Lelen

Disappointment after Galaxy Outlaws

Reviewed: 10-05-24

I absolutely love the Galaxy Outlaws series so I got this one and the sociopolitical nature of the story detracted from the story and was forced. So this book takes place in the 26th century and everyone is shocked/challenged by non-traditional roles from 1950. Nearly every female character is openly lesbian or a closet lesbian. The brother/sister being transgendered does not only not add to the story, but actually detracts from the story because it's not important and forced. The side plot is tedious and detracts from the flow of the story. This is a liberal author being a "renegade" by complying with current social pressures to conform their writing to comply with expected leftist compliance. The reactions of everyone in the story to a non-traditional role is more 1970 than 2570, so it doesn't work.

Outside the politics of the book it was a well written story about dysfunction and family relations and fills the bio for sequels in the book series. I love the universe J.S. Morin created, but I came to escape current dystopian reality via Sci-Fi, not get a degree in feminist studies. I am not a moralist, homophobic, or a church goer so the cussing doesn't bother me but indoctrination does. If the trans stuff was central to the story and melded with the flow of the book it would have worked, but it wasn't so it didn't.

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4 people found this helpful

Bad stereo type narration

Reviewed: 06-23-24

The story is a good one as long as you can get through the painful narration. I have been an Audible customer since 2006 and as of writing this review I have 1179 titles in my library so I am a fair judge of narration. I am not sensitive or politically correct so I will just say that Ramon sounds like a drunk retarded Speedy Gonzales. I worked in produce for 11 years and never heard a Mexican guy speak so slowly and dimwittedly. Thankfully I can make the audio speed up when I get to where this character is speaking. Duke Fountain, Ray Porter, Kevin Pierce, or Andrew Wehrlen would be better narrators for this story. Sorry for the hate, but I am annoyed by the distraction.

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Is Michael Pauley really an AI reader?

Reviewed: 01-19-24

I watch YouTube channels like Warthog Defense and they use an AI narrator. The way the narrator says words like politburo ( pronounced paloota bureau by the narrator) the exact same way every time and there are a few other words with odd pronunciation. While the narration is fine, it seems a bit flat and artificial at times.

-Semi-spoiler-
There were definitely a few non sequiturs in the book like a helicopter running out of fuel because they only have 500 lbs of fuel which is about 74 gallons of JP4 or about 15 minutes of fully loaded flight. And I doubt that it takes an hour in emergency conditions to stow a helo in the hanger after it lands to clear the deck for another bird. And why would a special forces team wait until daylight to watch a camp they raided the night before when they have time sensitive material?

Two of the main characters in the book are super women that can out perform and kick the ass of 99% of the men seems a bit condescending and unrealistic. Until Maj Gen. Scott Miller in 2015 deemed that a female soldier would pass Ranger school no woman had ever passed the course. If you are a male Ranger candidate you go in cold not knowing the course with only one chance to pass/fail with no do overs. Female soldiers planning to attend Ranger school were first sent to a special two-week training in January to get them ready for the school, which didn’t start until April 20. Afterward they spent months in a special platoon at Fort Benning getting, among other things, nutritional counseling and full-time training with a Ranger.

While in the special platoon they were taken out to the land navigation course – a very tough part of the course that is timed – on a regular basis. The men had to see it for the first time when they went to the school. Once in Ranger school they were allowed to repeat key parts – like patrols – while special consideration and repeats were not given to the men.

My dad was a Ranger so I find this work around offensive and I do believe there are female soldiers that can pass Ranger school. When I was 20 and in great shape I had a push up contest with my friend Gina who was an Army reservist sargent, later active duty, that did a push up contest with me and she pushed out over 100 non-stop straight backed push-ups, she was a beast and she told me that she couldn't do Ranger school because her husband was a Ranger. now retired, and she could not keep up with him. A woman 20 days in the field has natural cycles that requires higher levels of hygiene that the school affords. Most exceptionally fit males cannot pass ranger school. So many books now have these kick ass women and I think it misses the true power of women and their control of the world through their influence over men, children, and other women.

Okay so I sound negative, but I really liked the premise of the story and I couldn't stop listening and plan to buy the parts 4-6 book as soon as I finish this review.

Would I buy this book again? Absolutely, I am just a technical/critical person.

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Complete disappointment and hard to finish

Reviewed: 07-14-22

So I started the Destroyermen series on my Kindle way back when and when the series came to Audible I bough the whole series and have listened multiple times to many of the books waiting for the next to come out. The pairing of Taylor's writing and William Dufris' narration I was always pre-ordering the next audio book so that I could listen the day it was released. Unfortunately William Dufris passed away and his friend took up the final book and dis a decent job of it. I like many other readers wanted more after the end of the Destroyerman series so I pre-ordered the Artilleryman series and waited several long months and got this under developed story line.

It is like this is the book Taylor Anderson wrote when he was thirteen and later he became a much better writer and wrote the Destroyerman series. I don't know how this first book ends because I just can't listen to it to finish it. I have started and stopped several times and will probably return it for a refund. I don't care for any of the characters and I find myself not really listening to the book when it is playing because it is really boring. I have over 1000 audio book titles in my library that I have paid for, so I am not a causal listener. In fact I have listened to more than 40 audio books since I started trying to listen to this book that I have finished and i just cannot finish this book.

Are you looking for a good read? Try B.V. Larson the Undying Mercenaries series, old James McGill is a future day and more devious Silva, Try the Expeditionary Force series by Craig Alanson (RC Bray is the best narrator PERIOD), Try the Old Man's War series by John Scalzi narrated by none other that William Dufris, Try the Troy Rising series by John Ringo narrated by Mark Boyett. So many good books out there, skip this one.

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12 people found this helpful

Interesting take

Reviewed: 12-09-21

I would really like to talk to John Ringo about the current dynamic of world events. In the book he is a huge proponent of vaccination to the point that only stupid people that deserved to die would pass up the vax. The first gen and second gen vaccines had different efficacies, but there was no real delineation and all vax is good vax. There were no apparent side effects and the bird flu had a high mortality rate of 40-80%. Our current flu has a mortality rate of less than% based on total population.

It is a interesting book because he caught some of the current dynamics and some are 180 degrees out, but still happened to some degree.

I'm against forced mandates and am curious if John Ringo's opinions are the same after the actual events, or if they evolved once the incompetent response from the WHO, NIH, and governments. Make no mistake, the NIH funded coronavirus gain of function research and helped create the Moderna vaccine before COVID 19 was either intentionally or accidentally released from the lab in China. Documents are slowly leaking out and people like Fauci are transforming from heroes to villain right before our eyes.

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This one went by fast, lots of action

Reviewed: 02-11-21

Though this book is nearly 13 hours long, it felt like 4-5 hours. The action is hot and heavy and the political drama is just as good as the battle for America. What I like about this series is it makes you think from both the perspective of the characters and the what if I was there angle. Sometimes we start something with good intention or because we feel we are right and often there are greater consequences than we anticipate. The President elect felt that he had won regardless of the help he received and now he has to deal with the consequence and the destruction his decisions have created. Most of our politicians in the Uni-party probably started out with good intentions, but their greed and gullibility makes them the pawns of political masters and once they figure that out they realized that they must go along with the deep state/big tech/the elite or get chewed up and spit out. Keep your head down and do as you are told.

I think one angle in this book that is being overlooked is the American gun owner. Do you really think foreign troops could just march into Michigan aka Militiagan and not meet strong resistance from some of the millions of US gun owners? Hell, I live in Idaho and when all of the BLM/Antifa crap was kicking off in Seattle and word was spread that these groups were going to show up in Coeur d'Alene to protest well over a hundred local armed citizens turned out to keep the peace. A few BLM showed up and were welcomed and allowed to protest peacefully. There are some scary good old boys in the backwoods of America that know the local terrain and are not friendly to strangers. There are also millions of ex-service members that have some level of basic to advanced war fighting training. Look at how many people get shot and killed in liberal gun controlled cities like Chicago on a daily basis and now multiply that by a thousand when people that actually know how to aim and shoot a gun in a disciplined manner decide to take action.

Good series and I will be getting more books from this author.

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Slow, cartoonish and predictable

Reviewed: 02-20-20

(spoiler alert, this book sucks)
So if you purchased this audio book after listening to the previous four be forewarned that one full hour is wasted at the start of book 5 rehashing what you already read so this is really a just over seven hour audio book. I have listened to 20 Bobby Akart books before this one and this book may have just pushed me away from reading his books anymore. I have been waiting for him to finish the Lone Star Series so I jumped to this series and I am not impressed, the ideas and actions of the characters are childlike. In the book these tactical operators defeat guard dogs by throwing beef jerky because they can see at night that the dogs are hungry, and then the owner of the house is killed with a throwing knife to the throat again in the dark, though a door, while the guy is crouching. The two super warriors then climb to the top of the wall to wait for the roving guards because one of the two tells the other the best way to silently kill the bad guys is to roll off the wall, and then jump up and stab them in the throat and of course it works. A two pound ball peen hammer would be a much better choice for a near silent weapon.

So what happens after this? I don't know because I give up. Not everyone can be a Craig Alanson, Terry Mancour, BV Larson,
Bernard Cornwell, Taylor Anderson, Pat Frank, Ken Follett, Pierce Brown, A. American, Vaughn Heppner,Johnathan Hollerman, Robert Heinlein, and so many others that I have enjoyed. I have 818 Audible titles according to my app and this will only be the fouth book I have returned.

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Excellent narration, classic tale.

Reviewed: 02-06-19

A story you should listen to at least once in your life. Adventure, a sense of growing self, and the conflicts that arise in camaraderie.

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This book is a good problem

Reviewed: 04-14-17

This book is so genuinely funny and entertaining. It is so good that I have problem finding another audio book to follow this series up. I hope they are in the process of recording the third book in the series. I have purchased over 600 audio books and this series is at the top of the list.

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Uh what did I just buy? Not as good as the ratings

Reviewed: 10-06-16

Would you try another book from William C. Dietz and/or Noah Michael Levine?

I may pass on future books from this author. While I don't like the progressive angle of this book it is not why I really dislike it. I can read other views, but I need to be entertained by an actually engaging story. This is just a road trip for some of some lost tribe of sorta soldiers and an implausible presidential story line with outrageous stereotypes of what conservatism is.

What could William C. Dietz have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Readers of dystopian/military fiction tend to understand firearms, military strategy and maneuver and know military equipment so if you are going to write in this genre understand that you may need to employ people knowledgeable in the subject. There are so many errors in the technical aspects in this book like an M1A2 Abrams tank having a 105mm gun, and Apache helicopters that fly everywhere without maintenance, but the Striker vehicles need new engines after 1000 miles. Did I mention that this book is boring and the battle scenes involve days of driving and 5 minutes of battle with little depth of action.

Which character – as performed by Noah Michael Levine – was your favorite?

Nobody really stood out.

Could you see Into the Guns being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Susan Sarandon, Alec Baldwin, Woody Harrelson, and Whoopie Goldberg.

Any additional comments?

I don't know how this book ended, because I have to move on because it just can't get into it after 5 hours of listening.

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36 people found this helpful