Day of the Damned

Death’s Head Series
David Gunn

1. Death’s Head (4 ½ stars out of 5)
2. Death’s Head: Maximum Offense (4 stars out of 5)
3. Death’s Head: Day of the Damned (4 stars out of 5)

When it’s time to put down those dusty classics, the recommended high-brow literature and your lengthy summer reading list I suggest you pick up any one of David Gunn’s Death’s Head books. They are the Science Fiction equivalent of the action adventure blockbuster movies you’ve come to know and love. The stories move faster than the speed of light and are quite literally jammed with swearing, shooting and screwing (not necessarily in that order.) Between the three S’s however, you’ll find great storytelling, sharp dialogue and quite a few unique show more literary inventions. Wait! That just doesn’t give justice to Gunn’s work. There is backstabbing, compassion, evisceration and even a bit of technological tom-foolery. Yes, I said it – tom-foolery. How else do you explain the computer chip resurrection some characters achieve? But take my word for it this is not a cheap sub-plot to play god. There is logic and purpose behind the concept. You’ll feel it before you truly understand it.

The Death’s Head books are military Science Fiction the way it was intended to be written and the way it must be read. The characters are the meanest, nastiest, toughest survival-types you’ll ever meet and they find themselves in impossible situations under unbelievable odds. Yet, they still manage to stay sane and complete the missions (well, most of them anyway.) Two of my favorite creations are the talking gun (and a smart-ass to boot) and a cognizant, sentient planet. You really have to read them to understand the complexities involved. But believe me when I tell you that it’s absolutely worth it. I’ve been reading the series since the publication of the very first book and I wait impatiently for each next installment to hit the bookstores. (I haven’t done that since Harry Potter!) This is great solid, throw-back military Science Fiction and I assure you that you won’t be wasting your money if you purchase every book in the series.

The Alternative
Southeast, Wisconsin show less

The third book in the Death's Head series, which remains an enjoyable though guilty pleasure.

Sven is back, and for the most part Aux-less in this story of civil war and intergalactic political intrigue.

Though the first in the series remains the strongest entry, and this book gets off to a rocky start, by the middle, the story is very engaging.

Colonel Vijay Jaxx has been kidnapped by a rival army whose general has an ax to grind with the Jaxx family. Our anti-hero Sven has sworn an oath of allegiance to the Emperor OctoV and his General Indigo Jaxx, and is bound to Vijay after the events of the second book, Maximum Offense.

We also discover the fate of Aptitude's parents, last seen on the prison planet, Paradise, in the first book in show more the series.

There are more plot twists this time around and they are generally used effectively, but like other reviewers of the series on this site, I am increasingly aware of Sven's shortcomings as a character. (I believe "Mary Sue" is the term). This makes it a little less enjoyable, and the lack of the Aux through most of the book makes it a little dry and stereotypical. The lack of the SIG, the wise-cracking, pain in the ass full AI handgun gives Sven no one to back-and-forth with.

I am also disappointed at the only incidental mention of the Ferox. A huge part of the first book was this savage scourge of the desert planet, and the species is enshrined in the Senators' rings, but we never see or hear about the Ferox outside of that incident. Were they wiped out with flamefire?

In their place the "indestructible monster that only Sven can kill" in this installment are the Furies. They are little more than a weapon in the book and little is added to the story by having them instead of any other space monster.

There are attempts at character development in the book, and the idea of making Sven more fleshed-out is certainly something I'd like to see. He is encouraged by new Aux member Ilona to "think about the long game" and tends to think before shooting. Seeing him develop in this way would be a mixed blessing, but if the SIG can take the role of "hyper-aggressor who wants to kill NOW" it would make an interesting dynamic.

Again, this is a guilty pleasure read, so I'm not expecting much more than to be entertained, and that I most certainly am. show less

This series is a guilty pleasure of mine but this one didn't live up to the previous books. The characters seem a bit cardboard, relying on your knowledge of them from previous books rather than any depth in this one. A fair number of little threads left hanging in the plot—see Chekhov's dictum about a gun appearing in the first act...lots of that type of thing. Gunn also resorted to a semi-cliffhanger ending to make sure we buy the next one. I hate that and wish this was standalone like the last two.

This novel has a little less action than the previous 2 in the series, and the plot, to me, is so convoluted at times that I just stopped trying to figure it out and just plowed ahead until I knew what was going on again. But I do like the main character and his James Bond-like trait of getting through every dangerous thing alive and his wise-cracking gun is the best! I LOVE his gun! I missed it in this novel because it spent so much time away from the action.

346 pages. Borrow it don't buy it. Its a standard super solider book. This is 3rd of 3 books so far. I picked this one up by accident. The writer doesn't give you much help in terms of back story. Yet after 25 pages or so I wasn't lost. The book is violent . It is well written. It is funny.
I was disappointed with the ending. I may read 1st two books in the series to understand the characters better. Overall a decent read. Yet not worth of a purchase. Get this from your library.

It isn't as good as either of the other books in the series - less action, less space-stuff, and less gun'tude. Sven is as cool-cucumber as in the other books, but he doesn't kick much butt at all... the book is spent travelling and "keeping the peace" and, other than a scene or two, the violence doesn't really involve Sven or the Aux (who are only in about half the book).

I missed the "space" component and I missed Sven kicking butt. And I missed the SIG's attitude, and I even missed the Aux. The plot was more complicated than in the others, though it was still followable... it was wrapped up so oddly that I wonder if the author ran out of time, or couldn't figure out what to do with the characters to draw the story to a close. Anyway...

Dark, violent, profane and great fun to read. Wish there were more than three in this series.