fantasy book reviews science fiction book reviewsTrial by Fire by Charles E. Gannon science fiction book reviewsTrial by Fire by Charles E. Gannon

There’s no sophomore slump with Trial by Fire, the second book in Charles E. Gannon’s TALES OF THE TERRAN REPUBLIC series. Trial by Fire is a white-knuckle adventure, with revelations that lay the groundwork for conflicts in future books.

In Fire with Fire, Caine Riordan and the team from Earth met exo-sapients (we used to call them space aliens) and attended a Convocation. Sabotage, both technical and political, caused the Convocation to fail. Along the way, several attempts were made on Caine’s life, mostly authored by a mysterious man who likes to eat olives.

Trial by Fire opens with another attempt on Caine’s life at the base orbiting Barnard’s Star. Caine survives, but as he and Trevor Corcoran are preparing to head back to Earth, the base and its fleet are attacked with no warning by the technologically advanced Arat Kur, who are supporting the bellicose but tech-primitive Hkh’Rkh race. Earth’s fleet is destroyed and soon Earth is occupied.

The Arat Kur and the Hkh’Rkh both insist with varying degrees of sincerity that they are not an occupation force, but a peace-keeping one, and that they were “invited” by one government to protect it against aggression. This is technically true, and not unlike certain current events (wave to Ukraine, everybody!). From this point on, most of the story is varying degrees of war; an intelligence war, a “formal” military engagement, and a war of insurgency as the locals around Jakarta, where the exo-saps are headquartered, express their displeasure with their uninvited planet-mates.

Caine is off-stage for about one third of Trial by Fire, which gives more space to characters like super-soldier Trevor, military bodyguard Opal Patrone who is a woman out of her time, and spymaster Richard Downing. Gannon also develops key exo-sap characters. My favorite is Darzhee Kut, a member of the Arat Kur occupation force. Darzhee Kut is smart and clear-sighted, and sees that the alliance with the Hkh’Rkh, and the invasion, is wrong-headed and morally cloudy. He is also unswervingly loyal. This gives him conflict. The Arat Kur are a communal society who value harmony, and are not very warlike (although for a peace-loving race they have some awesome war-tech), and at first glance it’s hard to see why they’re involved in this at all. As the story progresses, the cause of the Arat Kur’s fear of humans is revealed, and we can see their point of view. We even understand the point of view of the Klingon-like Hkh’Rkh, although we may not agree with it.

Tales of the Terran Republic by Charles E. GannonAt the end of Trial by Fire, a villain we love to hate gets just desserts. In a beautiful reveal, we learn the identity of the Olive Eating Man. We’ve also lost a number of characters we liked, including a beloved one, because this is a book about war. Some readers may think that Gannon set up a plot point only to drop it unfinished, though I suspect that the plot element is not dropped, but merely deferred. They have the technology. I will watch this particular element with interest.

Gannon contrasts the intelligence-gathering and strategic aspects of a war, the more “game-like” side, with real losses in the field. The probably-right-but-universally-disliked spymaster Richard is the perfect character to show us this calculus, and he does so thoroughly.

Because I don’t read much military SF I found some terms and acronyms going over my head. Gannon is pretty good about an early definition, but some just didn’t stick. It didn’t affect the action; I could certainly follow what was going on.

In the first book, Fire with Fire, I found Caine to be unbelievably perfect. In Trial by Fire, Caine misses an important clue until the crucial moment that a plot element is deployed. Far from making him look stupid, this was a believable oversight and made him more relateable. In this outing Caine reminds me of an early Tom Clancy hero, Jack Ryan: smart, innovative, analytical and brave, just a bit out of his depth and rising to the occasion, instead of being always flawless.

The book was a bit talky. Some of that is unavoidable as new technology has to be explained. As the “game” aspect of the book continues, with numerous schemes and counter-schemes, operations running blind to each other, there does have to some kind of on-site narrator. I wish Gannon had done a bit more of that as indirect narrative rather than characters, in the heat of battle, lecturing each other. Well, maybe it wasn’t in the “heat” of battle, but in the “warmth” of battle. Still, I think an alert reader could follow some of the thought processes without having it all spelled out.

This was an exciting adventure with real stakes, and sets up the next challenge for the newly named Terran Republic. Gannon is making it easy for me to meet my goal of reading more military SF this year, and I look forward to Book Three, Raising Caine, due out in October, 2015.

~Marion Deeds


Trial by Fire by Charles E. Gannon science fiction book reviewsI liked the larger role that some of the secondary characters took on in this story, de-emphasizing Caine Riordan. He’s better in this book, but still way too smart and perfect. He figures things out quickly with very few facts to go on. He jumps to conclusions that turn out to be right. Like the previous book, this one is too long. Way too many military specs. Way too much talking. 

~Kat Hooper

Published in 2014. Sequel to national bestseller, Nebula Award finalist, and Compton Crook Award winner Fire with Fire. Science fiction adventure on a grand scale.

When reluctant interstellar diplomat and intelligence operative Caine Riordan returns from humanity’s first encounter with alien races, sudden war clouds burst. With Earth’s fleet shattered by a sneak attack and its survivors fighting for their lives, Caine must rely upon both his first contact and weaponry skills to contend with the non-humanoid enemy. And when the technologically-superior attackers sweep aside the solar system’s last defenses, and traitorous corporations invite the invaders to land ‘security forces,’ humanity fights back with its best weapons: cunning, inventiveness, and guts.

But as Earth hurtles towards a final trial by fire that is certain to scar its collective memory, Caine discovers that there may also be large and disturbing gaps in that memory. Clues point to a much earlier inter-species apocalypse, buried in humanity’s own prehistory. Which raises a terrifying possibility: what if the aliens’ invasion of Earth is not one of conquest, but preemption? And what if their harrowing memories of a long-past cataclysmic war makes them willing to do anything to keep it from reigniting?

Even if that means exterminating the human race.

Authors

  • Marion Deeds

    Marion Deeds, with us since March, 2011, is the author of the fantasy novella ALUMINUM LEAVES. Her short fiction has appeared in the anthologies BEYOND THE STARS, THE WAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE, STRANGE CALIFORNIA, and in Podcastle, The Noyo River Review, Daily Science Fiction and Flash Fiction Online. She’s retired from 35 years in county government, and spends some of her free time volunteering at a second-hand bookstore in her home town.

    View all posts
  • Kat Hooper

    KAT HOOPER, who started this site in June 2007, earned a Ph.D. in neuroscience and psychology at Indiana University (Bloomington) and now teaches and conducts brain research at the University of North Florida. When she reads fiction, she wants to encounter new ideas and lots of imagination. She wants to view the world in a different way. She wants to have her mind blown. She loves beautiful language and has no patience for dull prose, vapid romance, or cheesy dialogue. She prefers complex characterization, intriguing plots, and plenty of action. Favorite authors are Jack Vance, Robin Hobb, Kage Baker, William Gibson, Gene Wolfe, Richard Matheson, and C.S. Lewis.

    View all posts