Fateful Lightning: 4

This book picks up right where the last one left off. There is a 30 day lull in the battle with the Merki due to the assasination of the Merki leader. The Merki have a ceremonial 30 days of mourning when the leader dies. During this time, the humans begin there final withdrawal and buildup. They leave behine a scorched earth. The Merki do not know how to handle an enemy that will not fight in the open. There is no honor in this battle. They look forward to a single big confrontation and swift decisive end.The humans have several tricks up their sleeves, including traps, guerilla warfare and deception.... And as usual, new surprising weapons.This is an excellent addition to the series. The end of the book opens a new chapter for the next book. I hope we can find out more information about the technology and history of the "ancients"....

Four amazing books so far. Or, if you prefer (As I do), one very long book, a sort of "War and Peace" of the sci-fi genre. No matter how you look at it, this developing tale by Forstchen only gets better. He is not afraid to kill off some of his main characters to add realism to the story, and he is not afraid to surprise the reader with tactics that are rather unexpected. "Fateful Lightning" presents a massive migration of Rus toward the land of Roum, pursued by the relentless Merki hordes. The humans will burn the land behind them, poisoning wells and setting traps for their foes, so that by the time of their final confrontation we can realistically see that the Merki, in spite of their great superiority in numbers, are overextended and will not be able to withstand a severe blow from the humans. The humans are at the end of their rope, too, but one of the most endearing characters in the series will have a shot at saving his people by refusing to obey orders. And Muzta, one of my favorite characters, will also have a chance to save his own people. Again, the battles are almost unforgettable: the horror of war, the worst of men, and the most noble in them is presented by Forstchen in a gripping, spectacular way. Hawthorne becomes a sort of Dark angel of the battlefield, and the Roman Marcus figures as a key participant by now. Four out of four. And it only gets better.

Wow, this is the series that just keeps on going and going. Excellent. This was perhaps the best one I've read so far next to Rally Cry. Again, there's that great sense of dread and forboding on the humans' part, as they attempt to fight off the ever encroaching Merki Hordes, now, of course, led by that rat Tamuka. The funeral of Jubadi was sickening... I loved it. Showalter's and his Cavalry's final, desparate charge into the Merki ranks was glorious. John Mina was a total nutball, picking on ol' Fergie like that. Oh, and I'm glad Ferguson, my favorite character in the series, got the girl. He deserves her. The Battle of Hispania was marvelous, so many troops in a battle of annihilation, fighting for their lives against vicious alien monsters, it filled you with pride for being human. Mutza's role in the whole story was satisfying-- I always liked him for some reason, even when he was attempting to destroy the old 35th. At least he had that glimmering of doubt, of whether or not fighting the humans was such a good idea, something which Tamuka did not. Bullfinch's endeavors, however, were very underexplored. I would've liked to see more of his liberation of the Cartha. Young Gregory's recitation of Shakespeare's Henry V-- "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers..."-- was very emotional and moving. And, yes, the editing is very, very bad here, as it is in the other Lost Regiment novels, but it did not take away from this rich story. Fateful Lightning is a masterful end to the Merki War, a stupendous entry in the Lost Regiment series, and a true gem in the realm of science-fiction.

I read the original three volumes and believed that the author was done, because I never saw another volume. Just recently I realized I had missed four volumes!!! I could not put them down. Characters are believable with battle scenes that remind me of Viet Nam. I enjoy the military very much, recognizing all the elements in the Hordes versus Keane. I only wished that he would spell Civil War names correctly, JEB Stuart and not JEB Stewart. I still enjoy this series very much and I am glad that it continues.

A wonderful, entertaining book. More realistic than any of the others so far. It resolves several key points, yet also leaves a perfect trail to the next book. The ending is one of the best parts, by far the most realistic and yet still dramatic one yet. The resolution of the Hawthorne problem in particular was a long time coming. Also, for this one several detailed maps were provided. The only very minor criticism is the presence of the aerosteamers. Still, there presence provides a new thrill. An enchanting book.