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THE LAST MARINES
Having been replaced by robots and drones, veterans Ben Corbin and Sam Garrett go into business for themselves towing derelict vessels and space junk out of the shipping lanes around Mars.Business was good, but a couple of malfunctioning service robots forced them to return to Earth for replacements. Aliens attacked the freighter they’d booked passage on, slaughtering and feeding on the crew and passengers. Only Corbin and Garrett managed to hold their own until they could hide in stasis pods.200 years laterEarth and her colonies, governed by the Commonwealth of Nations, are at war with a race of aliens known as the Nineteenth. Not with the Gar Rei Jhi who had attacked Corbin and Garrett so many years past. That war had been fought and humans lost. The Nineteenth is a new alien threat whose origins and motives are unknown.What information humans have on this new enemy comes from the uneasy alliance with the Gar Rei Jhi who’ve been fighting an even longer war with the Nineteenth. Though long ago, Corbin and Garrett’s history with the Gar Rei Jhi hasn’t been forgotten. They are to be ambassadors serving at the pleasure of the same aliens that attacked them. Thrust into a new age of engineered soldiers, interplanetary politics, and self-aware robots, Corbin has to quickly decide who he’s going to trust as he journeys back to the Mars colony. But his search for truth may come at the cost of his life, and the fate of the Commonwealth may rest on his If you don't like space battles, cyborgs, diverse flawed characters, aliens, AIs, mechs, robots or bad language this book may not be for you.
312 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 23, 2019
12 people are currently reading
21 people want to read
About the author
Lawrence N. Oliver
4 books9 followersLawrence N. Oliver struggled in school. He has dyslexia and he hated reading, especially aloud. So, his father bought him a copy of The Foundation and The Hobbit. He can’t remember which was first but he fell in love with the genres. He'd always had a vivid imagination and a daydreamer’s attention span, they'd have called it ADD were he in school today. Even now he catches himself staring out of the window thinking about his characters, their misadventures and the other worlds they inhabit.
As he grew up it was life, responsibilities and procrastination that had kept him from ever putting any of his daydreams down on paper.
One day he found himself home alone with a few days off work. He was reading a book, sitting by the window in his overstuffed cliché suburban recliner. It was just good ole' space opera, high adventure, the good guy is always good and always right in the end kind of stuff. Nothing wrong with that but he kept finding himself drifting from the book, looking out the window thinking of a different story. One that was a little more in keeping with the accounts of conflict he’d grown up listening to. What he knew and had read about points of view and good people making bad decisions in impossible situations where no matter what you did it could end up wrong and people could die. But if you didn't do something you and your fellow soldiers would be the casualties. Things aren't black and white, even the good guys screw shit up and sometimes the good guys aren't really the good guys at all, again depending on your point of view.
So he put down the book he was reading and he started writing.
As he grew up it was life, responsibilities and procrastination that had kept him from ever putting any of his daydreams down on paper.
One day he found himself home alone with a few days off work. He was reading a book, sitting by the window in his overstuffed cliché suburban recliner. It was just good ole' space opera, high adventure, the good guy is always good and always right in the end kind of stuff. Nothing wrong with that but he kept finding himself drifting from the book, looking out the window thinking of a different story. One that was a little more in keeping with the accounts of conflict he’d grown up listening to. What he knew and had read about points of view and good people making bad decisions in impossible situations where no matter what you did it could end up wrong and people could die. But if you didn't do something you and your fellow soldiers would be the casualties. Things aren't black and white, even the good guys screw shit up and sometimes the good guys aren't really the good guys at all, again depending on your point of view.
So he put down the book he was reading and he started writing.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
April 8, 2019
Solid
Good start to a series with charachters that are engaging and glsd to see thst the main lead isnt a Ramboesque killing machine. The plotline seems straight forward but we can possibly see some twists developing
Good start to a series with charachters that are engaging and glsd to see thst the main lead isnt a Ramboesque killing machine. The plotline seems straight forward but we can possibly see some twists developing
May 8, 2019
Reading this story reminded me of my own early work: Info-dumping, head-hopping, and telling instead of showing. It's a good first draft but would have benefitted from an experienced editor's eye.
I wish Mr. Oliver all the best in his future writing endeavors.
I wish Mr. Oliver all the best in his future writing endeavors.
April 21, 2019
When is book two coming out??
This is an interesting look at a possible future. OLIVER has given us a look at a possibility. It is liberally spiced with some good action scientist
This is an interesting look at a possible future. OLIVER has given us a look at a possibility. It is liberally spiced with some good action scientist
August 14, 2019
A solid series start and I like that the main character is from a previous time period than the story takes place and the author uses minimal flashbacks to explain the backstory. I did feel the recovery time for Corbin after stasis and procedures was a little long; but I also understand that helped set it up for the second half of this book and for future books in the series. I look forward to reading what happens next.
February 24, 2020
“Deep space. Space-ready Dreadnought class battle-cruiser. A surprise attack - carnage...few survivors. Another Commonwealth ship has been attacked by a carnivorous race of aliens. The Gar Rei engage fiercely - Benjamin Corbin and his cabin mate Samuel Garrett manage to stave off the attack and barely survive.. Placed in deep sleep for nearly two hundred years by the ships highly resourceful AI, Corbin and Garrett remain in stasis for the duration of an intense period of intergalactic, inter-special political strife: the Human Commonwealth, the warmongering Gar Rei Jhi, and a more mysterious race known as The Nineteenth duke it out across the confines of the void.
Corbin and Garrett’s ship, the Ossamer, is miraculously rescued by a Commonwealth Fleet vessel after a team of salvagers discover the lost vessel’s distress beacon. Corbin and Garrett are soon placed into recovery tanks (for lack of a better term) and begin to drift through a hazy blur of their memories, their subconscious, and the present moment of their reawakening. Here, Author Lawrence N. Oliver injects the scope of the novel and what was originally thought to be a Halo-esque Kubrick-style melodrama filled with Master Chiefs and space Arbiters begins to take shape as a staunch discourse on political thought.
As the sole survivors of a Gar Rei Jhi board-and-broadside, Corbin and Garrett are chosen as representatives in an attempt to bridge the cultural gap and solidify the tentative alliance with the Gar Rei Jhi, formed out of necessity with the ancient race of vampiric hunters (Gar Rei Jhi) in order to survive the greater threat from their mortal enemies (the Nineteenth). The introductory novel - hopefully the first of many - follows the two of them as they undergo a rigorous diplomatic education. There are of course some firefights along the way, but the vast majority of the read is constructed around meticulous dialogue and well-developed lore.
The Last Marines is an enjoyable adventure suitable for young adults and mature audiences. Discourse is deep, descriptions are measured - Oliver’s diction transports readers into his world seamlessly and one might find themselves locked in space travel for hours at a time. The pacing of the novel enables long periods of reading and, depending on one’s taste, might even provoke a one sitting read-through. Unlike most literature of its genre, The Last Marines is edited with an eye towards readability; its ‘reread value’ is remarkably high. I’m about to start my second read through, and cannot wait to read the sequel. 4/5.”
-Cole Gautereaux-Payne
Corbin and Garrett’s ship, the Ossamer, is miraculously rescued by a Commonwealth Fleet vessel after a team of salvagers discover the lost vessel’s distress beacon. Corbin and Garrett are soon placed into recovery tanks (for lack of a better term) and begin to drift through a hazy blur of their memories, their subconscious, and the present moment of their reawakening. Here, Author Lawrence N. Oliver injects the scope of the novel and what was originally thought to be a Halo-esque Kubrick-style melodrama filled with Master Chiefs and space Arbiters begins to take shape as a staunch discourse on political thought.
As the sole survivors of a Gar Rei Jhi board-and-broadside, Corbin and Garrett are chosen as representatives in an attempt to bridge the cultural gap and solidify the tentative alliance with the Gar Rei Jhi, formed out of necessity with the ancient race of vampiric hunters (Gar Rei Jhi) in order to survive the greater threat from their mortal enemies (the Nineteenth). The introductory novel - hopefully the first of many - follows the two of them as they undergo a rigorous diplomatic education. There are of course some firefights along the way, but the vast majority of the read is constructed around meticulous dialogue and well-developed lore.
The Last Marines is an enjoyable adventure suitable for young adults and mature audiences. Discourse is deep, descriptions are measured - Oliver’s diction transports readers into his world seamlessly and one might find themselves locked in space travel for hours at a time. The pacing of the novel enables long periods of reading and, depending on one’s taste, might even provoke a one sitting read-through. Unlike most literature of its genre, The Last Marines is edited with an eye towards readability; its ‘reread value’ is remarkably high. I’m about to start my second read through, and cannot wait to read the sequel. 4/5.”
-Cole Gautereaux-Payne
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 16, 2020
I have to admit that the book had me tied down till the last page. Really interesting and engaging. Mr Oliver did a good job with this book and I expect more action packed works from him
March 16, 2020
Pack a Sack Lunch
Because you'll be stuck in this novel for a while. Expansive rebuilding has the next in this series ready to stomp across the Galaxy. A great first novel!
Because you'll be stuck in this novel for a while. Expansive rebuilding has the next in this series ready to stomp across the Galaxy. A great first novel!
November 26, 2019
The Last Marines by Lawrence N. Oliver is a science fiction book that is quite exciting. It kept my interest the entire time and is definitely a story about ‘last’ marines. This book started out very good and continued that way. It caught my interest in the first 10 pages and kept it. The first 100 pages are a blend of technical information that science fiction is known for.
This is the story of a military man who wakes to find the world is vastly different than he remembered. He has to deal with the changes in the world, the damage and repairs to his body, and the loss of loved ones all at the same time. The Last Marines tells of his struggles while mixing in technical information and information about alien species.
Ben is the marine whose eyes most of the story is told through. Although there is one other marine, Sam, who Ben visits later in the book. Sam is even more severely damaged physically than Ben and needs even more repairs. Ben makes you feel the confusion from all that is going on and his gradual coming to understand what he must do.
I really enjoyed the visuals the author built to explain the repairs to the soldiers and the battle the ship went through in the first half of the book. I could actually see the different vessels and weapons. These parts of the book had a real science fiction feel to them without overwhelming me with detail.
The book also has professionals like doctors and business people in it. They have become involved to use top of the line resources, learn more about aliens, or even as simply as to make a profit. When you involve a variety of people there are the accompanying conflicts that people have. Ben is a standup guy and gets involved when necessary. He also makes poor decisions guided by the pain of losing loved ones that complicates things.
You really must read this book. The excitement and the glimpses into the aliens is exciting. The writing is top notch. It is well put together, consistent, and clear. I cannot wait for a sequel!
I received a copy of this book which really makes no difference to my review. I also want to mention that the small amount of contact I had with the author was much smoother than the majority of most authors I work with.
This is the story of a military man who wakes to find the world is vastly different than he remembered. He has to deal with the changes in the world, the damage and repairs to his body, and the loss of loved ones all at the same time. The Last Marines tells of his struggles while mixing in technical information and information about alien species.
Ben is the marine whose eyes most of the story is told through. Although there is one other marine, Sam, who Ben visits later in the book. Sam is even more severely damaged physically than Ben and needs even more repairs. Ben makes you feel the confusion from all that is going on and his gradual coming to understand what he must do.
I really enjoyed the visuals the author built to explain the repairs to the soldiers and the battle the ship went through in the first half of the book. I could actually see the different vessels and weapons. These parts of the book had a real science fiction feel to them without overwhelming me with detail.
The book also has professionals like doctors and business people in it. They have become involved to use top of the line resources, learn more about aliens, or even as simply as to make a profit. When you involve a variety of people there are the accompanying conflicts that people have. Ben is a standup guy and gets involved when necessary. He also makes poor decisions guided by the pain of losing loved ones that complicates things.
You really must read this book. The excitement and the glimpses into the aliens is exciting. The writing is top notch. It is well put together, consistent, and clear. I cannot wait for a sequel!
I received a copy of this book which really makes no difference to my review. I also want to mention that the small amount of contact I had with the author was much smoother than the majority of most authors I work with.
April 4, 2020
This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
Space marines should be a genre by itself. A sub genre of sci fi, plagued by video games since Doom and many, many novels. And space marines plus intergalactic vampires, what else. That looks NOT too promising, as all posible plot surprises are already been written. Luckily, that's not the case.
An ex space marine, lost after the first contact with an alien culture, is defrozed 200 years later and reclaimed by the same aliens as ambassador given his skill as fighter. An interesting space thriller exploring the mind of a man that has lost everything, even his time, and given a job he doesn't want but wich is vital for the survival of humanity. More mind oriented that action packed as expected in a space marine novel, the read is very entertaining and I'm actually hoping to get my hands in the next book of the saga as soon as possible. This book is a prologue into Benjamin Corbin's saga, that's very clear. And I NEED to read the rest.
Space marines should be a genre by itself. A sub genre of sci fi, plagued by video games since Doom and many, many novels. And space marines plus intergalactic vampires, what else. That looks NOT too promising, as all posible plot surprises are already been written. Luckily, that's not the case.
An ex space marine, lost after the first contact with an alien culture, is defrozed 200 years later and reclaimed by the same aliens as ambassador given his skill as fighter. An interesting space thriller exploring the mind of a man that has lost everything, even his time, and given a job he doesn't want but wich is vital for the survival of humanity. More mind oriented that action packed as expected in a space marine novel, the read is very entertaining and I'm actually hoping to get my hands in the next book of the saga as soon as possible. This book is a prologue into Benjamin Corbin's saga, that's very clear. And I NEED to read the rest.
January 26, 2020
Fantastic read for those that like to get into the littlest of details and aspects of a new universe rich with innovation. This title is a great opener to a very vast and intriguing universe that leaves me wanting more. Hosting a very realistic and lively setting, thoroughly thought out characters develop naturally whilst their reactions and intentions develop the conflict behind the story quite well. It is full of subtle foreshadowing within dialogue and funny word play that even the characters pick up on at one point for comedic effect. As for a novel however, I felt the rise of conflict is a bit slow, and peaks somewhat quickly. Dialogue and plot development is clearly the focus, which is preferable in my opinion when leading up to a second part. I’m excited to see where this story leads, and what it has in store for the cast.
January 2, 2022
The Last Marines is a nice read. It didn't start out slow. It's also a quick read.
However, there's a lot of descriptions about tech that may throw a reader off. The story is kind of elongated, and wears thin at some point. I like the fact that the protagonist is an average dude.
The book also leaves gaps and teasers that'll make you want to read the sequel(s).
Kudos to the author.
However, there's a lot of descriptions about tech that may throw a reader off. The story is kind of elongated, and wears thin at some point. I like the fact that the protagonist is an average dude.
The book also leaves gaps and teasers that'll make you want to read the sequel(s).
Kudos to the author.
April 10, 2020
This novel is fantastic. I read many space opera’s but none of them incorporated hard sci-fi in it this good. The author did a fantastic job. It's one amazing read. Funny, action packed and above all entertaining as hell. I can't wait for the sequel.
November 11, 2020
This book grabbed me from the very first paragraph as it introduces the protagonist and the attack he seems to have just experienced. It then is apparent he has been giving a second unexpected chance at life. Which leads to his purpose and importance in preventing and/or winning an intergalactic war.
There is some impressive characterisation in the book; the main character Ben Corbin's stubbornness and unwillingness to leave the past behind and fulfil his purpose. A bit frustrating but only shows the well written nature of the characters.
Disappointed didn't get to meet the Gar Rei Jhi and see Ben Corbin put his military spec augmentations to good use... yet.
There is some impressive characterisation in the book; the main character Ben Corbin's stubbornness and unwillingness to leave the past behind and fulfil his purpose. A bit frustrating but only shows the well written nature of the characters.
Disappointed didn't get to meet the Gar Rei Jhi and see Ben Corbin put his military spec augmentations to good use... yet.
June 20, 2020
Epic storytelling.
Larson's style meets Lozito's flair with a pinch of Walker's pace.
In the two centuries since Ben Corbin and Sam Garrett’s ill-fated contact with the technologically advanced but vampiric Gar Rei, a lot has changed. Humans now supply hemo-gel, a food source the Gar Rei require for deployment into space.
Having been discovered, recovered and treated, Ben finds himself at odds with reality. He yearns for his wife and desperately wants to ensure Sam’s welfare. But the legislature and military have plans for the duo.
In recovery, Ben’s skeptical about the information he’s being fed. The attacking aliens are now allies? There’s worse out there in the black? There are those who what him dead? Really? He trusts no one. But he has a strategy. And, he’s waiting for his opportunity to play. Given his condition, can Ben even survive the conflicting interests? Can he make his own way in this new era?
Lawrence N. Oliver has crafted a superb first book in what will no doubt be an epic series. Intensity reminiscent of B.V. Larson’s Steel World, character building like Ken Lozito’s Star Shroud, and world-building resembling John Walker’s Gnosis (Legacy Wars), THE LAST MARINES is a book that’s hard to put down.
Lawrence has set up his main character in a position where great things are to be expected. I’m salivating for the next installment to the series.
If you're interested and want to see more, you can preview the book (The Last Marines) on my site for free.
Larson's style meets Lozito's flair with a pinch of Walker's pace.
In the two centuries since Ben Corbin and Sam Garrett’s ill-fated contact with the technologically advanced but vampiric Gar Rei, a lot has changed. Humans now supply hemo-gel, a food source the Gar Rei require for deployment into space.
Having been discovered, recovered and treated, Ben finds himself at odds with reality. He yearns for his wife and desperately wants to ensure Sam’s welfare. But the legislature and military have plans for the duo.
In recovery, Ben’s skeptical about the information he’s being fed. The attacking aliens are now allies? There’s worse out there in the black? There are those who what him dead? Really? He trusts no one. But he has a strategy. And, he’s waiting for his opportunity to play. Given his condition, can Ben even survive the conflicting interests? Can he make his own way in this new era?
Lawrence N. Oliver has crafted a superb first book in what will no doubt be an epic series. Intensity reminiscent of B.V. Larson’s Steel World, character building like Ken Lozito’s Star Shroud, and world-building resembling John Walker’s Gnosis (Legacy Wars), THE LAST MARINES is a book that’s hard to put down.
Lawrence has set up his main character in a position where great things are to be expected. I’m salivating for the next installment to the series.
If you're interested and want to see more, you can preview the book (The Last Marines) on my site for free.
October 7, 2020
The Last Marines has a very interesting premise, scenario, and world that almost carries the story on its own despite the authors I'm gonna say "noobish" execution. It also has very real, lively characters that draw you into the story.
I don't mean to sound like a pretentious snob when I say the author is a bit of a noob, everyone is when we first start out and he made some rookie mistakes like telling instead of showing, repeating bits of information over and over to hammer it in and also head-hopping without breaks in-between.
Besides the repeating bits of information, I found the novel really enjoyable regardless of this, the exposition despite being delivered as exposition was super interesting, the author did his research and it shows, the world this takes place in is very believable due to the authors incredible world building and the story itself is riveting. So I give it 5 stars for world building.
If you don't mind indie authors and are willing to overlook some of what are in my opinion (and I wanna emphasize this) MINOR nooby flaws, I can't recommend this enough, this author is honestly sitting on gold here with his story, it's packed full of intrigue and drama, and just the right amount of action. It's as interesting as the blip makes it sound. I don't want to understate the authors talent either, he has the gift, the way he tells the story has you flipping through each chapter wondering what's going to happen in the next, so his base level of skills are definitely there.
It's not often you get an interesting and original concept like this one. Am super keen to read book 2! It deserves four stars in my opinion, anything that can make you overlook it's flaws is worthy of a high rating.
I don't mean to sound like a pretentious snob when I say the author is a bit of a noob, everyone is when we first start out and he made some rookie mistakes like telling instead of showing, repeating bits of information over and over to hammer it in and also head-hopping without breaks in-between.
Besides the repeating bits of information, I found the novel really enjoyable regardless of this, the exposition despite being delivered as exposition was super interesting, the author did his research and it shows, the world this takes place in is very believable due to the authors incredible world building and the story itself is riveting. So I give it 5 stars for world building.
If you don't mind indie authors and are willing to overlook some of what are in my opinion (and I wanna emphasize this) MINOR nooby flaws, I can't recommend this enough, this author is honestly sitting on gold here with his story, it's packed full of intrigue and drama, and just the right amount of action. It's as interesting as the blip makes it sound. I don't want to understate the authors talent either, he has the gift, the way he tells the story has you flipping through each chapter wondering what's going to happen in the next, so his base level of skills are definitely there.
It's not often you get an interesting and original concept like this one. Am super keen to read book 2! It deserves four stars in my opinion, anything that can make you overlook it's flaws is worthy of a high rating.
March 17, 2020
Definitely a story for fans of hard science fiction. The details that went into the world-building were extensive. Sometimes they felt like an exhausting info dump, but overall, I liked the idea of the future Oliver has built.
Overall, I wanted to like this book more than I did because the premise sounds so exciting, but the book itself didn’t really do it for me. I felt like the story didn’t really start until halfway through the book, and even then, I was a little confused as to why the conflict was happening at all. Apparently some organization is out to kill the main character, Corbin, though I’m not entirely sure why. Either it will be explained in a later book, or I missed it in the slew of details.
Maybe my problem was that I took too long to finish the book, which is more my fault. I’ve been doing that a lot lately, even with books I find engrossing.
In all, I gave The Last Marines 3.5/5 stars, rounding to three, for excellent world building and character development but a slower plot than I would have liked at the moment. I’m curious to see how the future books in the series play out.
Overall, I wanted to like this book more than I did because the premise sounds so exciting, but the book itself didn’t really do it for me. I felt like the story didn’t really start until halfway through the book, and even then, I was a little confused as to why the conflict was happening at all. Apparently some organization is out to kill the main character, Corbin, though I’m not entirely sure why. Either it will be explained in a later book, or I missed it in the slew of details.
Maybe my problem was that I took too long to finish the book, which is more my fault. I’ve been doing that a lot lately, even with books I find engrossing.
In all, I gave The Last Marines 3.5/5 stars, rounding to three, for excellent world building and character development but a slower plot than I would have liked at the moment. I’m curious to see how the future books in the series play out.
May 9, 2021
Disclaimer: Kindle tells me I made it 27% of the way through this book before I stopped. I cannot vouch for or against the book's overall quality, merely its beginning.
And good lord, this was a *bad* first impression.
Now, to get the good stuff out of the way: the world building and the basic premise are really interesting and cool. The victims of a hostile first contact having to work WITH the aliens in said first contact to fight off a worse threat? That is immediately interesting. I also like the idea that the aliens in the hostile first contact were starving and needed the ship's crew to survive. It makes the horrible experience that our character went through a bit more nuanced than "evil alien did bad thing". The idea that a political movement Ben was opposed to has, over his time in stasis, become standard military doctrine is also very interesting. The explanation for this universe's equivalent of force fields (the Spartan Drones) was very interesting as well.
And it's all completely ruined by the manner in which we learn this information.
We do not see the aliens attack Ben Corbin, so we have no real emotional connection to his experience. Everything I just told you about the aliens is frontloaded to us in the form of a series of dry exposition dumps primarily delivered to a man in a hospital bed. There are occasional shifts in tense (1st person in place of third) that doesn't seem to have clear motive. It's hard to tell who's speaking at times, in part because new paragraphs begin and end without clear rhyme or reason (I got halfway through one of Dr.Adler's speeches before I realized that it was not the commander speaking). This is somewhat exacerbated by the fact that characters don't have a clear voice; they also give exposition that doesn't seem to fit them. Why is the military guy giving exact diameter measurements in the middle of a battle?
Our first action piece is communicated entirely through character dialogue. I have no idea where any of these people are in relation to one another, what they are fighting, who's winning or by how much, or even a sense of who's actually fighting beyond 'humans and the nineteenth'. (Which doesn't mean anything because I don't have a clear idea of what the Nineteenth are, either). Perspective during this battle shifts without apparent purpose; there are scene breaks that would help cover this, but they don't actually align with the perspective shifts so they end up feeling pointless. (They don't seem to be time jumps either, so...) The battle has no weight because I have no idea what's happening.
You may have noticed that I haven't mentioned the characters much by name. That's because there's not much to say (and also I had to look up Dr.Adler and our MAIN CHARACTER). We have two largely interchangeable doctors, one who's a cybernetic expert and the other of whom is a pacifistic therapist... although the former also seems more concerned about Corbin's mental health than the latter as I recall? We have a military officer who's there to be an authority figure... And Corbin who spends pretty much the entirety of his time on the page saying "this is bullshit and not real" which is understandable at first but gets incredibly annoying after a while.
I can't recommend this. It's not the worst thing I've ever read, but it isn't good enough that I want to finish it.
And good lord, this was a *bad* first impression.
Now, to get the good stuff out of the way: the world building and the basic premise are really interesting and cool. The victims of a hostile first contact having to work WITH the aliens in said first contact to fight off a worse threat? That is immediately interesting. I also like the idea that the aliens in the hostile first contact were starving and needed the ship's crew to survive. It makes the horrible experience that our character went through a bit more nuanced than "evil alien did bad thing". The idea that a political movement Ben was opposed to has, over his time in stasis, become standard military doctrine is also very interesting. The explanation for this universe's equivalent of force fields (the Spartan Drones) was very interesting as well.
And it's all completely ruined by the manner in which we learn this information.
We do not see the aliens attack Ben Corbin, so we have no real emotional connection to his experience. Everything I just told you about the aliens is frontloaded to us in the form of a series of dry exposition dumps primarily delivered to a man in a hospital bed. There are occasional shifts in tense (1st person in place of third) that doesn't seem to have clear motive. It's hard to tell who's speaking at times, in part because new paragraphs begin and end without clear rhyme or reason (I got halfway through one of Dr.Adler's speeches before I realized that it was not the commander speaking). This is somewhat exacerbated by the fact that characters don't have a clear voice; they also give exposition that doesn't seem to fit them. Why is the military guy giving exact diameter measurements in the middle of a battle?
Our first action piece is communicated entirely through character dialogue. I have no idea where any of these people are in relation to one another, what they are fighting, who's winning or by how much, or even a sense of who's actually fighting beyond 'humans and the nineteenth'. (Which doesn't mean anything because I don't have a clear idea of what the Nineteenth are, either). Perspective during this battle shifts without apparent purpose; there are scene breaks that would help cover this, but they don't actually align with the perspective shifts so they end up feeling pointless. (They don't seem to be time jumps either, so...) The battle has no weight because I have no idea what's happening.
You may have noticed that I haven't mentioned the characters much by name. That's because there's not much to say (and also I had to look up Dr.Adler and our MAIN CHARACTER). We have two largely interchangeable doctors, one who's a cybernetic expert and the other of whom is a pacifistic therapist... although the former also seems more concerned about Corbin's mental health than the latter as I recall? We have a military officer who's there to be an authority figure... And Corbin who spends pretty much the entirety of his time on the page saying "this is bullshit and not real" which is understandable at first but gets incredibly annoying after a while.
I can't recommend this. It's not the worst thing I've ever read, but it isn't good enough that I want to finish it.
September 24, 2019
Lots of World Building, But Then He TOLD It All to Us
The author did a TON of world-building. By the time the book was half over we knew most things about the human part of the universe as it existed. But we knew it mostly because the author TOLD us all about it. Lots of details that were important for the author to know so that he could keep things consistent within his world were told to us the same way that the important part of the world-building was. Maybe those things will become more important in a later book but in that case, it would have been more appropriate to tell us about it then.
The elements of a good book are there. We have characters who aren't perfect, a well-envisioned world, enemies that may just be alien rather than evil, and allies who may or may not be allies because of a devil's bargain. The action scenes, when they actually appear, are well-written. But you have to plow through the world-building and details about minor characters designed to plant the seeds for them to become more important in later books. It's good that he knows their backstories and how they think, but again, a lot of this is stuff that would have been better brought forward as it became relevant, and some of it is stuff that the author needed to know about the character to make him or her go, but we needed less of.
The whole book ends up feeling very much like it is just world-building and stage-setting for later volumes in a series, with barely enough action to keep me from giving up on the whole thing a couple of times. (Indeed, had I gotten this book via Kindle Unlimited rather than being given a copy in exchange for an honest review I very well might have given up.)
To tell the part of the story covered in this book, it needed to be about half as long, with more inline exposition, and less stage setting. Better would have been a book of this length that encompassed what appears to be the story for the next book (if he continues this as a series) that covers the trip to the alien planet where the main character will be an envoy, including the training, both human and alien.
It's not a bad book, it just isn't a very good one.
The author did a TON of world-building. By the time the book was half over we knew most things about the human part of the universe as it existed. But we knew it mostly because the author TOLD us all about it. Lots of details that were important for the author to know so that he could keep things consistent within his world were told to us the same way that the important part of the world-building was. Maybe those things will become more important in a later book but in that case, it would have been more appropriate to tell us about it then.
The elements of a good book are there. We have characters who aren't perfect, a well-envisioned world, enemies that may just be alien rather than evil, and allies who may or may not be allies because of a devil's bargain. The action scenes, when they actually appear, are well-written. But you have to plow through the world-building and details about minor characters designed to plant the seeds for them to become more important in later books. It's good that he knows their backstories and how they think, but again, a lot of this is stuff that would have been better brought forward as it became relevant, and some of it is stuff that the author needed to know about the character to make him or her go, but we needed less of.
The whole book ends up feeling very much like it is just world-building and stage-setting for later volumes in a series, with barely enough action to keep me from giving up on the whole thing a couple of times. (Indeed, had I gotten this book via Kindle Unlimited rather than being given a copy in exchange for an honest review I very well might have given up.)
To tell the part of the story covered in this book, it needed to be about half as long, with more inline exposition, and less stage setting. Better would have been a book of this length that encompassed what appears to be the story for the next book (if he continues this as a series) that covers the trip to the alien planet where the main character will be an envoy, including the training, both human and alien.
It's not a bad book, it just isn't a very good one.
July 21, 2020
The Last Marines by Lawrence N. Oliver is a science fiction book, definitely a genre I hardly read but this was something different and exciting. It is about a mariner who wakes up to see a changed world. With detailed descriptions and relationships being interpersonal the writing was interesting. A new world making, characters and pace in the plot all added wow to the narration. Highly good read for sci-fi fans and it did keep me connected a lot.
March 6, 2020
It was great right up until they got to Mars. Then the story stalled and never got going again. Instead the story took a left turn and focused on something - to me - would be a minor subplot at most. Disappointed because I wanted to like it.
May 30, 2019
Not much on Marine theory
It said last Marines.. hardly covered any Marine history etc.
Lots of story ending on nothing. Not sure if book 2 will work for me...
It said last Marines.. hardly covered any Marine history etc.
Lots of story ending on nothing. Not sure if book 2 will work for me...
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