Starfist: Force Recon: Pointblank [Mass Market Paperback]

Pointblank is the second of the StarFIST: Force Recon series, a spinoff of the StarFIST series. While it is not quite as well written as the first Recon book, it has a much better story line. It also converges with the story line from the original StarFIST series and does so quite seamlessly.

The 34th FIST from the main series is bogged down with a bunch of army troops on a rebellious planet. The ineptitude of the army general commanding, a political type, has led to a hard time for all. When the XO gets ordered to "do something about it", he calls in the Recon Marines to gather intelligence and raise hell behind the lines. They proceed to do just that. Along the way, they gather valuable intelligence and even find some of the opposing political types that are the source of many of the problems.

The story is simplistic but enjoyable and the characters are different than those in the main series in terms of attitudes and capabilities. Its not too shabby.

Pointblank (2006) is the second combat SF novel in the StarFIST: Force Recon series, following Backshot. In the previous volume, the Fourth Force Recon company completed a mission on Atlas, taking out a nuclear weapons development facility identified by the Central Intelligence Organization. After the mission, Sergeant Jak Daly was recommended for commissioning and then sent to the Marine Officer Training College.

Anya Smiler, Quadrant Desk Officer of the CIO, obtained an appointment with the Deputy Minister for Intelligence in the War Ministry and passed on CIO data about the Atlas mission. In turn, he allowed her to see an Ultra Secret message from J. Murchison Adams -- CIO Director -- to the President of the Confederacy. She and her data were taken to the Minister of War and then to the President. Adams and his clique quietly disappeared from public view and the CIO was reorganized from top to bottom.

In this novel, Lieutenant General Jason Billie -- commander of all Confederation ground forces on Ravenette -- has a small problem with antisatellite laser guns knocking out the string of pearls surveillance devices. He orders Major General Alastair Cazombi to have the Navy take out the weapons and Cazombi calls Admiral Hoi requesting a Force Recon company. Then he asks Brigadier Ted Sturgeon -- commander of the 34th FIST -- to drop by for a little discussion and the last of his cigars.

On Halfway, the local army command is complaining about the way the Fourth Force Recon company -- actually only two squads -- had taken out the headquarters of the 525th Heavy Infantry Regiment in a training exercise. Lieutenant General Ramses Indrus -- commander of the Fourth Fleet Marines -- is meeting with the Army XI Corps commander when the mission orders are received. The Forth Force Recon Company has been ordered to Ravenette on an urgent mission.

Commander Walt Obannion is quite relieved at getting off Halfway for a while. The Fourth Force Recon company prepares to board the Fast Frigate CNSS Admiral Stoloff. By the following day, the company has departed the planet, leaving a junior officer and NCO behind to mind the store.

In this story, Jak Daly arrives at Cecil Roads enroute to Arsenault. While changing ships here, Daly takes a room at the Hotel Victoria. He eats lunch at the hotel restaurant and lounge and then spends several hours just catching up on his sleep. After that, he goes back to the lounge for supper and to listen to the music. There he meets a bargirl and retires to a private room with her for the meal.

After he wakes up in an alley, Daly thinks angry thoughts about falling for the oldest con in the business. His pocket money -- about a full day's pay -- is gone, but he has more in his room. He goes back to the hotel for a bath and change of clothes and then questions the desk clerk about the girl and the bartender who mixed the Mickey Finn. Later, he corners the pair after they roll another sucker and gets back his money plus some more for his trouble.

The next ship is full of retired veterans, but they do need a Marine to balance the mix. The voyage to Arsenault is a fun trip and he reaches the planet in a good mood. On the shuttle down, he meets another OTC candidate and they have mutual acquaintances. Daly asks the First Sergeant to allow him to bunk with Manny and the Top agrees.

This story is full of Force Recon hijinks on Ravenette. The Marines soon reduce the number of antisatellite lasers and also discover where the Coalition government is hiding. They even get permission from General Billie to conduct a raid on the town.

On Arsenault, Manny is a good companion and also proves to be a whiz with mathematical formulas. His coaching helps Daly with the problems in logistics. Daly discovers and loses a great girlfriend to a training accident, but he later finds another. Of course, Felicia is an Army graves registration type with a foul mouth, but she is still a good trooper.

The story presents another viewpoint on the Coalition War on Ravenette. Flashfire mentioned Force Recon troopers providing good intelligence to the 34th FIST. Now we learn more about the role of Force Recon in that war.

Recommended for Sherman & Cragg fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of close combat, military politics, and hasty romances.

-Arthur W. Jordin

There is a lot to like about this book. Jak Daly, for example, is a very appealing persona; the authors' real-life military experience helps make him and the other characters seem more real. The officer training, inter-service rivalries and military jargon are solid attributes of Sherman and Cragg's writing. There is also a lot to dislike, unfortunately. The plot is quite shallow and predictable, the bad guys are terminally stupid and technologically outclassed, the marines are universally heroic while the army is run by a bunch of dolts (e.g., General Billie), and there is a lot of shameless self-promotion (e.g., references to the Starfist series). It would be a lot more exciting if the Secessionist forces were intelligent, crafty, and well led. None of this should be surprising; it's no different than any of the author's other ~20 books. If you like their work, this one rates at the upper end of what they have done so far. If you don't like their writing style this one won't change your opinion. I found it a fun, light read. The Force Recon series takes a fresh twist on the Starfist verse. I really like the concept and mostly enjoyed this iteration of the series. An entertaining read.

Lawrence Kane
Author of Blinded by the Night, among other titles

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 8 reviews  4.0 out of 5 stars