March Upcountry is the first installment in a tetralogy. Prince Roger Ramius Sergei Alexander Chiang MacClintock is the tertiary heir to the throne held by his mother the Empress. He's a spoiled, truculent rich kid without a care for anything important and no responsibility for anyone, even himself. Sent away on an unimportant diplomatic mission he is the victim of a nearly successful assassination attempt, but instead escapes to the surface of Marduk, a violent planet of sentient, but primitive creatures and even more violent native predators. With more than a battalion of Marine bodyguards he must fight his way across this planet and return home.
First the good points - It's a fast-paced and exciting military science fiction story which takes the reader from danger to danger quickly. The plot moves along and these two writers know how to spin an interesting story. I give kudos to them for hooking me and making me read to the end and want to pick up the next three books in the series.
Now the bad. This book is set hundreds of years in the future, yet all the sayings, quotes, poems, and songs come from our recent military history. Everything out of the mouths of the troops was a cliche that I've heard hundreds of times. Can't these two writers create a new lexicon for a future military? Can't they replace the worn metaphors with something creative and cool for a future society? Wouldn't there have been another poet that Marines love to replace Rudyard Kipling?
Speaking of Cliches, every character was one - the tried and true marine sergeant, gruff and tough, but with a heart of gold - The commander who spouts philosophy while ordering a slaughter - the spoiled kid, born with a silver spoon who becomes an honorable man under combat duress. It's all here and it's all predictable. Don't Ringo and Weber's readers want to experience something new or are they all Corps veterans reliving a collective past rosier and more ideal than the reality?
Also, the authors' politics are front and center. I disagree with their assertions and it was starky annoying.
Still, decent reading if you can get past the negatives.
- CV Rick, April 2008
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