| Title | : | Legion of the Damned (Legion, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0441480403 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780441480401 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Mass Market Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 341 |
| Publication | : | First published March 8, 1993 |
There is one final choice for the hopeless, the terminally ill, the condemned criminals, the victims who cannot be saved: becoming cyborg soldiers in the Legion. Their human bodies are destroyed and they are reborn as living weapons. But when aliens attack the Empire, the Legion must choose sides.
Legion of the Damned (Legion, #1) Reviews
-
Before I begin my mostly positive review, a quick "open letter" to SCIENCE FICTION...
DEAR SF:
TOO MUCH BAD SEX. I don’t mean filthy, kinky or nasty sex (you should know me better than that by now). No, I mean clunky, horribly written schlock that makes your loins shrivel (GUYS...who needs that). Lately, I am finding that this is pretty much par for the course and that finding a writer who can do an effective sex scene is rarer than governmental honesty...YET YOU KEEP TRYING...JUST STOP ALREADY.
I would so much prefer that when writers get to the moment of undress, they just come out and say...[ "Dear reader...here is where the sex scene occurs. So and so and so and so (and maybe even so and so) now have sex and it's awesome and cool and full of moaning, thrusting and much dripping of sweat and other fluids. However, rather than write about it and screw things up, please take a few minutes and imagine them having a really cool romp and then I we will pick it up again when they begin to cuddle.”].
That would save a lot of wear and tear on my gag reflex and precent further shrivel.
Sincerely,
Shrinking Fast
Thank you, now onto the review....
I REALLY liked this book...MOST of the time and definitely plan to read the sequel. Now, as you might guess from the 3 star rating (and my opening remarks), I do have some modest issue bitching to do. However, I don’t want my overall positive feelings to be lost on account of a few nits. Ironically, it’s precisely because of the book’s many positives that I found certain parts as frustrating as a trip to the DMV with a heat rash on your booty.
Minor quibbles and the soiling effects of some “brain fart” writing moments aside, this is a pretty sweet yarn. The general concept, the backstory and the voice of the novel are as compelling as anything I’ve come across in this military SF sub-genre.
BACKSTORY
1. The Legion
Set in a dark, bleak and morally-challenged future when humans have spread virus-like across the galaxy, the story focuses on the exploits of the Legion, the future manifestation of the French Foreign Legion. Like their historical namesake, the Legion is made up of an eclectic group of social outcasts and troublemakers who are used to fight wars and skirmishes on the outskirts of Imperial Earth’s territory.
However, recruitment for the Legion has changed over time. Condemned criminals and those with terminal illnesses are given the option of joining the Legion after death (hence the title). This means that immediately following their death/execution, volunteers have their brains/consciousness transferred into cyborg battle-suits that are mobile, agile, hostile and mega bunches of lethal. They are then put through a rigorous, second life-threatening training program of which fewer than half survive.
Once trained and given the title of Legionnaire, they become part of the most feared force in the Empire. The Legion is made up of 3 main components. There are Quads which are basically four-legged cyborg tanks and heavily armored vehicles.
The Quads are supported by a larger number of cyborg ground soldiers called Trooper II’s and a much larger number of “normal” human Legionnaires referred to as bio-bods.
The Legion is very well depicted and is tied into the history of the French Foreign Legions through tales of their greatest exploits which are used as both teaching tools and morale boosting lessons. Legionnaires are indoctrinated with a fierce sense of loyalty and espirit de corps that gives them a very “us against the universe” perspective.
Imperial Earth
This is one of the things that set this book apart from much of the Military SF I have read. The Human Empire of the series is no shiny beacon of freedom in the never-ending struggle against evil bug-eyed monsters. Oh no. It is a dark, decadent den of corruption and hedonistic excess. The Emperor is a seriously unstable, paranoid schizophrenic with cybernetically-induced multiple personality disorder and a penchant for sexual perversion. Put bluntly, the guy is a utter psycho-finger-paint with his own feces-nutbag and provides the creep vibe every time he’s on the page.
The rest of the society is not much better and the governmental leaders and military commanders are all too busy playing politics and one-upmanship to do their job effectively. It is a wonderfully dystopian mess.
PLOT SUMMARY
Into this amoral, violent “Nero-fiddling,burning Rome of an Empire come the alien Hudathans. The Hudathans are the definition of xenophobic and view any sentient species as a threat to their existence. Humans being sentient, they have to go and the aliens have begun annihilating solar system after solar system while the Emperor and the voices in his head have been debating how to respond.
Now, the Hudathans are planning a major offensive, a secret cabal is planning a coup against the Emperor, the Imperial Navy is planning on playing it safe...and the only hope of the empire is the Legion who finds themselves with problems of their own in the form of an alien uprising on their home planet of Algeron.
The rest is for you to discover...
MY THOUGHTS
The Good
Overall, I found this to be above-average solider SF for several reasons. First, the background mentioned above. I like my worlds and backstories gritty, unsanitary and on the nasty side of noirish. This fits the bill from the Machiavellian political machinations to the exercises in military expediency carried out by some of the less savory characters.
Also, the concept of the Legion and how their ranks are culled from the general population is terrific. I love the concept of misfits and social degenerates being reborn and given a chance at redemption while working through the guilt and angst of their former lives. We get to follow a few of the recruits from their last moments as humans all the way through becoming combat-tested Legionnaires. It makes for some very three dimensional characters.
The alien Hudathans are also well done. They make a great implacable enemy who are understandable within the framework of their own customs without behaving like “alien” humans.
Finally, the writing is good...for the most part. However, see below.
The Bad
The writing...occasionally. While good for the most part, there were times when the prose would clang against my ear and make me wince. This didn’t happen often, but it was enough for me to notice and have to mention. Otherwise...see above.
The plot was way too jumbled and seemed rushed and at times incoherent. This was one of the rare times when I found myself thinking that a novel was too SHORT. The narrative jumps around between so many different characters that too many of the segments felt rushed and sloppy. I think the rushed, clipped viewpoints may have been part of what Dietz was going for, but the control and the polish to carry it out just wasn’t there.
The Oh so UGLY
See my opening remarks.
OVERALL
So, in the end this was a book I should have enjoyed more than I actually did. All of the pieces are there for a compelling series and if Dietz can work out some of the kinks (including not writing about a few of them), this could be a seriously interesting series to read.
3.5 stars with upside potential. RECOMMENDED!! -
Dietz in top form
Publication date: August 1, 1993
Publisher: Ace
Language: English
ASIN: B004ELA592
356 pages
This is the first volume in William Dietz Legion series. Through some twist of fate and politics the French Foreign Legion has survived into the future with its traditions intact. It is no longer French but is one of the three major, and mutually antagonistic, military components of a multi-planet empire with complex politics and a mad emperor. Excusably mad as it turns out but still, quite mad.
This is not just simple military sci-fi. Dietz is in top form as he presents an involved story from the points of view of aliens, the legion, cyborg and bio-bod legionaires, the navy, various imperial military, political and civilian leaders and the mad emperor. The emperor who tries to survive by pitting the various imperial factions against each other and avoiding decision making for as long as possible. A predictable recipe for disaster. The legion's use of heavily armed and armored cyborgs is a little reminiscent of Keith Laumer's Bolo stories and novels.
A trend in modern sci-fi and fantasy which I dislike intensely is physical relationships, often graphically portrayed, between humans and alien species or paranormal creatures which sometimes border on bestiality. In his legion series Dietz was an early writer of such. The scenes are not as graphic nor the aliens as outrageous as in many of the more modern examples of this trend but they are described in more detail than is necessary for a reader to understand the situation. This is really my only complaint about the book. Dietz can be a master of his craft and displays that mastery here. So much so that it's hard to believe that this book, published in 1993, was written by the same person who wrote the abysmally bad INTO THE GUNS published in 2016 as the first volume in the America Rising trilogy. -
Dietz in top form
Publication date: August 1, 1993
Publisher: Ace
Language: English
ASIN: B004ELA592
356 pages
This is the first volume in William Dietz Legion series. Through some twist of fate and politics the French Foreign Legion has survived into the future with its traditions intact. It is no longer French but is one of the three major, and mutually antagonistic, military components of a multi-planet empire with complex politics and a mad emperor. Excusably mad as it turns out but still, quite mad.
This is not just simple military sci-fi. Dietz is in top form as he presents an involved story from the points of view of aliens, the legion, cyborg and bio-bod legionaires, the navy, various imperial military, political and civilian leaders and the mad emperor. The emperor who tries to survive by pitting the various imperial factions against each other and avoiding decision making for as long as possible. A predictable recipe for disaster. The legion's use of heavily armed and armored cyborgs is a little reminiscent of Keith Laumer's Bolo stories and novels.
A trend in modern sci-fi and fantasy which I dislike intensely is physical relationships, often graphically portrayed, between humans and alien species or paranormal creatures which sometimes border on bestiality. In his legion series Dietz was an early writer of such. The scenes are not as graphic nor the aliens as outrageous as in many of the more modern examples of this trend but they are described in more detail than is necessary for a reader to understand the situation. This is really my only complaint about the book. Dietz can be a master of his craft and displays that mastery here. So much so that it's hard to believe that this book, published in 1993, was written by the same person who wrote the abysmally bad INTO THE GUNS published in 2016 as the first volume in the America Rising trilogy. -
Dietz has a lot of ideas in this book, but none of them were particularly well done except the action - when he actually wrote it. As a fun, quick space opera, it's not bad, though. If he had made this into a trilogy, he could have made it quite a good story. As it was, there just wasn't enough meat to really be satisfying. He'd jump from one place to another, do a quick flashback on what could have been an awesome scene, but it was just a quick synopsis. Maybe that was my big problem - a lot of tell & not enough show.
I had some issues with the logic & physics that made up the story, too. There were quite a few magical fixes. Smart people had to act awfully stupid at times in order to make the story work.
There were a few love interests in the story. Most felt tacked on, as if he'd finished, then gone back & added them. One really ruined part of the story for me as it was ridiculous. Another added absolutely nothing, although the third was useful, if quite strange.
I won't break my neck looking for another book by this author, but if one comes my way, I won't turn it down. -
Good idea and good book (if you like straight up military science fiction, which I usually do). The synopsis pretty much gives you the idea the novel (and it's sequels) are built around. Condemned criminals, among others will have their brains transplanted into mechanical bodies. These cyborgs can range from appearing human to being giant military machines tanks etc. with human brains.
And there is very little need for the human looking cyborgs...get it? Generally you end up plugged into something like a tank or missile launcher etc. If in battle your machine gets plastered, but your brain box survives (the human brains are placed in brain boxes where they have apparently standardized hook ups as well as life support)then "you" can be unplugged and plugged into another machine. Though there may be some unhappy brass because you got their machine "broke".
Pretty good read, I liked it, recommended. -
as the great Lily Allen once said
Fuck you
Fuck you very, very much
'Cause we hate what you do
And we hate your whole crew
So please don't stay in touch
Fuck you
Fuck you very, very much
'Cause your words don't translate
And it's getting quite late
So please don't stay in touch
PS:i will properly use that again -
You can read the full review over on my blog:
http://sonsofcorax.wordpress.com/2014...
As with last year, it seems that at the moment I’m doing well enough with my “25 Series To Read In 2014” reading challenge, where I pick out the aforementioned number of series in a variety of genres and attempt to read at least the first books in each. One of the books that I read for this challenge earlier this month was the first novel in William C. Dietz’ Legion series, Legion of the Damned. Bill is an author I’ve known for quite a while, and even invited on the blog for a guest post. His first Sauron duology novel DeathDay is among my favourite books, and is one that contributed towards my decision to become a writer, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that I hold him in high regard for being an inspiration.
Legion of the Damned imagines a future where humanity has spread out of the cradle of Earth and has built for itself a sprawling galactic empire, ruled by a creepy and perverted and highly schizophrenic Emperor who cares more about his own enjoyment rather than the Empire itself. And one of the fighting forces he has at his command is the Legion, a futuristic incarnation of the French Foreign Legion. A lot of the novel deals with the political drama between the Empire’s various armed forces and the invasion by the technologically superior Hudatha, who have been burning world after world. As a whole, Legion of the Damned has some fine concepts, but it doesn’t always go all the way, and some of the concepts even prove to be troublesome. But it is still a novel I’d recommend reading.
To start off with, the best parts of the novel are the scenes where is action, physical action. This is a novel about an alien invasion of a human empire, and that necessitates some space battles and battles fought on solid real estate. Through a variety of characters, whether they be a part of the Legion or otherwise, or even civilians, Bill uses his background from the US Navy and Marine Corps to good affect, going into detailed explanations of tactics and strategy at all levels. There is even a significant scene in the middle of the novel which deals with the consequences of the strategies put in place by the Hudatha as they advance through the Empire, destroying all opposition before them, sometimes at great cost.
Bill combines the futuristic weapons used by the Legion and other Imperial forces by adding into the mix two different types of cyborgs. The first are the familiar hulking bipedal killing machines (quite a bit different from Terminator actually), which are agile and are one of the more common elements of Legion forces, other than the regular troops themselves. Then there are the Quads, which are basically human brains encased within the body of a very bulky and heavily armed and armoured quadruped walker. With these three elements in the mix, there are lots of opportunities for some really good action scenes, and Bill certainly delivers.
He doesn’t delve into the intricacies of the technology, skimming only the surface for most of the time, but that was fine with me since that’s really not what I was looking for here. While I love the occasional hard space opera, such as Jean Johnson’s quite awesome Theirs Not To Reason Why novels, I prefer to read something a little less… cerebral, because more often than not authors in question simply get lost in those details to the detriment of character and plot development. And that is not something that I wanted out of this, hence why I liked Legion of the Damned. -
Disappointing. Still, two stars instead of one, as there are a lot of good ideas and the beginnings of some interesting plotlines. However, none of them deliver. I was hooked enough to want to know the end of the book and ended up skimming the majority of it, as I just couldn't stomach reading it properly.
My issues with this book, in no particular order:
Very short paragraphs, that jump from one storyline to the next and never allow you to properly develop a connection to the story or the characters. It just feel jumbled and jerky.
Each of the paragraphs seem to start with a new character. All of them get names, even if they die after two pages. Which makes for an overkill of names, that I had difficulties keeping straight. Especially, because the names of the aliens were very alike. As the characterizations were also very flat and there was not much character development, connecting to any of them was very difficult. There were maybe three or four characters in the whole book, that I cared about at all.
The first half of the book feels like an endless introduction to the story. I kept waiting for the story to take off and become more involved, for some threads to come together, for some suspense, but it just muddled on like that till the end.
Many of the characters are just too silly to be believable. The emperor ist just a joke. And Admiral Scolari ist just so one-dimensional and stupid that I cringed every time she showed up. Silly and stupid characters are fair enough, if they are well written, but this was just so infantile, it threw me out of the story in disbelief every time.
Other readers complained about the awkward sex. Well, it was just as mediocre and uninspired as the rest of the story. And the love stories that popped up -- the last one was so unlikely, I just went WTF and kept reading. Instalove. No build-up, no development of relationships, they just pop up out of the woodworks and are in love. Whatever.
Most of the characers felt the same, completely interchangeable. Some with the mental landscape of teenagers. Booly and Windsweet were exceptions and could have made for a entertaining read, but were just as peripheral as all others.
If aliens attacked you with overwhelming force and no mercy, killing millions, would you concentrate your energy on fighting your own troops? No, me neither. What the hell was that about? As plot gimmicks go, it sucked. Totally pointless.
Wow, perhaps I should downgrade this to one star after all. -
I've read the Titan Books edition of this book and I really enjoyed it. It's been reprinted to be in the same size as the recently published Andromeda's Fall, which is a spin-off from the original series.
I'm not a military sci-fi fan but this was very easy to follow with several plots/battles occurring simultaneously. This book was published originally in 1993 but it contains a similar plot thread that was used in Avatar; though this one is actually a story.
Earth is run by an Emperor who is borderline insane (for a good reason, actually) and its political factions are constantly groveling for favors. Sex is the easiest way to move up the ranks. The Emperor was by far the worst written character in the book because he, and his escapades were cliches, but every other character was extremely well written.
Criminals put to death can opt to have their brains harvested to be put into cyborgs, still retaining memories of their past. One of these cyborgs is looking for revenge on the man who killed her, and guess who just got sentenced to death and had his brain harvested?
The main plot involves an invasion by the Hudathans who systematically destroying Earth's outposts and planets. They were a good alien race and I liked how they thought and worked.
Having read this book and Andromeda's Fall, I would eagerly return to any of Mr. Dietz's novels involving the Legion. A fun, highly engaging, action novel. -
It's been a long time since I read a military sci-fi book. The last one I can remember is probably the Hyperion series by Dan Simmons. I wouldn't say it's my favorite genre but it always manages to pull me in because of its introduction of many worlds, many faces, many battles, and consequently many stories.
I've heard about this series since Dietz is a pretty prolific writer and there are several in just this series alone. I was sucked into the first three chapters for all the reasons I listed above. The writing is very descriptive with a sense of fitting military beauty. It's far from prose, but not so cold it feels dead. Like the soldiers it talks about, it gets the job done.
Following primarily the invasion of a xenophobic alien race known as the Hudathans, we are taken on an adventure that results in human political squabbling, plays for power, plenty of space battles, and mountains and mountains of casualties. There are a few key players we follow throughout the book but they all serve as chess pieces to move the story along. I'd go so far as to say the story itself is the real main character.
For all of its grand gestures, however, I came away from this book cold. I'm aware its the first of a series (and written quite awhile ago at that, so clearly the series has done well and doesn't need my opinion to aid it). I also read the first few pages of the second and see that one of the major characters does appear right at the second so clearly, not all their tales conclude with this book. My biggest complaints, however, stem from how big the scope is. Grand vision is great but not when it sacrifices smaller details that could help me picture the worlds and establish character development and instead takes time to focus on mathematical description of mining practices in space.
Another complaint comes from the lack of individual personality for the characters. Author voice is tricky but necessary when you're switching between so many people. If you're not careful they all sound the same. With few exceptions, this was my problem here. If it wasn't for the settings, situations, and name changes - all of these characters could have been the same person. I understand the military has a large degree of uniformity, but when it comes to personal motivations and internal monologues, it becomes clear that all of these people were penned by the same creator. That took the biggest toll on story telling, I felt, since when certain characters die or survive I don't feel the appropriate levels of loss or jubilation.
Lastly, the plot drags heavily for probably the first half if not more of this book. It's not horrible, since there are many interesting side stories to be fleshed out, and I understand its setting up a bigger picture. However, it is very unbalanced against the speed that the ending is written at. For all of the build up, I felt like the battle at the end was so swift that it tripped over itself. Events I wanted to be a part of were mentioned in mere paragraphs and treated as disposable after having had chapters dedicated to them. A theme of this book is the fleeting nature of life, but the plot of a book you've just dedicated over 300 pages of time to should not be so fleeting. I found that it ended incredibly abruptly to the point of being jarring, and left far too many loose ends that would have made the bitterness of war a little sweeter.
Lastly, there was a painful lack of description for a lot of the technology introduced in this book. The pages are overflowing with the authors vision of cyborgs, space faring ships and weaponry, and the entire futuristic army of Legionnaires. Unfortunately, I still have a hard time telling which are which since so many classifications and types are thrown around in jargon as if I should already know what they are. I'm still unclear what parts of these cyborgs look human, and which look like machines. By the end of the book I had a better picture - although fuzzy - but far from what I hoped for since there's a cyborg on the cover of the book.
Ultimately, this is a standard military sci-fi title. It's solid, but nothing that redefines the genre in my opinion. Nothing about it particularly made my imagination soar, but it did keep me reading from start to finish. I'm not sure if I'll continue the series, and I'll definitely be taking a break to read something a little less dry in writing style. Only time will tell if I'll return to the space-opera that is the futuristic French Legion.
If you're looking for a new sci-fi adventure that is all about the sci-fi and free of almost any other drama, this might be the book for you. I'd recommend strongly, however, that you read any samples that you can find to make sure the writing style is for you. -
In this military science fiction series, of which this is book one, we have the legendary Legionnaires as our protagonists.
Humanity has flowed out from mother planet and has invested in mining and populated other worlds. While there has always been minor conflicts between some of the settlements and other species this pales in comparison with the Hudathan who are sweeping through humanities settlements without significant resistance.
The Hudathan battle strategy is simple. Bombard the hell out of the planet and kill everything in sight. No discussions, no prisoners, no cares, just obliterate everything. Next target please.
However when they reach Algernon they run into their first resistance in the form of the Legionnaires on site. And in fact, experience their first defeat.
Meanwhile on Earth all the various military groups are fighting amongst themselves and trying to convince the Emperor that their individual strategies are correct. Which means the Emperor has way too many options so like most politicians just keeps everyone dangling by a string and makes no decision.
Characters are well developed and the multiple minor story lines bubble along and eventually merge with the overall story.
Lots of good military battles, as well as political ones.
Dietz ranks right up there with Ian Douglas and Jack Campbell in military science fiction.
This is book one of a series which I know I am going to enjoy reading the rest of.
Be sure to check this series out, you will not be disappointed
Legion series
1.Legion Of The Damned (1993)
2.The Final Battle (1995)
3.By Blood Alone (1999)
4.By Force of Arms (2000)
5.For More Than Glory (2004)
6.For Those Who Fell (2005)
7.When All Seems Lost (2008)
8.When Duty Calls (2008)
9.A Fighting Chance (2011)
10.Andromeda's Fall (2012)
11.Andromeda's Choice (July 4, 2014)
12.Andromeda's War (2015) -
I have to be honest here, I'm not a huge fan of science fiction. I'm more of a fantasy lover. Yes, there is a difference in my opinion between the two subjects. This book was therefore grudgingly accepted from my boyfriend when he was looking for something for me to read instead of spending more of my tight budget. At first it took some time for me to figure out what was going on because, as I mentioned, this isn't my typical genre of choice; however, by the third chapter I was hooked. I thought that Mr. Dietz did a good job of balancing the reliable plot that the reader expects with the plot twists that truly shocked me at times. I found myself rooting for some characters and wishing I could attack a few others--isn't that part of what makes a writer a good writer?
I also appreciated that the future Mr. Dietz created was easy to envision--detailed enough to understand, but not so detailed that you get bogged down in it. There's also the fact that in my opinion it was realistic enough to be believed and far-fetched enough to lay any personal concerns to rest. Is it possible that this would be similar to the true future? Yes, anything is possible. Is it probable? Not in my opinion, but it is a wonderful fiction.
To say the least, when I found that I was approximately thirty pages from the end of this book I looked through my boyfriend's books, found the next volume and squirreled it away to begin reading the moment I finished the first. -
Awesome! Great series until the 5th book..then it just gets silly.
-
3 étoiles pour le fond et l'univers, les batailles
2 étoiles pour la psychologie plutôt sommaire et les scènes de sexe inutiles
une série de combats dans le futur par les héritiers de la Légion (vs les marines habituels dans ce genre de SF) contre des ET exterminateurs Trois types principaux de soldats les humains (plus ou moins "augmentés") les cyborgs et les ET) et un monde politique disparate (empereur fou, multinationales etc) de nombreux personnages (On saute d'une situation à l'autre sans transition)
nota : les cyborgs m'ont posé un pb philosophique Comment des meurtriers sans conscience peuvent ils devenir de bons soldats ? Qu'est ce qui les empêche d'assouvir leurs impulsions primaires (c'est le cerveau qui est conservé dans la machine) et de se retourner contre leurs créateurs ?
A lire sans en attendre autre chose que de la distraction et des scènes de combats plutôt bien menées Aucun personnage n'a attiré ma sympathie à part peut -être Bill Booly
mais comme il s'agit d'un univers assez complexe et riche à découvrir je lirai les suites -
Legion of the Damned by Willam Dietz imagines a future where humanity has spread out of the cradle of Earth and has built for itself a sprawling galactic empire, ruled by a creepy and perverted and highly schizophrenic Emperor who cares more about his own enjoyment rather than the Empire itself. And one of the fighting forces he has at his command is the Legion, a futuristic incarnation of the French Foreign Legion. A lot of the novel deals with the political drama between the Empire’s various armed forces and the invasion by the technologically superior Hudatha, who have been burning world after world. As a whole, Legion of the Damned has some fine concepts, but it doesn’t always go all the way, and some of the concepts even prove to be troublesome. But it is still a Sci-fi novel I’d recommend reading.
Legion of the Damned is a book 1 to a 9 part book trilogy.
To start off with, the best parts of the novel are the scenes where is action, physical action. This is a novel about an alien invasion of a human empire, and that necessitates some space battles and battles fought on Various planets. Through a variety of characters, whether they be a part of the Legion or otherwise, or even civilians, Dietz uses his background from the Military background to good affect, going into detailed explanations of tactics and strategy at all levels. There is even a significant scene in the middle of the novel which deals with the consequences of the strategies put in place by the Alien Hudatha as they advance through the Empire, destroying all opposition before them, sometimes at great cost.
Bill combines the futuristic weapons used by the Legion and other Imperial forces by adding into the mix two different types of cyborgs. The first are the familiar hulking bipedal killing machines (quite a bit different from Terminator actually), which are agile and are one of the more common elements of Legion forces, other than the regular troops themselves. Then there are the Quads, which are basically human brains encased within the body of a very bulky and heavily armed and armoured quadruped walker. With these three elements in the mix, there are lots of opportunities for some really good sci-fi action scenes, and Author Willam Dietz certainly delivers.
He doesn’t delve into the intricacies of the technology, skimming only the surface for most of the time, but that was fine with me since that’s really not what I was looking for here. While I love the occasional hard space opera, such as Jean Johnson’s quite awesome Theirs Not To Reason Why novels, I prefer to read something a little less… cerebral, because more often than not authors in question simply get lost in those details to the detriment of character and plot development. And that is not something that I wanted out of this, hence why I liked Legion of the Damned.
Given that the Legion is based on the French Foreign Legion, The author draws a lot of similarities between the two forces and he uses the 19th and 20th century history of the Foreign Legion to add character to the Legion of the fictional future. Sometimes it feels a bit cheesy and cliche, but honestly, it was very interesting in its effect on the story. It added more character to the action scenes beyond the obvious and it also almost perfectly characterised the nature and attitude of the Legion. Which is another element of the novel that I really liked and appreciated.
However, one of the things that I didn’t appreciate was the characterisation of the female cast. While the novel has very good gender parity and heavily features women in similar positions of power to their male counterparts, often higher in fact, it doesn’t do much with them as characters, if that makes sense. There are some quick, rushed romances, and a fair amount of sex scenes which don’t read very well at all. It all just combines to give a less than welcome experience of the novel. I really wish that the characterisation had been better, because if it had then the novel would have been significantly better, but it is what it is and I can only hold out hope that the sequel is much better!
In general though, I liked the characters themselves, even if they acted idiotically, such as the Emperor himself and Admiral Scolari, who are often opportunists and make decisions to benefit their own power rather than putting some thought into fighting the Hudatha. Nevertheless, for that very reason, both of them are fascinating characters in their own right. And their arcs get a very delicious ending towards the climax, which I applauded. Characters like Colonel Natalie Norwood stand out however, both because she is one of the coolest characters in the novel and also one of the most open in terms of her attitude and her personality. She is captured by the Hudatha very early on and through her we get to see their society, their culture, and their military protocol, all of which adds a significant layer of complexity and depth to the entire novel in the end. I believe she also becomes quite a significant character later on in the series, so that is one of the things that I’m looking forward to here.
There are lots of other characters in the novel of course, and one of the great things is that there isn’t any small handful of “main” characters in the novel. The plot is divided up rather evenly between all of them, and each of them gets to shine, such as it is.
Another thing I didn’t like was that generally the plot itself was quite thin. I liked the whole alien invasion angle and the various subplots which were there, but they didn’t really come together for a cohesive whole. One of the reasons that might be is because there is such a large cast here, and so many different subplots going on. So the interconnectivity is just not there, at least not in this novel. So, a third thing that I’m hoping for from the sequel is that the plot is much more interesting, and is less cluttered as well.
Still, when all is said and done, I had a lot of fun reading the novel. It is light space opera fare, and that worked just fine for me. And it kept me interested throughout, which is what matters most in my opinion. Onwards for the sequel! -
That was a bit pants really. All in all, it was rather two-dimensional. Two-dimensional characters, invariably in positions of power and either at a party, having sex or engaged in grand tactical warfare. Hollow ill-conceived future-tech. And a plot as thin as the atmosphere on Mars (as depicted by Viking rather than Burroughs).
If you still have spots, wear short trousers and are a virgin you'll probably like this. If your brain cells have reached double figures, reach for some decent writers in this genre such as Drake, Ringo or Morgan. -
This was the third time that I read this book and I still find it to be an enjoyable read.
Although there are a large number of characters, they each get developed enough for you to care what happens to them. The book moves along at a good pace keeping the adrenaline up while not losing track of the story.
Military action, intrigue, and an interesting premise for crime and punishment.
The whole series is an interesting, exciting read that I will return to again and again over the years. -
What if an elite military outfit of cyborgs protected the galaxy? COOL! Now what if a mediocre writer wrote about them? Not so cool. Fun in a pinch, but expect Star Wars/Dungeons and Drgaons serial book level talent.
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Legion of the Damned took me a Damned long time to read for such a relatively short book. It looks like it is now the first book in a series - I'm going to choose to ignore that, and just avoid the rest of the series. Life's too short for even "ok" books.
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I neither liked nor disliked this book. I am completely neutral to it. I don't care one way or another. It makes no difference to me. Stuff happened in this book. I remember some of it, but it is not important enough for me to comment on.
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Would have gotten another star if it wasn't for the silly ridicolous and totally unnecessary plot element with the idiotic horny emperor and the plotting admiral.
Why does so many authors have to add these silly soap opera elements to their books? -
I'm a sucker for military sci-fi and I like Dietz style. I really enjoyed this book.
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I just love the whole idea of giving people a second chance at life after death, but thru the eyes as a cyborg.
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When you have no hope of futher life you can become a cyborg in the Legion. This is a sci-fi tale of struggle against alien races against impossible odds by a few brave souls.
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Decent military sci-fi; enjoyed it a lot when I was 15, it is quite fascist in hindsight.
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This was ok, but I preferred the prequels more.
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I read this book because I was a big fan of "Halo: The Flood" growing up. I found that book to be better then this one. Of course I realise he wrote The Flood 10 years after Legion of The Damned was published but I just wanted to say that. With that out of the way, here is my review. Note: Spoilers a plenty!
This book is hard for me to assign a star rating too. Here's the thing, I enjoyed parts of this book a lot, while other parts were simply par (if not subpar). I found that Dietz would write a really good chapter or scene but then follow it up with several pages of substandard scenes. I think its easy to break this book down into what I liked and didn't like which is something I don't usually do, but with this book I think its the only way I can review it.
The things I enjoyed:
The battles, particularly the descriptions and the placements, Dietz does a good job of explaining where everyone is in relation to one another.
The Legion's mech units, their weapons and abilities, and their personalities were excellent. The entire idea of their consciousness being uploaded into a box and placed into a death machine is intriguing. Further to this, some of the side characters and their depression due to this hell they faced was really compelling. The idea of causing them pain so they took care of their machine bodies also struck a cord with me.
The short day/night cycle of the Legion's home planet, neat concept.
The dynamic of how the Navy, the Army and the Legion don't get along, very believable.
The Navy commander and her lust for power over the Legion and the emperor. Excellent stuff, believable character (until the ending which I will get to)
The Emperor being an insane person. Excellent depiction and touches of comedy that I thoroughly enjoyed. Especially when the other characters sort of gloss over it as they fear this man's wrath. This idea gave me major Caligula vibes.
There are two scenes that are some of the best science fiction I have read. One in which we see the back story of the antagonist (why he decided to turn traitor) really good descriptions and excellent scene setting and outcomes. I hung on every word. The second scene was when the main character had to convince a Legion unit who are starving and freezing to surrender. Again very good descriptions and Dietz is excellent at putting us in the characters heads at that moment. If there were some way to take these scenes and put them in a collection of short stories I think they would be regarded as top tier writing.
What I didn't like:
The romance between one of the main sergeants and the local girl. It seemed forced and sort of awkward. However, it did lead to a very good hand to hand combat scene..."Knifes," excellent delivery. But the ends (a cool scene) don't justify the means (pages of pages of this romance subplot) for me.
The other romantic subplot with the base commander and the daughter of the Politian. Dietz, buddy, do me a favor don't write romance okay, thankyou. Stick to battles and military strategy, you excel at that.
The ending of how easily the Emperor and the Navy commander get decimated. Seems thrown in and unbelievable that these leaders (I get it, they are dumb, that's the reason the empire is crumbling from within but come on) would rush into hostile space to attempt to form a treaty with the advancing aliens who have shown no mercy the entire book and who constantly use overwhelming force. To me it seemed like Dietz couldn't think of a way to kill these two characters off and just decided to have them drop 50 IQ points in a matter of seconds.
Dietz cannot name anything to save his life. The locations, the ships, the weapons, almost everything had a dumb sounding name. I know that it is subjective, but when I read a name of something and it completely takes me out of the story because I think, "Why did he name this thing something so stupid?" Well, that's not good for the book that's for sure.
So in short, the highs are absolutely stunning, but the lows? They are burrowing into the earth's mantel as we speak. I think three stars is fair but I can't in good conscious give it anything higher due to the above mentioned negatives. I won't be continuing the series.
