Imagine a dogfight between conventional jet aircraft. Now, replace the 'aggressors' with alien craft controlled by cyborgs and robots, and the 'heroes' with Terran space craft crewed by humans. Now place these combatants above the South Atlantic sea… oh, and did I mention that they are firing at each other with nuclear weapons while the U.S. Navy looks on?

This is part of the opening of another rocking ride into the sci-fi military mind of David Weber; a writer of some of the most compelling "space opera" books within the past few years. Known for his popular "Honor" series - which this reviewer highly recommends - Weber takes us back through the fields of his far-flung space navies and combines them with the local flavor of the United States Navy, along with a little romance in a new solo book entitled "The Apocalypse Troll."

The story opens in the far-off future, where humanity is at war with a race of aliens called Kangas who are bent on wiping out mankind in a bout of logical, xenophobic genocide. Amid a opening wash of "tech-talk" (a trademark of Weber's books), we learn that the Kangas are loosing their war with the humans. In a last ditch effort, the aliens attempt to use their FTL ships to try a much-theorized time-travel trick to win the war. However, a human task force - BatDiv Ninety-Two - follows them through time, where the survivors pull out all the stops to prevent the Kangas from reaching, where else, Earth.

But, for all the nuclear fireworks - which culminates in a pitched air-to-sea battle with elements of the U.S. Navy - only two individuals of the future combatants survive. One is a cyborg, a 'Troll'; a creature that the Kangas used to counter the humans they so sought to eradicate. The other is Colonel Ludmilla Leonovna, of the Terran Marines. Shot down by the Troll, Ludmilla is rescued by a Navy fighter jock - Captain Richard Aston. Pulled aboard his sailboat after her cockpit is ditched, the Colonel must convince the Captain that she really is from the future. More than that, she has to make him realize the danger the Troll represents. Now separated from it's masters, the Troll will either try to enslave humanity with its telepathic powers, or it will wipe the planet clean, thus completing its masters' order of genocide.

Now, taking all of that into account, here's the meat and milk of this review. Sadly, having read sci-fi books since my early teen years, I recognize some of the underlying plot. It's very reminiscent of such films as "Star Trek: First Contact," and "Terminator 2" in some aspects. But, what offsets this is the roller coaster ride Weber throws the reader into throughout the book. We go from war in deep space, to a battle over the sea, then to a tense moment when it's not certain Ludmilla will survive from her crash landing. Then, we see a slightly different ride as Aston and Ludmilla race to convince members of the U.S. Government about the danger (ones they can trust that won't be "read" by the Troll), while the Troll itself tries to get the materiel it needs to complete its mission.

If there is two things I could fault wrong with "Troll" is the overuse of "tech-talk," which slows things down a bit, and the fact the plot does sound like common ground that sci-fi has already crossed over. But, having read some of Weber's books before - most notably "On Basilisk Station" and "Fields of Dishonor" from his Honor Harrington series - the thing that saves this story is Weber's use of characterization and mix of moments of quiet, tension, terror and action. It's the one trademark of Weber's style that his stories have strong characters, especially the lead female protagonist (as evidenced by Ludmilla). As well as his way of presenting action scenes that literally have to be read to be believed.

It's the opinion of this reviewer that if Hollywood ever tried to make a movie of Weber's work, the cinematography and SFX departments of any major studio would be sorely taxed to bring it to the silver screen. His visuals are vivid, fast-paced and extremely challenging to follow…which is a grand compliment to give any writer of sci-fi writing.

Overall, this book won't do much for the sci-fi purist, or for the reader looking for the more cerebral level that recent books like "Star Trek" have to offer. But, for fans of fast action space opera, and for those that are devoted fans of the Honor series, this is a great read. I bought it and had to read it over two nights because it had just jumped up at me and demanded to be read. Get past the techno-blab, and you're in for one heck of a ride.

by Stephen R. Sobotka, Jr.

I'd like to make a comment about this article.

This page has been visited Hit Counter times.