The Combat Mechas of HARM

HARM is short for Humanoid Assault and Reconnaissance Machine

These are giant bipedal robots that vaguely resemble a medieval knight with its thick torso, massive joints, blocky armour plates, and a squat helmet with a horizontal slit on top.  HARM units have been developed in a range of sizes for different purposes and range from 3 to 15 metres in height.  The main combat HARM units are on the large end of the scale since they need to carry a chemical fusion plant to generate the massive amounts of power for required for their coilgun primary armament and to energize their molecular armour plating.

HARM units are far more nimble than their appearance would dictate as they are powered by synthetic muscles that generate massive amounts of physical force with an almost instantaneous response.  However, effective use of this agility and strength derived from the advanced cybernetic control and full motion capture interfaces for the human pilot of the robot.  These systems are composed of a cybernetic 3D display helmet and the motion capture suit worn by the pilot.  The tight-fitting suit is plugged into a skeletal support frame that provides both physical support for the human operator and force-feedback to show how the machine is responding to commands.  The cybernetic interfaces read the pilot’s mind to enhance the motion capture control of the robot to a new level.

The cockpits for the machines are typically 8 to 10 metres off the ground, but human control is enabled via VR and augmented reality displays shown from the perspective of the robot’s head. When you first pilot a HARM you have to adjust to the disorienting size perspective and the actual capabilities and limitations of the machine. Pilots have indicated they felt like they were wearing the giant machines in a manner similar to how battlesuit infantry felt when they were wearing their powered exoskeletons.

Manual backups to operate the machine also exist but these could just make it walk and work its arms in the simplest manner.  Every HARM unit has an advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) to act as a co-pilot, weapons and engineering officer.  A pilot could actually verbally command an AI to move a HARM unit, however, safety mechanisms have been built into HARM units to prevent the AI from operating on its own without human supervision.

General Automata Corporation Developed HARM Units

GAC is the world leader in military HARM development and commercial construction mechas. Under the leadership of Dr. Janet Chan it continues to excel in R & D.

X Series Experimental HARM Unit

The first operational HARM unit that entered combat was the X-14 numbered version of the X series.  This series of HARM units was not intended for production use as it was intended to be a functional prototyping only.

•                    Date of Introduction Into Service: 2050

•                    Height: 13 metres

•                    Weight: 30 metric tons

•                    Max Running Speed: 70 kph loaded, 80 kph unloaded.

•                    Rocket Jump: 20 metres up.

•                    Armament:

o   50 mm coilgun integrated into the right arm.  Cannon fires hypersonic, fin stabilized, depleted uranium penetrators. Single shot mode is the most powerful mode for the gun, but it takes 10 seconds before the capacitors can recharge for the next shot. A great deal of power is required for the superconducting magnetic coils to propel their projectiles at 3 km/second. Because of the power requirement only heavy tanks and HARM units are equipped with them.

o   30 mm automatic cannon integrated into left arm.

o   Unit can engaged in hand to hand combat by picking up objects or by punching.

•                    Defences: Active molecular armour plating, and duralloy composite plating.

•                    Electronics:

o   Full electronics suite including military comnet, EW, Radar, Infrared Vision, and advanced datalink.

o   Prototype Delphi series AI.

o   Reconnaissance drone

Mark I Series Avenger HARM Unit
First mass produced HARM unit that is still found in service in a few places on the globe.  The Mark I series was a universal frame that has been modified and extended by other nations since the design was shared so that every nation could construct HARM units to counter the Blue Newt invasion.  Performance characteristics and armament are similar to the X Series.  These units are no longer in service with Canada, Pacifica, and Japan.

Mark II Series Thor HARM Unit
This is the first General Automata Corporation specific HARM unit.  These Mark II series HARM units are a reengineered design that extends the Mark I series.  Mark II HARM units are only found in service with reserve units for Canada, Pacifica, and Japan now.  Other nations have HARM units similar in capability to the Thor series units.

Mark III Series Fenrir HARM Unit
The first completely reengineered HARM unit from the ground up.  The design from GAC was far superior to all other HARM designs that it seemed to leap a generation ahead of all other nations.  The units first entered service with CAJUN rapid deployment forces, then with the armed forces of  Canada, Pacifica, and Japan.

•                    Date of Introduction Into Service: 2060

•                    Height: 12 metres

•                    Weight: 30 metric tons, 34 metric tons with full combat load.

•                    Max Running Speed: 70 kph loaded, 80 kph unloaded.

•                    Rocket Jump: 20 metres up.

•                    Armament:

·                     The primary armament is now interchangeable.  The unit can carry either a 50 mm coilgun for anti-armour use or a 160 mm assault cannon that can fire a variety of rounds.  The coilgun can be clipped onto the HARM’s back if missile pods are not mounted.  The coilgun has been improved for both rate of fire (one full power shot every 4 seconds) and to fire projectiles at a maximum of 3.5 km/s or mach 10+.

·                     Typhoon missile pods.  Two disposable missile pods can be mounted per HARM, with 16 heavy missiles per pod.

·                     Mono-steel molecular combat knife in a mounted in a horizontal sheath at the base of the HARM units back.

·                     30 mm chain gun integrated into left arm with a switchable mix of 200 rounds of HE and 200 rounds of AP.

·                     20 Helldart anti-armour missiles in a shoulder-mounted vertical launch system.

•                    Defences: Active molecular armour plating and improved duralloy composite plating, active camouflage system, smoke canisters, and Hedgehog point defence system.

•                    Electronics:

·                     Full electronics suite including military comnet, EW, Radar, Infrared Vision, enhanced optics, and advanced datalink.

·                     Oracle series AI that is three times more capable than the old Delphi series.

·                     Reconnaissance drone

Mark IV Series Odin HARM Unit.
Classified and currently under development at the GAC development and test facility in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.  According to GlobalMechWatchers.org there are rumours of a flight mode and advanced beam weaponry being developed.

Date Under Development: 2067

Read about the HARM units in action in the ebooks HARM, and Raid on Kahamba available at Amazon in most regions. Coming in 2013 is the main story arc for Exocrisis Blue that integrates HARM units into a story of mecha academy recruits and veteran pilots in a backdrop of global intrigue and war.

Mecha Action Excerpt From HARM (Military SF)

Check out my publication page if you like this excerpt from HARM.
http://peterlok.blogspot.ca/p/my-publications.html

...

His mecha crouched behind the weathered and rust streaked wall of a raw materials silo. From his concealed location, he launched a small drone or RPV to hover within a grove of trees in the area to monitor the approach of the of the two spider-mechs. The spider machines were huge with flattened and segmented bodies that were twelve metres long. They stood nine metres high on six legs, three per side, a few short for an arachnid, but the name had stuck anyhow. They scuttled up to 70 kph, and could jump over low obstacles. They were almost black in color with dots of red light covering their armoured shells. A vertically elongated, weapons blister on their back contained their primary beam weapon. This particular spider type had been code-named Black Widow as they were a very lethal, heavy combat mech.

This was the second time Joshua had seen one up close, even if it was through his RPV's sensors. The first time had been as a close air support pilot who had run out of missiles. He had pulled a crazy, aerial maneuver to close in and kill an alien mech with a long, sustained burst of tank-killing cannon rounds, but had been shot down in the process. While recovering in the hospital, Dr. Chan had dragooned him into the HARM program as extra medical tests indicated he had a high synchronization rate with the experimental mental cybernetics she was developing. He had resisted at first, as he was a pilot, not some robot jockey, but potential of the HARM series mechas grew on him over time.

"Drone has been detected, beginning evasive manoeuvres." After issuing the notice, the HARM's AI immediately began retreating and jinking the RPV. Laser flashes from the spider-mech's secondary lasers indicated multiple shots against the RPV. Several seconds later, the feed from the drone went dead. "Drone destroyed," reported the AI.

That blew it. The Newts knew someone was around and he was blind now. He extended a tiny camera on his mecha’s head above the silo to see again. He could see the spider-mechs were advancing more slowly and had their primary guns pointed in the direction of the factory, but the wrong part of the factory. Readying his coilgun he aimed past the silo to where the first spider-mech would appear. Safety off. Coilgun in single mode, he thought. “Safety off. Single mode, acknowledged,” replied the AI. Single shot mode was the most powerful mode for the gun, but it would take 10 seconds before the capacitors would recharge for the next shot.

He was nervous, his hands felt a little damp, but he remained steady. The front of the first mech appeared and he waited until a third of it entered his line of sight. He sighted on the center of mass in front and below it’s primary gun, the targeting programs automatically adjusting for range and other parameters. A squeeze of the virtual trigger in his right hand caused the coilgun to kick back. One hypersonic, depleted uranium penetrator fired out of the coilgun with a loud bang. A moment later, the slug hit with devastating power. The full power shot punched clean through the side of the spider-mech in a small explosion, with most of the kinetic energy from the projectile focused on a tiny surface of armour that was blasted apart. Inside the mech, the penetrator and spalled pieces of armour ricocheted through machinery, interior walls, bodies, and the main power plant. All the stored energy inside the power plant instantaneously burst out and the resulting explosion tore the mech in two.

“Target destroyed,” the AI called out.

The coilgun was highly effective – a vast reversal from the early encounters where 120 mm sabot rounds from the M3A1 battle tanks had proven less than effective against the alien’s molecular armour. Better weapons like the coilgun had been developed since, but they required a great deal of power for their superconducting magnetic coils to propel their projectiles at 3 km/second. Because of this only heavy tanks and the new HARMs were equipped with them.

The second spider-mech’s sensors had noted the source of the shot and targeted the old silos. The powerful beam weapon on the mech flashed and beams punched four holes clean through the steel silos. However, Joshua wasn’t there anymore. He had already rolled and was shifting to a new position.
 
 ...

END EXCERPT

Review of A Soldier's Duty (Theirs Not to Reason Why)

Mini-review #6
This is the sixth of a series of short reviews for military SF and mecha SF.  You will not see a review of something I don't like as it isn't worth writing about in that case, but I will tell you what works for me and what doesn't about the stories I did like.  When I was writing my Exocrisis Blue stories and trying to find places to post about it or reviews of other mecha SF I was unable to find any, so I'm creating my own hub. Now onto the review.  For the master list of reviews, click here.
 
Is prophetic military SF a genre?   Jean Johnson has written a pretty good military SF novel in A Soldier's Duty.  I'm actually working my way through the sequel right now (and finding it a slower read at the beginning), but the first book was fairly gripping all the way through.  After reading it I actually wondered what else Jean has written.  When I went through her catalog afterwards I found she writes paranormal romances and such, but this particular work isn't a romance and I'm glad I didn't know that beforehand as it is a good military SF story!

Flickr / Defence Images

Hundreds of years in the future, mankind has spread out to the stars.  Our heroine, Ia, is from a heavy gravity world which gives her strength benefits, but she also has the gift of precognition and can see different future world lines.  Unfortunately she has foreseen a great disaster happening that cannot be stopped unless she manipulates events in a particular manner.  In fact most of the possible futures are bad.  Kind of like the Foundation foreseeing the collapse of the empire with psychohistory.  So Ia joins the marines and needs to gather allies and gain influence to alter things.

The first novel basically establishes her character and she uses her abilities to rise in the ranks and successfully complete missions with impossible odds.  Precognition definitely helps out here in combat.  How not to get shot!  You would think that battles would be anticlimactic because of her abilities, but they are still entertaining even though some of the tension is gone sometimes.  If you are looking for something entertaining with a different spin on things this book is worth a read.


Does it have a cast of characters listing? 
No.  

What is the scope / scale of the story? 
Small unit operations, raids.

Does it have likeable characters?
Yes.  Ia is pretty single-minded in her drive to save the galaxy.  Plenty of supporting characters and family members to boot.  You wonder who is going to live and become part of the cause.

Does it have an entertaining storyline?
Yes. There is enough hidden as to how Ia is going to succeed.  Obviously she can also fail, but can she pull off the rescue of the future?  I think it was written pretty good in this regard.  If people complain about predetermination, I'd disagree as most novels have heroes that succeed so that by itself is kind of like predetermination.

How is the internal consistency / plausibility?
Yes. No problems with the story.  This is a long novel in a good way.  As a writer I'm jealous, I'm more terse.  In terms of the battles scenes I would only have my standard complaint which is that the soldiers hundreds of years from now are equipped with weaponry that is roughly at our current technology level (I'd guess it would look antiquated in 20 years).  In fact, weaponry, technology, and tactics should be radically different that far in the future.  Book series like the Kris Longknife books by Mike Shephard also have this same problem, but I'm still reading that series too. Even with this complaint it is okay as I'm in it for the story first.

What cool bonus features are there?
Hey, Ia, is a precog who will gain additional abilities.  Interesting world building about the source of her powers (influenced by the paranormal romance angle? But I liked it.)

Review of Germline (The Subterrene War)

Mini-review #5
This is the fifth of a series of short reviews for military SF and mecha SF.  You will not see a review of something I don't like as it isn't worth writing about in that case, but I will tell you what works for me and what doesn't about the stories I did like.  When I was writing my Exocrisis Blue stories and trying to find places to post about it or reviews of other mecha SF I was unable to find any, so I'm creating my own hub. Now onto the review.  For the master list of reviews, click here.

 Germline is the first of three novels in the Subterrene War universe by T.C. McCarthy.  I have to say the writer managed to capture a very gritty picture about future combat both underground and above ground.  The below ground war scenes were quite interesting as there is some pretty advanced tunneling technology where trench warfare is taken under the earth.  In addition, I really like the way he incorporated clones or the genetics into the story.  

Flickr / dee_gee

Most of the story is centered around Oscar Wendall, a report who sees going to the front lines as his ticket to success.  Instead, he becomes involved in a brutal war that changes him when it goes on and on, an everlasting battle over rare resources buried underground in Kazakhstan.  The USA uses genetics, female super soldiers, to fight the Russians who throw men away by the thousands it seems.  Why female super soldiers? - That is well explained too!  The genetics are also powerful disposable tools and the war seems to be one of attrition.  The series is centered around Oscar's relationship with these genetic soldiers, their goals and religion, how they have been programmed, and I found that this is kept my attention all the way through. This book was well worth reading.

Does it have a cast of characters listing? 
No.  

What is the scope / scale of the story? 
Small unit and battalion level operations.  There is a grand campaign but it is more back story.

Does it have likeable characters?
Yes.  Oscar has an interesting journey of discovery and pulls out of the pits of despair.

Does it have an entertaining storyline?
Yes.  Combat, female super soldiers, drugs, and a war that doesn't end.

How is the internal consistency / plausibility?
The technology used includes electromagnetic assault rifles called Maxwells that fire thousands of rounds (where do I get one?), plasma cannon and artillery, supersonic drones, and it was nicely done.  Soldiers are suited up in battle armour but you half wonder why they wear it as it seems to not be resistant to most weapons. The world described is that of the battlefield and the writer does a good job of it.  Later on, the story expands out into the rest of the world and I don't think it works quite as well, but I'm reading the third novel now so it can't be that bad!

What cool bonus features are there? 
The genetics are cool and I found myself rooting for them.

Review of Standing Alone, a BattleTech Novel

Mini-review #4
This is the fourth of a series of short reviews for military SF and mecha SF.  You will not see a review of something I don't like as it isn't worth writing about in that case, but I will tell you what works for me and what doesn't about the stories I did like.  When I was writing my Exocrisis Blue stories and trying to find places to post about it or reviews of other mecha SF I was unable to find any, so I'm creating my own hub. Now onto the review.  For the master list of reviews, click here.

This is a novel by MJ Dougherty that appears to be influenced by the BattleTech / MechWarrior war games for mecha combat.  It is set in an alternate Earth of 2086 where nations and megacorporations battle it out to rule the planet.  I'm not a mech war gamer myself, but the novel is a pretty easy read as long as you know what a mech is.  I was looking for a medium length read with big robots that wasn't part of some massively large overarching story and this book delivered that experience.

Challenger Tank in Canada   Defence Images / Flickr

The hero, "Shotgun Mike," is a mercenary that has fallen on hard times after a mission in Southeast Asia went terribly wrong.  Back at home in the United Kingdom, he joints the Royalists who fight for British sovereignty after the country is invaded by the European Federation.  The Federation is basically run by big megacorporations and they've conquered half of Britain.

Only the Royal Navy keeps the northern part of Britain free from invasion, so a land war is being fought on a north south axis.  The Royalists are terribly outmatched by the invaders who have all the good mechs and resources.  However, they have put up a good fight with their few mechs, some factories to make more, and lots of volunteers (aka cannonfodder). 

There is plenty of mech vs. mech combat and guerrilla style combat against mechs which you can imagine really doesn't go too well for the guerrillas.  Big mechs with laser cannon, lots of rockets, and big guns duel in a big ballet of destruction.

Does it have a cast of characters listing? 
No.  

What is the scope / scale of the story? 
Starts small with a mech duel and ends up with plenty of small engagements within a master storyline. The princess is a hands-on type of leader so you get to see the story get set up first hand.

Does it have likeable characters?
Yes. The main character was okay, but I did like the princess who was leading the resistance.  There were engaging characters, but I found the more interesting ones tended to be the women pilots and bureaucrats.  Half of the male characters were villains or traitors and were not as interesting as they were just driven by greed or power.

Does it have an entertaining storyline?
Yes.The story stays centered on Mike and all of missions he goes on.  There are training missions, spy missions, defence missions, and let's hijack a mech for fun too!

How is the internal consistency / plausibility?
Typical world building with different megacorporations running the show.  I'd have to say there was nothing too different, but the corporate culture thing doesn't particularly translate well to national government even for the bad guys.  The economics for this is not particularly good as these mechs are expensive and so is war, so what is the payoff from invasion for the shareholders?  Aren't corporations kind of risk adverse to this kind of thing?  Also, the hold the line scenario in Britain doesn't play too well with me as Saddam Hussein tried that in the Gulf War and he got majorly flanked by superior maneuver forces.  Mechs are a pretty superior maneuver force even on a narrow frontage like Britain.

What cool bonus features are there? 
There's mech factories, mechs of course, an aircraft carrier and a drunken princess.

The Lost Fleet (Beyond The Frontier) Invincible Review

Mini-review #3
This is the third of a series of short reviews for military SF and mecha SF.  You will not see a review of something I don't like as it isn't worth writing about in that case, but I will tell you what works for me and what doesn't about the stories I did like.  When I was writing my Exocrisis Blue stories and trying to find places to post about it or reviews of other mecha SF I was unable to find any, so I'm creating my own hub. Now onto the review.  For the master list of reviews, click here.

Wow, you can tell from the long title of the blog post that this is a long series of books by Jack Campell.  Invincible is the second book in the Beyond the Frontier story arc for this series and it continues to ratchet up the old suspense while providing the fleet level, spaceship engagements that the fans of this series love.  The Lost Fleet series was the primary story arc that played out in the first six books and I won't go into detail as I don't want to spoil it, but you have political intrigue, alien mysteries, a vast and powerful opposing force, and a very long running battle to return home.

In the original story arc, "Black Jack" Geary is revived from cryosleep to find a much changed world.  A century of warfare has passed since he was frozen.  There have been massive casualties in the long running war between the Alliance ("the good guys") and the corporate Syndics.   This has decimated the fleet officer corps and the fleets on both sides now operate with far simpler tactics.  Being a reluctant, legendary hero, with mastery of old school fleet tactics, he becomes the ranking fleet officer that leads the fleet back home in a long journey through enemy space.  Much like Xenophon and the March of the 10,000.  In the second story arc he has been sent out on a one way mission into alien space to find out more about the Enigmas.  Why?  I'll leave that up to you to find out as it is core to the second story arc.

This is a recommended read for folk who like military SF fleet actions. Nothing revolutionary here, but it is a well told story and an enjoyable read.  After 8 books I'm enjoying this series more than the Destroyermen series (review #1) as it doesn't shift multiple battlefronts and focuses on a single fleet.  I read this on a copy borrowed from the public library as the current ebook pricing scheme by the publishers is insane right now for a copy.  I will not pay more than the price of a paperback book for a work of ebook fiction - period.

Does it have a cast of characters listing? 
No.  But it has a cast of ships/squadrons listing!  I found the number characters manageable, but lost track of the ships.

What is the scope / scale of the story? 
This series of books has a great deal of starship combat but on the fleet level.  Descriptions of combat are gritty with many explosions.  The sheer firepower involved in fleet actions means the battles are over relatively quickly, but there are several of them in each book.  

Does it have likeable characters?
Yes. Black Jack Geary, the fleet commander, develops mainly in the first few books, but he proves to have the mettle of legend.  The man fights his destiny to the end.  The romance angle doesn't really work for me, but it is a minor part of the story.

Does it have an entertaining storyline?
Yes. Many battles, searches for answers, scavenging for parts, supplies, and resources.  There are enough plot twists and surprises to keep it fresh.  In the current novel, Invincible, you meet aliens along with their tactics and ships.

How is the internal consistency / plausibility?
Good world building for an alternate future after a century of non-stop attritional warfare between two large human space factions.  One is a confederation while the other is a megacorporation.  Most of the story happens in the fleet but enough happens to give an idea of what the bigger picture is.

What cool bonus features are there? 
Superbattleships.  More aliens than you can shake a stick at.  Feels like it is setting up for a big political finale when the fleet reaches home.

HARM - Hard Hitting Mecha SF - Free on Dec. 25 at Amazon

UPDATE: The promo is now over.  Thanks to everyone who participated.  The book was free on Christmas Day for 24 hours only.  I'm used up the last KDP free day on this.

My ebook short story HARM is free for a few days.  It has a 4 star rating by people I don't even know!  The ebook is available for the Amazon Kindle in all regions from USA, UK, to Japan.

Story
It is a hard hitting military SF story about the first use of HARM mecha units against the invading Blue Newts. This stand-alone story (9400 words) is all about future robotic warfare with intense mech versus mech battles. You may be left wanting more. All the weapons of the near future battlefield are utilized from autonomous battlefield robots, main battle tanks, powered infantry in exoskeleton battlesuits to unmanned drones. HARM is about the first combat use of giant, humanoid robot, fighting machines called HARMs against the invaders. Can these new humanoid weapons turn the tide of the war?

• http://www.amazon.com/HARM-ebook/dp/B007X65FYA
• http://www.amazon.co.uk/HARM-ebook/dp/B007X65FYA
• http://www.amazon.co.jp/HARM-ebook/dp/B007X65FYA

• Visit my author's page here. 

Notes
HARM is the first story set in the Exocrisis Blue storyline that will take off in 2013.  The story has received some pretty good reviews, so give it a try for free and if you like it, please consider buying a copy of Raid on Kahamba, the next story.

HARM Unit

Starship Troopers Novel Review

Mini-review #2
This is the second of a series of short reviews for military SF and mecha SF.  You will not see a review of something I don't like as it isn't worth writing about in that case, but I will tell you what works for me and what doesn't about the stories I did like.  When I was writing my Exocrisis Blue stories and trying to find places to post about it or reviews of other mecha SF I was unable to find any, so I'm creating my own hub.  I'm going to start with the stuff I have read in the past, and on the review list are The Lost Fleet series, Mecha Corps, Posleen War Series, Gear School, EVE Protomecha, Bolo, Starship Troopers, Old Man's War, and Germline. Now onto the review.   For the master list of reviews, click here.

The Starship Troopers novel by Robert Heinlein is a science fiction classic that is the grand father of powered armour troopers and wars against alien bugs.  There have been two great games based on the original concept (not the movies).  This novel is in a class by itself in the military SF genre.  Heinlein creates some great battle scenes with the mobile infantry starting with the initial battle scene that includes a drop from orbit.  It's a pretty amazing piece of work considering it was published in 1959.  Much of the tech used still looks good today.  Heinlein interjected a great deal of political commentary in this book that will offend some, but I think he crafted a great story even if I don't agree with everything he says.

Revoltech Starship Troopers Figure from Japan

This is a highly recommended read where everyone should find something they like if they like military SF.  The military tech he used has influenced scores of writers after him all the way up to HALO with the ODST drop troopers.  For the Japanese, his work has also been influential with the power armour that ranges from Bubblegum Crisis to Appleseed.  In fact, there have been some great figures manufactured with the book based armour.  Also the Starship Troopers board game by Avalon Hill that was released in the late 1970s was a awesome adaptation of the work.  All the military weaponry could actually be gamed in a consistent manner (I like the board game and have a tattered copy in the closet).

Does it have a cast of characters listing? 
No.

What is the scope / scale of the story? 
While the scope of a star system spanning war is described, the story is about a mobile infantry platoon(s) waging ware against the bugs on multiple worlds.  

Does it have likeable characters?
Yes.  You get to see Juan Rico mature from a young man in boot camp into a battle-tested trooper.  This war is tough and he pulls through.  

Does it have an entertaining storyline?
Yes.  The battles are done well and the characters and story move along well even with the flashbacks to high school.

How is the internal consistency / plausibility?
Good world building for an alternate future Earth where full citizenship is granted by service.  Bugs with their hive and brains are good too.  Military tech is believably described and the story is tight. 

What cool bonus features are there? 
Mobile infantry powered battle armour, hand flamers, and mini-nukes.  Bugs, lots of bugs and they're all being burned down.

The Destroyermen Series and Review of Iron Gray Sea

Mini-review #1
This is the first of a series of short reviews for military SF and mecha SF.  You will not see a review of something I don't like as it isn't worth writing about in that case, but I will tell you what works for me and what doesn't about the stories I did like.  When I was writing my Exocrisis Blue stories and trying to find places to post about it or reviews of other mecha SF I was unable to find any, so I'm creating my own hub.  I'm going to start with the stuff I have read in the past, and on the review list are The Lost Fleet series, Mecha Corps, Posleen War Series, Gear School, Bolo, Starship Troopers, Old Man's War, and Germline. Now onto the review.  For the master list of reviews, click here.

The Destroyermen book series is about a WWII American destroyer (USS Walker DD-163) that finds itself sucked into an alternate universe where they become involved with an intelligent lemur-like/cat species that is fighting an invasion of lizard-like creatures that treats everyone else as edible prey.  The author, Taylor Anderson, has made the USS Walker a high-tech wildcard in a bronze age world.

The series starts with some good naval duels in the early days of the Pacific War after the battle for the Philippines.  The fleeing USS Walker is sucked through a terrible trans-dimensional storm along with a Japanese cruiser.  The Japanese of course join the bad guys who are the man-eating Grik.  These Grik turn out to be smarter than the average savage lizard with weapons.  The crew of the Walker befriends the Lemurians and builds a grand alliance with them.  Many adventures follow to explore this strange new Earth with its wonderful set of very vicious beasts and mysterious landscapes.  Later on, new characters, races, and other humans are introduced into the story and the war against the Grik changes from a Southeast Asian conflict into more of a global conflict. 

When I first picked up "Into The Storm" (volume 1) I kind of thought this could be entertaining and it was.  The whole idea of an alien world with these lemur-like natives was actually done really well.  The story kind of grabs you and drags you along for the ride to see what happens next.  There was plenty of exploration of this new world and industry building to keep the old destroyer running for fuel and ammo.

In the latest book, "Iron Gray Sea" (volume 7)  the grand crusade against the Grik and other enemies continues.  The war has been pretty vast for the last 4 volumes so that you have many sub-stories going on.  This means that it takes many books to resolve events as there is a great deal of cutting back and forth.  Like many other epic books series, such as Harry Turtledove's World War books or the Wheel of Time, you will have an opinion on this that ranges from keep it coming to okay to this sucks.  My own opinion on this is closer to the lower end of okay as everything just drags out with the huge story, but he does have many interesting things happening.

So in the end, I recommend this very readable series that looks like it will run for some time to come.  I'm still reading the series, but due to the crazy pricing on ebooks (THAT SHOULD BE CHEAPER than the printed book), I'm using the public library to do so.  The first three books are also a fairly well contained story arc.

Does it have a cast of characters listing? 
Yes. This is good or bad depending on your preferences.

What is the scope / scale of the story? 
More intimate and small scale with the first books than it grows to become epic in size as the war spans the globe. This is a good and bad sign as the story keeps growing, but overall Taylor Anderson has done a good job with the number of characters and the ever-expanding story.

Does it have likeable characters?
Yes.  Many good leader types, tough guys, misfits, and just lovable characters (especially the little princess that is introduced later).  Good guys seem to be very flexible/modern in their thinking overall (women's rights and rights of other sentients comes to mind first), and the bad guys are not - until they have to up the ante against the good guys.

Does it have an entertaining storyline?
Good.  Very nasty enemies, fairly clear distinction between good and evil for the most part.  You can sink your teeth into the story and your enemies.

How is the internal consistency / plausibility?
Good. World building has been very good to excellent.  USS Walker is very fortunate to have all the skills to build a modern military industrial complex handy.

What cool bonus features are there? 
The Lemurians have giant wooden seagoing home ships that are the size of WWII aircraft carriers.  The destroyer versus cruiser scenario that eventually plays out is good. BIG Fish.

Prometheus Problems - Where Did The Plot Go?

I finally saw Prometheus the other day and was disappointed.  I didn't go in with high expectations after hearing all of the comments and reviews about it from all over, but I was still hoping I would enjoy it.  I thought it was an A class movie for fantastic visuals and special effects trapped in a B or C class plot.  The movie had lots of neat stuff and cool moments, but I kept falling through the plot holes that detracted from the enjoyment.  It was one of those movies that would have been improved if you could have sympathized with any of the characters too, which I could not.

Also, if you like the movie - power to you - as I know lots of people who liked it.  I'm just giving it a C for an average grade.  I do agree with the critics that the android is awesomely acted though!

Hicks Action Figure vs Alien Queen.   Thorsten Becker / Flickr

WARNING : Spoilers ahead as I'm going to talk about the holes in the movie that detracted from the enjoyment. If you keep reading and want to see the movie - stop! Don't read on!

1. It starts with a very powerful and wealthy man who hires a bunch of misfits for a trillion dollar expedition to seek immortality. This is the best crew unlimited money can buy?!?  You gotta be kidding.  They all have emotional baggage a mile long.  Psychological profiling has definitely not improved in the future - or these were the only people desperate enough to go.  The crew for Aliens vs. Predator - the first movie was better.
2. Never trust the android, or any AI named HAL or ALICE.  HAL from 2001, ALICE from Resident Evil and King of Thorn.  Might not want to name your daughter Alice either :)
3. The geologist on the expedition was smart! He wanted to bug out when they found actual dead aliens in a labyrinth in the pyramid.  He says dead aliens aren't in my contract and leaves with a pal (a biologist with no common sense - apparently plays with upset cobras for fun in his spare time). 
   Somehow this guy - a geologist who is an outdoorsy type - who should have a good sense of direction and understands mapping gets lost on the way out when he is under no time pressure.  However, everyone else who has to suddenly evacuate later manages not to get lost in a hurried panic to exit (not to mention they don't see the geologist on the way out). One review I read said that the movie seemed to be missing pieces or it was like 2 plots jammed into one film and I have to agree.  This could be explained by something on the cutting room floor.
4. The above evacuation due to a mega storm rushing down on them was also kind of dumb.  You're telling me that this multi-billion dollar spaceship doesn't have weather radar that could spot this storm a couple of hundred miles out or even as they came down from space?
5. The automatic doctor and surgical unit is only programmed for men?  This scene later on was kind of stupid.  You're telling me you only have enough memory for one sex with nanotech and holographic storage? It was especially bad as the auto doc was in the Weyland Corporation's FEMALE representative's life boat module.  This is the woman who hates risks and takes everything into account.
6. When are they going to bring good guns on these expeditions?  It isn't Alien where they're not armed as they are a mining vessel.  This is an outfitted expedition that should have state of the art weaponry, not wispy little shotgun type weapons (probably some wispy .410 bore shotgun to boot).  Some assault rifles with AP rounds or FULL AUTO shotguns with flechettes and multi-shot grenade launchers please.  Enough of the Starship Troopers movies about popguns vs alien monsters on a mass scale.
7. The captain doesn't know that there is a secret section on his ship with a secret passenger plus entourage that apparently anyone can walk into. I think this is another one of the two plots jammed in one movie items that I talked about earlier.
8. There is apparently no night shift on the ship to watch the bridge.  A common theme with the Aliens movie (BTW Aliens is one of my top 10 SF movies) where you leave your powerful vessel in orbit with no crew and no way to drop nukes from orbit to back up your ground team.
9. Wasn't the heroine supposed to be sedated?  Her escape scene and surgery was pretty cool otherwise, but anti-climactic as no one even bothered to chase her. 
10. The stuff about the Promethians and the origin of humanity.  There's an evolutionary problem with this idea, but I'm going go along for now as this idea has popped up numerous times in SF including Star Trek and 2001 a Space Odyssey.

Overall, I did kind of enjoy the movie. Ridley Scott is an a great director.  I just wonder what happened to the movie's plot.

Exocrisis Blue Next Steps

Hi Everyone,

I took a small breather now that I have published Raid on Kahamba.  I'm now busy doing detailed plotting of the core Exocrisis Blue story.  The plan is to finish writing it over the next 12 to 16 months, but hopefully closer to the 12 month mark.  So I'm aiming for one novella sized installment every 4 months for a total of 3 linked novellas.

German Hangar (keep clear!)  - Mamboman1 / Flickr

The other day while walking home from the train station I figured that I will probably write another short prequel story while writing the first part of Exocrisis Blue. This story would be titled CAJUN and be about the formation of the Canada Japan Union.  It would take place in Japan shortly after the end of of the Alien War and I would also get to write a short bit about the attack on the Newt mothership!  With a few introductory and connection pages I would eventually bundle the three existing stories HARM, CAJUN, RAID into Exocrisis Blue: Origin.

Anyhow, I digress.  For Exocrisis Blue, I had a plot outline and a world building document complete ages ago, but I wanted to write the prequels first to test out the concepts.  Writing HARM and RAID definitely helped to gel some key ideas for me and I even changed some things to make it better, so prototyping works even for writing.

I also might take a couple of horror / horror action stories and try to polish them up, but we'll see.  So much to do... but it'll all get done.

Adios for now and have a happy fall.  Enjoy the leaves!