Mike

Like a Clancy Novel w/50% of the Research

Revisado: 06-22-24

Overall, an excellent near-future tale of the fight for Taiwan. Compelling characters, interesting commentaries on the forces involved, but misses the mark a number of times when speaking to US military operations, capabilities and culture, especially the U.S. Space Force.

Having said that, I don’t want to criticize the capabilities misses too harshly. After all, this is military science fiction, so there has to be some level of speculation as to what would be in a Taiwan fight at the end of the decade. But the General would have been well-served to have a senior U.S. military officer proofread his manuscript to better capture the culture, the vocabulary, and the doctrine. There are many minor mis-portrayals in the story over which an informed reader will stumble, especially one with any experience in military space operations.

The author is a retired Aussie 2-star, which is good to keep in mind as you read / listen. Perspective explains a lot. Also, to be fair, it’s a hell of a task, trying to capture the scope of a Taiwan fight, from the global geopolitical plays, to theater and operational strategy, on down to the NCO level of the tactical fight on the ground. A “better” treatment would be an epic on the scale of “The Winds of War”, but I think the General was trying to make this tale more easily digestible.

And that’s, ultimately, what this comes down to: a story presented as several small slices of life from several minor players in a major theater conflict. Some American, some Taiwanese, and some Chinese. The author glosses over many aspects of the fight (especially non-kinetic effects outside the theater…though the influence ops/social media campaign portrayal is nicely done), but that’s mostly to keep the story moving at a good pace.

Lastly, the narrator is good, but mispronounced (or used unusual pronunciations of) many words and terms. They act like speed bumps to any U.S. listener, especially a military one. The narrator doesn’t know how to pronounce “INDOPACOM”, for instance, and it’ll take a moment to realize he just said “adversary”. Great, gravelly American accent wrapped around Canadian and English pronunciations…or ones driven by unfamiliarity with the U.S. military.

One final pet peeve: the names for the named operations in the book are pure Aussie. No U.S. planning cell would use the names the author picked.

Again: a good proofreader would have helped a lot.

But *still*: a good story. Worth the listen. With caveats.

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Sigler’s Best Novel To Date

Revisado: 12-13-23

I’ve been a Scott Sigler fan since he first released “Earthcore” as a podcast. “Shakedown” is, by far, his best novel, to date. It’s great science fiction with those moments of dread and horror that he does so well, and a fantastic ensemble cast. But more than anything, “Shakedown” is a great *military* story. Scott does a lot of research when he’s crafting a tale, and he’s got a lot of outside subject matter experts that help him with many aspects of his stories. He obviously has some military consultants, because “Shakedown”’s cast feels very genuine and true to form, like S1E1-4 of the Battlestar Galactica reboot several years ago. I’m a 35-year military guy, and I think Sigler’s portrayal of the military culture and ethos feels really solid, even given the liberties he takes due to the far-future setting. Scott has become a master of the craft, and I can’t wait to pre-order future installments of this series.

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A good narrative history marred by author’s conceit and voice

Revisado: 09-05-22

A good narrative history of Ronald Reagan’s rise to the Presidency and the years that followed. That said, the author would have been better served hiring a professional voice actor to narrate. His own, whispy-yet-watery English accent makes for difficult listening at times. That, and his conceit of injecting himself into Reagan’s story to bear virtual witness to events he never saw seems rather arrogant. Still and all, an bearable listen if you’re interested in the subject matter.

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Echoes of Great Battletech Novels Past

Revisado: 02-08-21

This novel feels like a return to an earlier era of BT fiction, where characters were interesting and had actual story arcs, and political maneuvering and spycraft were as important as 'Mech battles.

It's great to pair up Paul Moon and Trent again, and give their story some closure, just as it's interesting to see Clans Nova Cat and Goliath Scorpion portrayed with nuance. BLP is an old hand at BT fiction, but his love of the canon is obvious (...even if Paul Moon's redemption comes a little faster than one would expect of a Smoke Jaguar).

Oh, one hit on the narration (and only one): referring to the Smoke Jaguars as the Smoke "Jagwires" was really distracting. I think the UK English "Jag'-yew-wer" pronunciation would have been less jarring, honestly. Otherwise, a fantastic performance.

Overall, a good tale, told as a remembrance of Victor Steiner-Davion, post-Jihad and post-founding of the Republic of the Sphere (and, please God, can we retcon then entire MW:DA era as the fever dream of a dying Victor at some point?). BLP took the opportunity to fill in some of the historical gaps, and did so with great skill. Well worth the read or listen.

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Surpassed Expectations

Revisado: 10-17-20

Excellent performances, but the most surprising and gratifying aspect of the story is, Eisenberg knew exactly when - and how - to end it. It's a rare treat when the denouement alters your perception of everything that preceded it, to include the title. Well worth the time.

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