Oh, how I love these books. Tanya Huff is an excellent writer that really puts us in her world. I think that Torin is pretty much BAMF. Tanya Huff really got the whole mentality of a Marine, whether they are in space or not, which makes Torin an even better character, in my opinion. I can't help but to read and reread this series a couple of times a year. ( )

Re-read. ( )

I don't know with this book. On the one hand, it's a lot of fun, with all the virtues other reviewers cite. On the other hand, the author states that the main conflict was modelled after the Battle of Rorke's Drift during the 1879 Zulu War, aka. Britain's invasion of southern Africa. With our heroes taking the role of the British.

This really grossed me out. The battle of Rorke's Drift was a historical slaughter that occurred as part of an unprovoked invasion, resulting in the destruction of the Zulu people and culture. It is inappropriate to remove the military events from their historical context-- it would be like admiring the efficiency of the Nazi logistics for implementing the Final Solution and writing a story based on them.

I was left feeling complicit and nauseated. ( )

Whee! Fluffy military sf. It was great for the commute and I always enjoy a kick-ass female protagonist. ( )

I think this one was just not for me. I'm not really a military science fiction kind of person (except for Star Trek TNG and DS9, if that counts), and although I did appreciate all the different alien species (some delightfully imaginative) and how the Confederation worked out how all the species could work together, I found most of the characters to be too superficial, and the plot itself did not grab me. Action scenes in general don't really do it for me, either, so I was pretty bored in the last quarter of the book. ( )