Review: Woe to the Victor by Nathan H Green

 

The Book:

Earth’s been destroyed, but the fight’s not over! Award-winning writer Nathan H. Green, author of The Galileo, and Treason’s Temple, brings his degree in aerospace engineering to space combat in this action packed, hard science-fiction thriller.

It’s Earth’s last day and Captain Lewis Black drifts though space, watching it burn.

The pilots under his command are dead. The war with the Maaravi is lost. Air hisses into space from around the stump of his severed arm.

In the distance a Maaravi ship approaches. Whether to torture him for information, capture him as a prisoner, or take him as a trophy, he’ll have one last chance to hurt them.

Natasha Palmer, lead engineer on the failed Reaper missile program, knows humanity’s last, desperate, plan won’t work. She’s got one chance to change that, but it will mean a leap of faith beyond all others.

Humanity is vanquished, but some battles bring only woe to the victor.

My Thoughts:

Another Military SF and another finalist in SPSFC3. Again I can see why. This books is pure action but is so well written that I found it compelling. The whole backstory into the alien attackers is fascinating and the futuristic warfare very convincing. But there was a poignancy to it, the tragedy of Earth’s situation, the human cost. 

If you’re a fan of the genre this is one for your list!

I’ve noticed that quite a few excellent Military SF books have been turning up in the SPSFC contests. I wonder if this is because mainstream publishing is steering clear of the military genre. I’m so glad that these authors have chosen to self publish because their books are really very good.