Novel: Death's Head, Maximum Offense

Death's Head: Maximum Offense (2009)

Hot on the heels of finishing up the first Death's Head book by David Gunn, I went out and quickly picked up the sequel. It was actually the first time I lamented not having a Kindle, or similar book reading device; I could've just downloaded the sequel from the comfort of my own home and not skipped a beat. I guess I was eager for more.

The sequel picks up within a few months of the beginning in the first book, and continues the adventures of Sven and his team, the Aux. The rich world I continue to appreciate grows in scope and detail, but isn't needlessly bogged down with too many details. In fact, the narrative style continues with not really explaining every finite detail you come across. What is, just is, and you get to focus more on the characters and the story, and less on the technical aspects. It's neat to do it like this because in a way, you don't really know more about the surroundings and physics behind the universe than the actual characters do.

Sven continues to be the ultimate soldier with the ultimate arsenal of weapons, equipment, and brawn, and the writing style continues to be explicit, straight-forward, and unabashedly raw. The "heroes" are sent on a new mission that only three people know about, and given a wet-behind-the-ears Colonel who is not combat tested to "lead" them. It's only after hitting dirtside on an artificial ringworld that the team realizes they don't know the full details, and their mission was a cover for another mission, that happens to also be a cover for one last mission. In what is becoming classic form for Sven and his team, they plow straight ahead, boots crunching, necks snapping, and his intelligent gun smart-mouthing along the way.

There is a lot going on in this book, moreso depth-wise than the first one, and for that I can't spoil much without giving away plot twists and the like. The big picture gets even bigger, more of the universe is unveiled, and more of the three factions (the humans, the enlightened, and the uplifted free) are given light in their operations and interactions.Suffice it to say, if you enjoyed the first novel, you'll like this one even more, I did.