This was the first title in my Military Science Fiction binge and it’s technically not military science fiction. I think it should be characterized as Alternate History Military Fiction. It’s only right to say that I’ve always loved this stuff. There’s a lot of this stuff being written today – both alternate history and science fiction – and all too much of it – with some really notable exceptions – isn’t worth the paper it’s written on or the digital storage space it occupies. Still, I’ve read a lot of it over the years and I always – from time to time – find myself putting the weightier stuff aside and just digging into a stack of this stuff. I can’t explain it – except to say that I have fun with it. There’s a good vs. evil – victory against all odds – martial virtue and values – honor and tradition aspect to it that I can’t help but enjoy.
This one starts in present day – a world falling apart – the United States fracturing and degrading politically. The protagonist is a U.S. Army officer – one of the last of the true believers – committed to his men – committed to the mission – committed to a concept of the United States that seems to be disappearing or – in all too many cases – already gone. His wife and one of his children are killed by domestic terrorists – leaving him with nothing but revenge.
Before being able to extract that revenge and – as he’s in the process of walking away from everything he’s committed his life to – he’s convinced by the last remnants of a government and armed forces determined to protect and preserve those aspects of the country to which they’ve committed their lives – to enter a covert program that recruits soldiers willing to submit to cryogenic hibernation – waiting for the day they’re needed – to be called upon in an emergency where their return might play a meaningful role in saving the country and re-establishing order. It should come as no surprise that things go wrong – the sleepers are forgotten or never activated – the country and the government collapses – and they wake to a Mad Max version of North America.
There are plenty of things to quibble over with this book – the first being the premise that so much could fall apart in such a short period of time – another being that the U.S. Government would be capable of engineering such a massive and expensive project off the books and keeping it secret – a third being that every aspect of our society but the military is fragile, corruptible and not worth saving. If you’re able to forget all that and more – and I was – it’s actually a pretty entertaining story. This book spends most of its time building the concept and introducing the players but there was enough action to hold my attention. It’s a very quick read, the characters are sympathetic and admirable enough to identify with and the base and all its capabilities is enough to make you wish that it’s something we might actually be capable of building.
One aspect of this book that worries me – and it’s a common element in a lot of these stories – is that the U.S. Military is the only organization manning the barricades – the only group working day in and day out to preserve the promise and purpose of the United States – that every other institution in the country is weak, corruptible, ill-intended and at odds with the principles at the heart of our constitutional democracy. The military and those who serve are presented as individuals – not perfect or pure – but virtuous. Journalists, politicians, lawyers, average citizens, law enforcement are always juxtaposed as groups against this collection of noble men and women and are always found wanting in contemptible ways. To me, that’s a simplistic and potentially dangerous illusion.
I don’t call this out because I don’t respect the military – I do – in a very fundamental and thankful way – military service has been a consistent part of our family history – but I also respect journalists and politicians and lawyers and law enforcement officers and social workers and activists. I’ve lived long enough to know that there are as many types of individuals in each of these professions or callings as there are people – they range from exceptionally good to exceptionally bad and most of them / us fall somewhere in the middle – imperfect but capable of goodness – sometimes even greatness – on any given day. I’m an attorney, I’ve worked for the U.S. Government, I know a fair number of journalists and diplomats and federal law enforcement officers and service people and veterans and most of them – in all categories – are good, decent people who are capable of and committed to doing the right thing as they see it.
So…if you suspend disbelief, embrace the United States of Mad Max and buy into the concept that the U.S. Military could run a black program on a scale similar to the effort made to put a man on the moon – you may actually find yourself enjoying the story. While I’m almost embarrassed to admit it – I did – enough to buy the next two titles in the series: “Standing In The Storm” and “Standing At The Edge”. I suspect I’ll have fun with them as well.