Armor

I read this in high school in the 80's so reordered it. Just as good the 2nd time around. Felix knew he was as good as dead, but this enemy in front of him wasn't going to be the one to kill him. Oh there was another one behind him, well it won't kill him either. Power of negativity keeps him alive. Great book.

I wanted another book that was inline with Starship troopers. I still liked starship troopers better but this book had some good moments.I liked the Engine, the guy who you follow through the first part and how he burries his emotions to keep from being overwhelmed by sadness of all the combat, but the main guy you follow is this mercenary who has to infiltrate this research facility and steal a power cell.I don't feel him because he's developed this reputation for himself as a coldhearted badass, so much so that even people in some far out reserach outpost know who he is, and this allows him to enter their ranks and cover up his true intentions. OK, but then why does he wind up having feelings for these stupid people who he then ends up risking his life to save? And trust me, you'll be reading a long time to figure out what this has to do the 'bug war' and Felix.I think I would've prefered if he just let them all die in the end because they all seemed kind of dopey to me and I didn't really like any of them. Even the guy who is really Felix. Their jokes are kinda silly and even though the writer tells us they all laughed hysterically, I wouldn't have.So like the middle 2/3 of the book is really slow, finally, some combat happens but that's also over pretty quick. Also, there's a lot of characters who don't get much development, like the girl with the bright eyes(kinda overdone in Scifi, no?) Nor is there a lot of exposition on the overall political situation which I would've found way more interesting than Jack Crow and his dinner party with that scientist guy.WHY is the fleet so stupid and incompetent? How many planets has humanity conquered? How did the bugs develop friggin lazer beams?Oh, and also Felix keeps saying "but this is Banshee!". WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? Ok, I get it's dangerous and hostile, bladiblah but like, why is he so sure that everything is hopeless? I get after like 10 drops and seeing all his comrades die, he'd get a little pessimistic but he seems like that from the first drop. Also, that's another thing, Felix is like the only person who seems to have any idea what he is doing. Everyone else dies before you even really understand them, I'd be able to feel Felix's pain a lot better if someone who he'd known for a while died rather than just a bunch of random losers who we never really got to know in the first place. I felt bad for the Asian girl, but after that, I didn't really care.

One of those books that gives you a lot to think about as different pieces of the story unfold. If you're a fan of sci-fi or action this is definitely worth a read.

Armor at its core is a book about fighting demons, or in the case of the stories protagonist Felix, 'Ants' and personal demons. Ants are the books aliens which humanity is now fighting on the planet Banshee. The story is told from the first person narrative and the action is described in a visceral way so that we not only know visually what Felix is going through but emotionally as well. The rest of the books descriptions somewhat gloss over secondary characters and locales to the point where the reader is primarily only sympathetic to the main characters. (Which is good in the case of Felix as they don't last long.) At the start we get the impression that Felix is rushing headlong into combat, as the reader we don't understand why, and as the story unfolds we see that he himself is somewhat confused at his objective. He simply attributes to an entity called "The Engine" which he channels in order to triumph over the Ants. As he goes from battle to battle he seems to be bewildered at his own continued survival and it isn't until the final part of the book that we understand why this is and why he hates the fact that he seems driven to survive. The second part of the book is somewhat weaker and why I marked it down a star. Steakley switches perspectives while continuing to use the first person narrative which I found jarring as a reader. The new character is the anti-hero, pirate John Crow. The reason I came to find it so jarring is the 'voice' of John Crow is exactly the same as Felix, even down to the glossing over of secondary characters, which simply felt off to me in many ways. Although I saw the ending coming it was still very satisfying, which says something about Steakley's grasp of story structure and resolution. I was also disappointed that he never wrote a sequel which is something that should be a point in the author's favor. Armor to me in many ways surpasses Heinlein's Starship Troopers which is probably the primary reason the book was written in the first place.

This book was recommended to me by a veteran who said it was the only book he had read about the topic that he could identify with. To say I enjoyed it feels wrong because it's not the type of topic anyone should enjoy, but it's well-written and kept me engaged during a reading slump, which is saying something.

Steakley said he wrote this to explore the combat elements of a STARSHIP TROOPERS-like universe: as a direct reaction to the lack of combat in SST.—Felix is by far the most interesting character, unfortunately the middle section shifts it’s point of view and is the weakest point but at least it ends strongly.—Yes there is action but really it is more about the psychological aspects of war. Highly recommended.

Interesting story. Poorly written.Lots of action early on and towards the end. With an interesting middle section.The action sequences are exciting a visceral but the slower, more character drivem plot following Jack Crow was a disappointment... It could have been the best part but the character is inconsistent, the characters become close a bit too easily and the poor writing really shows through much more so than with all the "shoot, bang, punch, kill"Overal I'd recommend for a fun ride but don't expect nicely written prose.

What a brilliant piece of armor based mayhem! I can't believe I have left it so long to read, I loved the way the story shoots forward to a different point of view, it upsets your reading rhythm, which makes it even more interesting. Steakley should have written a prequel to this and a sequel would have been appreciated, but both or either may well have taken from the central message. Overall an engaging read with plenty for the armor fan and the die hard militarist scifi fan too. Felt like an extension of the starship troopers universe.

I must say I stumbled upon this great book by accident. I am not sorry one bit! I like a lot of people have read " Starship Trooper" by Robert Heinlein.Love the book but had wished their was more combat against the bugs. This book takes you into that arena and more! Extremely descriptive book(1983-4 written) on the battle armor and how it functions.Surprising to read a early 80's sci-fi book where DARPA and other agencies have brought some of these technologies of the book to the modern battlefield.