I liked the book as whole but expect it to get better as we go forward into the series. The plot does not involve any deeper sci-fi backbone but I expected that to some extent as this was the first book and probably just an introduction to the series and to setup the scene. ( )

A Swing and a Miss?

Normally, when I read something with the words swarm and star force in the title, I get all warm and tingly thinking of all the hours I wiled away as a youngster swinging on my hammock reading Doc Smith. I expect to be transported for a couple of hours into a world where all the right people succeed simply by being the squarest of square bricks.

But what I got here was poorly written, badly plotted, sociopathic, uninteresting and much, much less. There is a kind of art to writing good pulp and this author simply doesn't get it. It's not badly executed pulp; its some new mutant form of schlock that bears no resemblance to pulp. I can't figure out if the author was even trying to write pulp or real sci-fi or something else. It's that bad.

Normally when I read a rough first book in a series, I like to read the next couple to see if the author grows. That can be all kinds of fun watching an author mature (ahem! Butcher) and write better and better stories. But honestly, I think I'd rather stick my dick in a blender than read another one of these.

I will say though the narrator was really good. I'd like to hear him with actual material with an actual story or characters or something. ( )

Meh. Apparently there is one intelligent person in the entire world who has to do everything himself, from computer programming (sort of) to weapon engineering to field combat and command to alien language analysis, if he wants to save the world from alien robots. Everyone else is cannon fodder, except Sandra, the hot naked college student, who's here for sex. And none of them have any personality. ( )

His books are wonderful romps through scifi battle after battle after battle with a leavening of possible science in the middle. But oh -- his female characters and the hero's interaction with them is Not credible or adult. Still a fine distracting quick read.

Just read an Amazon review with the perfect label for these books -- popcorn scifi. ( )

Enjoyed the book - slight twist on the usual "space invader" scenario. ( )