Julio

Absolutely astounding, and horrifying

Revisado: 10-22-24

The scope and depth this book manages to cover is an achievement. Peter Hart ties in the larger events of the war with vibrant and shocking accounts from the people who lived through it. It's as comprehensive as possible, while keeping a narrative focus. It's well balanced with it's judgements. And it's hard to hear some of the stories. if you're looking for a good jumping off point for delving into the history of the great war, I really can't recommend anything higher than this.

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an impressive and immersive account

Revisado: 01-27-22

this was fantastically well researched and very compelling. Lots of detailed accounts of events that brought these young soldiers to life, living through some of the most brutal combat of the second world war.

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a top rate account of Vietnam

Revisado: 08-10-21

An incredible story. Not told absolutely perfectly, as the author even admits, but that tends to be the nature of these personal accounts of war. You are expected to know some basic military jargon, though some is explained to you. At the same time, this is not some comprehensive retelling of the entire Vietnam war.

His story is, at times poignant, intense and downright hilarious. Him and his unit work closely with local tribesman called Montagnards, and remembers them accurately and with all the respect due a fellow comrade in arms.

If you're on the fence about this, and you love war accounts, this is up there with Ernst Junger and whoever wrote blood red snow. Only this and "We Few" are at times some of the funniest material I have ever read. You will not be disappointed.

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new favorite book

Revisado: 06-09-21

Everything everyone else is ranting about this book is true, and then some. It's some of the funniest stuff I've ever heard, but the author did a fantastic job of also explaining the mindset and tactics of special forces recon. Top. itch stuff this is

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Almost amazing

Revisado: 02-11-21

This whole series feels like it's just shy of being perfect. There's so many positive aspects of it, with few to no negatives. Correia is a fantastic author, and clearly skilled. He knows how to write compelling characters, great action scenes and rich worlds.
The main problem I have with it doesn't seem to be some glaring plot hole or atrocious writing technique, but rather monotony.
The biggest cause of this (all of this is in my opinions, keep that in mind) is Ashok. Having your main character be an unstoppable killing machine is only interesting for so long. Correia definitely recognizes this, and tries to mitigate it by humanizing him. Giving him character development and changing his mindset on the law; something so fundamental to him is fantastic writing, and done well. But you still have the problem of him being literally unable to die. Maybe the later books explain this in some sort of way that makes sense, but for now it feels like there are no steaks.
Near the end of this book (slight spoiler) he even says he can't be killed. It seems like further on, the author is planning on playing with the idea of how normal people deal with being mythologized, which can be interesting to a degree. But that's 3 books of setup for something like that, with very little payoff so far.
I had another similar fundamental problem with the wheel of time series. Authors often use tropes to shorten the world building they need to do, which I think is a necessary and good tool if used correctly. WOT uses too many tropes with too little added content, making me wonder why I'm reading so many books of what is essentially the same stuff I've already got through, just reflavored.
With the Forgotten Warrior, one problem is repetitive combat. Facing hundreds of enemies, slaughtering them and being gravely wounded or straight up killed, then popping back up in the next chapter with a minor limp or scar. It's explained in canon, it makes logical sense. But you still can't help but feel like it's a cop out. There's no sense of permanence, it's just Ashok being suicidally brave, only to constantly make it through anyways.
The various factions are pretty bland superficially, with some slight nuance when given a closer look. But the parts that I've loved, the ones I can remember and go back to in my mind are the human parts. Jagdish is probably my new all time favorite character, Gutch is a close runner up. And Thera is okay, but a little done to death by now. Devedas is solid, I like the sort of limbo grey area he resides in between good and bad, not even sure where he sits himself.
There is the potential of being my third of forth favorite series of all time, except there's not enough meat on the bone. We're left with a bunch of awkward dialogue, side stories that are either predictable or don't pay off, 2d characters beside 3d ones (if that scans). I'm not sure if I'm getting the next book in the series or not.
Hopefully all my rambling has helped you come to a decision for yourself. Book 2 was my favorite so far if that helps

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really good fantasy

Revisado: 11-26-20

Conan style sword and sorcery, almost asoiaf tier political maneuvering, cool monsters, and just the right amount of mysteries and revelations to keep you interested without feeling forced. it's best when ashok is trying to cope with the lie he's devoted his entire life to, sometimes to comical extremes.
The only real gripe i have with it is the whole "one man army" thing annoys me. I get making your protagonist skilled and deadly. But this is rediculous. It sometimes reaches anime levels of this syndrome, with the main protagonist just constantly being unkillable all the time (really, kept thinking of Guts from Berserk). So if that bothers you too, be forewarned
However, the side characters are fleshed out enough that I absolutely loved them. The guard captain and the librarian are some of my favorite characters in recent memory, they just feel real, and have their own goals and motivations that drive the plot forward
Overall, very good book. Give it a read

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Corporate monsters and xenos

Revisado: 11-23-20

I've always had a real affinity to the alien franchise. The combination of hard sci-fi and interesting monsters, the look and feel of the films, I loved it. The recent movies have been a huge let down. Fortunately, novels like this and alien 3 have made up for it.

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the halo book I've been waiting for

Revisado: 10-09-20

I've been a halo nerd since middle school. I read all the books up to ghost of onyx back then, and though I liked them, I always felt they could have been better. More nuanced. This is what the halo books should have been. Let me explain.
This book finally tackles the elephant in the room of this series, something that's always disturbed me. The fact that the spartan 2 program stole children from their families, experimented on them, and turned them into super soldiers. not as a last resort weapon against the covenant, but as a strike force to quell rebellion in outer colonies.
Who gets the blame for these atrocities? How do the grown up children who are now super soldiers cope with these revelations? what about the washouts of the program, left scarred and disfigured from the failed augmentations, what about the families left behind dealing with the loss of a child? Do the ends justify the means?
And it's well written. Believable, relatable characters navigating cold war espionage situations and government conspiracies. Also, the narrator is fantastic. Spot on accents and a smooth voice.
If you're new to Halo, this may be dropping you a bit far in the deep end. but if you've played the games I think you'll have enough info to suss out what's going on.
10/10, I can't wait for my next dive into the kilo-5 trilogy

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what to say

Revisado: 07-16-20

Well, I'm stuck. I'm in love with the character of Geralt of Rivia, and Dandelion. Of the ugly guard woman and the good werewolf. The setting is incredible. The combat never fails to be amazing. And there's always brief flashes of brilliance in all of Sapkowskiis novels, this one included.
But something about this one didn't flow well. The pacing is off. The romance is trite and done before with the witcher himself. The ending is already written for this series, and it's hard to feel the stakes when I know the witcher will make it out. It all just felt off.
If you're a die hard witcher fan like I am, go ahead and put this one under your belt. If you're new to the series, start with the last wish or Sword of Destiny.
Peter Kenny is THE narrator for this series as usual. Consistently amazing voice acting and interpretation of the text.

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good story, but not worth buying

Revisado: 02-14-20

this is a well researched, revealing insight into the Johnny cash/folsom prison blues story. however, it's short and not worth buying. more of a long podcast than an audiobook. I got it for free one month and just got around to listening to it. you're better off reading a book to go more in depth if you're interested, or wait for this to go on sale for like $2.

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