Book one of this series launches a war that Planet Earth has to win.  The Sh’dar, an alien race of beings, is on a path to destroy anything in its way.  Earth is just one of the planets that are to be its targets.  Humans know the Sh’dar are on the way because intelligence gathering organizations have relayed to the highest authorities that Earth is one of the objectives of this species.  The situation is critical.  Humans have only so much time to prepare for the onslaught of foreign beings.

The novel appears to have everything that would make for an excellent science fiction tale.   It’s got military personnel, faster than light speed ships, aliens that are out to destroy anything in their path much like the Borg from Star Trek.

What the novel does not have is human characters that you really care about. The story is filled with lots of people, and the writing races along, but I found I had no one that I really felt concern for.  They are just military soldiers caught up in a war to save humanity.

I’ve not read anything else by this author and don’t really want to, because one of the complaints I—along with many readers—have of newer science fiction writers such as Douglas is that they tell stories filled with great gadgets, lots of fighting, and knowledge of science, but lacking in characters that you empathize with.  One of the reasons authors like Asimov, Clarke, and Heinlein are still in print today is that they did not concentrate on the technology but rather how it affected the people in the story.  The populace was also believable and if it was a war with any creature from outer space you wanted the humans to win.   Here I really don’t care what happens.