Take my hand, I’m here to protect you. Nothing will stop me. Understand, there’s no sacrifice that I won’t make. I’ll risk it all to keep you safe. Trust me to be strong. I’ll be your hero, just hold on. What if it’s true as they say, that I don’t have a heart, that I’m more a machine than a man? Let’s suit up with Armor, by John Steakley.
Synopsis:
Felix is an Earth soldier, encased in special body armor designed to withstand Earth’s most implacable enemy-a bioengineered, insectoid alien horde. But Felix is also equipped with internal mechanisms that enable him, and his fellow soldiers, to survive battle situations that would destroy a man’s mind.
This is a remarkable novel of the horror, the courage, and the aftermath of combat–and how the strength of the human spirit can be the greatest armor of all.
Source: Goodreads [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/102327.Armor]
SPOILERS BELOW
In issue #249, Dragon magazine published the final installment of their book review column “Bookwyrms”. Thus has my “Recommended by Dragon” series come to its inevitable close. But you know, I had a lot of fun with that series, and it got me to read a lot of books I might otherwise never have heard of – not all of them were good, but enough were that it was worthwhile. It was “Recommended by Dragon” that brought my attention to Rasmussem Corporation, to Lyra and by extension Enchanted Forest Chronicles, to Bast Mysteries and Pendergast. And so, I decided to follow up with another series that would hopefully continue to bring my attention to books that might not normally find themselves on my reading list. After some consideration, I’ve decided to use Good Show Sir as my new source of inspiration. This is the beginning of my new “Recommended by Good Show Sir” series. And to start things off, I picked up Armor. which I’ve heard referred to alongside Heinlein’s Starship Troopers as one of the big foundational works of the “space marines in powered armor” genre.
The primary plot follows Felix, a soldier who is issued a suit of powered armor and deployed to the bitterly inhospitable planet of Banshee to fight in a war against a race of insectoid aliens nicknamed the Ants. This storyline was just fantastic, absolute top-grade military sci-fi, delivering intense panic-filled action scenes intercut with growing despair about a war which appears to be as pointless as it is unwinnable.
The secondary plot, unfortunately, is not as good. It follows a pirate named Jack Crow as he escapes from prison and takes a new job requiring him to infiltrate a military base on a planet, where he spends a long time doing not very much of interest. It does eventually tie back in to the Felix stuff by the end, but a very long span in the middle of the book is just a long, boring slog which is hurt all the more by the contrast with the far better material that preceded it.
With a very good primary storyline brought down a weak secondary storyline, Armor comes out as average overall.
Final Rating: 3/5
profmorbius 