ON THE VERGE (Star Drive)

This was my favorite of the novels based on TSR's defunct Alternity roleplaying game. The author creates some novel dilemmas for his characters. He also seems to have a great grasp of real military organization and tactics. I did my service, and am also a sometime student of military history, but I am certainly no expert. The skill of the author lies in making me _believe_ that I'm reading very realistic accounts of the Marines in action. There is also a surprisingly light-handed and sophisticated treatment of romance herein, especially considering the type of novel and the target audience. The story is in a vein similar to Starship Troopers, but the background politics are not nearly as ambitious as Heinlein's. In the end, it's a great futuristic shoot-em-up with characters I came to care about, and missed when it was over.

A conflict on a backwater planet may send two empires to war, and the concord marines are the only ones who might be able to stop it. That is the background on this novel. There are some fleeting mentions of unknown invading aliens and the manuevering of larger forces but the main story concentrates on the planet and the interactions between the character. Roland Green does a good job of showing us the mind set of the three groups involved (The two colonial groups and the marines), without showing bias. His grasp of military mindset and tactics are realistic without being boring and the action is fast pace. His characters seem real with believable motives and reactions.For an author I never heard of before this I went out and bought two of his other books the day after I finished this one. A must read