Before "Babylon 5" and the Borg , and before "Alien" there was Richard C. Merediths' story of interstellar war "We All Died at Breakaway Station".
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Our protaganist is a man who has seen it all, including death too many times over. This man is a cyborg, brought back to life out of Earth's sheer desperation for experienced officers to pilot the immense starships created to defend the "Salient", Earth's stellar colonial perimeter, from the cold and ruthless "Jillies", horrific bipedal sentient creatures with detachable stomachs.
He pushes forward out to the expanse with the valuable information that will allow earth to strike back hard at the Jillie homeworld along with a crew that are mostly cyborgs themselves.
The story has a great deal of melodramatic dialogue, a pre nuclear attack sex scene, "mod" progressive commentary on the future reduction of sexual moores, and some interesting battle scenes. It's a good book as far as science fiction/adventure is concerned. It could also be a timely story since a retrospect of the war's starting point begins with a viscious and highly destructive act of terrorism, and describes the resentment and hatred towards these life forms as a result.
Written in 1969 the source of the pessimism can be drawn from the events of the prior year, and Vietnam, the star ships have a vague Star Trek quality too them, and lacks originality.
"We all died at Breakaway Station" occupies the genre of "Starship Troopers" and "Battlefield Earth", if you that kind of stuff, and you can find it, you should be thouroughly entertained.
I don't know if the author ever wrote a sequel, but if he is still alive, he should.
The review of this Book prepared by Chris J. Boucher
Humanity is at war with the Jillies, and are losing. The vital communications link with earth is under threat at Breakway Station, and the only people who can defend it are on three crippled starships, cripples themselves, heading to hospital on earth........
A book about sacrifice for the greater good, those who have died giving up thier lives again, as the protagonist Admiral Bridger says repeatedly 'haven't we done enough?
The review of this Book prepared by Andrew Banks
