel -Killing Titan.
The only reason I read it was the back story, I wanted to know more about the Gurus and the Antags.
Don't fall in the same trap I did. Don't buy it, don't read it and don't keep reading it if you've started.
As it unfolds, the story is marginally interesting -the book totally lost me for several chapters, specially at the end, where it counts. Actually, I abandoned it for three months after some chapters and then decided to finish it. I can't imagine why somebody would buy its sequel -Killing Titan.
The only reason I read it was the back story, I wanted to know more about the Gurus and the Antags.
Don't fall in the same trap I did. Don't buy it, don't read it and don't keep reading it if you've started.
November 27, 2014
I hate books with no real end. Even after I read some of the other reviews and found it was the first part of a trilogy, I still didn't like it. It's almost like Greg Bear wrote the whole thing as one book, counted the pages, divided by three, and that was where it ended. Up in the air if I bother with the next installment
August 22, 2015
Unlike Bear's other works. Created a frantic paced adventure that hides and hides and back pedals and hides before finally dumping the revelation out there too quickly. Good and enjoyable yes but left with too many mysteries.
September 9, 2015
I did not like this book at all. It had no real ending. It leaves you with more questions than answers
August 19, 2024
Этой книге как-то совсем не повезло. Она очень плохо продавалась, отзывов на нее немного, оценки на разных площадках так себе (ЛЛ - 7,1 / ФЛ - 6,78 / ГР - 3,41). В общем, практически все кричит о том, чтобы читатель прошел мимо. На мой взгляд, "Псов войны" спасает их объем - 320 страниц. То есть даже если не зайдет, то обошлось недорого и прочиталось быстро.
Грега Бира уже издавали раньше на русском языке, но эти книги до меня не доходили. Так что можно сказать, что это мое знакомство с автором. "псы войны" переносят нас в далёкое будущее, когда Марс был заселен. Более того, на Марсе уже выросли те, кто там когда-то родился, т.е. сменилось несколько поколений. Эти марсиане давно забыли о Земле и считают себя самостоятельным народом. Но есть угроза извне, некие пришельцы, которые тоже посягают на Марс. Армии наёмников с Земли высаживаются на Марс в целях наведения порядка. Главный герой романа - космодесантник Майкл Венн, который уже в пятый или шестой раз десантируется на Марс, но в последний раз все вышло несколько иначе, чем обычно. Большинство капсул было сбито, выживших мало, вокруг пустыня и полным-полно опасностей, ведь за любым барханом может скрываться лагерь пришельцев.
Спасает выживших местная девушка, которая заводит бойцов в штольню (то бишь шахта), в которой есть много полезных ископаемых. Кто ее построил? Почему штольня в секрете? Зачем она нужна тем, кто послал космодесантников на Марс? И причем тут пришельцы? Вопросов уйма. Экшена крайне мало. В основном это просто выживач с описанием марсианской "природы". Ближе к середине диалогов становится больше, интрига закручивается, но финал максимально открытый. Майкл Венн на самом деле уже на Земле, он рассказывает о том, что произошло с ним на Марсе, но почему-то ему приходится скрываться под чужим именем после возвращения. Более того, его куда-то тянут неизвестные ему люди. На самом деле действительно интересно, что же произошло на Марсе, какие там истинные цели и задачи, но... Придется все читать на английском языке, потому что книга легла в продаже.
Триллер-боевичок про десантников, Марс и всемирный заговор. Не шедевр, но на удивление читабельно. 7/10.
Грега Бира уже издавали раньше на русском языке, но эти книги до меня не доходили. Так что можно сказать, что это мое знакомство с автором. "псы войны" переносят нас в далёкое будущее, когда Марс был заселен. Более того, на Марсе уже выросли те, кто там когда-то родился, т.е. сменилось несколько поколений. Эти марсиане давно забыли о Земле и считают себя самостоятельным народом. Но есть угроза извне, некие пришельцы, которые тоже посягают на Марс. Армии наёмников с Земли высаживаются на Марс в целях наведения порядка. Главный герой романа - космодесантник Майкл Венн, который уже в пятый или шестой раз десантируется на Марс, но в последний раз все вышло несколько иначе, чем обычно. Большинство капсул было сбито, выживших мало, вокруг пустыня и полным-полно опасностей, ведь за любым барханом может скрываться лагерь пришельцев.
Спасает выживших местная девушка, которая заводит бойцов в штольню (то бишь шахта), в которой есть много полезных ископаемых. Кто ее построил? Почему штольня в секрете? Зачем она нужна тем, кто послал космодесантников на Марс? И причем тут пришельцы? Вопросов уйма. Экшена крайне мало. В основном это просто выживач с описанием марсианской "природы". Ближе к середине диалогов становится больше, интрига закручивается, но финал максимально открытый. Майкл Венн на самом деле уже на Земле, он рассказывает о том, что произошло с ним на Марсе, но почему-то ему приходится скрываться под чужим именем после возвращения. Более того, его куда-то тянут неизвестные ему люди. На самом деле действительно интересно, что же произошло на Марсе, какие там истинные цели и задачи, но... Придется все читать на английском языке, потому что книга легла в продаже.
Триллер-боевичок про десантников, Марс и всемирный заговор. Не шедевр, но на удивление читабельно. 7/10.
March 17, 2019
Enjoyable sci-fi set on Mars. It's ostensibly military sci-fi, and it does have aspects of that, but honestly most of the book is a survival story about Space Marines stranded on Mars trying to find sources of air and water before they die.
Then it's about the colonists on Mars, the motley group of people who colonized Mars and then were abandoned by Earth, and their neutrality as Earth returns to Mars specifically to fight mysterious space aliens.
It's a big interesting plot, but so much of the book is concentrated down into our hero's head as he tells the story to others back on Earth. He copes with the PTSD of some events, he goes off on random tangents, it's very stream of consciousness and a neat style. The drawback here is that thanks to the style, certain parts of the book get VERY confusing, because he doesn't know what was going on either. Apparently he did space drugs on a chunk of one of Mars' fallen moons, and relived the experience of a long-dead space alien? Apparently? Listen, I know that might be spoiler but damn if I understand it yet.
The book ends in a solid location, with our hero leading his flashback/story back to how he got onto Earth, and things feel settled. There's a lot left unexplained, and more left to happen, but that's for sequels.
As is, I'd recommend this book not to military sci-fi fans but to general sci-fi fans, because there's just about one, maybe two action sequences in the entire thing? This book is about Mars and the future and what that future has done to people, and it's very cool.
Then it's about the colonists on Mars, the motley group of people who colonized Mars and then were abandoned by Earth, and their neutrality as Earth returns to Mars specifically to fight mysterious space aliens.
It's a big interesting plot, but so much of the book is concentrated down into our hero's head as he tells the story to others back on Earth. He copes with the PTSD of some events, he goes off on random tangents, it's very stream of consciousness and a neat style. The drawback here is that thanks to the style, certain parts of the book get VERY confusing, because he doesn't know what was going on either. Apparently he did space drugs on a chunk of one of Mars' fallen moons, and relived the experience of a long-dead space alien? Apparently? Listen, I know that might be spoiler but damn if I understand it yet.
The book ends in a solid location, with our hero leading his flashback/story back to how he got onto Earth, and things feel settled. There's a lot left unexplained, and more left to happen, but that's for sequels.
As is, I'd recommend this book not to military sci-fi fans but to general sci-fi fans, because there's just about one, maybe two action sequences in the entire thing? This book is about Mars and the future and what that future has done to people, and it's very cool.
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