CLYDE WISHAM

Reread Valdez is Coming after many years. Still a great read. Guess you can call this one “an oldie but a goodie”.

In late 1942 Guy Sajer, a French boy, was drafted into the German army. His mother being German, the conquerors considered him German and therefore good canon fodder. Truthfully, he went willingly as the war seemed a great adventure to a teenage boy. He didn't realize until he found himself in a nightmare reality that he was going to something closely resembling hell.
Starting in a transport unit and later transferring to a famous attack division (Großdeutschland), he got to experience that terrible war up close and personal. He somehow survived while most of his mates died.
After the war he decided to tell his story. This memoir, one of the best books I have read about the Ostfront, is the result. It is a story of terror, of horror, of depravation, of hunger. It is also a story of resolute courage, of friendship, of joy in victory, of despair in defeat, and of absolute trust in one's comrades.
Be aware that the subject matter is quite disturbing in places and is told in great detail. (I had to take it a little bit at a time.)

James Thane's recommendation.

Interesting read though not as good as Kloos's Frontlines and Palladium Wars books IMHO.

This story is an offshoot from the Frontlines series. It has two very different parts. The first part is all about the MC and her fellow colonists fighting for survival on "Scorpio" a human colony world that has been overrun by Lankies. The second part, following a deus ex machina episode, is much less intense. It follows the MC as she tries to adjust to a new life. It is probably setting things up for the next book in this new series.

The publisher's cover text gives a good idea of what to expect in the first part.

3+ stars, but I cannot quite round it up.

Miles Vorkosigan's adventures continue in this the sixth book* in the series. Miles and Ivan have been dispatched to the capital of Cetaganda to represent Barrayar at the funeral of the Cetagandan empress. Things start to go very strange as soon as they arrive. A priceless relic goes missing, and there is something odd about an apparent suicide. The young envoys are soon caught up in a Cetanandan internal power struggle. A series of puzzling and dangerous incidents cause Miles to suspect that he is being set up as a scapegoat. Plunged into a strange and intricate society and with nobody to trust, he must rely on his wits and find new allies. There are crimes to be solved and a mystery to unravel, but any misstep could be his last.

This book doesn't have quite the pace of the previous *The Vor Game*, but I think it is better plotted. I quite enjoyed it. 5 stars (4+ stars updated to 5 stars by Grover Gardner's narration).

* In internal chronological order.