Helmet for My Pillow by Robert Leckie

Genre: Nonfiction, Military History

Setting: During World War II, in Boot Camp at Parris Island, and on various islands in the Pacific theater of the war.

First Sentence. A cutting wind slanted up Church Street in the cheerless dawn of January 5, 1942.

This memoir of the Marines during the Pacific campaign was used as source material for the HBO miniseries The Pacific.

War looks different depending upon your point of view.  For the folks back home the sanitized version of the war was all about glory and heroism.  For the generals and admirals, the war was strategy, tactics, battles, and casualty reports.  But for the Marines on the front lines the war was mud and blood and rain and just staying alive.

In his memoir, Robert Leckie shows us what being a front line Marine was like during World War II.

At Parris Island, the tough Old Breed of veteran noncoms tried to prepare Leckie and his buddies for the hardships of war.

At Guadalcanal, the Marines faced a fearsome foe.  The Japanese soldiers were experienced and well trained.  They fought hard and would never surrender.

At New Britain, the jungle and the rain became the enemy.  The jungle was filled with noxious plants, poisonous insects, and trees called widow-makers.  The rain was never ending.  It destroyed equipment and rotted the clothes off of the Marines' bodies.

At Peleliu, the Marines payed a horrific price in sweat and blood for a small desolate lump of coral.

Through it all, the Marines fought hard.  In the time between the battles, during the unending days and weeks of ennui, the Marines blew off steam.  They went AWOL.  They got drunk.  They got in fights. And some spent time in the brig.  Sometimes, they stole some of the officers supplies.  (Leckie and his buddies had little respect for the officers.)  For what punishment could be worse than the realities of every day life for the Marines on the front lines.

In the end, we, like Leckie, are left to ponder the value of the loss of so many lives.

I truly enjoyed this book.  It was written an an easy to read style.  For me, it was a page turner.  The pages flew by and it was like Bob Leckie was there with me telling war stories.

In my opinion this was a great read.

                                                               

Hard Duty by Mark E. Cooper

Genre: Science Fiction

Setting: In the future, on interplanetary space vehicles, and on alien planets.

First Sentence: Captain to the bridge!

This novel is the first in Cooper's Merkiaari Wars series.

Humanity's first contact with an alien civilization, the Merkiaari, did not go well.  In the ensuing war, many planets were destroyed along with countless human lives.

So now, when the alliance's explorers discover another sentient species, the new species is watched very carefully.

The explorers discover that the Shan are an interesting and relatively peaceful people.  Unfortunately, they too have been attacked by the hated Merkiaari.  The humans and the Shan take some time learning to trust each other.

Then the unthinkable happens.  The Merkiaari attack again.  Will the humans and the Shan survive this onslaught by the murderous Merkiaari?

When I began reading this book, I was somewhat confused.  The author jumped around between characters and plot lines which seemed unrelated to each other.  Then I discovered that this book is a prequel to the rest of the series.  While this novel is interesting and well written, it would probably be better understood after reading some of the other books in the series.

Interesting characters and an easy to read style made this novel and enjoyable read.

I liked it.

                                            

Eight For Eternity by Mary Reed and Eric Mayer

Genre: Historical Mystery

Setting:  Constantinople, in January 532 AD

First Sentence:  The condemned man narrowed his eyes against the January sun, a brilliant translucent disk suspended in the early morning mist.

This novel is the eighth in Reed and Mayer's John the Lord Chamberlain mystery series.  This series currently extends to ten novels.

This novel was a very confusing read for me.  The action in this novel occurs before the beginning of the series.  There was no warning of this.  I was expecting the novel to pick up after the seventh novel.  So, I was very confused for the first few chapters.  A little warning in the prolog or the dust jacket blurb would have been appreciated.

In January of 532 AD in Constantinople there was an uprising.  Mobs of people were rioting.  Many wanted to depose the Emperor Justinian.

Amid the chaos, John (who is not the Lord chamberlain, but an assistant chamberlain) is tasked by the emperor to solve the murder of two men.  John spends most of the novel wandering around Constantinople trying to discover who committed the murder.  Compared to the number of deaths caused by the riot, the deaths of two men doesn't seem that important.  However, John begins to feel that the murders, and the uprising are somehow connected.

Will John unravel the mystery?

In my opinion, this novel is not the best of the series.  For me, it was a difficult read.