| Private William Mandella finds himself fighting to defend an earth which has become more alien than the extra-terrestrial foe he fights.
Deep space flight, wormholes and relativity, mean that for every tour of duty he survives, although only months long to him, centuries pass on earth. Forced by circumstances to continue fighting, Mandella becomes detached from humanity in every way; emotionally, culturally and even sexually, until, the oldest man alive, he is transformed into a figure of ridicule and disgust by the next generation of soldiers joining the conflict - soldiers which he now must lead! | ||
|
Plot & Themes Tone of book - suspenseful (sophisticated fear) FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story Training/Apprent. Yes Working up the ranks of... If an invasion, from Earth/human POV: - fighting overt invasion (attacking aliens) War or Invasion Yes Major kinds of combat: - lasers Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Cultural problems, alien culture Yes Culture clash- - one person from different culture of other persons Descript. of chases or violence - 10 % planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 20 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30 % Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 40 % Intense exploration of society's culture? Yes Main Character Identity: - Male Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Main Adversary Identity: - an entire race Age: - long-lived adults Profession/status: How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - an average amount How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor Intelligence - Average intelligence Setting Terrain Earth setting: - distant future A substantial portion of this book takes place on a non-Earth planetary body: - unfriendly aliens Takes place on Earth? Yes Planet outside solar system? Yes Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - explicit references to deaths scientific jargon? (SF only) - a moderate amount of scientific explanation Sex in book? Yes What kind of sex: - vague references only How much dialogue? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
||