Steven L. Kent

This was a book for a RL book group, and not something I would have chosen to read myself. I was pleasantly surprised however, it had more depth than I expected for a Military SF book.

It is set in 2508 and humanity has spread throughout the Milky-Way. There are colony worlds scattered throughout, but all is run from earth by the Unified Authority. Based in Washington DC the new government is based on 2 things, the US Constitution and the 3rd book of Plato's Republic. The form of government show more is really an oligarchy with a Committee composed of Senators taking the place of the Executive branch. The Senators are chosen from elite, wealthy, families who have become UA aristocrats. The House of Representatives is made up of elected representatives of earth, and all the colonies. They make lots of noise, but have no power.

The leaders of the UA keep control by breeding millions of clones who are the military arm and are hardwired, and programmed to follow orders without question. They are also built with a self-destruct mechanism, that if they ever find out they are clones they will die. They are raised in orphanages and given military training from an early age. They see themselves as looking different from all the others, whom they know are clones.

The POV, Wayson Harris, is a human orphan who is very good at his military skills, but slower than a clone, because his brain has to process his orders. The book is about him just starting his military career - he is a Marine.

There are factions within the UA government and the military, and Harris seems to be at point zero whenever something important happens. There are a group of separatists, that are fighting the military; stubborn civilians whose cultural choices invite a massacre; and in-fighting at the command level of the military, as different commanders end up in charge of the fleet with Harris in it.

He moves through the book, trying to do his best, but also questioning the various orders, and plans. It is the first book in a series, and I don't know if I will continue with it. Mostly because I already have so many other books and series to read, that I am reluctant to add another. I enjoyed the book, but it wasn't a book that I couldn't put down. show less

At 100 fathoms, sunlight no longer penetrates the ocean. This book combines the tension of being in a US submarine inside Russian borders during the cold war and being trapped in a submarine with deadly supernatural creatures.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one. The audio is well done and I spent most of my spare time this past weekend listening to it. The tension starts early and doesn't let up. The worst (best) part is, the reader knows there is something creepy hiding on the sub while the crew show more is clueless and just thinks a couple people are sick or maybe someone is losing it. show less

A fairly claustrophobic Cold War submarine adventure with vampires. Interesting premise, hmmm? Lots of decently developed characters and more than a few plots twists are on the plus side of the column in this review. The negatives are some predictable patterns in the middle of the book that will cause some readers to want to skim to more exciting action. The plusses outweigh the negatives.
All in all, though, this is a solid story that's fun to read and worth your time.

It’s a good story and a new take on the genre. The tension between the characters, the mounting and well paced-action, the claustrophobia of the environment, of not being able to run away, to escape, to be stuck under water, all were well rendered. I did like the novel idea of the alternate “sunlight” source as a way to fight against their foes. The ending was also well written and chilling in its own way.

All in all, a good horror novel.