E. Jon Gant

Who to blame for this mess? The author? The editor? Both? Beware, spoilers abound below.

Soldiers and Secrets is set sometime in the future when interstellar travel is possible. Captain Damascus, a lesbian (because that is apparently important) has a run-in with a drunk in a bar and winds up busted two ranks and shipped off to another unit where she falls for two more lesbians subordinate to her for a happy threesome. Her CO simply advises to tone it down in public, no one thinks it odd for an officer to be involved with subordinates in such away. Meanwhile, they guys in the unit must all be suffering from terminal blue balls as they repeatedly hit on (and are spurned by) the lesbian trio. This is supposed to be the future, mind you...maybe it's the long term result of Trump and his cohorts pretending sexual harassment isn't a thing? Unwanted advances continue to crop up in the most unlikely situations - such as during a firefight with an alien adversary with demonstrably superior weapons and tactics.

The author's obsession with sexual tension in this book causes him to lose focus on the plot. Or I should say plots, as they seem to change. Here is where it seems like totally random editing occurred. Damascus and her girlfriends are assigned to a recovery mission at an alien planet. There is one survivor, who happens to be the only character with a superpower (he can create stasis with his mind). Everyone else was killed by precision shots by drones. Where the drones come from nobody knows, but there is a mysterious ship nearby with no apparent entrances. One of Damascus' squeezes gets shot and Mr. Amazing Stasis Guy freezes her at the moment her heart is pierced, about a half-instant before death. So with a few stim packs to keep him awake and focused, Mr. Amazing and the squeeze await the departure and return of the rest of the squad, along with a bevy of surgeons to repair the damage before the stasis is released. Are you rolling your eyes yet?

During the mission (of which Damascus regains her captaincy on an interim basis) a crewman is killed by another attack of the drones. As a result, Damascus must face a tribunal. In this case, it was a meeting with a top military guy. Who then tries to kill her. Who really isn't a guy at all, but an alien. Damascus kills him, and is arrested for killing a superior officer. She is released when it is found there are no laws against killing alien impostors and her captaincy is confirmed. She is assigned a new company, her mission to return to the planet and recover the strange alien ship. Instead, at a ceremony commemorating her reinstatement of rank, Damascus and her old squad are attacked by an unknown assailant. In the process of an investigation where just about everyone dies (including her former CO and both squeezes), Damascus finds out the attacker is a woman who believes she is the daughter of the alien creature Damascus killed earlier. Damascus prevails, and at the end, after visiting her former captain's grave, she meets his cute daughter. Who is...wait for it....also a lesbian.

If you're paying attention, you'll notice that (1) the strange alien ship was never retrieved and (2) the revelation that an alien achieved high status in the military seemed to elicit a collective shrug. It's almost like entire chapters were lost.… (mehr)

This story was about Jackie Damascus and her life in the military going from Captain to Second Lutienent. A mission took her to another planet to find a team who hadn't returned. What a surprise when they got there and found robots taking out soldiers with lasers. It took all their skills to get off the planet with their lives.

This book was not what I expected. After reading the blurb I thought it would be about a soldier and her life as such. Which it was. Just not on Earth. I thought I was prepared. I really did. I thought I knew what I was getting into. Imagine my surprise when I realized that this story was more sci-fi than military. The work the soldiers did was very detailed and described extremely well. As were the planet and spaceship. It's a good thing the writing was so in-depth because there were several different tropes in this book so it could have been hard to follow. There were military, sci-fi, and same-sex relationships in the storyline. In this unique story, we get a look at how hard a soldier's job could be in a world involving more than just our planet. Having a personal life while trying to stay alive and save the planet can be tricky, too.

I know that what I have said so far isn't very positive so why did I give this book 4 stars? Because once I got over my surprise, I really did enjoy this story. Jackie was a tough woman who was a great leader. I admired her strength and courage. I liked the way the team worked together, taking orders and handling many situations skillfully. Soldiers and Secrets was the perfect mix of action, suspense, and romance.

If you like sci-fi adventures with a military bend, this book is for you.

**I received a complimentary copy of Soldiers and Secrets in exchange for an honest review which I am voluntarily giving.**… (mehr)