Get Your Science Fiction Here

Master Sergeant by Mel Odom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is straightforward science fiction in the old style--humans and aliens on distant planets coming into conflict, using advanced technology, facing the challenges of a harsh environment, fighting and trying to stay alive. For those who enjoy that kind of SF--like me--it might be just what you're looking for. Good action, good fun.

I like the characters, who are as round as they need to be for SF action, and the setting is sufficiently fleshed out to engage a reader. The pacing is quick and the story rolls along.

My one real quibble is that the novel is sort of incomplete. There is a little resolution at the end, and it is a self-contained novel, but it is also the beginning of a series and leaves most of the conflict and resolution for future novels. That's cool, but it makes it that much less fun for me. I'll probably get the next one, but the serial nature of it is not exactly to my taste.

Still, overall, it's fun, light enough to be enjoyed during an apocalypse, and complex enough to satisfy a regular SF reader. Also, having met the author at a convention, and finding him pleasant, humble, and engaging, I'm happy to be able to give him a boost and recommend this novel.

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