Germline: The Subterrene War, Book 1

This book really surprised me, and once the story had me I couldn't put it down (well, pause it I suppose). The story was excellent, the characterization superb, and the portrayal of the conflict very realistic. It reminded me very much of my first reading of Micheal Herr's Dispatches. The narration was spot on, and perfectly in-tune with the personalities in the story. Probably one of my best purchases thus far on Audible.

In her review for Bull Spec #6, C.D. Covington called Germline ???equal parts The Forever War and Hammer???s Slammers??? and that???s pretty high praise. The book doesn???t have the star-spanning scope of Joe Haldeman???s The Forever War, and it doesn???t have the attention to detail of Hammer???s Slammers. But neither of these is the point. The novel is a first person foray into a future war through the eyes of an increasingly strung-out failed journalist. There is no lengthy exposition of how the battle suits work, what the weapons or countryside look like, or, in fact, lengthy exposition at all. There are missteps (particularly in some of the major transitions) and the book doesn???t achieve perfection, but there???s just something to it: something which vaguely recalls Vonnegut, or even Kerouac, in its bouncing, drug-blurred narrative. Publishers Weekly name-checks ???Remarque, Willi Heinrich, and especially Michael Herr??? but these names don???t mean much to me (though a quick trip to Wikipedia was quite informative). At a brisk 9 hours, very well-cast with Corren???s narration, it was exactly the summer change-up I needed from the 40-50 hour epics of George R.R. Martin. (Which I enjoyed immensely in that mode, but there???s a certain discount factor when comparing books of 9 and 50 hours!)

I think fans of science fiction--and in particular, military scifi--deserve accurate pronounciation of terms. It is "core-man," NOT "cores-man," and yes, I know how it's spelled. The "s", just like the "p" is silent. There were other mispronounciations as well, but this one just screamed out at me every time I heard it. There are no acceptable excuses. I don't blame the reader, who in every other regard did a fine job. No, I blame the producer and the director. Take some care and pride in your work. I paid good money for this audiobook. I deserve the words to be pronounced correctly.

I enjoyed this book. It is a grimy / dirt military adventure with Strong characters and excellent writing. The author will move to the upper portion on my list.

This book was just random. It's like going to a Old Folks Home and listening to the rants of a half crazy veteran. There seems to be no point to the book and I was nodding off every time I pressed play.

No point, while it had science fiction points, it wasn't what I would call science fiction.

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Boring