Yes as far as  the characters are well defined, great dialogue, and easy to identify with. There is a lot of great despcription on the technologies employed from the aircraft, spacecraft, armor, weapons etc. The pace of the story is very good also, moves right along, After about 5 pages it felt like I had been reading it for a while, sign of a good story, reaches out and grabs ya, just like Starfist.

No as far as the combat content, Starfist is much more detailed in the battles and overall combat, not to say the battle sequences arnt fun, they arnt as long and detailed, but are akin to starfist in that of the small unit perspective. A closer time frame. focused between 2037-2040, gives a more familiar feel as far as present day events and how they feed into the storyline.

Trang.

Update, Im on second book of the second trilogy and it is very engrossing story, building each book as the FR Marines or Nergs, move forward. One thing I found interesting is that the back story from 2040  thru 2170 about the way earth nations and governments develop is similar to the small reference's that Dan and Dave make in Starfist. Ian Dogulas goes into great detail on the politics, religion, and wars, even goes as far to refer to the wars as the "Second American Civil War", and " World War VI". The technologies are very very different but if you look at where the books progress it kinda fits in before the Starfist books, in 25th century. Intersting anyway.

I picked up the last book in second trilogy and will be thru it by the weekend. I also have the first book of the third trilogy and hope to get thru that as well.

Good books, good series, very familiar and good fill in while we wait on Del Ray to produces the next two great tomes of  Starfist.

Be well,

Trang.