Chain of Command

Frank Chadwick is best known as a game designer. However, lately he has taken to writing SF&F books, and I am very happy he has done so.CoC is his third book in the universe he started with [b:How Dark the World Becomes 15803177 How Dark the World Becomes Frank Chadwick https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1345678721l/15803177.SY75.jpg 21526591] (excellent!), but this one doesn't involve his hero/antihero Sasha Naradnyo. (You don't need to have read Sasha Naradnyo books first.) Lieutenant Sam Bitka, a Naval Reserve officer, is the main protagonist here. At the start of the book all Sam wants to do is complete his service and return to civilian life. Anyway his chances of advancement in the Navy as a reserve officer aren't bright. But a secretive Varoki cabal have different ideas and have put humans and at least one Varoki nation on a collision course. Bitka and his crew will be tested – very hard – before his tour of duty ends.This story is really good military SF with consistent science and realistic characters. And we get space battle, lots of it and described very well. The crew interactions, however, are the strong point of the story with well drawn characters doing their best (and worst) under very trying conditions. Combine that with lots of action at breakneck speed and you have a real page turner.The historical note at the end in which Chadwick explains the inspiration for the book is also quite interesting.Good book. 4+ stars. Frank Chadwick is now on my short auto-buy list.