For Those Who Fell (Legion Of The Damned novels) by William C. Dietz
01/09/2004 . Source: Paul Hanley 
pub: Ace. 410 page hardback. Price: $24.95 (US), $36.00 (CAN). ISBN: 0-441-01198-5. Buy from Amazon US - Buy from Amazon UK
nb: US titles may only be available from Amazon US, and UK titles from Amazon UK. check out website: www.penguin.com
Ace
This is a military Science Fiction story. I believe it is part of a series but the is the first one I have read. This is an excellent story, well written and rich in detail which sets the scene both militarily and against the background of a galaxy-wide war.
William Dietz tells his story from the viewpoint of a variety of characters. Some are civilians or diplomats but most are military or space navy officers and soldiers. I do not know if Dietz has military experience himself but he creates a believable military environment whilst his description of weaponry, tactics, combat and so forth are very well done.
It is clear that some of the characters have met each other in earlier books. This did not detract from this book which provided a complete story in itself and was well worth reading on its own.
The background is that the Confederacy, of which humanity forms a part, is in retreat in the face of an insect-like enemy, the Ramathians. They also suffer lukewarm support from various allies and are having to relocate to a new home planet for the Confederacy government. None of Confederacy planets wants to host the government knowing the Ramathians are likely to follow. However, they do establish a capital courtesy of the Legion which bases itself on the windswept, snowbound planet Algeron. It is clearly modelled on the French Foreign Legion and the author has it adopt many of that fighting forces tradition. Also occupying this planet are its native population which see the politicians arrival as an opportunity to improve their own position.
It comes to the Confederacy's attention that the Ramathians are operating an experimental device on a distant world, Savas. This will apparently enable instant communications across space and would both revolutionise warfare as well as giving their enemy a guaranteed victory in the war.
The Legion despatch one of their 'Cavalry' Regiments to land on the planet and capture this device. Whilst some of the troops are human some are cyborgs, literally human brains controlling large, powerful fighting machines. The 'biobods' ride the cyborgs, hence the cavalry designation. It is a great tribute to William Dietz's skill that he is able to make this all seem possible and believable.
The rest of the story is a thriller as the protagonists, primarily the hard-bitten Colonel Kobbi and one of his junior officers, Santana, overcome difficulties and disasters to win through.
Mr. Dietz also tells part of the story from the viewpoint of several of the insect-like enemy and succeeds in making them rounded characters rather than just hate figures and suitable targets.
This is an excellent story, well-written and excitingly told. If you like military SF this is definitely a book for you. I will certainly be looking out the earlier books in the series and reading them.
Paul Hanley |
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