They’re back ready to die; again

James McGill and Legion Varus are off on another mission ready to piss off the Galactics and the rest of the universe while still trying to keep earth safe in B.V. Larson futuristic military world.
In the first book of this series, “Steel World,” humans found out that they were not the dominate species in the universe; in fact, as far as the Galactics are concerned, humans are about as significant as ants. Earth is considered a fringe planet with no real significance and would have simply been destroyed unless they could come up with a unique or superior trade good. With the help of some negotiated alien technology earth found its trade; undying mercenaries. In “Steel World,” the superiority of their trade good was tested but thanks to James McGill and Legion Varus earth’s viability survived.
In “Dust World,” the resolve of the human spirit is once again tested. Earth finds out there is another planet that has been colonized by humans, Separatist’s that wanted to get away from earths rules and govern themselves; but since it is against Galactic law for a planet to colonize Earth sends Legion Varus to handle the situation. Not sure exactly how his legion is supposed to “handle,” this situation Specialist James McGill has some concerns about this mission. It is a dilemma that could put him at odds with his Legion and possibly place all of earth in jeopardy if the Galactics find out about the colony, but he always seems to follow his own moral compass no matter what the possible consequences. The situation becomes more complicated when another alien species, not connected to the Galactic Empire, is discovered with plans of its own. What these aliens, the Galactics, and even some of Legion Varus’s own people for that matter, don’t seem to understand is human unwavering determination and will to survive.
So far through two books this has been a good series, if you like this genre, with lots of action and futuristic technology. I liked Mark Boyett’s narration, especially the southern accent of James McGill.

24 people found this helpful

Where to Begin...

While the first book in this series was enough to keep me interested for a bit, this book was enough to persuade me not to get the next one. Let me start with the positives (without spoilers): The actions scenes were well-written and had me in suspense, especially toward the end in the final few chapters, and the pacing was pretty good. Additionally, Mark Boyett does a magnificent job bringing the characters to life with his superb narration. Why I won't continue the series (no spoilers): There was little-to-no character development. The character's personalities are largely the same and don't go beyond what was already established in the first book. I say "largely" because their flaws are amplified to the point where I wanted to smack McGill and a few other characters for their actions and the words that come out of their mouths. The commanding officers' personalities (save for Centurion Graves) can be summed up in one unflattering adjective. Furthermore, McGill continues to overcome challenges handily because he is the main character. While the ending is interesting, it wasn't enough to carry me over to Book Three. Simply put: If you liked Book One, you'll like this.

6 people found this helpful

I concur - great new series

I really can't add much to the excellent reviews below except for one little annoyance. Like someone said, Mark Boyett is a pro but after just finishing like book 11 or something in the Star Force series I got the feeling I was listening to Kyle Riggs again. This is the problem with great character actors like Mr Boyett and Scott Brick. They have a certain delivery that is so identifiable that it's hard to transition from one author to another with the same narrator. Does that make sense? I love Scott Brick but after awhile his laconic delivery sort of makes all stories sound the same. Same thing with Mr Boyett. Minor stuff. Still love the series and can't wait for the next installment.

6 people found this helpful

Repeat of Book 1

While the action scenes were fast passed and interesting, this was too much of a repeat of the first book. The authors depiction of women, war and leadership seems a bit adolescent. The idea that everyone in this successful Mercenary group is an idiot, and dependent on the ideas of a junior individual seems more of a teenage fantasy than a SciFi novel. This ends my reading of the series.

4 people found this helpful

good performance, not much in the way of story.

If you don't mind being frustrated by the lack of story depth, and love the genre it may be worth a listen. As I am one of those latter individuals I will take a listen to the next book in the series, however, I am torn.

4 people found this helpful

Smart Alec soldiers fight aliens!

What did you love best about Dust World?

This is a continuation of "steel world". Check out "steel world "for a more fleshed out beginning to the character and more in-depth explanation of why soldiers are being sent out into the universe to fight aliens.I like the series for its lightness. It scratches the science-fiction itch.

What did you like best about this story?

McGill is a fun character to hang out with.

What does Mark Boyett bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Probably the accent in my head while reading would've been different.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

No, this is just pure guilty pleasure. American space soldier kills aliens while trying to survive.

Any additional comments?

Science-fiction guilty pleasure.

3 people found this helpful

an old mans fantasy...

While the overall story is good the main character is just cringe worthy. Young, tall, stupid with a severe attitude problem and all the luck in the world. He sleeps with every women in the story, if something happens randomly to someone it's him it happens to and he literally starts wars on a whim. It really reads like an old man trying to put to words his ultimate fantasy of being young again.

I can't continue with this series.

10 people found this helpful

Solid sequel but...

B.V. Larson has a gift for writing great military sci-fi books, there's no question about it and the sequel to Steel World is no exception. The action was great, the story/plot developped at a good pace and made sense, however there were a couple of things that began to annoy me.
1. I can't understand how McGill is still with the legion after continuously demonstrating his ability to ignore orders and do what he pleases. In any real-world military outfit he would have been dishonorably discharged at the very least a good while ago and the legion he's in is supposed to be far more draconian in discipline, akin to how the Roman legion operated. It just strains credulity how much he's able to get away with! Sure he accomplishes a lot along the way but a soldier who is unable to follow orders, despite being able to deliver results (albeit in an extremely unorthodox and unsanctioned manner) won't last long in any military outfit.

2. Other than Dela (spelling?), the women that McGill has liaisons with are rather uninteresting and are portrayed in such a manner as to have the reader feel little respect towards them or their actions. By this I mean that one of them, Kivi, is a wanton woman who keeps going back to McGill despite knowing he's slept with other women and being quite bothered by this. The other, Natasha, very clearly spurns him towards the end when he asks for a kiss while indicating that she wants nothing more to do with him given that she now knows that he 'cheated' on her with both Kivi and Dela. However at the end of the book she makes the costly trip to go visit him and ends up sleeping with him with everything seemingly and unexpectedly forgiven. Yeah sorry but I don't buy that, nothing about her character in both books has led me to believe that that's the kind of woman she is, and if so, I dislike Larson's penchant for creating such unappealing women of low integrity (the same can be said of his one-dimensional female character Sandra in his long-lasting series Starforce).

12 people found this helpful

Lovable and Easy Read

If you could sum up Dust World in three words, what would they be?

Witty, Contemporary, My kind of Military SciFi

Who was your favorite character and why?

McGill is easily my favorite character. He is no Mary Sue. He makes mistakes, is a bone headed, hot blooded 22 year old. What makes him stand out is his sense of justice and morals.

What about Mark Boyett’s performance did you like?

Mark Boyett has become my favorite narrater to date. He showcases a spot on Georgia accent and was able to flesh out my favorite female characters as well.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I pretty much listened to this within 48 hours of purchase.

Any additional comments?

I really hope the author continues this series!

4 people found this helpful

A middle schooler writes a space shootem up

If you like Michael Bay movies, stop reading this review and return to the book. You've got some more blockbuster to enjoy! I can suspend disbelief with the best of them and am no stranger to sci-fi but this future and its world is so culturally anachronistic and riddled with holes that I'm really struggling. sometimes outright laughing at myself for still listening. McGill, the protagonist is a paper-mache 2D amalgam of 60's pulp fiction. He is clueless, ignorant of his own ignorance, strong-willed and red blooded. Yet, he's smarter than his Primus and the Centurion and serves as the explicit explanatory mexhanism: "He'll, I don't know much but it seems to me these lizards hate us and maybe we should use big laser guns on their faces." He's a mysoginist. The author projects an outdated 70's view of sexuality that is like listening to an old lecherous uncle regailing you with his youthful embellished tales of conquest. He questions why he can't reconcile wanting to hate and bed the same woman. Captain Kirk had his day but not in 2020. The alien species are dumb both in the absence of descriptive imagination and in actual cognition. All of them. Not convincing. The idea that a ship's controls could be so easily sabotaged is laughable with no auxiliary mechanism. He references a superficial tech jargon, nano-whatever, servos, carbide, etc. but doesn't use these concepts to build anything that has not been imagined a 1000 times. I'm done. Time is precious.

1 person found this helpful