2007-12-16 Another great story - but...

The Sagittarius Command is the third book in the USS Merrimack series.

The basic premise of the story is that humanity faces an seemingly unstoppable threat known as the Hive. Creatures that home in the resonant pulses used for communication, can transverse the void of space, insinuate themselves though force shields and the hulls of ships, interfere with weapons and electronic systems and eat all organic matter.

The threat of the Hive has brought two implacable enemies the USA and Rome (yes, that Rome - the Roman Empire never fell just went into hiding before taking off with many of the best brains in the world and setting up a rival star-spanning civilisation) together to fight against a common foe - although the alliance required a humiliating capitulation by Caesar.

In 'The Myriad' and 'Wolf Star', the first two books, we follow the USS Merrimack and her wonderfully gung-ho and optimistic commander, Captain Farragut, as they take on the Hive and the Sagittarius Command carries on the story in the Wolf Star universe.

In the Sagittarius Command the Hive start to display some very worrying capabilities and a taskforce of US, Roman and League of Earth Nations ships are sent to find out what is behind these new found abilities. Farragut and the Merrimack lead the Taskforce, which includes an old nemesis in the form of the Roman Triumphalis Numa and and some amusingly named LEN ships.

The book is well written, funny and has lovely characters, but it just seemed that the mysterious spark which really set the first two books apart wasn't quite there.

The 'political' interludes, with Romulus, didn't do it for me. I didn't find him very interesting. I also wasn't sold on Constantine, the villain of the piece - he didn't have the airtime to really meance.

There are some great new introductions. The book opens on a Roman world with a Roman Commander, Herius Asinius, holding off a Hive attack. Herius is fantastic and I loved the Merrimack's arrival - very Apocalypse Now.

Augustus and Farragut's relationship plays out interestingly again.

Augustus shows some new facets to his personality: good, in his loyalty to his emperor; and not so good with his rather sadistic baiting of other characters. Indeed, he is definitely a darker character, demonstrated by the contrast between how he winds up Steele over Kerry in this book compared to how he hands over the recording in the 'The Myriad'.

Farragut has fewer balls out hero moments but there is more focus on him as an emotional leader of leaders - with Herius, when he's trapped, and Captain Dallas, when they report gluies on the Rio Grande.

Lt Colonel Steele is as a boulder-like and straight down the line as ever and faces his usual problem with his favourite girl marine, although this time Kerry takes the initiative, which is an interesting twist.

Indeed the whole 'same but different' vibe is more noticeable somehow than in the 'Wolf Star.'

I certainly recommend the book - I read it in about two days and really enjoyed it, but I just wanted a bit more...