Helfort's War Book 2: The Battle of the Hammer Worlds

An enjoyable read. Old fashion space opera with interesting characters, believable use of high technology, and that good v. evil struggle of righteous sci-fi war.

I just finished this book in a single day, and I quite enjoyed it. Paul writes well; his descriptions of the combat scenes manage to convey tension without being melodramatic; and his main character Michael Helfort comes across as being a 'real person' in that he is not a paper-thin, mono-emotional, engine of destruction type. He manages to bring Helfort through an entire spectrum of emotions from despair to intense hatred without the character ever becoming unbelievable. The plot line of the main story was well-constructed without any of those deus ex machina moments leaving you in disbelief that everything just happened to work out perfectly. Paul isn't afraid to develop and then cast away characters as their role in developing the story line comes to an end; since Helfort is the 'star' of the series, you know he's not going to wind up dead, but everyone else has potential bulls-eyes painted on them. This was very effective is that you never knew what was going to happen at any particular point in the story. In many books, the main character gains a cadre of friends/helpers around him, and you just know that they've become part of a group on 'untouchables'; Paul eschews this strategy and it works to great effect. Also, the people around the main character react in believable ways - not everyone who is a friend/family to Helfort winds up supporting him during parts of the story arc. This all adds up to a very well written and enjoyable story; and I look forward to the next installment. So - why 4 stars and not 5? Two things really... while, the space combats are well written, I - like another reviewer - found the thought of rail gun attacks being effective over great distances to be a little tough to swallow. Also, one of Helfort's antagonists - his captain on the Ishaq - IS paper-thin. No development is given to this character, and no reason why the character acts the way she does is provided. Paul tries to allay this by having Helfort wonder what could have caused his captain to act thusly, but the total lack of any explanation is a jarring note. In fact, that is the one real weakness of the series so far; some characters that seem to play minor antagonist roles are given no development - they are just presented as people who for some unknown reason take an intense dislike to the hero. These are both nit-picking I know; but it was an odd enough note that it caused me to lose that intensity of involvement that great stories pull you into.

While the first book seemed to bog down with character and world building details - this second in the series was crisp, action packed and had just enough compelling human drama. I am giving it 5 stars. Partly because it is hard science fiction and there really is not enough good and new in that category. Also it is just a darn good read.

The first book (Moons of Hell) took me a few weeks to get through. This second book only took a few days. Maybe it's just that the first book had a lot of developing to do; I did not have a problem putting that book down when the time came. With this second book, I neglected much in my life so I could keep on reading. Just when you think you know where the author is going, he takes you someplace completely unexpected and far better than you were assuming. Love how the details are on a need-to-know basis. Can't wait for the third.

This book is a fantastic follow up in the sequel, I can't wait to get my hands on the next one. Written with visual detail it also brings the characters to life. This one is a winner!