The Cost of Victory: Crimson Worlds Paperback – December 1, 2012

This is the second installment in the "Crimson Worlds" series and it faithfully carries on the riveting story of the first novel. In this second novel we become more familiar with the nature of the corrupt Earth governments, particularly that of the Western Alliance. Author Allan's future North American government is a repressive state in which individual liberty was slowly encroached upon by the Government as a series of trade-offs for safety, government handouts, and other convenient (to the government) pretexts. In this future world, the politician class controls all wealth and all besides, the relatively small middle class is terrorized by the ruling politician-class and lives in fear of losing their meager privileges and possessions. The large underclass, comprised of the the majority of "citizens" (subjects, really) live with no utilities, law, or hope. It is from these that Marine recruits are derived.Surprising for a military science fiction novel, the characterizations here are pretty good. The author does not merely narrate space battles and political intrigue; there are some excellent character developments in this novel that help give the series an excellent continuity.This novel features exciting space and ground battles, juxtaposed with good characterizations and interesting political intrigue. The author's view of the future North American government is depressing, particularly for its plausible extrapolation from today's political trends. Once the politicians control the dispensing of wealth and privilege and make a majority of the citizenry dependent upon this largesse, the end of republican government is in sight. But there is hope here as well, in the interstellar colonies where personal initiative and individualism still flourish. This sets the stage for the third novel, which is well worth checking out as well. RJB.

This is the second book of the Crimson Worlds series. It follows "Marines", which is a very good start to the series.Jay Allan follows up on his successful first book with the same concise intensity he used in "Marines". Mr. Allan paints vivid combat pictures without getting overly detailed. This helps in keeping the story flowing well and keeps the reader engaged in the story.In this book, Allan keeps the same strong characters as the first book and the reader sees them grow in depth. He also adds some new characters, both good and bad, which only enhances the overall story. Also added is the geo-politics of Earth and introduces the reader to the corruptness of Earth's remaining governments. It's funny how things have not changed much in two centuries. I would have liked to see this change a little more.Overall this is a great series. Allan uses science in a very plausible way and is not too fantastic about it, keeping it to a believable interpretation of 23rd century technology.Jay Allan has created a good series and I am looking forward to continue reading more.

Robert Heinlein one science fiction’s grandmasters has long been considered the master of military science fiction. Jay Allan can give him a run for his money as proved in Book 1 of the Crimson Worlds Series, Marines.He has managed, as Heinlein did in Starship Trooper, to identify and develop a character who has all the attributes to succeed in a military environment but doesn’t realize it. His main character, Erik Cain, had lost his family and ended up joining a gang. In the dystopian world he found himself in his crimes caught up with him. He was captured, tried, and sentenced to death by lethal gas.At the last possible moment he is offered a chance to join the marines. The choice was death or marines. He took marines and began an odyssey that would take him from the dystopian world he had ended up in to far away worlds as part of an elite fighting force. Along the way he learns about leadership and overcomes his feelings that he might be able to do the job. He is thrust into leadership roles and rises up through the ranks, becoming responsible more and more people under his leadership and command, from squad leader to regimental commander.Allan has captured the confusion found in battle and the fear and uncertainty war fighters feel going into battler. He also captures to despair military leaders, the really good ones feel, when they lose someone under their command.If you like a syfy military story that will not let you put down your Kindle or book, then this is one for you.

This is the second volume of the series, with many more to come. It is a rather good read, provided you know what you are getting yourself into and do not expect too much from it. In other words, this is an entertaining, but a very predictable read with numerous battle scenes and lots of clichés included.If you are looking for a really original piece of military science fiction, then you might want to look elsewhere and run the risk of being disappointed. If, however, you are just looking for some easy, uncomplicated Entertainment (as I was), then you might like this one. I did, largely because I was not expected very much from it to begin with.Regarding the clichés, you have, of course, the “goodies” of the Western Alliance made up of what used to be Canada, the US and the UK, at war against the “nasties” of the Caliphate (does I need to explain who they are?) and the CAC (more or less China). The PRC (or Pacific Rim Confederation loosely organised around Japan) sides with the Alliance. The “Empire” (of South America, apparently) takes the other side.This one is about the Third Frontier War. It takes place in space, but on a larger scale than the previous ones and it is a fight between some of “the Superpowers” for control of planets and their resources outside of the mostly demilitarised solar system.This book’s strong suit is the various ground battles and space battles so that fans of military science fiction will not be disappointed here. As for the story itself, the ultimate outcome is not exactly a surprise even if each engagement seems to be more desperate than the previous one.Regarding clichés, there are quite a collection of them. One is about the profiteering and privileged elites who oppress the populations of their various countries on Earth, none of which are democratic anymore. Another is about the ruthless and simply “horrid” intelligence services on all sides that largely rule behind the scenes and will stop at just about nothing to achieved their objectives. A third is about the brave soldiers and naval personnel of the Western Alliance, just about all of which seem to have originated from the lower and oppressed classes (the “cogs”) whose dedication and sense of duty and honour contrast so sharply with the unscrupulousness of the hereditary political and economic elites.By and large, this was a pleasant and entertaining read and a “nice” piece of escapism, however implausible some of it may be (such as the damage done by thermonuclear explosions in space vacuum). Worth about four stars, for the entertainment.

This book takes you further into the service life of a marine as no other book I have read it takes you on a vertual tour of a large scale tactical encounter and into a strategic encounter of massive proportions. I cannot wait to start the next book in the series

Not big, nor clever, but entertaining regardless. Something of a guilty pleasure, the books in this series could easily take a panning: a critical literary analysis would deem them predictable, averagely written and poorly developed. However, I quite like them anyway. They aren'y going to broaden your horizons any, nor initiate deep contemplation, but in terms of reading for simple pleasure, they're a good enough way to kill an afternoon.

I like these books, good concept sweeping vista and a comment on the way we are and could become if we don't work together.Having said that the only gripe I have is to much info about the battles, more human interaction please less statistics.

The story escalates with the introduction of political intrigue and Intelligence Services that are not what they seem. More battle mayhem ensues, both on land and in space, to create a good read for action addicts!Harast