The Last Legion

Somewhere between David Drake and John Ringo (oh, John Ringo, no!) on the scale of mediocre mil-SF writers lies Chris Bunch. The Last Legion is an eminently forgettable book about two to five (see, I've forgotten already) young men and women who join up with a military unit that is pretty much exactly like an American Air Cavalry Division, circa Vietnam, except that they're stuck at the ass end of the galaxy defending an exploitative and racist plutocracy. That, and the collapse of the galactic empire, and immanent invasion by hostile aliens and expansionist warlords doesn't seem to matter much, as our protagonists gripe their way through bootcamp, beat up armed muggers, take on 10 times their number in firefights, and sleep with show more improbably well-endowed young women. I'd call the combat sequences awkward and incoherent, but then I wouldn't know how to describe the sex scenes. The whole book reads like a pastiche of Starship Trooper pastiches. It's not even so bad it's good, just thoroughly dull. At least I don't get the sense that the author was typing one-handed at any point. show less

Not bad military sci fi, but not great military sci fi. For me, David Weber is the standard for all military sci fi writers and books and this author and this book don't even come close. Not remotely. However, that doesn't mean it's not enjoyable to a certain degree. The book is about two characters -- Garvin Jaansma and Njangu Yoshitaro -- who join the Confederation's military Force out of desperation and are shipped to the galaxy's outer planet of Cumbre. On their way, the ship is hijacked by pirates and they escape with a third man and make their way to the planet where they join their new military mates in Strike Force Swift Lance. The book is about their adventures with aliens, pirates, local rich people, murderous rebels who they show more get into a violent war with, etc. There's a lot of action, although it's not as good or as detailed as Weber. And there's a lot of sex too, although not too graphic. Which was sometimes distracting. The Confederation presumably falls apart, or at least they lose contact with it, and with that any chance for new troops and supplies, and find themselves surrounded by enemies. What will happen? Well, there's a minimal sense of closure in this book, but not much, as this is merely the first book of a new series. As far as "sci fi" goes, there's not much science. There is some effort at character development though, so I give the author credit for that. Some of the battles are hair brained, though, and I've got to wonder how the hell he came up with them. I wonder what branch of the military he served in and in what capacity? Whatever the case, it's a fairly light, quick read and cautiously recommended, although not highly. Decent book. Not great, not good, but decent. show less

Bit of a let down: I loved the Sten series and I found the premise of this one interesting. But.....Sadly it seemed to lack everything that made the Sten series so good, perhaps the influence of Chris Cole was missed too much. Boring characters, confusing and dull adversaries and, in my case, a bored reader. I wont be bothering with the rest of the series....

Chris Bunch writes what he knows - in this case being an elite soldier (although there's no author bio in this version, I'm pretty sure he used to be a Ranger in the US Army). Like many of his other books he takes real military history (in this case it looks like Vietnam) and transposes it to a different setting (in this case a sci-fi world, but in earlier books to fantasy settings too), and mixes it with a big chunk of verisimilitude thanks to having done the job, even if he wasn't in that particular war.

If you've like his other stuff, you'll enjoy this, if you've tried it and hate it, you won't find anything new here. If you've not tried his stuff before, this is a perfectly acceptable place to dip your toes in and give it a go.

This is a story following three new recruits to the Confederation army. They are out on the edges of known space. While learning their new trade the world they are on has a rebellion start and there are at least two different off-world threats. All three have different adventures that interlink to become somewhat significant figures in what happens. Quite an interesting story and I feel is better than most. I look forward to reading more of the series.

Somewhat weak - especially compared, say, to Corsair. A good-enough airport read.

Palla-No, David-Yes