Ace, 1998, $5.99, ISBN 0-441-00568-3, 268 pages

This sequel to Officer Cadet follows Lon Nolan on his way up the food chain in the Dirigent Mercenary Corps. This fast-thinking, fast-acting, General-in-training wins his commission, and then leads his platoon into action.

Shelley crafts a pretty good book. The combat action, with all its hurry up and wait attributes followed by several minutes of pure terror, bring you pulse-quickening tension. The confused nature of the fight, coupled with rapidly-growing competence and confidence of the main character, make for a realistic approximation of ground combat in the 29th century.

About the only flaw apparent is the violations of army TO&E that dates back to gunpowder days. Imagine a modern field force without artillery. No guns. No mortars. No AT guns. It's a strange universe where nobody brings heavy duty support to the dance. And it's a strange writer's trick, too.

Nevertheless, if you're looking for good ground action and small unit tactics, Rick Shelley is your author.

More in the Dirigent Mercenary Corps series

Officer Cadet Book 1
Lieutenant Book 2
Captain Book 3
Major Book 4
Lieutenant Colonel Book 5