Unbreakable, by W. C. Bauers

W.C. Bauers is a strong new voice in military sci-fi.  His first novel, Unbreakable, introduces Promise Paen, a tough soldier who is climbing the ranks and bringing the pain (pun intended, of course) to all comers.  After witnessing her father's murder and her home's destruction by raiders, Promise joined the Republic of Aligned Worlds Marines.  Little did she know that she would end up defending her home world from being taken over by the RAW's cold war enemies, the Lusitanian Empire.

Bauers does a nice job of setting the political stage, but not letting that get in the way of the story.  The RAW and LE are not at war, but there are contested worlds like Montana, the planet from which Promise hails.  Sitting strategically between the two alliances, both would like to bring Montana into the fold.  When the LE tries to do so by subterfuge and force, Promise leads the Marines in the defense of Montana.

Don't worry, if I made that sound confusing, it's really not.  Bauer's focus is on Promise and her platoon.  They use a lot of sci-fi military tech and weaponry, but life in a platoon and on the battlefield, when you get to boots on the ground, doesn't change much.  Marines are concerned about defeating the enemy and defending their brothers and sisters in arms.  Baeur writes with the feel of someone who has served in combat or who has a great knowledge of and respect for those who have.

One odd story telling device that didn't seem to fit: Promise is regularly visited by her deceased mother. Is she a ghost?  Only in Promise's head?  Somehow attached to Promise's gun (which used to belong to her mother)?  Bauer uses these visits to fill in Promise's back story, so they are important for learning more about Promise, but it's just sort of odd. . . .  And never really explained. . . .

Bauer writes about this future of human colonization in way that I could embrace.  As The Chronicles of Promise Paen continue, I'll be interested in his fleshing out the demise of Earth and the logistical, political history of the expansion of the RAW, LE, and other alliances.  Unbreakable is familiar ground for sci-fi fans, who are comfortable with the worlds of Star Trek, Star Wars, and other universes in which mankind's territorial disputes include planets and star systems rather than islands and continents.  But Bauer's convincing character development, hard-hitting military action, and a gift for story telling promise (pun intended, of course), more great adventures for Promise Paen.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!