Redliners

I don't read much military fiction - in fact, this is probably my first. I was expecting a Starship Troopers style narrative as the description and early chapters seemed to hint at it, but I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't. The enemy is still vegetation, but the fight is on the move, rather than a stationary defensive position. The overall theme of the story appears to be how much debt society owes to veteran soldiers - using them up both physically and mentally, then seemingly discarding them when they're done.

The highlight of this novel are the characters. There are multiple perspectives throughout the book, mostly coming from the viewpoints of flawed or damaged soldiers - damaged in the sense that they've been mired in the stresses and horrors of war for so long that they are socially- or psychologically-impaired. It was easy to empathise with the soldiers, and you wonder whether they're going to make it or not.

Plot-wise, I think there are holes. The excuse for sending a long column of civilians on the march to supposed safety felt flimsy at best. With two powerful bulldozers that could clear a path, I don't see why they couldn't just clear a large space around their landing spot and then send off a small party to establish communications. Staying put seems the more logical choice considering food and water are not a problem - compared to abandoning gear and travelling on a long column. A stationary circle seems easier to defend (train the civilians?) than a long column. But then again, I'm not in the military, so what do I know? But the plot needed one so off they went. The journey itself was the meat of book, with events and dangers basically giving the soldiers their limelight. This is made very evident by the how the book ended - which was very abruptly. Throughout the book, I kept thinking that the hostile vegetation made no sense, evolutionary-wise. The ending addresses this, but like the journey, it felt rather flimsy too. It's a good read, as long as you don't think too much about it (but you do get tired of them blowing up branches and trees).