Book Reviews

So I’ve been meaning to write about the awesome opportunity that Laughing Wolf has given me. The readers on my personal website know what a huge dork I am about books. And how much I love the military sci fi/Baen book guys. So LW asked if I’d like to read, review, and interview some of the authors, particularly those with a military background, for the Youserved Podcast.

I said yes. That offer was given after I had already done that stuff for Tom Kratman and his book Amazon Legion (scroll down to pre-order). Oh, and peruse the other titles of both of these authors. Seriously. Gotta order some more books, like Tom’s A State of Disobedience.

The next gentleman up under my microscope is Michael Z Williamson, aka Mad Mike. He was so gracious as to provide 3 books, all inscribed to me, and I finished reading the final one last night.

So I was debating on the order of how I want to review the 3 books. Least fave to most fave? Oldest in print to newest release? I’m settling on the order in which I read them and I think my preferences will become obvious.

First up was Freehold. This book is actually available in the Baen Free Library via electronic download, but I absolutely cannot read electronic files. I am a bibliophile. The paper and binding and bookmark to keep my place as I start to get sleepy and leave the book on my pillow…uhhh, yeah, I buy books not files. So I recommend dropping the $7 and getting the hardcopy (scroll down to the bottom). It puts money into Mike’s pocket and really, it is just more satisfying to read a book.

Freehold. Two words…AWESOME BOOK.

So imagine 2 worlds. One, a major nanny state where you get “everything” and you are beholden to those who give, aka the government (in this case, the UN). Another world, full on libertarian. Capitalism, judicial equality, and what will soon become CJ’s all time favorite point I’m sure, you can take disputes to a duel. There is NO such thing as “gun-control.”

Ok, yes, that makes my heart pitter-patter a little too.

The whole story surrounds a woman who is falsely accused of a crime. She makes her way to the libertarian planet, Grainne. She must totally adjust her way of thinking, assumptions, even finding it in herself to realize that when you have total freedom, you also have total responsibility for yourself. That is scary for those nanny-staters.

This is a really long book. It is more in line with Battlefield Earth in the sense that you think the story might end, but you notice there are still a few hundred pages left. I mean, where can this author go? Mike takes us through a full scale war in his book. The details of how a libertarian society would work in theory are interesting. He is a touch idealistic, but I would LOVE to live in such a world.

Here’s a question for you…what happens when you dump a bunch of people on a planet when they are used to sucking off the government tit and they’re thrust into a situation where they actually have to work and succeed on their own merits? He has a section in the book illustrating his thoughts on the reactions of those who are used to such caretaking before self-sufficiency. The current common phrase is EPIC FAIL.

I really recommend that book to get a feel for Mike’s creativity. It may be his first book and could probably have been split into 2, possibly 3 different stories, but in the end, though a long read, it was great. I love stories like his. Uncommon topic while still illustrating current attitudes, themes, problems, solutions, and theories. I’m not really a 3 stars, 4 stars kind of person. I’m more of a “buy it, it’s worth your money” kinda gal, and so that is my recommendation. Buy the book.

The next book in my queue was Do Unto Others. The description on that website doesn’t really do justice to the book. All of the characters are personable. I really only like books where I can relate to or imagine characters as being my friends. And crazy people are definitely in my friend category (if you have ever met CJ, you’d know what I was talking about).

Basically, it is a tight gang of six. Bodyguards, but more militarily structured and with that hardcore attitude, than how I mentally sort out bodyguards of the rich and famous, if that makes sense. They are willing to take risks for each other and for their contracted protectee than you would expect. I think it’s that professionalism which comes across. I have always believed that military units take pride in their professionalism and in the way they judiciously conduct war. None of my friends have disabused me of this notion. Mike’s Ripple Creek team has that same feel. No shenanigans, all business. But still human, real, so, you know, a few shenanigans, but nothing that puts Caron Prescot, their primary, at risk.

This is your basic, full throttle action book. Attacks from different angles, counters and strategy, blowing things up. I can dig it.

There is little deeper message other than the Golden Rule about treating others as you wish to be treated and also, there comes a point, where having so much money because a problem more than a solution. I’d buy this book after getting the predecessor, Better to Beg Forgiveness, only because there are a few references backwards in time that I personally didn’t get.

The final book I read was Contact with Chaos. Even with my background in economics and whatnot, I had a very hard time following this book. It might have been the disparate philosophies cropping up in clashes, it might have been that it is more a study in controlling technology transfer between a highly superior to a much lower tech leveled world/species, or it might be because the characters didn’t resonate with me on a personal level. I don’t know. This is more a first contact book than military sci fi (although there are some military related scenes throughout the book).

So the breakdown…there are basically 5 widely diverse groups. Earth/UN as described in the Freehold review, nanny-state all domineering from a governmental point of view; Grainne, libertarian/capitalistic; the aliens; the businesses seeking to gain a monetary foothold; and the military trying to protect them all.

The main part that Mike put a lot of thought and energy into (as far as I can tell), is how would a world develop without metals as an abundant resource? How technologically advanced can that world become and what ramifications can be derived with interaction with the aliens? He does put a lot of effort and intelligent analysis of that particular topic and I learned a few things. Which, in the end, is always a good result. But I didn’t feel any sort of satisfaction from a good conclusion. I didn’t feel like I had emotionally invested in any one character to care what happened to him or her. Maybe a little with a few of the soldiers. Maybe enough with one to go back and purchase The Weapon and wait for the followup to be finished and released. I’ll have to see after it all settles in my brain (especially since I just finished this one last night).

I can say that maybe I totally missed the point. Mike’s inscription in this particular book says, “It almost looks like an apology for capitalism. Oh wait, no it doesn’t.” So perhaps I should go back and read it again, perhaps try to decipher the deeper message. Or maybe wait to ask him when he’s interviewed tonight to find out where he was going with that inscription versus what I read in the book.

Either way, I’m really glad I took the time to read all 3 novels. It’s obvious that Freehold was my favorite. It spoke to me cuz of my personal political views. Isn’t that what all books that we consider great do? Speak to us on a private and personal level?

I look forward to hearing what he has to say tonight. I think it will mostly be about his efforts on behalf of Cooking with the Troops and Operation Fight the Post Holiday Blues in conjunction with CWTT and Gina Elise. But I hope that in either tonight’s interview, or perhaps the follow up one after their trip to Landstuhl, we can discuss his books and some of his thinking. That would be cool.

postscript: I had to edit heavily to post here on this website so if any profanity lingered from the original on my blog, please accept my apologies. I was up late doing the review and up early doing this editing.