Starfist: Double Jeopardy

by Dan Cragg and David Sherman

Book Overview

It may be the twenty-fifth century, but the Marines are still looking for a few good men. The Confederation has finally disclosed the existence of Skinks, fierce aliens bent on wiping out humankind. While the rest of the universe grapples with the news, the Skink-savvy Marines of the Confederation's Thirty-fourth Fleet Initial Strike Team (FIST) have their own worries- they've just learned they can't transfer out of the unit. Who else has the skills...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345501020
• ISBN13: 9780345501028
• Release Date: October 2010
• Publisher: Random House Worlds
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.09 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 4.3" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

Excellent read for the Military Sci-Fi fan

I have read every book in this series and none have failed to impress. Likewise with this latest addition to the Starfist series. I am anxious for the next book to come out. Keep up the great work gentelmen ... AT_TEN_HUT! ... DIS-MISSED!

"ONCE MORE, INTO THE BREACH"- GREAT 'STARFIST' MILITARY SCI/FI EPISODE

Five ENGROSSING Stars. Once again military veterans David Sherman and Dan Cragg crank up a winner in "Starfist: Double Jeopardy", the 14th edition of the "Starfist" military science fiction series about an elite Marine unit, the Fleet Initial Strike Team (FIST), which is called on first to battle enemy aliens ("or otherwise") among the stars in the 25th Century. Giving a realistic view of military life and unit morale, mainly from the company to fire team levels, they re-introduce us to the leadership and surviving troops (President Cynthia Chang-Sturdevant, Brigadier Sturgeon, Captain Coronado, Lt Bass, Sgt Kerr, Lance Corporals "Hammer" Schultz, Claypoole, & Doyle, etc.) who are very familiar to series readers. Facing a short turnaround time since the marines' last deployment, the authors take us through barracks life, training, and personal issues, in preparation for the next deployment. Indeed, there are 8 setup chapters covering various planets and story lines, before the marines even load onto Commodore Borland's "Grandar Bay" naval starship sailing for the mysterious wastelands of a planet called Ishtar. With Starfist novels, the journey of the troops from base to battle, and their training in between, is as important as the end result. As usual, these writers conjure up unique alien lifeforms (introduced in the prelude), conflicting circumstances, and special problems posed to the Lima Company 34th FIST 'grunts'. And the acid-wielding 'Skink' aliens are always on the minds of the military, as the writers give us a hint of future strategic operations in coming novels. Realistic hard-nosed battles, interesting story lines dealing with mercenaries, interpersonal relations, and surprise realizations culminate in multiple payoffs near the end of this superb novel of "double jeopardy" affecting marines in outer space. The final scene may leave you teary-eyed. BTW, there is also a 3-novel Starfist Force Recon series by the authors. "Semper Fidelis" (Always Faithful), indeed. Five IMAGINATIVE Stars. (This review is based on a Kindle-to-iPhone download. The writers are strongly encouraged to enable "text-to-speech" mode in future Kindle version downloads to enable transitional usage for Kindle users: read at home, listen in the car or while shopping, and go back to reading at home.)

The Best Starfist Novel Thus Far

This latest entry into the Starfist canon is by far the best so far. Having read all of them (some of them more than once), I feel the entire series is well worth the reader's investment, but Double Jeopardy puts our favorite Confederation Marine platoon, Third Platoon of Company L, 34th Fleet Initial Strike Team, into a very tough spot, along with some very engaging and exciting action. I usually try to spread my reading of a new book out over a week or so, but I became so engrossed in the story that I finished the book the day after I got it. Excellent work, and I can't wait for the next installment. But a story this good takes some serious craftmanship, and the wait is always worth it. A major part of the story deals with the best intelligent extraterrestrial species to appear in the series thus far: the Fuzzies. Unexpectedly sophisticated and primitive at the same time, Sherman and Cragg leave one wanting to know more about these people, and hopefully future volumes will give us more! For the sake of some matters of story continuity, new readers of the Starfist series should normally start with book one and move forward, but this book should be quite accessible for someone who hasn't yet been there.

super military science fiction

Amongst the units of the Confederate Marine Corps, the 34th FIST is the most highly regarded and most decorated. The unit is the first to be called upon when the going requires the bravest and the best. However, those accolades prove a double edge sword to the soldiers as morale is at its lowest due to extended deployments in dangerous scenarios and the knowledge that more deadly battles in combat zones will follow. The 34th FIST never seems to get any R & R as the unit is sent to Ishtar in anticipation of a Skink attack on the planet. However, they are not greeted as heroic saviors by the indigenous population, but instead the native Fuzzies attack the squad especially as the marines uncover an illegal mining operation. This is a super military science fiction that has great battles, but it is the insightful look at the morale of the troops after constant extended deployments that hits home with relevancy and poignancy. Ironically, no one is fully developed yet the 34 FIST marines' respites between combat brings the deepness to the plot. David Sherman and Dan Cragg provide a strong tale as the soldiers are mentally tired with several seemingly on the cusp of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Harriet Klausner