Military Sci-Fi Review: A Soldier's Duty by Jean Johnson

A Soldier's Duty by Jean Johnson ( Theirs Not to Reason Why #1)

won from Kimba The Caffeinated Book Reviewer

Synopsis from Goodreads
...What if you could see the future? What if you foresaw that, three hundred years from your time, your entire galaxy would be destroyed in an overwhelming invasion? What would you do to stop it, when it would all happen long after you were dead and gone?

These are the questions that Ia must face, and the obstacles she must overcome. Spurred by her teenaged visions of an apocalyptic future, the young heavyworlder woman seeks to set up a series of events, a domino-chain of actions and repercussions that will hopefully stop the coming invaders long after her time has passed. But in order to do so, she must enter the military and engage in a four-front war: an old, barely contained enemy whose twin goals of galactic conquest and lunch terrify all sane sentients; an ancient foe whose technology vastly outstrips anything the Alliance can fling at it; a fanatic, xenophobic religious movement on her homeworld which Ia dares not stop; and her ongoing battle against Time itself.

If Ia fails, the stars and planets of the Milky Way will cease to exist, and so will the countless lives that depend on them. But the odds of her winning the ultimate battle are very, very small, when even the slightest, most innocent-seeming misstep could domino down through time in the wrong way, and doom untold septillions of sentients to a dark and terrifying fall. Bound by the ice of her duty, burned by the fires of her conscience, driven by what she foresees, Ia must become the herald of death herself:

The soldier known as Bloody Mary.

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10/10

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Guys, gals, this book is AWESOME. The scope, the sheer complexity of it all is on par with Dune.

I have to admit straight away, this is not a book for everyone and my 10 out of 10 is highly subjective because I personally grew up with reading and rereading Dune, and gobbling up extremely popular military sci-fi in Russia for breakfast, lunch and dinner. 

This is like a blast from the past.



A Soldier's Duty has been on my shelves for about 7-8 months, and then this Sunday I suddenly fancied some sci-fi and picked it up. Next thing I know it's 1.30 in the morning and I'm 3/4 of the way through the book and have to force myself to stop.

I finished it the next day and ordered book #2 straight away. Now I have a bookish hangover which happens when the book was so good you are not quite ready to turn your attention to some other read. You probably know exactly what I mean! ;)

Ia is such a complex, interesting, intense and incredibly driven character. There is always a barrier, am inner detachment in her which comes from seeing everyone's future all the time, the numerous probabilities in time currents. The things this woman has to keep in her head would drive an average person mad, but she perseveres because failure is not an option. Failure means the annihilation of her galaxy. 

Ia as a recruit and then as a Marine is always at the front of all action because it's the only way she can control the outcome. Because she knows how to drive the events for the desirable outcome, her actions become incredible, even legendary feats of bravery, and the whole book is one total non-stop fest of action, fights and battles while each of the event serves as another chess piece in Ia's Game.

It's really hard to describe this book, and I don't really want to give any spoilers to those who think they would appreciate the genre. However, what I can say is that Jean Johnson as a paranormal romance author only got a DNF from me, I just couldn't read the book. Jean Johnson as a sci-fi author is a pure evil genius. I couldn't stop reading. Weird, huh?

Highly recommended, but not for sci-fi beginners I think :)

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Мне кажется, эта книга написана в лучших традициях русской научной фантастики. Я помнится такие книги проглатывала десятками дома, в промежутках перечитывая Дюну, и считала что они жутко хороши.

Вот и в этот раз книга ну безумно мне просто понравилась, хотя оценки у неё на Гудридс не очень-то хороши - между тройкой и четвёркой в основном.

Иа - самый настоящий пророк, которая в 15 лет видит, что через 300 лет её галактическая система будет уничтожена нашествием чуждой нам цивилизации, бегущей со своей погибающей галактики. Бродя по реке времени она видит очень маленькую возможность остановить это нашествие, если она выберет определённый путь и сыграет одну Большую Игру, предопределяющую наше спасение.

Для этого ей необходимо попасть в Космический Спецназ, что она и делает в 18 лет, стремительно продвигаясь по армейским ранкам своей безумной отчаянной храбростью и мастерством. По большей части, Иэй двигает отчаянье, так как видя будущие вероятности она знает, что останавливаться ей или проиграть нельзя ни за что, уж слишком много человеческих жизней на кону.

Её способности и безумство становятся легендарными пока она понемногу воплощает свой план в жизнь, однако Иа в первой книге всего лишь в начале своего пути, и я не могу дождаться когда прочитаю продложение, потому как эта сложная, широкая как жизнь книга написана в феноменальных масштабах и меня просто своим сюжетом и силой характера главной героини заворожила.

Очень советую тем, кто ориентируется в жанре. Новичкам взяться за Долг Солдата будет сложно.