pjonsson's review against another edition
4.0
Time to kick some lanky ass. Or at least that was what I thought. No spoilers but it didn’t go exactly as I hoped. A little bit disappointing actually. Still a good book though.
It felt a bit like a slow start, that has to be said. Quite a bit of dialogue and of course a lot of preparations for the pending festivities.
Once the good parts starts things gets going though. It starts off with some quite good space action followed by the invasion of Mars. From then on it is time for the ground pounders to take over the action.
The author, as he has proven in previous books in the series, are quite good at writing combat action, both in space and on the ground. Add to this that his characters and the story is usually quite good as well and we have a pretty good book. Sure, I have the same gripe as before, which is how a space-faring race can go about behaving like dumb animals as soon as they hit the ground. Okay, they seem to have evolved a bit in this book but still…
Unfortunately the story took a somewhat unexpected turn which, to me at least, was a bit of a disappointment. I obviously cannot give any details without spoiling the story but the feeling I had at the end was like we where back at square one, that after all that fighting we had gotten absolutely nowhere.
Still, it was a good book though with plenty of action.
It felt a bit like a slow start, that has to be said. Quite a bit of dialogue and of course a lot of preparations for the pending festivities.
Once the good parts starts things gets going though. It starts off with some quite good space action followed by the invasion of Mars. From then on it is time for the ground pounders to take over the action.
The author, as he has proven in previous books in the series, are quite good at writing combat action, both in space and on the ground. Add to this that his characters and the story is usually quite good as well and we have a pretty good book. Sure, I have the same gripe as before, which is how a space-faring race can go about behaving like dumb animals as soon as they hit the ground. Okay, they seem to have evolved a bit in this book but still…
Unfortunately the story took a somewhat unexpected turn which, to me at least, was a bit of a disappointment. I obviously cannot give any details without spoiling the story but the feeling I had at the end was like we where back at square one, that after all that fighting we had gotten absolutely nowhere.
Still, it was a good book though with plenty of action.
titusfortner's review against another edition
2.0
This is probably my least favorite book of the series. If you're just in it for the action, this book is what you're looking for. I was annoyed by the treatment of the family gathering at the beginning of the book. The shoot-em-up placeholder plot of the book after the early mis-fire left me very cold on this book. 2.5 stars, rounding down, but looking forward to the conclusion of the story in the next book.
Spoiler
There is so much that can be mined here about class privilege, and more interestingly, civilian privilege. The author decided to just make caricatures of legitimate arguments rather than actually trying to provide a nuanced view of alternate views here.jwortman93's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
minkslaughter's review against another edition
3.0
The battle book
This is a solid performer in the series, very battle scene heavy. I'd like a few more mysteries about the lankies start to get revealed. So far, they're about as complex as Godzilla.
This is a solid performer in the series, very battle scene heavy. I'd like a few more mysteries about the lankies start to get revealed. So far, they're about as complex as Godzilla.
nedjem's review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
kerttuli's review
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
hastati1989's review
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
readingtabz's review against another edition
3.0
My rating is 3.5. In this book I feel that we got to see a little more into Andrews friendships and his life with Halley. I love Halley so much and am glad she has Andrews. Otherwise in this book they are head to Mars to continue their fight. And things get interesting while they are there. They learn a few things about their enemies.
Off to start book 6
Off to start book 6
tpietila's review against another edition
4.0
The series continues pretty much from where the last book ended. The main characters can take a little breather before the next battle, but that one is going to be huge. Humans are going for the offensive for the first time. They are going to take Mars back from the aliens. The first parts of the battle go almost as planned and the alien seedships guarding Mars are destroyed. When the ground troops land, things start to go worse. Apparently, the aliens have finally learned some tactics and don’t just blindly run to the gunfire anymore.
The book is as entertaining as the earlier parts. The main characters feel real and someone one can root for. They are not Übermensch who can always do everything without second-guessing themselves.
The book has still some technical problems. The author seems to imagine that high-speed railguns have an effective range in space. No, they don’t. There might be some targeting issues, but there is no limit to their range. Their speed (and their explosive effect) doesn’t get any slower, ever; not even after light years. Those were small things though; the book was entertaining and easy to read on a mobile phone during lunch hours and commutes.
The book is as entertaining as the earlier parts. The main characters feel real and someone one can root for. They are not Übermensch who can always do everything without second-guessing themselves.
The book has still some technical problems. The author seems to imagine that high-speed railguns have an effective range in space. No, they don’t. There might be some targeting issues, but there is no limit to their range. Their speed (and their explosive effect) doesn’t get any slower, ever; not even after light years. Those were small things though; the book was entertaining and easy to read on a mobile phone during lunch hours and commutes.
altruest's review against another edition
4.0
I won this in a Giveaway! I rarely win anything, so it was actually really exciting.
Fields of Fire is a great addition to the Frontline's series, although comparatively uneventful. In each of the previous books I felt a much greater emotional hit at some point, this one just seemed like the middle book in a trilogy, important to get through but you know the best part is coming up afterwards.
I know this just came out, but I still can't wait for the next one.
4.2/5
Fields of Fire is a great addition to the Frontline's series, although comparatively uneventful. In each of the previous books I felt a much greater emotional hit at some point, this one just seemed like the middle book in a trilogy, important to get through but you know the best part is coming up afterwards.
I know this just came out, but I still can't wait for the next one.
4.2/5