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It's David Drake, and those who know, know. This is a compilation of his selected stories from Hammer's Slammers and another storyline that I'm not familiar with. Anyway, the book has a reference to his story of the Bolo super tank series, and probably the least liked of them, along with a couple others that I didn't read and like. As a military veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Afterword is perhaps the best that I've read so far by him. He acknowledges the wars

Like all of Jeffrey Matucha's books, it takes you to the land of Punk that I could have at some point existed in. However, the book is about Skye, and frankly, she goes through a lot, and at the end, it isn't surprising. In a way, I expected it earlier, but it took its sweet time getting to the downfall. It's carried on into another book, which at some point I will read (another book I just bought is taking priority), but the book is good, and harkens to the punk life that as

As an OEF and OIF vet, I’ve seen both wars in one tour. Iraq was first, and this was, of course, the first actual conflict that I participated in. I won’t go into particulars, but it opened my eyes to combat, what little I did anyway. I think Afghanistan was better, but again, despite my efforts, I saw little combat, but worked with my JFOs and Fos, who saw more of the conflict than I did from being in the TOC most of the time. With Iran now, who knows? On one hand, the Irani

I mean, yeah, it gets better towards the end, and frankly, it's a book to consider reading at least once. It's probably what the Trump Administration is shooting for, and the parallels are pretty interesting. While thankfully this story (to some degree) is fiction, the realities of what happens in Russia, China, and now, the USA, are what dictators hope for. It's a chilling tale and sure to raise some questions on what the Trump Administration wants. All dictators want what t

Unfortunately I'm having some technical issues reading this book. For those who finished it, I applaud you, but it seems Kindle just doesn't want me to read this book. From what I did read however, was a way to pick out who's who in the Christian Nationalist spectrum. It is a somewhat eye-opener, but also the methods of the Christian Nationalist movement is a little easier to understand, and deal with. The key to learning about your enemy is how they tick, and what they think

As Army FMs go this is an informative one, to say the least. The book is in itself in the boring vernacular of the manuals that the Army puts out. It takes no sides, and focuses on the manual content that it's supposed to. Some of this I had picked up elsewhere, so I skipped a few portions of the book, since it wasn't relevant to me needing just plain information. The interesting note is that it was taken from the original manual written years ago. More or less, it's a rehash

The only knock against this book is how it's formatted. It's done sometimes with some US Army books, but overall, it's tolerable, so I'd like to give it 4.5 stars. Other than that, it's a good read. As I learn more and get curious, I wanted to get an idea of feminism, so why not just buy a book on it? This isn't the last and only book on the subject, but as I peel away some layers of thought, I thought it would be interesting to read it. And it's good, real good, and descript

As an ending to the series, it's interesting how this all turned out with the series end. The book was good to read, and I frankly wish it would continue on. But, as I think about it, it was a good way to close up the series, too. JN Chaney made sure to make sure that the story had ended. Whether or not he'll pursue (there is a "prequel" series out now) the universe as it ended, but if it does, I'll be sure to read it. 5 out of 5 stars. https://amzn.to/40a6hNX

While I do admittedly live a near sedentary life, this book helps me look at things, and find some balance (no pun intended, sorta) with my life, and get me moving more, since I don't move as much as I maybe should. In any case the book is filled with some good examples on how to get more motion and range from your body through some practical exercises. Some are easy, some are hard, like the first one in the book where you learn to stand up without using your hands and such.

One thing with books is that, especially with scifi) Is that you gotta come up with some stuff to keep people interested? I don't know how interested people are in my books, but it seems that I at least make people think. This book, it makes you think about the possibilities the characters go through, and how you can write something similar or take your own approach. The story is good, and kinda makes me wonder what else is out there by JN Chaney and such. I have one more boo

I have to admit the series is pretty good science fiction. It boils down to Machiavellian power moves, but overall, I like the books. Admittedly, I'm looking for some F-bombs or something to make me feel better, but the cleanliness of the words is not going to deter me from reading a book like this. It's pretty interesting, with the plot there, as in it's there in your face without it being in your face, more or less. The storytelling does a good job of being relevant and doe

I don't know Sean that well, and I've read some of his books; this is one of them, of course. The book is pretty interesting and a quasi-guide to emerging warfare trends. One thing that resonates with me is how to work against dictatorships, which we're dealing with here in the USA. Other things mentioned included cyber and the other domains we fight in. What stood out was his reasoning about the new trend in warfare, and if you look at it, counterinsurgency seems to be the n

The good thing about this book was that it used something other than enemy aliens trying to kill them. Without going into too much detail, it was a nice break from the routine, and it focused on the characters and how they react to new environments. It's a bit refreshing how J N Chaney worked things out for the characters, and a creative use of a trope that was only seen in Clash By Night anyway, but the use of animals instead of bipedal enemies was also something good and re

It's a good book yes, but I think the scope of questions should have also been limited or expanded to the enlisted, rather than just commissioned officers. While yes, officers command the units, the scope and breadth of the enlisted should never be underestimated. Maybe because I came from an enlisted background that colors my opinion so far, but it doesn't detract from the book. The book as is however, is only marred by poor graphics, oriented the wrong way and you have to m

I thought it was a good book, and frankly, I like most of the books in the series. With everything that has happened, I get the impression that the MC is just a stud. I think in some ways it's good that he gets promoted fast. There is a war going on, and the casualties are pretty high, so I have to acknowledge it, even though I disagree with how fast he's getting promoted. But it's not my story, and the only real major nitpick of the book, even though it's still good. I final

A really good book in the GWOT timeline. It details some adventures the author went through and really shows the "Other side" of PMC work, as opposed to military stuff. It's interesting to read from this perspective, because I need some material for stories, and this has fit the bill with an arc that I'm writing for my military science fiction. What this book doesn't (unlike another book I read on the same subject) do is glamorize the life of a PMC operator. Sure, there's som

Another good story down. As the series progresses, it's good to see the characters develop and have their own desires and needs. While it doesn't cover EVERY character, it's good enough to keep you focused on the MC. That shows a great sense of development, and the input for how he thinks and so on didn't get wasted on the story. There is a bit more death than I thought, but when you write military stuff, somebody is going to die. How the MC reacts to it is kinda how I would.

I'm "DNFing" this book. I thought about it long and hard, and the subject is that it's not for the weak-stomached, which I apparently have. The last 5% that I read, I had to stop and bear it. The book is well done (no pun intended, seriously) about Black people and during slavery times, the cannibalism and homoerotic stuff that they were put through. The original author did a great job on the subject, just that I've read horror books tamer than this. I'm sorry, I'd like to fi

I really don't read clean scifi, not because of some misguided belief that it should always have curse words or violence, but more because that's what I know. Overall, though, this was a good start to a series, of which I'll be following from now on. The book is good, it's not overly heavy on the details, and it flows pretty nicely, giving you an invested feel for the characters. There is some violence, but that comes from a relative, and not some (as of yet anyway) shadow or

Honestly, I skipped the intro to the book because I really can't stand a brag sheet. Once I got past it, though, it's a great book on effective communication. Sure, a Republican does it, but these days, people could use some learning from this book. It's down-to-earth and an easy read. It describes what works, what doesn't work, and what you should do to be an effective communicator. Sure, it's slanted to the Republicans, but even the Democrats get some nods, so it's not too