I finally had somebody who agreed to do an in depth of the GPI novels. I told Coco to not mince words, if it is good, tell me, also if it is bad tell me that too.
So what I intend to do is to post his initial overall impression and his chapter one review. After that I am going to post one chapter review, and any relevant replies, a day, to allow discussion and questions to be asked.
Cheers, Thor
Coco146 Wrote:
Don't have the first report finished yet, so I'm gonna have to make this thread to give me a kick in the trousers
I'm going to start with my overall impressions first, I know we discussed this over Skype but it can't hurt to have it here.
Well, I enjoyed the book, as I said, after the technical issues were resolved, it is nice and easy, perfectly simple to understand and doesn't mince words, for someone like me who just can't be bothered to follow the over complicated nonsense that some folks like to write that's a godsend. It also has a couple of characters who I can sit and read and say to myself "this person is solid gold awesome" (Admiral Denisov in particular is just pure win, he's like Leonidas and Monty all in one.) The book is quite long, but I never stopped enjoying it, it never got tedious. The only parts that I didn't like were the parts about what psy-war and the intelligence guys get up to, not that I don't like the writing, I just find reading about espionage difficult, particularly when it involves assassinations and such, weird I know, I'm just a complete **** I guess.
Thorgrimm Wrote:
We all have our likes and dislikes.
Thank you for your report and look forward to the others.
Cheers, Thor
Haegan Wrote:
It's hard for people to look at the good guys and hear "assassins" but i can see the Terrans doing it based off of how the war is going. Desperate times would call for desperate measures.
Just because the CIA(TIA in the future) is not supposed to do wet work now, does not mean that the ability to do it does not exist in the future after the nation gets reconstituted. It would depend I think on how the other powers would view it. I think I can say that some of them use wet work on a regular basis, at least internally. Those that do, would also have no issues using it on those who are not their citizens as well.
Originally I had thought that the assassin capability was a result of the war, but the guy with the sharpened teeth seemed to have been around for awhile and Chris Coleman seemed to have a pretty good knowledge of how to do the frame up(ie he seemed practiced).
Thorgrimm Wrote:
One of my goals with my writing is to keep it real, and we all know every intelligence service, of every nation that has ever existed, has 'things' they would like to keep hidden. So, the TIA had to reflect that reality and Ivan is one of those 'things' that is only released in times of dire emergency.
Just tryin' ta keep it 'real'.
By the way, War is just legalized murder. There is no glory in war. However, it is a dirty and nasty job that, sometimes, must be done.
I will finish up this post with a quote from the best politician ever produced in that sceptered isle of Great Britain, and he says it best:
"If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory is sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.” --Winston Churchill
Amen Winston
Cheers, Thor
Coco Wrote:
Right got the first two, sorry they are so short, but I just ain't got much time, and frankly I'm exhausted
Prologue:
Its short but utterly indespensable, not much to say beyond it sets the scene, without the information contained within a lot of the story wouldn't make sense.
Chapter 1:
The opening of this chapter really nicely sets the scene, the whole without hope theme. The image of the broken fleet drifting above the planet really gets that across. I will say, reading the book the first time had me a little confused, but now I have a much better understanding of what's going on, I just found the way in which it changed focus on character time and location very quickly a little different. While there is a bit of a “we're doomed” vibe, the fact that the book starts off with the terrans getting of a successful strike on the Numerians keeps it exciting, shows that, at least from the perspective of the story then the terrans are still in with a chance. We also meet the first two of those awesome characters that are spread throughouthe story, Carter is plain and simple cool, not in the by the book hero way that Denisov is, he seems to be a maverick, a bit of a Buccaneer.
Chapter 2:
I don't think there is much to say about this chapter aside from the fact that I really don't like the Terran nor the Numerian Political leadership. Can't explain the Terrans, but the Numerians are just arrogant beyond the pale, honestly, if every single one of the Sanei were brutally assassinated I would not be bothered in the slightest, and you know how much I squirm at that sort of thing. I don't really have much to add to this chapter, as we already discussed the part involving Psy-War. I will say though that they seem to be almost as dangerous as the Numerians themselves, they look like they are letting themselves get involved in political games while they're species is on the verge of anihilation. They acctually sound quite like the KGB or the FBI under Hoover. Just for clarification, may I ask what the status of the “Blue Berets” mentioned latter is? Are the a government affiliated group? Or are they independent?
Thorgrimm Wrote:
The Blue Berets are Psykers not under the control of Psy-War, and as such are independent.
Yep, Carter is a maverick of sorts, why he fits Collinwood's Cutthroats so well. As a raiding group, based on the Long Range Desert Group of North Africa fame, the members have to be independent-minded and able to think on their feet.
Well, to be fair, there is a reason for that arrogance, and why it is not all of the Numie's fault. Something revealed in the Armageddon War Saga.
Thanks for the report bud. I look forward to the next one.
Cheers, Thor
Haegan Wrote:
The numies are what they are
And what they are are intentional, based off of what we thought the psychology of a race that had been at war for millennium and was still here kickin and screamin would be. While they have a reason to be feeling the way they do, I agree it does not make them look good to the standard christian views.
I would say that we achieved what we wanted to achieve in that scene! Thank you for your comments coco!