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Outriders #1
Outriders
The start of a Military SF series from imprint best-seller and Tom Clancy game series writer Jay Posey.
Captain Lincoln Suh died on a Wednesday. And things only got harder from there.
Snatched out of special operations and thrown headfirst into a secretive new unit, Lincoln finds himself as the team leader for the 519th Applied Intelligence Group, better known as the Outriders. And his first day on the job brings a mission with the highest possible stakes.
A dangerously cunning woman who most assuredly should be dead has seemingly returned. And her plans aren’t just devastating, they might be unstoppable.
How do you defeat a hidden enemy when you can’t let them know they’ve been discovered?
You send in the Outriders.
Captain Lincoln Suh died on a Wednesday. And things only got harder from there.
Snatched out of special operations and thrown headfirst into a secretive new unit, Lincoln finds himself as the team leader for the 519th Applied Intelligence Group, better known as the Outriders. And his first day on the job brings a mission with the highest possible stakes.
A dangerously cunning woman who most assuredly should be dead has seemingly returned. And her plans aren’t just devastating, they might be unstoppable.
How do you defeat a hidden enemy when you can’t let them know they’ve been discovered?
You send in the Outriders.
448 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 3, 2016
132 people are currently reading
1917 people want to read
About the author
Jay Posey
16 books346 followersJay Posey is a professional typist with a face for radio and a voice for print. He’s the author of the Legends of the Duskwalker trilogy (novels, THREE, MORNINGSIDE FALL, and DAWNBREAKER), and the military science-fiction novel OUTRIDERS, all published by Angry Robot Books.
He's also Expert Narrative Designer at Ubisoft/Red Storm Entertainment, where he has spent over a decade contributing as a writer and game designer to top franchises like Tom Clancy’s award-winning Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six, as well as several top secret projects he's not allowed to talk about.
He blogs occasionally at jayposey.com and spends more time than he probably should hanging around Twitter as @HiJayPosey.
He's also Expert Narrative Designer at Ubisoft/Red Storm Entertainment, where he has spent over a decade contributing as a writer and game designer to top franchises like Tom Clancy’s award-winning Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six, as well as several top secret projects he's not allowed to talk about.
He blogs occasionally at jayposey.com and spends more time than he probably should hanging around Twitter as @HiJayPosey.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 156 reviews
September 28, 2016
All the small squad military action of The Red: First Light crossed with the solar system political tension of Leviathan Wakes.
Captain Lincoln Suh is the newest team member and leader of the 519th Applied Intelligence Group, the Outriders, a "special" special ops group with almost no oversight, special equipment and "deathproofing". He doesn't even get time to visit his room before he gets sucked into par for the course for the Outriders: a special ops mission to find and stop the people trying to push the United American Federation and Mars to interplanetary war.
This is action-packed military competence-porn. Jay Posey has written for video games based around Tom Clancy works and he's very much writing what he knows but with a cool SF setting. The military structural issues are great, as is the interplanetary brinkmanship, but the rest of the setting is pretty much indistinguishable from early-21st century military behavior with a tech upgrade. That's still better than the majority of MilSF though, a lot of which seems to be Master & Commander in Space.
It's probably a good idea that the book doesn't go into the tech too much as I suspect the author hasn't thought much about them other than to assume Star Trek-like magic. (Where the hell does anti-gravity come from? What's powering these ships and armor? What other effects have these technologies had on society?)
It's fun and worth a read, particularly if you like the idea of Tom Clancy writing power armor stories.
Captain Lincoln Suh is the newest team member and leader of the 519th Applied Intelligence Group, the Outriders, a "special" special ops group with almost no oversight, special equipment and "deathproofing". He doesn't even get time to visit his room before he gets sucked into par for the course for the Outriders: a special ops mission to find and stop the people trying to push the United American Federation and Mars to interplanetary war.
This is action-packed military competence-porn. Jay Posey has written for video games based around Tom Clancy works and he's very much writing what he knows but with a cool SF setting. The military structural issues are great, as is the interplanetary brinkmanship, but the rest of the setting is pretty much indistinguishable from early-21st century military behavior with a tech upgrade. That's still better than the majority of MilSF though, a lot of which seems to be Master & Commander in Space.
It's probably a good idea that the book doesn't go into the tech too much as I suspect the author hasn't thought much about them other than to assume Star Trek-like magic. (Where the hell does anti-gravity come from? What's powering these ships and armor? What other effects have these technologies had on society?)
It's fun and worth a read, particularly if you like the idea of Tom Clancy writing power armor stories.
August 26, 2016
Outriders is the latest example of a recent trend in science fiction reflecting present day anxieties over terrorism and surveillance state governance. In this iteration, a team of military intelligence agents work to prevent a war between (surprise!) the governments of Earth and Mars.
On the surface, Outriders has all the elements a good MilSF novel should have: nifty gadgets, solid teamwork, individual competence, cat and mouse war games, grunts vs. suits wrangling, military discipline vs. individual choice, et all. Posey is an efficient and balanced prose writer, whose style is an organic reflection of the world his characters inhabit.
But in the end, the best adjective I find to describe this novel is "pleasant," and that is not necessarily the kind of adjective you want describing your MilSF tecno-spy thriller. There isn't really very much in the way of building tension in Outriders; never any real sense that their objectives are in jeopardy or even that their lives are in danger (curiously, this is actually by design). Even the "bad guys" are generally agreeable people who just made a morally questionable set of choices. Nothing surprising or revelatory happens anywhere in this book. The pace is even and relaxed throughout; it just hums and skips along until its business concludes.
That's not good enough.
On the surface, Outriders has all the elements a good MilSF novel should have: nifty gadgets, solid teamwork, individual competence, cat and mouse war games, grunts vs. suits wrangling, military discipline vs. individual choice, et all. Posey is an efficient and balanced prose writer, whose style is an organic reflection of the world his characters inhabit.
But in the end, the best adjective I find to describe this novel is "pleasant," and that is not necessarily the kind of adjective you want describing your MilSF tecno-spy thriller. There isn't really very much in the way of building tension in Outriders; never any real sense that their objectives are in jeopardy or even that their lives are in danger (curiously, this is actually by design). Even the "bad guys" are generally agreeable people who just made a morally questionable set of choices. Nothing surprising or revelatory happens anywhere in this book. The pace is even and relaxed throughout; it just hums and skips along until its business concludes.
That's not good enough.
August 28, 2016
This was a four star book with an audio that frustrated the hell out of me. I spent 3/4 of the book completely confused so I pulled out my Kindle copy - yeah, I missed three words that would have made it all make sense. A large part of the problem is that the narrator doesn't do voices at all and there was absolutely nothing to indicate when Lincoln and Vector switched POVs. I spent 3/4 of the book thinking they were the same person.
Also, the description of the audio doesn't match what happens in the book until the 82% mark. So I was expecting action and got a cerebral, problem solving, slightly high-tech, slightly sci-fi (what is with that cover?), spy/crime mystery. It was odd. But it was also really good. I'll definitely read the next one, but I'm going to read the next one. The story was kind of interesting because I haven't read anything quite like it. There were a few cliched phrases at the beginning but that smoothed out as the novel progressed.
Did I mention that the audio sucks? Because I'm really very disappointed that I didn't read this book instead of listen to it. It would have been much cooler.
Also, the description of the audio doesn't match what happens in the book until the 82% mark. So I was expecting action and got a cerebral, problem solving, slightly high-tech, slightly sci-fi (what is with that cover?), spy/crime mystery. It was odd. But it was also really good. I'll definitely read the next one, but I'm going to read the next one. The story was kind of interesting because I haven't read anything quite like it. There were a few cliched phrases at the beginning but that smoothed out as the novel progressed.
Did I mention that the audio sucks? Because I'm really very disappointed that I didn't read this book instead of listen to it. It would have been much cooler.
October 27, 2016
(Audiobook) (2.5 stars) I was going to call Outriders "Tom Clancy in Space" but it turns out author Jay Posey actually wrote the dialogue for a lot of the Tom Clancy games...So lets go with "Chillaxed Mission Impossible in Space".
I am not much of a fan of the "Military SF" genre but I wanted to give this a try. I have heard good things and the cover art is badarse.
Our protagonist Lincoln becomes the head of a black ops special forces type squad. He leads his team on a series of missions, heavy on technical detail and light on characterisation. The "Military" element was certainly present but the focus was more on the "elite plausible deniability squad" ala Mission Impossible - In space. On Valium.
The pacing was very even. We never hit any great heights of excitement but it never dragged and became boring. The dialogue had the ring of authenticity. No one in the squad ever panics or even has their pulse raised, these are cool, calm professionals. Everyone is good at their job and gets on with it with a minimum of fuss. I didn't notice any glaring plot holes or motivation issues.
In audiobook form it was a little hard to follow the why of the various missions. Why are we going here again? I had to rewind a few times as the viewpoint's changed. The only thinky-sauce the book provided was the contemplation of collateral damage in war which has been done many times before. It didn't have the "alien aliens" or "escapism to another world" I read SF for.
I know the stakes were big (interplanetary war?) but it never felt like there was a sense of urgency or danger.
So comparing this to the last book I gave 2.5 stars to "Consider Phlabas". CP had some awesome scenes and sequences and some brutally tedious ones too. On the other hand "Outriders" was solid and workman-like without a whole lot to criticize or to recommend.
I don't think an extra 100 pages of detail on the characters would have improved things especially. About 2/3 of the way through when we start doing some character development on one of the minor players I am like "oh this guy is definitely going to die"...and so it went.
Narrator James Lindgren was a real mixed bag. 90% of narrators would have looked at a book like this and taken every opportunity to over-act in the "CAP'N WE HAVEN'T GOT THE POWER!!!" vein.
Lindgren was so chillaxed he could have been on sedatives. For the MOST part this was a good choice. It lent credence to the idea that these are professionals with veins of ice who take down targets ever day. Nothing phases them. He voiced every conversation in a nonchalant way as if inquiring what the soup of the day was. Considering how often I criticise the LOOK-AT-ME-OVERACT school of narrators I think he did fine. He was actually really good at reading with subtlety and nuance.
I guess the problem was that we would have 4 way conversations with male and female characters and there was ZERO voice acting to help us differentiate. Not even a shift in pitch or gruffness. Lindgren was a flashback to the "books on tape" era where someone just READ the book to you, albeit at a professional level.
The most surprising thing though was that Lindgren seemed to need a personal invitation to voice act. Some minor character who talks for a few pages is described as having a "hint of a Russian accent" so Lindgren voices THAT guy with a mild Russian accent. When Lincoln is trying to clear British customs he jumps into a convincing British accent for the clerk. So he CAN do it he just chose not to for 99% of the book!
While it was well written, it is a little outside the scope of what I am interested in.
If a plausible, technical, Special forces SF story sounds like your thing I am sure you will enjoy "Outriders".
I am not much of a fan of the "Military SF" genre but I wanted to give this a try. I have heard good things and the cover art is badarse.
Our protagonist Lincoln becomes the head of a black ops special forces type squad. He leads his team on a series of missions, heavy on technical detail and light on characterisation. The "Military" element was certainly present but the focus was more on the "elite plausible deniability squad" ala Mission Impossible - In space. On Valium.
The pacing was very even. We never hit any great heights of excitement but it never dragged and became boring. The dialogue had the ring of authenticity. No one in the squad ever panics or even has their pulse raised, these are cool, calm professionals. Everyone is good at their job and gets on with it with a minimum of fuss. I didn't notice any glaring plot holes or motivation issues.
In audiobook form it was a little hard to follow the why of the various missions. Why are we going here again? I had to rewind a few times as the viewpoint's changed. The only thinky-sauce the book provided was the contemplation of collateral damage in war which has been done many times before. It didn't have the "alien aliens" or "escapism to another world" I read SF for.
I know the stakes were big (interplanetary war?) but it never felt like there was a sense of urgency or danger.
So comparing this to the last book I gave 2.5 stars to "Consider Phlabas". CP had some awesome scenes and sequences and some brutally tedious ones too. On the other hand "Outriders" was solid and workman-like without a whole lot to criticize or to recommend.
I don't think an extra 100 pages of detail on the characters would have improved things especially. About 2/3 of the way through when we start doing some character development on one of the minor players I am like "oh this guy is definitely going to die"...and so it went.
Narrator James Lindgren was a real mixed bag. 90% of narrators would have looked at a book like this and taken every opportunity to over-act in the "CAP'N WE HAVEN'T GOT THE POWER!!!" vein.
Lindgren was so chillaxed he could have been on sedatives. For the MOST part this was a good choice. It lent credence to the idea that these are professionals with veins of ice who take down targets ever day. Nothing phases them. He voiced every conversation in a nonchalant way as if inquiring what the soup of the day was. Considering how often I criticise the LOOK-AT-ME-OVERACT school of narrators I think he did fine. He was actually really good at reading with subtlety and nuance.
I guess the problem was that we would have 4 way conversations with male and female characters and there was ZERO voice acting to help us differentiate. Not even a shift in pitch or gruffness. Lindgren was a flashback to the "books on tape" era where someone just READ the book to you, albeit at a professional level.
The most surprising thing though was that Lindgren seemed to need a personal invitation to voice act. Some minor character who talks for a few pages is described as having a "hint of a Russian accent" so Lindgren voices THAT guy with a mild Russian accent. When Lincoln is trying to clear British customs he jumps into a convincing British accent for the clerk. So he CAN do it he just chose not to for 99% of the book!
While it was well written, it is a little outside the scope of what I am interested in.
If a plausible, technical, Special forces SF story sounds like your thing I am sure you will enjoy "Outriders".
August 9, 2016
Posey systematically checks off all the boxes for an Armored/ Special Ops in Space/ Forever War type story (except, wisely, he leaves out the gratuitous sex scenes) and has crafted a decent premise, storyline, and cast. BUT...he belongs to the "never use twenty words when 450 will do" school of overwriting, so the pace is foot draggingly slow. Happily, skipping the long paragraphs and just reading around the dialog is enough to compensate. I'd call this a solid "B" and am willing to invest in sequels--in hopes he'll tighten up his storytelling.
May 30, 2017
Wildly original and yet somehow so muscular and relatable and tactile, Jay Posey's sci-fi action writing has always been among my favorite in the world and Outriders is no different. It's no wonder that Jay knows his way around action and storytelling, being so much a part of the success of the Tom Clancy games, but with his own stories, Jay's narrative takes on a different tone and matches up not only intense actions sequences that are somehow both bareknuckled and slick at the same time with an impressively technical yet very visual sense of world-building, he manages to write in the tangible substance of real life characters who live and move and breath and die like real human beings. Having already etched his mark on Sci-Fi with Three, Jay has raised the stakes and will keep many up late in the night with Outriders.
April 17, 2019
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this military sci-fi novel. The main group of characters are coming together as a cohesive unit of soldiers operating so far under the radar they are almost off the map. Friction is getting hotter between Mars and Earth with war clouds seeming to loom on the horizon. What neither planet knows is that there is manipulation going on behind the scenes to push the two into thinking the other has made first aggressive contact.
The author doesn't go extremely deeply into the lives of the members of the Outriders group, just gives us what we need to know to explain some of the situations they become involved in. The missions become more and more deadly until one of their group dies during a mission. The futuristic portions of the novel are thought provoking to say the least and I have spent some time wondering how the techno advances in this novel could actually work in planet protection. Kind of scary on many levels.
I enjoy this type of novel when it is placed in the present and got just as much enjoyment out of seeing the problems and benefits of carrying out clandestine missions in space. There is a second book in the series, Sungrazer, and I plan to read that one pretty quickly. I'm hoping for something just as entertaining and thought provoking the second time around. I certainly hope Jay Posey has plans to continue this series because I think he has winning characters who can carry a series a very long way.
The author doesn't go extremely deeply into the lives of the members of the Outriders group, just gives us what we need to know to explain some of the situations they become involved in. The missions become more and more deadly until one of their group dies during a mission. The futuristic portions of the novel are thought provoking to say the least and I have spent some time wondering how the techno advances in this novel could actually work in planet protection. Kind of scary on many levels.
I enjoy this type of novel when it is placed in the present and got just as much enjoyment out of seeing the problems and benefits of carrying out clandestine missions in space. There is a second book in the series, Sungrazer, and I plan to read that one pretty quickly. I'm hoping for something just as entertaining and thought provoking the second time around. I certainly hope Jay Posey has plans to continue this series because I think he has winning characters who can carry a series a very long way.
July 25, 2016
An interesting tale that starts out with a novel idea. Capt Lincoln Suh dies on the very first sentence of the very first page of the very first chapter. That in and of itself would be nothing novel, many a character is killed off so that the rest of the book can be devoted to hunting down his killers or seeking answers. What makes this novel is that the main character of this story is Capt Suh.
The Outriders are a Tier One Special Missions Unit of the US Army. The team consists of 5 members, including the aforementioned Capt. Suh. While they never really specify what year it is, I am running on the assumption that it is circa 2100. I extrapolate this since one of the characters states that her great grandparents were growing up in the time of the Moon Landing. But, now humanity has spread itself to the moon, Mars and some of the other moons in the solar system.
Someone has decided to try to start a conflict between the Martian Colonies and Earth. The Outriders who are a direct action Intelligence unit are trying to figure out what is going on. More than that I will not say as it would spoil the story. It's actually not a bad one, though never reaching Tom Clancy like convolutedness or complexity.
The technology is pretty interesting, though not too far out of modern day tech- save for the space (solar system really) faring ships and the Replicant technology. The combat armor reminds me a lot of the current TALOS system soon to be used in the real by US Special Operations units...though some of the tech described is still about 2 or 3 decades away.
Overall while this isn't some revolutionary magnum opus of hard-sci-fi, to be fair, I don't even consider this HARD sci-fi but rather just a sci-fi story. It's fast, fun, and well paced. His military concepts are for the most part correct and while there are errors unless you are an operator yourself you will not catch them. Mr. Posey can't resist the current trope of placing two females into a Tier One unit. As unlikely as this may seem to anyone who has served in any Spec Ops unit, I guess the excuse is that human female physiology has undergone some transformation or mirroring modern "tastes" we can conveniently ignore all the goofy "science crap" (ya know made up fields like Biology, Physiology, etc). That's cool, I'm no misogynist, for the sake of the story let's not harp on reality- it is FICTION after all. But, on that note...it's strange the writer seems to see no dichotomy in pushing the "bad-ass female warrior" empowerment trope, yet he still felt the need to throw in the racial trope of one of the female characters basically saying "Oh I went to good schools, and my family was really, really, really wealthy {and famous in the tech world} but people looked at me weird since I was black"....uh-huh....I see. So nearly 8 decades (possibly longer since there are huge colonies on Mars and even the moons so it might well be 2150) it seems that even if you are the daughter of multi-billionaire geniuses (her father and uncle are essentially Bill Gates and Steve Jobs) AND Ivy-League educated...people still think it "odd" that she's black? Really? So I wonder if the author is subtly, unintentionally of course, implying that black people have not improved their lot at all within a time frame of 80-140 years into the future?!! Huh..or maybe it was just one of those oh-so-cutsey liberal tropes that doesn't stand close scrutiny? Ah well....good book though. Enjoyed it. If you like Sci-Fi I think you will too.
The Outriders are a Tier One Special Missions Unit of the US Army. The team consists of 5 members, including the aforementioned Capt. Suh. While they never really specify what year it is, I am running on the assumption that it is circa 2100. I extrapolate this since one of the characters states that her great grandparents were growing up in the time of the Moon Landing. But, now humanity has spread itself to the moon, Mars and some of the other moons in the solar system.
Someone has decided to try to start a conflict between the Martian Colonies and Earth. The Outriders who are a direct action Intelligence unit are trying to figure out what is going on. More than that I will not say as it would spoil the story. It's actually not a bad one, though never reaching Tom Clancy like convolutedness or complexity.
The technology is pretty interesting, though not too far out of modern day tech- save for the space (solar system really) faring ships and the Replicant technology. The combat armor reminds me a lot of the current TALOS system soon to be used in the real by US Special Operations units...though some of the tech described is still about 2 or 3 decades away.
Overall while this isn't some revolutionary magnum opus of hard-sci-fi, to be fair, I don't even consider this HARD sci-fi but rather just a sci-fi story. It's fast, fun, and well paced. His military concepts are for the most part correct and while there are errors unless you are an operator yourself you will not catch them. Mr. Posey can't resist the current trope of placing two females into a Tier One unit. As unlikely as this may seem to anyone who has served in any Spec Ops unit, I guess the excuse is that human female physiology has undergone some transformation or mirroring modern "tastes" we can conveniently ignore all the goofy "science crap" (ya know made up fields like Biology, Physiology, etc). That's cool, I'm no misogynist, for the sake of the story let's not harp on reality- it is FICTION after all. But, on that note...it's strange the writer seems to see no dichotomy in pushing the "bad-ass female warrior" empowerment trope, yet he still felt the need to throw in the racial trope of one of the female characters basically saying "Oh I went to good schools, and my family was really, really, really wealthy {and famous in the tech world} but people looked at me weird since I was black"....uh-huh....I see. So nearly 8 decades (possibly longer since there are huge colonies on Mars and even the moons so it might well be 2150) it seems that even if you are the daughter of multi-billionaire geniuses (her father and uncle are essentially Bill Gates and Steve Jobs) AND Ivy-League educated...people still think it "odd" that she's black? Really? So I wonder if the author is subtly, unintentionally of course, implying that black people have not improved their lot at all within a time frame of 80-140 years into the future?!! Huh..or maybe it was just one of those oh-so-cutsey liberal tropes that doesn't stand close scrutiny? Ah well....good book though. Enjoyed it. If you like Sci-Fi I think you will too.
March 22, 2017
OK, as long as you turn off your brain this is a really fun book to read. The action parts especially are extremely well done with a good sense of being with the squad as they deploy and execute in a tactical setting.
The plot though requires otherwise brilliant people to do stupid things. I hate that. It really hit me about half way through the book when I was driving. That was my mistake, I quit reading to go do something else and started thinking about the book.
A critical plot point is set up by the so far brilliant and careful bad guys doing something incredibly stupid. After unhesitatingly killing thousands of people they decide to rescue one when the smart, simple and safe thing to do would be to kill the sole survivor of their attack. Had they done this they would all have gotten away completely. Because they didn't the rest of the book was allowed to happen.
But it's not just the brilliant bad guys that are stupid so are the brilliant good guys. After lovingly describing how a non-lethal weapon was to be used in a previous raid, they completely forgot they had this technology available at the final raid. Not only that instead of continuing to rely on speed and surprise when confronting the final baddie the hero stood still and listened to the "bad guy monolog" tm instead of using the non-leathal weapon to grab 'em and get out. All to set up a supposedly thought provoking ending.
UGH. It could be thought provoking had it not been so ham fistedly set up and delivered. At least three times during this book I heard Tom Servo in my head sound the "Plot Point! Plot Point!" alarm inside my head. I'm a pretty uncritical reader so when it is done awkwardly (and stupidly!) enough that it bugs me it was really bad.
So three stars because great action and there isn't a way to give it 2.5 on goodreads. Just eat popcorn and read. Do not think about this book.
I am extremely hesitant to purchase any other books by this author.
The plot though requires otherwise brilliant people to do stupid things. I hate that. It really hit me about half way through the book when I was driving. That was my mistake, I quit reading to go do something else and started thinking about the book.
A critical plot point is set up by the so far brilliant and careful bad guys doing something incredibly stupid. After unhesitatingly killing thousands of people they decide to rescue one when the smart, simple and safe thing to do would be to kill the sole survivor of their attack. Had they done this they would all have gotten away completely. Because they didn't the rest of the book was allowed to happen.
But it's not just the brilliant bad guys that are stupid so are the brilliant good guys. After lovingly describing how a non-lethal weapon was to be used in a previous raid, they completely forgot they had this technology available at the final raid. Not only that instead of continuing to rely on speed and surprise when confronting the final baddie the hero stood still and listened to the "bad guy monolog" tm instead of using the non-leathal weapon to grab 'em and get out. All to set up a supposedly thought provoking ending.
UGH. It could be thought provoking had it not been so ham fistedly set up and delivered. At least three times during this book I heard Tom Servo in my head sound the "Plot Point! Plot Point!" alarm inside my head. I'm a pretty uncritical reader so when it is done awkwardly (and stupidly!) enough that it bugs me it was really bad.
So three stars because great action and there isn't a way to give it 2.5 on goodreads. Just eat popcorn and read. Do not think about this book.
I am extremely hesitant to purchase any other books by this author.
February 20, 2018
This was really good. Great scifi elements, twists and action. Interesting characters too.
September 14, 2016
I had a chance to go to GenCon this year. It’s a table-top gaming convention held in Indianapolis every year. It has a writer’s track as well that I was able to spend a few days hanging around in. I got to see Scott Lynch, and meet Darryl Gregory, and otherwise hang out in the presence of lots of agents, editors, authors and fans. I had a great time.
I also, for what it’s worth, played several games. I liked Pathfinder a lot (a D&D clone, I think) and the Star Wars spaceship battle game (I can’t remember the title… maybe it was X-Wing). I played some board games (like Imhotep) and party games (Like Codenames) and some brand new games that were being demo-ed (a hint, if it involved great looking miniatures, count me in).
In all the 4 days I was there went by in a blur. On my last day a couple of us were walking through the vendor hall together, which was huge, and stumbled upon the Angry Robot booth. It surprised me because I’d already spent several hours in Writer’s Alley on the far side of the hall. I was frustrated there because of all the tables and people I visited, there just weren’t very many selling books I felt were very compelling to me as a reader. I think all the people selling books at the event were self-published authors and I saw the quality all over the map in terms of the product itself (the writing) and the packaging (I saw the most beautiful editions of some books I think I’ve ever seen regardless of publisher, as well as some stuff that looked like it was made at home with an inkjet printer).
I did purchase a book there, and will talk about it one day, after I’ve finished reading it (I read the first chapter, which was very good) but left a bit disappointed with the overall experience.
Then, last day, there is the Angry Robot booth, I like them as a publishing house. They have put out a few novels in the past several years I’ve really enjoyed. It was through them I discovered Chuck Wendig, and for that I’ll always be in their debt.
Anyway, I was lamenting to the folks at the table that Science Fiction was almost entirely absent at the con. It was frustrating that almost every publisher and author there said they write/publish Science fiction & fantasy but what they really mean is they do fantasy and NO science fiction at all.
And the overcrowded booth parted and Mr Posey slid between the other with this book in hand.
Touché.
He wrote a great little personalized inscription for me and I walked away happy. I came home, finished the Jesus book I just reviewed the other day and started in on this one.
I am forced to admit that while I was intrigued with the novel, in the end I wasn’t quite as taken with it as I wanted to be. It was a Tom Clancyish book set in space, mostly Earth, Mars, Luna & a space station.
I was disappointed because the small, elite team of soldiers here just ran through several missions that all could have happened on earth. There was no discussion about what it might be like having a rooftop getaway on the moon because although one happened, there was no talk about being in 1/6th earth’s gravity. There was no sense of the vastness of the solar system, or of the very sci-fi heavy elements introduced in the book’s opening.
In fact, that might have been the thing that really bugged me the most. It’s not much of a spoiler to say that the MC of this novel dies in the opening scene of the story. He’s brought back via a frightening procedure and it’s understood that his unit will occasionally be put in situations where they may die. They can either bring them back if there is enough body left to repair, or just pull a new one out of a vat and give it to you.
I mean, those are some weighty philosophical issues. The break in continuity that would come from death makes you wonder if it’s really you that comes back, or a copy. That’s deep stuff. It’s also hinted at, but not addressed at all.
Then there is the power armor. Also amazing, apparently, and also all but ignored over the course of the novel. There is some build up about finally being able to use it, then when the time comes, it’s not really used as a plot point.
In all, despite this being very competently written, and even engaging, it lets me down a bit on the science fiction side. This is really a straight up military fiction. The space-based parts are window dressing, not actual items the story is built around.
So, I’m torn. Well written – I enjoyed the larger plot, and the set up for future novels. I didn’t enjoy the lip service to the more spec fic elements and wish those had been treated a bit more thoughtfully.
I dunno. Whatever. I might not have another review for some time. The book I’m reading now is such a tome. Could be years!
I also, for what it’s worth, played several games. I liked Pathfinder a lot (a D&D clone, I think) and the Star Wars spaceship battle game (I can’t remember the title… maybe it was X-Wing). I played some board games (like Imhotep) and party games (Like Codenames) and some brand new games that were being demo-ed (a hint, if it involved great looking miniatures, count me in).
In all the 4 days I was there went by in a blur. On my last day a couple of us were walking through the vendor hall together, which was huge, and stumbled upon the Angry Robot booth. It surprised me because I’d already spent several hours in Writer’s Alley on the far side of the hall. I was frustrated there because of all the tables and people I visited, there just weren’t very many selling books I felt were very compelling to me as a reader. I think all the people selling books at the event were self-published authors and I saw the quality all over the map in terms of the product itself (the writing) and the packaging (I saw the most beautiful editions of some books I think I’ve ever seen regardless of publisher, as well as some stuff that looked like it was made at home with an inkjet printer).
I did purchase a book there, and will talk about it one day, after I’ve finished reading it (I read the first chapter, which was very good) but left a bit disappointed with the overall experience.
Then, last day, there is the Angry Robot booth, I like them as a publishing house. They have put out a few novels in the past several years I’ve really enjoyed. It was through them I discovered Chuck Wendig, and for that I’ll always be in their debt.
Anyway, I was lamenting to the folks at the table that Science Fiction was almost entirely absent at the con. It was frustrating that almost every publisher and author there said they write/publish Science fiction & fantasy but what they really mean is they do fantasy and NO science fiction at all.
And the overcrowded booth parted and Mr Posey slid between the other with this book in hand.
Touché.
He wrote a great little personalized inscription for me and I walked away happy. I came home, finished the Jesus book I just reviewed the other day and started in on this one.
I am forced to admit that while I was intrigued with the novel, in the end I wasn’t quite as taken with it as I wanted to be. It was a Tom Clancyish book set in space, mostly Earth, Mars, Luna & a space station.
I was disappointed because the small, elite team of soldiers here just ran through several missions that all could have happened on earth. There was no discussion about what it might be like having a rooftop getaway on the moon because although one happened, there was no talk about being in 1/6th earth’s gravity. There was no sense of the vastness of the solar system, or of the very sci-fi heavy elements introduced in the book’s opening.
In fact, that might have been the thing that really bugged me the most. It’s not much of a spoiler to say that the MC of this novel dies in the opening scene of the story. He’s brought back via a frightening procedure and it’s understood that his unit will occasionally be put in situations where they may die. They can either bring them back if there is enough body left to repair, or just pull a new one out of a vat and give it to you.
I mean, those are some weighty philosophical issues. The break in continuity that would come from death makes you wonder if it’s really you that comes back, or a copy. That’s deep stuff. It’s also hinted at, but not addressed at all.
Then there is the power armor. Also amazing, apparently, and also all but ignored over the course of the novel. There is some build up about finally being able to use it, then when the time comes, it’s not really used as a plot point.
In all, despite this being very competently written, and even engaging, it lets me down a bit on the science fiction side. This is really a straight up military fiction. The space-based parts are window dressing, not actual items the story is built around.
So, I’m torn. Well written – I enjoyed the larger plot, and the set up for future novels. I didn’t enjoy the lip service to the more spec fic elements and wish those had been treated a bit more thoughtfully.
I dunno. Whatever. I might not have another review for some time. The book I’m reading now is such a tome. Could be years!
February 4, 2017
Finally done! This book took me much longer to read than it should have. I wish I had DNF'd this when I first had the thought around the 30% mark but I read on as things picked up a bit and then I thought I might as well finish after making it through the majority of the book. It's not like it was spectacularly bad or anything drastic like that but Outriders turned out to be a boring slog, mainly because the writing was so dull and flat. I wish it had lived up to the premise - special ops in space, fuck yeah?! Except that not.
We start the plot with our hero, Lincoln Suh, being at the tail end of an elite unit selection program and despite making it through the final test and subsequent interview, he does not get picked for the program.. because he was actually pulled for another, even more special team, the Outriders. Lincoln has been chosen as the new captain of the handful exceptional men and women and before he can ever gather his new gear, there is a mission.. or rather A Mission. Blah blah a series of seemingly not connected events that could lead to a catastrophic war between Earth and Mars, so go on special people, go stop it.
I mean, the plot was perfectly serviceable. Not every military science fiction can be as innovative as Ninefox Gambit or thrilling as Fortune's Pawn, I get that, but everything about this ended up being a snoozefest. The hero was so capable and reasonable, it was downright boring - not that I am saying I want my menz all assholes and all alpha but there was just nothingggggggg that made me care about Captain Cardboard in any kind of way. In fact, up until a third through the book I definitely preferred the chapters that were not from Lincoln's POV.
There was also no urgency to the plot, , everything just happened sequentially and then something else happend.. the writing was so incredibly bland. I guess this is a perfectly good example of writing not being bad per se but not GOOD enough to really grip the reader. The author comes from a video game background and whereas his technical descriptions and military speak all worked well (he has worked on some of the Tom Clancy games, go figure), there was just NO spark whatsoever to his writing. The dialogues were just uninspired and it was so obvious when things occurred or were said as an instance to form a connection between characters or whatever. There were also so many instances of "uh" in the dialogue, what the hell? It all felt very much by the numbers and at the end I found myself counting the instances of "he said, she said". Video game writing is important but it is very different from novel writing - Patrick Weekes is a former Bioware writer and author of the Rogues of the Republic series, which is just so much fun and grand entertainment all around with snappy dialogue and rich comedy. Can everything be rich comedy? Of course not, but Weekes' book reads like something that would have gotten published regardless of him maybe having made a name for himself within the industry, whereas Outriders reads like something the author wanted to do and maybe had the connection to get out but it was certainly not by merit and strength of the work itself. Or maybe it was, as lots of science fiction is also crap but eh, I really did not think this was anything special. In the end, Outriders just really does not read like something that was written by an author who lives for the craft and particularly wanted to capture readers' imaginations.
We start the plot with our hero, Lincoln Suh, being at the tail end of an elite unit selection program and despite making it through the final test and subsequent interview, he does not get picked for the program.. because he was actually pulled for another, even more special team, the Outriders. Lincoln has been chosen as the new captain of the handful exceptional men and women and before he can ever gather his new gear, there is a mission.. or rather A Mission. Blah blah a series of seemingly not connected events that could lead to a catastrophic war between Earth and Mars, so go on special people, go stop it.
I mean, the plot was perfectly serviceable. Not every military science fiction can be as innovative as Ninefox Gambit or thrilling as Fortune's Pawn, I get that, but everything about this ended up being a snoozefest. The hero was so capable and reasonable, it was downright boring - not that I am saying I want my menz all assholes and all alpha but there was just nothingggggggg that made me care about Captain Cardboard in any kind of way. In fact, up until a third through the book I definitely preferred the chapters that were not from Lincoln's POV.
There was also no urgency to the plot, , everything just happened sequentially and then something else happend.. the writing was so incredibly bland. I guess this is a perfectly good example of writing not being bad per se but not GOOD enough to really grip the reader. The author comes from a video game background and whereas his technical descriptions and military speak all worked well (he has worked on some of the Tom Clancy games, go figure), there was just NO spark whatsoever to his writing. The dialogues were just uninspired and it was so obvious when things occurred or were said as an instance to form a connection between characters or whatever. There were also so many instances of "uh" in the dialogue, what the hell? It all felt very much by the numbers and at the end I found myself counting the instances of "he said, she said". Video game writing is important but it is very different from novel writing - Patrick Weekes is a former Bioware writer and author of the Rogues of the Republic series, which is just so much fun and grand entertainment all around with snappy dialogue and rich comedy. Can everything be rich comedy? Of course not, but Weekes' book reads like something that would have gotten published regardless of him maybe having made a name for himself within the industry, whereas Outriders reads like something the author wanted to do and maybe had the connection to get out but it was certainly not by merit and strength of the work itself. Or maybe it was, as lots of science fiction is also crap but eh, I really did not think this was anything special. In the end, Outriders just really does not read like something that was written by an author who lives for the craft and particularly wanted to capture readers' imaginations.
July 25, 2016
I'm throwing in the towel on this one. I've been trying to read it for over a week with no end in sight.
There is nothing wrong with this book on a superficial level--it's standard military sci-fi, with a plot that plays with interplanetary politics and special forces units and I came into this wanting to love every page. But I just couldn't bring myself to.
Posey isn't a bad author, and if you like the book, I get it, but the writing seemed slow for what I thought would be a pulp military sci-fi novel. The prose isn't bad in a technical sense, I just couldn't bring myself to love Lincoln, Piper, or Vector or invest myself in their stories. It all felt very by-the-numbers. Lincoln's a badass with a team of badasses (including the ever-present rich kid who joined the military against her parents' wishes and is super committed and the hard-ass who has trouble warming up to the new guy); Piper's a girl who's being held captive for...reasons...but not really adding anything to the story; Vector is the evil version of Lincoln, shadowy and causing the problems Lincoln's team needs to fix, but not fleshed out enough to be much fun to be around.
And, in addition, we spent so. Much. Time. On the technical side of things, like the suits and the layout of the buildings, that the people and politics took a backseat. That's sure to please fans of hard sci-fi, but if you need a fleshed-out character to be carrying all that kit for you to invest in, you're out of luck--they're in short supply here.
I read a blurb comparing this to The A-Team, but it's less of that and more Call of Duty, taking itself a little too seriously with stock characters you can find in a dozen other novels. There's nothing to set this apart from anything else I could have spent my time reading and, sadly, that means it doesn't measure up. I'm all full up on military sci-fi authors and I don't want to take on another that's just kind of...meh.
If it had been heavier on characterization and world-building, a little less dense on the tech, or just more fun... I could have really sunk my teeth into this book, but it never clicked for me the way it seems to have clicked for everyone else on Goodreads. Maybe I'll try it again, but I've got other things vying for my attention that I'd rather spend my summer on.
EDIT: And I totally accept (and hope) that the future installments in this series might be really kickass and turn this into a really standout series, but until then... It's nothing anyone hasn't seen before.
There is nothing wrong with this book on a superficial level--it's standard military sci-fi, with a plot that plays with interplanetary politics and special forces units and I came into this wanting to love every page. But I just couldn't bring myself to.
Posey isn't a bad author, and if you like the book, I get it, but the writing seemed slow for what I thought would be a pulp military sci-fi novel. The prose isn't bad in a technical sense, I just couldn't bring myself to love Lincoln, Piper, or Vector or invest myself in their stories. It all felt very by-the-numbers. Lincoln's a badass with a team of badasses (including the ever-present rich kid who joined the military against her parents' wishes and is super committed and the hard-ass who has trouble warming up to the new guy); Piper's a girl who's being held captive for...reasons...but not really adding anything to the story; Vector is the evil version of Lincoln, shadowy and causing the problems Lincoln's team needs to fix, but not fleshed out enough to be much fun to be around.
And, in addition, we spent so. Much. Time. On the technical side of things, like the suits and the layout of the buildings, that the people and politics took a backseat. That's sure to please fans of hard sci-fi, but if you need a fleshed-out character to be carrying all that kit for you to invest in, you're out of luck--they're in short supply here.
I read a blurb comparing this to The A-Team, but it's less of that and more Call of Duty, taking itself a little too seriously with stock characters you can find in a dozen other novels. There's nothing to set this apart from anything else I could have spent my time reading and, sadly, that means it doesn't measure up. I'm all full up on military sci-fi authors and I don't want to take on another that's just kind of...meh.
If it had been heavier on characterization and world-building, a little less dense on the tech, or just more fun... I could have really sunk my teeth into this book, but it never clicked for me the way it seems to have clicked for everyone else on Goodreads. Maybe I'll try it again, but I've got other things vying for my attention that I'd rather spend my summer on.
EDIT: And I totally accept (and hope) that the future installments in this series might be really kickass and turn this into a really standout series, but until then... It's nothing anyone hasn't seen before.
May 6, 2016
More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/
What we have with Outriders is one very well written spy novel that happens to be set in the future. And although there are the typical sci if accouterments (reanimation, space stations, flying automated cars), this really is much more James Bond than Asimov. Author Posey gives us a set of distinct but very likable characters who we want to follow and cheer while they go about their business of (secretly) saving the universe.Story: Lincoln Suh is proud to be selected for a special military training program; but when he is summarily dismissed for mysterious reasons, he is shattered. Only to them be recruited into a covert ops team with no accountability: the Outriders. Now heading the team, he and his squad will do all they can under the radar to ensure their missions' successes. And whether they are performing surveillance, extractions, or discovery missions, we know they will get the job done.
Those expecting typical sci fi action will likely surprised since there is very little of that in here. Admittedly, I was hoping more for sci fi 'pew pew' laser battles rather than cloak and dagger. I'm not really a fan of spy novels and that is what we have with Outriders. But Posey's writing is easy, the characters nuanced, and certainly there is a lot to love here as a result. The villains are just as interesting as the good guys and there is definitely a set up for a larger story (though this ends on a solid note and without a cliffhanger).
In all, I enjoyed Outriders but want to classify it as adventure more than sci fi. Certainly, I look forward to the next novel in the series.
April 12, 2016
Ok, Mr. Posey...
I liked the Duskwalker series alot, but now..damnit...now you got me. You reached into the depths of my cobweb and comic book addled brain, took my love for scifi and military action and put it on paper.
Great action, cool characters, great setting and to quote the Joker, wonderful toys to play with! I offically add you to the increasingly large list of authors I buy on sight. (and I got a ARC from the lovely overlords at Angry Robot, and yes I did order it after)
buy this book, buy it now. 23 stars out of 5.
I liked the Duskwalker series alot, but now..damnit...now you got me. You reached into the depths of my cobweb and comic book addled brain, took my love for scifi and military action and put it on paper.
Great action, cool characters, great setting and to quote the Joker, wonderful toys to play with! I offically add you to the increasingly large list of authors I buy on sight. (and I got a ARC from the lovely overlords at Angry Robot, and yes I did order it after)
buy this book, buy it now. 23 stars out of 5.
November 19, 2019
A great military science fiction story with bad guys and good guys galore. Worthy of a second book.
Mars and Earth at at each other and a third element is trying to make sure that all out war starts.
Good character development and story arc makes for a great joy ride of adventure
Mars and Earth at at each other and a third element is trying to make sure that all out war starts.
Good character development and story arc makes for a great joy ride of adventure
July 10, 2016
I thought Posey's book had some great narrative bones, incorporating enough futuristic tech to be interesting, as well as a realistic premise (the threat of war between two governments) to keep it relatable. What took me a while to figure out, was why I found the story so boring. And then eventually, it hit me. Other than a few paragraphs of exposition, not a single person in the whole damn book gets any backstory, AT ALL.
All the Outriders, while individually developed and clothed with distinguishing and unique characteristic traits, are basically one-dimensional because you're never told anything about how or why they ended up on the most elite team in military existence. Our villain--The Woman--is given some hurried exposition towards the end of the story, but again, there's not even a sentence shared about why she's trying to bring two planets to war. It's planetary war, for crying out loud! Even if the reason she wants to start it is whack-a-doodle, it's still a reason. Alas, the reader can only speculate on exactly how nutso bazoo that reason might be, because it's certainly never shared in the book.
In short, this book was waaaay too easy to put down, because frankly, it was boring. When there's no explanation for why a character is following a certain course of action, then you just end up with a person, doing a thing, and you have zero reason to care what they're doing or why. I'd be interested in seeing additional work by Posey because again, the narrative bones of the story had a lot of promise. The only suggestion I'd make is to give some depth to the characters. Give me a "why" so I can care about what's going on.
All the Outriders, while individually developed and clothed with distinguishing and unique characteristic traits, are basically one-dimensional because you're never told anything about how or why they ended up on the most elite team in military existence. Our villain--The Woman--is given some hurried exposition towards the end of the story, but again, there's not even a sentence shared about why she's trying to bring two planets to war. It's planetary war, for crying out loud! Even if the reason she wants to start it is whack-a-doodle, it's still a reason. Alas, the reader can only speculate on exactly how nutso bazoo that reason might be, because it's certainly never shared in the book.
In short, this book was waaaay too easy to put down, because frankly, it was boring. When there's no explanation for why a character is following a certain course of action, then you just end up with a person, doing a thing, and you have zero reason to care what they're doing or why. I'd be interested in seeing additional work by Posey because again, the narrative bones of the story had a lot of promise. The only suggestion I'd make is to give some depth to the characters. Give me a "why" so I can care about what's going on.
June 3, 2016
I think this is a good start to the series, but I hope a lot more things get fleshed out in the future. Outriders is a pretty standard military sci-fi novel, the characters are pretty stock types, the wise-cracking merch, the nerdy tech girl, the tough as nails female sergeant, the will do what is right at all costs commander. Several of them get backstories, but few of them get actual personalities, which is an issue that I hope gets worked out. The plot is good, and Posey writes action pretty well. The world I think is interesting, but like the characters, just needs to be better explained and given more depth. If we can get as much focus on understanding the politics as we do every detail of the battle suits and how people are physically moving from place to place, I think it will dramatically improve. Definitely worth giving the second one a go when it comes out.
August 8, 2017
This is the 1st book in the Outriders series by Jay Posey. This book is a great read in the Military Science Fiction genre. In this one Captain Lincoln Suh is picked to lead a new unit that is designed to infiltrate enemy bases of operation whether they are on Earth, in space or on another planet. He leads an elite group of solders who along with himself have been "death proofed". Their every memory and experience is recorded by a neural network and in the event of being severely injured or killed in the line of duty they can be revived in a new body which has been grown from their DNA. Their first mission is to investigate a series of attacks by an unknown group that may very well lead to war between Earth and Mars if not stopped. As I said this book is a great read and I recommend it to all fans of Military Science Fiction.
June 16, 2016
Military sci-fi, well written. The author works in the videogame industry and it shows in the pace of the action. A bit more narrative or subplot would have been nice but i doubt this is the last we will see of the characters so I suspect the character development will be take place through the series.
November 16, 2018
For this #FictionFriday, I'm diving into the realm of militaristic Science Fiction. I'll be honest with you, I have no idea how I came across this book originally. It's been on my to-read list since let's talk about September of 2016. But to paraphrase the feelings of many avid readers: There are so many books and so little time. On the plus side, I did finally get to it, but was the wait worth it? Today, I'm digging into Outriders by Jay Posey.
So, what's this book all about? For the majority of the novel, we follow Captain Lincoln Suh as he joins a top-secret military unit known as the Outriders. The story starts with Lincoln's death. You read that right. The very first chapter has the main character die. I'll admit that this isn't something you see every day, so what a start! Soon after, we discover that it's part of the initiation process as they imprint a person that allows them to be put into a new body that was replicated from their very own DNA. It's a way to prolong life by cheating death. You can die on a planet on the other side of the galaxy and immediately wake up in a new body back on Earth. Interesting, but not sure how much I like an idea that removes the gravitas from every supposedly life-and-death situation.
Back to the story, Lincoln is recruited to lead the Outriders just as a mission is dropped into their laps that could lead to war between Earth and the now colonized Mars. While not going into too many details, I want to say that the writing was nearly flawless. Jay Posey has sharpened his skills while working as a Narrative Designer at Ubisoft/Red Storm Entertainment on video games such as Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six. Posey shows skills that keep you tuned in to see what happens next, but that is the good part. On the other end, the overall story felt a bit weak. It seemed that things just kind of fell in the Outriders' laps over and over again as the story leads to the final chapter. It felt like there wasn't much they did that really mattered other than being in the right place at the right time. It's true that they needed to be in that place to do what they did, but the reason they were there, to begin with, is just because. If Posey can rope in the loose strands in his story for future work, I feel a very bright future for this writer as I have already found another book of his I plan to read. Fingers are crossed for a better showing.
As always though, that is just one reader's opinion. Do you agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments and check me out at jdmartinbooks.com or follow me on Goodreads for more reviews and to find my own books and other merchandise.
Thanks for reading!
So, what's this book all about? For the majority of the novel, we follow Captain Lincoln Suh as he joins a top-secret military unit known as the Outriders. The story starts with Lincoln's death. You read that right. The very first chapter has the main character die. I'll admit that this isn't something you see every day, so what a start! Soon after, we discover that it's part of the initiation process as they imprint a person that allows them to be put into a new body that was replicated from their very own DNA. It's a way to prolong life by cheating death. You can die on a planet on the other side of the galaxy and immediately wake up in a new body back on Earth. Interesting, but not sure how much I like an idea that removes the gravitas from every supposedly life-and-death situation.
Back to the story, Lincoln is recruited to lead the Outriders just as a mission is dropped into their laps that could lead to war between Earth and the now colonized Mars. While not going into too many details, I want to say that the writing was nearly flawless. Jay Posey has sharpened his skills while working as a Narrative Designer at Ubisoft/Red Storm Entertainment on video games such as Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six. Posey shows skills that keep you tuned in to see what happens next, but that is the good part. On the other end, the overall story felt a bit weak. It seemed that things just kind of fell in the Outriders' laps over and over again as the story leads to the final chapter. It felt like there wasn't much they did that really mattered other than being in the right place at the right time. It's true that they needed to be in that place to do what they did, but the reason they were there, to begin with, is just because. If Posey can rope in the loose strands in his story for future work, I feel a very bright future for this writer as I have already found another book of his I plan to read. Fingers are crossed for a better showing.
As always though, that is just one reader's opinion. Do you agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments and check me out at jdmartinbooks.com or follow me on Goodreads for more reviews and to find my own books and other merchandise.
Thanks for reading!
September 18, 2016
“No matter how far into space humanity got, it would never be far enough to escape its own nature.”
Excellent military science fiction. Better than average space opera; better than Tom Clancy; almost as good as John Scalzi. These characters--good, bad and other--have souls. Mission Impossible meets Starship Trooper but with a soul. Almost five stars.
“He couldn’t remember a time that he’d ever been glad he ignored his gut.”
Introspective main character who is often confused and conflicted without the teen angst most war story heroes wallow in. Thoughtful, three-dimensional characters on all sides. Great depth of story and storytelling with an economy of words. Feels more real than most space operas, especially than Star Trek or Star Wars fantasies.
“Hard to trust people who say they don’t want to start a war when everyone’s acting like they do.”
Death proofing raises many technical and ethical issues (see also John Scalzi’s Old Man's WarOld Man’s War), not the least of which is how the resurrected self gets a current impression of the personality. They should only have captured up to the start of each mission.
“He’d given his life for his country and they’d been kind enough to give it back.”
Major spoilers follow, though I’ve tried to not be explicit (because I know my niece will read on anyway). If you think you might read this book, read no farther. Seriously. Oh, and don’t read other reviews or the blurb. Get the book and read it for yourself. Discovery is half the fun.
“Information is only part of the problem; usually we have too much of it.”
Quibbles. 1. well-explained--even plausible--instantaneous interplanetary communications, but no explanation of faster-then-light travel. How else could they make a round trip from Earth to Mars in less than a week? 2.
“Eventually you came to expect that everything was a trick.”
Assembling cast for series subtle enough not to interfere with this story. Excellent denouement, with plenty of hooks to the next story
“Do the good you can.”
Excellent military science fiction. Better than average space opera; better than Tom Clancy; almost as good as John Scalzi. These characters--good, bad and other--have souls. Mission Impossible meets Starship Trooper but with a soul. Almost five stars.
“He couldn’t remember a time that he’d ever been glad he ignored his gut.”
Introspective main character who is often confused and conflicted without the teen angst most war story heroes wallow in. Thoughtful, three-dimensional characters on all sides. Great depth of story and storytelling with an economy of words. Feels more real than most space operas, especially than Star Trek or Star Wars fantasies.
“Hard to trust people who say they don’t want to start a war when everyone’s acting like they do.”
Death proofing raises many technical and ethical issues (see also John Scalzi’s Old Man's WarOld Man’s War), not the least of which is how the resurrected self gets a current impression of the personality. They should only have captured up to the start of each mission.
“He’d given his life for his country and they’d been kind enough to give it back.”
Major spoilers follow, though I’ve tried to not be explicit (because I know my niece will read on anyway). If you think you might read this book, read no farther. Seriously. Oh, and don’t read other reviews or the blurb. Get the book and read it for yourself. Discovery is half the fun.
“Information is only part of the problem; usually we have too much of it.”
Quibbles. 1. well-explained--even plausible--instantaneous interplanetary communications, but no explanation of faster-then-light travel. How else could they make a round trip from Earth to Mars in less than a week? 2.
“Eventually you came to expect that everything was a trick.”
Assembling cast for series subtle enough not to interfere with this story. Excellent denouement, with plenty of hooks to the next story
“Do the good you can.”
April 20, 2016
'Captain Lincoln Suh died on a Wednesday. And things only got harder from there.' says the first part of the blurb for Outriders. If that doesn't get your attention then nothing will. It also means I do not need to give my usual introduction to what the book is about, because it effectively describes the world Lincoln (or 'Link' as he will become known by his close-knit team) is about to enter, as well as the nature of the very special organisation, the Outriders, he will be working for.
This is an easy book to get into and a pleasure to read, because you quickly forget about the potential strangeness of the science fiction environment. Posey's characters may be soldiers, but they are also thinkers and as much tacticians and humanitarians as specimens of physical athleticism.
The way the initial pre-mission analysis is conducted is excellent and very engaging, but there is also plenty of banter to develop the relationships between the different members of the team. When the clichés do appear (like the grizzled commander of the Outriders) they are enjoyable and the book wouldn’t feel right without them, because they are part of what makes the sense of camaraderie work so well. The character development is done largely through verbal exchanges and the character’s behaviour, because too much backstory would get in the way of action and plot.
But there is also a parallel story woven into the narrative, which might have been a distraction, but works really well and becomes very important. It involves Piper, who was one of the personal of a space station and is the antithesis of the women in the Outriders 'Band of Brothers'. She has not been trained to fight but her resourcefulness, bravery and determination adds another dimension to an already packed story.
At the heart of Outriders is a thriller with bursts of action and a book you begin to read and realise you’ve become so engrossed in that a whole day has passed by without you noticing.
Outriders courtesy of Angry Robot via NetGalley
This is an easy book to get into and a pleasure to read, because you quickly forget about the potential strangeness of the science fiction environment. Posey's characters may be soldiers, but they are also thinkers and as much tacticians and humanitarians as specimens of physical athleticism.
The way the initial pre-mission analysis is conducted is excellent and very engaging, but there is also plenty of banter to develop the relationships between the different members of the team. When the clichés do appear (like the grizzled commander of the Outriders) they are enjoyable and the book wouldn’t feel right without them, because they are part of what makes the sense of camaraderie work so well. The character development is done largely through verbal exchanges and the character’s behaviour, because too much backstory would get in the way of action and plot.
But there is also a parallel story woven into the narrative, which might have been a distraction, but works really well and becomes very important. It involves Piper, who was one of the personal of a space station and is the antithesis of the women in the Outriders 'Band of Brothers'. She has not been trained to fight but her resourcefulness, bravery and determination adds another dimension to an already packed story.
At the heart of Outriders is a thriller with bursts of action and a book you begin to read and realise you’ve become so engrossed in that a whole day has passed by without you noticing.
Outriders courtesy of Angry Robot via NetGalley
July 28, 2016
Well written, but fairly standard near future military sci-fy.
Captain Lincoln Suh is the newby team leader of a 'hush, hush' very elite commando unit. And right of the bat he has to get in on the action when tension rises between the martian colonies and earth. Covert intelligence personnel and facilities are being hit and no one knows exactly what is going one. Enter Lincoln's 'applied intelligence' Outrider unit to find out what is what and save the day.
In all this is quite a well written novel, but.... As it seems a rather standard one. The pacing is good, the action well done and the plot interesting. But there is nothing really that makes this novel stand out from the crowd. Some interesting tech is show, some cool tactics are used, but nothing gives it a real sense of character or a unique identity. Characters are given a background, but no real identity of their own and there is little emotional investment in the characters themselves.
In short: Well written, but fairly standard.
Captain Lincoln Suh is the newby team leader of a 'hush, hush' very elite commando unit. And right of the bat he has to get in on the action when tension rises between the martian colonies and earth. Covert intelligence personnel and facilities are being hit and no one knows exactly what is going one. Enter Lincoln's 'applied intelligence' Outrider unit to find out what is what and save the day.
In all this is quite a well written novel, but.... As it seems a rather standard one. The pacing is good, the action well done and the plot interesting. But there is nothing really that makes this novel stand out from the crowd. Some interesting tech is show, some cool tactics are used, but nothing gives it a real sense of character or a unique identity. Characters are given a background, but no real identity of their own and there is little emotional investment in the characters themselves.
In short: Well written, but fairly standard.
January 19, 2023
all reviews in one place:
night mode reading ;
skaitom nakties rezimu
About the Book: Killed and revived, the final challenge, Lincoln was ready to ace the test and join an elite unit. Just to be plucked out of said test, and get planted into a far more secretive one, one that operates in missions no one ever hears about if they’re successful. The one he’ll test his mettle in will be no different, with entire planets worth of lives at stake.
My Opinion: No sense of tension, urgency, all while stakes are very high. Conflicting descriptions of events, where bad guys are only bad in a sense that author told you they do bad things, all while being very morally classy for no damn reason that we know of (e.g. treating one person nicely while trying to kill two planets full of people doesn’t make you a good guy either). It’s a very slow, dull spy thriller in spaceships, with mechs for decor.
night mode reading ;
skaitom nakties rezimu
About the Book: Killed and revived, the final challenge, Lincoln was ready to ace the test and join an elite unit. Just to be plucked out of said test, and get planted into a far more secretive one, one that operates in missions no one ever hears about if they’re successful. The one he’ll test his mettle in will be no different, with entire planets worth of lives at stake.
My Opinion: No sense of tension, urgency, all while stakes are very high. Conflicting descriptions of events, where bad guys are only bad in a sense that author told you they do bad things, all while being very morally classy for no damn reason that we know of (e.g. treating one person nicely while trying to kill two planets full of people doesn’t make you a good guy either). It’s a very slow, dull spy thriller in spaceships, with mechs for decor.
August 10, 2016
Not bad military sci-fi. The action sequences were rather bland and the characters never really elevated to the level of memorable. I felt like this small squad, for being such super-soldiers (the elite of the elite of the elite), were rather average. Posey didn't explain some basic motivations, like why the bad guys wanted to do what they did--or I missed the explanation while waiting for the main character to do something besides make or drink coffee.
A fun, quick read without a lot of depth.
A fun, quick read without a lot of depth.
September 1, 2018
Solid. I picked it up at the library thinking it looked interesting, only to realize a few pages in that I'd read it before. Unfortunately, it's been some time since I read it, and I've pretty much forgotten it, which is why it gets 3 stars instead of 4. But from what I can recall, the other reviews describe it nicely.
October 4, 2016
Jay Posey's fourth book reads like a great session with your favorite FPS. Fast paced, kinetic action sequences, and witty characters. It does not feature any gratuitous space sex, however, which is kind of a downer. Still, this clear oversight does not distract enough to cost it a star.
August 27, 2018
Solid military action, space adventure. I lagged a little in the middle but it finished strong. Looking forward to the next adventure!
June 4, 2023
Not bad. Fast read. Looking forward to the next one.
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