"The Lord of the Rings meets Slaughterhouse-Five by way of World of Warcraft in this delirious mashup pitting the U. S. military against legendary monsters from fantasy novels and roleplaying games. From science fiction award-winner and an author, ex-Marine, and extreme amateur-landscaper, comes a riotous fantasy/military science fiction adventure that will delight fans of Terry Pratchett, J. R. R. Tolkien, and John Scalzi.
Of course, no one was prepared for the day when orcs, trolls, and dragons fell from portals in the sky. But the world fought back against the invaders as best it could, with soldiers, tactical weapons, and even some rudimentary magic.
Now a tough, but not-quite-prepared platoon of Marines is trapped on the wrong side of the portals. The enchanting landscape looks like Middle Earth, but―to the dismay of the nerdiest soldiers―is nothing like the Middle Earth they had loved.
This so-called fantasy world has much to throw at the legendary monsters, extremely rude trees, a mysterious orphan, treacherous mercenaries, and even a cranky, sort of helpful Ranger.
As their supplies dwindle and the terrain becomes even more hostile, the squad must also escort a VIP (Very Important Princess). She could be the key to a strategic alliance between the worlds, but only if the Marines can just make it home."
I got an ARC of this book.
This book sounded so interesting. I have not seen this mix of genres before, though the closest I have read was by John Scalzi so it felt like I needed to read this book. I have quite a few of Buckell's books on my shelf from the library book sale, but I am terrible at starting books so they have just been sitting there.
This was a quick book. I enjoyed the reading stints. I liked the idea of the book quite a bit. The issue is that it didn't really execute well for me. The characters were flat, which was probably the hardest part for me. I had no idea who was who or why I should care. The only characters I could really remember were not the marines, which made the first half of the book pretty bland. I kept hoping that something would happen to drag me along, but then the elf princess, the kid, and the ranger became a pretty solid part of the group. They were the reason I kept reading for more than just figuring out what happened.
The plot was fun. I wanted to see how the marines reacted to the different creatures and how the authors would make them different from all the fantasy lore the characters mentioned. Nothing really stood out as being that unique though. There was mention that the trolls were different, but I must have missed how they were different.
So overall, not a bad read. It was lacking character development that would lead me to loving it. I did already pass it off to my dad who will probably love this to no end. Fantasy mixed with military is something he has probably already read, but is something he will for sure have very strong opinions on.
2.5 out of 5 stars. I would maybe recommend this book.
You can buy the book here.
~Isaiah
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