ridel reviewed Spoils of War by Terry Mixon (The Imperial Marines Saga, #1)
An Uninspired Story in a Black and White Universe
2 stars
Sometimes you're reading a book and it's exactly what it is: there's nothing surprising about the plot, there's no layers to unravel, and duplicity is an unknown concept. The people? Everyone is logical and reasonable, and they're able to spot their own faults and accept responsibility for past mistakes. That's the true work of fiction in Spoils of War, a story about soldiers who would put propaganda posters to shame with their self-sacrifice and commitment to the survival of the Terran Empire. I've read guilty pleasures like that, but the author needs to bring their A-game for the rest of the novel.
Unfortunately, there's no depth to either the world or the characters. You've got a straightforward good vs evil plot (the evil side is truly evil, murdering civilians and children alike). There's not a single bad character amongst the good folks, and the evil side is universally despicable …
Sometimes you're reading a book and it's exactly what it is: there's nothing surprising about the plot, there's no layers to unravel, and duplicity is an unknown concept. The people? Everyone is logical and reasonable, and they're able to spot their own faults and accept responsibility for past mistakes. That's the true work of fiction in Spoils of War, a story about soldiers who would put propaganda posters to shame with their self-sacrifice and commitment to the survival of the Terran Empire. I've read guilty pleasures like that, but the author needs to bring their A-game for the rest of the novel.
Unfortunately, there's no depth to either the world or the characters. You've got a straightforward good vs evil plot (the evil side is truly evil, murdering civilians and children alike). There's not a single bad character amongst the good folks, and the evil side is universally despicable except for our main character. The world is light science-fiction, with ill-defined weapons, armor, and generally all technology. Space ships move at the pace of the plot. Weapons and armor are scaled up versions of what we have today. Politics and societies are practically non-existent.
But what makes this really hard to bear is the preaching. Conversations are unbelievably fake -- characters monologuing about their values, or making off-the-cuff speeches that politicians would have speech writers create. They keep going on about how they're going to accept responsibilty, or fix a previous wrong, or what their life goal is going to be. I'd be surprised if you didn't roll your eyes once at the black and white explanations.
I know I sound harsh. It's not a bad novel. There's just nothing memorable in it.
Not recommended.
