Published by DelRey, 1998, 338 pages
ISBN 0-345-40623-0
$5.99

After the rip-roaring tale of 25th Century Marines in Starfist Book I, I scarfed up Book II as soon as I saw it in the bookstore. David Sherman and Dan Cragg have done it again--creating another splendid tale of the Marines of the 34th Fleet Initial Strike Team.

This time, sent off to fight the guerrillas of Wanderjahr, they are placed in a training role to the Wanderjahrian armed forces. Of course, not everything is so cut and dried as trying to help the Napoleonic-style army switch to more "modern" tactics. The ruling oligarchs play power politics amidst the war, the police are dealing with a shadowy terrorist group, and the local wildlife are prehistoric nightmares. It's all one bloody mess.

But Marines will be Marines, and 34th FIST is soon kicking butt and not caring about names. Sherman and Cragg paint a vivid picture of small unit tactics in the wilds of Wanderjahr--and they do a good job of moving the action in urban areas too. The prose moves right along and you care about Marines like Dean, Claypoole, Bass, Gudenov, and even MacIlargie.

About the only odd part is why the guerrillas haven't wiped out the entire Wanderjahrian military. It requires a stretch of the imagination to believe that someone, anyone, would try some tactic other than shoulder to shoulder volleys in the jungle, after being ambushed a few times. I get the uneasy feeling I'm reading about French and Indian War British blundering around the forest of America while the Indians ambush them.

Be that as it may, the end result is a well-crafted story of small unit tactics set in a believable sci-fi future. Sherman and Cragg are to be congratulated on a job well done.

More in the First to Fight series

StarFist Book I: First to Fight
StarFist Book II: School of Fire
StarFist Book III: Steel Gauntlet
StarFist Book IV: Blood Contact