The Glass Marines

[kf6eml]

I've read a few of the Casca books. Interesting, but not so easy to find, for me. I might try Amazon.com some time, but I have too many other things going right now to read much. I have to be pretty selective what I read when I get the time. That means sticking with my favorite authors when they have something new out. <cough, cough, get on with it, Dr. S, cough, cough>

Actually, my screen name is a radio callsign. It's almost depressing how rarely people pick up on it.

Most of what has changed in the military is political in nature. Sure, there is technology, but I am constantly griping about our birds... They are a 1960's airframe, which is fundamentally unchanged, with layer upon layer of additions. The deeper you dig into one, the more obsolete the technology. Or rather, the longer the technology has been obsolete. Whatever.

We could replace all of the electronics with a netbook and have pretty much the same thing it takes 400 pounds of processors and such to do. We could even have quintuple redundancy of every system and still have room left over for luggage.

Unfortunately, contracts never seem to expire, and they are the sole reason we deal with 60 miles of wire going every which way, when we could have two small cables. One for power, and one for data.
Okay, maybe it would be a bit more complex, but not by much.

The toys are generally nicer, and the transportation is more comfortable, but when you get right down to it, we still have to go out and hunt humans and kill them before they can come and hunt us. That hasn't changed in thousands of years. Politicians are constantly trying to lose the war for us, and that hasn't changed in thousands of years, either.
I enjoyed your stories, and they rang true. They probably always will, to anyone who is or has been in military service.

[cosmosc]

It's very disheartening to hear you talk, K, but not to surprising. What you're saying today is almost exactly what the Marine fliers were telling me almost 15 years ago. We have gone from the greatest military force in the history of the world to the most politically correct. Our greatest enemy is the government contract. The only thing that keeps us afloat is the unwaivering loyalty and dedication of the people serving. That's of the point of GM, it's what I saw at the Island. It isn't the technology that makes an army great, it's the quality of the people who serve.
Talk to you soon, k.
Pete D

[kf6eml]

Well, if I'm saying the same thing as they were 15 years ago, then at least things are consistent.

With the quality of people I have seen serving, there is still hope. The politicians have not sunk us yet!

[tomhr]

Hello, first-time poster here. I got curious whether The Warlock In Spite Of Himself was out on Kindle, and the next thing I know, I've read the free sample of Glass Marines.

I've decided to buy the book on Kindle. I notice that at this point, your book has only one review, a one-star, and you must be pretty bummed about that. But already I've read enough to know: The reviewer's full of bovine byproduct.

I was in Uncle Sam's Canoe Club, and in six years' service, I never had any dealings with Marines. I actually know more about the Marines from "NCIS" than from my Navy days.

Still, some things are the same in both services. Neither the Navy nor the Marine Corps has much reason to respect the Army on a day-to-day basis; and everywhere you go, some officers are sphincters.

I can't wait to buy the book and read the second half. I love your world-building, and the whole story feels real in characterization -- again and again I've said to myself, "Yes, a guy like that, in that situation, would really do what that character is doing."

Ya done good (from what I've read so far). Be encouraged.