REVIEWED: Grunt Life (A Task Force Ombra Novel Book 1)
WRITTEN BY: Weston Ochse
PUBLISHED: April, 2014 by Solaris

‘Grunt Life’ is the fifth book I’ve read by Weston Ochse, and it’s absolutely the most powerful. Deeply resonant, riveting, filled with action and the emotional ups and downs of military life in a sci-fi/ earth vs. aliens thriller, this novel lives up to the cliché of something that ‘once started, cannot be put down.’ It’s notably insightful dealing with the suicidal tendencies of a career soldier who’s hit bottom, then is taken and ‘re-wired’ to realize meaning in fighting for humankind. As much psychological as it is scientific, ‘Grunt Life’ is still able to bring out humor and dignity while driving a fast pace of action and self-discovery. Gripping, dark, and highly recommended.

Five out of Five stars

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The author gets a lot of things right, which is why he should be held to a high standard. The content doesn’t come across as drivel but there are glaring inconsistencies in his worldbuilding. Maybe that is intentional as the main character may be going through a slow but severe mental break down – but it doesn’t quire have that feel.

In several distinct areas he attempts to convince us that an alien invasion makes things distinctly different from anything we have yet known (as it should), which should call for out of the box thinking, but this is not the case. As soon as we start getting comfortable with an irregularity caused by the alien-ness of the opponent, he goes out of his way to beat us up with conventional thinking. You would think we had politicians calling the shots who are so cold that instead of turning the military loose on the enemy in a rage, continue scheming for personal advancement. Maybe that is a side effect of the author being in the intelligence branch? As an example, things that would improve moral (you are not the only team) are kept secret, and departments (R&D) are kept isolated with a paranoia that is often spectacular.

As the reader I am left with the feeling that the author is bludgeoning me with whatever strikes his fancy at the moment. Once moment I am being berated for using traditional thinking on an alien threat, the next moment I am penalized for an out of the box idea instead of submitting to the traditional approach to warfare. While describing in great detail things that don’t help make the story, he then black boxes anything he can’t be bothered to describe, insisting we believe the outcome is both reasonable and often certain. The implications are often confusing, but not in a fog of war kind of way. Rather the confusion is caused by severe inconsistencies in how he approaches reality (the reality of the story that is). ( )

Starting off with a thorough reading an uncomfortable topic (suicide, specifically a service member suffering from PTSD committing suicide), this book gives him and others suffering like him a second chance in a special unit fighting an alien invasion.

The alien invasion comes fast, and off-screen, while our characters are still in training in their new unit. This leads quickly to the typical trope of the last remaining vestiges of military fighting the aliens. They quickly realize all their efforts are having no effect, and must find new ways to gather intel, fight effectively, and win. By the end, they've made some progress, but in no way have won the war yet.

I enjoyed this book, though the suicidal tendencies of the characters were at times uncomfortable to read. People this distraught, this broken, make unique character point-of-views. But it's their overcoming of this that makes them readable heroes.

There's no paranormal stuff here, it's just the military against the aliens. Fans of Bob Mayer's Atlantis and Area 51 series, James Rollins, Matthew Reilly, Myke Cole, or Jean Johnson will enjoy Grunt Life.
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