The Soldiers' Perspective

by Phillip Murrell

War doesn’t have good guys.
War doesn’t have bad guys.
A slight shift in perspective changes everything.

The planet Gemma is under attack.

For the people of Gemma, this is an unprovoked and murderous raid by bandits unwilling to earn their way. The defenders will protect their culture with their lives.

For the attackers, the wealth of Gemma represents the source of their collective anguish. Desperate humans, aliens, and cyborgs unite to fight a system they perceive as callous and corrupt. An invasion is the only way to survive.

Soldiers from each army will meet on the battlefield. T'azure leads Shadow Squad, a motley crew comprising elite human, cyborg, and reptilian fighters. They’ll spearhead the invasion. Sare Importa and his wife Neera will defend their home, enhanced by state-of-the-art equipment which turns both into a near unstoppable force.

Good and evil are labels history applies. What will be said of this war today?

Genres: Science Fiction

302 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 18, 2020

About the author

I'm a lifelong reader and fan of stories in every medium. I started writing for fun in the second grade (I think my mom may still have my school-assigned short story "The Frozen Eyes," which I shakily wrote on lined paper). I'm also an Explosive Ordnance Disposal officer in the United States Army. While on my second deployment to Iraq, I began to write again. First, I wrote screenplays, then moved on to writing novels, the first being "Bystanders."

I've been married for over sixteen years to my amazing wife. I also have three children. Thankfully, they also love sci-fi, fantasy, and roller coasters as much as I do.

During my free time I'll either be reading/watching TV/playing video games or I'll be spending my hard-earned money doing something that produces copious adrenaline, such as skydiving or whitewater rafting (neither of which are as much fun as a day riding roller coasters!).

Reviews

[Miranda Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Watch it, buddy. You're about to open some childhood trauma.

This story is told through scattered perspectives across the universe.

There's T'az, the leader of the Shadow Squad and the Disciples of Death, he runs a very small, elite group of humans, cyborgs, etc as they battle across the galaxy.

Shadow Squad, let's fly.

We also follow Sare and his wife - both of whom are in the army and secretly, desperately hope to be approved to have a child.

There'd be time to mourn later. For now, Sare just wanted more targets.

There's Arik who is more cyborg than human, and Ungul (a warlord) and so on.

All of these storylines are told separately as the characters wage their individual battles before coming together to for the crescendo of the book.

By piecing together the individual narratives, you are able understand the overarching and all-encompassing story.

Most of them end up allying to fight for the universe against a (mostly) unknown evil, who is set on destroying the Outsystem Alliance (alliance formed when there was a giant treaty between aliens, humans, and cyborgs).

Overall, I quite enjoyed this book!

In the beginning, I was confused a bit with the ever-changing perspectives.

It kind of felt like every time I sunk into a set of characters, the rug was swept out from under me...and yet...that worked so well.

With time, I loved how each snippet brought a taste of a new world/alliance/species and contributed to the overall plot.

It was really fun to see events from the first perspective bubble up into the other characters' lives and how they help (or hinder) the cause.

Phillip Murrell has such a gift with storytelling and truly made this story memorable. I loved the way he writes sci-fi - so truly fascinating and exciting to read about the various characters and figure out their pasts.

All in all, I definitely enjoyed this one and I cannot WAIT for Murrell's next book!!

With thanks to the author for sending me a free copy in exchange for an honest review

YouTube | Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Snapchat @miranda_reads

[Henryan Arkson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Military Sci-fi with a long cast of characters and worlds to be explored and enjoyed!

This is a hard science fiction book mixing speculative societies and relationships between characters with speculative science and engineering. It presents a vast array of technological rigs, weapons, vehicles, transhumanism… that complement a rich universe of inhabited moons. The main scope of the book hovers around military corps fighting for a war neither side believes in. However, havoc caused by the warring conflicts inflict scars on the characters’ souls, generating quests for vengeance through vicious cycles of deadly missions. In that manner, there's violence, deaths and gore in most chapters.

The main characters are the Minterean T’az, an Outsystem Alliance boss, and his rivals, the specialist Sare Importa and his wife Neera, from the Gemma army. There are some standalone chapters showcasing characters from the other alien societies, giving the readers some glimpse into their culture and stances related to the war portrayed.

The book also dabs into complex political themes such as immigration, class injustice, prejudice and racism with a perspective from each side’s points of view. The conclusion was dramatic and elevated the quality of the story, leaving quite a few loose ends for sequel books.

Overall, I recommend reading it and expect the author to continue exploring this universe.

[Khira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some sci-fi novels are written to explore new ideas and to probe the future; others use the sci-fi setting to delve into present-day issues. The Soldiers' Perspective is definitely the latter, and its styling reminded me of The Forever War by Joe Haldeman.
The setting is the classic sci-fi interstellar war. The Outsystem Alliance, comprising the human Minterean Faction, the Octeeven augmented humans, and the reptilian Karlykos race team up to attack the alliance of Gemmay humans and the avian alien race of Rooguins. What ensues is a ruthless war over resources, power and territory.
However, the course of the war serves largely as a setting to portray the realities of war through the points of view of soldiers on both sides. There are two key oppositional POVs: T'az from the Minterean Faction and Sare (and his wife Neera) in the Gemmay army. As the novel progresses, their fight changes from performance of duty to missions of vengeance spurned on by personal losses. Yet, amongst the high-paced battle scenes and conflict, there are always moments that remind the reader of the humanity and vulnerability of the people caught up in the conflict on all sides. Interspersed throughout are sketches of experiences of other soldiers. It is a difficult read at times, and some of the scenes really cut through: teenage recruits being sacrificed in decoy attacks; young kids at an observation post chatting about the stories they'd heard of the other side; Gemmay reservists returning to find their homes destroyed.
There are also a few slightly awkward moments here and there in the narrative. The portrayal of the sexually promiscuous nature of the Gemmay society comes across as a bit contrived on the page; the exaltation of the hypermasculine leadership model gave me pause more than once. The descriptions of the battles and missions flow very naturally though and there is a certain raw power in the core message of the novel.

[Amanja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review originally published at https://amanjareads.com/2021/06/03/th...

Thank you to author Phillip Murrell for providing me with a copy of The Soldiers' Perspective in exchange for this honest review.

The Soldiers' Perspective is a hard sci fi war thriller written by Phillip Murrell, an author who is also active US military. I initially agreed to read the book because I thought it would be interesting to read a war novel from the perspective of someone who has first hand knowledge on the subject. This assumption was rewarded with a satisfying fiction experience.

I honestly don't typically read this kind of science fiction. I was turned off in the beginning of the book by all of the weird alien names that sound extra spacey. It's just not my style. But I got over it once I started to get to know the characters and got a feel for how the book is written.

It's told from various and often opposing perspectives on a large and ongoing war. There are two main sets of characters telling their side of the story through alternating narratives. Different soldiers from different armies discuss how they got involved in the conflict and how they intend to survive it. They have different ideologies and pasts but there is always some common ground.

In the case of The Soldiers' Perspective the great unifiers are good craft beer and pro wrestling. I love both of these things so I fully embrace this theory. For real, if everyone got into pro wrestling we'd all be a lot better off, you gotta learn not to take everything so seriously!

We are also given many side narratives from various participants in the war. These chapters function quite well as connected short stories and range from shocking to heartbreaking. Some of these chapters were my favorite parts of the whole book.

Since The Soldiers' Perspective is a sci fi novel it does have some more surreal aspects to it. It was common for this book to have one chapter featuring over the top sci fi style, almost cartoony, violence but then have the next chapter have much more grounded and human violence. It was interesting to see these forms juxtaposed, it made the real world violence hit that much harder.

The end of the book finally merges the perspectives together in an unfortunately realistic ending. This is a war book after all, it is not romanticized.

Murrell is a competent writer who has taken his personal experience and transformed it into an action packed novel. I look forward to seeing more from him and recommend The Soldiers' Perspective to any hard sci fi fans looking for a good balance of Earth politics with space adventure.

[Richard Houlden · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this military sci-fi tale of two warring factions that reflect the disparities of today’s first and third world nations.
The world building was interesting and the wide breadth of characters offered a lot to consider with a good build of history between the different alien species to create natural tension.
I couldn’t bring myself to give more than 3 stars because I failed to see what the point was to the story. There was no obvious ultimate objective, no long standing mission other than waging a war. And a personal peeve was struck with an overuse of ‘Furthermore’.
That being said, if you want an action packed read with - as the title states - a soldier’s perspective of war and everything that comes with it, it’s worth the read.

[Nancy Foster]

I am one of the judges of team Space Girls for the SPSFC3 contest, this review is my personal opinion. Officially, it is still in the running for the contest, pending any official team announcements.

Status: Pending
Reached 31% of the novel

I am a bit of a forgetful person, so I am going to write a few thoughts about this book. First of all, if you want a military story that focuses mostly on the action of an infantry division, this book delivers what it is promised. I occasionally got vibes from the Stormtroopers movie from the late 90's such as the scenes where the group is in bootcamp and their drill seargent has a myriad of limb amputations feeling glad recruits like Rico are interested in applying for his field. And then that movie continues focusing on how Rico excells in leadership and becomes a platoon seargent amid the chaos and bloodshed. Far too many Sci-Fi stories focus on officers commanding armies in sleek space stations such as Enders Game. So having characters getting dirty in the battlefield was very refreshing to me.

I have a love/hate relationship with chapter 1. Everything is chaos, a group of specialized infantry that includes a few human cyborgs called Octeveens, other humanoids called Miharans and some (semi giants?) are infiltrating a secret pharmaceutical lab for unclear reasons. On one hand, getting straight into the action out of nowhere avoids infodumps and sets the stage for how later chapters of the novel will feel. Sadly by not knowing the characters of this platoon yet and the different races, precious time is lost explaining a few things and it takes the reader out of the action. I also felt another problem early on that will become recurrent in the story. Instead of just getting the job done quickly and fulfill their mission, the platoon commander T'az is slobbering over one of his female cyborg allies.

The Stormtroopers film can be criticized for many things such as relentless violence and gratituous nudity, but Rico always treated his female combatants in arms as good friends. If he felt a sexual attraction to his peers, he did the fun stuff in his free time and didn't get distracted during missions where one careless boob stare meant certain death. I would not have even minded this distracting behavior from T'az's younger and much more inexperienced brother T'rav. The younger brother does all sorts of reckless shenanigans that causes serious repercussions in the story. But it felt jarring their platoon leader would be making such rookie mistakes when he is supposed to be a highly respected veteran. I would have liked more cohesion about why he says nothing when his soldiers say lewd comments about the female combatants of their team. This also felt like poor leadership decisions that would have been well suited for the younger brother, while T'az was adamant in bringing his team together. In a life or death situation where it is difficult to replace well trained special ops soldiers, preventing his team from killing each other would make perfect sense. T'az makes a very important point later in the story: he believes Miharans don't need to continue acting like barbarians and can evolve as a civilization.

I am starting to like the worldbuilding dynamics of the story, where it seems like the action takes place in a solar system with various inhabitable planets. Most of them are humans from three rival planets, while we get some giants, a race of still unnamed pink skinned aliens, the highly intelligent sapient bird people and a vicious sapient lizard people (who love to eat the bird folk).

At only 1/3 of the story, I am still unsure what will happen later on. We get hints an interplanetary war is about to break through. Most of the political action is left unseen because the story focuses on infantry soldiers from both sides of the conflict. In this respect, I like where the story is heading. We can see the comparison of imperialism in our own world where wealthy countries limit immigration and don't share medical technology that could benefit both sides. By ignoring the plight of their poorer peers, these people with nothing to lose are willing to forge alliance with dangerous frenemies. In some respects, I thought this aspect of the political conflict to be interesting. I like stories where there is no true good and bad side and we focus on the struggles of the enemy factions.

As a person that lives in a developing nation, some aspects of the story do feel very... unsettling to me. It makes sense the book purposely makes life in poverty barely worth living for and everything is so backwards and awful. And while this is a Sci-Fi fiction story with space ships and laser guns and stuff, the suburbia cities in the wealthy planet system Gennay feels so reminiscent of the US that it can be difficult to separate our world and a fiction one. I felt the certain degree of contempt from the Gennay married couple of Shan and Neera to be pretty reminiscent of affluent Americans feeling a need for saviorship, so that was quite believable. The indifferent attitude of the parents even more so.

But I did feel the lack of the other side of the coin, of the people that live on the fringes of both worlds that have the choice to live in either place. And then against the odds, enjoy life in the developing society. Perhaps the story will offer less battles and more quieter chapters later on that explore the nice things about the developing planet.

Another thing that I believe the book could do better was something I noticed a lot in Chapter 1: the show, don't tell rule. Usually I don't mind telling at all. I think some writing mantras should not be taken 100% at face value. Not every book needs pages and pages of description of every tiny detail. A book with frequent battlefield laserbeam explosions would be unreadable if things didn't try to move faster.

But I did feel some scenes would benefit from this. Early in the story, T'az stares at the rebel leader Roma and sneers. We start finding out why later on (which helps explain things in retrospect). Instead of having the text describe T'az's heartbeat raising and the veins in his temples pulsating after seeing the heinious thing Mr. Roma plans to do, the book only mentions T'az is angry and leaves. I did feel a bit more of an emotional reaction from him would have been welcome. This would have also aligned with his statements about wanting to be a better person while feeling pinned to a wall to obey commands he detests from his superiors.

In a nutshell, there are plenty of things I like about the book. I enjoy it being from a soldier's POV and some fun military barrack banter. The imminent interplanetary war is also keeping me interested in knowing more. I do however feel the lewd behavior of every male character with their female counterparts to be quite grating. Nobody punches their peers in the nose (Neera did try to do this but for other reasons). Most of the female soldiers are just very meek for my taste. I suppose the machism in our world's military is vying for realism here. But if Starship Stormtroopers is proof women can fight and be treated nice in a film made almost 30 years ago, why not add some elements of this? Along the way, maybe also have two female characters talk to eachother would also be nice. Oh, and have the characters doing some really boring stuff such as scrub the floors like in the Forrest Gump movie. Not every military scene has to just be gore. I really like military stories where most of the story happens in non combat settings.

So far, I do have intentions to continue reading the book and hopefully finish it sometime to give it a score. Just wanted to share some thoughts about it in case this book is of interest for other readers. :)

[Angela Panayotopulos · Rating 4 out of 5]

"War doesn’t have good guys.
War doesn’t have bad guys.
A slight shift in perspective changes everything."

This slight shift -- well, many shifts, honestly, and not really quite so slight -- does indeed change things, providing twists and turns in a hefty novel that explores the ethics of war. War isn't the black-and-white checkerboard of good vs. evil, and Murrell does an outstanding job of showcasing this again and again. Murrell illustrates that war (along with issues regarding refugees, trans rights, government-mandated infertility, etc.) isn't just a worldly dilemma, either, it's a universal thing; we're flung into a universe teeming with humans, cyborgs, Rooguins (poor guys!!), Karlykos, and all sorts of various species. There's a huge cast of characters, which seems quite daunting at first, but there are details to help major characters stand out (e.g., I love how T'az views his battlescars as "complementing" his tattoos, or how Sare and Neera's fertility/family issues are ingrained in their relationship, or how Arik can no longer smile and injects food into his belly). But no matter the numbers and the location, some truths remain timeless: when greater powers call for war, they sweep up and upend the lives of all the pawns living in their shadow, and life is never again the same...



Fair warning: you do need a solid stomach for some of these scenes. There's some pretty graphic violence sometimes, and plenty of death, though that's only to be expected in a war novel. The callousness of some of the perpetrators though (esp. the ones I assumed I should be rooting for -- like when T'az seemingly nonchalantly beheads a man while his breastfeeding wife is watching ) floored me even more. I would have liked to delve more into their psychology sometimes when shit goes down; it may not justify actions, but it would help explain or even humanize certain decisions. There were many scenarios where I didn't feel very in sync with the characters or their motivations, and this didn't allow me to immerse myself as fully into the story as I would have preferred. On the other hand, certain "mundane" details -- like the smells or 3Ps of combat -- are raw, visceral, and thoughtfully included.



While this genre isn't normally up my alley, I'm sure this book will appeal to readership that loves it -- and if you do love sci-fi war fiction, you'll find a decent story of epic scope within these pages. I've read a number of Murrell's books over time, and from a storytelling perspective, this most recent book deserves praise for showcasing, I think, the author's evolution as a writer. It's not a perfectly crafted book, but apart from the obvious and commendable depth of research and combat experience that's gone into the crafting of this novel, Murrell's world-building, dialogues, and characterizations feel stronger and more valid compared to some of his earlier works. That's exactly as it should be -- for him, and for all of us who dare to write. Writing, like life, is forever a work in progress; ideally, progress should be evident. On a final note, I also enjoyed how Murrell snuck in a mention of another series of his books as something some of this novel's characters were reading. A pretty neat Easter egg. :)

[Kristy McGinnis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book free for review from a review circle.

This is not my genre. I'm a warm and fuzzy chick lit kind of girl, but I decided to give it a go anyway.

When the book started, I had a hard time figuring out who was who and how they all related. Within a few chapters though, I'd grasped the individual soldiers' stories and found myself sinking deeper and deeper into the tale. You know going in this book is about soldiers- warriors- the war they're waging and so graphic violence is to be expected. Some scenes made me cringe (oy, that dentist!) but they didn't feel gratuitous- the violence was necessary to the plot.

There were some interesting side themes here... the treatment of refugees for example. There was a play on eugenics with the whole reproduction side story. It was also an interesting read from the feminist perspective- strong, capable women characters who broke some more typical military themed literature stereotypes I've read in the past.

My favorite storyline was that of Sare and Neera, their strong bond and relationship, their mutual respect, their physical and emotional support of one another. I'm going to avoid spoilers here, but there was a lot of substance here from start to finish with them.

The main take away in this book though, isn't that this person had an interesting story or that person was extra tough, it's that warriors fight the battles their politicians start- and those battles are not usually not good guys vs bad guys. The perspective as to who the enemy is, shifts in each soldier's mind and heart. Ultimately, we are all the enemy, we are all allies

This book is very well written overall. The story may not appeal to readers of all genres. The first chapter or two feels a little disjointed so I vacillated between 4 stars and 5 stars but ultimately the INCREDIBLE final chapter tips the scales here. Five stars!

[M.A. Leon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm going to be honest: this book was over my head. I admire that, but can't give as detailed of a review as some people who have military background and an interest in anthropology and politics. All things I'm sorely lacking, unless it's some medieval military story...

Nonetheless, I admire this book and Phillip Murrell. He's written a thorough story that leads readers through scenes that leaves food for thought about both the fantasy world and our own. The insight into military personnel from someone who has experienced it first hand (minus the sci-fi) was definitely something I could never compare to. Well done!

[Tony Parsons · Rating 3 out of 5]

Klasso (11th moon of the Gemma planet). T’azure “Taz” Rank (28, Shadow Squad Army leader) & his Octeeven Special Ops. soldiers (DoD) were aboard the Night Shadow (star cruiser).
Esota (1/2 robot/human) was the piolet.
The Octeevens weren’t the enemy anymore, now it is the Gemmay soldiers (aka Bones).
T’az, Astrid (f), Oordil (DoD), & 4 more DoD soldiers went down the tower’s stairs & assembled outside.
The Gemmay soldiers were no match for them.
Illik Moon, Jewel Campground. Sare Importa (28, m, Gemmay, Specialist Reserve, mechanic) & Neera Importa (wife, Gemmay, firefighter) had to be approved by the board to reverse their inoculation to have children.

Planets: Minter, Octeeve, & Klasso were at war with each other.
Lieutenant Jilnik Bade welcomed the heavy weapons Thresher Platoon.
Captain Sprax (Gremlin Co. C/O) & 1st Sergeant Whestle read the message from General Tyberius Malfis (Chairman of the Army) to the Gemma troops.
Specialist Sare Importa (29, Army Reserves) & Neera graduated from Familiarization Training, now on to Road-to-War training.
Premiere City (capital city of Gyro, former Gemma Gyro Moon). Supreme Warlord Ungul Roma (56, Outsystem Alliance, Minterean Faction Army), watched as millions of Mintereans, Octeevens, & Karlykos Factions were gathered just outside the tower defenses’ range.

The Battle for Premiere City began.

I do not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing free books from publishers & authors. Therefore, I am under no obligation to write a positive review, only an honest one.

An awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A very professionally written futuristic Military dystopian book. It wasn’t always easy for me to read/follow from start/finish, but never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a huge set of unique characters & facts to keep track of. This could also make another great futuristic Military dystopian movie, an animated cartoon, or better yet a mini-TV series. Not really my cup of tea so I will only rate it at 3/5 stars.

Thank you for the free Author; Goodreads; Making Connections; Making Connections discussion group talk; PDF book
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)

[Toney Baus · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Soldiers’ Perspective” is a space opera for the foot soldier; it is exciting, thoughtful, and tragic. The author jumps between different characters, but of greatest importance are Sare and T’az. They are fighting on opposite sides of a war between the Outsystem Alliance and Gemmay. This divided narrative helps the reader understand both sides of the conflict. This is not a heroic war against aggression. There are only shades of grey here, and I appreciate that perspective. Wars with clear-cut morality are rare.

The larger conflict can be simplified as a war between the “haves” (Gemmay) and the “have-nots” (Outsystem Alliance). The author uses the image of Outsystem human wave attacks, masses of untrained, underequipped troops attempting to overwhelm their opponents, to make the horrific nature of this war clear. Win or lose, the Outsystem casualty count always ends up frightening.

The author portrays the top of both military hierarchies in a negative light. You won’t find a speculative-fiction Dwight Eisenhower writing any documents taking responsibility for military failure. The highest levels of leadership appear as degrees of Dune’s Baron Harkonnen: corrupt and/or genocidal in differing measures.

“The Soldiers’ Perspective” includes alien life forms; the whole environment is one of star-faring civilizations. My favorite are the Rooguins. Yes, they are sentient, intelligent penguins. Traditionally prey for other species, they are brutally pragmatic and deadly with high tech weapons, specifically a black hole generator: The generator leaves no wreckage or bodies behind. A gravitational singularity sucks targets into oblivion. They’re just GONE, man!

Which brings me to why this is a 4-star review: technology. This book needs more things like black hole generators. The greatest science fiction portrays technology that stuns the reader. “Starship Troopers’” infantrymen entered the atmosphere individually, without a starship, and lobbed tac nukes or talking explosives: I am a ten-second bomb! . . . nine . . . eight . . . “The Soldiers’ Perspective” could have specifically used starship combat. If there is faster-than-light travel, there should be ship-versus-ship combat (unless, like “Dune,” FTL technology is held by a private monopoly). Having a starship’s crew fighting fires or sealing hull breaches would have made this literary world a bigger, more fascinating place.

[Kevin Carlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The many soldiers in this story do not by any means share one perspective, so shouldn't it be The Soldiers' Perspectives? Sorry, can't help myself.

Solid military sci-fi. Somewhere between Starship Troopers and Iain Banks. It's got a bit of sex (not at all graphic), a bunch of gore (some of it quite graphic), a whole lot of action, and a healthy dose of “War, what is it good for?” Also thrown in for fun is ongoing references to an interstellar pro-wrestling league, and a character towards the end who I like to think is a nod to the Kilrathi of the old Wing Commander games.

There's a few interesting themes beyond the surface criticism of endless war. It touches on socioeconomic discrimination, refugees and their treatment, racism, each with a somewhat satisfying moment of comeuppance for the oppressors. A few different parts do a nice job of fulfilling the fantasy many of us have for bringing a little bit of justice into an unfair world. That's an itch I'm always happy to scratch, especially in a dystopian sci-fi world.

The wrestling references are a fun inclusion, because they're used to demonstrate the similarities between each faction in this world, and how ridiculous it is that they all regard each other as “other.” From the wealthiest member of the high society of Gemmay to the lowliest beggar on the Minter home world, everyone grew up cheering for the same over-the-top wrestling personalities.

The book also finds a nice balance between following several main characters, while also intertwining several chapters that border on standalone flash fiction within this universe. A few characters we meet only for the briefest of moments as they give us a glimpse into their exclusive perspective on the war. The main characters remain well rounded, and I'm a sucker for converging storylines, so it strikes a nice, unique balance.

This is the second book I've read by this author. I think he's really solidified his chops as a writer with The Soldiers' Perspective(s). I expect I'll continue picking up his titles.

[S.T. Blake · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first glance, this book is a space opera, a hard sci-fi military epic – and it is all of those things, with exciting battles and well-realised, intriguing alien species – but it’s also more than that, specifically because of the risks the author takes with the continually shifting POVs.

For me, one of the problems I often have with ‘war’ stories, whether books or films (even most of the good ones), is that as a reader or viewer we’re invited to follow a Squad of characters and are drawn into their fight to survive against Enemy X. While we get a chance to learn about the lives, doubts and fears of ‘our’ Squad, watch them develop as characters and empathise with them, the Enemy never really comes into focus – either they’re butchers who mutilate and slaughter indiscriminately, or they’re a bunch of incompetents who can’t shoot straight so that our Squad can come through okay and save the day. This means that Enemy X are never shown to have lives of their own beyond their designation as the enemy, no home life away from the battlefield, no families, nothing they cherish about life.

This is obviously untrue and the author of The Soldiers’ Perspective confronts this issue head on by viewing the war between the Gemmay and the Outsystem Alliance from all sides, with an admirably even-handed approach – there are characters I liked and grew to care about on both sides of the conflict; you find innocent victims of brutality whichever perspective you look from; there are young kids getting dragged into battles they don’t understand; there’s self-sacrifice and cowardice, all thrown together in the chaos of one warzone after another.

So, to sum up – I really enjoyed this book. The action is exciting, the future worlds, technology and alien lifeforms are well-developed and believable, which makes it a good SFF read. Plus, I appreciated the care the author showed for his characters – all of them, without any favour or bias (except maybe Perny and Roma…)

[P.J. Ashton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. The Soldier's Perspective by Phillip Murrell was vivid and gory with realistic characters. I really enjoyed the changing perspectives as you got to see the war from both sides and although there is some element on the politics, the focus is on the grunts and the meatgrinder they are pretty much forced into.

T'az is our main protagonist on the side of the Outsystem Alliance, he is the boss of the Shadow Squad, an elite special forces unit. Sare is our main protagonist for the Gemmay. Both main characters are honourable and have specific motivations, T'az comes from a warrior family and Sare and his wife Neera want children and sponsor settlement for migrants from the Outsystem Alliance.

There are elements of racism in the book between and even within the factions. The Gemmay have eradicated poverty and are richer. They protect the Rooguins who are birdlike creatures and their technology comes from them. On the Outsystem Alliance side, there are the following races; Mintereans; who are human, Octeevans; who are cyborg and genetically enhanced and the Karlykos; who are reptile like and like to feast upon the Rooguins.

This world feels real, the battles are bloody and violent and you see losses on both sides. The finale had me engrossed and I couldn't stop turning the pages, it's an ending that is full of tension and will stick with me.

[Alex Canna · Rating 3 out of 5]

We’re plunged straight into an Iain M. Banks-ish war fought with enemies against enemies. We try to empathise but something doesn’t feel right. We follow the action with growing doubts about the morality of the situation. And then we change perspective, again and again, as the author continues to question the ethics of war – and of every character contributing their own piece of the story.

It’s a great concept, well plotted, ambitiously executed, and with an epic ending. It’s just that I found myself reading and rereading sentences and paragraphs to grasp exactly what was happening and what was really being meant, what was earnest and what was irony. And was the overall aura of callousness there to prove the author’s point or to create an (intentional?) barrier from the reader? There’s a bit where someone is violently killed while on a video call with their lover and we’re told that the lover looks out of the screen at the killer ‘despondently’. From then on, I found myself reading from a distance, unable to ‘lose myself’ in the story or to be truly invested in the outcome, effective as it was.

(The title is a nice touch, by the way. Many soldiers, one perspective. Or is it?)

[Stephanie Petersen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story moves along well enough, and I can appreciate the message here: that war is not played out by those who express the original grievance.

Unfortunately, though, the story suffers from a perspective error called “author intrusion” that becomes apparent in the very first chapter. Rather than describing it myself, I’ll quote writing instructor Amanda Patterson’s definition: “Author intrusion happens most often when writers forget that the story is seen exclusively through the viewpoints of the characters. These writers lose sight of this and they add their own opinions and beliefs into the story.”

An early example of author intrusion happens here when a main character kills an alien being that the narrator describes as an “idiot.” And while the main character clearly agrees with this assessment, it isn’t the kind of derogatory bias a reliable narrator would express. Without establishing the narrator as an actual character in the story, this is very jarring.

The book is filled with many intrusive asides, explanations, and opinions that should have been shown by the narrator through the characters’ words and actions, and not through the narrator’s voice. But I think this would be an extremely engaging story if it underwent a bit of corrective editing.

[Sanam A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely not the kind of book I'd pick, but I gave it a shot anyway. And boy, I was in for a surprise, a pleasant one at that. Honestly, it was a little hard to get into the book because I couldn't identify the characters. But after a couple of chapters, I did get into it and learned that the story had been told from different POVs. Once the reader starts to understand those, the story unfolded beautifully, and you understand why the author chose to name the book 'The Soldiers' Perspective.'
This book is about soldiers, and I had expected violence, but I'd honestly say it was the book's core. To understand how to story unwinds, that violence was necessary. As the book progresses, there are some very interesting themes proceeding on the side. The book talks about racism, how refugees are treated, and how it connects to the plot.
The story's development is exciting; I must say that the author has done a marvelous job here because once you get into the story, it just flows.
Recommended for readers who love dystopian sci-fi world.

[Heather Barksdale · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Soldiers’ Perspective” introduces points of view and voices of two opposing factions. The first is made up of T’azure (T’az), the leader of the Shadow Squad, his ragtag group of soldiers, and members of the Outsystem Alliance. The second includes husband and wife, Sare and Neera, and the Gemmay.

Overall, I was enthralled by this story. There were some really interesting elements and my favorites included scifi aspects mixed with current traditions. For example, the image of robots floating above a garden while a traditional tea ceremony is underway was intriguing. The Octeeven enhancements were also creative and different. The horrors of the color wheel of torture were also very vivid and disturbing. The book also delves into several social and political themes including racism, prejudice, class injustice, and immigration and examines many of the issues from both points of view... full review can be found at heatherlbarksdale.com

I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.

[P.L. Tavormina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story reminds me of another military sci-fi manuscript I had the pleasure of beta reading recently. In both cases, the deployment experience of the author comes to life on the page. The realism shows, the writing is disciplined, and the characters are nuanced. In both cases, the idea of serving in the armed forces and what that might be like really pops, which gives the story a wonderful flair.

A couple things pull me out of this story—things that are entirely subjective and just par for the course when reading widely, as I do. Specifically, I don’t like swearing and this story has plenty. I also found the prose itself a bit too simplistic. I tend toward literary styles, and this book is more commercial. I would have liked a more immersive “inner life” of the viewpoint characters.

But the story is solid with lots of the bells and whistles we look for in futuristic military sci-fi, and it’s nicely edited, too. I definitely think fans of the genre will enjoy this. Four stars.

[Seth Hobbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome military fantasy in space! This story reminds me of themes from 'Enemy at the Gates' and 'All Quiet on the Western Front', or 'American Sniper', all rolled into a different setting with lots of intriguing characters and alliances. The author's style is raw and in your face, perhaps a bit much for some, but he doesn't shy away from the crude behaviors, terrible violence, and dangerous realities of war, whether it is on our planet or time, or any other in the future. Plenty of action and bloodshed, with some interesting dynamics among different races and augmented humans. I could see this as a streaming series or animated series perhaps, and this author isn't afraid to jump into the nitty-gritty and show the gray areas that inhabit an individual's heart, often thrusting them into situations that they are forced to deal with, based on their birth or surroundings. If you like space marines or sci-fi with sex and violence and timeless war stories, you will enjoy this one.

[J.A. Freely · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Soldier's Perspective delivers exactly what the title promises.

In a place and time when humans join to fight with half-bots, flying dragon-like creatures, and the most intelligent species in the mix are big, fat, and apparently delicious birds, the realities of warfare and combat haven't evolved much at all.

Conventions to protect civilians are created and then ignored, yesterday's foes are today's allies, and the horror of torture, trying to stay alive, and the cruel reality of gruesome combat are all described within a story that rings true.

The psychology of leadership, the friction between the ranks and the troops, and the dedication and discipline required to prepare for and complete various objectives within a larger framework of war are fascinating and insightful.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in the nuts and bolts of warfare, and military stories. I enjoyed reading this work, and am sure you will too,

[Florian Armas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Space marine with a touch of dystopia. Plenty of hard action, perhaps a little too much if you are not a huge fan of hard-core sci-fi. Tangentially, the novel drives into social life and economic discrimination in a cluster of interstellar civilizations. It could have benefited from a deeper analysis about the futility of war.
There is a good description in the blurb:
‘War doesn’t have good guys.
War doesn’t have bad guys.‘
It comes true in the novel. The title also comes true; it’s a soldier’s perspective, somehow cold and detached, and a lot of killings.
There is a lot of wild imagination in the book (most of it technical, but there are also clever glimpses of a future that may or may not come to us), futuristic weapons and spaceships. The author is an active soldier, and he knows his trade; the battles feel realistic.

[J.E. Rowney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found it very difficult to get into this book, as the opening chapters feel very fragmented, with different characters and stories all over the place. There was nothing I could really grasp hold of to hook me in. As the story went on, it was okay. The male/female interactions felt a little cringey at times, but otherwise the story started to develop and it was reasonably enjoyable.

I feel like this is the Soldiers’ Perspectives rather than a singular perspective and I am not sure what the author’s aim was in using this title. If there’s some profound meaning to the choice of word I missed it.

[John Pedersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book shows the author's vivid imagination with a wide range of characters from all sorts of worlds. The weapons and spacecraft are well thought out and fit the story, making the battles believable.
The title of the book describes well what you are about to read. However, it's not really a book about good v's evil or one nation against the other, but more about telling the battles fought by the soldiers of both sides. In this respect, I found some of the chapters and the multitude of characters almost an unnecessary addition to the book with storylines that didn't go anywhere.
While this isn't the sort of book I would generally choose to read, I found it a good read.

[Eric Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a pretty interesting story that is multiple stories from a different perspective but seems to come together. More or less the book follows T'az and Sare, two soldiers on opposite sides of a galactic war that goes on pretty well. The other stories feature elements to the overall conflict in the book and add some atmosphere to the book as something to show the broader scope of the war featured in the book. It has its moments, and what I like about most military science fiction books is not so much the body count, but the emotions of war and what it brings to everybody uniquely. Anyway, check it out sometime and you won't be let down.

[Darrell Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author is definitely imaginative. In this book we got a very detailed and gritty look into the universe that the author made. For someone who likes Sci-Fi Warfare books and binge watching this is probably a must read.
To me personally, I felt like it could have been an entire series. For a lot of people that is a positive thing, a full series worth for the low, low, price of $3.95.
Still as a single book I was impressed by how he drew such a huge cast of characters, explored many interesting concepts, and built such a detailed universe. And did it well.

[jeremy dierst · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was not a bad read. It was a little too rushed at the end, and a couple of storylines were left open. Maybe but not enough for a sequel novel. The characters were a little two-dimensional, but somewhat relatable. The plot moved very quickly and was easy to follow. The ethical manipulation of the characters was well written and researched. There were really defined good or bad guys, just people trying to survive a situation, not of their making or choice.

[Joseph Carrabis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewing The Soldiers' Perspective is challenging for me. The subject matter is close to me and I tend to be forgiving.
On the other hand, I'm not doing anybody any favors when I pad things, so here goes.
There's a really good story buried in poor narration and massive exposition. I found myself skimming and then outright skipping to find something engaging enough to focus my attention.
What could be a whopping good story is mired by poor storycrafting.
Just my opinion.

[Marcel Sk · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not able to finish it. The war story happening over different scenes, was done before and sometime it worked. But it didn't work put for me here. Also the story overall seemed weird, like all "they won't share", "rape an illegal" and the "it's ma'am" story, it is not for me.

[MaryLee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Two different perspectives of the same situation.