Customer Reviews

Down To The Sea

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've read the entire Lost Regiment series and so I was quite thrilled to see that Mr. Forstchen was revisiting it and starting up a new series. I raced through the book and enjoyed every page. And then I waited for the inevitable sequel, and waited, and waited. That was almost 7 years ago and I'm still waiting for the next book in the series. I'm begining to think that Mr. Forstchen has abandonned this series to pursue more lucrative ventures with his new writing partner, Newt Gingrich. It's really too bad as I thought this new series had potential.

This is another good book. This is a great series. I am still waiting for mor information on the ancients and what caused their downfall.

This book picks up 20 years after the final battle. There is a new race of "beasts" out there. This race is much more advanced than the humans. At least 50 years. Truly giant ships and fast planes. I would say they are advanced similar to America just prior to WWII.

The ending is left wide open for the next two or three novels. I hope Forstchen keeps it up!

The Lost Regiment Series was terrific and I felt as if I lost an old friend upon completing the "final" chapter. With much surprise, I stumbled upon "Down To The Sea" and enjoyed it thoroughly. IT'S A GREAT AND FAST READ. BRING ON THE NEXT BOOK AND KEEP 'EM COMING!

Andrew Lawrence Keane is the President of the Republic and his society is finally advancing itself, thanks in part to its peace of 20 years. However, the Golden Horde (Keane's arch enemies) still want war. This is no surprise. The Hoard's entire social, economic, and food source derives from making war on human beings. This time it's the Kazan Tribe. However, the Kazan's internal power structure evolved differently from the other Horde tribes. The ruler shares his power with "The Shiv", a weird semi-religious cult of quasi-humans. Actually the Shiv are the real rulers of the Kazan tribe, they maintain their power by keeping the Horde busy with internal squabbles and civil wars. Thus they control the Hoard by maintaining the status quo which in turn keeps the Horde weak. The Shiv selected Keane's Republic to be the latest patsy which the Horde can beat their war shields against. Naturally, the dim leader of the Horde, Yasim, seems more than compliant with the Shiv's wishes.

The Republic's task is to defeat their enemy while facing political problems. Since the Republic is a democracy and people can vote to have the President removed, Keane must walk a political tightrope, he has to mobilize his people for a war while maintaining his populaces freedoms. A significant problem is the Kazan's technology, which is superior to the Republic's. They must modernize their systems ASAP, otherwise they face doom.

I admit it, I like these stories. I cannot help myself. I am a bit of a history buff and I also enjoy science fiction/fantasy, which is exactly what these books are. They are fairly well written and fast to read. I think I finished "Down to The Sea" in one day. The only criticisms I have with this book are that it lacks maps and its conclusion. Maps would help me better visualize the geography (especially for the sea battles). The ending is rather abrupt and needs a better reconciliation. Based upon the ending I can only assume that William R. Forstchen, the author, intends to write a sequel to this novel. However, I consider these to be minor problems and I recommend this and all of the Lost Regiment" stories, I think you will enjoy them if you like fast paced plots and good dialog.

This new book is substantially improved over the previous series. What turned me off before were the graphic descriptions of things, like the Tugar Moon Feast. He lost me back at "Fateful Lightning" because of this issue. I think Forstchen has scaled that back just the right amount. It's there and you are aware of it, but it isn't churning your guts and detracting from the story.

After 20 years of complacency, the Republic discovers that the Kazan have been using that time to strengthen their technology base. They have larger, faster, ships with bigger guns, and tactics to match (they practiced on each other). They also have built a manufacturing infrastructure. The Republic appears to be about 40-years down-rev from the Kazan.

But, there is hope. This parallels a lot of what happened at the start of WW2, when the Japanese had larger battleships, after the Pearl Harbor attack. But, picture this using "Spanish-American War" naval technology, for the Republic, and WW1 technology for the Kazan. In both WW2 and this story, air power makes the difference. This follows WW2 pattern right up until the Battle of Midway Island. An interesting side line is that he develops, air-dropped, self-propelled torpedoes but no submarines and no ship-board torpedo launchers. PT boats would be interesting too. Maybe, next episode?

The other development is the Shiv, a genetically bred race of humans with Ninja-like training, but conditioned like Whirling Dervishes, as religious fanatics/soldiers, over a period of one thousand years. They are created/controlled by a Kazan group only known as "The Order". Of course, we now have a classic Political-Religious power tension, between the Kazan Emperor and the Grand Master of the Order.

What this makes for is a rollicking tale with three main view points. Two of which are youngsters caught up in the main-stream. O'Donald, the Kazan puppet, Kean's son, and Cromwell. They are in the midst of all the action and it is great! Forstchen does a good job balancing the capabilities of all sides and moving quickly through what would otherwise be the tedious stuff. Balance is excellent, technology growth is fast-paced, the action is fluid, and the ending is not a disappointment.

There is a new generation of soldiers now. Andrew Keane's son and several other worthy candidates are graduating and getting their first assignments. Thanks to Keane and others, peace has reigned for twenty years. But in another part of the world, another alien empire, the empire of the Kazan, is engaged in a civil war of its own. Two of the young men are captured, one a son of a traitor, the other a former slave. Their fate mirrors the fate of the entire republic, and their decisions could mean its survival or its end. "The Lost Regiment" series continues, decades after the original Civil War regiment was transported to a distant planet to fight for a world not their own. The younger generation was born on that world, however. It is theirs, and now they have to fight to keep it free. Forstchen continues to satisfy in this latest "Lost Regiment" story. A new enemy and new heroes make this book as compelling as the first. Based on its ending, there is definitely more to come.

The latest novel in William Forstchen's _Lost Regiment_ science-fiction series, DOWN TO THE SEA, is not only one of the most enjoyable science-fiction novels I've read in some time (well, ever since finishing his marvelous MEN OF WAR), but it is also an utterly compelling recasting of George Orwell's _1984_ in universal terms. This novel is the story of the discovery by the young Republic, a human-based nation on an alien world founded by men of Earth accidentally transported to this new world via fantastic alien technology, of a new threat to their hard-won freedom. The Kazan, a mighty empire of aliens who are kin to the Hordes who had enslaved, tortured, and murdered the human beings on this world since time out of mind, knows of the Republic, and determines to crush it. Lieutenants Richard Cromwell and Sean O'Donnell, one the son of a traitor to the Republic and the other the son of one of its great heroes, taken prisoner by the Kazan after an ill-fated reconnaissance flight over the territorial waters of the Kazan, learn to their horror that the Kazan are planning to destroy the Republic. Cromwell is allowed to escape and take word of what is about to happen back to the Republic by the high priest of the religious order that is the real power behind the throne of the Empire for reasons which have to do with an unknown game-within-a-game played by the priest against the Emperor. O'Donnell, on the other hand, remains a captive -- one to be converted to the frightening religion of the Shiv, human beings who have been bred for countless generations to become supermen beyond anything ever dreamed of by the Nazis . . . _real_ supermen with no loyalty to the Republic, men and women able to take on 100-to-1 odds and win against that could be thrown against them by ordinary men and women. Sean discovers, to his horror, that the Shiv are intended to become the tools by which the Empire will destroy the Republic, all that stands between humanity on this world and their total enslavement and destruction by the Kazan and their relatives. -- But thanks to a woman of the Shiv assigned to him, together with the drugs that she and the priests administer to him daily, soon his horror is converted to exultation, and, finally, to complete acceptance of the goal of the breeding-program by which the Kazan have been creating the Shiv over generations. In chapter 11 of DOWN TO THE SEA, Sean O'Donnell says to Karinia, concerning the breeding of human beings by the Kazan: "I understand how," Sean said softly, almost fearfully. "I do not understand why." In George Orwell's _1984_, Part III, O'Brien asks Winston Smith, ". . . Do you remember writing in your diary, 'I understand _how_; I do not understand _why_'? It was when you thought about 'why' that you doubted your own sanity. . . ." Later, in the same chapter, he answers his own question: "The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power. Not wealth or luxury or long life or happiness; only power, pure power. . . ." And just so, Karinia answers Sean McDonnell's question: ". . . Those of the inner circle know that nothing exists beyond this life. Therefoer it is power, my lover, power and nothing else that matters and that drives the game of our lives." She smiled. "And that power then gives us the pleasures we desire." At the end of _1984_, Winston Smith is thinking about everything he has been through at the hands of Miniluv, the police arm of Oceania: ". . . But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. he loved Big Brother." Sean O'Donnell has likewise undergone his own journey from hatred and loathing of the enemy to love of them and what they intend to do to humanity. He, too, has come to love Big Brother. Only in this case, it is Big Brother within himself he now loves, most of all. DOWN TO THE SEA is an extension and illumination of the central message of _1984_ presented in the context of alien-human interactions. It makes it clear that power-hunger, hunger for power entirely for its own sake, is an evil that respects no species, no world, no culture, no niche in time or space. And it asks questions that sear the heart: What is the answer to such a hunger, such an addition? Is _anything_ worth eschewing such power, absolute power, power to do whatever you will to others without let or hindrance or fear of consequences, after you have tasted its dark delights? I look forward very much to sequels to DOWN TO THE SEA, to learn what answers may be given to the questions posed in this novel. Sometimes you have to go far away from home to see it as it truly is and thereby come to understand just how far we can fall -- and rise again. An elegant contemporary recasting of Orwell's _1984_, this novel is a must-read for anyone who cares about the path our civilization is taking.

We are back at the world that Forstchen has created, this time twenty years after the events that were described in book 8, "Men of War." The challenge this time are the Kazan, of the same race as the Hordes, but more advanced, and the resurgent, although weak, Bantag, still led by Jurak. An innovative element is the entire Kazan culture, with a secretive and powerful religious sect that manages to be more dangerous than the Kazan emperor, and this sect's daring experiment in biological manipulation and religious braiwashing of humans. There are some elements from earth's modern military history that play out well in the novel, like the controversy between the advocates of a battleship navy and those who pull for a carrier navy (big guns against planes), and most of the new characters are engaging. There are problems with "Down to the Sea," though, and the four stars reflect those problems. For starters, the introduction on the back cover refers to a Lieutenant Michael O'Brien who is captured by the Kazan. Maybe he was, but this character does not appear in the book at all. The two who are captured are O'Donald's son and Richard Cromwell (Tobias Cromwell's son), who ends up being the hero of the story. Other points have to be addressed: there is a certain implausibility with so many of the Republic's landmarks and even warships named after American Civil War battles. After wars such as the ones described by the author in which humans confronted the Hordes and millions died, the American Civil War should be a fading, almost quiet memory for the men from New York and Maine. It is not very convincing that the newest, biggest battleship of the Republic is named "Gettysburg," since so many battles in this New World have been far costlier than Gettysburg, and have meant far more to the natives. English as the official language is convenient but, again , not convincing: millions speak Russian, Greek, Latin, Chinese, etc. English as imposed from above would be a struggle. Still, I liked the book. For all my complaints, this is the best series going right now. Besides, at the rate the Republic is advancing, space will soon be their next endeavour.

When writing a series book like this that has a multifacetd storyline and variables it helps to not leave people hanging and have more consistency. For instance we know its 20 years later but little is said about what has happened then. Having a timeline chart would be helpful. Another would be a worldmap. This has always been a complaint of this series which the author did include in book #8. In this one we have no idea about what countries are in the Republic, where the major rivers, oceans, and cities are, or where the campaigns are taking place. Also there is alot of mention of the alien technology in the previous books. I find it hard to believe that in 20 years the humans hadn't visited all the ancient horde sites or deciphered the sacred scrolls. Finally while most of the book is a good page turner the ending, as in book #8, is too chopped off. But all in all I still reccomend the book and I look forward to the next.

Just when I thought "Men of War" was the last book of the Lost Regiment series, I accidently came upon "Down to The Sea". This book takes place twenty years after the "Men of War" with new characters as well as a few old. The Kazan are a different type of Horde in their politics and religion as well as technology. Like the previous 8 books, you won't want to put it down until you have finished it. Looks like a start to another great series.